Writing Con scenarios

So, you want to write a Convention game?

I’ve a confession to make, I don’t write many of my own scenarios. There’s a couple of reasons for this. First, there are professionals who will do it for me, and second, because I can’t bring myself to do a half assed job of it. If I had my way I’d get every scenario I write fully edited, typeset, proofread and professionally illustrated as well as pubished (to huge acclaim naturally). What this means, is that when I do set my mind to writing a game I give it everything I’ve got. I usually write in preperation for an upcoming Con. I get huge pleasure out of running games at Cons. I believe it’s something everyone should have a go at. I’m fortunate enough to get good responses to my games. If you’re thinking about writing something yourself then you might find it useful to see the steps I go through to get my scenario up and running. Obvously this is not the only, or the best way to approach Con scenario writing, but it’s one way that works for me.

I’m going to work through this process stage by stage in the same order I did it myself, from start to finish. I’m using a D&D 4e game I ran at DragonMeet in 2008. 4e has many advantages, not least of which is it’s structured approach to adventure design. Nevertheless I’ll try to keep the lessons I learned system neutral as far as possible.

GM Tips #1

“Know your setting, system and scenario in advance. Write yourself cheat sheet or post-its, whatever you like.”

I’ve been asked to expand on the many intro points I’ve brushed upon, so here goes with the first one…

The first half of the statement should be fairly self explanatory. Don’t be one of those GMs that turn up at the con and say to a bunch of players “I read this on the train on the way up”. Or similarly have an opening gambit along the lines of “I don’t know the setting or system, but we’ll have a laugh anyway”. If someone’s come along to find out what the game’s like or the setting, or is an old hand and chosen the game as a banker, they’re not going to love you for it.

Trust me on the scenario bit too. I’m pretty good at ad-lib and rolling with the punches, it comes from years of practice. But I ran a game at Conception and I’d not plotted it out properly. It showed. I was really annoyed with myself and the players had fun along the way, but didn’t get the killer blow at the end they deserved. It was an okay game, but could have been great if I’d plotted and thought about the scenario that bit more. Even if your game is a bit more hippy and freeform, think about different characters or mannerisms or whatever. You can never have too much prep, but too little really shows.

What to do as a new Con GM?

Here’s some hints and tips for your first time as a GM at a convention.  Its well worth doing, very rewarding and helps get more good and better games out there on the scene.  Go on, be a devil.

• Firstly, run some games with a weekly group or at a club.
• Get some confidence from running games, get comfortable with a system and style you’re used to.
• Don’t think you have to be some kind of overlord or tyrant. Those days are over.
• Read the GMing sections from some games. No, really. People quite often flick over these, but actually, there is often some good advice.
• Know your setting, system and scenario in advance. Write yourself cheat sheet or post-its, whatever you like.
• You can never have to much prep. That doesn’t mean having glorious handouts (although they’re nice), it means really getting the story straight in your head, so you know what’s going on. Thinking about the personalities or quirks that the NPCs might have. Little details you might be able to inject into a scene. All that kind of stuff.
• Run the game for your weekly group. Get feedback, make changes or think about how you can improve things.
• Write a scenario or some notes that give the players plenty to do. But the action in their hands and give yourself a breather.
• A good choice for a game would be something like Pirates or Cowboys, something that any player can drop right into. I kicked off my Pirates game at Conception and could barely get a word in for the first half an hour. The first half of the game more or less ran itself.
• Advertise the game, with a note that you’re a new GM. If people come to the game knowing you’ve got a learner plate on, they’ll be more forgiving.
• You could even ask for pre-con sign-ups and gather some players in advance that are going to help you out.
• Consider having a friend or someone you know from the con scene in your game. That might make it less scary.
• Be aware that you’ll make some mistakes. We all do. Even people who look like they don’t are just good at covering it up.
• Take breaks if you need them.
• If you can time a break with another GM, then you could always tap them up for a quick pep talk mid-game.
• Don’t feel like a game has to last 4 hours. If you’ve come to a good, punchy ending after three, stop it there and end on a high.
• Make sure everyone round the table gets a chance to speak. They might not want to. That’s fine. But give them a chance.
• Try and work with the players, not against them. Share and grow.

What To Talk About

People have always been complaining about the games at conventions.

How do we make them better?  Why isn’t there enough variety?  Where do you start?  There aren’t enough.

With any luck we’re going to get more people gaming and being better at it.  We’re going to lead from the front and show how its done.

Mostly though, its up to everyone else to pitch in.

Watch out for hints, tips, reports, rants, and lots more here.  And of course, feel free to have your say.

The Smart Party

We’re here to run great games at conventions, and play in them too. We pay attention. We get involved. We give feedback.

No-one can guarantee you’ll have a great game, but we’d like to think if you play in ours you will, as long as you buy-in; we aim über-high so that even if we fall short, it will still be Good.

We will guarantee a basic level of service – the sort of game we’d like to play in. What the Smart Party want is more and better gaming.

If you’ve got constructive criticism and can present it in a friendly manner, then we’ll listen. We might not agree… but then again we may. We all want to be better referees and want everyone else to be better too.

Love your gaming? How about getting with the program? Why don’t you jump on the team and come on in for the big win?