Can my character advance using home games to do so? The mods as written seem pretty tight in terms of XP allowed, GP allowed, treasure items allowed and the like. I'd love, for example, to be able to run my own original stuff for LFR characters, and have it count for their LFR existance, so to speak. I'm not sure if that's kosher.
On the other hand, as I was thinking about this the other day, I figured that I could as a DM simply:
(A) order a module, any module;
(B) yank out the XP max total and treasure items from that module;
(C) write/run my own home module; and
(D) report it as the original module to the RPGA.
The advancement limits are then respected; the treasure is the same and the XP is the same as if the PCs had gone through the LFR module; and everyone's happy.
Whatcha think of that?
Unless you have something branded Living Forgotten Realms telling you that it gives XP and GP to an LFR character, you cannot give XP and GP to an LFR character.
I hope that's clear - there seems to be a number of queries along these lines at the moment, so I'm trying to state is as clearly as possible. Essentially, if the RPGA created an event which let you do what you would like to do (which it did for Mark of Heroes and Xen'drik Expeditions) then it would say so, and you'd download a document which explained the process. At the moment the only things you can get which give XP/GP/items to LFR characters are the listed LFR adventures, and the adaptation of Barrow of the Ogre King from the FRCG - which is an LFR-branded document explaining what to do with that adventure to allow you to give rewards to LFR characters with it.
I hope that helps - the very simple answer to your question is "No, sorry, you can't do what you're suggesting."
Can you provide any details/links about how they've done so?There is nothing wrong with the LFR mods as written, but I'll answer your questions about "why":
I own a gaming store with a large number of D&D players. Of these players, exactly 1 of them was an RPGA player/fan until I started promoting it in the store. Even I wasn't and RPGA fan until recently, with the changes in LFR to allow DMs more freedom when running modules.
My standard pitch explaining the dichotomy between RPGA mods and home games goes a bit like this:
"Well, the benefits of running your own home game is a more personalized and creative experience. Your DM can run storylines however he wishes with whatever house rules he wishes, and he can modify the encounters you face and tailor things to a story that features your characters. The disadvantage is that your socialization with other D&D players is limited; few people care to listen to stories about what happened in your game because they can't relate to them, and often find your campaign's flavor of house rules to be either superior or inferior to their own.
The benefits of RPGA games are that no matter where in the nation you go, your character integrates with everyone else's characters both in terms of storyline and power level/house rules used. You'll be of comperable level, you'll have similar chances at magic items, and having gone through the same modules you can swap stories with them on how you overcame specific objectives. It creates a wider community. The disadvantage, of course, is a less personalized, less unique experience and roleplaying that, when confined to a 4 hour time limit for most modules, has you often sacrificing time that would build party unity and character interaction for an attempt to keep to a deadline."
What I want to do is provide both experiences to the same groups of characters so their characters are portable to any game around the country and so that they all use the same brand of house rules. I have found in my career as a player that I have several characters I've loved and had to abandon because it's hard to port characters from one DM's campaign to another due to varying house rules, and the RPGA provides an excellent means of ensuring compatibility. The RPGA Rewards Cards, additionally, are awesome tools to reward players with little in-game quirks that are cool little house rules and, moreover, tend to be FAIR distributions of "favor"/"perks" rather than the personalized (and sometimes imbalanced) experiences of some players in some DMs' universes with favoritism of certain characters due to OOG reasons over others.
As I've said, there's nothing wrong with LFR mods as written, but they also create a delimiter for challenges versus varying levels of play experience, group synergy, and individual quirks. The new, relaxed 4E LFR provides the DM with tools he simply didn't have under old RPGA rules which makes tailoring the experience easier, but as far as I'm aware, tailoring actual *encounters* to the DM's preferences (by adding/removing monsters, altering terrain conditions, changing monsters' powers or other sorts of tinkering) is still prohibited. I've no desire to commit fraud (if I did, I doubt I'd be posting here about it and the RPGA is a silly place to commit fraud *on*). I do have a desire to provide players with as custom an experience as possible while at the same time keeping them in line and balanced with characters around the country so that if they go to play in a convention module or with other players, the sense of community and balance is retained and they can interact more easily with other players, building a larger community and socialization aspect with different people while at the same time being able to experience the development of their character in a personalized manner.
I hope that helps better explain what I am trying to achieve.
I find it heartening that they've done this before with other Living campaigns, so perhaps in the future they'll do it again.
In Xen'Drik Expeditions they offered "DM's Marl" modules where a DM could download a "boilerplate" for an adventure that would include a couple loose plot suggestions, as well a couple "story object" rewards for the DM to offer their party.
This was for the D&D Campaign style of play, as opposed to Living, so it was a slightly different beast to begin with. (Forced Level bumps, limited duration campaign, etc).
There is nothing wrong with the LFR mods as written, but I'll answer your questions about "why":
I own a gaming store with a large number of D&D players. Of these players, exactly 1 of them was an RPGA player/fan until I started promoting it in the store. Even I wasn't and RPGA fan until recently, with the changes in LFR to allow DMs more freedom when running modules.
More members and more stores is always a good thing.
My standard pitch explaining the dichotomy between RPGA mods and home games goes a bit like this:
What I want to do is provide both experiences to the same groups of characters so their characters are portable to any game around the country and so that they all use the same brand of house rules. I have found in my career as a player that I have several characters I've loved and had to abandon because it's hard to port characters from one DM's campaign to another due to varying house rules, and the RPGA provides an excellent means of ensuring compatibility. The RPGA Rewards Cards, additionally, are awesome tools to reward players with little in-game quirks that are cool little house rules and, moreover, tend to be FAIR distributions of "favor"/"perks" rather than the personalized (and sometimes imbalanced) experiences of some players in some DMs' universes with favoritism of certain characters due to OOG reasons over others.
As I've said, there's nothing wrong with LFR mods as written, but they also create a delimiter for challenges versus varying levels of play experience, group synergy, and individual quirks. The new, relaxed 4E LFR provides the DM with tools he simply didn't have under old RPGA rules which makes tailoring the experience easier, but as far as I'm aware, tailoring actual *encounters* to the DM's preferences (by adding/removing monsters, altering terrain conditions, changing monsters' powers or other sorts of tinkering) is still prohibited.
Not really, with the replay rule and other things all figured in, an RPGA module is more about providing a group a framework than a fixed set of rules.
Here's part of the "boilerplate" that's at the beginning of modules currently regarding DM Duties.
As the DM of the session, you have the most important role in facilitating the enjoyment of the game for the players. You take the words on these pages and make them come alive. The outcome of a fun game session often creates stories that live well beyond the play at the table. Always follow this golden rule when you DM for a group:
Make decisions and adjudications that enhance the fun of the adventure when possible.
To reinforce this golden rule, keep in mind the following:
- You are empowered to make adjustments to the adventure and make decisions about how the group interacts with the world of this adventure. This is especially important and applicable outside of combat encounters, but feel free to use the "scaling the encounter" advice (usually for adjusting to different-sized groups) to adjust combat encounters for groups that are having too easy or too hard of a time in an adventure.
(emphasis mine)
There are other points about scaling, keep it fun, etc, but there's nothing stopping you from changing an encounter if you feel you can offer a better play experience.
Basically, I'd say if you stick with the framework of the module, (don't download a module about rescuing a princess, then turn it into d20 Mario Bros, or scrap the entire module save the name) you're fine. Follow the spirit of what's given to you and you're fine.
I've no desire to commit fraud (if I did, I doubt I'd be posting here about it and the RPGA is a silly place to commit fraud *on*).
Suuuure. That's what you want us to believe! ;)
I do have a desire to provide players with as custom an experience as possible while at the same time keeping them in line and balanced with characters around the country so that if they go to play in a convention module or with other players, the sense of community and balance is retained and they can interact more easily with other players, building a larger community and socialization aspect with different people while at the same time being able to experience the development of their character in a personalized manner.
I hope that helps better explain what I am trying to achieve.
So it sounds like you might want to download a "save the princess" module, turn the princess into a prince (and potentially a cousin/Uncle/friend of one of your customers/players), and replace that encounter in desert with an encounter in the jungle instead (swinging vines for the win!).
Doesn't sound like you're out of line on any of that to me.
On the other hand, if wanted to write "GamersGambit's Mod" out of thin air, and get LFR credit for that - nope, out of luck. At least, until you submit it to your regional writing coordinator and get them to love it, and get it included as an official RPGA LFR module (no, really, I mean it - our writers are all volunteers too!) :D
On the other hand, while you couldn't get LFR experience or Gold for it, if you want to run "GamersGambit's Mod" for just the fun of playing it, there's nothing stopping your players from doing just that for the custom experience. They just can't bring any gold, exp, items, etc back into LFR.