VA event
So, the event is over now. It was crazy, good, bad, everything and nothing.
Running a one-shot is exhausting work. Not only is there the logistical aspect: Making sure people are there, making sure they have characters, making sure there is a story to be experienced... There is also the existential fatigue of trying to deal with everyone's unique take on a universe that is utterly changeable.
Lowlights: I missed a MAJOR NPC and a villain PC. They showed up at 7:30, 1.5 hours after it was supposed to start. The villain, okay, shit happens, and I didn't have any special requirements but that he be on time. He wasn't. Well, I gave the job to someone else. No problem. He got to play a VA, end of story. The NPC, OTOH... I was supposed to meet with him on Friday. He No-call No-showed. When I called him, on Friday, inquiring after him, he said he'd be there promptly at 2:00 on Saturday, to discuss our plans for his character. At around 3:30, I called him, found out he would be there at 5:00. At 6:00, I called, and found out they would be there at 7:00 at the latest. They rolled in at 7:30, which is earlier than I was assuming at that point. I figured they just wouldn't show. Lesson learned: Always have a contingent plan for when things go wrong. Fortunately, we were able to make one of our STs into the NPC.
Highlights: We had a LOT of players. Many people came to the event, which is awesome. Most of them had a good time. We also had soem extremely good roleplaying. Of particular note: Pumpkin brilliantly played a mathematics professor who was an utter ass. Jessica played the consummate business-woman. Jes, Rick, Alex, Sonja all put in marvelous performances, as NPCs. Eli kicked some ass in his Etheric misanthrope. And, Matt was one of the best sports ever: We essentially bent his character over the table, and he took it like a man, and apparently had a great time. Everything I heard from the other STs was that he played damned well, too.
I'm glad people liked it. We worked like crazy on it, and it seems to have paid off.
Running a one-shot is exhausting work. Not only is there the logistical aspect: Making sure people are there, making sure they have characters, making sure there is a story to be experienced... There is also the existential fatigue of trying to deal with everyone's unique take on a universe that is utterly changeable.
Lowlights: I missed a MAJOR NPC and a villain PC. They showed up at 7:30, 1.5 hours after it was supposed to start. The villain, okay, shit happens, and I didn't have any special requirements but that he be on time. He wasn't. Well, I gave the job to someone else. No problem. He got to play a VA, end of story. The NPC, OTOH... I was supposed to meet with him on Friday. He No-call No-showed. When I called him, on Friday, inquiring after him, he said he'd be there promptly at 2:00 on Saturday, to discuss our plans for his character. At around 3:30, I called him, found out he would be there at 5:00. At 6:00, I called, and found out they would be there at 7:00 at the latest. They rolled in at 7:30, which is earlier than I was assuming at that point. I figured they just wouldn't show. Lesson learned: Always have a contingent plan for when things go wrong. Fortunately, we were able to make one of our STs into the NPC.
Highlights: We had a LOT of players. Many people came to the event, which is awesome. Most of them had a good time. We also had soem extremely good roleplaying. Of particular note: Pumpkin brilliantly played a mathematics professor who was an utter ass. Jessica played the consummate business-woman. Jes, Rick, Alex, Sonja all put in marvelous performances, as NPCs. Eli kicked some ass in his Etheric misanthrope. And, Matt was one of the best sports ever: We essentially bent his character over the table, and he took it like a man, and apparently had a great time. Everything I heard from the other STs was that he played damned well, too.
I'm glad people liked it. We worked like crazy on it, and it seems to have paid off.