Hello GMs!
Welcome to the first installment of the GM Newsletter! I'm David "Pickle" Hendricks, your Outreach Coordinator, and these newsletters will enclose useful information, how-tos, and reminders as we gear up for Intercon X, then be archived so that GMs joining us later can refer back to them.
GM Comps
As our GM Coordinator Quinn has mentioned, running games makes you eligible for one free membership to Intercon for every 36 player-hours you're running. You can email the GM Coordinator to have these comps added to your game, and once you’ve done so, here's how to apply them to yourself or another GM!
From your event page, go to “Edit GMs”.
From this menu, click “...” next to the GM you wish to comp and select “Provide badge”.
Click the radio button to confirm and then press “Provide badge”.
You will see a check in the "Badge from this event" column.
GM Benefits, Policies, and Services
Make sure to check out the GM Benefits, Policies, and Services page! In addition to more details about the comp system, there is useful information about:
- Game registration and what restrictions are workable
- Expectations for communicating with players (short version: even if your game doesn't require any prep, at least touch base by early January to prevent them from worrying)
- How to deal with difficulties like canceling your game or players who just won't reply to your emails
- Restrictions on weapons, alcohol, lit candles, and wall-mounting props or documents
- What furniture may be available to be requested
- How to have food or beverages be available during your game (this can only be done through the hotel; do not serve outside food or drinks!)
Space Limitations
Sadly, we do not have infinite space and time available for LARP. As such, to efficiently utilize our space and ensure that Intercon is providing the greatest number of player slots possible during our prime time periods, certain games will have a lower priority of scheduling within those timeslots. Specifically: for Friday evening and Saturday afternoon and evening, games with low player density (such as small games running in larger spaces or boffer-style games) are less likely to be on the initial schedule during these times. Mornings, Midnights, Thursday, and Sunday are the best times for these games getting their ideal spaces, but we do have small spaces (such as hotel rooms and board rooms) available for running small games in. Additionally if you are willing to run your small game in part of a larger space alongside another small game, please indicate that in your event proposal! More information is available on the Proposal FAQ page.
Changes to Your Proposal
Please do not make structural changes to the game after it has been accepted without talking to the GM Coordinator! These would be changes to the game length or the number of players. However, adding GMs can be very easily done by yourself, and does not count as a structural change: if you refer back to the screenshots at the start of this newsletter, from the Edit GM screen, you can press Add GM to add someone as a GM, as long as they've logged into the Intercon X site at least once. From the Edit GM page, you can then click the “..”. and “Edit GM Settings” to set whether someone is publicly visible as a GM, whether their email address is publicly visible, and what sorts of convention email they should receive.
Thank you for your time! See you in the next GM newsletter sometime next month!
-David "Pickle" Hendricks
Intercon X Outreach Coordinator
