| Post/Author/DateTime | Post |
|---|---|
| CyberGaston12-13-05, 01:11 AM | Here's what I found at the bottom of this Winter Fantasy 2006 web page: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=rpga/conventions/wf Three-Dragon Ante Play Ever wonder how your character gets his or her gaming fix? By playing Three-Dragon Ante, of course. And now you can play this exciting card game popular in the various adventurer delves across the multiverse. Outwit your opponents in this fun and fast-paced multiplayer card game. You can even play to earn gold for your RPGA character including characters in the upcoming D&D Campaigns: Xen'drik Adventures starting later in 2006. :eek: That is intriguing !! Does anyone know more information about this new RPGA campaign ? |
| Mike Czaplinski12-13-05, 12:58 PM | Another Eberron-based D&D Campaign that will have a a miniscule number of mods, and possibly go for months without any mods available for play? hooray. MikeC, doesn't want to be negative, really..... |
| Sijal12-13-05, 06:26 PM | Yeah no kidding.. They cant (wont?) support the gmaes they have now.. and they want to add another campaign? WTH are they thinking? |
| TimRat12-16-05, 04:06 PM | I didn't even notice that. But trust me that campaign will be different than what we have now. its still called 'dnd campaigns' but it will have a different look about it. but i'm disappointed by the lack of support as well. since i can't play LG mods i'd like to play something and i can't with no MoH mods coming out. but the xendrik stuff is going to be cool and they have learned about the last 2 campaigns trust me. i wouldn't be surprised if more came out about it at WF this year since it doesn't take place till presidents day weekend. i can't say anything more about it though |
| CyberGaston12-16-05, 04:46 PM | Cool !! Even though you can't say more, I'm asking in the hope that someday it will get an answer !! ;) The campaign will begin with characters at first level ? It's something entirely different and indepent of MoH ? |
| Sijal12-17-05, 09:34 AM | Something to occupy their time while creating another campaign... or something to do now that LF is over. |
| Shadowed Intent12-18-05, 11:26 AM | Well, I am intrigued. I don't think I should be surprised that there is going to be a DnD card game. And yet I am. :rofl: |
| DBlizzard12-18-05, 08:37 PM | but the xendrik stuff is going to be cool and they have learned about the last 2 campaigns trust me. You know, I heard this about Legacy of the Green Regent when I was looking into Mark of Heroes to decide if I wanted to run it. For anyone who has played both, was MoH that much better than LotGR? Did the RPGA heads actually make changes from LotGR to show they learned from their mistakes of it when making MoH? |
| Sijal12-18-05, 08:44 PM | I didn't even notice that. But trust me that campaign will be different than what we have now. its still called 'dnd campaigns' but it will have a different look about it. but i'm disappointed by the lack of support as well. since i can't play LG mods i'd like to play something and i can't with no MoH mods coming out. but the xendrik stuff is going to be cool and they have learned about the last 2 campaigns trust me. i wouldn't be surprised if more came out about it at WF this year since it doesn't take place till presidents day weekend. i can't say anything more about it though So tell me this... they were supposto make the changes and learn from their mistakes on LotGR, they obviously haven't, look at MoH. So we are supposto just roll over and believe them that "They have learned" They obviously haven't learned crap, otherwise they would be trying to fix the campaigns they have, instead of letting them go by the wayside. We need updated Campaign standards.. where the heck are they? We need on time and correct adventure modules? I guess pressing the spell check button is WAY too hard for the person who types them up. We need someone we can contact with RPGA problems. My wife and I sent in emails galore trying to get my wifes RPGA number, and after over a dozen emails and idiotic help center mails, we have recieved not even a form letter... GOOD customer service. We need the DM's marks that were supposto help this campaign, WTF have they been doing with them? You people need to do your fragging job, and get this stuff straight. This isn't just little stuff either, like not making a module someone requests, or using a certain monster in the next adventure, this is GENERAL, EVERYONE NEEDS IT OR IT DONT RUN BULLCRAP. You're losing players by the day because they cant seem to do the job required, maybe fire the people in charge, and put new ones in their place.. I'm sure theres a ton of people who've been playing D&D just as long, if not longer, who can do the same job for alot less pay than they get. Either way, Fix it.. it's broke already, it's been broke for awhile... |
| ShadeMoon6412-19-05, 01:33 AM | But trust me that campaign will be different than what we have now. Nothing personal, TimRat, but history is really against you on this one. WHY ON EARTH should we believe that this new campaign will be better? Why are resourses that are so obviously needed on MoH being diverted to another project? Are the powers that be so out of touch with this community? :confused: |
| DBlizzard12-19-05, 01:34 AM | So tell me this... they were supposto make the changes and learn from their mistakes on LotGR, they obviously haven't, look at MoH. Although I'm not really very familiar with LotGR (which is why I asked what improved with MoH), there was at least one thing I understand was something that was better about MoH. The ability to run DM's Marks was supposed to fix a major hole in the LotGR structure. Yes, it appears that it wasn't implemented as well as it could have (over a year we've had how many of them?), but it's still an improvement over the previous one. Honestly, I doubt we'll ever see a very well run one unless WotC decides that the RPGA is worth investing in, since it seems like a major manpower problem. From my POV, there are two situations here: the PTB in the RPGA really don't care about the campaigns or there are too few people working for the RPGA on it. I suspect it's the second, but the horrible communications from the RPGA certainly make it seem like it's the first. |
| qstor12-19-05, 01:28 PM | Honestly, I doubt we'll ever see a very well run one unless WotC decides that the RPGA is worth investing in, since it seems like a major manpower problem. From my POV, there are two situations here: the PTB in the RPGA really don't care about the campaigns or there are too few people working for the RPGA on it. I suspect it's the second, but the horrible communications from the RPGA certainly make it seem like it's the first. AFAIK that's the problem. There's like 3 people in the RPGA office, Stephan McFarland does alot of work other than the stuff for Green Regent and Mark of Heros. They need a full time staff person to work on the campaign. The Circle of Six does a great job for LG but they're all volunteers so if the new Eberron Campaign is going to be run in house then they need a full time person. I'm kinda disappointed that its not a "living" style campaign. I think someone on the Mark of Heros list said just say no to campaigns with level bumps..I kinda feel the same way. Mike |
| DBlizzard12-19-05, 05:20 PM | The Circle of Six does a great job for LG but they're all volunteers so if the new Eberron Campaign is going to be run in house then they need a full time person. I suspect that's a WotC decision. Greyhawk isn't officially a supported campaign, so they don't have to worry about anything the Living Greyhawk guys develop contradicting something. Eberron, on the other hand, is under development and they probably don't want to risk anything slipping out (not that most of the MoH adventures were solid in Eberron lore). I'm kinda disappointed that its not a "living" style campaign. I think someone on the Mark of Heros list said just say no to campaigns with level bumps..I kinda feel the same way. Honestly, I like the concept of level bumps. I considered running Living Greyhawk periodically when I saw how little support MoH was getting. However, I do not want to have to worry about having 6 players who up with a few 1st level character and a few 10th level characters playing. |
| kenobi6512-19-05, 05:46 PM | II considered running Living Greyhawk periodically when I saw how little support MoH was getting. However, I do not want to have to worry about having 6 players who up with a few 1st level character and a few 10th level characters playing. Most longer-term LG players (i.e., those who have higher-level PCs) have multiple PCs, across a variety of levels. So, unless you wind up with players being inflexible about which of their PCs they want to play in a particular module, that may not be as big an issue as you think. |
| Madfox1112-20-05, 03:18 AM | I'm kinda disappointed that its not a "living" style campaign. I think someone on the Mark of Heros list said just say no to campaigns with level bumps..I kinda feel the same way. Personally I love the level bumps. It allows me to actually miss a few adventures without loosing too much and it makes it a lot easier to get new players to give it a try. Granted, the amount of adventure available make it much less of a problem, but the potential is there. Besides, I love to play with character concepts and builds and level bumps do make this possible. |
| Sieylianna12-20-05, 07:15 AM | Personally I love the level bumps. It allows me to actually miss a few adventures without loosing too much and it makes it a lot easier to get new players to give it a try. Granted, the amount of adventure available make it much less of a problem, but the potential is there. Besides, I love to play with character concepts and builds and level bumps do make this possible. I hate level bumps. Why bother playing the character when you can wait a few months and they hand everything to you without working for it? Ed |
| ajpopp12-20-05, 09:50 AM | Ideally, I'd play a campaign without level bumps. But the few times I've tried to play Living Greyhawk, I've been turned away by groups with higher-level characters--and yes, this has been at cons. The marshal was not able to find me a table for a new character. Furthermore, I simply don't have the amount of time to play a character often enough (even if someone allowed me to get started). My experiences with LG have been, without exception, negative--I feel like since I didn't get in on the ground floor, I can't get in at all. So, I think it's great that both types of campaigns are available. Campaigns with level bumps still have incentives for actually playing: more gold and story objects being the most important. But for those of us who can't play frequently, level bumps allow us to jump right in and just play...as much as I love developing a character, it's also a blast to just whip one up and play. They are both very satisfying gaming experiences, I find. The unfortunate reality is that a Living Eberron campaign would never work with the RPGA. Unless they hand it over to volunteers, it would be a train wreck. And I'm told that since Eberron is proprietary, there won't be any volunteer-run campaigns. It doesn't seem like a wise business decision, since the RPGA's function is to increase interest in gaming. It's pretty simple: the more Eberron I can play, the more books I (and my friends) will buy. Since Mark of Heroes updates its campaign standards only irregularly and since adventures are releases sporadically, I don't buy the books. I don't need them. We consumers have spoken--give us games to play and we will buy tons of merchandise! Feed our passion! Well, anyway... p.s. If someone did start a Living Eberron, I would be very tempted to join in, even though I still wouldn't have the amount of time it takes to develop a character well...but man, they'd have to make dragonmarks more accessible. |
| Frobi-Wan Kenobi12-20-05, 10:59 AM | Ideally, I'd play a campaign without level bumps. But the few times I've tried to play Living Greyhawk, I've been turned away by groups with higher-level characters--and yes, this has been at cons. The marshal was not able to find me a table for a new character. Furthermore, I simply don't have the amount of time to play a character often enough (even if someone allowed me to get started). My experiences with LG have been, without exception, negative--I feel like since I didn't get in on the ground floor, I can't get in at all. This is exactly how I feel about Greyhawk. That and while most of the regions have nice flavor to them the region that I'm in, the Therocracy of the Pale, has serious in game reprecussions for certain character types. I was at an Intro mod that had half the party was actively working against the other half - the only reason that they weren't fighting each other was since their characters would get taken away I guess. But, to each his own, I'll just wait at the sidelines hoping that XenEx, plus this rumored d20 Modern campaign that will take it's spot in the lineup after Living Force wraps up, will be a breath of fresh air to the RPGA. |
| Sieylianna12-20-05, 05:41 PM | Ideally, I'd play a campaign without level bumps. But the few times I've tried to play Living Greyhawk, I've been turned away by groups with higher-level characters--and yes, this has been at cons. The marshal was not able to find me a table for a new character. Furthermore, I simply don't have the amount of time to play a character often enough (even if someone allowed me to get started). A lot of times, you'll have an easier time finding a game for a low level PC at a local game day. The regional cons frequently are full of long term gamers and there may not be any low level tables. I've run into problems myself finding low APL or intro modules at cons working on my backup PCs. I have PCs ranging from 17 to 2 (17, 10, 6, 3, 3, 2, 2). I ran four slots at a convention two weeks ago: two were APL 2 and two were APL 4, so the games are out there. While some times a specific PC has played a story arc, a lot of times I'm flexible on which PC I play in a given game. I think this is one of the weaknesses of Warhorn for con sign-ups, it forces you to select a single PC, so there isn't much room for negotiation. Ed |
| Tiberien12-21-05, 02:10 AM | Personally I'd like to see the regular Eberron MoH campaign get squared away before getting involved in an Eberron spin-off Xen'drik campaign. I still have a lot to do in the five nations and especially Sharn. A DM mark per month and at least a few more regular adventures would be great. Some of the early appeal was letting DMs put their "mark" on the campaign, but as of the last few months it seems more like there is no campaign. :( |
| thearcept12-22-05, 06:02 AM | I was speaking to a customer service rep about the player rewards. I asked if they were all ebberron or if i could still get Legacy of the green regent. He said that Legacy of the green regent definatly ends in december and although he cant say much, another campaign is taking its place. Im guessing that the Xendrik campaign would be that replacement. With the Tack on of D&D campaigns to the begining of the title maybe it is different than whats came before. Maybe all the changes and focus they have been spending on getting things right on the new one is why the old ones are being left out in the cold right now. then again maybe ill win the lottery. |
| qstor12-23-05, 11:03 AM | Some of the early appeal was letting DMs put their "mark" on the campaign, but as of the last few months it seems more like there is no campaign. :( Yeah this is the way Green Regent has been for about a year. Personaly I don't expect much apart from MOH mods being released at WF and maybe GenCon Indy. But then MH might be scrapped by GenCon Indy for Xen'drik Adventures. It's a shame it won't be a Living campaign but then I think the RPGA wants to run all new campaigns from HQ instead of having volunteers run them. And from now on all new campaigns will be "D&D style" campaigns with level bumps. Mike |
| SJE12-26-05, 12:50 PM | Has anyone ever tried running Mark of Heroes as a home campaign? Basically download all the mods, and then run it as a home campaign with your group? Given the GM can modify to his hearts content and use whatever he wants ("Magic of Eberron" etc) then it might be a cooler campaign. I havent played any MoH- what does the storyline seem to be about? Thanks, SJE |
| Mike Czaplinski01-04-06, 07:34 AM | Hmm.... Xen'Drik Expeditions will be the 'new' and 'different' RPGA D&D Campaign. The upcoming "D&D Online" MMORPG will be set in Xen'Drik. Coincidence? Perhaps I am being cynical, but if this new campaign ends up being a pen-and-paper promo vehical for D&D Online, then I will recind my RPGA membership and just give up on the organization the way the organization seems to have given up on me. MikeC |
| Ishorn01-05-06, 10:07 AM | Hmm.... Xen'Drik Expeditions will be the 'new' and 'different' RPGA D&D Campaign. The upcoming "D&D Online" MMORPG will be set in Xen'Drik. Coincidence? Perhaps I am being cynical, but if this new campaign ends up being a pen-and-paper promo vehical for D&D Online, then I will recind my RPGA membership and just give up on the organization the way the organization seems to have given up on me. MikeC I have a feeling that this is exactly a paper & pencil version of D&D Online. Things have been creeping into the D&D online boards pointing me in this direction. |
| deusxmachina01-10-06, 09:04 PM | Perhaps I am being cynical, but if this new campaign ends up being a pen-and-paper promo vehical for D&D Online, then I will recind my RPGA membership and just give up on the organization the way the organization seems to have given up on me. My group already has basically no interest whatsoever in the Xen'drik campaign. Many in my group have spent good sums of money on new books in order to play Mark of Heroes, and we get to play that, um, once in awhile. The straw that might break the camel's back though isn't Mark of Heroes but The Green Regent. My DM supposedly talked to someone in the know and was told the remaining GR adventures will not be released for home play. If true, that means we just spent the last two years playing an RPGA campaign that has no conclusion. Forget all the late and non-appearing modules over the last two years -- if the final adventures are not eventually released for home play, my entire group will take it very personally. If a business wants to keep loyal customers who buy its products, that isn't the way to do it. And to think when I first started playing Living Greyhawk I really didn't care for it. How times change. |
| grahamdrew01-10-06, 09:44 PM | In all honesty, it's been publicly known for a while the final mod for LotGR wasn't going to be released for normal play. It was marked as a special (XGR series) over the summer when it was originally going to be played at GenCon. Special are Extended Premire only (unless it's LG, but that's a different story). It isn't exactly an "in the know" kind of thing although very little info about GR has been tossed around lately, so it's more of an obscure fact, sadly. The main question is if the next to last mod, the last in the Tides of War trilogy (LGR-23?), is released for public play. I've notice now that there are no LotGR mods available for play it's no longer a selectable category in the adventure summaries, though. It may just be a side effect of having no valid mod, but either way I don't think it bodes well. Andrew Beard |
| Kelvane01-10-06, 11:00 PM | he is refering to lgr-23 "strange bedfellows",and lgr-24 "to sever the snakes head" which were written and submitted months before Gen Con Indy.They wonder why interest in the campaign dwindled (they never released mods,to busy with mark of heroes).And now look they are doing the same thing over(Mark of heroes mods not being released because they are busy with Xen drix expeditions)Maybe someday they will relize that a poor mod is better than no mod.I mean why should I waste my time going to winter fantasy to play Xgr-5 if they can't release the 2 mods between Lgr-22 and Xgr-5.Are they going to fill in the holes.Was there war?What happened when Otar went to Silverymoon. It,s bad enough that they are getting rid of all campaigns in the Forgotten Realms because they need help with Ebberon sales.The Realms are still the best campaign world they have. It really isn't that difficult to put the mod into pdf,and if all else they could tell everyone "we were to busy with the other two campaigns and no longer have the rights to distribute the mods,sorry for sabotaging the campaign the last year and a half. |
| deusxmachina01-11-06, 04:14 AM | Kelvane explained it better. I'm just a player. My group's two DM's thankfully enjoy DM'ing and spend a good deal of time keeping up with all that entails. What they don't enjoy is putting their time and energy into a campaign arc that has no conclusion to the story and where they have to hunt to find modules. Really, if I was DM'ing the stuff and had to pay far more attention to the storyline and all the little nuances than I have to do as a player, I'd be pretty ticked. I don't want to name names, but my DM said he talked to one of the main people who would know what is going on with the modules and was told GR is done for home play. This news was of course followed by plenty of head shaking and unpleasant commentary towards the RPGA by my group. The modules are written and in the drawer, yet apparently, (as possibly also evidenced by the selectable download category disappearing), GR is dead and buried -- as they seemed to be trying to do for the past year anyway. I'll be happy to be wrong on the subject, or the RPGA to suddenly say they'll release the mods after February. But there are other mods that weren't released, either, so my group already isn't holding its breath. I suppose this post is a partial plea in that maybe someone will read it and realize they will tick off a lot of people if these adventures aren't released for home play. You spend two years reading the first 19 chapters of a book and then turn the page to find the publisher didn't put chapter 20 in even though you know it's written. If that happens, you can bet my group won't expect anything but the same from Mark of Heroes and Xen'driks. I'm not a far drive from GenCon, yet I am already having little interest in going there in 2006. If these aren't released, may as well just slap RPGA members in the face from the start since at least you see that coming unlike a sneak-attack backstab. |
| Ishorn01-11-06, 01:07 PM | Kelvane explained it better. I'm just a player. My group's two DM's thankfully enjoy DM'ing and spend a good deal of time keeping up with all that entails. Do you know this for a fact that they enjoy DMing or is that no one else will do it so if they want to play the game they have to run the game. There is not much to DMing games or a campaign. I wish people would stop making it sound like being a DM is a mystical thing. Wizards should publish a book call DMing made easy. |
| deusxmachina01-11-06, 04:24 PM | DM'ing isn't a mystical thing, but it certainly takes more effort than just being a player who can show up with a character sheet and a few notes. Both DM at GenCon, and both DM multiple local groups. At least one of the two DM at a hobby store every week and as far as I know only gets Rewards stuff from RPGA for it. They both like to play too, of course, but if they don't enjoy DM'ing they sure do a good job of faking it. |
| Jesse Heinig01-12-06, 03:19 AM | If they need more help to get the Campaign Standards and whatnot done, why don't they ask for it? There are competent people who want to see the campaign (and the RPGA, by extension) bringing fun to everyone. Or did I miss a post on a list somewhere? |
| qstor01-12-06, 11:41 AM | If they need more help to get the Campaign Standards and whatnot done, why don't they ask for it? There are competent people who want to see the campaign (and the RPGA, by extension) bringing fun to everyone. Or did I miss a post on a list somewhere? The campaign is run from RPGA HQ and *not* by volunteers. The RPGA HQ Staff is responsible for doing the work on the campaign. Mike |
| Jesse Heinig01-12-06, 11:48 AM | . . . and? The campaign is run from RPGA HQ and *not* by volunteers. The RPGA HQ Staff is responsible for doing the work on the campaign. Mike |
| smerwin2901-12-06, 12:46 PM | Plagarizing myself from a different list: "What the RPGA needs to do is set up a system that lets volunteers take some of the burden, while HQ keeps control of the campaign as a whole. They need to have the wisdom to allow members to contribute and have a say where they should have a say, while seperating out the complaints of those people who are expecting to have a say or contribute where their opinions and contributions are either irrelevant or impossible for business reasons, dismissable because they are just whiny, or just plain wrong. I hope the players have the wisdom to see that in some cases the campaign is the way it is because of resources, choices, or WotC business goals, so complaining about certain things just adds to the noise that muffles any valid and reasonable feedback." The RPGA is in the unenviable position of being both tied closely to its members (especially since it used to be mostly member-run and several campaigns still are) and part of a corporate bureaucracy. I've heard lots of well-intentioned people say, "I could have their database problems fixed but they won't even let me volunteer." This may be true, but how many corporations would just let a volunteer come in and mess about with their network? People complain about the RPGA's web problems, but we just don't know what kind of restrictions they are working with from WotC, Hasbro, or both. I've done this in the past, so I am not pointing any fingers. And yes, there are several areas where it seems that volunteers could help, but coordinating volunteers can sometimes take as much time as doing the work yourself. Especially in a corporate setting. Not always, but sometimes. The RPGA does need to take a good look and see if they couldn't improve things by drawing on RPGA members. But we also have to be realistic as members in recognizing that just because we think we could do something better, and just because we actually could do something better, that does not at all mean that the RPGA needs or could realistically use, or even benefit from, that help. Regards, Shawn |
| Sieylianna01-12-06, 06:57 PM | The RPGA does need to take a good look and see if they couldn't improve things by drawing on RPGA members. But we also have to be realistic as members in recognizing that just because we think we could do something better, and just because we actually could do something better, that does not at all mean that the RPGA needs or could realistically use, or even benefit from, that help. In many cases, we couldn't do any worse than they are managing on their own. Let's face it, there is absolutely no reason not to have the MoH DM mark adventures out on time every month. Or updating the campaign guidelines. I had heard MoH was going to have a dedicated voluteer overseer when it was announced, but that was apparently incorrect. Former RPGA volunteers are building all the campaigns which are in competition to the RPGA. The Blackmoor campaign is showing remarkable strength for something which has been out for around a year. Living Arcanis is doing quite well. The campaigns which listen to their players are the ones doing well. If I were a businessman looking at the RPGA as a supplier of products, I'd see that their new products (Green Regent and Mark of Heroes) have been flops. I'd see that some of the long time successful products (cash cows) are being end-of-lifed (living force and Living Death) and their only consistently successful product (living greyhawk) was introduced SIX years ago. And I'd be very worried about whether I'd have anything to sell in the future and if a competitor would come out with the successful product that attracted my customers. Ed |
| pedr01-12-06, 07:32 PM | Trouble is, are MoH and LGR actually failures from the point of view of the measurements WotC execs will use to judge the effectiveness of the money they spend on the RPGA? I would imagine that those measurements will be based on new players and primarily on comparing sales figures for books released to support new campaigns (particularly sales of the Eberron Campaign Setting and maybe the XPH) with figures for other books which don't have the backup of a new and heavily promoted organised play campaign. I don't want to sound overly cynical, but the only reason that WotC has for funding the RPGA which it can justify to Hasbro is increased product sales. Actually, once a campaign has been launched its continued success or otherwise doesn't really affect those figures that much - the people who have decided to join have already bought the books they need. People who join along the way will often join not knowing whether the campaign is well run or not - especially if there are modules available for the big shows, which there always are. Even if someone only plays once, so long as they buy the book the campaign has served its purpose. Ok, so I didn't manage to avoid the cynicism! I suppose I am just resigned to the fact that the RPGA will do what it does. Sometimes that will be useful and in line with what I'd like it to do (and Living Greyhawk works fine in spite of RPGA HQ from what I can see) and sometimes it doesn't (as I like Eberron and would have liked the campaign to be more of a success!) But - it's all free and I've sort of given up caring overly much. But then, I'm not trying to organise conventions and make promises to players about what will run in three months time like some of you probably are! |
| Madfox1101-13-06, 05:30 AM | Well, considering I know of roughly 7 people who bought the Eberron Campaign Setting based on the Mark of Heroes campaign (they realized that they really liked the setting and decided to run a home campaign set in it) it does work... |
| Ishorn01-13-06, 07:51 AM | If I were a businessman looking at the RPGA as a supplier of products, I'd see that their new products (Green Regent and Mark of Heroes) have been flops. I'd see that some of the long time successful products (cash cows) are being end-of-lifed (living force and Living Death) and their only consistently successful product (living greyhawk) was introduced SIX years ago. And I'd be very worried about whether I'd have anything to sell in the future and if a competitor would come out with the successful product that attracted my customers. Ed[/QUOTE] Well the problem is that these maybe according to you flops because of the problems with the Living Campaigns. There were individuals who were not at WoTC managing these campaigns and there has been some abuse. The feeling I get is that the management at the RPGA have created the guidelines for campaigns like Mark of Heroes to act as babysitter for the rest of members. I believe that they would gladly let us the regular members take on some of the management of these campaigns but so far as I see I do not think we can be trusted. LG and LC are good examples. |
| smerwin2901-13-06, 08:44 AM | In many cases, we couldn't do any worse than they are managing on their own. Let's face it, there is absolutely no reason not to have the MoH DM mark adventures out on time every month. Or updating the campaign guidelines. I had heard MoH was going to have a dedicated voluteer overseer when it was announced, but that was apparently incorrect. I think we agree, except that I have been in some situations in the corporate world where my hands were tied, and there wasn't anything I could do about it. You can say that there is no reason not to have MoH DM's Mark adventures out on time every month--and at first glance it is hard to argue. It looks like it is just a matter of writing a couple pages worth of outline, creating a couple of certs, and slapping it into the template. But who knows what else is going on, what hurdles may have been placed in the way from a dozen different directions. It's always easy to play "armchair quarterback," but it's another thing to actually understand the situation completely. Former RPGA volunteers are building all the campaigns which are in competition to the RPGA. The Blackmoor campaign is showing remarkable strength for something which has been out for around a year. Living Arcanis is doing quite well. The campaigns which listen to their players are the ones doing well. Again, I think we agree, but the RPGA is not in the same situation as these other campaigns. That is not to take anything away from the other campaigns, because they may be doing a great job. But you have to look at what kind of support they are getting from their "parent." You have to look at the scope of what they are doing. You have to look at the restrictions they are working under. Never once have I said that the RPGA is doing a great job. Never have a I said they shouldn't use volunteers; heck, I am one of the people who have pushed hardest to try to volunteer and change things for the better. But I think the RPGA would be better if people took a minute to understand that in some cases what RPGA HQ can do is limited by their position as a miniscule part of a larger company that is itself part of a large corporation. If I were a businessman looking at the RPGA as a supplier of products, I'd see that their new products (Green Regent and Mark of Heroes) have been flops. I'd see that some of the long time successful products (cash cows) are being end-of-lifed (living force and Living Death) and their only consistently successful product (living greyhawk) was introduced SIX years ago. And I'd be very worried about whether I'd have anything to sell in the future and if a competitor would come out with the successful product that attracted my customers. But the problem is that you shouldn't look at it that way. The RPGA is not a supplier of products in the conventional sense of the word. Of course they are going to look like a failure if you judge them that way. The thing is that the RPGA is several different orgainzations. If we can look at those discrete groups, we can at least figure out what can be changed and what can't, and then energy can be focused on promoting positive change instead of just useless complaining: --The RPGA is a marketing tool for WotC. They are going to be giving the RPGA goals to achieve in that capacity. The RPGA is also going to be restricted by whatever Wotc/Hasbro guidelines and procedures are in place. --The RPGA is a two-person office that has to also interact with other WotC departments. Anyone who has worked in an organization with several departments knows that inner-office or inner-department projects can get messed up very easily, and no amount of personal competence and dedication can save it. --The RPGA is its members. I will always enjoy the RPGA because of the people I have had the opportunity to play with and work with. The volunteer work I have done so far (Triad member, con coordinator, judge, writer, player) has been very fulfilling and fun, despite the problems. So, as I said earlier, I hope the RPGA and more importantly WotC can gain the wisdom to use volunteers more effectively. I hope the members can gain the wisdom to understand that it is not a perfect situation, and they can focus their energies on doing work that adds to the fun rather than detracts from it. My two cents, and thanks, Shawn |
| Ishorn01-13-06, 10:04 AM | [ But the problem is that you shouldn't look at it that way. The RPGA is not a supplier of products in the conventional sense of the word. Of course they are going to look like a failure if you judge them that way. The thing is that the RPGA is several different orgainzations. If we can look at those discrete groups, we can at least figure out what can be changed and what can't, and then energy can be focused on promoting positive change instead of just useless complaining: --The RPGA is a marketing tool for WotC. They are going to be giving the RPGA goals to achieve in that capacity. The RPGA is also going to be restricted by whatever Wotc/Hasbro guidelines and procedures are in place. --The RPGA is a two-person office that has to also interact with other WotC departments. Anyone who has worked in an organization with several departments knows that inner-office or inner-department projects can get messed up very easily, and no amount of personal competence and dedication can save it. --The RPGA is its members. I will always enjoy the RPGA because of the people I have had the opportunity to play with and work with. The volunteer work I have done so far (Triad member, con coordinator, judge, writer, player) has been very fulfilling and fun, despite the problems. So, as I said earlier, I hope the RPGA and more importantly WotC can gain the wisdom to use volunteers more effectively. I hope the members can gain the wisdom to understand that it is not a perfect situation, and they can focus their energies on doing work that adds to the fun rather than detracts from it. My two cents, and thanks, Shawn[/QUOTE] All your views of RPGA is correct. The thing I have noticed about Mark of Heroes mods and Green Regent mods are they feel like product. This maybe what is causing some delays on getting these out on a timely fashion. Look at the quality of artwork and fonts used some of these could be sold as modules or printed in Dungeon magazine. Maybe if they would do PDF text and map folders things would probably work out smoother but as you pointed out they are into marketing WoTC and that means image. |
| DBlizzard01-13-06, 09:46 PM | The thing I have noticed about Mark of Heroes mods and Green Regent mods are they feel like product. This maybe what is causing some delays on getting these out on a timely fashion. Look at the quality of artwork and fonts used some of these could be sold as modules or printed in Dungeon magazine. I disagree. The art isn't anywhere near the caliber of Dragon magazine. The editing has been horrible in the last couple (I'm getting ready to run the Dreadhold one tomorrow and words are missing, extra words are added, things are mentioned that can happen, but aren't mentioned anywhere else in the text). Nope, they all look very amateurish to me, from a production value standpoint. From a playability standpoint, very hit and miss. |
| Sieylianna01-14-06, 03:52 PM | But the problem is that you shouldn't look at it that way. The RPGA is not a supplier of products in the conventional sense of the word. Of course they are going to look like a failure if you judge them that way. --The RPGA is a marketing tool for WotC. They are going to be giving the RPGA goals to achieve in that capacity. The RPGA is also going to be restricted by whatever Wotc/Hasbro guidelines and procedures are in place. However, the RPGA falls down as a marketing organization, if it doesn't push the product. Green Regent is going away, so there is no campaign support for Forgotten Realms. IMO, the Mark of Heroes problems are costing the campaign players. I think a lot of people expected an improvement over Green Regent, but aren't seeing it. Living Greyhawk isn't going to allow Eberron or Forgotten Realms material to be used, so barring a successful new campaign in those settings, the RPGA isn't selling them. The 3rd party campaigns aren't even pushing the complete and races books these days, because they aren't OGL. Ed |
| Herrbard01-15-06, 10:55 AM | IMO, the Mark of Heroes problems are costing the campaign players. Ed Amen. I started eight new players a year ago with the express purpose of playing Mark of Heroes. Only two of the original group still want to play in that campaign due to lack of adventures. They want to play on a more consistant basis than once every two months. Even with more than one adventure released at a time, you have to get them in within a month or they go away. Case in point, we currently have three adventures available and they all retire around the beginning of February. I love Eberron and Mark of Heroes, it is my preferred campaign to run, but I'm having a tough time selling the idea of "OK, whenever a new adventure is released, we play it. Be ready." If the modules were realeased even every two months with a DMs mark in between, it would be better. (DMs mark? When's the last time you saw one of those? ;) ) At least then you could tell players "This is the schedule we will be following." |
| Shaggy02-01-06, 10:53 AM | I hate level bumps. Why bother playing the character when you can wait a few months and they hand everything to you without working for it? Why bother playing D&D at all when you can do something else? If a new player joins a home campaign, obviously he would join at about the same level as the others without "working" for it. I don't see why the RPGA should be any different. |
| Frobi-Wan Kenobi02-03-06, 06:43 PM | Ladies and gentlemen - someone is listening: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=rpga/articles/20060203a |
| Jesse Heinig02-03-06, 06:53 PM | And I've already sent my resume. |
| Mike Czaplinski02-03-06, 09:35 PM | Well, this is a good start. The fact that they're canvasing for volunteers bodes well for something resembling a timely release rate for mods. I just wish I had the time to volunteer in some capacity. But, nowhere does it say if we can use our existing MoH characters. I suspect not, which is rather a shame considering the shoddy release rate of MoH mods. But, I'm still cautious. But somewhat less fearful. MikeC |
| Frobi-Wan Kenobi02-03-06, 10:05 PM | It's a new campaign which means new characters. |
| CyberGaston02-03-06, 11:43 PM | This campaign seems really interesting !! :) Let's just hope that It doesn't mean the end for MoH !!! :( |
| ShadeMoon6402-04-06, 12:29 AM | I'm curious about the planned ending date of summer 2008. The positions works with the RPGA Content Manager, and the campaigns ends summer 2008. While I wouldn't expect a campaign such as this to be open ended, this seems rather short. If you missed out on the beginning you have a rather narrow window of play. This schedule allows for, at most, 3 Origins/GenCon events and only 2 Winter Fantasy. All together each Factionmaster is responsible for the creation of eight factional adventures a year Over the 2 years this works out to one event every 6 weeks. :eek: I will be happily suprised if this rate holds true give the track record of LotGR and MoH. However, there have certainly been plenty of post on this board saying that they could fix the problem if given the chance. Well it's time to put up or shut up! :rant: |
| grahamdrew02-04-06, 08:29 AM | I was under the impression that two year was pretty consistant with the D&D Campaigns we've seen so far. When did Legacy of the Green Regent launch? As for themod every 6 weeks thing, you're assuming the campaign is comprised entirely of factional adventures. I'm hoping for something like the core/regional system of LG (seems like a mod every six weeks would still be an improvement over Mark of Heroes, though). Andrew Beard |
| Frobi-Wan Kenobi02-04-06, 10:36 AM | Let's just hope that It doesn't mean the end for MoH !!! :( Mark of Heroes should end at Winter Fantasy 2007 - so in a couple weeks it's halfway over. |
| CyberGaston02-04-06, 11:09 AM | Ah ok thanks !! So those of us who will be interested in the two campaigns will have a one busy year of RPGA roleplaying !! That's not a bad thing ! :) |
| DBlizzard02-04-06, 08:21 PM | All together each Factionmaster is responsible for the creation of eight factional adventures a year Over the 2 years this works out to one event every 6 weeks. :eek: I will be happily suprised if this rate holds true give the track record of LotGR and MoH. However, there have certainly been plenty of post on this board saying that they could fix the problem if given the chance. Well it's time to put up or shut up! :rant: Except, they haven't really given a clue on how the factions will work. Can my venue run all 4 factional series? Will they be restricted by region? It's quite possible that this will work out to 32 adventures each year for the players to play in. |
| ShadeMoon6402-05-06, 12:49 AM | I'm basing my assumptions on the news release that says: The Xen’drik Expeditions campaign will feature a factional system, where the players participate as characters from one of four factions, each faction pursuing its own goals on the Lost Continent. As I read it this means you must pick a faction and play that organization. Of course, I could be wrong about that. :embarrass |
| Jesse Heinig02-05-06, 05:08 AM | I'm hoping that the various factions don't pigeonhole you into specific adventures. Otherwise you'll have problems with home games when the players are all members of different factions and you can't get a table together. :) |
| DBlizzard02-05-06, 10:25 PM | I'm basing my assumptions on the news release that says: The Xen’drik Expeditions campaign will feature a factional system, where the players participate as characters from one of four factions, each faction pursuing its own goals on the Lost Continent. As I read it this means you must pick a faction and play that organization. Of course, I could be wrong about that. :embarrass Given that each faction leader is supposed to create 8 adventures per year for their faction, I would assume that each adventure assumes the heroes belong to a single faction. If my assumption is correct, I see two main directions this could go. One direction is a regional system ala Living Greyhawk. In that case, each area could only run adventures for a single faction. The other case would have players possibly having 4 characters, 1 for each faction (and using them in the appropriate adventures). I'd hope for the second option, rather than the first. |
| psgj02-06-06, 12:34 AM | Given that each faction leader is supposed to create 8 adventures per year for their faction, I would assume that each adventure assumes the heroes belong to a single faction. If my assumption is correct, I see two main directions this could go. One direction is a regional system ala Living Greyhawk. In that case, each area could only run adventures for a single faction. The other case would have players possibly having 4 characters, 1 for each faction (and using them in the appropriate adventures). I'd hope for the second option, rather than the first. My vote is for the second option. psgj |
| Ishorn02-06-06, 07:47 AM | Given that each faction leader is supposed to create 8 adventures per year for their faction, I would assume that each adventure assumes the heroes belong to a single faction. If my assumption is correct, I see two main directions this could go. One direction is a regional system ala Living Greyhawk. In that case, each area could only run adventures for a single faction. The other case would have players possibly having 4 characters, 1 for each faction (and using them in the appropriate adventures). I'd hope for the second option, rather than the first. I was thinking that it would be the first option. |
| Frobi-Wan Kenobi02-06-06, 10:38 AM | If my assumption is correct, I see two main directions this could go. One direction is a regional system ala Living Greyhawk. In that case, each area could only run adventures for a single faction. The other case would have players possibly having 4 characters, 1 for each faction (and using them in the appropriate adventures). The area specific option probably isn't true as the guy in charge of RPGA events at Origins is boasting that all 4 of the first factional adventures are going to premiere at that show. |
| Wavester02-06-06, 10:48 AM | It will be very hard or near impossible to play every adventure in every faction for Xen'drik in a year once it ramps up. What makes that nice though is you can pick a faction to 'eat' as the judge and still have 3 others to play. As a judge you are a lot more likely to eat a mod and run it for your buddies when you know you cannot play everything to start with. Dave C |
| TimRat02-06-06, 09:40 PM | its a part of the campaign stuff so you wouldn't be able to bring your MoH characters into this as its totally new. i'm thinking a lot more details will be forthcomign at WF in a few weeks. i'm no expert on this but i know a few details and it all sounds very cool trust me. |
| Mike Czaplinski02-07-06, 05:36 AM | I am refraining from asking whether older MoH Campaign Card sets will be valid for XA, since at this point I'm pretty sure that the answer will be "Nothing older than set X" (where X=5 or 6 I think), and I'm also sure tha no decision has been made in any case. Forgive me for asking about MoH characters in XA, but given the paucity of play opportunities for MoH over the past year, I was hopeful for some sort of crossover, or at least allowing cards from older sets to be used to create XA characters. MikeC |
| Frobi-Wan Kenobi02-07-06, 08:53 AM | I think that the Xen'drik Adventures title that appeared in the 3 Dragon Ante blurb was a typo - the campaign's name is Xen'drik Expeditions. So appreviated it would be XenEx or XE. As for cards it'll probably be all or nothing. My money would be on nothing since the MoH card focus on areas of Khorvaire while XenEx will focus on being from Xen'drik. Plus, I don't think Mark of Heroes will have a 6th set of campaign cards if XenEx kicks off this summer since I think the plan is to have the first set out prior to being able to actually play in the campaign. |
| RanielK02-10-06, 11:55 PM | Ideally, I'd play a campaign without level bumps. But the few times I've tried to play Living Greyhawk, I've been turned away by groups with higher-level characters--and yes, this has been at cons. The marshal was not able to find me a table for a new character. Furthermore, I simply don't have the amount of time to play a character often enough (even if someone allowed me to get started). My experiences with LG have been, without exception, negative--I feel like since I didn't get in on the ground floor, I can't get in at all. Get in now then. They have in essence "reset" the campaign. A large number of the Regions are restricting their modules to levels 1 through 8 or 10. A number of the Triads (the guys running the local stuff for those who don't know) suggest starting new characters for these new story arcs. Between this "reset" and most regions having "intro" mods (only playable by first level characters) which introduce the area's plotlines to a newbie, this is a good time to get started. As far as bad con experiences go, that is unfortunate. I know of many local cons that have "tracks" for players (i.e. new to the region, play x, y, z and get into it; old hand looking to deal with such and such plotline, play a, b, and c). And by many, I mean east coast, west coast and parts in between; not just one or two in my area of the world. As far as not having the time to dedicate to LG. The nice thing is you can put down a character, come back two years later and pick it up again and there will be folks playing at that level. My wife ran at a con where a guy had started in Year 1 of the campaign (we were in year 5 at this con, year 6 now) and he hadn't played since then. She showed him how to update his character (as year one was 3.0 and had splatbooks, both replaced in the campaign by 3.5 and Complete Books respectively, thus a slight retool was necessary). He picked up and started playing again. You should never fall behind, characterwise, as there will always be a few folks at most of the better supported cons (not just the big 3) who are playing at every level. Miles PS by "reset" I mean they are focusing on writing mods for the lower level characters and getting back to Regional play for the low level guys, Metaregional for the mid level guys and Cores for everyone (up to the retirement level guys at 16th). They aren't wiping out the storylines and starting over as if the campaign had never happened. Just wanted to make that clear. |
| Undying_Councillor02-12-06, 06:48 AM | Do you know this for a fact that they enjoy DMing or is that no one else will do it so if they want to play the game they have to run the game. There is not much to DMing games or a campaign. I wish people would stop making it sound like being a DM is a mystical thing. Wizards should publish a book call DMing made easy. If Dming is not a difficult thing, why would you suggest a book be needed that simplfied it? Being a DM is not "a mystical thing", but be being a competant one who can tell a good story that involves, intrigues and engages a group of adults does require a decent amount of work and talent. Playing is by no means easy either, it is something that needs to be worked on constantly and needs all players to be enthusiastic and able to express their characters well. When you honestly think about it, ours is a hobby that needs just as much skill be be done well as others where the prerequisite is to kick an odd shaped ball effectively. |
| Undying_Councillor02-12-06, 06:51 AM | Do you know this for a fact that they enjoy DMing or is that no one else will do it so if they want to play the game they have to run the game. There is not much to DMing games or a campaign. I wish people would stop making it sound like being a DM is a mystical thing. Wizards should publish a book call DMing made easy. If Dming is not a difficult thing, why would you suggest a book be needed that simplfied it? Being a DM is not "a mystical thing", but be being a competant one who can tell a good story that involves, intrigues and engages a group of adults does require a decent amount of work and talent. Playing is by no means easy either, it is something that needs to be worked on constantly and needs all players to be enthusiastic and able to express their characters well. When you honestly think about it, ours is a hobby that needs just as much skill be be done well as others where the prerequisite is to kick an odd shaped ball effectively. |
| Ishorn02-13-06, 07:37 AM | If Dming is not a difficult thing, why would you suggest a book be needed that simplfied it? Being a DM is not "a mystical thing", but be being a competant one who can tell a good story that involves, intrigues and engages a group of adults does require a decent amount of work and talent. Playing is by no means easy either, it is something that needs to be worked on constantly and needs all players to be enthusiastic and able to express their characters well. When you honestly think about it, ours is a hobby that needs just as much skill be be done well as others where the prerequisite is to kick an odd shaped ball effectively. The problem I have with people who say that they are not creative enough to DM is that I meet these same people at cons usually with their DMing buddy. The person who does not like to DM usually has a 25th level character that he is so proud of while the DMing buddy usual may have a character that has barely made it to 5th level. I find this rather sad and to state that someone only likes to DM and does not like to be the hero sometimes is just a sham. The reason most of got into this game is so that we can play heroes. My point by saying that Wizards needs to print a book and call it Dungeon Mastering Made Easy is that all those people that state its too hard to DM will not have excuses. Also I can tell by your comment about football is that you have never played the game and I can tell you it is harder to play that sport than to sit at a table and play games with your friends for hours no matter how much imagination you use. |
| smerwin2902-13-06, 09:43 AM | Also I can tell by your comment about football is that you have never played the game and I can tell you it is harder to play that sport than to sit at a table and play games with your friends for hours no matter how much imagination you use. Apples and oranges. Anyone can kick a football--but it takes endless hours of practice and training to kick in 50 yards through goalposts. Anyone can DM--but it takes endless hours of practice and experience to be able to create adventures and run them so that everyone at the table has fun, especially if you are talking about the RPGA where you might be judging for a table of complete strangers. Shawn |
| RanielK02-13-06, 09:17 PM | The reason most of got into this game is so that we can play heroes. Yes, but some get into it to play the gods. It is rare, I admit, but I do know of one woman who "plays" D&D and LG in specific only as a judge. She loves to judge and run the world. My favorite line from her was when she asked a con organizer how much a ticket cost to run every slot. He looked at her like she had grown an extra eye in her forhead because she couldn't understand that she didn't have to pay if she wasn't going to be a player, that judges get in free. To her she was playing. Miles |
| Undying_Councillor02-14-06, 11:37 PM | Yes, but some get into it to play the gods. It is rare, I admit, but I do know of one woman who "plays" D&D and LG in specific only as a judge. She loves to judge and run the world. My favorite line from her was when she asked a con organizer how much a ticket cost to run every slot. He looked at her like she had grown an extra eye in her forhead because she couldn't understand that she didn't have to pay if she wasn't going to be a player, that judges get in free. To her she was playing. Miles I can certainly sympathise with her viewpoint. I am one of the guys who "prefers to DM". It is not because I am talked into it by the group of "prefers to play" type individuals but because I get a bigger kick out of playing a myriad of different characters evry night. It gives me the opportunity to run a good game through a medium which I solidly believe that society ignores (given the need for instant gratification of the need to be entertained and the serious decline in quality of visual media). The art of storytelling is one that is not given the pride of place that it should occupy. I am lucky enough that large portions of my employement provide me with the opportunity to storytell as well as doing it as a hobby. I have just as much fun playing with the group as if I had my own character. Having said that, I am now playing in a regular MoH group, the first character I have made for D&D in over a decade. Admittedly it is a Changeling, so I still get to play a vast number of characters in the same evening. The more things change, the more they stay the same... |
| Ishorn02-15-06, 10:10 AM | I want to apologize for starting the DMing discussion. It has taken over this thread. My final point on the subject is this I thank God for the RPGA because with this organization I would never be able to play a character. |
| Ishorn02-25-06, 05:37 AM | A person attending Winter Fantasy wrote me and said that the RPGA is giving out a character creation card for drow or half-drow character. Is anyone else attending Winter Fantasy and could give more information on the campaign. |
| Ishorn02-25-06, 05:49 AM | Just went to the RPGA page and saw the Child of Vulkoor character creation card. |
| CyberGaston02-25-06, 09:33 AM | Ask your friend if the card is a Winter fantasy exclusive or will it come out in an upcoming card set ? :D |
| Sieylianna02-25-06, 10:40 AM | Ask your friend if the card is a Winter fantasy exclusive or will it come out in an upcoming card set ? :D It's a promo card, so it won't be in an upcoming set, although it may be available at other conventions. Ed |
| Herrbard03-01-06, 07:56 PM | And just as an update from Winter Fantasy, there was no real information about the new campaign released. Keith Baker did say that they are trying to make it more character-immersive than the current MoH campaign, and that which faction you choose to be in will affect how you interact with the game, giving you more actual role-playing opportunities. |
| CyberGaston03-01-06, 11:37 PM | That's good news !! Even though I like MoH, the lacking of roleplaying elements and oportunities in that kind of campaign is rather profound !! |
| TimRat03-02-06, 02:03 PM | As many of you probably saw they asked for 4 factionmasters to apply and these people will be simliar to the circle/triad people in LG. they will oversee the xendrik expeditions and such and allocate the adventures where they see fit. so there should be plenty of adventures out this year (origins is supposedly going to have the 4 faction adventures) and gencon is going to be loaded with adventures (not sure which ones tho) but definitely plan on going there if your wanting to play xendrik |
| Ishorn03-02-06, 09:25 PM | I like Eberron. I have not had a chance to really play in a campaign. So I am hoping that Xen'Drik Expedition will be easier to access than MoH. The local RPGA did not want to touch MoH because it was too strict on the way adventures were ordered. I would like to see this campaign be similar in some ways to LG as to ordering of adventures. Homer |