The Conclave

The Golden Throne => Community News and Announcements => Topic started by: MarcoSkoll on February 17, 2015, 03:21:37 PM

Title: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 reports
Post by: MarcoSkoll on February 17, 2015, 03:21:37 PM
2015 Inquisitor Grand Tournament
Warhammer World
Saturday 30th May.

We have three standard tables and Spyral Prime (http://warhammerworld.games-workshop.com/wp-content/uploads/feature-tables-spyral-prime.jpg) booked.

Event pack V1.0.1 (http://www.mediafire.com/download/tc2bx92p3abyt3r/IGT+2015+Event+Pack+V1-0-1.doc) (29th March)

Possible attendees:
~~~~~

Original post (February 17th):

... well, hopefully they're going to happen.

I've pre-emptively shot an e-mail at Warhammer World, asking whether they'll still have our heretical kind around after they've completed their renovations. I'm hopeful that they might, as their events staff have always seemed pretty accommodating in the past and it's not like we're asking to play someone else's game.

However, if not, we will have to restart our conversations about alternative gaming venues in a reasonably central location.
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: greenstuff_gav on February 17, 2015, 04:29:07 PM
i for one support this kind of thinking!
from what i gather if WHW won't allow out of print games, Foundry encourage old school stuff so i doubt they'll have trouble.
Radstock is still an option and have a plethora of terrain but being down south was an issue last time!

i've still got The Eramus Affair which is a print-n-play campaign ready to go for anyone that wants to run it; my time is rather more limited these days so putting a campaign together would take longer!
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: Cortez on February 17, 2015, 06:45:28 PM
I hope that we can find a venue for some Inquisitor action as it would be a shame to just let it die completely.

WHW or an established gaming venue would be the best, but I would probably be able to use the village scout hut near where I live, although we'd have to bring plenty of terrain. Might be easier to get to than Radstock.
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: Van Helser on February 17, 2015, 07:02:31 PM
Excellent idea. I am dead keen to run a campaign day this year. I am completely open to any venue, as an extra hour or two's travel makes little difference in the grand scheme of things to me!

Ruaridh
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: MarcoSkoll on February 17, 2015, 08:52:17 PM
Well, as I'm not now overdue to take the dog out and I've done dinner (pancakes, obviously), I can elaborate on my own thoughts...

~~~~~

A very basic option would simply be IGT 2015. It probably won't have much "grand" to it with the current level of forum activity, but it gives everyone a chance to do a bit of everything and doesn't need one person to write the entire day.

As discussed for (the non-existent) IGT 2014, the non-existent 54mm range these days means that a prize pool is difficult to handle (particularly if anyone wants to pay on the day), so the best that would be up for grabs would be kudos and anything people were prepared to donate.

I'm prepared to have a hand in running this, but I would also want to participate as far as possible (excluding myself from any prize winning, should prizes so exist). Aside from actually wanting to play some games, the numbers would be marginally healthier if everyone was as involved as possible.

(I'd also love to see some 28mm players come along, although as much as I want to see the full panoply of Inquisitor at one event, I'll be content with any event we can manage at the moment).

~~~~~

Option two is that it once was proposed that we could on some occasion have just a general meet-up, where players/GMs could arrange scenarios between each other in advance. This never came to fruition, but it could actually be a pretty worthwhile event, to let some more intricate scenarios be run.

Should I ever get the Warhound finished, this kind of event would be a rather tempting time to run the "God Machine goes to War" scenario I have planned.

~~~~~

I have also for a while had plans to run a linked series of three events centred around a large Imperial campaign.

Each event would be relatively self contained, so could be enjoyed even if players couldn't make it to all of them, but there'd be some plot threads running through the whole series that would provide a larger sense of continuity than some other 'Clave events have had.

However, I would want to have the first event in a fairly complete form, and good drafts for the later plot (which would of course change with the player's actions) before I announced dates.
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: greenstuff_gav on February 18, 2015, 10:08:04 AM
i'd prefer option one, then look at option three if we have any attendance (warhound!)

as to prizes i've got a few spare miniatures i could throw in; my recasting of the range has stalled due to finance issues (but the collection is nearing completion!) but thinking outside the box, would it be worthwhile contacting someone like Nicolas (http://nicolasrgiacondino.deviantart.com/gallery/?rnrd=126521#_browse#_browse) or possibly NachoMon (http://nachomon.deviantart.com/gallery/) for some commission work? i for one'd happily donate toward prize fund ontop of my entry fee!

on the other side, wasn't there talk of no entry fee and scrounging prizes last time?
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: MarcoSkoll on February 18, 2015, 12:56:25 PM
Who likes good news? ...Everyone? Then good news, everyone!

QuoteHey there David -
Thanks for the email. We are still more than happy for folks to come and play any Games Workshop games here, including Specialist games.  We do ask that all miniatures and core game rules you use are either currently published or were once published by Games Workshop, but other than that - feel free.

Nick Bayton
Warhammer World Events Team

... well, that's an abridged version of the e-mail, but the core of it is that despite the renovations, a slightly reduced gaming area and Inquisitor being out of print, they'll still have us.

There's the normal stipulations about GW models only and no longer having 54mm specific terrain, but we've always worked around those fine in the past. (Well, we did have one of the staffers ask about my NPC Guard last time we were up there, but they didn't have any problem with what are essentially army men buried under some Cadian parts, and that's as close as I can recall we've ever come to an issue).

Quote from: greenstuff_gav on February 18, 2015, 10:08:04 AMon the other side, wasn't there talk of no entry fee and scrounging prizes last time?
The absence of any 54mm range is a bit of a limitation on the idea of having voucher prizes like we did before.

It is theoretically still an option - I know some people used them to buy conversion fodder like Contemptors and Taloses (or whatever the plural is), and I myself used it to buy things like art books, Fenrisian Wolves (for use at 54mm scale, but they're still pretty massive for dogs/wolves even then) and some stuff for 28mm characters - but I'd want a decent consensus on whether it was still something people wanted.

More "trophy-like" prizes could indeed be more viable at this stage - things like commissioned artwork, the customised Nerf gun Ruaridh did last time, or that sort. Another possibility I have considered is picking an art piece from the rulebook and doing that as a one off model. However, slightly dependent on time.

There might have to be a bit of discussion about how we funded that kind of prize pool though (presuming the IGT is remaining non-profit, matching value of prize pool with value of entry fees would be a little difficult when we often don't know exact player numbers until the day).
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: Cortez on February 20, 2015, 06:34:53 PM
Personally I think going for an IGT style format would be the best i.e. everyone brings a scenario and plans on GM'ing one game, this format is probably the easiest to plan and isn't really dependant on numbers. I'm not really fussed about prizes or keeping score though, especially as there are fewer people around these days (emphasis should be on having fun).

On the other hand I would like to play that Erasmus affair of Gav's at some point. So I'm fairly easy to please.
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: MarcoSkoll on February 22, 2015, 03:26:41 AM
Quote from: Cortez on February 20, 2015, 06:34:53 PMI'm not really fussed about prizes or keeping score though
I think I'd be interested in keeping score even without prizes. I've found the friendly competition is quite a good motivation at times.

(Although if there are people who'd rather not have the possibility of "losing" the event, that's entirely understandable).
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: Heroka Vendile on February 22, 2015, 11:33:10 PM
perhaps a more casual IGT with 3 scheduled game slots as opposed to the usual 4?
There's always the chance for a knock about game in bugmans (if it survives the refurb) at the end if people are desperate for that 4th fix.
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: MarcoSkoll on February 23, 2015, 02:59:51 AM
Three games can be done far more comfortably in a day than four, but within the IGT format it might throw up a different problem.

I'm quite a fan of the common approach of three players and a GM to a table. Three players means:

- More creativity at the table.
As I've said before, Inquisitor is possibly the most enjoyable GMing experience I know. While players can surprise you in a PvE RPG (the last time I GMed the Dark Heresy group, the plot for the ground team got rather heavily thrown when the characters decided to try to *hire* the suspect mercenary company), it's not often the plot diverges far (the spire team's plot largely followed the cues, beyond some unexpected shopping for a dress!). However, with the players pitted against each other, even the GM is finding out what will happen as it happens.

- The intentions of each player are easier to disguise.
The core of my "Countdown Run" scenario at the last GT (which is one of the best games I feel I've ever run, and eventually won me the GMing prize) was pretty simple - one of the players is a traitor, work out who/don't get found out, then escape - but entirely dependent on more than two players.

- Some "Mexican stand-off" in the mix
I mean this in its pure sense - in a three way stand off, being the first to shoot is risky. You get the first shot, but you leave the remaining gunman with only one target.
(I'm not suggesting veteran Inquisitor players need a disincentive from violence, but their characters often do).


The issue here is that a three round format where only one in four people gets to GM in a round means that not everyone gets to GM. The alternative would be two players and a GM to a table, but that misses out on all of the above and only really supports multiples of three well.

If we're not taking the scoring too seriously, that's not a problem, but it may be something that has to be considered.
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: Holiad on February 24, 2015, 09:22:07 PM
Despite my inactivity on the forums, I'd be quite happy to bring along a few characters to any event.
As for type, while I enjoy the theme of campaign days, I have a bit of a soft spot for the slightly more formal IGT format. For me, the lack of a strong overall theme is made up for by the extra variety in the scenarios, and more than the campaign events, they pushed me to make an extra effort to be a better gamer. I built models, and characters around them, specifically for the painting contest, and I paid extra attention to how the characters would work a game both individually and as a warband knowing I was being scored. More than that, they made me pay attention to parts of the game I would otherwise have largely ignored-my biggest GM contribution to other events was running someone else's scenario, but at an IGT I had to write my own scenario, make it flexible enough to accomodate warbands of unknown idealogy and relative power levels, and make it fit into the time available, and I actually found I often enjoyed the challenge. So I'd agree, it's quite important that everyone has to GM at least one scenario, and to keep them considering the possibility of having to fit in a third player. I also agree that three player games often give a better dynamic for inquisitor, while two player games often devolve into a shooting match. In particular, its a lot easier to include weak warbands in a three player game without their opponent simply blowing them away and focussing on their objectives in peace.
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: Heroka Vendile on February 26, 2015, 12:28:43 AM
Quote from: MarcoSkoll on February 23, 2015, 02:59:51 AMThe issue here is that a three round format where only one in four people gets to GM in a round means that not everyone gets to GM. The alternative would be two players and a GM to a table, but that misses out on all of the above and only really supports multiples of three well.

If we're not taking the scoring too seriously, that's not a problem, but it may be something that has to be considered.

So how about we average peoples scores across their 3 games, regardless of whether they GM or play it's still scored out of 40 I seem to remember. Sure not everyone may get a shot at GMing, but if the idea is to make it a little more casual but still structured just so an event of some sort actually happens, I think that's fine so long as everybody understands.
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: MarcoSkoll on February 26, 2015, 03:11:34 AM
I'm not sure I'd want to leap into format changes without a consensus (although I do concede that trying to fit four games into a day gets pretty tight, and it's probably entirely possible to complement that with some people who would willingly not GM).

Still, exact specifics aside, something IGT-ish seems like our starting point.
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: greenstuff_gav on February 26, 2015, 06:59:26 AM
also we've had some fairly new players at the last couple of meetups; maybe worth giving people the option not to GM; we should know how many don't have to GM beforehand and allow begging / pleading / bribes (into the prize pot!) to avoid GMing...
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: Holiad on February 26, 2015, 09:32:29 AM
Myself, I'd consider the presence of new/fairly new players a reason in favour of making sure everyone had to GM at least one game, since these are the players we most want to be encouraging to take part in the GMing and scenario writing aspects of the game.
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: Cortez on February 26, 2015, 02:09:02 PM
GMing for the first time can be very scary for a new player. I remember deciding not to go to one of the first IGTs because I wasn't confident enough in my abilities to GM a game. It took a couple of events before I was confident enough to want to GM games.
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: greenstuff_gav on February 26, 2015, 04:50:57 PM
this is why giving people the option may be an idea; those who'd not go due to fear of their own skill-level but also encourage people to try! :)
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: MarcoSkoll on February 26, 2015, 08:05:50 PM
An interesting argument, but I'm not sure quite how many new players we might have; We may well find ourselves with just older hands at this one.

Still, three games in a two/three player format does also avert anyone needing to GM twice (regardless of attendance numbers) and given current interest levels, I'd be very surprised if we needed to find more than two people to not GM.

I can see the arguments either way, but I'll have to poke at the scoring and see if I can come up with something that seems fair.

There is a minor problem on that front, because player scores average a little higher than GM scores, but I've run a quick experiment with the available numbers where the player's GM score is simulated as their player score minus the difference between the average player and GM score for the event, and it only really messes with the placings if GMing is the player's strength (but these people probably wouldn't elect to not GM anyway).

~~~~~

Anyway, as a preliminary discussion of dates...

I don't think we'll have too much option to put an event before the WHW reopening (the weekend of the 16-17th May, when they won't be taking bookings anyway), as they've got restricted space and, as much as I would like it to be fairly soon, I think April and early May are relatively short notice, particularly if anyone wants time to get something big and showy prepared.

So late May is a possibility, but we can also aim into June.

Now, I'm definitely unavailable 13th June and I also need to do my best to avoid the 20th, but beyond that, I think I can probably squeeze things in (if possibly with only so much sleep the night before) most other weekends from mid-May to the end of June.

If they'd let us have it, the 23rd May would be quite nice, given it is the first weekend after their big re-opening do (and might therefore be quite an entertaining time to show off).

~~~~~

There's also the possible question of feature tables. We'll probably get a choice of only one, and I don't know exactly what still exists/will still exist after their refit (some of them are currently unavailable), but we can but ask.

If they'd let us use it for Inquisitor, I have looked longingly at Goblin Town when I've been up there.
However, I think Spyral Prime would probably be the safe option - a decent density of Cities of Death terrain, so well scaled, plenty of cover and multiple levels - it was pretty good when we used it last GT.

And, if I dare to dream, I think it might even be possible to arrange the pieces to even allow Leander enough room, in the (admittedly very uncertain) event she were finished by then.
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: greenstuff_gav on February 26, 2015, 08:39:36 PM
if it's opening weekend / afterwards, do we know what the plan is with tables? will they still have showcase tables with less gaming room?

dates-wise i'd like to avoid April and June 13th but pretty much am free for May!
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: MarcoSkoll on February 26, 2015, 08:50:02 PM
What I do know is that opening weekend (16-17th May) won't be possible; it's being ticketed, no gaming tables available.

But given they've been keeping most of the feature tables available during their renovations, I'd be greatly surprised if they won't be available after.

Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: MarcoSkoll on March 01, 2015, 06:43:35 PM
Blast. New hurdle. To quote the latest blog post on WHW's site:

QuoteHaving successfully tested a new way of reserving tables on Wednesdays, from May 19th all of our days will be divided into separate gaming sessions. This allows more gamers to get more battles!

I'll be phoning them about available dates in May and June in the next day or so, but it seems I'll now have to preface with a question about whether we can still book for an entire day. If not, we'll be back to square one on our venue, because a half day event is completely out of the question.
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: greenstuff_gav on March 01, 2015, 08:57:31 PM
shall i start asking around? i suspect Foundry will be ok as they run alot of oldhammer days, i know of two venues in the southwest (W@R at Westfield and BIG in Bristol) but doubt they're an option!
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: MarcoSkoll on March 01, 2015, 09:32:01 PM
Probably a good idea. Even if I'm hoping they will still do full days, it's looking an ever better idea to have a reserve in the wings.

I'd planned on leaving phoning them about dates a little longer, but because of this I'll probably move it up to tomorrow to get an answer ASAP. Hopefully this is just them stopping people unnecessarily booking longer than they need.
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: MarcoSkoll on March 02, 2015, 06:36:50 PM
I had no success in getting through either time when I tried ringing this afternoon.

I'll try again tomorrow morning, but if that doesn't go through, I'll shoot them an email instead.
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: MarcoSkoll on March 03, 2015, 01:10:59 PM
I have now successfully rung WHW.

The gist is that bookings are taken on a case by case basis. The half day format they're bringing in is as mostly I hoped - to stop people booking a table for the whole day and then only turning up at two in the afternoon. If we still want a full day, "the boss" (Nick Bayton, I presume) will have to clear it, but that seemed to be mostly cautious wording on the part of the person I spoke to. He seemed optimistic about it, particularly given how far afield we'd be coming from.

The only thing that seemed a bit uncertain would be booking a feature table for a whole Saturday, but even then, it's not out of the question.

In any case, I'm assured that both the 23rd and 30th of May currently have spaces for a three table booking. (As much as I'd like it to be a larger booking, I think three is as large as it's likely to be without a load of 28mm players also jumping at the idea).

Bookings aren't yet being taken into June, but if those May dates don't take enough people's fancy, then we'll wait a bit and enquire at a later date.

I have however remembered that I am less available in June than I thought. I've got a folk event on the 13th, I may go to an Infinity event or another folk event on the 20th, and the 27th is a concert I'm supposed to help run (and I have already missed it last year because I forgot when it was and booked myself into the aforementioned Infinity event).

In any case, to repeat in case it's got missed amongst my rambling:

IGT* on 23rd or 30th of May? Answers on a postcard, please.
*Possibly with a slight format change, we'll discuss as we go.
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: Cortez on March 03, 2015, 02:02:11 PM
We wouldn't need the feature table for the entire day. We usually only use them for the final battle of a campaign day.

As for the dates I think they're ok for me.
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: MarcoSkoll on March 03, 2015, 04:00:00 PM
For a campaign event, I'd have no qualms about booking it for a half day - but for a GT, any scenario can happen any time of the day, and it'd be nice to give GMs a choice other than just Realm of Battle tables.

If we did move to a three round format (which has its merits*), a half day booking would probably give only one GM a chance to use the feature table.

~~~~~

*I'm guessing that would break down as approximately:

1000-1030: Registration
1030-1230: Round 1
1230-1330: Lunch
1330-1530: Round 2
1530-1730: Round 3
1730-1800: Retire to Bugmans for results calculation and "award" ceremony.

An extra half hour per game would result in a bit less rushing, certainly.
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: greenstuff_gav on March 03, 2015, 05:37:46 PM
i'd rather the 23rd of May but am good with either!
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: Van Helser on March 03, 2015, 07:03:58 PM
Pretty sure either of those dates would work for me. Would prefer if there is some confirmation soon so I can book flights before they get too expensive though.

Ruaridh
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: MarcoSkoll on March 04, 2015, 01:42:40 AM
Absolutely. I'm hoping to get it booked in ASAP for that exact reason.

Anyway, it's looking like the 23rd is a little ahead in the vote... and do feel free to comment on feature tables too. In the absence of any opinions to the contrary, I'll try and snag Spyral Prime (which, apart from a couple of 28mm Rhinos embedded in it to mess up the scaling a bit, is actually a very nice table).
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: Heroka Vendile on March 05, 2015, 12:26:15 AM
30th works for me, but not the 23rd (in a concert)
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: MarcoSkoll on March 05, 2015, 04:29:45 PM
Duly noted.

I've also dropped discussions onto Ammobunker, Warseer and DakkaDakka. If anyone has any suggestions for other forums it's even half worth dropping in on, do chime in. I'm not necessarily expecting a huge amount to come of this, but it would be nice to be able to have 28mm players along as well and have a Grand Tournament where the "Grand" isn't just nominal.
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: RobSkib on March 06, 2015, 09:35:42 AM
*Blows dust off account*

Well, count me in for either of those days! I'll try and drag along some new guys as well.
Title: Re: Events in 2015
Post by: MarcoSkoll on March 06, 2015, 02:04:40 PM
Well dang! Anyone else feel like crawling out of the woodwork?

Right, I think that brings our current lists to:

23rd:
Cortez
greenstuff_gav (preferred)
RobSkib (+ possible newbies)
Van Helser

30th:
Cortez
greenstuff_gav
Heroka Vendile
RobSkib (+ possible newbies)
Van Helser
Title: Re: Events in 2015 (current discussion: IGT 2015, 23rd or 30th May)
Post by: TheNephew on March 07, 2015, 03:25:21 PM
Tentative yes again, to either weekend.
I can't remember anything booked, but I'm not a diary-keeper, so I may already be booked.
So, I think I said this last year too, but I'll try and make it.

Unfortunately I just had another rattle through the cupboards and not only can I STILL not find my Gruss conversion, but SWMBO's tidied away my intact models too. The search continues.

Will there be an over-arching narrative to work with?
Even a very loose one would make it easier to put warband fluff together, since I've not had one up and running since I was a regular poster a half-dozen years ago.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 (current discussion: IGT 2015, 23rd or 30th May)
Post by: greenstuff_gav on March 07, 2015, 04:33:08 PM
Quote from: TheNephew on March 07, 2015, 03:25:21 PM
Will there be an over-arching narrative to work with?
Even a very loose one would make it easier to put
a "theme" may help writing scenarios as well; i remember my usual GT games forge a narrative (http://buildyourimagination.co.uk/minis/batreps.php) across the day but can't remember if there ever was plot guidelines...
Title: Re: Events in 2015 (current discussion: IGT 2015, 23rd or 30th May)
Post by: MarcoSkoll on March 07, 2015, 05:16:26 PM
If people want to collaborate on coming up with some kind of optional theme for the IGT, then I have no issues with that, but the IGTs haven't previously been built around any specific plot and I wouldn't want to impose restrictions on what attendees can write for their scenarios.

In any case, new votes added.

23rd:
Cortez
greenstuff_gav (preferred)
Radu Lykan (possible)
RobSkib (+ possible newbies)
TheNephew
Van Helser

30th:
Cortez
greenstuff_gav
Heroka Vendile
Radu Lykan (possible)
RobSkib (+ possible newbies)
TheNephew
Van Helser

The 30th is currently slightly ahead in the vote (with 8 names to 7, if I count myself - EDIT: Radu not available), but I will leave the vote open until I email WHW on Monday. If I'm optimistic, I might even have enough of an argument for four tables.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 (current discussion: IGT 2015, 23rd or 30th May)
Post by: TheNephew on March 07, 2015, 09:15:19 PM
Checked, I can't do the 23rd, can do the 30th.

But I'm still not absolutely certain, so don't weight your decision too much on me.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 (current discussion: IGT 2015, 23rd or 30th May)
Post by: MarcoSkoll on March 07, 2015, 11:05:12 PM
No problem - there's a few people we might yet hear from, but it's looking like the 30th is most likely anyway, as Heroka isn't available the weekend before either.



Title: Re: Events in 2015 (current discussion: IGT 2015, 23rd or 30th May)
Post by: greenstuff_gav on March 07, 2015, 11:45:09 PM
guess i'd better see if i can find someone better at IT* to help me with my character!

*after 8 years or so my skills are as sharp as a spoon
Title: Re: Events in 2015 (current discussion: IGT 2015, 23rd or 30th May)
Post by: Holiad on March 08, 2015, 09:41:56 AM
Barring unforeseen circumstances, I can make either of those dates. As for an overall theme, I'd rather leave it out since, as I said earlier, I feel the variety of different scenarios makes up for it.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 (current discussion: IGT 2015, 23rd or 30th May)
Post by: greenstuff_gav on March 08, 2015, 04:08:11 PM
after talking about it at my local club i may be +1 or +2 for either date! :)
Title: Re: Events in 2015 (current discussion: IGT 2015, 23rd or 30th May)
Post by: MarcoSkoll on March 08, 2015, 09:38:43 PM
Blimey.

Right, that puts things at 8 names on the list for the 30th at the moment, I'm hazarding that Myriad may join Holiad, and both Gav and Rob may be bringing along others.
If all of those showed up, we've probably filled three tables already. I'm not expecting a full show (we always get a couple of people having to drop out) but that's not too bad.

On the backs of the small numbers at things like the 2013 IGT and Ancient Rites, I was originally wondering if we'd even fill three tables, but I'd like to have a few spare spaces, so four tables is probably the smart move; As much as I'd like to have loads of spare space, we've not needed more than four tables in years, and I want our booking to seem as reasonable as possible.
(And if we do later  find ourselves overwhelmed with interest, we might be able to add an extra table later or, at a pinch, split a large feature table down the middle and put a game on each end).

So, in the absence of someone hurriedly telling me otherwise, I'll drop them an e-mail in the near future requesting three 6x4 tables and Spyral Prime for the 30th of May, I'll tell them there'll be about 12 of us and we'll probably be crashing Bugmans at about 12:30-ish.
(I'm assuming we'll probably keep the schedule of only one game before lunch, particularly if we do choose to swap to three rounds).

I'll confirm as soon as they do, so that people can book trains/planes/buses/hotels ASAP.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 (current discussion: IGT 2015, 23rd or 30th May)
Post by: greenstuff_gav on March 09, 2015, 06:49:20 AM
while my +1/+2 are checking their shift patterns, is it feasible for players to request their GM game second / last, to help those new or who haven't GMed to play a couplea games first?
i know it isn't possible for everyone to GM the last game (or IS IT?!) but thought it may help those new to it :)
Title: Re: Events in 2015 (current discussion: IGT 2015, 23rd or 30th May)
Post by: MarcoSkoll on March 09, 2015, 12:18:16 PM
Organising participants into any given GMing order is trivial. The lists (http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=270.msg25970#msg25970) I put together a few years ago have everyone GM in the order of their player numbers, so the players just need to be assigned higher numbers in registration.

The difficulty we do have with GMing is that if we do move to a three round format, not every participant will be guaranteed a GMing slot (because we're also dependent on being able to juggle two or three players per GM in order that we can account for non-round numbers of participants - two players would only work for multiples of three, three players multiples of four, but mixing two and three works for anything other than 1, 2 or 5 participants).

With potentially four participants per table, but only three rounds in which those can GM, we'll have as many missing GMing slots as we have tables with four people on them - very much like in the four round format, where we have as many people needing to GM twice as we have tables with three people on them.

It's not going to be possible to be any more certain of these numbers in advance than we normally are. So, the people missing the GMing round in a three round format would have to be filled by either volunteers or drawing straws on the day. I could certainly take requests to skip GMing in advance, but still... everyone would need to have a scenario prepared.

If we want to make sure everyone gets to run their scenario, then we'd have to keep the four round format (but the three round format certainly doesn't guarantee that people will get to opt out).

Still, while it's difficult to know how many people have to GM other than once, it's very easy to shuffle those people who are GMing into any order at all.

EDIT: That said, in a three round format, it should be possible (at first glance, I will need to check) to ensure that some players either don't GM or GM for only two people (which might be easier for inexperienced GMs), because we'll only not have "opt out" slots if some of the tables have got only three people on them.

~~~~~

In any case, the e-mail has now gone off. I will confirm ASAP.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 (current discussion: IGT 2015, 23rd or 30th May)
Post by: MarcoSkoll on March 12, 2015, 01:08:48 AM
No confirmation yet, grrr. If I haven't had something by mid-afternoon "tomorrow", I'll try ringing and seeing if the e-mail's become lost in their system again (it has happened before).

In any case, we need to resolve the conversation about three or four rounds. I'll hopefully have a draft of a three round player pack soon, but it really comes down to considering whether it's going to be a problem if not everyone can be guaranteed to GM but also that no-one can be guaranteed to not GM in three rounds.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 (current discussion: IGT 2015, 23rd or 30th May)
Post by: greenstuff_gav on March 12, 2015, 06:30:51 AM
i think it's not a problem GMing or not-GMing and most happy enough to play Inquisitor that slight unfairness regarding points* wouldn't be an issue

*isn't it GMs score slightly higher?
Title: Re: Events in 2015 (current discussion: IGT 2015, 23rd or 30th May)
Post by: MarcoSkoll on March 12, 2015, 01:02:31 PM
The issue though is that without exact numbers I have no idea how many people will not be GMing, so everyone would need to prepare a scenario regardless of whether they want to GM or whether they'll eventually get to use it.

The best I can be certain of at the moment is that in a three round format I can offer two players slots which will either not GM or GM for only two players. (Which'd mean they wouldn't have to worry about making their scenario work for three players, and make for a smaller game that'd be easier to keep to time*).

If the overall numbers get a bit better, I can probably extend that to three slots.

*That said, I am planning on keeping a couple of very simple scenarios in reserve to throw at GMs in case any scenarios run too fast and they need some time filler. (Which is how I managed to run three games at the last GT)

Quote from: greenstuff_gav on March 12, 2015, 06:30:51 AMisn't it GMs score slightly higher?
A couple of points lower, on average.

However, what I wouldn't be difficult to do is calculate the difference between the average Player and GM scores on the day, then use that difference as a "handicap" so that everything was kept on the level.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 (current discussion: IGT 2015, 23rd or 30th May)
Post by: greenstuff_gav on March 12, 2015, 05:57:34 PM
i usually have a campaign or two in my folder just incase so lookslike spare scenarios aren't an issue!

in semi-related tangent one of my +1s is on shift so its a possible +1 instead of the +2!
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: MarcoSkoll on March 13, 2015, 11:00:48 AM
Spectrum is green!

Pum dum pum dum dum dum! Cap...tain Scar...let! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2_ApL9OZKs)

We have a confirmed booking for Saturday 30th May, and have three standard tables plus Spyral Prime for the whole day.

I will attempt to have a draft briefing pack in the near future.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: greenstuff_gav on March 13, 2015, 06:07:16 PM
with all the crap news this week i must admit..
(http://media.giphy.com/media/QAgWTCgo9uKI0/giphy.gif)
i'm well excited!
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: Van Helser on March 14, 2015, 11:34:09 AM
I have made the necessary bookings and will be there. Looking forward to it majorly.

Don't have a preference on number of games - I just want to play/GM/the whole shebang.

Ruaridh
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: MarcoSkoll on March 14, 2015, 07:18:13 PM
Indeed, much celebration:
(http://www.southbeachphotoboothco.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/blowing-party-horn1.png)

Hopefully this will be the start of making up for the slow event scene in 2014 - which is partly my fault, as I didn't push hard enough to initiate IGT 2014 (still, I did end up running Ancient Rites, so I won't blame myself too much).

Party blowers or not though, today marks 11 weeks to the event.
Not a particularly auspicious anniversary, but we nonetheless have an Alpha event pack to go with it: http://www.mediafire.com/download/bcvzbxubi9n8bts/

As it says in big red letters at the top of the first page, this pack is not yet considered final. It's bolting together the fundamentals for if we do swap to a three-round IGT, like:

- Article 4: An updated order of events. Fairly simple, just new time slots.

- Articles 6.1 & 10: What happens in the event of GMing "byes".
With regard to Article 6.1.2, I don't want the chance of not GMing to discourage participants from doing things like putting the effort into a fully modelled cathedral, so I'm reserving the right to exempt anyone who's gone to that kind of length from a bye.

Other things worth drawing attention to:

- Footnote 2: While we're not (currently) set to have 28mm play on the day, people are invited to bring along INQ28 miniatures anyway. If we can find a little spare space, I'd like to be able to lay out a small display of nice 28 and 54mm models alongside something like Kaled's Inquisitor pamphlets for people to peruse - if we get people's attention*, I'd like to be able to use that to further awareness of Inquisitor.

*And hopefully we will... I'm not going to promise Leander will be at the event, but she's fairly specifically designed to get noticed.

- Article 3.6 and Footnote 3: The 30th is also Warhammer Battle Brothers (i.e. a doubles event), so dress sensibly, as the hall will get rather warm with that many people in it.

- Article 16: I'll be participating. However, you're not obliged to score me, and even if you do, I won't be appearing in the final ranking.

- Article 17.1: I've removed the WYSIWYG restriction on GMs. The only time I've yet seen a GM modify characters, it was strictly in breach of this, but it was nonetheless highly highly enjoyable.

- Appendix 4: I've done a bit of (experimental) adjustment to the guidelines on scoring players.

Things I'm yet considering changing:

- Article 2.1: Possibly increasing the character allowance to four or five and giving the player the option to swap them around. It'd be up to GMs whether more than three could be used at once, but with these longer time slots, scenarios being run with two players might benefit from the addition of a fourth character.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: greenstuff_gav on March 14, 2015, 11:20:24 PM
having only had a quick skim, is the rule about only accepting playable characters from the day as modelling entries still in effect?

if so i'd be glad of the bigger pool; i've already decided my crew but they're finished :lol:
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: MarcoSkoll on March 15, 2015, 01:27:42 AM
Quote from: greenstuff_gav on March 14, 2015, 11:20:24 PMhaving only had a quick skim, is the rule about only accepting playable characters from the day as modelling entries still in effect?
At least in that draft, yes.  It does put a bit of a limit on players just repeatedly re-entering their best models and encourages them to try to do a good job again.

The other alternative I had in mind was completely dropping any restrictions on characters - after all, the IGT is not an event with continuity, and there are reasons why players being able to completely swap their warbands would be a good thing.

For example, if players think the past interactions between their characters could interfere, for example - Koval and I have worked the backgrounds of several of our characters together, so putting Inquisitor Filipowski and Commissar Fenn on the same table as Inquisitor Skoll and/or Inquisitor Rhodes would completely de-rail a scenario that was trying to start a punch-up, because what you'd actually get is a reunion.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: MarcoSkoll on March 15, 2015, 03:44:58 PM
Those of you who are Facebook friends will already know this, but the IGT is also now a Facebook event too, as I know a lot of people like working that way:

https://www.facebook.com/events/375587422638875/
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: TheNephew on March 15, 2015, 06:42:32 PM
Upgrading myself from a 'maybe' to a 'yes, barring cataclysmic life events'.
Time to book myself another pre-dawn train and find a caffeine delivery system I can attach directly to the main line.

Edit: Oh, and, as much as I prefer the look without, actually base my Liwet and escorts. It was funny the first time she took an unscheduled nap on the way down an escarpment, but became increasingly wearing as the day progressed.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: greenstuff_gav on March 15, 2015, 10:04:58 PM
while i like to be prepared for any eventuality it never occurred to e to bring bases (http://buildyourimagination.co.uk/minis/conclaveautumn13/images/20130928_170241.jpg)! :)
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: Kaled on March 16, 2015, 06:12:01 PM
I've just checked in my garage, and in amongst the pile of sadly neglected Inquisitor stuff is a chest containing a master-crafted pistol and issues of White Dwarf containing Inquisitor articles that was given as a prize a couple of years ago. I'm not yet sure whether I'll make it to the IGT (we had a baby a few weeks ago so my time is less my own than it once was) - but if anyone from the Preston, Lancashire area is going to the IGT they're welcome to come pick it up.

I also found all my 54mm terrain that I ought to try to sell or do something with - the baby's stuff is already taking up room in the garage so I don't really have space to keep it all.  I guess the same goes for the box of 54mm miniatures and conversion bits...

I'll continue to keep an eye on this thread and will let you know if I can make it - it would be good to see you all and catch up.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: greenstuff_gav on March 16, 2015, 06:25:47 PM
i hope you can come but congrats on the sprogling! :)
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: Cortez on March 16, 2015, 09:28:04 PM
Hey Kaled.

I was planning on going in my car this time, instead of by train, so if you want a lift one is available.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: MarcoSkoll on March 17, 2015, 01:34:39 AM
Quote from: TheNephew on March 15, 2015, 06:42:32 PMUpgrading myself from a 'maybe' to a 'yes, barring cataclysmic life events'.
Excellent! And so my master plan comes together.

QuoteTime to book myself another pre-dawn train and find a caffeine delivery system I can attach directly to the main line.
For some reason, the interwebs aren't yet letting me book Advance tickets. I'm hoping that's just because the timetables for my local line aren't available past the 16th May yet and I'll be able to book closer to the time...

... but worst case scenario, a non-London routes return is only about £8 more than the pre-booked London routes for me. (Although it's also less practical, as the changeovers on those routes vary between worryingly short and tediously long).

Quote from: Kaled on March 16, 2015, 06:12:01 PMI'll continue to keep an eye on this thread and will let you know if I can make it - it would be good to see you all and catch up.
Indeed it would! I hope you can make it.

And, as Gav has already said, congratulations on your new miniature person.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: Kaled on March 17, 2015, 06:28:33 AM
Quote from: Cortez on March 16, 2015, 09:28:04 PM
Hey Kaled.

I was planning on going in my car this time, instead of by train, so if you want a lift one is available.
That might work - I have to say that I wasn't looking forward to the prospect of the long drive there and back while sleep deprived. Can I let you know closer to the time?
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: Van Helser on March 17, 2015, 09:49:49 AM
Congratulations on the wee one Dave. Hope things work out so you can make it along too.

Ruaridh
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: MarcoSkoll on March 29, 2015, 06:50:49 PM
With tomorrow being two months to the event, I bring you the official event pack:

IGT 2015 event pack V1.0.1 (http://www.mediafire.com/?tc2bx92p3abyt3r/)

I'm getting a little radical (Recongregationism, I think), so there's a few changes from previous events. Major differences from last year's pack are highlighted in red in the pack, but I will summarise them here:

- A three round format. This may mean a couple of GMing byes, but it gives longer timeslots, no-one will have to GM twice, and those who do get a bye do get to just play for the entire day!

- No entry fee. This will mean fewer prizes, but there's no 54mm range any more, so it's hard to guarantee everyone would actually want vouchers.

- There is no limit on how many characters you can bring. The IGT is not a linked narrative event, so players should be free to switch between characters or even warbands if they feel it will make for a better game.
GMs are expected to use their discretion regarding how many characters can be used (remembering, of course, that not everyone will necessarily bring even three) - for example, four characters may actually be advisable in two player games, given the longer timeslots.

- By extension, as the characters you bring are now not restricted, the P&M round will now be just any one Inquisitor model*.
INQ28 models are entirely permissible, but I will however disqualify anything I don't think is actually an Inquisitor model. You can re-enter models you've used before, but bear in mind 1) people may not be as impressed the second time and 2) it's a casual event, so if you're trying to exploit the system, you're missing the point.

- Not bringing a tape measure is now an executable offence.

~~~~~

It is a bit experimental and I'm not necessarily expecting all the changes to make it to the next IGT, but the IGT's old formalities were tied a certain amount into a monetary prize pool we now don't have.
Having spoken with several people, most of them seem to be in favour of a looser format.

I do promise that if it doesn't work, we won't repeat any mistakes in 2016!

* Yes, this does mean there's a finite chance I may enter a Titan in the modelling competition.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: MarcoSkoll on March 31, 2015, 01:46:43 PM
Right, I've finally got to booking train tickets.

For the record, I'll be on the 0729 - 0918 and 2005 - 2159 services between St Pancras and Nottingham, so if anyone wishes to meet up on the train, that's where I'll be.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: greenstuff_gav on April 01, 2015, 01:57:13 AM
ol' hypo'o'clock, no joke!

just refresh my memory; is it unlikely or definately no more'n 3 players per table (GMs discretion of between 1 / 4 characters per player)?
also, holey dooley, 3 words in that sentence i had to look up with the likxdexia!
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: MarcoSkoll on April 01, 2015, 02:30:22 AM
As at all previous IGTs, GMs will have two or three players (plus himself, of course) around the table and I will never assign five participants to the same table.

It is ultimately at the GM's discretion how many characters a player may use (particularly as there is no guarantee how many characters a participant will bring), but I would recommend a maximum of three characters each if the game has three players, and four characters each if it has two players. Given the longer time slots, limiting it to six characters in a two player game might not fill the time very well*.

* I may well deliberately assign player numbers so that people who've brought just one or two characters do not end up meeting each other in a two player game. It would be interfering, but as I see it, the objective of the day is enjoyable games, not pretending that random draws are fair if some poor GM ends up with just three PCs in his game!
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: MarcoSkoll on May 08, 2015, 01:02:37 PM
A reminder that after today, you have three weeks to the IGT!

Make sure that any necessary train tickets are booked, work shifts are negotiated, any possible tag-along players are properly poked and any models and scenarios are being worked on.

(And if you also happen to be the event organiser, go and make sure the Inquisition quiz has actually been written...)

Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: MarcoSkoll on May 15, 2015, 11:00:01 AM
Two weeks tomorrow!

Please bear in mind that on the day, the north end of Lenton Lane will be restricted, with the bridge over the canal closed to traffic:

(http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy3/MarcoSkoll/Miscellaneous/warhammer-world-roadworks-canal-bridge-shut-723x1024.jpg)

It also seems that WHW and Bugmans may be closing doors earlier than our previous visits (although Battle Brothers is on, so they may be on a different schedule yet again), but if it is a problem, those of us not immediately running away after the event have a choice of other pubs in the area.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: TheNephew on May 16, 2015, 12:31:05 AM
Tickets!
A return of my not-Liwet and co.
I'll get painting.
Tomorrow.

As with last time (two years ago?), apologies well ahead of time - I'll be a zombie from the start of the day, and I doubt it'll be better by the time I'm back on the train. Thank you for your patience.
I'll try and prep a little better though. Learn the rules, bring my own damn dice, that sort of thing.
Finish the warband.
Paint the NPCs.
Write the scenario.

David - I'll be on your trains. As it happens, they are pretty much the only ones I could buy at this point anyway. Are the seat reservations particularly strictly policed?
I seem to remember I pretty much passed out mid-conversation last time, somewhat impolitely, so I'll either bring more coffee or fully commit and bring a pillow this go round.

For anyone that's continuing south from Landan and fancies accompanying me on a high-speed dash through the tube system, my final leg is from Victoria at 22:37.

If I can find them, I've got a few BL novels I'm either done with or have duplicates of which I'll bring for trades or to add to the prize pool or something too.

Looking forward to seeing y'all again folks.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: MarcoSkoll on May 16, 2015, 12:58:38 PM
Quote from: TheNephew on May 16, 2015, 12:31:05 AMI'll be a zombie from the start of the day, and I doubt it'll be better by the time I'm back on the train.
Me, I'll just get progressively weirder as sleep deprivation sets in.

QuoteI'll try and prep a little better though. Learn the rules, bring my own damn dice, that sort of thing.
It occurs to me that I probably need a few copies of the event briefing, as people often don't bring their own... and then want to look at the scoring guidelines.

QuoteAre the seat reservations particularly strictly policed?
I've yet to be challenged about being in the wrong seat. I doubt it's worth the conductor's time, and I suspect it may be more about guaranteeing you a seat than dictating where you sit.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: MarcoSkoll on May 19, 2015, 03:13:48 AM
I've got most of the event organisation printed, in order that I don't have to have a panic over it next week. I'm not expecting all of the 16 players I've done them up for, but at worst, I'll have spares:

(http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy3/MarcoSkoll/Inquisitor%20Events/CIMG7701_800.jpg)

The Inquisition quiz is yet to come, but for obvious reasons, I won't be sharing pictures of that in advance.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: Kaled on May 19, 2015, 08:20:21 PM
Evening all,

I'm sorry to say that I won't make it to the IGT after all. As seems typical, I have no plans for for a whole bunch of weekends in a row and then two things are booked for the same day. :(

As I mentioned previously, I still have the treasure chest containing the gun and White Dwarf collection that was given out as a prize in a previous year, and I'll try to find some way to get it to someone who will be at the IGT so it can go to the new champion.

Hope you all have fun,
Dave
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: MarcoSkoll on May 20, 2015, 01:33:24 AM
Words to the effect of "oh darn".

Sorry to hear that, Kaled. Hope you can make it some other time - there were other event ideas we were throwing around for this year.



Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: Heroka Vendile on May 22, 2015, 11:49:06 PM
Just noticed I'm still on the list for this, I will in fact not be attending unfortunately. Despite an uptick in income, spare cash for extravagant weekends away is still short.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: MarcoSkoll on May 23, 2015, 03:29:00 AM
Sorry to hear that (although I'll admit that as I hadn't heard anything from you about booking trains or hotels, I was hazarding that guess anyway).

Hope to see you again at some point in the future though!
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: TallulahBelle on May 27, 2015, 12:21:41 PM
I will be attending but um... scared to gm though have something prepared. On that note does anyone have 2 models that would fit an npc role or 2 I can borrow?

I need something civilian but important and I need a sniper I don't have either on hand at the moment unfortunately and my npc supply is mainly smallish commando looking mooks,  who are just undercoated and unfinished *hangs head in shame*
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: MarcoSkoll on May 27, 2015, 01:41:04 PM
While I've already got someone in line for the first available GMing bye, I can put you in line for the second of any available slots if you'd like?
Alternatively, I can arrange for you to GM in the last round, if that'll help you get get into the zone first.

I can probably assist with those models at a pinch, but it'll require a certain amount of fudging of my own plans, so if others can offer?
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: greenstuff_gav on May 27, 2015, 06:22:37 PM
i'll be bringing my NPCs with me for this very reason :)
there's a sniper and a couplea scribe-esk miniatures in there
http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2537.msg33936#msg33936

Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: TallulahBelle on May 28, 2015, 05:42:13 PM
Just slip me in anywhere in terms of slots and if I could borrow your sniper and your scribes gav that would be great!

My scenario is heavily borrowed from well people may recognise it *grins*
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: TheNephew on May 29, 2015, 03:54:11 PM
I think I'm finally most of the way to ready.
Very exciting.

Marco, is there any chance, if you've not already set the timetable in stone, that I could not GM first round?
I took a while to get into the swing of things last time, wouldn't want the first round to grind to a halt because the GM is incompetent.

I'm trying to build a cheatsheet of the rules I'll need, but if anyone's got any advice/pointers for things I'm going to overlook (I've barely played any games outside of the one Conclave meet) it'd be appreciated.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: greenstuff_gav on May 29, 2015, 05:57:33 PM
aaand i've come to the conclusion my planned crew isn't gonna work :(
thankfully i've got spares!

also, scenario isn't printed so i'll have to bore people with my dulcet tones!
atleast that's doable as is :)
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: Cortez on May 29, 2015, 06:22:09 PM
Doesn't look like I'm going to finish my new models. Too busy (got an exam on Wednesday). Looks like it's another outing for Inquisitor Cortez and co.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: MarcoSkoll on May 29, 2015, 08:25:39 PM
Quote from: TheNephew on May 29, 2015, 03:54:11 PMMarco, is there any chance, if you've not already set the timetable in stone, that I could not GM first round?
While I know all the possible timetables at this stage, I don't know yet know which one I'll be using and who will get assigned which player numbers. I can't plan anything without knowing exactly who's there.

But all I have on my request sheet so far is for a GMing bye and a general note to avoid people with small warbands meeting in two-player games, so putting your GMing slot somewhere other than the first round is easy.

~~~~~

I also admit that it looks I like won't have everything I wanted to in prime condition. There'll be no new PCs from me this time (as about a week ago I decided I wanted to spend more time on them than I had) and I may wish to borrow your NPC Guard, Gav (as I haven't really got mine entirely presentable yet).

My failure to get on with things may relate to me wasting time earlier taking pictures in the garden:

(http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy3/MarcoSkoll/Inquisitor%20Events/CIMG7764_800.jpg)
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: TallulahBelle on May 29, 2015, 09:38:15 PM
Um bugger I haven't managed to find an appropriate 54mm scale civilian open topped car so I now need to either cane the scenario or use a marker.

Marco can your rhino be a stand in por moi?
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: MarcoSkoll on May 29, 2015, 10:13:39 PM
Sure. I'll have to make sure we're not GMing in the same round, as I need it in Razorback configuration for my scenario, but that should be doable.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: Cortez on May 30, 2015, 10:08:22 PM
Just got back, really great event and good to see some returning players in addition to the regulars. Thanks to Dave for organising it and bringing his awesome new toys!

Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: greenstuff_gav on May 30, 2015, 11:01:12 PM
aye; just got home so thanks to Marco for running the day and for Marcoskoll, TheNephew and Van Helser for my Best GM award! :)
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: greenstuff_gav on May 31, 2015, 08:45:53 AM
First?
http://buildyourimagination.co.uk/minis/conclavegt15.php

also, battle reports!
http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2547

i didn't get pictures of my scenario but will post the scenario & thoughts later!
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: MarcoSkoll on May 31, 2015, 06:51:09 PM
Well, congratulations to all in helping me forge a successful event. We ended the rather long drought in events, and got a very positive response from both crowds and staff; We got a great spot in the hall (hurricane force air conditioning perhaps not included) and things like Gav's First Founding project (with Ruaridh's Celestial Lion scout in support) and my vehicles were great attention grabbers - I'm told we made for a fair few Facebook posts.

It would have been nice to have distributed a few more leaflets, but I did come away with respectably fewer than I arrived with (even discounting those that players wanted for themselves/their clubs).

For my part, it was great to get to put some of my characters on the table again, and I'm pleased to see that Lynx was only a point behind Ruaridh's daemonhost in the Hobby round (although still only in 3rd place, as Nicholas' servitor was only half a point behind).

My scenario was less of a success - it was supposed to be a scenario where the players had conflicting objectives, but were put in circumstances where they would have to work together to complete them, resulting in a constant tension about who would find an opportunity to stab each other in the back first.
With that in mind, it should have started much more in medias res, with the players already in the middle of these conflicts, rather than waiting for the conflicts to form. However, I learnt a lot from the experience and I should be able to use the "Enemy of my enemy" concept rather better next time.

~~~~~

Top placings were as follows:

1st Place: Stephen Yates (Cortez): 75.5/90
2nd Place: Nicholas Carpenter (Holiad): 72.5/90
3rd Place: "Gav" (greenstuff_gav): 70.5/90

Best Player: Stephen Yates (Cortez): 36/40

Best GM: "Gav" (greenstuff_gav): 33.5/40

Best Hobbyist: Ruaridh Dall (Van Helser): 8.5/10

Inquisition quiz winner: Ruaridh Dall (Van Helser): 18/22
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: Kaled on May 31, 2015, 07:22:03 PM
Still gutted that I missed it - but well done to all of the winners.

Did anyone take pics of the hobby entries?  Marco - any chance you could post the Inquisition so those of us who couldn't make it can have a go
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: greenstuff_gav on May 31, 2015, 07:48:33 PM
while i've yet to sort images and write the building of, here's (http://buildyourimagination.co.uk/minis/conclavegt15/fighter/fighter02.jpg) Samara Weiss; Merc Swordfighter, with WIP (http://buildyourimagination.co.uk/minis/conclavegt15/fighter/fighter03.jpg) and alternate (http://buildyourimagination.co.uk/minis/conclavegt15/fighter/fighter.jpg) views

wish i could remember my answers to The Inquisition! :)
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: MarcoSkoll on May 31, 2015, 08:01:55 PM
Quote from: Kaled on May 31, 2015, 07:22:03 PMDid anyone take pics of the hobby entries?
I'm afraid I didn't, but that's mostly because I was running around like a headless chicken at the end of the lunch hour trying to work out where I was putting everyone, and why I couldn't find Joe, and he's in Bugman's because they haven't delivered his lunch yet, and the air conditioning has just blown all of the slips everywhere and....

... yeah. It's possible someone else might have though.

QuoteMarco - any chance you could post the Inquisition so those of us who couldn't make it can have a go
The feedback seemed to be that it was harder than I was expecting, but here we go:

1)   Give the start and end years of the Macharius Crusade
2)   In standard imperial date format, what does a check number of 0 signify?
3)   What material is (dubiously) said to be in the core of a standard bolt round?
4)    In which millennium was the Inquisition founded?
5a)   What is the emblem of the Necromunda 8th Regiment?
5b)   What is the origin of this emblem?
6)    Which segmentum is the forge world of Triplex-Phall found in?
7a)   Abaddon's 12th Black Crusade is also known by what name?
7b)   Which battle is famous as the turning point of this war?
8)   Which Greek letter represents civilised worlds in Imperial classification?
9)   Who is Commissar Ciaphas Cain's aide? (Full name and rank please!)
10)   Thunderchild was the first ship lost in which fleet engagement?
11)   What is the mass of a Reaver Titan?
12)   On which world is the Crimson Fists Fortress-Monastery based?
13)   What is the tithe grade of Mars?
14)   I can't afford Wild Snake. What do I drink instead?
15)   Which Inquisitor declared the Lacrymole to be Xenos Horrificus?
16)   Who was the Chief Custodian during the Horus Heresy?
17)   Which system do Grox originate from?
18)   How many Universal Laws do the Mechanicus have?
19)   Which Craftworld did Maugan Ra rescue from the Eye of Terror?
20)   Where on Terra was the God Emperor of Mankind born?

The stupidest answers probably came from Gav, who was determined that:

The Inquisition was founded in the First Millennium BCE.
Abaddon's 12th Black Crusade was called "Bad Times" and the famous battle was "The End".
Commissar Cain's aide was Gunner First Class Stevebob, who also happened to be the Chief Custodian and the Inquisitor who lead a purge of the Lacrymole.
A Reaver Titan weighs* "Gurt Massive"
Maugan Ra's craftworld was called "Panzie Place".

But Joe's weren't massively better:

Abaddon's 12th Black Crusade was called "Return of the Jedi"
Commissar Cain's aide was Sgt Johnny Vegas
The alternative to Wild Snake is apparently Budweiser (one of the few answers Gav actually got right)

*I will admit that I wasn't really expecting anyone to get this one from memory, as even I was nine tonnes out when I first wrote the questions.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: Kaled on June 01, 2015, 12:14:15 PM
Wow, those are some tricky questions. I can answer some off the top of my head, and know where to look up almost all of the others, but Ruaridh's 18/22 is very impressive!
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: MarcoSkoll on June 01, 2015, 12:47:19 PM
Well, he did admit to gratuitous use of Google. :P
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: Heroka Vendile on June 01, 2015, 01:46:40 PM
the cad!
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: Cortez on June 01, 2015, 04:15:58 PM
Somebody put free wifi in Bugmans :)
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: greenstuff_gav on June 01, 2015, 06:12:13 PM
Quote from: MarcoSkoll on May 31, 2015, 08:01:55 PM
(one of the few answers Gav actually got right)
Two or a debatable 4? :)
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 confirmed for 30th May
Post by: Van Helser on June 01, 2015, 09:16:38 PM
Quote from: Kaled on June 01, 2015, 12:14:15 PM
Wow, those are some tricky questions. I can answer some off the top of my head, and know where to look up almost all of the others, but Ruaridh's 18/22 is very impressive!

My google-fu is strong, but it was open book... However, if you still have the sheet Marco, my answers in pen were what I came up with myself before I went through to Bugman's. Reckon I must've got 5 right on my own?

I had a great day, and I am especially chuffed to have nabbed the Hobbyist prize after many years of going for it. Cheers one and all for making the day a good one.

Hope there's interest enough for a campaign day later in the year. I am pretty sure I won't be able to get time off work to travel down in August, September and the first half of October, but I would like to run a day in early November if there are enough takers. I will get a new thread started once I hammer out some more details.

Ruaridh

EDIT: IGT blog post (http://thecarthaxianinq.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/report-from-inquisitor-grand-tournament.html) and photos (http://s7.photobucket.com/user/vanhelser/library/Inquisitor%20Grand%20Tournament%202015?sort=3&page=1).
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 reports
Post by: MarcoSkoll on June 10, 2015, 03:50:14 PM
Quote from: Van Helser on June 01, 2015, 09:16:38 PMHowever, if you still have the sheet Marco, my answers in pen were what I came up with myself before I went through to Bugman's. Reckon I must've got 5 right on my own?
Sorry, forgot about this when I was busy. Seven of your answers in pen are correct.

~~~~~

As far as other events this year, I can restate the earlier possibilities I mentioned as well:

1) A general meet-up where players/GMs can arrange scenarios in advance. This has been proposed before, but never came to fruition - it could actually be a pretty worthwhile event that would let some more intricate scenarios be run.

2) Vague ideas about running a semi-linked series of events. This would probably prove to be another event in the Alykia campaign, following on from where The Saint left off in 2011. Corporal Aeslin might have been killed, but her life and (presumed) death nonetheless set many things in motion.
I'll want to hold off on putting a date to this event until Leander is in a reasonable state of completion though, as I'd want her to play a rather large role in that particular plot.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 reports
Post by: MarcoSkoll on June 11, 2015, 10:59:19 PM
Something else I've forgotten...

I wasn't really coherent enough to ask these questions after the event, but if anyone has any feedback on the various format tweaks (like the three round format and greater flexibility in characters), I'd be interested to hear what you have to say; It'll probably be useful in organising the next IGT as well, whether that falls to me or someone else.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 reports
Post by: greenstuff_gav on June 12, 2015, 06:05:04 AM
i liked the lack of pressure three games gave us but a couple of games did seem to drag on (including my own) .. what was the difference in timescales again?

the character thing didn't really crop up at all (but again, only played 2 games so not alot of room to compare) i know i didn't ask people to trim their crews down
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 reports
Post by: MarcoSkoll on June 12, 2015, 11:39:07 AM
In theory, 105 minutes per time slot, not 75 (although we did get a slight schedule slip), so about 90 minutes of game rather than an hour.

If enough people feel that's a little long, it would be possible to crop it back and put some more time into lunch and score calculation (which might have taken less time if I were more awake, but did run longer than hoped) and give ourselves more leeway.

Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 reports
Post by: greenstuff_gav on June 12, 2015, 06:27:41 PM
i'd rather have games slightly too long rather'n rush to finish; allows for those of us who need to change shirts / delays with getting lunch :)
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 reports
Post by: Heroka Vendile on June 13, 2015, 12:16:32 AM
obviously I wasn't there this year, but in the past i've always felt that wrapping up and scoring was done in a bit of a rush due to the time constraints.
Perhaps the schedule should have dedicated breathing spaces (i.e 5-10 mins between game slots) – although I guess that's less of an issue when there's only two out of three consecutive games in the day.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 reports
Post by: Van Helser on June 13, 2015, 02:50:25 PM
I thought the extra time for the scenarios really helped, as there was no need to try and hand wave away the combats and escapes that never quite get finished when we have shorter games. I'd be happy to have 3 scenarios again, but also reckon that taking 5 minutes off to allow for score-keeping, swapping around, and for the final reckoning would be fine. We had enough time for lunch, apart from poor Joe who's order had to have been forgotten about.

As for the next meet up, I think trying something with pre-arranged games might be a good spur to getting people to commit, but we would need to have a way to build a narrative before we get close to the date. Perhaps a call for participants, followed by a submission of belligerents, and then negotiating games. We would have to arrange the GMs in advance too, so no one is set to play in one slot and GM another game at the same time.

Ruaridh
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 reports
Post by: TheNephew on June 13, 2015, 08:31:42 PM
I think the timing worked just fine in terms of game and scheduling, though I'd agree that perhaps working a little more swing into it would make accounting for the unexpected easier, and might let Dave do the tallying up in a slightly calmer fashion.

My late lunch was probably as much my fault as Bugman's (my packed lunch turned out to be more of a snack brunch, so really I just unnecessarily delayed ordering), but it was an issue in the first place because of one sort-of-unavoidable issue - we needed/wanted someone babysitting the tables during that hour, to watch the models and promo the game. The length of the lunch break itself was just fine.

For the scenarios, it left a lot of room to conclude the game, and we didn't have to spend the last twenty minutes smashing through as many rounds as we could manage to get to an end.
This year mine started stuttering and dying towards the end (my scenario was .far. quicker to resolve, and far slower to actually conclude, than I'd thought), but I took the option of calling time when a resolution was pretty much arrived at, which I think (hope) is preferable to grinding on through rounds until time is called.
Last time (Eramus Affair) I think was slightly shorter slots, and the endings did feel a little rushed at times.
I'd like to get four games in, but I know it's been tried and the three game set-up was arrived at as optimal.
As I think I also said after the Eramus Affair, I think if I was a little more on the ball as a player and GM the games I was involved in would've run far more smoothly, so 60-minute games should be ok, maybe?

Anyway, next time I'm bringing a Devastator squad and it's everyone else's turn to spend all game face down bleeding in the mud.
Title: Re: Events in 2015 - Latest: IGT 2015 reports
Post by: MarcoSkoll on June 14, 2015, 01:24:32 AM
Well, good to hear some positive feedback, as well as ideas for what can be worked on - I wasn't necessarily expecting my first attempt at tweaking the format to hit perfection, but it doesn't seem to have been a disaster.

Quote from: TheNephew on June 13, 2015, 08:31:42 PMAnyway, next time I'm bringing a Devastator squad and it's everyone else's turn to spend all game face down bleeding in the mud.
Excellent, something for Leander to shoot at. :P