Setup: Generally, an event starts around noon on Friday. If you join us for setup, you arrive at the camp early and assist the rest of us with transforming the site into Colony 724. This includes setting up permanent fixtures of the game world (such as the “library” or the “warden’s office”), props intended to be in place before the “Game On” call, and decorating frequented areas such as The Apothecary and the tavern. There are also logistical areas to set up, including the cast center, lighting trails for night, and marking hazards around the site. Be sure to verify what time the setup begins each event before arriving.
Check in: Between the hours of 7pm and 9pm on Friday, Players and Cast arrive on site and go through the process of Check In. This is where we collect player donations, hand out player character sheets, distribute in-game items to players as necessary, and take care of any last-minute clerical work before the opening meeting.
New Players/Cast Meeting: If all goes according to plan, New Players and Cast will have a special meeting at 8pm on Friday to get familiarized with the rules and combat calls they are likely to hear over the weekend. After the opening meeting before game starts, New Players will be escorted to the “New Player Mod” – a small, self-contained In-Game module intended to allow new players to get familiar with their calls and In Character personas before being brought into the colony.
Opening Meeting: Typically at 9:30pm Friday night, Opening Meeting gathers players to a central starting point for the event. We use this meeting to review important calls, share important game information, and make any announcements integral to the event and community. Cast has its own opening meeting, separate from players, at 9pm in the cast center.
Game On/Game Off times: Game runs from 10pm – 2am on Friday, 9am-2am on Saturday, and 9am – 12 noon on Sunday. Once Game On is called at any point, but especially Friday night, all out of game chatter should stop (or be done away from other players and In-Game areas of the camp); and once Game Off is called each night, and especially on Sunday afternoon, cast will return for the night and no new cast NPCs will go out, although players are welcome to roleplay between themselves at the risk of their own night’s sleep. The game ends for the weekend at noon on Sunday.
Closing Meeting: Sunday morning after Game Off, we will have our Closing Meeting. This will be similar to the Opening Meeting, except we thank all players and cast for participating in the wonderful event, and remind everyone to write their post event letters, finalize any between game skills, and check in with their fellow players about plots and roleplay.
Checkout: There are several skills that require turning in components or props (anything with a yellow tag) and worksheets during check out. These worksheets will be provided for you to use at this point.
Whether you have any of these skills or are using them, all components and props must be turned in during check out. These items will be treated as if they were turned into the Quartermaster and be put into your personal inventory and available to you at the next event.
Break Down/Clean Up: After game, players and cast are invited to help us disassemble the world we put together over the weekend. This involves packing away costumes and props, as well as cleaning up the mess we inevitably made on the trails. Please help us rescue our spell packets and Nerf ammo from the trails and make the camp cleaner than we arrived.
Post Event Letters: When you get home, both Cast and Players are invited to write to us about their event via Post Event Letters. PELs (as we like to call them) allow the Plot Team to not only follow your actions and interactions with our plots, but also understand your character’s motivations, allowing us to better tailor plots based on their successes moving forward. Perhaps the most important aspect of the Post Event Letter is that it allows the SusCo Team to see what Did and Didn’t make the event wonderful. We want to know what you enjoyed, what you didn’t, what you want to see more of, and what you could do without. We want your constructive criticism! Post Event Letters are the single most important thing any participants of our events can do – aside from have fun.
Between Game Skills: These are skills that allow a player to take some sort of action between in person events. Often used for experimenting with potions and other in-game items, it may also include ways to gather information, contact NPCs, and do other more nefarious or exciting things. Any Between Game Skills that require components (such as crafting skills and research) must be started at checkout.