[NEWS] New RPGA CCG 1.95 released - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

[NEWS] New RPGA CCG 1.95 released

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
WolfStar76
Jan 27, 2010 17:26:32 Haven't had a chance to look through it yet, but the CCG 1.95 is available in the downloads section now.

Or you can just click here: bit.ly/djHar6

Enjoy!

[EDIT]

Highlights:
Clarification on choosing a Region vs Choosing a Background.

Rules updates have a 30-day window before they take effect

Character Retraining per-level is clarified and expanded

Codified rules on how to handle Rules Updates to Items and Powers

#2
battles14
Jan 27, 2010 23:53:21 Two huge (HUGE!) changes. I'll try to be brief.

Retraining in the RPGA: Whenever your character gains a level, you may retrain out any and all character-based rules options, except for race and class.

Don't like any of your powers, class features, skills, or feats? Just level up, and then dump them all! Min/maxers rejoice!!!

Rules Updates: Official rules updates are effective 30 calendar days after they are published (players are encouraged to incorporate the changes sooner). Periodically, a rules update may significantly impact the player of a character in such a way that the player may find the changes undesirable. When that happens, use the following to adjudicate:
Found Magic Items: Either keep it, sell it at 20% of market price, or replace it with a new, legal item of the appropriate type whose item level is less than or equal to the old item's level.

Purchased Magic Items: Any of the above options, or simply "return" the item for full price.

The option to switch out a magic item for another one of the same type at the same level is incredible, especially with how many changes have been made to AV. I hope this applies retroactively, because I can find much better Level 7 armor for my ranger than +2 Veteran's.
#3
WolfStar76
Jan 28, 2010 6:07:45 Want to give this a few days for everyone to read, digest, and even test/consider.

Then, one of us VCLs will get a sticky thread made for the next round of suggestions - I'm thinking Feb 1st, when this takes effect.
#4
dan_lynch
Jan 28, 2010 14:47:01 These new retraining rules are really pushing the bounds of the "Living" concept. Interpreted literally as written, a player could change his or her character's name, sex, deity, and complete concept/backstory at every level up. The only things that are fixed are race, class, region, and items.

Were people demanding this? I know there was a lot of discussion about mass retraining to compensate for rules updates, but this opens the gates wide open.
#5
vinciente
Jan 29, 2010 23:10:33
These new retraining rules are really pushing the bounds of the "Living" concept. Interpreted literally as written, a player could change his or her character's name, sex, deity, and complete concept/backstory at every level up. The only things that are fixed are race, class, region, and items.

Were people demanding this? I know there was a lot of discussion about mass retraining to compensate for rules updates, but this opens the gates wide open.

After reading over the updated guide, I found this to be unsettling as well. In my perspective a character should be required to keep their gender, Background History (Original concept), and their true name (meaning they can be discovered, if pretending to have a different name for deceptive purposes).
I would however consider allowing "legal" name changes that would be an in game mechanic like a more advanced Traveling Papers/Documents. If this were incorporated, I would also expect a filing by both the DM who facilitated the process in their event; as well as a corresponding filing by the player who's character benefited from it. The DM would have the original 2-part form which has matching "serial numbers" on each half.
The DM half details what change was made (I.E. name), at what event (santioning number), the Players RPGA number (which they should have for reporting the event anyway), and lastly their own RPGA number & hand-written signature (in blue ink only). While the player half will have everything except the DMs information, and will include the Player's hand-written signature (also in blue ink only). For the change to become final & a legal part of the character the forms have to be confirmed by official reply from the RPGA stating that the change has been applied.

**But realistically, I'd say that the name change option would be best left as not available.
#6
ibixat
Feb 01, 2010 22:33:02 In a world like the realms don't you think that one of the easiest things to change should be your name?

Walk into a new place "hello I'm Vincezzo the great" walk into a different town "Hello I'm Carovingian, the also great" ... A name in the realms is just what you introduce yourself as, it's not like people have ID cards usually.
#7
noman
Feb 05, 2010 21:08:08
In a world like the realms don't you think that one of the easiest things to change should be your name?

Walk into a new place "hello I'm Vincezzo the great" walk into a different town "Hello I'm Carovingian, the also great" ... A name in the realms is just what you introduce yourself as, it's not like people have ID cards usually.

To paraphrase an old joke...

"I've always liked to be frank and earnest with women... In Waterdeep, I'm Frank.   In Baldur's Gate, I'm Earnest."
#8
vinciente
Feb 08, 2010 0:31:03
In a world like the realms don't you think that one of the easiest things to change should be your name?

Walk into a new place "hello I'm Vincezzo the great" walk into a different town "Hello I'm Carovingian, the also great" ... A name in the realms is just what you introduce yourself as, it's not like people have ID cards usually.

To paraphrase an old joke...

"I've always liked to be frank and earnest with women... In Waterdeep, I'm Frank.   In Baldur's Gate, I'm Earnest."

Both of you are only demonstrating the in-game effect of a person lying about who they are.... the out of game tracking of the character is where the issue of any type of "formal" name change may cause confusion. I just don't know exactly, since I haven't been on the PC side of things in a sanctioned game.

#9
WolfStar76
Feb 08, 2010 6:00:05 Characters aren't tracked online anymore, so I can't forsee any tracking issues.

A player should still be keeping a journal that would show his version of his character played "these adventures" and otherwise keeping track of their own paperwork.
#10
randomjoebot
Feb 08, 2010 6:51:42 Color me newb, but according to the descriptions of the guide, and text in the guide itself, it's supposed to have documents for tracking adventures and advancement in the pdf. I don't see them in there!
#11
kenobi65
Feb 08, 2010 10:24:42
Color me newb, but according to the descriptions of the guide, and text in the guide itself, it's supposed to have documents for tracking adventures and advancement in the pdf. I don't see them in there!

Nah, you're not a newb. Earlier versions of the CCG did have those two logsheets at the back. This one does not.
#12
Skerrit
Feb 08, 2010 10:43:56 And I'm not really sure why.... I hope to put them back in the future.
#13
dan_lynch
Feb 08, 2010 11:25:47 Are those sheets even required anymore? The Adventure Log is handled much better within the Character Builder, and the Advancement Tracker is mostly moot now that players can do a full retrain at every level; it has become a list of found magic items, which is already tracked in the Adventure Log anyway.
#14
MindWandererB
Feb 08, 2010 12:50:07
Are those sheets even required anymore? The Adventure Log is handled much better within the Character Builder, and the Advancement Tracker is mostly moot now that players can do a full retrain at every level; it has become a list of found magic items, which is already tracked in the Adventure Log anyway.

Not of of us are DDI subscribers, ya know. That said, I don't know anyone who uses those ultra-inefficient adventure logs that come with the CCG.
#15
Skerrit
Feb 08, 2010 13:18:33 I don't know the reason why they went away, but I imagine MindWandererB was right and it probably had something to do with the inefficent use of space. I know my local group took about 1 adventure to realize they should create something you could put 20+ adventures on one page instead of 4. Maybe we can do up something better or just fix the wording to say you need something that tracks your xp/gp/bundles/notes that can be understood by any DM who's table you might sit at and leave it at that.
#16
kenobi65
Feb 08, 2010 15:10:11
I know my local group took about 1 adventure to realize they should create something you could put 20+ adventures on one page instead of 4.

Indeed. I use a spreadsheet which a friend developed, which puts 15 or so on one page, along with room for notes, etc. Much handier.
#17
crabcrouton
Feb 08, 2010 19:58:14 I adapted an excel spreadsheet from my local LFR group to automatically tally xp and gp gained/spent as well as spit out the resulting level after an adventure. It's always satisfying to print out the final iteration when every slot is filled -- kind of like completing a jigsaw puzzle or a collection.

The old sheets from CCG 1.9 just weren't doing it for me.
#18
ibixat
Feb 08, 2010 23:21:10
I adapted an excel spreadsheet from my local LFR group to automatically tally xp and gp gained/spent as well as spit out the resulting level after an adventure. It's always satisfying to print out the final iteration when every slot is filled -- kind of like completing a jigsaw puzzle or a collection.

The old sheets from CCG 1.9 just weren't doing it for me.

Dangit, seems like we made the exact same sheet, mine autocalcs everything as well, I only managed to stick 10 adventures per side of the paper, but I like the amount of room I left for notes and stuff.   Maybe we should all submit these to wotc so they can put some of them up for download.
#19
Alphastream
Feb 10, 2010 17:30:14 It may have been removed in part because the CB can technically track this (poorly, in my opinion). I use an Excel sheet as well.
#20
wagnert
Feb 23, 2010 18:45:44 Personally, I miss the standard forms. I do use them at the table to keep track of my characters. However, I also use the Journal section in the Character Builder and an Excel spreadsheet as a backup to the form and to ensure my computations are correct.

This comes in handy in case of a hard disk crash or losing your paper records. Due to a malware, I had to reformat my hard disk a couple months ago and had to reenter my characters into my Character Builder.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 WolfStar76 Jan 27, 2010 17:26:32	Haven't had a chance to look through it yet, but the CCG 1.95 is available in the downloads section now. Or you can just click here: bit.ly/djHar6 Enjoy! [EDIT] Highlights: Clarification on choosing a Region vs Choosing a Background. Rules updates have a 30-day window before they take effect Character Retraining per-level is clarified and expanded Codified rules on how to handle Rules Updates to Items and Powers
#2 battles14 Jan 27, 2010 23:53:21	Two huge (HUGE!) changes. I'll try to be brief. Retraining in the RPGA: Whenever your character gains a level, you may retrain out any and all character-based rules options, except for race and class. Don't like any of your powers, class features, skills, or feats? Just level up, and then dump them all! Min/maxers rejoice!!! Rules Updates: Official rules updates are effective 30 calendar days after they are published (players are encouraged to incorporate the changes sooner). Periodically, a rules update may significantly impact the player of a character in such a way that the player may find the changes undesirable. When that happens, use the following to adjudicate: Found Magic Items: Either keep it, sell it at 20% of market price, or replace it with a new, legal item of the appropriate type whose item level is less than or equal to the old item's level. Purchased Magic Items: Any of the above options, or simply "return" the item for full price. The option to switch out a magic item for another one of the same type at the same level is incredible, especially with how many changes have been made to AV. I hope this applies retroactively, because I can find much better Level 7 armor for my ranger than +2 Veteran's.
#3 WolfStar76 Jan 28, 2010 6:07:45	Want to give this a few days for everyone to read, digest, and even test/consider. Then, one of us VCLs will get a sticky thread made for the next round of suggestions - I'm thinking Feb 1st, when this takes effect.
#4 dan_lynch Jan 28, 2010 14:47:01	These new retraining rules are really pushing the bounds of the "Living" concept. Interpreted literally as written, a player could change his or her character's name, sex, deity, and complete concept/backstory at every level up. The only things that are fixed are race, class, region, and items. Were people demanding this? I know there was a lot of discussion about mass retraining to compensate for rules updates, but this opens the gates wide open.
#5 vinciente Jan 29, 2010 23:10:33	These new retraining rules are really pushing the bounds of the "Living" concept. Interpreted literally as written, a player could change his or her character's name, sex, deity, and complete concept/backstory at every level up. The only things that are fixed are race, class, region, and items. Were people demanding this? I know there was a lot of discussion about mass retraining to compensate for rules updates, but this opens the gates wide open. After reading over the updated guide, I found this to be unsettling as well. In my perspective a character should be required to keep their gender, Background History (Original concept), and their true name (meaning they can be discovered, if pretending to have a different name for deceptive purposes). I would however consider allowing "legal" name changes that would be an in game mechanic like a more advanced Traveling Papers/Documents. If this were incorporated, I would also expect a filing by both the DM who facilitated the process in their event; as well as a corresponding filing by the player who's character benefited from it. The DM would have the original 2-part form which has matching "serial numbers" on each half. The DM half details what change was made (I.E. name), at what event (santioning number), the Players RPGA number (which they should have for reporting the event anyway), and lastly their own RPGA number & hand-written signature (in blue ink only). While the player half will have everything except the DMs information, and will include the Player's hand-written signature (also in blue ink only). For the change to become final & a legal part of the character the forms have to be confirmed by official reply from the RPGA stating that the change has been applied. **But realistically, I'd say that the name change option would be best left as not available.
#6 ibixat Feb 01, 2010 22:33:02	In a world like the realms don't you think that one of the easiest things to change should be your name? Walk into a new place "hello I'm Vincezzo the great" walk into a different town "Hello I'm Carovingian, the also great" ... A name in the realms is just what you introduce yourself as, it's not like people have ID cards usually.
#7 noman Feb 05, 2010 21:08:08	In a world like the realms don't you think that one of the easiest things to change should be your name? Walk into a new place "hello I'm Vincezzo the great" walk into a different town "Hello I'm Carovingian, the also great" ... A name in the realms is just what you introduce yourself as, it's not like people have ID cards usually. To paraphrase an old joke... "I've always liked to be frank and earnest with women... In Waterdeep, I'm Frank. In Baldur's Gate, I'm Earnest."
#8 vinciente Feb 08, 2010 0:31:03	In a world like the realms don't you think that one of the easiest things to change should be your name? Walk into a new place "hello I'm Vincezzo the great" walk into a different town "Hello I'm Carovingian, the also great" ... A name in the realms is just what you introduce yourself as, it's not like people have ID cards usually. To paraphrase an old joke... "I've always liked to be frank and earnest with women... In Waterdeep, I'm Frank. In Baldur's Gate, I'm Earnest." Both of you are only demonstrating the in-game effect of a person lying about who they are.... the out of game tracking of the character is where the issue of any type of "formal" name change may cause confusion. I just don't know exactly, since I haven't been on the PC side of things in a sanctioned game.
#9 WolfStar76 Feb 08, 2010 6:00:05	Characters aren't tracked online anymore, so I can't forsee any tracking issues. A player should still be keeping a journal that would show his version of his character played "these adventures" and otherwise keeping track of their own paperwork.
#10 randomjoebot Feb 08, 2010 6:51:42	Color me newb, but according to the descriptions of the guide, and text in the guide itself, it's supposed to have documents for tracking adventures and advancement in the pdf. I don't see them in there!
#11 kenobi65 Feb 08, 2010 10:24:42	Color me newb, but according to the descriptions of the guide, and text in the guide itself, it's supposed to have documents for tracking adventures and advancement in the pdf. I don't see them in there! Nah, you're not a newb. Earlier versions of the CCG did have those two logsheets at the back. This one does not.
#12 Skerrit Feb 08, 2010 10:43:56	And I'm not really sure why.... I hope to put them back in the future.
#13 dan_lynch Feb 08, 2010 11:25:47	Are those sheets even required anymore? The Adventure Log is handled much better within the Character Builder, and the Advancement Tracker is mostly moot now that players can do a full retrain at every level; it has become a list of found magic items, which is already tracked in the Adventure Log anyway.
#14 MindWandererB Feb 08, 2010 12:50:07	Are those sheets even required anymore? The Adventure Log is handled much better within the Character Builder, and the Advancement Tracker is mostly moot now that players can do a full retrain at every level; it has become a list of found magic items, which is already tracked in the Adventure Log anyway. Not of of us are DDI subscribers, ya know. That said, I don't know anyone who uses those ultra-inefficient adventure logs that come with the CCG.
#15 Skerrit Feb 08, 2010 13:18:33	I don't know the reason why they went away, but I imagine MindWandererB was right and it probably had something to do with the inefficent use of space. I know my local group took about 1 adventure to realize they should create something you could put 20+ adventures on one page instead of 4. Maybe we can do up something better or just fix the wording to say you need something that tracks your xp/gp/bundles/notes that can be understood by any DM who's table you might sit at and leave it at that.
#16 kenobi65 Feb 08, 2010 15:10:11	I know my local group took about 1 adventure to realize they should create something you could put 20+ adventures on one page instead of 4. Indeed. I use a spreadsheet which a friend developed, which puts 15 or so on one page, along with room for notes, etc. Much handier.
#17 crabcrouton Feb 08, 2010 19:58:14	I adapted an excel spreadsheet from my local LFR group to automatically tally xp and gp gained/spent as well as spit out the resulting level after an adventure. It's always satisfying to print out the final iteration when every slot is filled -- kind of like completing a jigsaw puzzle or a collection. The old sheets from CCG 1.9 just weren't doing it for me.
#18 ibixat Feb 08, 2010 23:21:10	I adapted an excel spreadsheet from my local LFR group to automatically tally xp and gp gained/spent as well as spit out the resulting level after an adventure. It's always satisfying to print out the final iteration when every slot is filled -- kind of like completing a jigsaw puzzle or a collection. The old sheets from CCG 1.9 just weren't doing it for me. Dangit, seems like we made the exact same sheet, mine autocalcs everything as well, I only managed to stick 10 adventures per side of the paper, but I like the amount of room I left for notes and stuff. Maybe we should all submit these to wotc so they can put some of them up for download.
#19 Alphastream Feb 10, 2010 17:30:14	It may have been removed in part because the CB can technically track this (poorly, in my opinion). I use an Excel sheet as well.
#20 wagnert Feb 23, 2010 18:45:44	Personally, I miss the standard forms. I do use them at the table to keep track of my characters. However, I also use the Journal section in the Character Builder and an Excel spreadsheet as a backup to the form and to ensure my computations are correct. This comes in handy in case of a hard disk crash or losing your paper records. Due to a malware, I had to reformat my hard disk a couple months ago and had to reenter my characters into my Character Builder.