Update

Frank has dug the last few week's registration information out of the server logs, and I've just beensending replies to everyone. Again, if you have registered but have not had a response, please contact us. But hopefully things are back on track now.

Another first-round game has filled: Sean Broadley's "The good guys". "The Station Agent" and "Apes..." are looking iffy, so if you want a slot in these games, register now.

We've had another game offered: "Angela's Ashes", a game of Zombie fun in Las Vegas. However, we still need more (we always need more), so if you'd like to volunteer, please let us know or fill out the form here.

Finally, we have orders for seven T-shirts so far from the NZRaG thread, and matt will be putting the order through when he gets back from holiday. So, if you want one, let us know quickly.

First-round game filled

Susan Harper's Put on your red shoes and dance the blues has become the first game to fill. So, if you want a spot in any of the other first round games, better try and register now.

Registration problems

Gremlins have struck, and the online registration form seems to be having some problems. If you have registered in the last few weeks and have not received an acknowledgement, then please resend your details (including first round game preferences) via email. In the meantime, hopefully our gremlin-hunter will get on to the problem before the last-minute rush.

T-shirt update

KapCon T-shirts will be available in sizes S to 5XL, and in white, black, navy, brown, orange, emerald, bottle, royal, sky, yellow, purple, red, charcoal, or khaki. Cost is $25. Let us know what you want, and we should be able to get them out before the con.

Something from the mailbox

Hello friend,

I am writing to you in regard to a SPECIAL CONTEST taht exist in my country. It is ELITE CONTEST for only most diligent and CREATIVE PEOPLE who have love of WRITING SCENARIO.

A very rich WORD-MAN have died recently, and he leave MANY THOUSANDS OF RPG WORDS and PICTURES in ether. I am writing to provide ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY to conjure from word-ether a scenario of RPG SCENARIO GOLD!!!!!!11!!one!1!1!!!

You have been SPECIALLY SELECTED by me for this intimate and probing message. The message climbs into your computer to ask - ARE YOU THE SDC WRITER PERSON THIS YEAR?

If you are the SDC WRITER PERSON, then your scenario must reach Kapcon organiser types by FIRST MONDAY IN DECEMBER. That mean you have plenty time!

If you are the SDC WRITER PERSON, please respond with HASTE to this private, personal, stimulating message and let Kapcon organiser person know.

Many thanks for your kind considerations,

The Admiral

New games

A few more games have come in. Steve James has offered a Vampire: the Dark Ages scenario called The Seige of Montsegur. Dillon Burke has a followup to his thieves-competing-to-be-head-of-the-guild scenario, Greed II. Zak Clark will be re-running previous SDC scenarios, and in round two will be running Gilman House. And Mike Sands has a pair of games: Last Stand, in which a group of modern Benandanti must deal with their normal lives while fighting ritualised dream battles against evil witches, and A Cruise to Mars, a swashbuckling steampunk naval adventure, huzzah! Full details of all these scenarios are on the website.

Meanwhile, first round games are beginning to fill - so if you want to play in a particular one, it would be a good idea to register.

Pre-Kapcon Drinks and Nibbles

Once again, on the Friday night before Kapcon (Friday the 19th of January) we will be hanging out in Wellington, having a few drinks, some delicious pizza, and catching up. This year the drinks will be held at Syn, a Hell's Pizza Bar on Bond Street.

They sell all kinds of delicious foods, and serve drinks, and have a pool table, and so forth. From their website:

We are a fully licensed premise. Your guests must be over 18 or with a parent. Alcohol is not to be brought onto or removed from the premises. We are required by law to ID anyone who looks 25 or under. The only acceptable forms of ID are 18+ cards, NZ drivers license, or an international passport.

If you click through to their website you can find a map, and links to the Hell Pizza menu, and other... stuff.

We hope to see you there, from about 6pm, Friday the 19th of January, 2007!

Kapcon 16 T-shirt Design

T-shirts with the following design will be available at Kapcon this year. Sizes will be as per last year, with the exception of XL and XXL tees, which will be in a looser fitting style (as per K13). Price will again be $25.

Orders can be emailed to Kapcon, or added to the soon to be created t-shirt thread on NZRaG.

New games

We've had a few new games trickle in that aren't on the website yet. Luke will be running a True 20/Dragon Fist Wuxia game called The Ultimate Challenge Tea Garden!, and a slasher-horror game called Beneath the Mask. The latter uses Dread, an icky little system that uses a Jenga tower instead of dice to determine task resolution (and having played Jenga recently, it will certainly help build an atmosphere of tension). Meanwhile, I will be running PX Poker Night, a modern horror game set on an isolated air force base in Nebraska. This was written by Dennis Detwiller and Adam Scott Glancy, and has been adapted to use the Nemesis system.

We're still looking for new games, so if you want to run something, drop us a line.

KapCon Wants YOU!

Scenario Design Competition

KapCon is running its annual Scenario Design Competition again this year. This is basically a scam to get GMs to write their games early, but its also a way of encouraging friendly competition amongst GMs to see who can produce the coolest games. There are prizes, but more important there's the mana you get from producing a kick-arse game. Not that you have to enter the SDC to get this - but if you have a kick-arse game, why not enter?

To enter, you basically have to write up your game so that someone else could run it. As a condition of entry, you have to let someone else run your masterpiece next KapCon. Not that anyone necessarily will, but another point of the SDC is to generate a pile of high-quality scenarios and "old favourites" for last round, and to help pad the timetable if we need to. We may also want to put your scenario on the web, but we won't do this without your permission. One year we even put together a nifty, print-on-demand book, but its up to you whether you want to participate in any such project. Legally, you retain copyright, and we don't want to infringe that.

If you have any questions, emial kapcon@gmail.com, or post them in the comments.

KapCon Needs You!

Three months to KapCon, and so we're looking for GMs. We have eight games for first round so far, but we would like another three, and of course we are seeking GMs for the rest of the con. GM's get discounted entry, fame, fortune, and the esteem of their peers. Sadly, we will not be providing replicant slaves this year.

We do not care what you run. We like to present a wide variety of games catering to all tastes, so everything from classic dungeon crawl to avant-garde freeform is in. Tentacles are optional, but always popular. What we do like to see is games that fit into three hours and which are fun for all concerned.

With over a hundred participants, we're looking at needing 60+ sessions of gaming over the course of the weekend, so we really need your help. You can register your game here. At this stage we just need a title, genre, and a bit of a blurb; the game doesn't actually have to be written yet, but we need a commitment and a basic idea so we can put it on the timetable and advertising. While you're at it, you should also register to attend here. If you want to see what else people are planning, details will be posted here.

First round GM's needed

It's only been four and a half months since the last KapCon, and we're already planning the next one. As part of that, we're putting out an initial call for first-round GMs. Going by previous years, we will need about thirteen this time. So far, we have two. But seven and a half months should be plenty of time for people to make up their minds.

What we need from you: a firm commitment to run something (barring accidents, emergencies and whatever; we know it happens), and some idea of what you want to run. A full blurb would be great, but even just a vague idea (a system, and a theme) is good enough. After all, you have seven and a half months to work out the details.

What you get from us: your name on the flyers, the usual discounted entry, and our eternal gratitude.

If you're interested, then email kapcon@gmail.com, or post in the NZRaG thread here.

New KapCon website

The official website for KapCon XVI: Flight of the Hindenberg, is here.

Kapcon Website Relocating

Due to the relocation of rpgcentral (a mostly Wellington based bulletin board) to the vastly superior http://www.nzrag.com the official Kapcon website is currently down.

We are likely to relocate to kapcon.nzrag.com in the next few weeks.

There is much discussion of Kapcon and planning going on at NZRaG (New Zealand Roleplaying and Gaming), with people from around the country contributing. One thing that is excellent about NZRaG is that it doesn't have a regional focus - there are people from the length of the country posting regularly about roleplaying.

We will update with news on the official Kapcon website as it becomes available.

LiveJournal Feed

Thanks to Arn, we now have a LiveJournal feed, so you can now receive KapCon updates through your LJ friends list. There's also a standard RSS feed for people who'd rather monitor us through BlogLines or similar.

Not very useful at the moment, but it should come in handy around September, when we start pushing people to pre-register.

Kapcon 15 Hugely Successful

As an early post-con report, I shall keep my comments brief, but the overwhelming concensus is that Kapcon 15 was very successful. We had over 100 attendees (I beleive 105, but haven't been through the sign-up sheets for the RPGA and checked them against pre-registrations), which is a very good number. We had a variety of excellent games run by wonderful GMs, and a lot of keen and enthused players.

[Update: Final count = 110 attendees, 1 fewer than last year]

From an administrative point of view, people were very cooperative, they listened well and followed instructions, and that made the lives of everyone who was working in admin much, much easier. So my thanks to everyone for being so polite and considerate over the course of the weekend.

T-shirts were sold again this year, and the delicate balancing act of a not-for-profit con was pretty much bang on. We sold 30 t-shirts, gave one away as a prize, and have one left over (a White Large if anyone's interested). The 'cafe' was in operation again - not a fully featured cafe at all, but rather a candy bar plus coffee urn and hot water. This too was a complicated exercise in neither making nor losing money, and though there are a few leftovers, the cafe pretty much broke even. Both t-shirts and the cafe represent a fair amount of work by the organisers and committee, but the benefit of having drinks and snacks and cool t-shirts feel worthwhile.

The number of players in each round was very consistent this year, with 11 or 12 games being run each round except the 6th, in which numbers always drop as out-of-towners and exhausted players take their leave. The quality and energy level in the 6th round was, anecdotally and from personal experience, fantastic once again.

It has been a big year for the Kapcon team, in terms of Real Life. A lot has been happening in the lives of the people who run Kapcon, some of it wonderful, some of it difficult. It was deeply satisfying for me on a personal level to see the team working hard over the weekend to bring Kapcon to life, and seeing it all come together smoothly and joyously. I cannot thank the team enough for their efforts.

Financially, the con succeeded in its goal of charging attendees enough to cover the costs, and nothing more. There was a price drop a few years ago, and the introduction of discounts for paying early, and the current attendance fees allow us to run Kapcon within a hundred or so dollars of the cost, depending on numbers of attendees. This is a delicate balancing act when your costs are in the thousands, but we've managed to get it right several years running.

So, another Kapcon has passed, very successfully, Debbie and I as organisers have settled in and are already discussing next year's con, and discussion and digestion of K15 is thriving on blogs and nzrag.com.

Thank you to everyone who helped make Kapcon awesome. Y'all are stars.

Matt Cowens, Organiser Kapcon 15

The morning after

No sleep, no voice, no energy - but plenty of good memories. Thanks to everyone who came, and particularly to everyone who played in any of my games. I'll post some stats once I get the spreadsheet, but attendance was over a hundred.

In the meantime, here's some links to other people's post-con reports:

• Debbie
  
• Matt
  
• Jenni
  
• Conan
  
• Brad ("The Beast")
  
• Stephanie Pegg
  

Also check out the comment threads on NZRaG and Diatribe.

K-8 update

"Eight more days to go; eight more days till KapCon..."

Eight days out, and the final, last minute panic is setting in. Will we have enough games? Will anyone actually show up? Will the local shops run out of "V"?

Actually, I'm not that worried about the middle one - we've had a healthy number of pre-registrations. And while its now officially too late to get the preregistration discount (unofficially, however...), it's still worth your while filling out the form and preregistering. For a start, it means you get a better choice of games for first round. While there are still spaces available in all of them, some are very close to full - so if you want to play in Murder, Inc: Payback or The Flight of the Aristola, you should probably pre-register fast.

We've had some game offers that aren't on the website yet: Svend is running an amusing game called "Never Work With Animals" about, well, working with animals; Paul Wilson is talking about Kung Fu madness, and Hugh Dingwall and Vishala Jekic are offering "Normality", a disturbing freeform about where our society might end up. The RPGA have put forward a very healthy selection as well. We still need more games though (we always need more games), so if you're thinking of running something, then please let us know.

Finally, remember, the PreCon is on the Friday night, at the Southern Cross, at the top of Cuba St, starting from about 7ish. See you there!

Badges are Awesome!

Thanks to the efforts of Giffy, there are badges available this year as Kapcon souvenirs. They have the Kapcon 15 logo in black on a white background.

They are round button badges of approximately 2.5 cm in diameter.

They will be available at the convention for the bargain price of $3 for one, $5 for two. There will be a limited supply, in the neighbourhood of 25 badges. Not badgers.

How to book into a game

Kapcon runs a round-by-round booking system for getting into games. When you register, you get to choose which first round game you want to play in. This is the only session you can choose before Kapcon. We ask that you give 3 choices, so that we can put you into another game you're interested in if your first choice is full.

Before the first round on Saturday, at about 8.45am, the GMs who are going to run a game in the second round will step forward and describe the game to the attendees. We ask you to listen carefully, as you will have to choose your second round game before you go and play your first round game. You need to be at Kapcon before 8.45 to be sure that you will hear all the options. There are slips of paper called game choice forms on the tables for you to write your choice on, and hand in to the front desk. Again, we ask you to write your name and three choices on the game choice slips of paper to help us get you into a game you're interested in.

During the first round we will sort all the game choice forms, and get as many people as possible into their first choice games. Some people may get their second or third choice, depending on the popularity of certain games. If you do not get your first choice in a round, we will endeavour to get you into your first choice in the next round.

Before the second round, the third round GMs will describe their games. Again you will fill in a game choice form for your third round game. This pattern follows on for the whole convention.

Because the timetable may change on the day, we fill games on a round-by-round basis. It is not possible to guarantee that any one player will find a space in any particular game, but we will do our best.

RPGA Games
RPGA games are an exception to this rule. Bob Beck is in charge of the RPGA games, and their booking system and you must see him to arrange placement.

Website updated

The KapCon website has finally been updated, with a whole slew of new games added. Links to the RPGA games have also been added, and Bob Beck has set up an online signup sheet for RPGA members here. Of course, we still need more, so if you're planning a game, please fill out the form or let us know.

More Games for Kapcon XV!

More games

Our website co-ordinator is on holiday at the moment, so hasn't been able to update the website, but there have been a slew of new games added. In first round, we have "Bleeding Hearts" by Donna Giltrap (a medical soap in the style of Shortland Street) and Mike Sands' pirate-fest, "A Cruise In The West Indies". In other rounds, we've had people volunteering to run Serenity, Weapon of the Gods, Insylum and Cowboy Bebop.

We'll update the official website ASAP.