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My Conjecture schedule.
Oct. 1st, 2013 12:24 pmPanel 1: Fri 10/18 8:00 PM, 60 minutes.
Title: Animals That Should Not Be Uplifted
Precis: Does the universe really need sentient banana slugs? Our panelists will discuss the potential benefits and drawbacks to granting sentience to a wide variety of Terran species.
I'm on this one with Larry Niven and Vernor Vinge.
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**** You are MODERATOR of this panel. Please see below.
Panel 2: Sat 10/19 5:00 PM, 60 minutes.
Title: Historical Models and Military SF
Precis: Do we really need to see another "Roman Empire in Space" or yet another rendition of the age of sail with vacuum? What other historical models, and figures can be used to make military SF fresh and interesting?
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**** You are MODERATOR of this panel. Please see below.
Panel 3: Sun 10/20 11:00 AM, 60 minutes.
Title: Campaigns that Went Wrong: GM Horror Stories
Precis: Have you ever broken the universe and had to reboot it? Did all your players run past your carefully placed clues and go straight off a cliff? Has a personality conflict driven players to quit the game en masse? GMs discuss worst-case scenarios and how to prevent or remediate them.
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Panel 4: Sun 10/20 1:00 PM, 60 minutes.
Title: Beyond Combat in Role-Playing Games
Precis: Just because RPGs grew out of wargaming, and most game systems focus heavily on combat simulation, doesn't mean that games have to stay in a combat-heavy rut. There's plenty to drive a story and excite the characters other than Killing Things. Solving mysteries, negotiating, creating friendships, building organizations (a kingdom, a superhero team, an Explorers' League) maneuvering through intrigues, discovering new lands/people/technologies, and falling in love are all good adventures in their own right. Discuss which game systems and worlds make it easier to move beyond combat and explore other types of narrative.
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**** You are MODERATOR of this panel. Please see below.
Panel 5: Sun 10/20 2:00 PM, 60 minutes.
Title: Pigs In Space: Capitalist Exploitation of Space for Fun and Profit
Precis: Where governments run out of budget to go, sooner or later private industry will venture. There are many potential sources of profit; manufacturing processes that fight gravity down here will go a lot smoother and cheaper in free fall, for one thing. And what about mining on Luna and Mars? Discuss current capitalist efforts to make money in space, and how soon they'll get off the drawing board and out of the gravity well. What new directions will they take as our technology improves?
Title: Animals That Should Not Be Uplifted
Precis: Does the universe really need sentient banana slugs? Our panelists will discuss the potential benefits and drawbacks to granting sentience to a wide variety of Terran species.
I'm on this one with Larry Niven and Vernor Vinge.
------------------------------
**** You are MODERATOR of this panel. Please see below.
Panel 2: Sat 10/19 5:00 PM, 60 minutes.
Title: Historical Models and Military SF
Precis: Do we really need to see another "Roman Empire in Space" or yet another rendition of the age of sail with vacuum? What other historical models, and figures can be used to make military SF fresh and interesting?
------------------------------
**** You are MODERATOR of this panel. Please see below.
Panel 3: Sun 10/20 11:00 AM, 60 minutes.
Title: Campaigns that Went Wrong: GM Horror Stories
Precis: Have you ever broken the universe and had to reboot it? Did all your players run past your carefully placed clues and go straight off a cliff? Has a personality conflict driven players to quit the game en masse? GMs discuss worst-case scenarios and how to prevent or remediate them.
------------------------------
Panel 4: Sun 10/20 1:00 PM, 60 minutes.
Title: Beyond Combat in Role-Playing Games
Precis: Just because RPGs grew out of wargaming, and most game systems focus heavily on combat simulation, doesn't mean that games have to stay in a combat-heavy rut. There's plenty to drive a story and excite the characters other than Killing Things. Solving mysteries, negotiating, creating friendships, building organizations (a kingdom, a superhero team, an Explorers' League) maneuvering through intrigues, discovering new lands/people/technologies, and falling in love are all good adventures in their own right. Discuss which game systems and worlds make it easier to move beyond combat and explore other types of narrative.
------------------------------
**** You are MODERATOR of this panel. Please see below.
Panel 5: Sun 10/20 2:00 PM, 60 minutes.
Title: Pigs In Space: Capitalist Exploitation of Space for Fun and Profit
Precis: Where governments run out of budget to go, sooner or later private industry will venture. There are many potential sources of profit; manufacturing processes that fight gravity down here will go a lot smoother and cheaper in free fall, for one thing. And what about mining on Luna and Mars? Discuss current capitalist efforts to make money in space, and how soon they'll get off the drawing board and out of the gravity well. What new directions will they take as our technology improves?
