RaiderCon 2015
Are you worried about missing your weekly gaming session while at Burning Man? Do you feel less human when you're not rolling dice? If so, Captain Pump's Raider's have you covered. Join us for RaiderCon II. Last year we hosted the first ever tabletop role-playing convention to be held on Playa. This year we aim to make it better!
Captain Pump's Raiders are Black Rock City's finest mercenary company. By which we mean we are a collection of geeks, gamers, musicians, artists, and storytellers. We are committed to adding to the fantastical nature of Burningman through song, story, and role-playing games.
Our theme camp was founded on the principle that "We Don't Suck!" Every single person on the planet has a gift to share with the world. Their own personal way of "Not Sucking." We aim to share our love of story with the playa through games, songs, and speech. We hope to allow participants to unlock their own greatness through fantasy, while finding community and kinship with their fellow burners. The communal effort of slaying dragons may not seem great from the outside, but working with once-strangers to solve problems makes all of us stronger.
Last year RaiderCon was one day long. This year we are running two days of games. Each day of RaiderCon II we will run up to six different games, each accommodating up to six players. Our Game Masters will bring years of experience to the table to run some absolutely unforgettable games. We will be running: Pathfinder, Call of Cthulu, Steampunk Pirates, My Little Pony, Firefly, Dresden Files, Marvel Heroes, DnD Next, World of Darkness, and More!
What We Need & What You Get
It takes a lot of time, energy, and commitment to bring a successful theme camp to Burning Man. It also takes a lot of money. We are willing to give our time and energy to make our camp and events as epic as possible. We are fully committed to creating the best experience possible for those who choose to participate. However, we also need money to make it all happen. That is the resource we could use the help of our community to round up
For this campaign we need to raise $2500.
This covers:
Upgrades to our shade space. $500
More tables and chairs so we can offer more games during RaiderCon II. $100
Truck rental and gas to bring everything to playa. $1500
Water, snacks, and mountain dew for gamers to enjoy. $200
Schwag and gifts for burners participating in our events. $200
Every penny we earn goes directly into our efforts to have the most badass theme camp in the desert. If we only reach a percentage of our goal it will go towards transport, because we can't do anything if we can't even get to the event. However, we are hoping that isn't the case and you will contribute towards reaching our whole goal.
If we raise funds above and beyond our goal we will put some of it towards enhancing the atmosphere of our camp even more with the addition of lights, rugs, soft things to sit on, and other paraphernalia inherent in a super swanky gaming pad. If we raise an unprecedented amount of money we will save it into a fund which will allow us to bring RaiderCon back to Burning Man year after year.
The Impact
We believe we are bringing a unique experience to Burning Man, a tabletop role-playing convention, an experience that everyone in our theme camp is passionate about. Having the opportunity to share our passion for story through role-playing games brings a different culture into the context of Burning Man, and the more we expand the breadth of experiences available on the playa the more impactful the whole event becomes.
Last year we ran only one day of convention and we got amazing feedback from everyone who participated. Sitting, rolling dice, building characters, working towards a goal, and accomplishing something mythical with a group of strangers turned out be a great way to spend time in the heat of the day. We have built lasting friendships with the gamers who played with us last year.
We also listened to our players and made some changes for this years event. We have adjusted our schedule to span over two days, so that people have more opportunities to fit our convention into their Burning Man experience. We are also expanding our offerings to include more game settings, which we hope will be more accessible to beginners and experts alike.
Risks & Challenges
The nice thing about role-playing games is that there isn't too much risk. If you get a group of willing participants together and an excited game master you're pretty much set.
However we have addressed a couple challenges that come from running a game convention with paper and small dice and strangers in one of the most inhospitable places on earth
Weather can be a huge challenge when trying to role-play in the desert. Part of the reason to upgrade our shade space is to better combat the possibility of rain or wind or dust. Last year we were fortunate that it was just hot on the day we ran RaiderCon, but we have put a lot of thought into the possibility of bizarre, sudden playa storms.
Last year we had a hard time explaining what we were doing to complete novices. We took that feedback to heart and this year we are offering role-playing games in more familiar settings like superheroes and Dungeons & Dragons.
Other Ways You Can Help
Thanks for reading this far along! If you still are hesitant to give us a little cash there are other ways you can support RaiderCon!
Ask folks to get the word out and make some noise about our campaign. Tell your gaming group and geeky buddies all about us.
There are lots of ways to share what we are doing. Post us on Facebook, write a tweet, an email, take a photo and put it on instagram, talk us up on Reddit, Google+, or anywhere else on the web that you think is appropriate.
If you are attending Burning Man, Awesome! Come and game with us on the Playa!