Introduction
TravCon12 is a UK Traveller roleplaying convention being organised by BITS. It will be held near Sawtry (between Peterborough and Huntingdon just off the A1M), on the weekend of 2nd to 4th March 2012. There is space for about 30 attendees for a fantastic weekend of Traveller! Information on the available games will be publicised over the coming weeks and we are looking for volunteers to run games. This is our fourth year of running TravCon. Check out details of the previous conventions here.
We look forward to meeting you at TravCon!
Andy (BITS UK Limited) TravCon@bits.org.uk
We look forward to meeting you at TravCon!
Andy (BITS UK Limited) TravCon@bits.org.uk
The Venue
TravCon12 is being held at:
Redwings Lodge
Old Great North Road (B1043)
Sawtry
Huntingdon
Cambridgeshire
PE28 5XP
Tel: 01487 830100
Fax: 01487 831700
Web: www.redwingslodge.co.uk
Redwings Lodge
Old Great North Road (B1043)
Sawtry
Huntingdon
Cambridgeshire
PE28 5XP
Tel: 01487 830100
Fax: 01487 831700
Web: www.redwingslodge.co.uk
Travel
Redwings Lodge is located approximately 12 miles south of Peterborough and 6 miles north of Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire on the Old Great North road (B1043), which runs parallel to the A1(M).
The venue is best reached by car: exit the A1(M) at junction 15 and follow the signs for “Monks Wood” and “Alconbury”. The hotel is located on the B1043 Great North Road behind the Q8 service station. (Postcode is PE28 5XP if you need to type it into your sat nav system).
There is parking in front and beside the hotel, including disabled parking spaces directly outside.
The venue is best reached by car: exit the A1(M) at junction 15 and follow the signs for “Monks Wood” and “Alconbury”. The hotel is located on the B1043 Great North Road behind the Q8 service station. (Postcode is PE28 5XP if you need to type it into your sat nav system).
There is parking in front and beside the hotel, including disabled parking spaces directly outside.
Accomodation
The hotel is comfortable, with en-suite facilities in all rooms, albeit not quite the Savoy or Ritz. There are ground floor rooms for a limited number of attendees (disabled attendees will get priority on these rooms – please ensure you indicate any such requirement when you book).
Food
A small bar/eating area provides “continental” breakfast facilities; the bar is open 24 hours with two on-tap beers and a good range of bottled drinks (soft and alcoholic). The coffee machine is on continuously throughout the day and just like last year there will be free snacks from BITS!
Right next to the hotel, “Spice Land” offers an “eat as much as you like” Indian buffet (they don’t have an alcohol licence, so you can bring your own drinks or get them from the hotel). There is also a service station which stocks snacks, microwave food, etc. as well as petrol.
A few minutes drive away is Sawtry, with take-aways (Fish & Chips; Chinese) and a Co-op store, as well as a chemist, Post Office and Nationwide building society.
Right next to the hotel, “Spice Land” offers an “eat as much as you like” Indian buffet (they don’t have an alcohol licence, so you can bring your own drinks or get them from the hotel). There is also a service station which stocks snacks, microwave food, etc. as well as petrol.
A few minutes drive away is Sawtry, with take-aways (Fish & Chips; Chinese) and a Co-op store, as well as a chemist, Post Office and Nationwide building society.
Games and Events
TravCon uses a simple “slot” system for games, where each slot lasts about 4 hours. We can run up to 5 games (of 6 or so players) depending upon availability of referees. The slots are planned as follows:
Friday
8pm – 11pm: A short ‘opening’ slot for those who are desperate to start playing as soon as they turn up. Latecomers are welcome to join in!
Saturday
9.30am – 1pm: The morning slot (given the rooms, breakfast and the gaming areas are all within just a few metres of each other, there’s no reason people shouldn’t start gaming at a reasonable time!)
1pm – 2pm: Lunch!
2pm – 6pm: The afternoon slot.
6pm – 7pm: Dinner!
7pm – 11pm: The evening slot.
Sunday
10am – 4pm: This is a slightly longer slot, starting late enough for a lie-in, provided you don’t over- indulge on Saturday night! Lunch is fitted in...
4pm: Closing Ceremony!
Note to Referees:
Games can continue into the lunch/dinner slots if desired, provided everyone’s happy with doing this, and everyone finds a way of feeding themselves. Some games may bridge two slots; games will not be allowed to over-run as this disrupts subsequent games.
Games
Details of games will be announced as they become available.
(Oh go on, you didn’t think we’d have worked this out yet, did you? Rest assured we will be looking for volunteers to run lots and lots of Traveller!)
Attendees vote to decide who gets two awards:
PFI (“Ping! F*** It!”): for the most dramatic mess-up in a convention game (last year, awarded to Simon Bell for a ‘covert’ assassination which involved bludgeoning the victim to death on public TV).
SEH (Starburst for Extreme Heroism): for the most heroic action in any convention game (last year, awarded to Roger Malmstein for throwing his camera and knocking out an insane gunman!)
Friday
8pm – 11pm: A short ‘opening’ slot for those who are desperate to start playing as soon as they turn up. Latecomers are welcome to join in!
Saturday
9.30am – 1pm: The morning slot (given the rooms, breakfast and the gaming areas are all within just a few metres of each other, there’s no reason people shouldn’t start gaming at a reasonable time!)
1pm – 2pm: Lunch!
2pm – 6pm: The afternoon slot.
6pm – 7pm: Dinner!
7pm – 11pm: The evening slot.
Sunday
10am – 4pm: This is a slightly longer slot, starting late enough for a lie-in, provided you don’t over- indulge on Saturday night! Lunch is fitted in...
4pm: Closing Ceremony!
Note to Referees:
Games can continue into the lunch/dinner slots if desired, provided everyone’s happy with doing this, and everyone finds a way of feeding themselves. Some games may bridge two slots; games will not be allowed to over-run as this disrupts subsequent games.
Games
Details of games will be announced as they become available.
(Oh go on, you didn’t think we’d have worked this out yet, did you? Rest assured we will be looking for volunteers to run lots and lots of Traveller!)
Attendees vote to decide who gets two awards:
PFI (“Ping! F*** It!”): for the most dramatic mess-up in a convention game (last year, awarded to Simon Bell for a ‘covert’ assassination which involved bludgeoning the victim to death on public TV).
SEH (Starburst for Extreme Heroism): for the most heroic action in any convention game (last year, awarded to Roger Malmstein for throwing his camera and knocking out an insane gunman!)
Traders
BITS – We’ll have all our usual BITS products, the latest Mongoose stock and second-hand Traveller books and games, with special discounts for all attendees.
Bring and Buy – The ideal opportunity for you to bring along stuff from your roleplaying collection that you think other attendees might fancy buying. (There is a small fee for each item you sell, which is donated to charity.)
Bring and Buy – The ideal opportunity for you to bring along stuff from your roleplaying collection that you think other attendees might fancy buying. (There is a small fee for each item you sell, which is donated to charity.)
How can you help?
We are now URGENTLY seeking referees to run games at TravCon12. If you would like to run a game at TravCon12, please send an e-mail with the following details to TravCon@bits.org.uk.
• The name of the adventure
• The Traveller system that it uses*
• Max number of players
• Your preferred slot date/time
• The game length (maximum of two slots)
• A description of the game (around 500 words) so that prospective players can decide whether they want to play it.
*Mongoose Traveller is the usual system, but other canon** systems are fine.
** CT, MT, TNE, T4, GT, T20 or MongT
• The name of the adventure
• The Traveller system that it uses*
• Max number of players
• Your preferred slot date/time
• The game length (maximum of two slots)
• A description of the game (around 500 words) so that prospective players can decide whether they want to play it.
*Mongoose Traveller is the usual system, but other canon** systems are fine.
** CT, MT, TNE, T4, GT, T20 or MongT
Prices
Attendee Prices
• “Lead Character” (Friday night to Sunday afternoon, ensuite room, B&B, with entry to all games) – £109.
• “Secondary Character” (as “Lead Character”, but sharing a room with a “Lead Character”) – £40.
• “Non-Player Character” (non-gamer, aged 18 or more, sharing a room with a “Lead Character”) – Free
• “Saturday Stand-In” (gamer, day ticket, for Saturday only) – £15.
• “Sunday Stand-In” (gamer, day ticket, for Sunday only) – £10.
DUE TO LAST MINUTE CANCELLATIONS, THE SPACES WE HAVE ARE AT THE EARLY BIRD RATE!
Limits on space and referees means we can only support a certain number of attendees. We will give priority to Lead and then Secondary Characters; Stand-In tickets will only be issued if there are spaces left after all Lead and Secondary attendees have been confirmed.
ALL attendees must book in advance through BITS UK Limited. We cannot guarantee availability of any spaces on the day. Please do NOT turn up without booking in advance as we would hate to have to turn you away on the day. Please note that the hotel can NOT accept booking directly for this event.
All prices include VAT.
• “Lead Character” (Friday night to Sunday afternoon, ensuite room, B&B, with entry to all games) – £109.
• “Secondary Character” (as “Lead Character”, but sharing a room with a “Lead Character”) – £40.
• “Non-Player Character” (non-gamer, aged 18 or more, sharing a room with a “Lead Character”) – Free
• “Saturday Stand-In” (gamer, day ticket, for Saturday only) – £15.
• “Sunday Stand-In” (gamer, day ticket, for Sunday only) – £10.
DUE TO LAST MINUTE CANCELLATIONS, THE SPACES WE HAVE ARE AT THE EARLY BIRD RATE!
Limits on space and referees means we can only support a certain number of attendees. We will give priority to Lead and then Secondary Characters; Stand-In tickets will only be issued if there are spaces left after all Lead and Secondary attendees have been confirmed.
ALL attendees must book in advance through BITS UK Limited. We cannot guarantee availability of any spaces on the day. Please do NOT turn up without booking in advance as we would hate to have to turn you away on the day. Please note that the hotel can NOT accept booking directly for this event.
All prices include VAT.
Registration
You can get your TravCon12 tickets by doing the following:
1. Fill in the Booking Request Form (Word or PDF file) and e-mail* it to us at TravCon@bits.org.uk.
2. When we receive your Booking Request Form we will check to make sure that we have all the necessary details and a suitable room for you. We will then contact you back by e-mail* to either (a) ask you for payment, (b) clarify your details or (c) regretfully tell you we can’t accept your booking (if, for example, we are already booked out).
3. Assuming (a) above, we will e-mail* you details of how to pay. This year we will be accepting cheque or Paypal, but Paypal will attract a surcharge of £4 (we run on such a tight budget that paying Paypal fees would mean cutting back on the free food or attendee gifts that you have come to expect from us). You must pay by the date requested by us, otherwise we will regard your booking as having been rescinded.
4. Only once your payment has been received and cleared by BITS UK Limited will your booking be confirmed by e-mail*.
* If you don’t have e-mail, then you can send a printed copy of the Booking Request Form to “BITS TravCon, PO Box 4222, Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, CM21 0DP”. Do not send payment with your booking form unless you have already contacted us and we have asked you to do so. We will then respond to you by phone or post.
1. Fill in the Booking Request Form (Word or PDF file) and e-mail* it to us at TravCon@bits.org.uk.
2. When we receive your Booking Request Form we will check to make sure that we have all the necessary details and a suitable room for you. We will then contact you back by e-mail* to either (a) ask you for payment, (b) clarify your details or (c) regretfully tell you we can’t accept your booking (if, for example, we are already booked out).
3. Assuming (a) above, we will e-mail* you details of how to pay. This year we will be accepting cheque or Paypal, but Paypal will attract a surcharge of £4 (we run on such a tight budget that paying Paypal fees would mean cutting back on the free food or attendee gifts that you have come to expect from us). You must pay by the date requested by us, otherwise we will regard your booking as having been rescinded.
4. Only once your payment has been received and cleared by BITS UK Limited will your booking be confirmed by e-mail*.
* If you don’t have e-mail, then you can send a printed copy of the Booking Request Form to “BITS TravCon, PO Box 4222, Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, CM21 0DP”. Do not send payment with your booking form unless you have already contacted us and we have asked you to do so. We will then respond to you by phone or post.
Booking form
The booking form can be obtained here: