Convention Requirements

Because convention participation requires that we maintain a positive working relationship with convention leadership, volunteers must arrive a minimum of 15 minutes prior to their assigned shifts. Volunteers who no-call/no-show could be subject to being disqualified from volunteering at the specific convention or all conventions for a period of time up to permanent disqualification.

Behavior at a convention is another factor that needs to be considered. Each convention has their own rules and requirements around acceptable and unacceptable behavior. These are to be adhered to above and beyond what is in Paizo’s Code of Conduct. During health and safety emergencies, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the rules put in place may also require the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as masks and gloves, or social distancing as ways to mitigate the risks to all parties. These requirements from convention leadership must also be followed.

If someone is having a bad day at a convention, it can create issues for the players or others at the convention. If that bad day becomes a repeat issue, it could create ill will between convention leadership and the volunteer and/or AtlantaPFS. We need to put our best foot forward so we are continually welcome at each convention.

Volunteer Free Admission

Each of the 3 major conventions in Atlanta has their own requirements for free admission for volunteers. Because the requirement is to volunteer specific numbers of blocks or hours, the expectation is that, should a volunteer GM have their table not make as a result of low sign-ups, the volunteer GM checks in with the ranking Venture-Officer at the event to see if they can use them for another role (such as HQ). If the ranking Venture-Officer has nothing for the volunteer, they are then to check in with the TTRPG lead for the convention to see if they have anything the volunteer can do. If neither the ranking Venture-Officer nor the TTRPG lead for the convention have anything for the volunteer GM to do, the volunteer is considered to be dismissed for the slot.

The requirements from 2022 are listed below. If any of these requirements have changed, this page will be updated.
MomoCon – 16 hours (4 scenario blocks) of volunteer time for free convention admission. 28+ hours, mixed between gaming and HQ, would qualify for a comp hotel room.
Southern-Fried Gaming Expo – 3 hours of volunteer time gets you a free one-day pass to the convention. 7 hours of volunteer time gets you a free pass for the entire convention. 12+ hours of volunteer time scores you an invitation to Trooper Celebration event on Friday night at Murph’s in The Galleria Mall with food and drinks included.
DragonCon – Running 3 or more slots (5 hours each) of sessions gets you 6 regular game slots of tickets. Volunteer GMs may play at any table where there is space and it is below the table maximum, with or without tickets. 5 slots or more of volunteer time (5 hours each) qualifies you for a free badge for convention admission.

How do I volunteer?

Current volunteer process by convention

MomoCon
Sign up on the AtlantaPFS Volunteer Form.
Sign up on the MomoCon Eventeny Page (the link changes, so posting it here will lead to a page that is no longer available).
Sign up on the MomoCon Gaming Form (this link also changes from year to year).
Volunteer for a slot with the organizing Venture-Officer or via the MomoCon Warhorn page (this link also changes annually).
GMs should then create their tables/slots on RPGChronicles. The event code will link them all to the convention support dashboard.

Southern-Fried Gaming Expo
Sign up on the AtlantaPFS Volunteer Form
Sign up using the volunteer form on SFGE’s website
Sign up for slots on the SFGE Warhorn page (the link changes annually).
GMs should then create their tables/slots on RPGChronicles. The event code will link them all to the convention support dashboard.

DragonCon
DragonCon volunteering will be broken into two parts – 1 part for those volunteering for fewer than 5 slots, and 1 for those volunteering for 5 or more slots


Fewer than 5 Volunteer Slots:
Sign up on the AtlantaPFS Volunteer Form.
Sign up for slots on the DragonCon Planning Sheet the organizing Venture-Officer will create (the link will differ from year to year).
GMs should then create their tables/slots on RPGChronicles. The event code will link them all to the convention support dashboard.

5 or more Volunteer Slots
Sign up on the AtlantaPFS Volunteer Form.
Go to the DragonCon Volunteer site and click either New Volunteer Application or Former Volunteer Application. This will take you to the appropriate link on Eventeny, where you’ll fill out their form, selecting Campaign RPG as the department. If the department does not appear on the list, write it in when you get to the comments section of the form (these links change each year) , selecting Campaign RPGs as your department choice. If Campaign RPGs is not listed on your application, write it in, indicating this is the department you want.
Sign up for slots on the DragonCon Planning Sheet the organizing Venture-Officer will create (the link will differ from year to year).
GMs should then create their tables/slots on RPGChronicles. The event code will link them all to the convention support dashboard.

What happens next?

When you sign up on our form, it gives permission for AtlantaPFS to reach out to you via email to discuss the convention and take you through the next steps. The reason email is called out specifically is it’s easier for organizers to create a distribution list and maintain it than it is to go back and forth between email, Discord, phone, etc., to reach out to all volunteers.

When you use Eventeny to sign up for volunteer slots at a convention, convention leadership reviews the application and will either approve or reject, which will trigger an email to you.

If there is another required form for a convention, you will get feedback from whomever is maintaining the form. Note – with the exception of MomoCon, where the Campaign RPG Director is part of DDAL, we do not report to DDAL at any convention and are not required to fill out any DDAL forms.

There will be no feedback received either from the Warhorn site (except to notify you that you have been cleared to sign up for games) or the RPGChronicles site. It is critical that, on the RPGChronicles site, you input the correct event code for the convention, as the organizing Venture-Officer gets a convention support dashboard which allows them to keep track of tables being made as well as provides an easier way to report each completed table on Paizo’s website.

GM Specific Information

There are a number of different types of slots offered at conventions:
Full scenarios (4-5 hours each)
Quests/Bounties on demand (a 4-5 hour commitment where you make yourself available to run a quests or bounties when you reach enough interest)
Build & Play (a 4-5 hour commitment where you spend the first 3-3.5 hours helping players create characters and then run them through a 1-1.5 hour quest or bounty)
Interactive Specials (4-5 hours each, with multiple table GMs and one House/Overseer GM who acts as timekeeper, question resource, and keeps the session flowing).

As a GM, it’s important you are prepared to run your scenario. Make sure you review the scenario, do whatever prep work you deem is appropriate, come prepared with maps, minis, dice, etc., for the game, with extras for players to use as needed. Because convention slots operate on tight timetables, be as punctual as possible with your start and end times for the slot. Also, make sure you have the QR Codes printed out from RPGChronicles so players can access the sign-in sheet for the session. RPGChronicles is also how players will get their chronicle sheets after the session completes and how the organizing Venture-Officer will perform reporting to the Paizo website. You should have 2 copies of the QR Code available – 1 for your table, and 1 to give to HQ so players can sign-in prior to the slot beginning.

Bring New Player ID cards. We will have a number available at HQ, but, in the event players get to your table without having gone to HQ and need a new player ID card, you’ll need to make sure they get one. Keep track of how many new player IDs you hand out at your tables and have enough on hand to cover all seats for each slot you run.

If you are signed up for quests/bounties on demand or Build & Play sessions, have a few quests/bounties prepared to run. You should also be prepared to step in to run a session (from the list of scenarios for the convention) in the event a GM is unable to attend, or to step in to help staff the HQ desk if there is a need. During Interactive Specials, both HQ and any on-call GMs, whether because they signed up to be on-call only or because they are signed up for quests/bounties on demand or Build & Play, should be prepared to help with mustering for Interactive Specials.

Clean up your area at the end of the session. Don’t leave a mess for the next GM to

HQ Specific Information

Headquarters (HQ)

  1. Familiarize yourself with the RPG Chronicles Dashboard for the convention
    • You will have administrative access, so you will have the links and the QR Codes to give to each player for signing in
  2. Muster the players
    • Make sure players have a way to access the sign-in site (RPGChronicles) and point them to the site.
      • We will have QR Codes available at the HQ Table as well as at each game table for players to user their mobile devices to sign in.
      • If players do not have a mobile device to access the site, make sure the table GM is aware so they can sign the player in on their own device.
    • Adjust player table assignments if they are assigned to a table that didn’t make, if they are willing and still want to play, working with GM HQ to come up with the best possible resolution.
  3. Be patient, calm, and positive, especially during a stressful situation with players.
    • If things get to be too much to handle, do not be afraid to reach out for help
  4. Seat generic ticket holders after pre-purchased ticket holders (this currently only applies to DragonCon)
    • Seating generic ticket holders should take place up to but no later than 10 minutes past the schedule start time of the session.
  5. Be prepared to answer questions. That is probably at least 50% of what the position requires.
  6. Talk about/talk up PFS/SFS
    • The more interest you can help generate, the more players will possibly experience our games.
    • No matter how much you may get irritated by some of the questions, do your best to never let it show, but remember, you are also not there to take abuse. Before things get to that point, ask for help.
  7. Hand out new player ID cards
    • We will attempt to have a good number of new player ID cards available, both at HQ and at the tables
    • If someone comes up wanting to play but has never played before, be sure to give them a new player ID, one of our business cards/a link to the AtlantaPFS website, new player kit (if we have them for the event), and let them know about the Build & Play sessions we offer, as well as quests and bounties on demand.
    • Keep track of how many new player IDs you hand out. This number is required to be reported to Paizo in the after-action report the organizing Venture-Officer submits.
  8. Fill out log books/collect tickets/collect money (where required)
    • When collecting tickets, remember that pre-registered members get first priority for seats at a table.
    • Collect generic tickets from players at you seat them
      • Be sure to know the convention’s policy on how many generic tickets it takes to play a standard scenario vs. a quest or bounty, if the convention uses generic tickets.
    • Collect cash from players as you seat them at conventions where cash is accepted as a way to pay for gaming
      • Just as with generic tickets above, be sure to know the convention’s policy on how much cash it takes to play in a standard scenario vs. a quest or bounty.
    • Secure the tickets/cash so convention gaming leadership can collect it when they come around, typically near the beginning of every time slot
  9. Help with cleaning up at the end of your time slot
    • If there is another slot taking place immediately after yours, the clean up will be limited to your area.
    • If there is not a slot taking place immediately after yours, please help tidy up the gaming area where we are assigned
  10. Pass on any notes or important information to the next crew or to the organizing Venture-Officer or the Venture-Captain
  11. For some slots, there may only be an HQ and no GM HQ
    • Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you get overwhelmed
    • Reach out to either the organizing Venture-Officer or the Venture-Captain if you need to
    • If there is no GM HQ, you may need to perform at least some of the additional duties of GM HQ below
  12. Let the organizing Venture-Officer know your choice of reward for helping at the convention – PFS2 Achievement Points, SFS Achievement Points, or PFS1 Boons
  13. For Online HQ, these additional requirements exist for HQ:
    • Make sure players know which VTT their GM will be using and how they can access it

GM Headquarters (GM HQ)

  1. Check in your GMs as they arrive so you can verify all are present
    • HQ, the organizing Venture-Officer, or the Venture-Captain should let you know if a volunteer has called out for any reason
  2. Verify the GMs have their scenarios
    • If they do not, you may need to step in
  3. Make sure they set up a sign-in/chronicle sheet page on RPGChronicles
    • AtlantaPFS is going as close to fully digital as possible. The only paper chronicle sheets or boons should be for PFS1 sessions
  4. Make sure the GMs have anything else they may need to run their scenario
    • You should have most things they may need at the GM Table
    • Loan out minis and maps, as needed, having the GM sign them out and back in when they return them
  5. Be prepared to be a backup GM in the event of a GM backing out or not showing up
    • Familiarize yourself with the scenarios that are scheduled during your GM HQ slot or the convention, in general, and be prepared to jump in to run any of tehm.
    • If you are unable to run the specific scenario that is missing a GM, help reseat players at another table or offer to run a different scenario that you do have prepped.
  6. Pass out water and table awards to GMs, when available
    • A GM should receive a bottle of water per session at a minimum
    • Paizo vouchers or gift certificates should be given to the GMs to award to players at their tables
  7. Post the schedule for the next slot
    • If a GM in the next slot is currently running a session, try to keep them at the same table in the next slot.
    • Make sure the schedule includes the scenario number, name, levels, and the table number where it will be run.
  8. Pass on any notes to the next crew, the organizing Venture-Officer, or the Venture-Captain
  9. Help with cleanup at the end of your slot
    • If there is another slot taking place immediately after yours, the cleanup will be limited to your area
    • If there is not another slot taking place immediately after yours, please help tidy up the gaming area we are assigned
  10. For slots immediately preceding a special
    • Make sure the slot ends 30 minutes prior to the beginning of the special (remind GMs of the remaining amount of time)
    • Work with the Overseer GM on seating and on arranging the gaming area
    • Ensure that players with specific tickets for the special and its level range are seated before players with generic tickets or who are paying cash to play the slot (where generic tickets and/or cash are accepted)
  11. Reach out to either the organizing Venture-Officer or the Venture-Captain if you need to, no matter the circumstances (especially if there are issues)
  12. Let the organizing Venture-Officer know your choice of reward for helping at the convention – PFS2 Achievement Points, SFS Achievement Points, or PFS1 Boons

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