>And they're getting crap. I know there are people who say they can >take a scenario hot off the presses, throw the system out the window >and still run a great game - those people are wrong. If they're >lucky, they'll manage mediocre. If they know one of the scenario or >the system, they can get good, but the odds aren't in their favour.
I'd agree with that. Although those people can often run a game very well for their own friends in their own living rooms. I think a lot of people fail to realise that there is actually a difference between what you do with your friends in your own home and what you do at a Convention. >Without resorting to but-things-should-be-this-way logic, I can only >back up my opinions with what I've experienced. d3-1 good RPGs at >each Irish con I've been to this con season. 4 out of 4 great ones at >Conpulsion. I've found myself strongly favouring LARPs at Irish cons >because generally RPGs are a waste of time I've not played a sit-down RPG at a Con for some time. Mainly due to problems booking into scenarios written by people I know and trust to write a good scenario. Mostly I spend my Irish cons playing board games though I do book into LARPs. As someone who has written quite a few RPGs and LARPs, I'd consider them quite different beasts. In a number of ways. LARPs are more or less forced into the single table model and constrained by the number of people they can accomodate. That said, I've run very large LARPs at very big cons and, when I've done that, I've written full plot kits that can be run by any competent person (just like I've done for TT). but the fact is that those are the people there are to work >with. Something's gotta change, and if the people were going to, >wouldn't they have? I'm not sure. Con directors and RPG co-ordinators are managers, in a sense. And managers should be developing the talent. I actually think that this is the issue. Hilary
