Enbicon

Every year it is someone’s first year attending a convention and sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming.  So consider this as a friendly guide to how to get the most out of convention attendance.  This is by no means a policy guide or anything of that nature, just tips of things to do in the convention space.

1. Play Games!  A gaming convention like Enbicon exists to give people the opportunity to play more games.  Even if your normal gaming group is attending and the normal GM is running their normal RPG or Board game that you love, branch out.  Try something new.  The vast majority of games run at a gaming convention are there for people to try something new.  Never played a miniature game but it looks cool?  Talk to the person running the table about it and odds are there’s a time for demo games.  Heard good things about that new RPG that someone is running?  See if there’s space to sign up.  A convention is a low cost way to try a variety of games outside your normal.
2. Play with different people!  Even if you are dead set on playing D&D or Vampire or Twilight Imperium or whatever other game is “your game”, see if there’s a table where you can play with people outside your normal gaming group or friends group.  One of the best ways to grow as a player and as a GM is to play with other people.  Everyone brings something different to the table and every group has different dynamics.  Playing in or running a convention game is an amazing way to get different experiences.
3. Support the Vendors!  Conventions are expensive to put on, even a small one like Enbicon and the Vendors and Sponsors do a lot of heavy lifting to keep the costs as low as possible.  For Enbicon they let us charge the attendees half of what the ticket prices would be without them.  In return it’s nice to support them if you can.  If you know you’re going to be attending a convention and have the means to set some money aside for vendor support it’s highly encouraged.  Many of the vendors, especially for Enbicon, are small local geek centered businesses and convention support means a ton.
4. Volunteer to run something!  One of the reasons people attend gaming conventions is to try new games.  Role Playing games, card games, board games, miniature games, complex games, simple games.  If you’ve got a favorite game then offer to run it.  For many conventions it is better to contact them and schedule your game so you are guaranteed table space.  Some conventions also have dedicated space for “pick up games” where unschedule games can be run, though this usually works best with relatively quick board games and card games as it gives attendees something to do in between their scheduled events.
5. .Volunteer to help with the convention!  Many conventions, especially small local ones, are done by volunteers and it is a lot of work.  Not only leading up to the convention but also at the convention as they handle badge pickup, attendee registration, answer questions, serve as gofers and so much more.  If you can volunteer, work out specifics with the staff.  Volunteering “to do anything” is well meaning but it’s far better to say “I can work Registration for two hours on Saturday morning”.  If you are going to volunteer, make sure it is something you can commit to.  Volunteering and then missing your shift stresses out everyone.
6. Ask Questions!  Respectfully of course but if there’s a game that catches your eye then ask about it.  The GMs running games are doing so because they love that particular game.  They are, for the moment, unofficial ambassadors for that particular game.  It’s best to ask questions during the game setup or tear down and not during the game itself but sometimes people running board games will answer questions during play.  RPGs though you should wait but perhaps if there is a break you could talk to the GM.
7. Observe things!  Watching a game can give you a good idea as to what it’s like to play the game, what’s involved in the set up, how long it takes to play, how the turns work and so much more.  
8. Have fun!  Everyone at the con is there to have fun and play games and (generally speaking) talk about games.  People from all walks of life and of all ages come to conventions to share their passion for games – board games, miniature tactical games, card games, role-playing games.  Talk to the vendors about their wares, pick up a new game from one of them and then just ask “hey, who wants to try this?” and see what happens.

By Chris Fougere

Since we’ve been telling stories to each other, we’ve been telling scary stories. It only makes sense that sometimes when engaging in all of the many tabletop, collaborative storytelling games that we continue that tradition. There’s a unique exhilaration of being afraid, or of being brought into a narrative enough that you feel second hand fear and even dread for the characters you and your follow players are embodying. Take it from millions of horror fans all around the world in absolutely every culture film, prose, and games: horror is here to stay. As a storytelling device and genre, horror has been the tool by which people have been able to tell stories that traditional media simply refused to tackle. Adult themes of abandonment, religious abuse, racism, themes of sexual abuse, and other things more traditional storytelling sweeps under the rug in ‘good taste’, horror has seen fit to play front and center either literally or by weaving deep stories with nuance and careful consideration.

When we sit down at our home tables to discuss and play games with these themes such as Call of Cthulhu, Vampire the Masquerade, or Ruins of Symbaroum, we have the ability to directly talk with our players before the game begins, during session zero, and likely if you are friends away from the table have frank and friendly discussions about what you should and should not to at the table to meet everyone’s needs, comfort and limits. Sitting at the convention table however we lack a lot of that luxury. Characters aren’t being made, they are often handed out or chosen from a pile. Not every person is going to feel comfortable going over deeper limits or exploring their personal issues, let alone them to strangers. Elements of horror at the convention table need to be handled with care and precision – not only your players, but you too deserve to have your mental, social, and physical limits and space respected.

So what can be done?

Having been a lifelong fan of scares and frights, and a huge fan of sharing horror with my players, I’ve developed a quick start guide I use when doing something either short notice or for spaces like conventions where you have neither the luxury of access to your players ahead of time, or possibly zero control of the type space you’ll be assigned to run your game.

1. Know your personal Limits, and offer no Judgement to Others for Theirs
   
   At the very beginning when folks sit down, have them write things they hate about scary movies or games on a piece of paper or a cue card. On the other side of the paper, write your own limits and things you hate on the other side. Quickly compile the things people hate, and without saying who turned in what – have everyone agree that regardless of the kinds of monster they will be playing as, or fighting against, the group agrees to not cross these lines.
   
2. Be Up Front (Content Warnings Are Your Friend)
   
   When you sit down to write your scenario, think about what you are going for. Zombies tend to come with gore, vampires with topics related to consent, and slashers with both! A cosmic horror may involve disturbing imagery, and even ghost stories tend to lean on topics of tragedy, sometimes very real history (Candyman comes to mind as a ghost story that hits many triggers). When you post your game to the convention and put out a call for players, be very clear about what themes your game will be touching on.
   
3. Be Ready To Ad Hoc
   
   As Dungeon Masters and Storytellers, we all know there is a well practised skill with improvisation that really sets a dividing line between a massive failure of a session, to providing moments of incredible fun for us and our players. No where is ad hoc and improv more important than in horror. I say this because core elements of what you have written or prepped may suddenly become unusable once everyone is at the table. A moment that everyone agrees to simply ‘fade to black’ on that needs no description or discussion may be needed, room or scene descriptions may need to be edited live and wording may need to change on the fly. Why? Because your table has been placed next to a table of mostly minors on a Saturday afternoon, or a player at the table asked that cats and dogs not be harmed or that harm not be described. This sounds easy enough, but when running horror at convention, the instances of how often you may need to do it tend to be multiplied at a rate you may not have anticipated. Prepare for this however you can, possibly with a few extra pages of notes or multiple options or end states in case of player failure.
   
4. A Tight Grip, But A Light Hand

Horror isn’t for everyone at its most serious or darkest. Sometimes getting everyone together for a horror tale requires the gore and frights to take backstage to action or dramatic elements. Often one of the most effective elements of horror seems antithetical to table top games – the risk as reward of the dice translate well, but respect of player choice means that making your players feel moments of helplessness almost anti-game in nature. This means balancing that helplessness to rewarding players with ‘rays of light’ or ‘hope’ based not on clear deus ex machina, but by rewarding their choices. If someone selects a player character who is a soldier, something mundane but also extraordinary can totally turn the tides for players (IE: Resident Evil’s rocket launcher). If someone selects a character with faith (or True Faith in Vampire terms) then solutions to problems should exist entirely because of that choice should be made clear. Essentially, curate the experience based on the characters more than you might normally – this will give a cinematic feel that really has brought people to scary movies for decades.

I hope some or all of this is helpful as you navigate horror games, both at the convention floor, and in your own home games! Thanks for reading!

By Katherine Alexandria