Quote from: Teodrik;1098934Never been to GenCon. At a time I could have been very interested in visiting it. Today I don't bother any gaming conventions whatsoever. Having to deal with that many people? No thanks. I don't like "gamer culture" which seems to be the focus of this kind of conventions. I like gaming and ttrpg especially. And I came to the conclusion that the format of this hobby works pretty badly with gaming with random strangers for me. One bad apple in a group or as a gm and you are in for painfully long shitty experience. Especially since I am generally too polite to say screw this and walk away. And there's 9/10 there's always at least one bad apple in the barrel. That in combination with SJW infiltration of gaming conventions makes for what I would call an unpleasantly toxic environment.
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This is largely how I feel about cons and public games as well. Not to mention, most of the big ones feel like I'm paying to stand in different lines the whole day. Physically pushing through crowds constantly isn't great either, usually I'm pissed off by hour two or three and have to escape for a smoke. This is all exacerbated by the fact that I don't often buy new things (because the stuff I use right now is what I like), especially not the types of products that get advertised and sold at cons, so there's really no general appeal in showing up at all.

Quote from: Teodrik;1098934Never been to GenCon. At a time I could have been very interested in visiting it. Today I don't bother any gaming conventions whatsoever. Having to deal with that many people? No thanks. I don't like "gamer culture" which seems to be the focus of this kind of conventions. I like gaming and ttrpg especially. And I came to the conclusion that the format of this hobby works pretty badly with gaming with random strangers for me. One bad apple in a group or as a gm and you are in for painfully long shitty experience. Especially since I am generally too polite to say screw this and walk away. And there's 9/10 there's always at least one bad apple in the barrel. That in combination with SJW infiltration of gaming conventions makes for what I would call an unpleasantly toxic environment.

I totally understand. However, the scene is quite different at small local or regional cons. Yes, you can still get suckass GMs and players, but I've been doing cons for 35+ years and my overall experience has been excellent (but my GenCons have been meh). My best experience with the highest ROI for fun have been the small cons and cons focused on specific games (like Palladium's Open House or 40k Game Days).

RPGs work really well for one shots with strangers IF everyone is there to game and not be an asshole...which fortunately is 80% of the time. And if you attend the same con a couple of times, the "strangers" become acquaintances and you get to know which tables to join and who to avoid. And often, those "acquaintances" become friends you game with between cons. Or marry in a few cases I've met.

And its true that SJW cultural poison has spread and depending on your locale, your local cons may already be lost causes. But maybe not.

Quote from: Shasarak;1098541I have always wanted to go to Gen Con but it seems like now Paizo Con would give a much better gaming experience.

If Paizo isn't paying you, they should. Shilling for them this hard has got to be worth something.

Quote from: Mistwell;1098985If Paizo isn't paying you, they should. Shilling for them this hard has got to be worth something.

What the hell man?  Did I sleep with your sister or are you just a natural asshole?

Quote from: Shasarak;1098986What the hell man?  Did I sleep with your sister or are you just a natural asshole?

Mistwell is a shill for WotC/DnD, so you are his favored enemy.

Quote from: Shasarak;1098541I have always wanted to go to Gen Con but it seems like now Paizo Con would give a much better gaming experience.

Maybe not - at Gen Con PAIZO and Pathfinder have taken over the Sagamore ballroom. That is where D&D 'ruled' from 2003 to about 2015.

Now it is all dozens of Pathfinder and Starfinder player groups having fun.

- Ed C.

Quote from: jeff37923;1098988Mistwell is a shill for WotC/DnD, so you are his favored enemy.

LOL right I am as much a shill for DnD as you are for Traveler I supposed.

I have no issues with Pathfinder. I'd play it, if my group wanted to. I just never see Shasarak ever, not even one time, say anything even vaguely questioning of anything Paizo does or anything vaguely less than overly enthusiastic about Pathfinder.

Quote from: jeff37923;1098988Mistwell is a shill for WotC/DnD, so you are his favored enemy.

Quote from: Mistwell;1098993LOL right I am as much a shill for DnD as you are for Traveler I supposed.

I have no issues with Pathfinder. I'd play it, if my group wanted to. I just never see Shasarak ever, not even one time, say anything even vaguely questioning of anything Paizo does or anything vaguely less than overly enthusiastic about Pathfinder.

Ah right, thanks Jeff, that is just what a WotC shill would say.

Which would probably explain the Mike Mearls underpants I guess.

Quote from: Koltar;1098991Maybe not - at Gen Con PAIZO and Pathfinder have taken over the Sagamore ballroom. That is where D&D 'ruled' from 2003 to about 2015.

Now it is all dozens of Pathfinder and Starfinder player groups having fun.

- Ed C.

Got any pictures of that?

Quote from: Melan;1098751And all this time, I have been running con games for free like an absolute chump.

Up-charging, from what I can tell, is an unusual thing to do at Gencon. I ran 8 games at last week's Gencon. I couldn't imagine charging for them on top of everything else. All sessions were 4 hours. All tables were sold out, so that's--what, almost 50 players? Everyone had a great time.

Quote from: Melan;1098751But then the only ones I still trust are small, focused affairs where the expectations are laid out openly and the event is focused on actual play. Those have worked pretty well for me.

Actually, other than the fact that GenCon had 70,000 people a day, so far as running games went it was a small, intimate affair. All the games were in their own quiet rooms of only 4 tables. It was rarely too noisy. The smaller cons I go to are usually all in one, ear-splitting room.

I can't speak for the games that happened in huge halls at Gencon, like the board and card games, but the RPGs were laid out to be downright cozy.


//Panjumanju

Quote from: jeff37923;1099001Got any pictures of that?

Yes, - if you bothered to search the posts I did last year - you will see Pathfinder tables filling the Sagamore room.
Here Lazy butt, take a look, from 2018, on 'here': https://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?39377-Gen-Con-2018-THURSDAY-Photos-pictures-other-comments&highlight=gen+con+2018

Quote from: Koltar;1099051Yes, - if you bothered to search the posts I did last year - you will see Pathfinder tables filling the Sagamore room.
Here Lazy butt, take a look, from 2018, on 'here': https://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?39377-Gen-Con-2018-THURSDAY-Photos-pictures-other-comments&highlight=gen+con+2018

Bolding mine.

Well, at least you got some good shots of cosplayer Carmen San Diego.....

Quote from: Panjumanju;1099048All the games were in their own quiet rooms of only 4 tables....but the RPGs were laid out to be downright cozy.

My friends who do D&D are always in a giant ballroom of noise and when I ran games at GenCon we were stuck in a rooms of a dozen plus tables and I wound up taking my groups to various other locales so we could hear each other. The only small-ish RPG rooms of 6-8 tables that I remember were assigned for game companies who were doing official games or demos.

Tell us more about these 4 table rooms! I'm glad to hear that's changed.

Four games in a room would be okay, depending on the other 3 tables.

Quote from: Spinachcat;1099061My friends who do D&D are always in a giant ballroom of noise and when I ran games at GenCon we were stuck in a rooms of a dozen plus tables and I wound up taking my groups to various other locales so we could hear each other. The only small-ish RPG rooms of 6-8 tables that I remember were assigned for game companies who were doing official games or demos.

Tell us more about these 4 table rooms! I'm glad to hear that's changed.

Four games in a room would be okay, depending on the other 3 tables.

Some points of disclosure:
* This GenCon was my first and so-far only GenCon, so my experience is limited
* GenCon is huge, I have no idea what goes at half of it (I didn't even make it to the stadium)
* I was in fact repping a company for their game (for whom I freelance) but the other three tables in the room were not

The 4 table rooms were in a hallway at the RW Marriot. Easy walk from the convention floor; starbucks on the way - not that I ever got through the line. Not all 4 tables were always occupied. Also - probably a lot more awesome than it should be - there was water, hot and cold, just outside the room. So I could make oatmeal and things. This was really important since I was in the room all day for two and a half days with only the food I brought.

Honestly it felt like the a smallest convention I've ever been to when it came to running tables, because I didn't go anywhere else until the games were done. Then I hit the showfloor to check in with out booth, and bam! more people than live in the city where I live. It was a bizarre juxtaposition.

Would game again.

//Panjumanju

I was at the starfinder hall at 11  and there were at least forty players.  Can confirm.