The Conclave

Autumn Conclave 2011
October 29th 2011 at Warhammer World

Event Briefing (http://www.mediafire.com/?q2mnxtvhb4s4mlk).
Fluffy thread thing (http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1620.0).

Possible Attendees:
Aurelius 12
Bloodpact
Brother_Brimstone
Canis-Sapiens
Cortez
DapperAnarchist
Dan (via e-mail)
Flinty
Greenstuff_Gav
Holiad
JoelMcKickass
Kaled
karandras_sh
Lacerto
mattausten86
Myriad
Necris
Priesty Tom
RobSkib
Shannow
Stormgrad
Van Helser

Red indicates attendees who have volunteered to GM.

~~~~~

Earlier version of post:

Now, I nominated myself for running the Autumn Conclave, so...

Obviously, we're talking half a year off here, but previous experiences have taught us that the WHW bookings fill up way in advance, so it won't hurt our choice of dates to be thinking enough in advance.

I've sent an email inquiring about available dates (EDIT: Dates volunteered, see bottom of post), looking for dates in the traditional "Autumn" of Sept-Nov, but we may have to be open minded about late August and early December if they don't give us many choice.
I will update this thread as and when I get a response (even if that means I have to actually ring them, and I hate phoning people). However, feel welcome to post your interest and/or dates you definitely will not be able to attend.

I can start by saying that 24th Sept is unlikely, as that clashes with my yearly steam locomotive chasing and may well clash with Games Day too, but if it's otherwise the most popular choice, I'll consider it as a possibility.

EDIT: Date now confirmed. October 29th. Be there, or be declared Excommunicate Traitoris.

~~~~~

On another side of things, I've already got some of the basic story drafted up (although I have yet to decide whether it's going to be set around a campaign against traitors or against Eldar - the latter would be an excuse to make an Eldar Guardian model, then cast up a couple of squads of NPC Eldar. Obviously, if I did that, the casts would most definitely not be made available for purchase, because that would be wrong), as well as plans for the grand finale.

At some point, I may be on the prowl for a co-GM, but that will depend on the format I choose for the event. I am considering both:

- I (and any co-GM) write all scenarios and each person is assigned one to run. This may be slightly dictatorial, but just giving a GM a campaign pack to choose from can mean players end up in the same scenario twice, which may not be as fun for the players.  The other thing is as the first games will be about winning support for the finale, I can't really have two opposing players both winning the support of the same NPCs.
(Alternatively, I may make a campaign pack but with first-come-first-served on each scenario.)

- Each person will write the scenario they will run, and I will act as something of an editor, steering them away from things outside the event's theme and perhaps feeding them ideas. This will probably save the requirement for a co-GM, but I may still need to nudge one or two willing people into writing their scenarios on a tighter theme to plug holes in my plot. ("Run a scenario to secure control of a Damocles Rhino" is a possible example)

Are there any votes on that one? The first should allow a more coherent campaign, but the second would allow a wider variety of ideas and GMs to be more familiar with their scenarios in advance.

Now, as I'm talking about GMing...
... because I intend to be GMing for the whole day, not every attendee will need to GM and there will be a number of "get of of jail frees".
If they want them (and will be attending), I'd like to offer the first two of these to Kaled and Van Helser - as Dave has run the last two events and Ruaridh is running the Summer 'Clave, it seems fair they get some time off to use their characters.

As long as its not on the 26th of september i should be able to attend,cos as cool as my wife is i think she would kill me if i missed our wedding anniversary!!

cheers
matt

I suggest the second option - give people a theme, details of the scoring system, and any other parameters their scenario will need to comply with and let them come up with something.  There were some great scenarios at the IGT, so why not let people flex their scenario writing muscles once again - plus it'll save you a load of work and mean the scenarios can be a lot more interesting.  If you write the scenarios and the GMs only see them right before the game then the scenarios can't be too complex - they need to be easy for the GM to pick up and run.

I would consider giving people the very basics of of each scenario and let them build upon that theme

It gives a flavour and depth beyond a strictly written set of scenarios

You could even go a far as when sending out the campaign pack include an individual scenario brief for each player.

Also expressing interest I should be able to make any time after October 22nd

I think I'm going to try and make an appearance at this (depending on where I'm working and if I've already got the family holiday over and done with) - in other words, the later the better for me.

The idea of individual scenario outlines, perhaps with some general/specific do's and dont's, sounds like an good midway point; allowing Marco to retain some control, but letting the individual GM's to unleash the torrent of thier creative effluvia.

Of course, that may involve a considerable amount of work for Marco, but that seems to be par for the course on his part!

i can not do the 25th of september but im up for any other day in the sep/nov period

Quote from: mattausten86 on March 29, 2011, 07:10:18 AMAs long as its not on the 26th of september

That's a Monday, so it definitely won't be on the 26th. (The 24th is also unlikely, as I said in the first post).
I'm going only for Saturdays, as train links are awful on Sundays - and for the people who need to make it long distances back, they probably need the Sunday to get themselves ready for the next work week.

For reference, the Saturdays in the autumn (none of which have yet been offered by WHW) are:
September: 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th
October: 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th
November: 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th

~~~~~

It seems, thus far, that allowing each person to write the scenario they will GM is the most popular option.
That works for me. I'll need to check over the scenarios for appropriateness, but it should save me needing to write in excess of a dozen scenarios.

However, it does still have an issue.

The planned event format is a number of opening games, then one big multi-table finale where objectives on each table will affect play on each of the others. Now, I will have to write all of of the finale games so they link together, and it will eat up the last game session of the day, so...

...For example, if I run a four game day, 11 players turn up, and I GM for three opening games, and then hand out scripts for the other two tables in the finale, this will mean only 6 people will get to GM their own scenarios. I don't want to leave five people with hard work that they didn't get to use, so I will need to:

- Tell 5 people in advance: "Don't worry about writing a scenario - I'll only give you one to run if we end up short of GMs".
- Step back from running any of the opening games (unless the numbers work out better for me to do so), and only tell two people: "You won't need to write a scenario, that'll be covered by the finale."
- Make it a five game day and I step back, not running any of the opening four games (again, unless the numbers work out better).

I then run the finale with the other tables GMed by either volunteers or people randomly press-ganged from those who didn't earn a place on the finale's "central table".

The second solution will give most people a chance to GM. The final solution will give everyone a chance to GM, but will make games that much tighter - and I find that four games in a day already makes for short games.

However, either of the options where I'm not GMing all the time will give me more time to run the event side of things and take more pictures. I'd perhaps rather have more part in actually running the games, but I'm prepared to go that way if it's going to be better for everyone else.

(There is also the five game and I GM option, which would only leave three people with no scenario to GM.)

Any votes?

Having run a conclave event I'd now go with the last option, in not running any of the leas up games and instead acting as an arbitrator of events sending people to tables ect ect and only run the final big game(s) myself (or with the aid of a few others)

The other way meets have been run is with people volunteering to be GM's for the first set of games an then taking a step back for the final (which can leave them at a loose end as they want to play but also want to watch the final game)

A method I've been toying with is

Giving a brief outline of the scenario to players

Give the outcome to the players

Let the players fill in the gap between outline and outcome

Quote from: Necris on March 29, 2011, 05:42:13 PMHaving run a conclave event I'd now go with the last (third) option

I'm very wary of a five game day. The four game IGT often struggles for gaming time, so trying to squeeze in another game is probably going to cause even more "we almost got to the objective, but not quite"s.

I almost think I'd rather go with option 2 (four games, and me only running the finale), and reserve a couple of slots for people who don't need to GM - this would cover any late additions to the event who didn't have enough time to script a scenario, or for people who I think deserve a break from running games.

Quotewhich can leave them at a loose end as they want to play but also want to watch the final game

For the finale, I want to give everyone that choice. The top three players will automatically get themselves a place on the "centre" table, which I will run. Anyone else is either welcome to watch, or to get shuffled onto side tables to take part - if slightly indirectly.

But I am anticipating that there will be spectators for the central table, so not all the side tables will get filled.  And that's fine - spectators with cameras will save me needing to take as many photos and give me more time just getting on with the game.

However, I promise there will be a big battle report, so anyone who does take part on the side tables won't miss the story on the main table!
But as part of that, I am going to have to insist that at least one person on each of the side tables (if there are any) is prepared to give me a heap of photos and a good write-up, 'cos I won't want to miss what happened in those games either!

~~~~~

Also, it seems that GW has confirmed the Games Day date. My mistake. 25th September, so I think that basically rules out the 24th.

I wouldn't worry about having some people write scenarios and not getting to run them - it's more likely that you'll have people who haven't prepared a scenario - people had months to prepare for the IGT and more than one person made something up on the day or the night before. Plus I'd hope a couple of new players would join us and they probably won't want to GM.

I could be wrong, but it normally seems that people prefer to play rather than GM so When I ran the Spring Conclave I GM'd so as many people as possible could play.

Quote from: Kaled on March 29, 2011, 07:25:07 PMPeople had months to prepare for the IGT and more than one person made something up on the day or the night before.

Guilty, but that's more because of my misfortunes!

QuoteI could be wrong, but it normally seems that people prefer to play rather than GM so When I ran the Spring Conclave I GM'd so as many people as possible could play.

Yes, but it changes a bit when the players are running their own scenarios rather than just picking them out of a campaign pack.

Still, that's a fair point. Options 1 and 2 are not necessarily mutually exclusive. If combined, I guess you get this:

A four game day, where whatever happens, I head up the finale (looking for volunteers to run any side tables people want to play).

Anybody is welcome to nominate themselves for one of the GMing slots in the lead-in games - providing this is enough in advance, they will write their own scenario, with a little guidance from me.
I will fill in as many of the remaining time slots (if any) as possible, but I may have to pull names and pre-written scenarios out of a hat if I haven't got enough GMs.

That should hopefully both account for people who just want to play, and those who'd like to stretch their GMing muscles a bit.

And so that GMs don't harm their chances of placing in the finale, they will be compensated with a few points towards their score. Not as many as they would get for winning a game, but more than they'd get if they lost - we'll assume that as they GM, their characters are off concerning themselves with less violent politics and accruing favour within their relevant factions.

Im happy to GM this event if it means i can have a get out for next time :P

I need to get more GMing under my belt, but wouldnt mind a bit of help with the scenario, to avoid as much 'making up on the spot' as possible.

I'm always happy GM'ing and writing scenarios. It's what I do for my current circle of gamers, so I'd be glad to carry it over to any Conclave events.

As a side note, what about having anyone who didn't make it onto the 'central' table in the finale still able to affect the final outcome, but indirectly? Say the finale involved fighting their way into a sacred chapel through a horde of plague zombies (gav? :) ) and the three warbands who didn't make it to the central table can fight over control of an Earthshaker emplacement - those in control get to fire at the end of every turn on the central table..

Also, how about giving experienced players the chance to share GMing duties between them - that way they can all play if they want...

Quote from: RobSkib on March 29, 2011, 10:12:34 PM
plague zombies (gav? :) )

What? (http://www.buildyourimagination.co.uk/minis/gallery/inq/archive/zombies.jpg) :lol:

Heh, November 5th would either be ideal or terrible for me - its the day after my 25th. But I would love to go, if it works out.

Quote from: Bloodpact on March 29, 2011, 08:24:27 PMIm happy to GM this event if it means I can have a get out for next time

Well, that's entirely up to the overlord of the next event! :P

Either way, don't forget that Van Helser's Summer Conclave will come first. I've just posted my thread before him.

QuoteBut wouldn't mind a bit of help with the scenario

No problem - I'll be on hand for that whatever. But I'm not going to start passing out briefings until we know both a date and we're closer to it. I really don't want people to get bored with their ideas before even they get anywhere near the event.

A big theme of this event will be the Inquisition pulling rank and securing different resources for the finale.
I will supply most of these (My 54mm vehicle collection will hopefully be pretty numerous by then, so those'll make up some of the scenarios), but GMs are of course encouraged to suggest any relevant resources they may have too.

But, as each resource can only be won once, GMs who sign on later in the creative process will have less choice about which resources they might want to write for (not that every scenario will necessarily be based around such things).

Quote from: RobSkib on March 29, 2011, 10:12:34 PMAs a side note, what about having anyone who didn't make it onto the 'central' table in the finale still able to affect the final outcome, but indirectly?

That's most definitely the plan.

Right now, the plan is for players to split off into factions, and then secure resources (for their faction) in the lead-in games.

Many of these resources will go straight to the central finale table to support whichever player won leadership of that faction (which will be by greatest success in their games), but players on the other tables will have the chance to assist their allies on the centre table. This may be by:
- Putting off table resources to use (not every resource secured will necessarily be on the centre table!) or disrupting an opponent's off-table resources. e.g. Somewhat like your Earthshaker example.

- Disrupting the centre table resources of their enemies/Protecting the centre table resources of their allies.
This might be an assault on a command centre to start issuing contradictory orders ("SQWAD! CAMP IT! UP!" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol5Dfs7jqFI)) to a platoon of guard on the main table.

- Or securing the escape for their main table allies! This may be represented by the Land Speeder Storm I've got blueprints for (or maybe even a Valk, if I get around to making one of those/if Kaled wants to lend his.)

I've not sorted it all out yet, and it will partly depend on what the other attendees want to write in their scenarios, but any side games will definitely start to provide/remove bonuses/caveats on the main table.
But it's yet another attempt at a solution to a big all-in finale. We can't get everyone on the central table (even if only using one character, as Spring 2010 sorta proved), but I also don't want to leave people out if they want a part in it.

So, mega multi-table game. I may have to write the timetable to give a bit longer to run such a large game, but we won't need the kind of results calculation the GT needs, so finding an extra half an hour to do the game wouldn't be too hard, provided it's a four game day.

~~~~~

On other news, I've talked myself out of setting the campaign around/in a conflict against Eldar.

While it's tempting, fewer players will have suitable models they can use from their own collections, where as more people will have traitor/heretic/Chaos themed models on hand.
I may still include Eldar as a bit part (they do so like poking their nose into things!) if I find the time to do the necessary modelling, but they will no longer be the main antagonists.

EDIT:

Quote from: Kaled on March 29, 2011, 10:22:01 PMAlso, how about giving experienced players the chance to share GMing duties between them - that way they can all play if they want...

Possibly. But that might need a little shuffling of players to try and get "the experienced ones" on to the same tables.

Also, it's hard enough to behave myself as it is! You mustn't tempt me with the idea of GM/Players... I've got so many characters I want to get some play time with. (I was really disappointed that I hadn't got Jax's model done when I had to search for backup characters for the GT. She was great fun in my few test games, but I've still not finished her model...)
I'm going to have to try to behave and hope we don't have another dearth of events like we did last year - because I'm going to want to show you lot the rest of Marco's warband, finally get Maya to a game at a 'Clave event, Katlien's warband, get to work on Hotblack Desiato, I'm going to have to start thinking about a Tau warband now I've got the models, I want to do something Eldar-ish, Fischer Monkshood needs to come to life, etc, etc, etc....

I wouldnt mind a turn at GMing for one of the lead in games

I'd love to do some GMing too. I think that's probably where my strength lies!

Have you heard anything back about dates yet?

Quote from: Kaled on March 30, 2011, 09:58:09 PMHave you heard anything back about dates yet?

Not yet.

My previous emailings to GW have shown they're not necessarily the fastest, so I'm not too surprised. But it may still just be time to try the more direct approach (either the guy you gave me an e-mail for or just calling them, as much as I hate phoning people.)

~~~~~

And it seems we have quite a few willing GMs. I won't start a GMing list until we've got a date and I know those people can make it, but we seem to be doing well.
We'll still probably need a couple more, but if we get them, I should be saved from needing to rope anyone into being a co-GM for the day, or springing GMing on anyone on the day.

Quote from: MarcoSkoll on March 30, 2011, 02:42:28 AM
On other news, I've talked myself out of setting the campaign around/in a conflict against Eldar.

That's a real shame, I was looking forward to having an excuse to finish painting / building my Eldar figures. Currently I've only finished 2 out of 10 models. I guess I should still finish them anyway ;)

Go for it. I've not written out the chance that Eldar might still have an involvement - in fact, they probably will.

However, there are probably far fewer Eldar models in people's collections than those which can serve as traitors, heretics and their like. So in the event people want to introduce some of the "bad guys", I'd rather not have to have three score of different Eldar models on hand to account for people's tastes.

Heck, people are already looking at me funny for the suggestion that I do even a single warrior from each of the Aspects. And even if you include the Shadow Spectres from Forge World, that's only nine models.
Well, maybe only eight. I may not do the Shining Spears, because a mounted model would be a problem in games. Perhaps for the sake of a complete set, but I think I'd also have to do an unmounted one to go with it.

Still no response. >:(

Time to go on the offensive.

by this i assume your phoning GW today?

If a little slow, GW have now responded to my email! They've offered October 8th and October 29th - although we may be able to badger them for other dates if we have to.

So, a show of hands please for who can make the 8th Oct, the 29th Oct or both (but state preference if you have one) - preferably as soon as possible so we can get it booked before someone else nicks our places.

One note: October 8th is also already listed on their events PDF as a WHFB Throne of Skulls weekend, so it might be busier/noisier. However, a WHFB event shouldn't affect the availability of that old favourite of grimy industrial terrain.

I could happily do either of those dates (depending on whether anything happens closer to the date obviously) but sounds good!

Either date should be fine for me.

of those two i could only do the 8th Oct.

As the 8th is my mothers birthday I suspect I may be a little busy. That said I wouldn't write it off as an impossibility.

Right then, I've started a tally in the first post... keep the votes coming.

29th of October is best for me as I'll be employed in a wholly more flexible job than the one I'm currently in.

Im fine with either date, although the 29th is financially more suitable

At this stage, I think I can make either.

That's decisiveness for you...

29th - the 8th is just after I start university.

Either is fine for me.  8)

I can do both, it'd be good to do finally get to a Conclave.

Either date is good for me

Okay... I know we've not had ballots in from several of our regulars, but I've now got ten votes for the 29th. That's enough to edge out the eight for the 8th, and enough that I'm not worried about not having an event.

The 29th is the marginally less convenient date for me, as it's a school holiday, so the family will be narrowboating and I'll have to get a train back home from London on Friday evening - but this is no big deal and at least means I can be pretty sure there'll be a car free. (Should save me having to carry everything on the train.)

Anyway, I'll give it the rest of today and perhaps tomorrow to see if we get any more votes in, but short of a voting frenzy or GW suddenly vetoing it, I expect it'll be on the 29th.

I should be good for the 29th!

cheers
matt

Okay, in the absence of any additional votes for the 8th, the e-mail has gone in to book 8 tables for the 29th of October. In other words, voting closed.

So now it's time to wait for the confirmation...

Realy >:(Annoyed >:(Live >:(Up >:(North* >:(Can't >:(Get >:(to WHW >:(Ever
Scottish north not England

Any chance of one in Geneva any time soon?  :-\ I can offer fondue and great French wine?

Otherwise I won't be able to make it for the forseeable future.

Quote from: Inquisitor Octavian Lars on May 02, 2011, 08:51:20 AM
Scottish north not England

didn't we have someone at the GT from the Far North?

looks like i'll be going :)

Quote from: Ulgavitch on May 02, 2011, 10:04:28 AM
Any chance of one in Geneva any time soon?

Yes - if you organise it...

Quote from: greenstuff_gav on May 02, 2011, 10:26:53 AM

Quote from: Inquisitor Octavian Lars on May 02, 2011, 08:51:20 AM
Scottish north not England

didn't we have someone at the GT from the Far North?

Im 13 and my mum won't let me.

QuoteYes - if you organise it...

That's a very fair point. I had assumed as a relative new-comer no-one would turn up. But if that's not the case, I'll get settled and then see what I can organise - a pan-European conclave, perhaps?

Quote from: greenstuff_gav on May 02, 2011, 10:26:53 AM

Quote from: Inquisitor Octavian Lars on May 02, 2011, 08:51:20 AM
Scottish north not England

didn't we have someone at the GT from the Far North?

looks like i'll be going :)

If Octavian Lars can trump Inverness for latitude then I'll be impressed!

Travel for me is tricky - flights and hotel accommodation are necessities - but playing at WHW is not impossible for a Scot...

And then saw there was a fourth page on the thread!  Relying on someone else to pay for the travel makes it doubly impossible!

Oh, and it would seem I haven't replied to this thread, but yeah, I should be there.

Ruaridh

Elgin, Would like to meet up with you in aberdeen sometime.

As this has been kicked, a word of warning to those trying to set up events. Don't email WHW for bookings, as it's now 19 days since I tried to confirm the 29th.

I've been putting it off, because I am very uncomfortable with making phone calls, but I now have no choice but to ring them. Here's hoping they haven't booked the slot for someone else while they've been ignoring me.

@Octavian Lars - Word to the wise: whilst Ruaridh is an entirely reputable and excellent chap, I know that, but you don't and, as we all now know you are a minor, arranging games - even at a safe and neutral location such as a GW store - with people you don't know is not to be encouraged.

We get used to INQ fans being older gamers, but need to be aware of the needs of our younger members when arranging meets.  The IGT is explicitly for players aged 16 and over, but organizers of other meets might want to include riders that persons under that age be accompanied by a responsible adult.

R.

Robey's right - outwardly, there's all kinds of potential issues with organising meetings over the internet.  Of course, we want to encourage Inquisitor gaming, and don't want to go all Daily Mail but anybody could be lurking on a forum. 

As for getting through to Aberdeen (I assume you mean the GW) - it's a direction I seldom go.  The demands of working life get in the way of potential gaming nights through there too.  Unfortunately, for the time being my gaming opportunities are limited (rather bizarrely) to rare trips to Nottingham!

Ruaridh

It was a nice idea and i know that from PSE at school. I am organising a game this sunday if you would like to come. The club is mostly adults. Contact me by PM if you want further details.

...can we perhaps keep this thread slightly more dedicated to the Autumn Conclave?

~~~~~

Now, good news!

After ringing WHW, and a slightly roundabout deal where I got a girl who was handling calls for the Events Team while they were in a meeting, I have just been rung back by the team.

We are now finally booked in for eight tables on October 29th.

At present, I've told them we'll be using Bugman's for lunch, but I can/will amend that if we suddenly end up with more than 20 people or if people particularly want something different.

Huzzah, it's in the diary.

If you're still looking for GMs etc. the feel free to PM me when you've got more concrete details, I know it's a way off but I like to plan these things!

You chose the weekend of SWMBO's birthday.  Suffice to say, I'll not be able to make it, as I value my life.

R.

Splendid! I don't know if it's against forum protocol, but would you be able to bump this thread every so often with a countdown as a gentle reminder for those who forgot already (heh) and for those who might have missed it first time round?

I know the 'clave amongst many others frowns upon resurrecting old threads, but it'd protect it from being dragged back from the dead a few weeks before the deadline. Just a thought.

Quote from: precinctomega on May 03, 2011, 08:54:06 PMYou chose the weekend of SWMBO's birthday.

... entirely based on the votes I got in. Not being clairvoyant, I can't guess which dates are best for people who don't tell me.

I probably should have left voting open longer - but still, I'm happy with the current number of possibles.

Quote from: RobSkib on May 03, 2011, 09:02:10 PMWould you be able to bump this thread every so often

I will probably be providing running fluff as part of the lead-in to the event anyway - either in the IC or the Carthaxian Conclave thread, depending on how much of it I write.

But yes, there will be reminders as we go, because I know this thread went up very early by the normal standards of our event planning.

Quote from: Aurelius 12 on May 03, 2011, 05:03:23 PMIf you're still looking for GMs etc. then feel free to PM me when you've got more concrete details

Don't worry, the campaign pack will be announced in this thread, and I'll start looking for GMing volunteers at the same time.

When, I don't know, but it will be with plenty of time to spare.

Whilst i can't make the summer conclave (Bisley, good for me, bad for my hobbies), i'm going to do my utmost to get to this one. My anniversary is on the 24th, but my otherhalf is living in Australia for 6 months, so i'll be able to come.

Just out of curiosity, how many models would it be worth bringing down? I should, theoretically, have 7 by then, all of them completed, though, considering i've spent 6 months doing 2, i'm not so sure...

It'll be much the same as the 2010 Spring Conclave.

That is, each player will have their Principle Player Character who'll have to be in all games (and will heal automatically between them), but they'll be able to pick up to two henchmen from their pool of reserves (who will have to miss a game if too heavily injured).

So, if you can muster them, it's probably worth having four (one PPC and three henchmen) - that'll give you a spare if henchman has to miss a game, and won't leave you completely ronnied if two henchmen go down.
Bring more if you want though. As long as you're not bringing along several dozen characters from a wild range of different warbands, it's fine by me.

I've got 3 sorted, i'm in the middle of re-writing the PPC's background now, and the other two should be up as well (if the Rule Book downloads properly, stupid new flat and it's crappy internet). I'm literally debating which I should make next, out of the ones 4 i've got left, though i was going to post a little bit of back ground about each one and leave it up to a vote.

Thanks for the help, i'll have the rest of them sorted as soon as possible.

Hello gents and considerably less numerous ladies.

I'd been leaving this until after the Summer Conclave, and as that was done a week ago today, here is the opening fluff for the Autumn Conclave (http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1620.0) (Discussion here (http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1621.0), if necessary). If it's too wordy for you, don't worry, the campaign pack will include an abridged version.
The lengthy versions are for the people who fully fancy getting their teeth into my questionable writing.

That's your "basic" introduction to the event. Of course, this is early days yet (16 weeks yet to go), so there are many more hints to come as to the possible true nature of the Corporal (not to mention a number of hints on the day as well). I'm not giving it away yet. In fact, I probably won't necessarily be sure about it myself until the day. All in the name of what makes the best story.

The main campaign pack will be with you... um... probably next week, and that will provide anybody who wishes to write their own scenarios with the information they'll need to do so.

~~~~~

Now, I am currently looking at the possibility of finding lodgings in Nottingham.

As most of you will know, I normally don't sleep well the night before events, so I'm considering heading up on the Friday to get some kip without fear of missing trains and then run a less disorganised game day for you all.
Also, if enough people want to hang around into the evening, I'm also willing to find somewhere to stay on the Saturday night so I can hang around in Bugman's/for evening gaming.

I'm not sure on the idea yet, but it seems there is a Travelodge less than a mile out from WHW with fair enough prices, so it is a possibility. (If anyone has suggestions for better lodgings, I'll consider those too... Where do you normally stay Rauridh?)

the castle marina premier inn is where rauridh usually stays and its where ive been considering me and beth staying for the autumn clave i believe for the two of us for 3 nights is £164 so for yourself for one or two nights in a single room would likely be cheaper and if rauridh does not mind or someone else is staying over theres the possibility of a twin room and splitting the cost

I thought it might have been. I did look at the Premier Inn, but it's a bit more costly than the Travelodge, and as I really only need a place to crash, I think I can probably do without the extra amenities.

Of course, if anyone is showing up on the Friday, hanging around into Saturday evening or will be staying on Sunday, that's a lot of extra gaming hours. And I'm certainly willing to share a Travelodge room or something if there's someone else who'd like to stay over the Friday/Saturday nights.

If we did want to do that though, it would be worth setting up a good way in advance, so we could ring WHW and ask if they can spare a couple of tables for the Sunday.

well i think the plan for me and beth if that is what we do is to get together with everyone friday night do the clave on saturday then maybe find some where nice  in town for us to have a dinner together and look around nottinghamthen go home on the monday, however i dont see why i cldnt squeze maybe an extra 2 or 3 games in

Not really a huge problem if there's not a full Sunday of gaming - I'll probably be getting an off-peak return, so there's no shortage of options to get me home early if needs be.

But that said, if there's not going to be enough people to keep entertained on Saturday evening or Sunday, then I'm not going to feel compelled to pay for a Saturday night stay...

well sunday afternoon evening we was planning on sight seeing saturday night im happy to hang around and play more games maybe even do some dh or something else depending on what evertone else wants to do

As Shirley says, it's the Castle Marina Premier Inn where I usually pitch up. I've found Travelodges to be horrible the length of the country, including the Nottingham city centre one. The Premier Inn does a stonking breakfast and has a Pizza Hut, MacDonald's and an attached restaurant to choose from in a fifty yard radius. I looked at B&Bs in the area too and was disappointed to find them not much cheaper than the Premier Inn and further away.

As for what nights I'm staying in Nottingham in October, I'm not sure yet. Flying from Inverness to either Gatwick or Luton looks to be a fraction of the price of flying to Birmingham as I have been, so I may spend Friday elsewhere. Hopefully I'll have come to a decision soon.

Ruaridh

The Nottingham Riverside Travelodge isnt too bad, and is about 10mins walk from WHW. Its where i used to stay (and my contemporaries still stay) for events at WHW. Its usually nice and cheap if you can get a bunch of guys and book a family room. The staff barely speak english, let alone challenge the fact that one of our 4 always had to try and look 15...

There's a chance I'll be able to make this.  I'm jonesing for some INQ fun and need a reason to finish the several minis on my desk that have been languishing there for (in some cases) years.

R.

Sounds good - I won't ask how you're dealing with the missus.

I'll add you to the list of possibles.

I'm keen. The fluff seems like an excellent fit for the Ministrorum warband I'm working on. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help out.

I should be alright - beyond being there and bringing pretty models, the only thing is going to be writing yourself a scenario to run...

... on which note, you guys have probably noticed that I'm a bit overdue on that campaign pack.

Sorry about that. There's some more fluff that I ideally want to release with it, and my creativity has been going into other outlets at the moment. The Dark Heresy players will find out what over the coming months - whether their characters will appreciate those depths of my mind is another matter.

My computer problems haven't helped - although, I am writing from my laptop once again!
I've had a second go at fixing it, which hopefully work better than my first attempt. Mind you, any computer repair that uses Brasso, coffee filters, an expired debit card and a hairdryer should probably be treated as somewhat suspect, so maybe it won't.

I have just been asked by PM if I'm alright with people posting In Character lead ins to the Autumn Conclave.

This is fine. In fact, the fluff that's held up the Campaign pack for a week or two is the start of a short burn RP - giving players have a chance to form alliances/rivalries and/or investigate before the event proper. I'm going to try and make that go live by/on the weekend.

This won't just be all in a vacuum, of course. Your actions in the RP may affect you on the day - you might get more intel from your contacts (and it might even decide some of the contact cards you will start with), perhaps an extra objective, and I'm going to try and arrange games so that rivals have a bigger chance of coming to loggerheads on the day.

Participation will not be mandatory, of course - and it's not going to make any big difference (either way) to your chances of "winning", but I'm hoping it might add an extra layer of immersion of the event, so participants will be very much welcomed.

Sorry, slight delay. No sooner do I fix the graphics on my laptop than my hard disk starts making funny noises.
Fortunately, I had anticipated a failure (if not this one!) so I have recent backups - if only because I only restored the computer from them a few days ago.

Should be able to redo most of it from memory in fairly short order though.

Is it too late to sign up for the conclave? as i've just managed to secure leave for the last week in october

Beyond having spaces left (which I'm unlikely to run out of) and you actually getting there in time for some games, there are no deadlines for signing up, nor any particular need to.

However, it is certainly appreciated if I'm told in advance, because not only do I need to tell Bugmans if I'm expecting more than about 20 people there, it also means I can be sure I've got an event pack for you (I will have some spares, but only a few).

I'll add you to the list.

Well in that case i'l definatly be there though i'l admit now to having very limited GM experience. What time are the 1st games likely to start? as it a 3 hour drive for me to nottingham and i cant decide wether to book a room in a travel lodge or drive in that morning.

Quote from: Canis-Sapiens on August 10, 2011, 03:00:16 PMWell in that case i'l definatly be there though i'l admit now to having very limited GM experience.

GMing will not be mandatory. Assuming all of the current 15 possibles turned up, then as few as 9 of them could be needed to GM.

And that's "could" - some of the pre-written scenarios won't need a GM and will let players share the role (if there are any particularly important or disputed decisions that need making, they can come and pester me), so in theory, it could be that absolutely no-one save me will need to GM.

If there's people who'd like to just play for the whole day, it is possible.

QuoteWhat time are the 1st games likely to start?

The doors will open at 1000, but games won't start until 1030, so as to let people sort themselves out, let me hand out briefing packs and wait for any latecomers.

If it's going to take three hours to make the trip, you could get away with a not too unreasonable start - if you put all your books and models in the car the night before, you could get up at about six and have plenty of time for brekkie and a shower before you had to leave.

Thanks for the details Marco, Ive decided I cant be bothered to drive in that morning so I booked friday and saturday nights at a travelodge as I'l probably drink too much at bugmans to drive back saturday night. If anyone else is hanging around sunday morning and wants to play a few more games i'm definatly in.

As said i think there will be a few of us

Cool - it looks like we might have a decent handful of people in the evening and on Sunday. Maybe I'll get a chance to be a player at least once then!

Here is the Event Briefing (http://www.mediafire.com/?d16jddjt10wmyiz).

Sorry, that took longer than expected - I decided at the last minute that had to try and rework my list of different factions, swapping out some of my original ideas with better ones I had later on, and it's taken a while to sort that out.

If you spot any mistakes or have any questions, please point them out.

The event is 10 weeks this Saturday, so get busy!

Because I'm pedantic, two minor grammatical errors have been fixed in the event pack.

Also, Lacerto has been added to the list.

Two other matters:
First, I'm going to see if I can get two tables held for the Sunday so those of us hanging around then have somewhere we can be pushing models around. I'm expecting that will be plenty.

Second, because I'm not sure I've mentioned this yet: We will be sharing with the North West Warriors - they'll be having the final of their Crucible of Lost Souls tournament (WHFB).

You can add myself and Myriad to the list of probable attendees-barring unforeseen circumstances we should be there.

Both added. I've also readded RobSkib, who I'm expecting but was missing from the list for some reason.
In case I've made any more mistakes, here's the latest list for you guys to check.

Aurelius 12
Bloodpact
Canis-Sapiens
DapperAnarchist
Flinty
Greenstuff_Gav
Holiad
JoelMcKickass
Kaled
karandras_sh
Lacerto
mattausten86
Myriad
Necris
PrecinctOmega
RobSkib
Shannow
Stormgrad
Van Helser

Current count is 19. Although I'm sure we'll lose some, that's not bad.

I'm still only a possible - I'll be starting uni about a month earlier.

And, anyone who doubted Marco's pedanticness, note that the names are in alphabetical order :D I used to work in a bar where the whiskeys were kept in alphabetical order...

Actually, that's a practicality thing, not a pedantic thing. I did it earlier (well, no - I got Excel to do it) to make it easier to see if I thought anyone else was missing off the list.

I shall endeavour to be there not promising anything as of yet things have been jiggled about but I'm still coming if I can :-D

Finally, the promised background dump for Ilithyia (http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1620.msg22367#msg22367). Possibly unnecessarily in-depth and it may contradict a couple of old things, because there were parts I decided to rewrite as I went.
Feel free to ask more questions and I'll try and add data files for them as I go.

Now that's done, the "Ilithyia Conflict" thread is open game for anyone who wants to RP their characters' lead-ins to the Autumn Conclave.

You're free to make up the different bits you need for your plots or scenario - so if you want to decide that the processed leaves of the Mopak tree is a popular drug in the depths of Ilith Nova, then that's up to you.  (I'd appreciate you running any particularly major stuff past me first though...)

But whatever happens, anyone's observations (including mine) on the sainthood/otherwise of the Corporal are going to be on a strictly EYHBTIAL level, and open to being totally and utterly contradicted.

Hello. Friendly reminder that the event is eight weeks tomorrow, so that means that as of about now, you're down to about another 56 days modelling/painting/writing time before you have to start packing/eating/sleeping before the event.

~~~~~

Also, so far, I've only had one person contact me about writing their own scenario. It is by no means mandatory, but I did get the idea a lot more people were interested in doing so.

In case you're short of ideas for what you might write, here's some:

- A man with the brand of an eight pointed star was shot dead by the security forces aboard one of Ilithyia's orbital defence stations. What was he doing there (setting explosives? hacking the cogitators?) and did he have any friends? (Heck, one of the player warbands might be his friends...) Have fun with some low gravity rules for this one.

- An entire noble family has been missing since the Corporal's resurrection. Rumour is that the family first secured their standing through an artefact of dark power.

- One of the PCs wishes to eliminate a military commander (Heretic in the Emperor's eyes? In the way of the glorious victory of Chaos? Depends on your players). The other needs him alive (or captured).
The third party (if any) wishes to let the assassination go ahead, then capture the assassin.

- One of the archaeological artefacts that suggests previous human/xeno co-habitation on Ilithyia is in a warehouse/lost in a swamp after a plane crash/etc. Find and destroy/steal/cause public panic with this item.

- Darius Balnot, the preacher who witnessed the Corporal's resurrection, has gone missing. An individual who may match his description has been reported to be wandering local streets, speaking only in passages of scripture. Find/Capture/Kill him. But is it actually Darius?

- Several copies of an ancient prophetic text that appear to predict the Corporal's future have appeared, but they are vague, poorly transcribed and translated to the extent that each reaches a different conclusion.
The original is said to be kept in one of the Inquisition vaults on Cerestne XVIII.

- The data banks in an underground military vault hold most of the local vox scramble codes. Having these codes would allow you to better anticipate troop movements - or perhaps hear vital intelligence.

- A parley has been arranged with Inquisitor Kalius Solnes and a number of powerful individuals who desire his favour - or perhaps just might prefer he was out of the way.

- Further investigate Nicá rail station for further evidence of what actually transpired there.

If you want to use any of these ideas, they're going to be first come, first served - PM me to let me know which one you'd like to use as a basis, and I'll cross it off the list for you. (But if you tell me you're going to use one, please tell me if you change your mind and are doing something else so that it's available for someone else).

I may add more down the line. I dunno.

You can add me to the list as well.

Well, by the time most of you guys read this, it'll be seven weeks to the event.

Now, with that in mind, I've still had very little correspondence from people about writing scenarios.
Seven weeks might sound like plenty of time to you guys, but the last thing I need is ten people trying to e-mail me about their custom scenarios the day before the event - I do have my own event preparation, a Dark Heresy adventure to run, artwork to do... as well as some life outside wargaming.

(In 50 days, I'll be quite glad that I'm already ready for the 2012 IGT and won't have a finger to lift until the day...  ;D)

I'm not expecting you to email me completely embellished scenarios - I just want anyone who'd like to GM to drop me a line with a loose idea of what they're planning to do. Anyone who'd like help with their ideas is also welcome to contact me to discuss them.

I've had an extra scenario submission now, which is good.

Bear in mind, the point in this is me trying to avoid contradictory games (i.e. two GMs wanting to kidnap Lance Corporal Kane or something), or at least schedule similar games simultaneously. So if you've got some mega brilliant idea, please let me know what it is before someone else you to the punch.

Also, if you take too long to get back to me, I may not be able to provide resource cards relevant to your scenario.

To help you out, here are the current resource categories:

1.     Administratum
2.     Arbites
3.     Astartes
4.     Chaos
5.     Criminal
6.     Ecclesiarchy
7.     Evidence
8.     Imperial Guard
9.     Imperial Navy
10.   Informant
11.   Inquisition
12.   Intermediary
13.   Mechanicus
14.   Mercenary
15.   Political
16.   Rogue Trader
17.   Witness
18.   Xenos

The precise names may change, and a few more will probably be added dependent on what madness I come up with and the needs of GM's scenarios.

One point I need to address, as it's come up a couple of times now.

I know I've mentioned the opportunity of games without dedicated GMs. This was intended that the role will be shared between the players (with input from myself as needed), not that there will be a single GM-Player.

As the GM decides the distribution of resources at the end of the game, I'm apprehensive about them having resources wagered on the game they're playing. I'm also hesitant about it from the angle that everyone might want to have their cake and eat it too.
However, I'm not being peppered with willing GMs at the moment, so after some thought - and while it wasn't my original intent - I am willing to allow GM-Players, but with a few caveats:

1) You won't earn the full GM resource reward. This is partly intended as recompense for missing a game (and with it, a chance to gamble/win resources), so I can't really give GM-Players as much for their efforts as a dedicated GM.

2) It is entirely dependent on the numbers. As it means adding a player to a table, it can't really be done if I need to put four people round a table (four players would slow the game down too much).  I'll try and allow it as far as possible, but you may have to consent to just being a regular GM if it comes to it.
However, if you need three players for a game and only get two, then... well.

3) I'd prefer any GM-Players have been to a Conclave event previously. It's a tight timescale that takes a bit of getting used to, and it's probably better if you're not playing in the first Conclave game you've run.

4) If it goes horribly wrong, the next Head GM probably won't want to give it a second chance.

5) Also, you won't win any friends if you're not properly impartial. If that means asking the other players what they think should happen, then so be it.

~~~~~

EDIT: I'll also add this here, to avoid explaining it in every PM:

Any scenario I have time to prepare for will have an additional resource added to their pot that relates to the scenario objective. (If I don't have time to prepare, it'll just be a random resource.)

For instance, the Data-Bank scenario brief (now claimed) will get "Vox Scramble codes" (probably in the Imperial Guard category) as its objective card.

On the day, this "objective card" should always go to the player who best completes their objective - whereas all other cards should be shuffled (or otherwise distributed randomly, without attention to what type of cards they are).

A quick question, are we limited to weapons and abilities etc form the rulebook or can we use the revised armoury and the various extra rules from the articles in the maga pack?

Beyond preferring that people's characters conform to the "Conclave Standard" (which is really more a guideline than an actual rule), the only restriction on your characters is that they should be WYSIWYG.

You are entirely welcome to write your own equipment/skills if you wish.

The Event pack (http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?q2mnxtvhb4s4mlk) has been updated to V1.1 to include some of the updates and answers I've posted in this thread.

~~~~~

Also, I have a couple of questions to ask of you lot.

#1:
The Finale scenario will be several linked games played in parallel across several tables.

Would you guys prefer that the turns between these tables were synchronised (i.e. all tables all start  Turn N at the same time, play through it, and all wait to start Turn N+1 at the same time) or just all running at their own pace?

The former will simplify trying to get interaction between tables, but it may leave players having to wait while another table finishes their turn (so will inevitably take longer).
I doubt it would be a big thing though - second worst case scenario, it would allow people time to keep track of what's going on on other tables. Worst case scenario, we can drop the system if it just isn't working.

The latter will just let people get on with it and won't waste any time, but will make the interaction between tables somewhat more ugly and make it feel more like isolated games again.

#2:
If my GMing wouldn't actually save on a GM...

For example, if there are 16 attendees (not including me), that'd require four GMs for tables of four, but adding me in for 17 would make two tables of four and three tables of three, so the five tables would still need four other GMs.

... what would you prefer I do? That I sit it out, spectate, take photos, make funny faces, grease the floor, try to act as a spokesperson for the game (although I'll probably just scare people. Again.) - or that I muck in anyway to try and weave in more narrative, perhaps taking some load off other GMs in the process?

I think if you're running multi tables you need to have us all acting at the same time (just to save your sanity) that way it will make it more manageable for yourself, maybe set a time limit to a turn every 5 for example (keeps us on our toes too)

to help you manage us instead of being pulled away half way through a turn to oversee another table.

2. it's up to you

when I ran a conclave event I got rather frustrated Just Gming all day, and I felt worn out to be honest (one of the reasons why I've not ran another yet) and throughout the day I just wanted to vent my frustrations by being on the player side.

If your event allows you to get involved in the action throw yourself into it, if it helps move the narrative even better.

Quote from: Necris on September 13, 2011, 06:56:22 AMI think if you're running multi tables you need to have us all acting at the same time (just to save your sanity) that way it will make it more manageable for yourself

I'm planning on running five games at once, so I'm not entirely sure I have any sanity left to save.

In any case, I'm expecting tables Beta onwards to need little overseeing from me, as they'll be given scenarios that will need minimal GM input.

Synchronising them would largely be to allow a more ordered interaction between the events on different tables - simultaneous end phases would let me better keep track of what's happened on each table and how it should affect others, although I worked on a system that should work in an asynchronous game.

Couple of minor updates:

1) The Event Pack has had a note added about 54mm scale, just in-case it escapes the attention of any outsiders.
It's on the same link as before, as MediaFire apparently lets you do that now.

2) One more entry via e-mail brings us back up to 20.

3) I'd welcome any further opinions on the questions I asked above.

Another minor update:

Anyone who's staying to the Sunday should know that I've extended the booking.
Technically, I only asked them to keep back two tables, but as it's such a small number of tables, they preferred to just put my name down for both days. So at least we'll get to pick which ones we want on the day.

Regarding #1, I think waiting at the end of every turn may feel bitty. That would mean every turn lasts as long as the slowest turn. Maybe synchronise tables every three turns. That means that everyone will only be held up a lot if one table has all of the slowest turns. In addition to reducing the amount of time waiting, you also improve game flow. Also, it's probably better to interact between tables less frequently than every turn.

Alternatively everyone could play until certain trigger conditions are met. So games occur at full speed until a player sets off an alarm system on table beta. At that point, the GM of that table calls out and all games stop. Changes are announced, and play continues. This would require a bit more work, since potentially the reactor could be destroyed on table gamma before the alarm is triggered on beta. But it would feel more dynamic, with no waiting, and priorities changing mid-turn. A turn isn't a fixed length of time, so different numbers of turns between tables doesn't matter as long as the interaction flowsheet can cope!

Quote from: Lacerto on September 17, 2011, 08:45:48 AMThat would mean every turn lasts as long as the slowest turn.

Obviously, and that is the main issue of contention. The question in my head though is whether people will keep/pick the pace up knowing that they'll be holding up others.

However, I expect that the slowest table may well often be my main table, given that it'll be playing host to a battle going on around the main characters. And I'm guessing that as it's what their side tables are ultimately trying to affect, players might actually prefer an occasional moment to catch up on centre table happenings.

I might sync only every two or three turns, but as I still think it's still going to be one table lagging more than the others, I'd guess people are more likely to get bored by one long break than two or three short ones.

QuoteAlternatively everyone could play until certain trigger conditions are met. So games occur at full speed until a player sets off an alarm system on table beta. At that point, the GM of that table calls out and all games stop.

Well, there is no GM on any of the side tables. I originally considered it, but on reflection it seemed too unfair to show people the big endgame and then ask a quarter of them to sit out to run it.
The only GM for the finale will be me, so the side tables are going to be written so the players can run it between themselves.

QuoteBut it would feel more dynamic

Yeah, but I'm worried it'd just feel schizophrenic and more like five or six mostly individual games under those circumstances.

The question is really flow against organisation. Right now, I think my instinct is to start it as a synced game. After all, people are not unused to having to wait a moment or two while other people finish their turns.
If that just doesn't work, I break off any tables that are running particularly fast or slow from the cycle and they just get on at their own rate.

I shall be bringing 1 more player named Priesty Tom he's a new player

Sorry guys, i wont be able to make the Autumn Conclave, the annual Halloween paryy which normally takes place the same weekend a the annual Old Boys dinner, is now 2 weeks later, on the 29th. I'm one of the bars managers, and the only member of staff whos worked one of these parties before, so i cant really book it off. The fact i got around £3-400 last year also means that financially, i can't really miss it.

Sorry guys, ill make sure to make the next one.

No problem. I'm expecting that a few people are going to have more important things come up.

Just a quick point the 29th is also Warhammer Worlds birthday party

The things they don't tell me. Well, consider it your opportunity to help show off Inquisitor to any extra visitors there might be.

I thought Warhammer World opened in January?

I'd have thought I'd have remembered that, since I was there for the 'grand opening' event.... ten years ago.... I feel old now.

Afternoon, Gentlemen.

While I'm on here, it's time to remind you that the Autumn Conclave will be one month tomorrow.
As of right now, I'm still sitting on only three scenario submissions (figuratively, not literally). As you can probably guess, I'd like a few more than that.

I'm not asking for a fully developed end product - I just need a brief note about what you're doing so I know how many scenarios I'll have to write, and avoid scenarios that clash. Alternatively, if you'd rather not rope yourself into GMing, I'm perfectly happy to accept submissions for GM-less scenarios to be mixed into the scenario pack.

mine should be with you later today just need to finalise my part

I'll probably just run one of your scenarios - I haven't yet been struck with inspiration for one of my own. Still thinking about which warband to bring - I'm tempted to think of a way to shoehorn the Tau in, or I may use the warband made up of ex-Star Wars miniatures. I've developed a bit of a soft spot for that team, even though they were originally just an exercise in building a really cheap warband.

Its been a while, but i reckon i might just still be able to make this event, in between painting a 2500pt 40k army for the 14/10, then 1000pts of Fantasy for Early november, then yet more 40k for the end of November!

Not sure what warband to bring.

You could do what I did for this year's IGT. Flip a coin to decide, decide you'd rather go with the other one, work on it, then leave it at a friend's house.

Mind you, flipping coins works well for deciding things. If you're happy with the choice, it was either the right one or you didn't care, and if you're unhappy with it, then go with the other one.

Sorry Chaps - I'm afraid I'm going to have to drop out. I stupidly went on holiday and returned to find out that I have been 'volunteered' to spend 3 weeks in a lovely industrial cess-pit on the outskirts of the (no doubt) charming Clemont Ferrand.

I can't afford to fly back to Nottingham and if my pregnant wife discovered I had, and spent an illict weekend having unsanctioned fun instead of babysitting our tantrum striken 2 year old..... I'm not even going to think about that one.

I'm sure it will be great fun, and I am genuinely sorry I won't get to meet you all (this time, anyway) and enjoy the spectacle of Marco's climactic 4 table end-game juggling!

Expecting the usual pictures to be posted to make me feel as sick as a parrot. Have fun.

Righto. Sorry about that. Maybe we'll see you at the next event then (although that one probably won't have me juggling tables...)

Shoulda done this reminder yesterday, but we are now within two weeks to the Autumn Conclave, so make sure you use the remaining time to get everything ready!

And again, if you are planning on running your own scenario, you can still contact me about that. If you leave it much longer though, I won't be able to prepare a special scenario resource to go with your game and you'll just get a generic card instead.

Room for one more hopeful?

I'm at uni at the moment, and my models are at home (a 5 hour drive away) so i'd have to see if my parents could package and mail my figures to me, but if they could, would I possibly be able to reunite these servants of a dying god with one of the most notorious heretics in the Carthax Sector? I'm sure Zophar could have some pretty strong feelings on an event this big :p

If my turning up is cool, would someone mind instructing me on the best way to get from Nottingham Train Station to WHW? I've consulted Google Maps, but would appreciate the opinion of an actual human who has made the journey before!

Quote from: Brother_Brimstone on October 17, 2011, 12:22:58 AMRoom for one more hopeful?

Absolutely. I've still got a reasonable number of places left.

QuoteWould someone mind instructing me on the best way to get from Nottingham Train Station to WHW?

By foot, go out the big fancy main entrance on to Carrington St (this road is perpendicular to the platforms - if you're on a road parallel to them, you've come out of a side entrance*), and turn right.

*If you've come out through a car park, you're in Queen's Road, turn right to get to Carrington St. If you're in a Taxi zone, you're in Station Road, turn left.

You should be presented with a sight something like this (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ll=52.94723,-1.147237&spn=0.001338,0.002411&sll=52.951129,-1.150034&sspn=0.009565,0.007302&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&fb=1&gl=uk&vpsrc=0&fll=52.947175,-1.14698&fspn=0.001338,0.002411&layer=c&cbll=52.947163,-1.147204&panoid=yPUdgM7fswjIsZrELzg1kQ&cbp=12,1.16,,0,14.9&z=19), with the Bentinck Hotel next to the zebra crossing at the T-junction.

Head along Carrington St, past the Bentinck Hotel. You should see, on the left side of the road, near the cluster of bus stops and opposite what Google Street View tells me is the Gresham Hotel, a ramp that leads down to the canal (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ll=52.947799,-1.147517&spn=0.001338,0.002411&sll=52.951129,-1.150034&sspn=0.009565,0.007302&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&fb=1&gl=uk&t=h&vpsrc=6&fll=52.947175,-1.14698&fspn=0.001338,0.002411&z=19&layer=c&cbll=52.947799,-1.147517&panoid=ydw8SenGVi81ixz5qTVqGQ&cbp=12,271.96,,0,18). (If you've crossed the canal, you've gone too far, turn back.)

Head down this ramp onto the towpath and keep heading in that  direction. (The water should be to your right as you're walking - if not, you're heading the wrong way.) You'll head past an uphill lock, then there'll be a narrowboat marina on your left sometime later - keep going until you head under a bridge marked "Lenton Lane Bridge". (It's one after the railway bridge.) It looks like this, but this photo is from the other direction. (http://www.canalplan.org.uk/gazetteer/ushb)

There should be steps on this far side. Head up them, turn right along the road, turn right again when you see the Space Marine.

~~~~~

While I'm at this, I'd suggest any people who are arriving by train post their arrival times below so they can meet up and walk together/get a taxi if it's tipping down.

Thanks very much for the response, and the great directions. Definitely better than having Google Maps descriptions (I recently went backpacking in Europe, and beforehand had printed Google Maps directions from train stations to the hostels in which I was staying. All I will say is that I'm never doing that again!)

I can arrive in Nottingham at either about half nine or quarter to ten (there's only a five minute difference in catching time between the two trains and I've not yet booked, but any earlier than that and I'd have to get up at about 4 in the morning!) I spoke to my parents this morning, and they said they should be fine posting me the models, so unless unforseen circumstances prevent, I should be good to turn up and play!

What time are you due to arrive, so I can try and get there around the same time?

Finally, while I realise I've posted masses of WIPs recently, they're all still being painted, so is it all right if I use my customary Zophar warband? I figure he would have some interest in discrediting this supposed 'Saint', in the name of trying to keep general Sector morale down. After all, if there's suddenly a burst of resurgent Imperial faith in an area previously falling towards Chaos, that may make his life somewhat more difficult. If you think that motivation isn't sufficient, but have another suggestion, I'd be happy to hear it, but otherwise I think someone like Sarthuul, whose entire job is to try and make citizens lose faith in the Imperium, would have a vested interest in there not being a new living saint declared. Especially if he could also take the opportunity to show the man he has recently been antagonising (Lord Calleia) in a negative light.

Quote from: Brother_Brimstone on October 17, 2011, 12:20:51 PMWhat time are you due to arrive, so I can try and get there around the same time?

I'll be arriving at half past three on Friday and staying overnight. As I'm running the event, it's better if I don't have my normal sleep deprived commute.

That said, it's no problem for me to walk back to the station to meet people on the day.

QuoteIs it all right if I use my customary Zophar warband?

Absolutely.

As long as your characters can justify their objectives to themselves, you can go with whatever. As the event pack muses, it could even make sense for a Chaos character to support Canonisation - for example, if they thought the Corporal was a Chaos infiltrator.

Ah, well, that's fair enough. I don't particularly mind walking by myself, so you don't have to come to meet me at the station, unless of course there are others who want that, in which case I'll be there anyway, but if it's just me, I should be fine navigating myself. I know what you mean about it being sleep deprived though! I'm travelling in from Cambridge and to be there by half nine, I'll have to set off at 5 to 7 in the morning, meaning I'll probably have to get up about half 5... Luckily I'm a student and a seasoned insomniac, so I'm used to it.

Still, if anyone else happens to be getting into Nottingham station around that time, be sure to post, so we can amble down together.

It's not a particular problem for me to come and meet people if there's going to be a large hiking group. They're not going to let us in before ten anyway. I suppose I can hang around outside WHW waiting for people there. It doesn't really matter to me.

Also, something completely different - I have  new dice (http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy3/MarcoSkoll/CIMG5413.jpg). Bit smaller than most, but solid quartz.

It looks like someone is like me and has a thing for odd/interesting dice

It's really depressing to have to say this, but I'm afraid I've had to concede that the Jubilee is (once again) not going to be at the event.

Construction threw up several issues (I had to find ways to strengthen several parts - at the cost of most of a week), late deliveries held up all sorts of things, other projects need my time too, and I'll admit to more than a little procrastination and poor time management as well.
It's a huge project that I don't want to rush or compromise on, so it's going to have to wait 'til the 2012 IGT.

~~~~~

In other news - and this is important - if possible, I'm looking for a general assortment of Chaos cultists and such like (maybe certain gangers and thugs as well) to complement the Traitor Guard.

Could anyone who's willing to lend some either post below or PM me?

Cultists and traitor guardsmen you say?  :)

Damn, if i'd known you'd want cultists/traitors before I could've asked my parents to mail my insurgents and pirates to me with my other models and thrown a coat of paint on them! As it stands, I don't think that'll be possible with only a week left now, sorry.

Still, on a kind of unrelated note, I will be bringing my Necron models with me just to show them around, so if any GM needs a player deterrent or somesuch, they're welcome to borrow a 'cron or two!

There's no particular worry over it. It's mostly to add a bit of variety in amongst my Traitor Guardsmen and make the forces of chaos a bit more... well, chaotic. I wouldn't want anyone to go to extra effort over it.

If it's easy for you (you being used as a generic plural here) to put them in a case when you come along, sure. Don't feel you have to do any more than that.

Well, depending on how the story goes, and what you have planned, I could always have Zophar's warband join the forces of Chaos. It really depends on whether that would make much sense, and whether you'd really want any players being on the side of the npcs!

Hey, sorry for the double post but i was in the process of booking trains, and discovered I can save up to 20 quid if i book a specific return journey rather than the 'anytime off-peak return'. With this in mind, could anyone tell me about what time we can expect to be finished, and whether people will be hanging around for chatting/general socialising in Bugman's afterward? I wouldn't want to miss any gameplay, and similarly, wouldn't be particularly disposed to not having any time after playing to chat with my fellow 'clavers, but at the same time, I don't want everyone else packing up and heading straight off after the last game, leaving me with 2 hours in nottingham, and nothing to do with it!

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Officially (well, as officially anything like this gets) the event proper ends at 1800, but the timing may not be precise, you'll probably want to hang around for the standard nattering in Bugmans while things wrap up and it'll probably take about half an hour to make the journey to the station, so my advice is it's best not to book much before about 1930.
(As an aside, anyone heading via London should note that the 1928 to St. Pancras is fairly popular for return journeys, so aiming for that one usually means you get company for the first part of your return journey. If everyone's not just so exhausted they fall asleep, but it's often just as likely you will.)

This time around, there should be a few of us hanging around after the fact. I know I, Van Helser and Canis Sapiens (Stormgrad is a maybe) are hanging around overnight and it may be that a few more people might stay on for the evening if there's going to be a prolonged gathering.

That could in theory last as late as WHW's closing time of 2200, but as far as I can tell, the latest train you can practically catch back to Cambridge is 2118 (which would be a very late arrival back at base), so you'd need to be leaving before nine. Still, that's most of another three hours.

Quote from: Brother_Brimstone on October 22, 2011, 04:05:42 AMWell, depending on how the story goes, and what you have planned, I could always have Zophar's warband join the forces of Chaos.

In the case that you're on the main table in the finale, I'd only expect Zophar to be alongside the forces of Chaos.
If you're on the other tables... well, the Chaos horde won't be on the other tables!

Evening gents. I am having a few issues accessing The Conclave at the moment. If you want to contact me, it would be safest to e-mail me at MarcoRobertSkoll@hotmail.co.uk

In an emergency, updates may be posted to the Autumn Conclave thread on Warseer.

Also, I making the trip to Nottingham at roughly midday on Friday, and may not have internet access until I return. The latest you can send anything and be reasonably sure of a response is Thursday night. After that, you'll have to talk to me on the day or wait until midnight-ish on Sunday.

With regards to your first post: Thanks; I checked the specific times you recommended, and the only way i'd save any real money is if i set off at about 5am and returned for about 1am, so I just took the hit and bought the open return.  That way I can hang around for as long as I want, or pack things up as everyone else does, and there was only about £5 in it.

With regards to your second post: I've been having trouble with the 'clave too. It keeps suffering from '500 Internal Server Error' and not letting me do just about anything. If this post goes through it will be my first success in a few days. Is this your problem too, Marco? If so, is it not something we should report to Gav in the forum support thread?

Yeah, same 500 Internal Error. I suspect it was a short term thing (indeed, it's gone away today), but it's safer to take the precautions.

As far as tickets, I often prefer to just get the straight returns myself. Means I don't get stuffed if a train is cancelled or late.

no thoughts on Tickets (i r drivin'!) but on the... tempermental state of the Machine-Spirits i got nuffin; it's Server-Side but seems to be clearing up on its own...

... Ugh. After all that saying I'm going to be there overnight, I've looked at my finances again, and the numbers just don't add up as they seemed to when I booked.

There's not enough people who'll be there "out of hours" (particularly as one of the people who might have been is very uncertain now), I've not got to worry about bringing the Jubilee, my sleep patterns are basically as good as they're going to get at the moment, and I'm not even entirely sure staying overnight will improve my sleep.

My hotel booking is completely refundable at this point, so unless I get an overwhelming response from people who really want me there on Friday evening and Sunday, I'm thinking of cancelling it and making the trip as normal.

Well, I'm pondering an early bed after today's efforts. My characters failed miserably at everything they tried to do today, but there's nothing new there!

Big thanks to David for organising the day's fun. We had an excellent turn out today, with plenty of new faces which is always encouraging! Roll on the Grand Tournament!

Ruaridh

First! (http://buildyourimagination.co.uk/minis/conclaveautumn11.php) :)

echoing thanks to David for running the day; was sure he'd have had a breakdown during that last section!

having chatted to a load of people who'd wandered over to see inquisitor being played, i'm hoping for more signups :)

gonna need to rewrite both the scenarios i provided a bit and rework the Beastmaster ability! :)

Definitely a fun day of gaming, and I found the final linked games a substantial improvement over previous attempts to put everyone's characters on one table, which has historically been something of a repetetive flaw in the events. Failing doesn't really matter too much, as long as you fail instyle. My own characters may have embarassingly finished their investigation knowing less about the corporal than when they started, but along the way they got to dismember a zombie, grapple a giant spider, and hold up a valkyrie with an inferno pistol, so their ultimate failure somewhat pales by comparison.

Official turnout is 14 players and myself - not quite what we managed from the IGT this year, but damn good given a number of cancellations.

I'll post an attendee list when I'm more sane (in normal tradition, I didn't sleep beforehand, so I'm about 36 hours awake right now) as well as a more fluid report on the aftermath of the final scenario than what I delivered on the day.
You'll probably see some form of ranking too, but I'll probably refrain from posting anyone's actual scores.

As for the final scenario, and counting through some photos, the final weigh-in is:
- 4 tables
- 13 players* (three of whom took on some of the GMing duties)
- 30 Player-Characters
- 20 NPCs
- And a 54mm aircraft.
*We lost one right before the finale.

All in all, probably the biggest game of Inquisitor ever.

I'd rather like to hear more feedback on the multi-table finale format. I know it's somewhat radical and it was rather rough and ready this time (note for future, let tables run at their own pace), but I know I utterly enjoyed running it.
I (or someone else) will probably use it again at some point, so having ideas of how to improve would be invaluable.

~~~~~

Anyway, two presents while I start recovering:

All 180 resource cards (http://www.mediafire.com/?jb464u6rjsdjd9q), many of which ultimately didn't get used. Some are making a second appearance from the Spring 2010 pack, but over half are new.

They've each got two different numbers, as the files were done alphabetically by faction, the cards were numbered randomly. And yes, I do know that files #126 & 127 have the same picture. It happens when you're doing it late at night.

Most are free use if you'd like to develop them up, but do ask first, because a few are developed characters of my own I've put in there as in-jokes. Or they're actually me.

The faction objectives (http://www.mediafire.com/?lfyai3ckk91o3u5). Corrected now so they actually match the cards.

I'll upload a clever little chart of these later - it's hard to see in writing. The thing is, each resource category was needed by three of the six factions. So, there's no category lots of factions need and which nobody would trade as a result.

The multiple table format worked well with two small criticisms. Firstly, ideally you needed another GM for the main table to free you up to move between tables as the main game was a bit stop start as you had to keep answering questions from other tables or going over to the other tables to see what was happening or to tell them things. Secondly, and this is a bit of a personal one, but I didn't feel like I had much chance to achieve my objective. Maybe I just didn't see or understand what I should be doing, but it felt like the other warbands could decisively win by getting her off the table, whereas I could only win by preventing them and hoping that events on another table didn't allow another faction to win instead.

That said, the last game was really good with an Inquisitior and a spider-summoning heretic both attempting to kidnap the Corporal for their own ends, and my Tau desperately trying to persuade the Corporal and Sororitas to not only not kill them, but to trust the xenos and not the Inquisition - not an easy task as at first I felt like I had nothing to bargain with until I remembered that my resource cards included a prophetic tome on the Corporal, a cardinal and a highly regarded member of the Ilithyian military which I could exploit to give me some leverage. And then a horde of Chaos troops turned up, closely followed by a Valkyrie rigged with explosives and an orbital laser was fired at our position! Very cool!

One other minor criticism I heard from a few people was that it seemed like there were too many categories of cards. I haven't checked he zip file to see how common each type of card is, but I had quite a few cards pass through my hand during the day and didn't see a lot of the categories - and it sounded like other people had the same experience which was frustrating in attempting to get sets.

Congratulations on another successful event!

I'm intrigued to hear more about the final game, especially because it directly plays into the forthcoming INQvitational. Somewhat based on Kaled's Carthaxian Succession, I'm keen to run a card-based contacts system as well as providing something suitably climactic for the final game.

After talking to Kaled (and Andy Hoare) I've had some thoughts about trying to make the final game climactic, but the cards are something interesting, given that I don't want to effectively be running a trading card game alongside the actual games of Inquisitor. It needs to be something simple enough to be easily understood, whilst complicated enough to add depth and three-dimensionality to the events.

Thanks for uploading your cards - I'll read through these with some interest!

I had a few more thoughts that I just typed up and lost so here's the short version. Not really a comment on Marco's event, but I'd like to see a campaign where the faction has more effect than just the type of cards you need to collect. I guess that would mean the factions had to be 'balanced' in some way so choosing a faction doesn't affect you chance of winning. (I don't know if in yesterday's event choosing a faction really affected the players chance of winning?) I'd like to do an event where players in a faction are at least loosely allied and are all working for the same end rather than just out for themselves and can ally in games if they so choose. So maybe different factions would be trying to collect different resources (or deny them to others).

One of the other event organisers had a whistle which seemed a great idea for attracting everyone's attention - Marco had the same issue that I think anyone who's organised one of these events will attest to - i.e. organising players is a bit like herding cats!

Molotov - I suggest you could use the same system Marco and Van Helser used where there are different types of cards and players try to both collect as many cards as possible but also try to get sets. That system is simple enough, but if you want to make things simpler just have them all the same and players just need to collect as many as possible. The last game is the bit that really needs work. For the succession, maybe you could just have all but the main table trying to somehow transmit their votes to the main table, or somehow manipulate the votes that reach the main table. The top three players would be on the main table and their job is to submit their own votes to the polling servitor as well as delivering votes sent by the other tables. That way everyone gets to contribute to the outcome but aren't all on one table.

Other than the few minor points I've already brought up (and a few timing troubles including the fact that it took ages to get lunch), yesterday went really well - and was maybe the event I've enjoyed most. Partly that was because I was really happy with the characters I brought (other than a few things I want to tweak) as they gave me a lot of gameplay options with the Water Caste ableto talk his way out of trouble and the Fire Caste being a pretty formidable combatant (the Air Caste didn't do a lot though), but was also down to the thought Marco had put into the scenarios, background and mechanics for the campaign. And it was great to see so many new faces there too.

Quote from: Kaled on October 30, 2011, 09:14:12 AMFirstly, ideally you needed another GM for the main table.

I don't disagree. Not just from the aspect of the final game but given the scale of the work involved in general, I think I'd prefer to run a co-GMed event next time.

QuoteSecondly, and this is a bit of a personal one, but I didn't feel like I had much chance to achieve my objective.

It was naturally going to be a little tricky for Xenos, but you actually came within a hair's breadth of it because of your intelligent use of the resources you had found during the day. Convincing the Corporal that you had the support of major individuals, and a big book that predicted her future was the kind of move it needed.

It was really the shortened timeslot that was a problem here, as it cost us a turn or two before I needed the big ending to start and break it all up.

QuoteOne other minor criticism I heard from a few people was that it seemed like there were too many categories of cards.

There were 18 categories, which was a deliberate multiple of the number of factions. I got a little carried away with ideas, and yes, in truth, it probably should have been 12.

QuoteI don't know if in yesterday's event choosing a faction really affected the players chance of winning?

I'd need to check exactly which cards made it into play relative to which factions needed them, but all cards were designed to be needed by three of the six factions, so there wasn't any inherent bias.

Quote from: Kaled on October 30, 2011, 01:01:00 PM
I'd like to see a campaign where the faction has more effect than just the type of cards you need to collect. I guess that would mean the factions had to be 'balanced' in some way so choosing a faction doesn't affect you chance of winning. (I don't know if in yesterday's event choosing a faction really affected the players chance of winning?) I'd like to do an event where players in a faction are at least loosely allied and are all working for the same end rather than just out for themselves and can ally in games if they so choose. So maybe different factions would be trying to collect different resources (or deny them to others).

Funny you should mention this Dave

My plans for the Summer Conclave are picking up on this very comment

One aftermath writeup (http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1620.msg23053#msg23053), as promised.

Once again, Zophar manages to increase his notoriety. Bonus points for being the only character I've ever dealt with who managed to destroy TWO tables simultaneously.

Also, some photos (http://s772.photobucket.com/albums/yy3/MarcoSkoll/Inquisitor%20Events/2011%20Autumn%20Conclave/). Not a huge number, and quality is a tad mix-and-match. I'm getting close to sorting a "Warhammer World" setting for my camera, but a bit more work is still needed.

@Molotov:
As far as the finale game, the basic principle was that of four linked tables - one central table which I oversaw; and three side tables where the objectives could affect play on the main table. One of the players from each of these side tables was given the job of keeping track of turn order and such, so I didn't have to keep track of everything all at once.

There's not a huge amount to it beyond that. It's not that hard - write several games that can interact with each other, make sure you have some reasonable briefings to hand out to players so you don't have to brief them all individually or keep reminding them of the special rules.

That said, I do recommend collectively briefing everyone on the basic setting of each individual table, else people won't get the full picture and it won't feel like the one huge game it's supposed to be.
Maybe next time I'll add more feedback, allowing the central table to have effects on the other games, but I think that would have been pushing it a little much for an as-of-then untried system.

Also, you'll probably have to explain this INQvitational thing to me at some point, because I still have some 28mm models I started for when PrecinctOmega's Dark Heresy was supposed to be a day out, and I'm trying to find an excuse to finish/use them.

Marco - are you going to also post your write up on Carthax? I've started typing up some notes from the day and will work on them some more over lunch. My plan is to try to build a narrative out of the cards I held at the end of the day and what happened during the games. Just need to decide how they survived the orbital strike and if they know anything about the fate of the Corporal that they could use as leverage in future encounters...

It will be part of what eventually gets submitted to Carthax.

However, I'm looking to complete a fuller write up than that for the Wiki, so anybody who wants to ping me a summary from the games I wasn't running (or indeed, the full story from the other finale tables!) would be very much appreciated.

Here's my photos from the day. (http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y283/vanhelser/Autumn%20Conclave%202011/)  Not many, but thought I'd share nonetheless.  There are a couple that are even dice and character sheet free, which may do for adding some colour to the wiki write up.

I'll draft a wee summary of my final game Marco and send it your way.

Ruaridh

Posted my own account of the day, including a version of events for the game with the valkyrie.

I've posted a write-up of the day from the perspective of my Tau warband on Carthax. It's not exactly great literature but I think captures something of the day's events and weaves in all the contacts I held into the story. I need to go back through and add in a few names of characters and maybe some photos, but it'll do for a start. I realised as I was writing it that despite facing off against Gav in two games, our characters didn't interact so aren't in my write-up. When more people post their versions of events I'll revisit it and cross-reference it to their posts etc.

My own report has been rather hindered by the fact that a week and a half of searching still hasn't turned up where the gorram registration slips have gone.

I have to concede that my disorganisational skills may have resulted in their terminal misplacement. Whelp, time to wing it.

Well, a work in progress write up: http://carthax.wikispaces.com/The+Saint

There are a couple of errors, but rather than trying to fix them now, I'll address them when I come back to write the other sections.