What to Expect as a Gamemaster
U-Con is recruiting gamemasters for our 2015 convention. If you plan to come – November 20-22 – and are willing to volunteer your time and talents to bring your favorite games to U-Con, here are a few things to know.
If you are new to conventions in general, please read Convention Basics in 2015.
When you submit your event… it may take us a while to get back to you. Sometimes it feels like your events are in this black hole! If you feel like you don’t know whats going on, contact us either by [[contact us|our contact form]] or facebook. Facebook is better for general questions, as folks beside staff can respond to your questions. Using the form is helpful if you have questions about your specific schedule or situation.
We are in the scheduling phase right now. We are expecting a few event descriptions and working to finish a schedule. Once that is complete, we’ll open up events for preview. We’ll leave the preview up for 3 days before we open for preregistration purchases. We’ll notify you by email, facebook, g+, etc. when the preview is ready! During the preview, please look at your scheduled events and let us know if changes are needed. We will do our best to honor requests to move your games to other times to reduce conflicts, but please note this can have a ripple effect on the schedules of others.
When preregistration opens… other attendees will be purchasing badges and also tickets to your and other events. You also can purchase tickets to other events in our system. If you have already submitted a GM deposit, there is no need to add a badge to your shopping cart. If you have not submitted a GM deposit, you can select a gamemaster badge to include your deposit in the total.
When you arrive at the convention… please check in at U-Con registration in the Eagle Crest Conference Center on Thursday night 8-9pm or when registration opens in the morning (8am Fri/Sat and 8:30am Sun). The station for Gamemasters will be separate from onsite registration. We will have all of the materials you need printed out and ready for pickup. We will ask to see your drivers license, so we make sure to give the packet to the correct person. Tickets for additional events can be purchased at onsite registration. All proceeds cover the costs of the convention – we are a registered non-profit organization! We will give you some additional instructions at pickup time regarding ticket handling.
Before your event… be ready to lead, teach, and explain. Whether you are running RPGs, Board Games, or Minis, it’s your job to make sure everyone understands the rules and has a good time.
At the start of your event… wait 10 minutes to see if all your ticketed players show up. Be sure to let players with tickets into your event and allow players with generics to fill empty seats on a first-come first-serve basis. Some events may cost multiple generics. Please fill out the sheet we give you with attendance information and affix tickets to it.
During your event… enjoy! A runner may briefly interrupt your game to collect your attendance information.
When your event is completed… your event may be eligible for a prize, so please select a winner. If we didn’t manage to collect your GM info sheet, please turn it into registration, and bring your event winner there as well for a prize token. Please notes that some events will have alternate prize arrangements.
After your last event… return to registration before we close for the day (10pm Fri/Sat and 6:30 Sun) and ask for your GM deposit refund.
I hope this primer takes some of the mystery out of the process. We try to keep the process as straightforward as possible. Please contact us as questions arise. See you in November!