Advice for running one shots, ESPECIALLY Con One Shots, is slightly different than general GMing advice, so don't NECESSARILY take this as universally useful: 1) [b]Keep it the hell moving.[/b] In a campaign, with your buddies, if not much happens at this session, they've got next session to look forward to, and at least you got to BS with your buds. At a Con, you paid good money, you don't know these other jerks from adam, and you've got a panel on Kewl Powerz to attend right after this session so you can't afford to run long. Don't let the party dither unless it's obvious they're having [i]helluv fun[/i] doing so; if they're stumped, give 'em a clue; if the non-climactic fight is dragging, cut it short. 1a) This [b]especially[/b] applies to the rules. The most important thing for a con game is the [i]feel[/i] - let folks grok the transhuman existential sci-fi horror, and they can really master the minutiae of morph swapping and the exact stress value of finding a marzipan rat in your ramen (d10 divided by 3, if you must know) once they've bought the game in the dealer's room. If you don't know a rule, make a guess, stick with it, and let the players know that their rules mileage might vary once they own the game. If a rule takes more than 30 seconds to explain, you need to fake a simpler rule for the con game. 2) [b]Go with the flow.[/b] Let an old Octomorph trot out a story. I was at GenCon playing a Hollow Earth Expedition demo, and the adventure clearly was written for Heinleinien two-fisted jack-of-all-trades heroes, real Ultimates and Mentats, with sharp wits, hard fists, and, like, three engineering degrees. Somehow, our group all hit a wavelength where we were all more Victorian-era exploiters, Flashman and Ciaphas Cain types, and after impressing the Hollow Earth natives with our fantastic 1930s technology, we basically had them do all the work fighting the monsters and risking their lives. The GM could have stonewalled us, tried to get us to play the game "right", but he ran with it; when he saw the unholy glee we took in telling ignorant hollow earthians that our lighters and flare guns were sky-god magic, he ran with it. And because of that, "Zippo, we need you to do [i]this[/i]" STILL brings a nostalgic smile to my face, years later. Don't worry *too* much about getting EP right, worry about getting EP *fun* for *that* group. 3) Spotlight everyone. Again, in a campaign, Bob understands that if he doesn't get a lot of screen time this session, you've got a Bob-centric adventure planned a few weeks down the line. If Dave has to sit on his hands for three of the four hours because there's a drama queen monopolizing your time, he's a sad demo-goer. If everyone can walk away from the table at the end of four hours with a story to tell about how THEY were awesome, you've potentially sold the game to every player there. 4) Try to fit in something that you can ONLY do with Eclipse Phase. I can go home and kitbash something vaguely Eclipse Phase-LIKE using Call of Cthulhu, Transhuman Space, and Shadowrun - but there's something [i]specific[/i] about Eclipse Phase that makes it stand out. Find that something, and shine a big bright light on it. 5) Relax. This is "Eclipse Phase for Dummies"-level advice, but it's important. Too many GMs get nervous trying to make everything perfect, trying specifically to follow all that advice I just gave you, that THEY don't enjoy the game. Just go in there, smile, throw some dice, and think of Meat Hab.