Trenloe
August 16th, 2016, 02:04
As eluded to in the FG Con 9 announcement thread, we have support from Third Party Publishers (3PPs) for FG Con 9. The publishers we currently have supporting us are:
AAW Games (https://adventureaweek.com/) - D&D 5E and Pathfinder scenarios. Scenarios in the FG Store: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/?sys=-1&pub=22&typ=-1&search=&sort=1 (Does not include Snow White).
Legendary Games (https://www.makeyourgamelegendary.com/) - D&D 5E scenarios. Scenarios in the FG Store: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/?sys=-1&pub=34&typ=-1&search=&sort=1
Dan Harlan - Balanced Disturbed scenario. (https://www.dmsguild.com/product/180749/Balance-Disturbed-BDC1)
We also hope to add more to this list - covering more RPGs than D&D and Pathfinder.
All of these 3PPs offer support in the form of a Fantasy Grounds copy of the scenario the GM intends to run. AAW will also provide a PDF copy of the adventure - and everyone who partakes in AAW games (GM and players) will get one month's subscription to the AAW website (including 2 free downloads, which can be FG modules or scenario PDFs).
If you're interested in running a scenario from one of these 3PPs, drop me a PM and we can discuss getting you onboard. The main thing is that you showcase both Fantasy Grounds and the 3PPs product.
Running a 3PP scenario at FG Con
The key thing to keep in mind is that FG Con is a convention where players will be signing up for multiple games, so you must keep your session within the time period you advertise in your event registration. Most conventions will have sessions that run between 3 and 5 hours - with 4 being the average. Aim to keep your event within this session length. This means that a lot of the 3PP scenarios out there will not be able to be completed within your session - so you need to pick which one you want to run carefully, or change the scenario so that you get a lot of the good stuff from it but can play within the session length. Some GMs might run a scenario over multiple sessions, but this is not common and you may struggle to keep the same group or players, or even get enough signups for all sessions. The joy of a convention is playing lots of different games with different GMs and players - so I'd recommend aiming to keep your game to a single session.
Some guidelines for GMs at FG Con (in general, not just limited to 3PP supported GMs):
Decide on a reasonable time for your session length - 3-5 hours is normal. Select a scenario that you can run within this time. Review and modify your scenario so that you'll get the most fun out of the session length you choose.
When running your game have one eye on the clock - move the game along and make sure you finish on time (or a little early). Players may have signed up for games that start immediately after when yours was scheduled to finish - don't spoil other peoples games by running over, run to time! This can involved chivvying the players along, skipping parts, hand waving events and bringing the game to a close suddenly.
Maybe even do a test run of your game with some friends a couple of weeks in advance to get familiar with it and how it runs within a fixed slot.
Make sure you know the scenario and how it is set up in Fantasy Grounds. A few minutes lost here and there due to unfamiliarity will impact your game time. Know how to use FG to the level you plan to use it. For example: if you're not familiar with effects, don't use them in your convention game. Concentrate on the flow and enjoyment of the game, not using all of the bells and whistles that FG has unless you're familiar with them.
Be newbie friendly. One of the prime reasons we run FG Con is to introduce more players to Fantasy Grounds.
Run your games with voice using the FG community teamspeak server. This is where all the con games go off and where people congregate to chat. This is where players expect to go to muster for their games, so use the FG community TeamSpeak server for voice comms for your FG Con game.
Use pregenerated characters - it gets the game going and will have more players interested in joining. For a con game, even one advertised weeks in advance, don't ask players to make a character up beforehand - it will be more work for you (communication, chase-up, review, etc.) and also may turn some players off your game. Keep it simple and get the game into the action quick by assigning pregens.
Be very clear in your communication with players before the session - what type of game it is, confirming times (some people *always* get the time zone conversion wrong), tell them what to expect, what you need from them, etc.. You will always get the odd drop out (sorry that's the nature of playing with strangers over the internet) but the more communication you do up front the more engaged the players will be.
If things change, let people know. Life gets in the way sometimes, just be polite and courteous to others and let everyone know if you have to cancel/rearrange your game. No-shows without communication are very uncool!
AAW Games (https://adventureaweek.com/) - D&D 5E and Pathfinder scenarios. Scenarios in the FG Store: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/?sys=-1&pub=22&typ=-1&search=&sort=1 (Does not include Snow White).
Legendary Games (https://www.makeyourgamelegendary.com/) - D&D 5E scenarios. Scenarios in the FG Store: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/?sys=-1&pub=34&typ=-1&search=&sort=1
Dan Harlan - Balanced Disturbed scenario. (https://www.dmsguild.com/product/180749/Balance-Disturbed-BDC1)
We also hope to add more to this list - covering more RPGs than D&D and Pathfinder.
All of these 3PPs offer support in the form of a Fantasy Grounds copy of the scenario the GM intends to run. AAW will also provide a PDF copy of the adventure - and everyone who partakes in AAW games (GM and players) will get one month's subscription to the AAW website (including 2 free downloads, which can be FG modules or scenario PDFs).
If you're interested in running a scenario from one of these 3PPs, drop me a PM and we can discuss getting you onboard. The main thing is that you showcase both Fantasy Grounds and the 3PPs product.
Running a 3PP scenario at FG Con
The key thing to keep in mind is that FG Con is a convention where players will be signing up for multiple games, so you must keep your session within the time period you advertise in your event registration. Most conventions will have sessions that run between 3 and 5 hours - with 4 being the average. Aim to keep your event within this session length. This means that a lot of the 3PP scenarios out there will not be able to be completed within your session - so you need to pick which one you want to run carefully, or change the scenario so that you get a lot of the good stuff from it but can play within the session length. Some GMs might run a scenario over multiple sessions, but this is not common and you may struggle to keep the same group or players, or even get enough signups for all sessions. The joy of a convention is playing lots of different games with different GMs and players - so I'd recommend aiming to keep your game to a single session.
Some guidelines for GMs at FG Con (in general, not just limited to 3PP supported GMs):
Decide on a reasonable time for your session length - 3-5 hours is normal. Select a scenario that you can run within this time. Review and modify your scenario so that you'll get the most fun out of the session length you choose.
When running your game have one eye on the clock - move the game along and make sure you finish on time (or a little early). Players may have signed up for games that start immediately after when yours was scheduled to finish - don't spoil other peoples games by running over, run to time! This can involved chivvying the players along, skipping parts, hand waving events and bringing the game to a close suddenly.
Maybe even do a test run of your game with some friends a couple of weeks in advance to get familiar with it and how it runs within a fixed slot.
Make sure you know the scenario and how it is set up in Fantasy Grounds. A few minutes lost here and there due to unfamiliarity will impact your game time. Know how to use FG to the level you plan to use it. For example: if you're not familiar with effects, don't use them in your convention game. Concentrate on the flow and enjoyment of the game, not using all of the bells and whistles that FG has unless you're familiar with them.
Be newbie friendly. One of the prime reasons we run FG Con is to introduce more players to Fantasy Grounds.
Run your games with voice using the FG community teamspeak server. This is where all the con games go off and where people congregate to chat. This is where players expect to go to muster for their games, so use the FG community TeamSpeak server for voice comms for your FG Con game.
Use pregenerated characters - it gets the game going and will have more players interested in joining. For a con game, even one advertised weeks in advance, don't ask players to make a character up beforehand - it will be more work for you (communication, chase-up, review, etc.) and also may turn some players off your game. Keep it simple and get the game into the action quick by assigning pregens.
Be very clear in your communication with players before the session - what type of game it is, confirming times (some people *always* get the time zone conversion wrong), tell them what to expect, what you need from them, etc.. You will always get the odd drop out (sorry that's the nature of playing with strangers over the internet) but the more communication you do up front the more engaged the players will be.
If things change, let people know. Life gets in the way sometimes, just be polite and courteous to others and let everyone know if you have to cancel/rearrange your game. No-shows without communication are very uncool!