GenCon Thanks! [Archive] - Wizards Community

GenCon Thanks! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
smerwin29
08-14-06, 09:46 AM I would like to thank all of the judges and players who came out and made the GenCon launch of Xen'drik Expeditions a huge success. I only had to turn away one player with a generic ticket, and I was able to seat other generic tickets since players were willing to be flexible. The judges I saw were enthusiastic and well prepared.

Brian Mackey, August Hahn, and Greg Marks deserve a huge thanks for putting together the XE Delve Spellspitter's Abbadon on very short notice and turning it into one of the most popular RPGA events there. Brian was a PC-smacking madman all weekend!

I'm sure I speak for all the Factionmasters when I say that comments, questions, and suggestions are more than welcome. If it is something that involves an adventure spoiler, please ask offlist.

Thanks again to all!

Shawn
Crimson Codex Factionmaster Guy
Harliquinn
08-14-06, 10:14 AM I want to add my voice to the thanks to all the GM's, Factionmasters, and organizers for the RPGA events. I thought things went very smoothly in marshalling (Sure there were a few delays and I can only speak for Xen'drik expeditions). All the GM's I had this weekend were well prepared and ran great games. The Xen'drik delve went well after some early game changes, and thanks to all those GM's who ran constantly the same thing over and over for us all. The majority of the players at my tables made the games enjoyable as well. Overall, this year's GenCon RPGA experience was very positive.

I think my biggest concern about Xen'drik Expeditions lies in the Faction and sub-Faction adventure goals. The only time that any frustration or conflict (both player and character) seemed to occure was in the resolution of adventure goals. Part of this was ambiguity in the modules as written and part of it sometimes was misunderstanding on the part of the GM or judge.

For the purposes of intra-faction adventures (The 1 round events that are faction-specific), it is reasonable that conflicting sub-factions would have competing goals which may or may not impede another sub-faction's goal. While this is more prominent in Cabal of Shadows (Who have well defined and conflicting obscura), it is evident that some other factions are going to be having sub-faction goals as well (Crimson Codex is one I know of for sure). This is acceptable in 1-round events within the faction, since you can usually come to some agreement in game.

However, for the Xen'drik expeditions (3-round cross-faction adventures) where you are likely forced to group with those outside your faction, I feel it is important that each faction *can* complete their goals as written without a *need* to disrupt the goals of the other factions. These goals must be written and presented very clearly to the players/characters so that at least the verbatim goals are non-ambiguous. Of course, some characters may choose to ignore or misrepresent their goal, but the player is well aware of exactly what is expected of them. The main reason for this is that people have traveled many hours, paid hundreds of dollars to go to a con, and spent up to 15 hours of their con for this one event. It is in everyone's best interest if people have fun at these events, less people stop signing up for them.

Another major reason for this is that PvP is not only discouraged but there are (or will be) rules about what you can and cannot do to other characters within the game. Therefore, if someone can disrupt your mission goal easily but you have no recourse other than PvP (which isn't allowed by all of my readings of posts by the factionmasters), then you have created a no-win situation for the character/player. One should not be unduly penalized from completing a mission or having fun because they have the lone Covenant Paladin in a group of Cabal players (Considering that most have no choice who they are grouped with).

The Well of Woe event is a good example and without spoiling anything, the goals were slightly ambiguous in their choice of words, and at some times the goals were communicated incorrectly or slightly changed from what was written. Though our personal table managed to work things out (though we had to resort to some out of character compromise), I have heard some horror stories about other tables.

A related issue occured in the 2nd Blackwheel Company adventure but for different reasons. The main mission goal as written seemed to require certain actions on the characters that I would guess many might have a problem with.

I think if the module writers just pay particular attention to this aspect of the adventures, then Xen'drik has a healthy future.

Overall, I was impressed with the Faction adventures and Well of Woe and I salute the authors of the events. I am looking forward to the next round of modules!

Thanks,
Harliquinn (John)
Rachisk - Copper Dragon Shaman
Wulfried Jorgeson d'Orien - Human Skald
Dier'zal "Black Sting" - Daelkyr Half-Blood Duskblade
Gargs454
08-14-06, 03:49 PM Just to throw in my 2 coppers:

I was generally very pleased with the experience. This was my first GenCon and largely because I wanted to experience a lot of things, I only ended up entering one RPGA event -- The Sahaguin Stone.

There will a few problems which hopefully can be ironed out for next year. The main problem that our table ran into was that there were a few people who had not seen the latest updates on the Cabal subfactions. Additionally our GM was a volunteer who was literally handed the adventure right before being sent to our table. As such, none of us knew what our goals were in the game until after we were concluded since it obviously wasn't printed earlier in the adventure.

The other problem we ran into was the RPGA not having any membership forms so there were a couple of people at our table who now are not sure that they'll get credit for having done the adventure. Hopefully the RPGA folks will get it figured out, but it was a little bit disappointing to say the least that a couple people might lose out on the oppurtunity to get credit for the adventure. Finally, a better editing job needs to be done on the adventures. Our DM was having difficulty in many places reading off the adventure because of frequent mispellings and bad grammar.

All that being said, I had a great time and enjoyed the experience immensely and am already looking forward to next year's GenCon where I plan to play in more RPGA events.

I'll also echo the sentiments of everyone else in thanking all those who worked so hard to make it a great weekend.
Herrbard
08-14-06, 07:24 PM My Turn! :D

1. Thanks to all the Faction Masters (August, Brian, Greg, and Shawn) for giving us a great set of mods to work with, and for putting in so much time to get as much right as possible with the change in personnel at RPGA. You guys are all great, and I look forward to more.

2. Special thanks to Brian Mackey for being so gung ho with players and judges, making those of us running Blackwheel mods even more eager to get going! Brian was the only Faction Master I had not met before GenCon, and he impressed me as much as the others always have.

3. Big thanks to my fellow Blackwheel judges Peggy, Mike and Ben, and any one else that I may forget. I ran nine Blackwheel tables, and our judges were the best! I can't remember anyone going away unhappy. I also believe (and Brian can smack me if I'm wrong) that we managed to seat every player that showed up, generic ticket or whatever.

The other problem we ran into was the RPGA not having any membership forms so there were a couple of people at our table who now are not sure that they'll get credit for having done the adventure.
I think this one got taken care of pretty quickly. I went to HQ to get cards during three different slots, and was always able to get cards. (Three at one table, FOUR at another, and two at the final table).

All in all, this was a great con! It had to be; I happened to read in the RPGA report in Dragon Magazine that Ian said it had been great. Of course, I was reading this on thursday at the con! (Ain't publishing lead time fun!) :D

Dan Erbacher
Ishorn
08-14-06, 10:24 PM I would have to say Brian Mackey made the Con a great experience. I did not get to meet any of the other faction masters. I did have a lot of fun in the Dungeon Delve.
Vitarri
08-14-06, 11:21 PM Although the campaign got off to a rocky start because not all the information was available [we left for Indy early Tuesday]...I thoroghly enjoyed playing in the delve and the 2 Crimson Codex adventures. :D My group of friends and I had a great judge in Mike Barnes who helped flesh out what the Crimson Codex stands for. I definetley look forward to more mods and seeing where the campaign goes from here.

Vitarri
Draco-Longtooth Barbarian
Gargs454
08-15-06, 11:33 AM Herrbard:

Not to be a stick in the mud, but when we played Saturday evening, HQ desk in the ballroom said that they didn't have any.

/shrug

As I said earlier though, it was a lot of fun and we had a great time. . . though I was a little concerned when my rogue was knocked into the negs before even having a chance to do anything. :p
raalynthslair
08-16-06, 02:17 PM The other problem we ran into was the RPGA not having any membership forms so there were a couple of people at our table who now are not sure that they'll get credit for having done the adventure.

Actually, if they go online and join up via the website and e-mail the RPGA staff through that same site and explain to them what happened they can probably work something out to get them creditted for the mods. They are, in general, very helpful and accomodating for players - especially in this case where it really wasn't their fault that they couldn't get a card and a number at the con to put on the player information form. They may (and usually do) ask for a name and RPGA number of some of the other players at the table(s) they played at - to more easily find/confirm the person in question was there and to look at what was awarded for that event and table.
Gargs454
08-16-06, 03:36 PM Thanks Raal. Does the website allow registration now? I know earlier in the year it required you to actually play in an RPGA event, though I hadn't really been checking since I've been a member for several years.

Just curious.

In any event, as I said earlier, we had a great time which was the most important thing.
Grantor
08-16-06, 06:40 PM Thanks Raal. Does the website allow registration now? I know earlier in the year it required you to actually play in an RPGA event, though I hadn't really been checking since I've been a member for several years.

Yes, you need an actual number. I'm looking forward to my first RPGA event in three weeks so I can finally register...

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
smerwin29 08-14-06, 09:46 AM	I would like to thank all of the judges and players who came out and made the GenCon launch of Xen'drik Expeditions a huge success. I only had to turn away one player with a generic ticket, and I was able to seat other generic tickets since players were willing to be flexible. The judges I saw were enthusiastic and well prepared. Brian Mackey, August Hahn, and Greg Marks deserve a huge thanks for putting together the XE Delve Spellspitter's Abbadon on very short notice and turning it into one of the most popular RPGA events there. Brian was a PC-smacking madman all weekend! I'm sure I speak for all the Factionmasters when I say that comments, questions, and suggestions are more than welcome. If it is something that involves an adventure spoiler, please ask offlist. Thanks again to all! Shawn Crimson Codex Factionmaster Guy
Harliquinn 08-14-06, 10:14 AM	I want to add my voice to the thanks to all the GM's, Factionmasters, and organizers for the RPGA events. I thought things went very smoothly in marshalling (Sure there were a few delays and I can only speak for Xen'drik expeditions). All the GM's I had this weekend were well prepared and ran great games. The Xen'drik delve went well after some early game changes, and thanks to all those GM's who ran constantly the same thing over and over for us all. The majority of the players at my tables made the games enjoyable as well. Overall, this year's GenCon RPGA experience was very positive. I think my biggest concern about Xen'drik Expeditions lies in the Faction and sub-Faction adventure goals. The only time that any frustration or conflict (both player and character) seemed to occure was in the resolution of adventure goals. Part of this was ambiguity in the modules as written and part of it sometimes was misunderstanding on the part of the GM or judge. For the purposes of intra-faction adventures (The 1 round events that are faction-specific), it is reasonable that conflicting sub-factions would have competing goals which may or may not impede another sub-faction's goal. While this is more prominent in Cabal of Shadows (Who have well defined and conflicting obscura), it is evident that some other factions are going to be having sub-faction goals as well (Crimson Codex is one I know of for sure). This is acceptable in 1-round events within the faction, since you can usually come to some agreement in game. However, for the Xen'drik expeditions (3-round cross-faction adventures) where you are likely forced to group with those outside your faction, I feel it is important that each faction can complete their goals as written without a need to disrupt the goals of the other factions. These goals must be written and presented very clearly to the players/characters so that at least the verbatim goals are non-ambiguous. Of course, some characters may choose to ignore or misrepresent their goal, but the player is well aware of exactly what is expected of them. The main reason for this is that people have traveled many hours, paid hundreds of dollars to go to a con, and spent up to 15 hours of their con for this one event. It is in everyone's best interest if people have fun at these events, less people stop signing up for them. Another major reason for this is that PvP is not only discouraged but there are (or will be) rules about what you can and cannot do to other characters within the game. Therefore, if someone can disrupt your mission goal easily but you have no recourse other than PvP (which isn't allowed by all of my readings of posts by the factionmasters), then you have created a no-win situation for the character/player. One should not be unduly penalized from completing a mission or having fun because they have the lone Covenant Paladin in a group of Cabal players (Considering that most have no choice who they are grouped with). The Well of Woe event is a good example and without spoiling anything, the goals were slightly ambiguous in their choice of words, and at some times the goals were communicated incorrectly or slightly changed from what was written. Though our personal table managed to work things out (though we had to resort to some out of character compromise), I have heard some horror stories about other tables. A related issue occured in the 2nd Blackwheel Company adventure but for different reasons. The main mission goal as written seemed to require certain actions on the characters that I would guess many might have a problem with. I think if the module writers just pay particular attention to this aspect of the adventures, then Xen'drik has a healthy future. Overall, I was impressed with the Faction adventures and Well of Woe and I salute the authors of the events. I am looking forward to the next round of modules! Thanks, Harliquinn (John) Rachisk - Copper Dragon Shaman Wulfried Jorgeson d'Orien - Human Skald Dier'zal "Black Sting" - Daelkyr Half-Blood Duskblade
Gargs454 08-14-06, 03:49 PM	Just to throw in my 2 coppers: I was generally very pleased with the experience. This was my first GenCon and largely because I wanted to experience a lot of things, I only ended up entering one RPGA event -- The Sahaguin Stone. There will a few problems which hopefully can be ironed out for next year. The main problem that our table ran into was that there were a few people who had not seen the latest updates on the Cabal subfactions. Additionally our GM was a volunteer who was literally handed the adventure right before being sent to our table. As such, none of us knew what our goals were in the game until after we were concluded since it obviously wasn't printed earlier in the adventure. The other problem we ran into was the RPGA not having any membership forms so there were a couple of people at our table who now are not sure that they'll get credit for having done the adventure. Hopefully the RPGA folks will get it figured out, but it was a little bit disappointing to say the least that a couple people might lose out on the oppurtunity to get credit for the adventure. Finally, a better editing job needs to be done on the adventures. Our DM was having difficulty in many places reading off the adventure because of frequent mispellings and bad grammar. All that being said, I had a great time and enjoyed the experience immensely and am already looking forward to next year's GenCon where I plan to play in more RPGA events. I'll also echo the sentiments of everyone else in thanking all those who worked so hard to make it a great weekend.
Herrbard 08-14-06, 07:24 PM	My Turn! :D 1. Thanks to all the Faction Masters (August, Brian, Greg, and Shawn) for giving us a great set of mods to work with, and for putting in so much time to get as much right as possible with the change in personnel at RPGA. You guys are all great, and I look forward to more. 2. Special thanks to Brian Mackey for being so gung ho with players and judges, making those of us running Blackwheel mods even more eager to get going! Brian was the only Faction Master I had not met before GenCon, and he impressed me as much as the others always have. 3. Big thanks to my fellow Blackwheel judges Peggy, Mike and Ben, and any one else that I may forget. I ran nine Blackwheel tables, and our judges were the best! I can't remember anyone going away unhappy. I also believe (and Brian can smack me if I'm wrong) that we managed to seat every player that showed up, generic ticket or whatever. The other problem we ran into was the RPGA not having any membership forms so there were a couple of people at our table who now are not sure that they'll get credit for having done the adventure. I think this one got taken care of pretty quickly. I went to HQ to get cards during three different slots, and was always able to get cards. (Three at one table, FOUR at another, and two at the final table). All in all, this was a great con! It had to be; I happened to read in the RPGA report in Dragon Magazine that Ian said it had been great. Of course, I was reading this on thursday at the con! (Ain't publishing lead time fun!) :D Dan Erbacher
Ishorn 08-14-06, 10:24 PM	I would have to say Brian Mackey made the Con a great experience. I did not get to meet any of the other faction masters. I did have a lot of fun in the Dungeon Delve.
Vitarri 08-14-06, 11:21 PM	Although the campaign got off to a rocky start because not all the information was available [we left for Indy early Tuesday]...I thoroghly enjoyed playing in the delve and the 2 Crimson Codex adventures. :D My group of friends and I had a great judge in Mike Barnes who helped flesh out what the Crimson Codex stands for. I definetley look forward to more mods and seeing where the campaign goes from here. Vitarri Draco-Longtooth Barbarian
Gargs454 08-15-06, 11:33 AM	Herrbard: Not to be a stick in the mud, but when we played Saturday evening, HQ desk in the ballroom said that they didn't have any. /shrug As I said earlier though, it was a lot of fun and we had a great time. . . though I was a little concerned when my rogue was knocked into the negs before even having a chance to do anything. :p
raalynthslair 08-16-06, 02:17 PM	The other problem we ran into was the RPGA not having any membership forms so there were a couple of people at our table who now are not sure that they'll get credit for having done the adventure. Actually, if they go online and join up via the website and e-mail the RPGA staff through that same site and explain to them what happened they can probably work something out to get them creditted for the mods. They are, in general, very helpful and accomodating for players - especially in this case where it really wasn't their fault that they couldn't get a card and a number at the con to put on the player information form. They may (and usually do) ask for a name and RPGA number of some of the other players at the table(s) they played at - to more easily find/confirm the person in question was there and to look at what was awarded for that event and table.
Gargs454 08-16-06, 03:36 PM	Thanks Raal. Does the website allow registration now? I know earlier in the year it required you to actually play in an RPGA event, though I hadn't really been checking since I've been a member for several years. Just curious. In any event, as I said earlier, we had a great time which was the most important thing.
Grantor 08-16-06, 06:40 PM	Thanks Raal. Does the website allow registration now? I know earlier in the year it required you to actually play in an RPGA event, though I hadn't really been checking since I've been a member for several years. Yes, you need an actual number. I'm looking forward to my first RPGA event in three weeks so I can finally register...