Unseen Servant In-Person Gaming Convention

[OGRE MAGE]

After reading several posts on here regarding the prospect of holding our very own gaming convention, I want to start a serious, valid discussion about it again.....

I have attended several of these things over the last decade or so, and think I have a pretty good grasp on how this should be handled. I know we have other regular convention attendees here as well, so there should be plenty of help and advice if/when we get this off the ground.

I am guessing we would need it centrally located in the U.S. somewhere, since that is where most of us reside. (and at least one Mod) Those of you on the coasts or across the big ponds may have to do some traveling to get here in this case, unless you have a better idea as to the "where" part.

But.....before all that.....we better start with interest.

Who here would actually have interest in attending the Unseen Servant Gaming Convention if it were held say.....in the Chicago area somewhere? (is that centrally located?)

I am personally willing to put in the necessary effort to get this started, but only if we get enough serious interest from other people also willing to make it work.

Interest So Far:
Ogre Mage
Hotgoblin
ravenn4544
dmw71
Quonundrum
Bree-yark
Monsieur Rose


Definite Maybe
hedgeknight
Keehnelf
Stirling?
Scott308?
Rex?
gurusql?

[ravenn4544]

interested

[dmw71]

Who here would actually have interest in attending the Unseen Servant Gaming Convention if it were held say.....in the Chicago area somewhere? (is that centrally located?)

I am personally willing to put in the necessary effort to get this started, but only if we get enough serious interest from other people also willing to make it work.

I would definitely be interested as well. And would be more than happy to help facilitate it happening.

---

I know the possibility of an Unseen Servant Con has been raised/discussed at least a couple of times in the past, so I did a bit of searching.

Interestingly enough, you and I briefly discussed it back in 2016, starting here: viewtopic.php?p=237632#p237632

Here is the extent of the conversation that still exists in the Moderator Forums (which hasn't changed from what was shared in this post):

UnseenServant Con 1024.jpeg (128.32 KiB) Viewed 880 times

From the above screenshot:

• Sadly, the "this podcast" referenced in the "...check out the this podcast (from the 55:05 - 1:11:48 marks)..." line is broken, and nothing shows up on archive.org for it, either.
• The link about PaizoCon attendance still works.
• This PaizoCon 2008 link is still active as well (but two of the three links in the post are not).

But, yes, I would love to see this happen!

[Quonundrum]

Pencil me in. I'm in Ohio so it would certainly be within driving distance, at least.

[Marullus]

I think the last time we discussed, we had some central mass of people able to drive/Amtrak to Washington, DC.

Anyway, I will watch here with interest.

[Keehnelf]

If you all were willing to travel to Eastern Maine, I run a non-profit community/retreat center that could host a gathering of our size with lodging at very reasonable rates.

[Rex]

Eastern Maine would be easier for me.

That said, for me timing during the year is most important. Fall is my busy season and probably a no go but I wouldn't rule it out entirely.

I would like to attend and maybe I could get GreywolfVT to drive with me.

[gurusql]

I am a west coaster so would have a little more travel than most (to any of the locations mentioned). I would be interested, but realistically I would rate my likelihood to be lower than I would want. But still I would try and would be interested.

[Scott308]

I could possibly do the Chicago area, although it would really depend on when and where. My budget definitely does not allow me to travel much farther than that. Chicago itself would be cost prohibitive, but possibly a suburb? Somewhere northwestish might be best, since it would be closer to O'Hare if anybody was flying in.

[hedgeknight]

I would love to attend; just depends on how far it is for me, since I prefer driving. I'm on the NC coast. Are we talking 2025?

[OGRE MAGE]

Again, I only picked the Chicago area as a "centrally located" possibility. I am about 4 hours north of there myself, so it would be a long enough drive for me too.

I remember a few of those past discussions, but I don't think anything was ever attempted from them. So, I am willing to give it a try.

I will keep track of our tally here and if we get enough definite maybes, I will delve into the details a bit deeper.

Time and date is yet to be determined, obviously..... but we can certainly be somewhat flexible.

Please continue posting any new ideas.

[ravenn4544]

I suppose the assumption is that this a standalone event, right, and not part of an existing con? I like that idea as a con doesn't have much interest for me. The only benefit of aligning to an existing event is a distraction for those that want something else in addition to a game and it may provide some coordination of logistics (like a table in a room).

If we met at a hotel near an airport, as was suggested, it would certainly be easier and there would be a conf room available that would make a convenient gaming environment. it could be one night only could be two as folks can make work. I'm flexible on location. My wife would probably join me and she'll do something else in the area as she isn't a gamer. We're flexile on location.

Is OM volunteering to be the DM?

Probably too soon to being posing ideas of a game format, but I will anyway . It could be we do an adventure with all new characters, or maybe it could be where folks bring a favorite and familiar character from here that is adjusted to fit a game.

[Keehnelf]

I have to travel two hours from my house to get to an airport, so it would be hard—but theoretically I could plan to do a Midwest business trip right before or after whenever we set the date for—to save on airfare and extra travel time.

[OGRE MAGE]

Would that move you into the Definite Maybe category?

I would guess the format would look something like this:

Arrive on a Friday night (or Saturday morning) for a meet and greet and possibly a Friday game if enough are available.

On Saturday we would start off the official gaming with a couple morning games, run by whoever wants to. I would guess a good start time would be 9:00 or 10:00, and if we get enough interest, we could have multiple choices going on at the same time.

Then we would probably have a lunch break, with another slate of games scheduled for the afternoon, say like 4:00 to 8:00 or something close. We could schedule evening games for any late night folks, or keep that time open for socializing etc.

Depending on interest, we could do the same thing again on Sunday. Or, have morning games and keep that afternoon open for return travel.

I am guessing whichever template we use, it won't be ideal for everyone, but I would like to be able to accommodate any who would like to attend, so I want to keep the planning stage as flexible as possible initially.

Please keep the questions and comments coming. I like the way this is shaping up so far.

[Keehnelf]

I'm a definite maybe with enough advance notice.

[ravenn4544]

I like the block of times arrangement. Set times so folks traveling can plan to join what/when they can.

[Bree-yark]

Definitely interested.

[Monsieur Rose]

I'd be in.
I'm in DC and kinda want to do this as a vacation destination. OM, you do the Carribean, right?

[ravenn4544]

if we do this in the Caribbean i am definitely in. Just sayin'...

[hedgeknight]

Given enough advance notice, I can drive/fly just about anywhere...even the Caribbean!