I've very recently passed my Herald-level 4E DM test and am encouraging my sons to become authorized DMs too.
However, I could use some help. Discretionary funds are tighter than ever. Perhaps WotC would consider packaging all of the colored plastic miniatures & dungeon tiles necessary to run each mod for 25% off the cost of what it would cost if purchased individually. Moreover, Wizards of the Coast might sell more minis & tiles if they did the same for everyone who purchased a pre-packaged module (i.e. H1 Keep on the Shadowfell). Convention organizers might deserve a slightly bigger break (30%).
Thank you for your consideration.
-Bander
“Nothing on the face of this earth --and I do mean nothing- is half so dangerous as a children's story that happens to be real, and you and I are wandering blindfolded through a myth devised by a maniac.” -- Master Li Kao (Tang Dynasty)
As far as incentives, the DMs at the big shows (DDXP, GenCon, perhaps others) get hooked up in the form of lodging and schwag in the form of books, minis, tiles, etc. In order to adopt some of that, you'd probably need to request an "official" RPGA presence at your local shows... and while they probably wouldn't do rooms, if you can get Dave C. or someone similar they may be able to swing some books or something?
Can't say for certain but it never hurts to ask
Play Magic? Get 10% that day. Play WoW TCG? 10% off that day.
I don't think we've formally applied this to Dungeons and Dragons, but if you're playing at a FLGS it might be worth testing the water to see if it's something they'd be willing to offer.
It rewards the people who show up to play, and helps them find ways/reasons to spend money at the store.
win-win.I've been asking since June if there would be any updates to the D&D Rewards page which still has totals and multipliers from 2003, has only been updated once in 2005 I believe to add Mark of Heroes info, and left to the wayside otherwise.
I have also heard from several GMs that not only are their GM points accruing separately from their player points (which I find no reason for) but they are also not receiving the promised GM Rewards of 1 alt-paint mini and 3 Campaign Cards (CCs) but rather just the alt-paint mini.
Now, I understand that Hasbro does not have to give us anything at all. I also understand that Hasbro is a publicly held company and has to have certain numbers to show their investors. I just want Hasbro and specifically the people in charge of RPGA and WPN to understand that if DMs will not be getting CCs that they can then use as players, several in my area will simply stop GMing. A group of us have run nearly 3 dozen sessions of LFR, misc RPGA events, and home events in the last two months in my small city as part of a plan to help get players into 4e, into RPGA, and to the point where both my FLGS and Hasbro is making money from them buying product.
The plus for us was that we'd be helping support the product, getting new potential GMs for when we want to play, and getting CCs for when we do occasionally play whether in each others' games or just at cons. That said, without playing constantly, our characters will be less equipped than the average LFR character, but the choice of the many CCs we were going to get would go a long way toward balancing that out, plus we could give left over CCs to new players to help get them into the game. Now we're told that apparently this may not happen. If it doesn't we'll lose GMs. When we lose GMs, we'll lose the ability to support as many players in our area as we do now. Without the wide payer-base scheduling will be more difficult, and we'll lose more GMs, then it will fall apart.
Furthermore, with the move to a unified WPN, if it is at all feasible, I would strongly suggest that unified rewards points for all DCI & RPGA playing and running be totaled in one running tally which can then (with shipments 3 times a year still to make it easy on you guys) be spent on promos (and even sealed product if possible) for whatever WotC product they would like materiel from. You could set point value prices for everything depending on it's popularity and cost to produce, that's fine. I'm just saying let the end user pick his prize. If I run Magic all the time but play D&D Minis, maybe I want that alt-paint mini. If I run play LFR occasionally but Magic is my game, let my D&D points help me grab one of those packs of 2 random textless cards. Let me save up all year and grab that foil textless card, let me save up point and just grab the alt-paint mini and pack of 3 random CCs if that's what I really want. What I'm saying is, if you let each player/judge/GM tell you what's most important to them and let them have it specifically, you'll have a much more rewarding Rewards Program.
I've seen other companies do just this and it led to more judges for their games in the area than we needed, a good place for an Organized Play company to be.
Whatever you do RPGA/WPN/WotC/Hasbro, please set it up so that GMs get more than players. Please encourage GMs.
I would like to take this time to bring up the status of D&D Rewards and especially GM Rewards.
I've been asking since June if there would be any updates to the D&D Rewards page which still has totals and multipliers from 2003, has only been updated once in 2005 I believe to add Mark of Heroes info, and left to the wayside otherwise.
I have also heard from several GMs that not only are their GM points accruing separately from their player points (which I find no reason for) but they are also not receiving the promised GM Rewards of 1 alt-paint mini and 3 Campaign Cards (CCs) but rather just the alt-paint mini.
It's my experience that while points accumulate separately, as a GM I get both minis AND RPGA cards for my GM time served. This is evidenced by the fact that, as a rule, I don't play I only GM, yet I receive" "packs" of cards equivalent to my minis. (IE 3 minis and 3 packs of cards (for nine cards total) ).
What might be confusing the issue is that the reward minis and reward cards are mailed out of separate warehouses and at separate times. I typically receive my minis a few weeks to a month before I see my cards. However I get all the cards I'm due as both a GM (usually all my cards) as opposed to "just" receiving player cards (since, again, I don't usually get to be a player).
I *do* agree, however, that the Rewards Page needs an overhaul. While I'm sure it's due a lower priority than new CCG updates, (re?)planning DDXP, and who knows what else Chris has to deal with on a weekly basis - it should still be on that list somewhere.
I'd personally like to see a revamped list of mailing dates, updated info on what a DM can expect, and the "points for play" list updated to include current campaigns, while dropping the old ones off the list.
It's my experience that while points accumulate separately, as a GM I get both minis AND RPGA cards for my GM time served. This is evidenced by the fact that, as a rule, I don't play I only GM, yet I receive" "packs" of cards equivalent to my minis. (IE 3 minis and 3 packs of cards (for nine cards total) ).
I got them both pre-4e certainly. I didn't have enough points for the first 4e shipment, but there was a thread we both posted in on the subject where a couple GMs were talking about only having received their mini and I talked to additional people at Dragon*Con over Labor Day weekend that had the same experience and are miffed because they apparently won't have a chance of getting the ZI card now.
I got them both pre-4e certainly. I didn't have enough points for the first 4e shipment, but there was a thread we both posted in on the subject where a couple GMs were talking about only having received their mini and I talked to additional people at Dragon*Con over Labor Day weekend that had the same experience and are miffed because they apparently won't have a chance of getting the ZI card now.
I had to request my 1st mailing of cards be re-sent. I've moved recently so it's higly possible that my cards were just lost.
For this 2nd 4E mailing I've received my minis, but I'm still waiting on cards, but I haven't heard anyone else say they have cards yet either, so I'm not sweating it either.
For this 2nd 4E mailing I've received my minis, but I'm still waiting on cards, but I haven't heard anyone else say they have cards yet either, so I'm not sweating it either.
Ditto.
I've recieved my Owl Bear mini's for the second 4E mailing, but like others, still have not seen cards.
While this wasn't really relevant to the topic, I'm glad to see it mentioned and know I haven't missed out.
-c
If Dungeon Tiles are being used so frequently, I'd really like to see WotC issue a reprint. There's obviously a certain amount of demand. And while I was willing to pay $30 for a Dungeon Tiles set, I'd balk at doing that for the second and third.
If I'm misunderstanding what you've proposed with respect to the miniatures, and you didn't mean D&D Miniatures miniatures, my apologies.
And I doubt that it would hit their mini sales very much. It might even help the sales: "Wow! That's a great huge Fire Elemental mini! Which set is it from?"
And if it is just a discount, that still wouldn't hurt sales, rather the reverse.
Then again, I would love to have access to a set of graphics/images for each module consisting of the maps, without the GM-only information, at 1 square = 1 inch ratio. Might need to take them to a printshop to get them printed out on a single sheet of paper, but it would make for an easier way to get that "perfect" map for the game...
Someone has been doing that with the maps for the Star Wars Dawn of Defiance modules, and it can be useful...
I doubt it would concern them that boosters would sell at a discount, but actually getting a pack of exactly the figures you need could damage the collection market if the figures involved are rare. Given the decision between buying the Large Black Dragon you need for $3, and buying boosters until you get one or buying it on the internet ($28), I think it's clear what someone would choose.
I don't know how this turned into a discussion of non-randomized mini packs, but I was referring to the already-existing repaint promos being an OPTION along with the already existing CCs, Magic promos, and possibly (hopefully) sealed normal retail product like normal randomized boosters for both mini and card games, dungeon tile sets, RPG manuals, etc. set to an appropriate number of rewards points required depending on their production costs versus those of the promos already given away for every ~5 magic/LFR events.
Yes, but the original question in the thread was about buying pre-packaged sets of minis and tiles for running adventures. Your aside is interesting, but I'm afraid I'm not knowledgeable enough to comment.