For some people GenCon will be their first opportunity to participate in public-play games. Although I played D&D for years, it was always with close friends at someone’s house. I’d never played in a public-play scenario before 4e was released. It wasn’t until I attended my first game convention that I played LFR and got to see what public-play was all about. Not long after that I got an opportunity to participate in one of Wizards’ Worldwide D&D Game Day events at my FLGS. There was something about public-play that really appealed to me. It presented me with a chance to meet other gamers in my community, yet it was more than that. I realized that my gaming experience could be greatly improved by seeing first-hand how other people ran their characters and how other DMs ran their table.
Today we’ve pulled another article from our archives that we think you’ll find useful if you’re heading to Indianapolis to attend GonCon or if you’re just starting out with public play (say with D&D Encounters). Of course many of these tips can just as easily be applied to your home games, so even if you aren’t attending GenCon this year you should still find something helpful in the list below. Enjoy.