Twilight Demo at PAX East 2016

[GrimSnik]

I will be at PAX East in Boston Massachusetts this year to offer demos of Twilight. I will be there on Friday and Saturday ( April 22nd and 23rd ), and possibly on Sunday as well depending on how things go.

between now and then I will have about one week's worth of time to put together terrain for the day that is specifically Twilight themed. I'd like to produce something that really stands out, but fits well into a demo game that will probably occupy a 2' X 4' section of table.

I'm also looking for ideas as to what kind of scenario to offer. any suggestions are appreciated.            

my initial thought is to use the table the long way and make a small walled Empire settlement at one end and a small forest edge at the other. I will have about 300 points of Empire, Devanu, Dhogu, and Delgon on hand for players, as well as a sizeable trade caravan to incorporate as desired. the scenario idea being that one player must get an Empire  force to the settlement from the forest edge without being chomped by the Devanu or waylaid by the Dhogu or Delgon. or it could be a delegation of Delgon or Dhogu going to the settlement trying to avoid the Devanu.

if I can make suitable enough terrain, I can even mix things up between days to offer different scenarios on Friday and Saturday.... but time is a factor in construction and I want to make sure above all that the scenario is at an introductory level that lets folks get a feel for the game with limited play time.




 

[Kryptovidicus]

Good luck! I sure love to see pictures of the show afterwards.
Are you looking for a three-way scenario?
Why not try the chase-the-Belan scenario. I know this isn't really what you are describing. But I think it is a good learning scenario where no one starts off with an advantage, making it perfect for demo's.

[GrimSnik]

I don't have any plans to restrict the size of the demo with the exception of how many forces I can offer and whether it's appropriate to the actual players. with that in mind I think with right scenario I could accommodate 4 players if it's fast paced enough.... I do have 4 sets of initiative counters painted.

I like the idea of a round-up of sorts as well. how did you run the chase-the-Belan scenario?

[Carcharoth]

Sounds great!
The big question is whether you want an intro game or a big showcase demo? We've tried both over the years, but I think Paul's garkrid hunt demo last year was one of the most successful. We did do a big showcase game with a huge convoy being attacked as it approached a city, but that was a bit more grand and less of an introductory game!

[TuffSkull]

Mikes bang on the money with regards to clearly choosing your style of game. Display and demo allow for very different things. Display can be big, sweeping, and breathtaking to look at. Demo needs to be small enough to play fast, reset fast, and flexible enough to let the GM tweak it as it goes to ensure fun for all (various devanu have been known to gain and loose "leap" at various stages of demos if people are winning/ loosing by sheer bad luck - fun is the aim, sometimes a game needs more GM I tout to keep it on track!)

Having done a few for WoT, and also many for other systems, one key element of the scenery is always to have something eye catching on the table.

The benefit of your own suggestion is that a fubarnii settlement is always easy to add some light colours to, and do that job. You can also build it up on a small cliff face of a hill as it the game can take place outside it rather than needing to be playable within it's walls. I've built 6mm display boards in the past, which had massive cliffs on one edge. They played no part in the game, but they caught more eyes than any amount of 6mm display painted toys ever would have. Currently with Wot we have the benefit of mikes beautiful round demo table, which hosts a tree as it's focal point. Sounds simple but you really have to see it!


I don't think your table setup would suit gakrid hunt or catch the belan particularly well. We've had great success with them at various events, but that's largely due to having a round or square playing area, which enables a lot of people to set up equidistant from the central objective(s) and equally allows new players to join the forray mid-game!

With a rectangular gaming area however, a variation of the unwelcome travellers scenario would suit you better, which is basically as you describe - a small or lightly defended central force / caravan, an attacking force of devanu(or whatever, so long as they're fast enough to catch things!) and a defending force sallying forth to the centrals force's defence as fast as they can.

If you get an extra player half way through, a dhogu party can always turn up on a flank to either aid the empire if it's going bad for them, or seek the objective from the central party themselves if the empire are winning comfortably!


Whatever you do, remember that people want to have fun, and that meand you should be having fun as well 


And to engage hypocrit mode for a moment- try to remember photos. I _never_ remember to do this myself! but I'd love to see what you do!

[TuffSkull]

One final note is that if there is any way for you to do so, do try to test the scenario before the day. We tested gakrid hunt out at my local club, instantly broke it, and thus added a gakrid hive to the scenario which would break any ties, and also encourages all players to the centre.

Playing will always throw up something unexpected! 

[GrimSnik]

all good points. thanks 

the table space I have is a bit limited to about one and a half tables, so I won't be doing a display outside of just arranging the models attractively. that's why I wanted to focus more on making the actual demo game itself double as the display. having an eye catching terrain set-up goes a long way to that as you guys have mentioned.

the table is just a standard folding table and i'll have the players sit so people can see over them. (and it's always nice to be able to sit after pounding the concrete convention hall for several hours         ) and as i'll likely only be using 2 X 4 table it'll make it easy for players to reach most models without standing.... this event gets crazy crowded so the miniature game area offers a nice relaxing lull to the chaos.

as for the demo itself, the goal is to run a game that takes about 25-30 minutes for one player (with myself as an opponent), about 35-40 minutes for two players, and up to 70 minutes for 3-4 players. I can also accommodate a longer game if it's slow or if there are folks who don't need me as an opponent as i'll have enough forces to accommodate 2 separate games.

the goal is definitely to keep it light-hearted as opposed to competitive. with the table space I have, the terrain will dictate most of what I can offer..... one of the reasons I  wanted to get ideas before I decided on what to build or which game to offer. below is a list of what I have available to use without counting the Twilight themed piece I'd like to build:

* enough trees to cover 1/3 of the game space (each tree about 3-4 inches from each other, but still easy to move models)
* enough craggy/rocks to cover  1/3 of the game space
* a couple of mid sized ponds
* an entire desert table
* enough larger tree/rock stands to cover 1/3 of game space (they would be impassable terrain but look very nice)

I can make the following without too much difficulty:

* walls. natural looking or layered stone or brick
* towers, huts, cottages, watchtowers
* specialized buildings like shrines or a market would take a little more time
* tents, pavilions, entire caravan camps

what do you guys think would be attractive and impressive to folks to see to draw them in?  the fubarnii buildings have a great look, but I'm not sure how to use them in a game..... unless I do 3/4 of the table as a settlement and players engage in the actual settlement itself. that would look cool as heck, but I can't immediately think of  a demo sized scenario to support  using that kind of set-up.....

[Kryptovidicus]

With so many trees, perhaps a camp, watchtower or small foresters building (with a stash of cut down trees) wouldn't look out of place and make the table different from the many other demo tables.
Reading your list I get the feeling something unique, however small it may be, which defines the setting is necessary.
Many gamers have no shortage on trees and rocks to put on the tabletop, so your setup might not draw attention at a first glance.

[Carcharoth]

How's the preparation for the show going? Salute (my big annual show) is just a couple of weeks away now so I'm entering the usual final panicked stretch...