South Bend Games Day player sign up is alive!

Player sign-up is live!

Players can sign up at the website [http://southbendgamesday.wordpress.com/2012/09/19/players-sign-up-here] or via email addressed to derekas@gmail.com, please put South Bend Games Day in the title

Session One:  1:30pm – 5:30pm

Game One: Dragon Slayers

GM: Nick G
Rules:  Fiasco
Publisher:  Bully Pulpit Games
No familiarity required
3-4 players
“The bumpkins in this pissant mountain town could never have taken down that dragon. Their biggest hero hasn’t seen battle since Drozzek rode down from the Smoking Mountains three wars-to-end-all-wars ago. So yeah, we rode into town, a bunch of outsiders ready to solve that problem. And no, we don’t care what they think. And yes, we’re heroes. These yokels should worship at our feet. They sure as hell didn’t slay that dragon. That’s our dragon, and its gold is our gold. So unless you’re bringing us ale and wenches get the hell out before we transform you into a turkey and serve you for dinner.”

This play set, written by Logan Bonner focuses on the fallout after a group of gung-ho fantasy adventurers wipes out a mythical monster, and then sticks around to reap their well-earned rewards.

Game Two:  Legend of the 5 Rings, 4^th ed

GM:  Jim
Publisher:  AEG
Rules taught, no familiarity required
Characters provided
3-4 players

Game Three:  Microscope

GM:  Lowell F

Publisher:  Lame Mage Productions
Rules taught, no familiarity required
3-5 players
A collaborative history-building rpg/social game. Depending on # of players we may use a slightly streamlined approach for scenes. Players will decide on the kind of world and then craft a history for it over the course of play.

Game Four:  Who Dun It?? A Mystery

World of Darkness (2nd and 3rd edition, NOT new WoD)
Published by White Wolf
Full understanding of the rules required
Number of Players: 4-7
A Werewolf, Vampire, Demon, Mage, Fae, Wraith, and a Hunter wake up in a mysterious, old mansion, unaware of who they are or how they got there. Or even why they haven’t tried to kill each other yet! Can they figure out how to get out of their perplexing prison, and why they chose to meet in the first place before the crumbling mansion disappears into the Maelstrom of the Lower Umbra over which it floats and destroys them all?

A who-done-it, locked room mystery, set deep in the bowels of the World of Darkness. Come; sit and despair with us.

Session Two:  7pm – 11pm

Game Five:  Savage Worlds

GM: Rich
Savage Worlds from Pinnacle Entertainment Group
Rules taught
3-5 players

Game Eight:  Star Fleet Battles :  Survivor!

GM:  Randy B

Publisher:  Amarillo Design Bureau

Basic rules understanding needed

4+ players

A hostile dilithium crystalline entity has assimilated a nearby convoy. Multiple ships from different empires have been sent to collect vast amounts of loot. Can you survive the monster and each other?

Game Seven:  The Tribute

GM:  Jason F
Pathfinder RPG by Paizo Publishing
Basic familiarity required, characters provided
4-6 Players
The Feast of the Dragon is interrupted by news that the envoy carrying the dragon’s tribute was ambushed! There are survivors, but the tribute must be paid. A 7th level Pathfinder.

Game Eight:  Eclipse Phase:  Mind the WMD

GM:  Derek S
Publisher:  Posthuman Press
Rules taught, no familiarity needed
Characters provided, percentile dice required
3-4 players

An introductory adventure into the world of Eclipse Phase. The party is sent on a mission investigating rumors of a black market weapons dealer offering some sort of devastating weapons technology for sale.

How I went about setting up South Bend Games Day

I thought I would share some of the experience thus far...

Several friends and I have been tossing around the idea of running a convention or games day for years. We've had several conventions in town over the years, but nothing recently. All of us have participate in conventions at different levels, whether helping to organize, running booths, advertising, setting up, or run events at the convention.

A few months ago, I said, "Fuck it, let's do this." I contacted close friends that I knew would help, if they had the time available. All of them immediately agreed to help out. The first two steps were accomplished: mission decided and accomplices engaged.

We immediately began strategizing for location, date, and most importantly...cost. You see, my goal was to set up a games day and run it as a free or nearly free event. We scouted out several cost locations and then took the idea of how to do it for free to the next level. We could contact the local libraries and YWCA, but their hours would limit availability of the space. We looked into club houses at apartment complexes, swimming pools, empty property, and restaurants with back rooms. Local game shops were the next target. The group is on good terms with both local shops. We simply asked the first location we happened to be in after deciding to run with this idea. The answer was a resounding yes. What about the other location? I have plans for that and I'll discuss them later in this post.

While we were beginning to brainstorm and research the whens, wheres, and how muches, we began to toss around names for game masters at this event. We knew we wanted to have 3-5 tables available for two different sessions of play. Of the group helping to organize this event, all four of us are capable of running games. If it came down to it, we agreed to run anything or everything needed to make this happen.

So, we had our location and date hammered out, we had a targeted list of potential game masters, now all we needed to do was get the word out.

I started a blog on Wordpress to function as a website. I began dropping ideas there as reminders for myself and the others. I would later delete these ideas as they were executed upon. Everything goes back to the site or the email being used as the primary contact (mine).

I Tweeted about it, blogged about it on my personal rpg blog, set up a FaceBook event, and blasted it out on Google Plus. Thus, it grew. Within a few weeks, other game masters were beginning to sign up and invitees were confirming attendance on the FaceBook page.

At this stage of planning, it is down to managing the GM sign up process, then setting up pre-registration for players, coordinating any last minute details with the shop owner, and making it happen. I'm really looking forward to the event, because I have plans for what comes next.

My ultimate goal was to successfully run a games day event, bring together people who don't know each other and could make new friends (or players!), start building interest in an actual convention in the future, and begin providing a road map for others to follow on what to do or not do, when organizing such an event.

I've never organized something like this before. I've helped George Vasilakos (Eden Studios) run his booth at GenCon and Origins, I've run it alone or with help at smaller conventions, I've organized and coordinated 20+ GMs running 84+ games at GenCon for Eden Studios, I've written con/one-shot scenarios and implemented them out to a team of people I've never met, I've playtested rules for rpg books, written for rpg books, edited and helped produce rpg books utlizing remote freelancers, choreographed stunts and fight scenes for feature-length and short films, performed stunts and fight scenes for said films, and even served as second unit director for said films. But this? Nothing like this.

This is close to home. This is people I know and respect. This is for people I could see any day at any time, because we live in the same community. This is new. The only thing that comes close to it in my life right now is my wedding...which is occurring two weeks prior to this event. It's a big month for me and mine. We aim high, we aim big, and we plan to bring it all in successfully.

All along this road, Steve, Lowell, and Jason have helped with brainstorming, leg work, and everything you'd want from a great team. My wonderful fiance' has been patient and offers to help when she thinks I need it. I couldn't ask for better partners in crime.



As to future events, well, I hope to do something like this nearly every six months. Unless, of course, someone starts up a local convention. I would like to coordinate it with "free rpg day" and have it occur at both game stores at the same time. Much like the fact that everyone has their favorite game, most have their favorite game shop, and I would like to see everyone benefit from this experience.

I am sure I have left out bits. Feel free to ask questions, if you have them.

And here's the second announcement you've been waiting for:

Game masters wishing to run events for Games Day in South Bend, Indiana should either reply to this post or email DerekAS@gmail.com .

There are two time slots available for games:
1:30pm – 5:30pm
7pm – 11pm

Tables and chairs will be set up for 4-person games. We can likely accommodate one or two larger games per session. Please contact us for details.

Interested game masters will need to provide the following information:

1.       Time slot desired

2.       Game to be played (title of the scenario or just the name of the game)

3.       Game system utilized

4.       Game publisher

5.       Familiarity required (none/rules taught, basic rules understanding needed, full understanding of the rules and setting required)

6.       Number of players (minimum-maximum)

7.       Description of the scenario for potential players (your “ad copy”), please keep it under 200 words

The sooner we hear from you, the sooner we can get players signed up to play!

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South Bend Games Day announcement

Announcing South Bend Games Day! Info first, links to various items at the bottom.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Coming October 13:  South Bend Games Day, a role playing game event hosted at Fantasy Games in South Bend, IN

Join us for two sessions of high adventure and gritty action starring your favorite role playing games. There will be two sessions for games and four games per session.

Interested GMs can sign up at the South Bend Games Day website or by emailing Derek (derekas@gmail.com).

Sign up for interested players will be completed in a similar manner, after we post the games for official sign up. We’ll do that just as soon as we have the GMs signed up!

Questions should be addressed on the SBGD website or via email to Derek. Fantasy Games is not managing this event, so they will be unable to properly assist you with questions related to the games.

Main Site

General announcement

GM announcement

Player announcement - coming soon