GenCon - Pregenerated T20 Characters

[Flynn]

Good afternoon, All,

As many of you know, I'll be running three different T20 adventures at GenCon Indy this year, and will be providing pre-generated characters for the adventures. Since we are now a month away from the adventures, I've started working on the handouts for the adventures, including the character sheets. What I'm looking for is input from the gamers on this list as to what presentation you would prefer to see of said character sheets if you were playing in the game:

1) Would you like to see a filled-out character sheet from the back of the THB?

2) Would you like a stat block as found in 76 Gunmen, plus a background blurb describing the character?

3) Would you like an extended stat block, as found in the description of the sample character given in the THB, plus a background blurb?

4) Some other suggestion beyond or other than what's given above?

My preference is to minimize the amount of paper I have to carry around with me, but I also want to make sure that the characters are understandable enough that the players can use them effectively in the session.

All constructive input is appreciated,
Flynn

 

[sandman]

Originally posted by Flynn:

What I'm looking for is input from the gamers on this list as to what presentation you would prefer to see of said character sheets if you were playing in the game:

1) Would you like to see a filled-out character sheet from the back of the THB?

This is a MUST.

Hand scribbled character sheets or anything else that makes the character sheet unreadable/hard to read will make a bad impression.

I'd sugest you use the Mad Irishman's Traveller Character Form to fill out & prints the sheets using Acrobat (can't save them if you only have Acrobat Reader though...)

2) Would you like a stat block as found in 76 Gunmen, plus a background blurb describing the character?

Those are particularly Very Hard to Read/Understand... (IMHO)

My preference is to minimize the amount of paper I have to carry around with me, but I also want to make sure that the characters are understandable enough that the players can use them effectively in the session.

All constructive input is appreciated,
Flynn

You also have to think about the players. Will they all be experienced Traveller players? What about newbies from other D20 games?. Using the character sheets does mean you have to carry a bit more paper, but you'll have a standardized layout that's pretty much the same as other D20 games, which would help those comming from those games. It also makes it easy to find things, compared to the Stats Block.

My 0,02ImpCr.

 

[aravain]

I have two friends "traveller-ing" to Indy, but they have yet to register for a run! What is the condition of signing up for games, especially for Traveller? I hate for them to make the drive from DeKalb (5+ hours) only to spend their time and money watching everyone else!!

I've chosen to stay on the sidelines this year, since I was there at the first GenCon and I would like to see the feedback after the move to Indy on how the move went.........D*mn, I' ll miss the SafeHouse!

 

[Flynn]

To my knowledge, the only Traveller games on the GenCon Indy schedule of any system (CT, GT or otherwise) are the three T20 games I'm running, and they're booked at the moment. That doesn't mean that Traveller won't be played at the Open Gaming areas, but I don't know of anyone who is planning on that. (Most people don't post their plans for running Open Gaming, sadly.)

That being said, I'd like to play some Traveller is the opportunity presents itself, so if anyone hears of such a game and wouldn't mind an extra player, please let me know.

Enjoy,
Flynn

 

[Flynn]

From Sandman:

You also have to think about the players. Will they all be experienced Traveller players? What about newbies from other D20 games?. Using the character sheets does mean you have to carry a bit more paper, but you'll have a standardized layout that's pretty much the same as other D20 games, which would help those comming from those games. It also makes it easy to find things, compared to the Stats Block.

As I stated before, I was concerned about the players, hence the reason I asked this question in the first place.

You make a very good point regarding the use of T20 character sheets - that of player familiarity. This is probably the route I'll go, then, unless someone just comes up with an outstanding suggestion before this weekend.

Thanks for the feedback,
Flynn

 

[Jame]

Mythmere's Enemy Superstore should be an excellent reference for this, using the T20 characters.

 

[Flynn]

Thanks for the heads-up, Jame, but I've actually already got the stat blocks done for the PCs. (It helped make sure I covered something for all the characters in the course of each adventure.)

Looking forward to it (27 days to go),
Flynn

 

[Jame]

You're welcome. I meant them as opponents and contacts, though.

I've asked before, but please remind me - how much and what dates are GenCon Indy?

 

[Flynn]

June 24th-27th, Indianapolis, IN.

Tickets are $55 preregistered, $60 at the door; and you can buy one day passes if you live close enough and want to only go one or two days.

Hope this helps,
Flynn

 

[Jame]

Well, surely you've noticed my location (think EASTERN Mass), so going for a single day would be, shall we say, difficult - so it's not worth it to go for a single day. Are there hotels nearby, and can I reach it by train or bus from Boston, MA? Oh, and yes, it does help. Perhaps I should have asked about transportation and lodging earlier.

 

[Flynn]

Sorry, didn't check the sig. My bad...

Yes, you can take a train or bus, fly or drive to get there. There's a lot of hotels around the place, and you can reserve a room from the GenCon registration site (I think today's the last day to preregister, though). Plenty of lodging and travel possibilities.

For more specific information, I'd recommend the following website, compiled by a local gamer there:

http://www.thedociverse.com/xml/indyintro.htm

You can sign up for preregistration from the following link:

https://registration.gencon.com/regsystem/index.cgi

Hope this helps,
Flynn

 

[Jame]

Don't worry about the sig - it is, after all, just a sig. I suspect I'll be there next year. Sorry I couldn't contribute to the T20 part of this topic, other than a pointer to Mythmere's Enemy Superstore.

 

[shar_leigh]

Speaking as one of the two friends of Aravain who is going to Gen Con, I thought I'd give my two cents worth. I think that I would like to see the filled-out character sheet from the back of the THB if I was playing in a game. That is what I'm used to seeing so it isn't as confusing to me. In addition if people are coming from other d20 games they might be able to adjust to the different setting more quickly if it's in that format.

I would have tried to sign up for you games, but i am still waiting for my material for gen con to arrive. Big Sigh. is it always this slow? Maybe we could still run into each other there.

Shar_leigh

 

[Flynn]

The T20 character sheet is the approach I'll take, then.

As for waiting for GenCon material, you can do all your preregistering for games and such online now. You can even preview the game selections without signing into registration. They won't ship the badges out until this next week or two. If you don't get your badge by July 11th, write their customer service and let them know.

There's always the chance that people won't show up, so if you happen to be in the area with general tickets when the game starts and there's empty seats, I'm all over letting you guys join us. Each night is a different adventure, so even if someone's signed up for all three adventures, the game's going to be different every night.

I'd love to meet fellow Travellers, even if you don't get to game with us. If you find the table, I'm the guy with the red hair passing out the character sheets.

Enjoy,
Flynn

 

[shar_leigh]

Thanks for the info on about signing up for gen con. Without sounding too stupid (oops too late), how exactly do you sign up for stuff? I saw your T20 listed with room for one left. Now I understand that it would be too late to get into it, but I didn't see how to be able to sign up anyway. Did that make sense?

Any and all help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Flynn]

Go to: https://registration.gencon.com/regsystem/listevents.cgi

Click on the Search and Purchase Tickets link near the bottom of the page.

Search for RPG games containing T20 in the title.

If there's an opening, there should be an icon on the left hand side that you can click on to add the game to your shopping cart.

When you're done shopping, purchase the games you've selected. At some point, you'll be asked to log in, or set up a new account if you haven't already.

Hope that helps,
Flynn

 

[shar_leigh]

Originally posted by Flynn:
Go to: https://registration.gencon.com/regsystem/listevents.cgi

Click on the Search and Purchase Tickets link near the bottom of the page.

Search for RPG games containing T20 in the title.

If there's an opening, there should be an icon on the left hand side that you can click on to add the game to your shopping cart.

When you're done shopping, purchase the games you've selected. At some point, you'll be asked to log in, or set up a new account if you haven't already.

Hope that helps,
Flynn

Thanks Flynn:
I tried that but still nothing. I can sign in, find yout T20 information, click on the icon to bring up the "view event details" for it but still don't see any icon or method to actually register for it. I'm thinking that I will next email registration at gencon and see what they say. It does say that i am an active regular member but just not signed up for anything yet. Big Sigh. The "Verse is against me". j/k

Will keep tracking down the problem. If I don't get in, hope to meet up eventually just to say hi and thanks for the help. Have some good runs.

Shar_leigh