Please post any questions, comments, additions or revisions (or kudos!) in this thread to keep the FAQ simple and clean.
That said, I expect its going to take me at least a couple days to get the FAQ to a point where I feel it's ready to be posted. So, now's a great time to post what you think should be included.
General:
1) What is the RPGA?
2) How do I become a member?
3) How do I login to my account?
4) How do I become a GM?
5) What are RPGA Rewards?
6) Where can I order (more) membership cards
Games:
1) What games can I play in the RPGA?
2) What about published modules?
3) What is Living Forgotten Realms?
Problem: I am missing the "My Characters" link after I log in
Solution: You are probably missing the "Player" group membership. Send an email to [email]rpgasanctioning@wizards.com[/email] to have the membership added. Once this is done the "My Characters" link will be added automatically (as well as the "My Play History" and "My Play Statistics" links).
I am not sure if an email to DCI would also work. I am also not sure if there is a better method for getting the player membership. The above method came from a Customer Service request and it worked for me.
This could go into a section of the FAQ about how to add characters and review play history. In this section you might also explain the difference between online tracking and paper tracking.
What does "Living" mean?
I love playing and DMing - what else can I do for the campaign?
- Can I play a home campaign for RPGA credit?
- How many players do I need to play for RPGA credit?
- Can I play my RPGA character in my home campaign, too?
- Why isn't there an RPGA campaign for [fill in the blank]?
- When am I going to get my Player Rewards?
- Where can I find [particular old Player Reward card]?
- Why doesn't the RPGA run any games in my area?
If you have a new question/answer for the FAQ, feel free to post it here, or send me a PM (my e-mail is also available on request). For now I'm going to focus on "overall" RPGA issues, and when this is complete, my next project will be to create an LFR FAQ that will be stickied in that forum as well (for questions about access lists, playing Warforged, etc). If you write a question/answer I'll be sure to credit you for the contribution, unless you prefer not to be attributed.
Questions can be re-ordered, merged, etc as we see fit. The FAQ should be sticky by the time you read this. (Well, unless like me you're ALWAYS lurking in these forums).
Might be worth adding to the how-to-join part that if you already have a DCI number you can use that. Many of the players in my area were or are already members of the DCI but didn't have RPGA cards, and it's still a new enough change that people might not be aware of that if they're checking a faq.
Good thinking. I had that in my original outline, but I've revised my notes here enough times that it fell out somewhere.
- I'm not a big fan of the current lay out, the spoiler blocks take a lot of white space and it makes it hard to read the entire FAQ, something I expect a newbie would do. You can get some room by removing some hard line breaks from you post but still for me the main problem remains.
I'll go through the current questions in order:
1) Somehow the sentence seems to be off.
2) It might be nice to also put in the local addresses and alert people to the home games trap. Some explanation and help here, feel free to copy paste.
3) Put a small reminder that non US residence always use the WA zip
4) A small pointer about how to do the test. Pointing to the judge center should be enough.
I don't have any new questions but will keep an eye out for updates and comment on them.
Questions 8 & Question 1 under the games section are effectively the same.
Question 7 - the simple answer is to send an email to [email]dci@wizards.com[/email]. This would be the best option if you need a large number of cards. You can also ask at the RPGA HQ at conventions they attend (DDXP, Gen Con Indy, PAX). You can also ask the organisers of local conventions or local game shops. Finally if you are desperate you can also use DCI membership cards (as the database is now merged).
Question 9 - as a general rule between 4 and 6 players however certain adventures may have specific rules.
Games section Question 3 - A Living Campaign has characters always starting at Level 1 and only gaining experience, gold and equipment by playing adventures. A Living Campaign has no pre-announced end date (i.e. when Living Greyhawk started noone knew it would end this year, currently noone knows when Living Forgotten Realms will finish.
Games section Question 4 - A D&D Campaign has a definite lifespan (normally two years) and characters receive regular Level Bumps to bring them to a consistent level in terms of experience, gold & equipment.
Kithran
Luruar POC
A Living Campaign has characters always starting at Level 1
Generally speaking, this is true, but some campaigns (such as Living Death and Living Force) had rules, late in their campaign runs, that allowed for character creation above 1st level (due to the campaigns no longer publishing adventures at the lowest tier).
A Living Campaign has no pre-announced end date
Not always true. Living Death and Living Force had pre-determined spans for their campaign runs (10 years and 5 years, respectively).
Do I have to be a herald level DM to run a module at an event?
What is the benefit of my joining RPGA?
Do I have to have an RPGA number to play in a module?
(These are all questions I get asked at our meetups)
For reference:
North and South America:
[email]dci@wizards.com[/email]
Japan:
[email]dcijapan@wizards.com[/email]
Germany & Austria:
[email]wizards@hasbro.de[/email]
France:
[email]wpn@hasbro.fr[/email]
Italy:
[email]wizards@hasbro.it[/email]
UK & South Africa:
[email]dciuk@hasbro.co.uk[/email]
Rest of Europe:
[email]custserv@hasbro.be[/email]
Asia Pacific:
[email]apac@wizards.com[/email]
The answer to the question "How can I get more RPGA membership cards" (or however it's worded) should probably list the global addresses for DCI offices, as the [email]dci@wizards.com[/email] office only deals with North and South America. The contact details are on http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dci/wpn/main
For reference:
North and South America:
[email]dci@wizards.com[/email]
Japan:
[email]dcijapan@wizards.com[/email]
Germany & Austria:
[email]wizards@hasbro.de[/email]
France:
[email]wpn@hasbro.fr[/email]
Italy:
[email]wizards@hasbro.it[/email]
UK & South Africa:
[email]dciuk@hasbro.co.uk[/email]
Rest of Europe:
[email]custserv@hasbro.be[/email]
Asia Pacific:
[email]apac@wizards.com[/email]
Added!
Thanks,
Wes
What's the physical address to mail new membership cards to? I have a set of cards to send in (hooray for new players) but only have the section with the info, none of them are minors, so I didn't bring the flap with the mailing address in to work.
Thanks,
Wes
I can't find anything conclusive (and don't have any blanks on me ATM), but the RPGA mailing address is listed as:
[REDACTED - Use Kinevon's address in the next post]
So, that should get them there.
RPGA
Wizards of the Coast
P.O. Box 1080
Renton WA 98057-1080
I'm looking to make some edits/changes later this week.
If you see info that you'd like added/changed/removed now's a great time to make suggestions.
If possible, it would be great to see something similar for reporting games as well.
I just scheduled my first LFR Home game, and the how-to on the FAQ was amazingly helpful! Thanks.
If possible, it would be great to see something similar for reporting games as well.
I actaully had a chance to talk to warfteiner (whose name I'm sure I just butchered) at DDXP and we talked about him making a reporting guide. I'll be sure to let him know there's demand out there if he can spare the time.
I've been told that Ian Richards (Organized Play Manager) wants to make sure that the RPGA doesn't lose it's image/brand because of the database merge, so I *suspect* we'll see our logo on cards in the future at some point again.
My personal speculation is that future cards/forms will be branded "WPN" for the Wizards Play Network, and have smaller versions of both the DCI and RPGA logos as well, since the WPN houses both organizations.
But again, that's just my speculation.
Adding a link to the 'Trouble accessing our help system?' thread would also be useful (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1133626)
Thanks
Any chance you can update the 'How do I join the RPGA' answer to point to this form in the CS system: http://wizards.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wizards.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php?p_prods=1144,1150 (or this answer: http://wizards.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wizards.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=49&p_created=1109368241&p_sid=MZQF8rCj&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=0&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9MjYsMjYmcF9wcm9kcz0xMTQ0LDExNTAmcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PTIuMTE1MCZwX2N2PSZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0x&p_li=cF91c2VyaWQ9cGV0ZUBwZWRyZy5ldSZwX3Bhc3N3ZD1tZXp6YW1vcnBoaXMmcF9lbWFpbC5hZGRyPXBldGVAcGVkcmcuZXUmcF9uYW1lLmZpcnN0PVBldGUmcF9uYW1lLmxhc3Q9R3JpZmZpdGgmcF9jY2ZfMTU9MTA0&p_topview=1)
Adding a link to the 'Trouble accessing our help system?' thread would also be useful (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1133626)
Thanks!
I tried using the link here and was getting an error, so I followed the directions for when you ahve problems. Still getting the same error.
Edited. Well spotted Dragon9.
(* Problem may have occurred between chair and keyboard)