Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Hindmost 06-01-05, 08:21 PM	So I passed my Herald-level test on the second try without any books... I took my DM from a local group and some random players and got them to get their memberships in the RPGA so in particular I could test out this new campaign and hope for the best. The more I read about this the more I am discouraged. I wanted my players to recieve some actual credit for their adventuring hours as in the D&D rewards, but how can I do this with these limited adventures. I could run my own adventures after using the MoH supplied adventures yet I am not sure how that would work as I would be creating adventures that I would want to be played (open-ended I mean). I do not like restricting my players, but will do so if I can run my own scenarios for their MoH campaign. Example of this player restriction is being evil... why the hell can't they be evil? They are their characters... if they do evil actions then what the hell is gonna stop them? Greater in-game powers, yet its rather limited if the forces in the world are so limited. Basically here is my question... Can I run my own adventures in MoH campaign or would I be better off just having my own Eberron campaign? Like my main concern is that my players after a few weeks will be level 6 and then the new adventures will come out set for level 4 characters. Then am I going to keep having to create adventures for a campaign where my characters are restricted but recieve no benefits? Also what happens when they are level 8 and get their first stack of Campaign Cards one of which is a creation card, how do they use that creation card? Are they forced to make another character at level one if they intend to use it? And whats this talk on magic items? Can I not give them +2/Defending if they earned it? Also how do player armies work in this? In a past campaign my players rallied up 100+ mercs and peasants to overthrow an evil power. Housing too? Say, Coria (level 5 Elven whosawhatit) buys a small house to store her loot in and give the party a place to rest in Vathirond. Will it be applicable in a MoH adventure? Sorry about all the questions but I am so utterly discombobulated that my head is about to fall off. Thanks for your time and I hope that these things become clarified.
TimRat 06-01-05, 10:48 PM	hello there! basically with the mark of heroes campaign it is a semi controlled campaign. Everyone has to deal with the same stats points to build their character and be good b/c that is the nature of the campaign. how the campaign works is that you play the modules for mark of heroes (and the DMs mark) and earn xp/gp from that and thats it. if say your running your own campaign of course you can allow to let htem keep that magic item but if they were to go to a convention they would not have that item unless they coudl buy it with the money they have earned from the adventures before (see the character tracker) you may want to take a look at the RPGA page and go over how the campaigns are run. this may give you a better understanding of how they are. thanks!
Hindmost 06-01-05, 11:11 PM	I'm not sure where to look for answers to my questions. The majority of them just involve restrictions. Heres my example of the problem... Player A has obtained a longsword+2/Defending from an adventure I created. He uses it during RPGA-MoH and I turn the tracking in for it. Is this wrong? How does player wealth work then? So if I give them something they have to have a certain amount of wealth before they can use it in RPGA-sanctioned who-ha?
Hindmost 06-01-05, 11:22 PM	I notice they also have a maximum gold level... and nothing about housing. Damn. This slightly blows.
Hindmost 06-01-05, 11:57 PM	I've come up with a solution. I use the RPGA MoH adventures that I have scheduled and track those, use them as a kick-off for my own campaign which will be based around the party starting with the Digger's Union. After those MoH adventures I will track my group using the Home Adventure tracking stuff so my characters still recieve rewards for their hard earned adventuring. When new MoH scenario's come out I will use them with the party assuming the Digger's Union is still active in my campaign. I can give players their physical rewards and also rewards from my own campaign. When lets say a convention rolls around and my players attend then they can recreate their character based off of the last MoH scenario they completed and re-equip them accordingly for that convention. On their return they use their characters again in my campaign. This seems fairly simple. Ho hum. I hope it works.
kenobi65 06-02-05, 12:05 AM	It sounds like you really need to understand the distinction between running an RPGA campaign (like Mark of Heroes) for your home group, and running your own Eberron-based adventures for that group (and you and your players receiving RPGA Player / GM Reward points for doing so). I may be misreading, but it sounds like you're running both kinds of games, using the same characters, and that's a problem. Really, Mark of Heroes PCs should only be being run in MoH adventures. In theory, you could run them in your "home" adventures, too, but anything they earn in non-MoH play doesn't "count", when it comes to playing in MoH adventures. (The XP / level issue you point out never comes up that way...the "current" MoH modules are always calibrated for the current level of the campaign. There's no way that MoH PCs would be 6th level when the 4th level modules come out, if they're only played in MoH modules.) If you want to run Eberron-based adventures you write completely on your own for this group, your best bet would be to have them create separate characters for those adventures, so there's no confusion. (And, you can still get RPGA credit for playing those; register your games as "home adventures" in the RPGA event ordering system.) Although Eberron's DM's Mark modules let you write your own adventures (using a predefined set of adventure elements), you still are bound to follow the Mark of Heroes rules for XP, wealth, etc. in those games. Some of the things you mention wanting to use in your game (players controlling armies, PCs owning real estate, etc.) work out just fine in a home game, but may well not be allowed in an RPGA campaign. Hope this helps explain things a bit. Mike Mistele
D'Mar 06-02-05, 02:59 PM	You can't run MOH as a home campaign. You can run your home campaign and get RPGA points. So do that. Don't hadnicap your players by allowing them to cheat the MOH rules. If they get caught cheating in MOH they can be banned from all RPGA play. All of your questions are answered in the MOH campaign guide so read it, cover to cover. Yes MOH nerfs players ALOT. Why? These are supposed to be HARD adventures and FAIR adventures. It doesn't cater to high powered characters it caters to smart players who can do alot with a little. Play MOH as a break from your home campaign once in a while, not every week. I've come up with a solution. I use the RPGA MoH adventures that I have scheduled and track those, use them as a kick-off for my own campaign which will be based around the party starting with the Digger's Union. After those MoH adventures I will track my group using the Home Adventure tracking stuff so my characters still recieve rewards for their hard earned adventuring. When new MoH scenario's come out I will use them with the party assuming the Digger's Union is still active in my campaign. I can give players their physical rewards and also rewards from my own campaign. When lets say a convention rolls around and my players attend then they can recreate their character based off of the last MoH scenario they completed and re-equip them accordingly for that convention. On their return they use their characters again in my campaign. This seems fairly simple. Ho hum. I hope it works.
kenobi65 06-02-05, 03:33 PM	You can't run MOH as a home campaign. Well, that's not entirely true. You *can* run Mark of Heroes as "home play". But, you're right, it's not the same as running your home campaign, and one shouldn't be mixing MoH and non-MoH adventures into the same "home campaign".
Hindmost 06-02-05, 03:44 PM	I love you all. I came to that conclusion after I shut my computer off last night. I'll be running two campaigns if need be, but after reading over the revised rules and standards I'm once again slightly discouraged. You see I played Living City. In that the whole thing seemed far more open-ended, but oh well. I will start my home campaign and get my players to recieve points for them by using the home campaign adventure tracking. Some time within the next month I may have them start the MoH campaign, depends how engulfed or thrilled the players are. Thanks for your time and I hope one day I fully understand these horrific things. Edit: I love you all.
kenobi65 06-02-05, 03:55 PM	You see I played Living City. In that the whole thing seemed far more open-ended, but oh well. That was a different time, my friend. :) Seriously, while there's a lot of good you can say about LC, in the eyes of RPGA HQ, there were also a lot of abuses that went on with the cert system, and the campaign became sort of cliquish and exclusionary to new players. The new D&D Campaigns, like Mark of Heroes, are meant to reduce the amount of bookkeeping that players need to do, and allow new players to jump in at any time and not feel like they're being excluded. It sounds like you might want to check out some of the other Living campaigns (which are *not* D&D Campaigns...the two types are fairly different from one another)...they might do things more like what you're used to / want. While I don't play it, I have a lot of friends who rave about Living Arcanis. (Personally, I prefer Living Force and Living Death, but those aren't D&D.)
Hindmost 06-02-05, 08:48 PM	Got laid off today... Whoo... So no more money, but yeah. Is Kalamar any good?
jeffpicard 06-03-05, 12:47 AM	yeah, that's pretty much what we're gonna do, our usual friday/saturday game will get a day off every once in a while when I can run one of these ... and I'm gonna sanction our regular game for the single points too. I'm hoping it doesn't wind up being 2-3 months with nothing (except maybe the dm's mark) then a big chuck legal for home, lull, chunk, etc
kenobi65 06-03-05, 01:54 PM	Is Kalamar any good? I don't personally know anyone who plays it, but I've heard good things about it. One thing that I have heard (which may be hearsay) is that it's pretty low-magic / low-wealth.