When my friends and I come to Gencon we always want to try games that we've never played.  We're looking for something new to buy.  I was looking through RPG session that require no experience for us.  (by the way being able to filter session by experience required to play is such an improvement)  I found an absolute ton of session that say that absolutely no experience is required.  The game will be taught (Hooray!).  Just below that it says that the players must provide their own materials. (....)

Now here's my problem with this.  If I have no experience with the game, how am I supposed to know what materials I should be bringing?  Should I bring dice?  (what kind?)  Miniatures?  (what kind?)  Do I have to have a character prepared in advance?  (how can I do that if I have no experience with the game?)  What else?

I've not had much luck with emailing event organizers (I realize they are busy).

I don't think it's too unreasonable to ask that, if an organizer requires you to bring your own materials, they should state explicitly what you're supposed to bring in their event description.

As a player, my "basic" gaming kit includes::

• A set of dice (at least one each of D4, D8, D12, D10, D20, D100 (however you do that - I like the nice the nice "0" and "00" D10s), and I put in at least 6D6. I have dice sets of various colors, so I can use, say, my orange dice if no-one else is using orange - it helps when it comes time to to gather up dice at the end of the game.  For me, dice don't have personality or luck, so I'm fine using whatever.
  
• Scratch Paper - I usually carry an  8.5x11 pad.
  
• Pencil and eraser ('cause you never know when you'll need to change something). I have one player in my Tuesday group that is always borrowing a pencil, and it gets annoying. 
  

My packing list is:

• 1 set polyhedral dice (standard D20 set - d4, d6, d8, 2xd10 (10 and 10s), D12, D20)
  
• 3 Pairs matched but different color dice (For 2d6 based games)
  
• 1 mechanical pencil
  
• 1 traditional pencil
  
• 1 sharpener
  
• 1 eraser
  
• 1 small pad note paper.
  

I'm having the same issue - so when they say you do not need experience, but to bring materials - do they just mean dice/scratch pad/pencil/etc.? I'm going to email Paizo (it's a Starfinder campaign) but I'm not entirely sure if that's what they mean, or if they expect me to have a character made up. :/

This is one reason i'd love to have it, where once you get a tick for event XYZ, you get an email from the company/person running it, so you can send THEM an email and say "OK, what do i need"

Strange imo, that those buying the tickets get contact info for the host (if they put that in), but those hosts don't get contact info for those who purchased tickets..

At Nascrag, we've always been clear that bribes for your judges are *NOT* required and will in no way increase your score.

As a general rule, you should be willing to bring your own dice (the "standard" dice in case of Starfinder, i.e. d4, d6, d8, etc.), paper and pencil, although in a pinch your fellow players might let you borrow/use theirs.

I would send them an e-mail. I could be wrong, so it would be best to hear from the horse's mouth. I'm sure they want you to have a good time and to enjoy their game.

In the Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guide (available for free at paizo.com), it seems (on pp. 6-7) to indicate that while when you make your own character, you do so at 1st level, you can use pregens and then give their "credit" to your own character. There are pregens (also available for free at paizo.com) of all the classes at levels 1, 4, and 8. So, you might be able to use one of the 4th-level ones for your session. I'd still write to the event host to be sure, but things are (I hope) looking up!

Here is what Paizo sent back to me; hopefully it helps others as it helped me. I'm in a 3-6 level Starfinder campaign, but I would assume this information is pretty good for all stuff across the board.

Welcome to Starfinder Society organized play!  We are very happy to teach the rules. Familiarity with a d20 system will help, but is not necessary. We have pre-generated characters available for levels 1 & 4. You can get them from your table’s GM. Materials you need to bring are dice, pens/pencils, and notepaper. For your event, the 4th level pregen is the best option.

If you want to play your own 1st level characters in other events, they should be made using organized play rules. You can find the free pdf “Roleplaying Guild Guide” at http://paizo.com/products/btpy9vlp?Starfinder-Society-Roleplaying-Guild-Guide More information about Paizo organized play programs, including Pathfinder Society and Starfinder Society, is available from www.paizo.com/organizedplay

See you at Gen Con!

None relevant to the game, but I require all players at my D&D sessions to bring lavish gifts if they don't want to be killed by a grudge monster.

Depending on the levels of the rest of the group you will either play up, 5-6, or play down, 3-4. If you play up then the challenges will be harder and you will get a slightly higher reward for being out of tier.

The pregenerated characters are available at http://paizo.com/products/btpy9ukw?Community-Use-Package-Starfinder-Society-Pregenerated-Characters

Thank you so much for this! This will be a great help! :)