Arcanacon XXIII: Convention rules

Convention rules

We ask you to observe the following rules during the Convention, for safety and sanity:

NO WEAPONS are to be brought to, worn or carried at any time during the convention (including water pistols, real or replica guns, swords and knives), unless approved as part of an official event. Only official event organisers may provide such replica weapons, and they must be approved by the Convention organisers.
You may not smoke inside any of the buildings or within 10 metres of an open doorway.
You may not bring alcohol onto the site or bring or use illegal drugs on-site.
You are not allowed to sleep on the site (due to Health Regulations).
Children must be directly supervised by a responsible adult at all times, both to ensure their safety and prevent them from disrupting the enjoyment of other Convention members.
If you continually argue with a GM after a final decision has been made, you may be disqualified and asked to leave the session
Every player in a session must be registered for that session, and have paid the appropriate fee
Please respect your fellow players' rights -- don't spoil their fun.
Please look after the venue (so we can come back next year). We have only hired some areas of the school; please keep out of any others. The areas we are to use will be well-signed.
You must wear your registration badge at all times while on the Convention site.
If you are more than 15 minutes late for your session you forfeit that scheduled session.
If you miss a scheduled session, arranging another is at the discretion of the Event Organiser(s).
Please turn your mobile phone off during a session.

If you do not comply with these rules you may be expelled from the Convention.

Beyond the rules

A fundamental element of Arcanacon is that all attendees: players, GMs, tournament organisers, helpers and convention organisers should have an enjoyable time at the convention. Everybody who is involved with Arcanacon is contributing something towards the success of the convention. Players contribute funds towards the costs of the convention and their time and energy to bring an event to life. Other attendees contribute in kind: by giving up their own opportunities to play, taking the time to playtest and learn a tournament scenario (GMs); by spending weeks/months designing and writing tournament scenarios, finding and preparing GMs (Event Writers/Designers); by ensuring the Canteen and Registration Desk are staffed (Helpers); by ensuring there are tournaments to play, trophies to award, a venue to play in, everything is advertised, etc, etc (Convention Organisers).

It's important to recognise that everyone contributes to the successful running of the convention and that everyone should therefore enjoy the convention. So please note the following:

Many problems can be avoided by communication. If you are going to be late to a session, PLEASE inform those involved in that session (GM, other players). There will be a Noticeboard at the Convention where you can leave messages; if you're off-site, you can use the Emergency Phone Number to let your team/GM know when you'll be arriving. A little bit of mutual courtesy goes a long way.
If you have any problems of any kind, please talk to the other players/GM/organisers. Problems are (sadly) inevitable, but everyone involved will do their best to fix things up to the satisfaction of all involved.
Be on time for your sessions (both players and GMs!) If you are late you'll hold up other teams and GMs. Actual playing time in each three hour block is 2.5 hours and there are generous breaks between sessions.
There is a 15 minute limit on late starters. Your GM will wait for you for 15 minutes past the official start time for the session. If the GM does not hear from any member of your team, they may declare the session cancelled.
Similarly, if your GM does not turn up within that 15 minutes, or provide some indication of a revised starting time, you may claim a tournament fee refund. You are welcome to arrange another session (where possible) and discuss your problem with the tournament and/or convention organisers.
Remember that the organisers and GMs are all volunteers. Most are overworked, underfed and tired (normal convention condition, really) and respond well to courteous, cooperative and fun players. The reverse also applies. Remember: too little sleep and too much caffeine does not a happy gamer make.
Sometimes a tournament module at the Convention will not match your expectations or initial impressions as based on the Entry Booklet. You can either go along with the spirit of the game anyway, or, politely withdraw from the tournament and (try to) enter another that suits you better. Similarly, if a GM feels uncomfortable with your approach to the module or your expectations of him/her, they will help you arrange another session with another GM or recommend that you withdraw from the tournament.

Above all else, have fun!