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Thanks for your interest! Below you will find some information, suggestions, insight & advise on running Role Playing Games at CharCon.
Running RPGs at CharCon
When you are considering running a role-playing game at a con, it can seem like a lot at first. It’s not as much work as it might seem and is actually really fun. Running a game at a convention is easier for new game masters in a lot of ways. You control the characters, the content, and the scope of the adventure. Con games allow you to focus exclusively on the portions of the game you are running, meaning there are a lot of rules and complications you don’t have to worry about. CharCon is also a great opportunity to meet players who are interested in the kinds of games you want to run, potentially putting you in contact with new players and GMs for your home games. Established GMs use CharCon as an opportunity to run the games they want to try but can’t get to the table with their home groups. On top of all this, CharCon offers special benefits for Game Masters. GMs that run more than 5 hours of games get a discount on admission to CharCon. GMs that run 15 hours or more receive free admission, an exclusive T-shirt, and possibly even more in bonus swag and benefits.
What to run
When deciding what to run, the most important thing is to follow your muse. If you are excited about it, that will show and be contagious at the table. That said, there are practical concerns that can help narrow things down. Time is the first concern. The standard convention RPG session is 4 hours long. This is time for introductions, some brief explanation, 3-5 encounters and a wrap-up. If you want to run longer games, it is fine to either divide them up into several sessions or edit them down to the high points to fit the time constraints.
You don’t have to write the adventure yourself, as most gaming companies make adventures to fit the convention format. Look for ones labeled as Introductory, One-Shot, or Organized Play. Adventures released for Free RPG day are usually ideal.
If you’re not sure what game you want to run, we always have players looking for D&D, Pathfinder, Call of Cthulhu, Shadowrun, and Dungeon Crawl Classics.
Scheduling
Your games can be of any length and scheduled at any time. Most CharCon RPGs use the practice of “slots” to schedule RPG sessions. Slots are four- hour-long sections of time during which games are run. Most RPGs are scheduled in these “slots” to make it easier for players and GMs to move from one game to the next. You don’t have to use these slots, but you may have trouble finding players if they must miss two other games or a meal to sit at your table. This is not mandatory, but many players and game masters find it helpful.
“Slots” are 4 hours long. They usually start at 9:00 AM, 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM. This leaves an hour between games for meals, setup and finding your next game. A typical CharCon RPG schedule can look like this:
Friday:
12:00 PM Con opens
2:00 - 6:00 PM Slot 1
7:00 - 11:00 PM Slot 2
11:45 RPG hall closes
Saturday:
9:00 – 1:00 Slot 1
2:00 - 6:00 PM Slot 2
7:00 - 11:00 PM Slot 3
11:45 RPG hall closes
Sunday:
9:00 – 1:00 Slot 1
2:00 - 6:00 PM Slot 2
6:45 RPG hall closes
To submit your events, go to www.CharCon.org and click on Event Submission. If you need help, there’s a guide here.
Tips to make your session easier
Use pre-generated characters. In most cases, character creation takes too long. Bring characters that are made to work well in your adventure. Many adventures have them included. Most company websites have them to download. If you prefer, make them yourself and provide a few notes about how the character plays.
If you are teaching rules, think about how you can show the concepts of the game quickly. You can often find quick references online. Print a few and bring them to share with your players.
Submit your events as soon as possible to ensure that players have time to sign up and make sure you get your rewards.
You can use the event listing to contact the players who signed up if you want to send them materials before the show.
There are online sources for adventures tailor made for conventions
Call of Cthulhu Cult of Chaos
Free League Publishing Free Agents
Use the search terms One-shot, Convention, or Organized Play