Alphastream
Adventurer
It is clear that a great many gamers have questions about D&D organized play. I don't have all the answers, but I thought we could create a thread where people could ask honest questions and receive meaningful answers.
[sblock=On RPG Diversity and Respecting Others![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
It is really easy to want to express a personal preference for one type of game or campaign. There are so many kinds of games and gamers. Over the years I have had the fortune to try many different living campaigns, including Pathfinder, LG, LFR, Ashes of Athas, Heroes of Rokugan, Living Arcanis, Living Spycraft, Living Seattle, Shadowrun Missions, 13th Age, and others.
The immense diversity is one of the great things about being an RPG fan. One gamer might love the clan loyalty aspect of Legend of the Five Rings. Another might love the open-ended play of Spycraft. The enthusiasm for all these options ends up influencing designers/developers/authors/admins and enriches our hobby. Please: be tolerant of others in this thread! Promote our hobby in all its variations![/sblock]
[sblock=What is Organized Play, a living campaign, and what do some of these terms mean?]
At a high level, "organized play"" is a term for a range of programs run by game companies to encourage people to come together and play their games - often in a public setting. An “OP” program has recognizable and dependable elements so all participants use common rules and can reliably find an opportunity to play.
The program often provides some continuity. An example of organized play is the Encounters part of the organized play program called Adventurers League (see below), which provides play every Wednesday at participating gaming stores. For Encounters, each play session constitutes an encounter or chapter in the adventure/campaign. Too busy with work, school, or kids to run a home campaign, or having trouble finding gamers?Show up at a store running the program every Wednesday and get a quick fix of D&D! DMs receive a copy of the special adventure, while players often receive promotional materials (cool dice or other benefits).
A "living campaign" is another type of organized play that tries to create an experience similar to a home campaign, but where hundreds or thousands of players are interacting with the ongoing story. In these large-scale campaigns players all over the world play the same adventures, share the experiences with each other and the campaign leadership, and the result often influences the development of subsequent adventures.
Living campaigns give a DM or player great flexibility. You can play anywhere at any time and know you will have common rules and be a part of the same overarching plot. A player in New York is part of the same campaign as a player in Sheffield, England. The two players could play several adventures separately, then meet up at a convention. Sitting at the table for the first time, those two players nonetheless have a shared history, common goals, and their characters use the same rules for play with regards to character builds, magic acquisition, and so on. A DM can travel as well, benefitting from his or her knowledge of the campaign wherever they go. As play progresses the community builds up a shared history and experiences and can discuss them with each other – even if they played with different groups. The whole world becomes their home campaign!
An example of a living campaign is the Expeditions program, where your character is based in the Moonsea region and can participate in convention or store-run adventures to explore the Moonsea region and protect it from developing threats. As you play adventures the story progresses and your character develops a deeper relationship with the land, the NPCs, and other players. You also become more experienced, gain levels, and gain treasure. Often, your actions can impact the story, especially when the adventures premiere at conventions. Your table might be the one that frees an important NPC, uncovers critical information, or outwits a villain in a way that impacts the campaign and causes the story to change.
There is a rich history to organized play, beginning in the 1980's with the RPGA (Role Playing Game Association) as a gaming club/network started by employees of TSR (the original company that published D&D). The RPGA created community and wrote and ran adventures at major conventions. The early tournament adventures were one-shot adventures where you might easily not make it to the end. Tournaments were often scored, providing a competitive aspect (no longer prevalent today). Many of those early convention adventures became classics, such as the Against the Giants adventures, Slaver series of adventures, Barrier Peaks, Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan, Dwellers of the Forbidden City, and others. In 1987 the first living campaign, Living City, was launched as a way to provide a style of play more similar to that of a home campaign. In a living campaign you can progress through the plot over time, with each adventure becoming an episode in the story. You can attend a convention and play the first adventure, then later find a local store and play another adventure with completely different players... and the story still progresses for you.
Because the DM also changes, campaigns (living or otherwise) need rules and tools to maintain order. It wouldn't make sense for one DM to give you a free Wish spell while another DM gives out a rusty sword! It wouldn't be okay for your character to have all attributes set to 18 while others have average scores. Similarly, it wouldn't be okay if after raiding the castle my character sold the castle's siege weapons for thousands of gold pieces. Character creation and play rules are published to keep play consistent, fair, and fun. Rules also tell DMs how much judgment they can use to adjust an adventure. Treasure and experience points are stated by the adventures. Log sheets track your character's play and show the name of each scenario you play, when you played it, and what you earned playing the scenario. Certificates are provided if you receive magical treasure or special rewards at a store or convention. Certificates allow you to trade an item with another player for a certificate they have. Players can have their character join a Faction, an NPC organization that is part of the larger world and which can provide PCs with benefits. Renown is tracked as PCs accomplish deeds for their faction, helping to measure their recognition within the faction. Fifth edition has rules for Downtime, allowing characters to perform special activities in between adventures. Downtime is provided according to strict rules to ensure consistency across the player base.
Living Campaigns often use story arcs, creating an unfolding plot across a series of adventures. In the Adventurers League, the story arcs are several months long and have a strong theme. Story Arcs include Elemental Evil and Tyranny of Dragons and also tie the play experience to product releases.
The organized play campaigns run by different RPG companies tend to have common elements. Administrators of the campaign maintain the rules mentioned above, plus other guidelines (whether you can play evil-aligned characters, whether you can replay an adventure with another character, etc.). They coordinate adventure-writing, approving volunteers to write adventures, reviewing their work, and then distributing the adventures to individual DMs at conventions, game stores, small game days, even groups that play at home. The DMs run the adventure, and the players keep a record of what happened, how much XP they gained, what treasure they acquired, and so on. The next time that character’s played in an adventure in the campaign, whether with the same DM or with a completely different group, the PC has the benefit of that XP and treasure - and, often, story consequences. If you decided to help the usurper in the first adventure your DM in the next adventure will roleplay the king’s reaction accordingly. By playing these adventures your character levels up and also gains more knowledge and involvement in the campaign. These campaigns can run for years, so characters can reach high levels and play in adventures which have significant consequences for the campaign setting. For example, the finale of the Living Forgotten Realms campaign includes the campaign administrators’ interpretation of the end of the Spellplague, with the high level characters challenging gods in an effort to remake the Weave. The final set of adventures for LFR drew on the various NPCs and plotlines which had evolved over the six years of the campaign, giving a payoff to players who’d been involved from the start - while still providing fun adventures for players who had missed parts of the campaign or had only just begun playing.
For some people this set-up provides some real advantages. It’s a great way to keep continuity if you attend a lot of conventions or store events. It’s also a good set-up for people who travel, people who have unsettled working patterns, and anyone who isn’t able to commit to a regular weekly or fortnightly game. If you can find people who are running organized play adventures, you can drop in and drop out without having to sign up for an ongoing commitment or letting people down if you can’t play on a regular basis. Even players with a regular gaming group can be drawn to organized play for the shared experience.
Organized play can also be a gateway to further involvement and even freelance work. There have been months where more than half of the contributors to Dragon and Dungeon magazines were previously authors for organized play. Mike Mearls, who led the 5th Edition design team, began as an administrator for a region of the Living Greyhawk organized play campaign. Even if you don’t rise to such heights, organized play offers an opportunity to contribute and to hone your RPG skills as a writer, coordinator, event manager, and more.
To get started, check out the sections below on the different program options. Rules will be linked (soon) so you know how to create a character and the rules governing play. Use the Wizards store locator to find a gaming store offering D&D play. You can also look for conventions in the area offering Adventurers League play. There are tons of helpful players you will meet once you get started![/sblock]
So, what are the options in organized play for D&D and how do they differ?
D&D Adventurers League
Important: The program changed significantly in 2016 and again in 2018-19 with Season 8:
Because of all of the above, much of what is below will need to be rewritten. One thing that has always been true: organized play constantly evolves. No iteration is ever perfect and each change brings new positives (and many learning points too).
Summary of current rules:
In January 2019, the DM David Blog posted an overview and Quick Start for the Adventurers League. This is an excellent 2-page summary of the current rules.
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On May 21, 2014, Wizards announced the current organized play program, the D&D Adventurers League! This program began in August 2014.
The third storyline season, Rage of Demons, launched at Gen Con 2015 (official start of Encounters was Sept 9th) and deals with the underdark, drow, and Abyssal lords! Expeditions play will be centered on the town of Hillsfar!
Web sites with key information: Official Web Site and Downloads Page!
Find a store running DnD!
Summary of how to get started with the program as a player, DM, organizer, club, or store!
Campaign Resources, including the Player's Guide, Quick-Start Guide, Log Sheet, and other printable resources!
Adventurers League Program Overview: [sblock=Learn More
The program began in August, 2014, and uses thematic seasons:
Setting: Forgotten Realms. Encounters and Epics can take place anywhere in FR. D&D Expeditions has a home base in Phlan, in the Moonsea region. (Read about the Moonsea on the FR Wiki)
Administration: Run by Wizards of the Coast, with three administrators: a Community Manager (interacts with gamers, gathers feedback), a Content Manager (develops and edits adventures), and a Resource Manager (keeps schedules on track, supports designers). Each administrator is accompanied by an accomplished associate manager.
Volunteers: Information is posted from time to time, including an Open Call for adventurers (first one ended Feb 28th, 2015)
This EN World Thread collects many resources for DMs, local coordinators, and more.
The latest information is found on the Adventurers League site, though Wizards of the Coast provides overview information here for Players, DMs, and Organizers.
[sblock=Original Informational articles on the DnD Web site]
AL Resources, Jul 31, 2014 (Players Guide, QuickStart Guide, Character Sheet, Adventure Log)Faction Talk, Part 1, Jul 30, 2014 (Information on Faction ranks and benefits)
Finding Your Game, July 28, 2014 (How and where to play).
Expenditions and how it provides a living campaign, Jul 3, 2014.
Using the Starter Set for Adventurers League, June 26, 2014
Magic Items and Rewards, June 18, 2014.
Introducing the admins, June 4, 2014.
Coming Soon: D&D Adventurers League! May 6, 2014.
Origins Panel on Adventurers League.
Interview on ICv2 marketing site with Liz Schuh, head of Publishing and Licensing.
ICv2 overview.
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[sblock=Forums, Groups, and Social Media
Forums for Adventurers League
Group and Forums for program discussion: Forums for each Encounters season
Adventurers League G+ Community (Also see the many regional sites run by each Regional Coordinator)
Adventurers League on Twitter
Adventurers League on Facebook
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D&D Adventurers League is an organized play program launched in 2014, pulling together several types of play. The three types of play are: Encounters (in-store weekly gaming, typically following a published campaign-style adventure), Expeditions (4-hour adventures based in one geographical region, playable at any time in public locations including conventions and stores, but any public location or online is allowed if you invite the public to attend), and Epics (special adventures available at a few conventions to launch a new story arc). Each is described in detail further below. Playing several types of play provides greater story depth, encouraging engagement. A player may move a PC across different types of play if the content is appropriate for their PC level. All of the types of play are woven together around a central story arc. When a story arc concludes, the player may retire the character or continue playing with the same PC in the new story arc.
Players earn rewards for their characters, such as experience, gold, and magic items. These are tracked on a log sheet. Some rewards (generally magic items, but occasionally special rewards such as titles or favors) are uniquely available as certificates. An adventure may offer magic items, and if a player receives one they may write it on their log sheet and use it. If they also have the certificate they may trade the item to another player in exchange for a different item (the item must also have a certificate and be of similar rarity). Certificates are an optional system to allow trading and are available when you play at stores and conventions.
Characters can join a Faction, providing them with NPC alliances and an organization whose goals they can advance during play. Additional information on rewards was provided in this blog. See additional information on the factions below.
Factions:
Official Faction Information
Factions are a key part of all three types of play. Each PC will be part of a Faction. "As factions gain and lose power, will have an impact on the story, and the story can react to the realities of faction growth/shrinking." As you play adventures, you gain renown points in your faction. Renown points translate to ranks, and unlock new benefits as rank increases. Players can switch factions, but their renown goes down to 0, just like a starting character.
The Factions are:
[sblock=Backstory on the current story arc
The Rage of Demons season brings together the rich D&D history of powerful demon lords and that of the underdark. The drow have often meddled in the balance of Faerun, tampering with the Weave (which controls magic in the Forgotten Realms) to try to control the civilizations living above them. Such tampering has often resulted in devastation. In this case, it seems to allow several demon lords to enter the underdark, promising chaos and devastation. From early information it seems the drow may have formed a tennuous alliance with the surface world. Some of the demon lords who have been mentioned are Demogorgon, Graz'zt, Fraz-Urb'luu, and Zuggtmoy. Each demon lord has its own deep history, detailed in sourcebooks such as the excellent Fiendish Codex and Demonomicon and often appearing in at least one classic adventure. For example, Zuggtmoy in Temple of Elemental Evil and Graz'zt in Tsojcanth. The drow were first detailed in the Fiend Folio, and then famously in Descent into the Depths of the Earth and Vault of the Drow (available as a bundle here).
The adventure is said to use "themes of treachery and discord." Several drow adventures in 4th edition used those themes heavily. Especially relevant is War of Everlasting Darkness.
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[sblock=Timeline leading up to 1489 DR Adventurers League
Forgotten Realms Timeline:
1357 DR - First Grey Box FR setting
1358 DR - Time of Troubles
1367 DR - Second Edition's FR boxed set
1372 DR - Start of 3rd Edition
1376 DR - roughly the end of 3E
1385 DR - Year of Blue Fire, when Spellplague begins.
1479 DR - Year of the Ageless one, main year covered by 4E play. Mystra returns at the end, causing the end of the Spellplague.
1484 DR - The Sundering then takes place. The first novel starts in 1484 DR.
1489 DR - Adventurers League campaign begins.[/sblock]
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Adventurers League - D&D Encounters:
[sblock=Learn More
Official site
This is a store-based program taking place each Wednesday and follows the story arc theme (such as Elemental Evil) for the Adventurers League season. Play starts at 1st level. Stores receive a kit, which allows them to modify a published adventure and bring excitement to character Factions. Players can simply show up and will receive a pregenerated character so they can jump right into the action. No prior knowledge of D&D is required. DMs use a free version of a published adventure (for example, for the Tyranny of Dragons story arc the packet provided levels 1-4 of the published Hoard of the Dragon Queen adventure.
Current season information for Rage of Demons can be found here. The Encounters adventure became available on August 31. The hardback adventure became available to Wizards Play Location stores on September 4. The official start of the season was September 9th.
The first season of Adventurers League play was the 19th Encounters season.
[sblock=Historical information on Encounters before the Adventurers League]
D&D Encounters began in 2010 as an in-store program designed to introduce the game to new players, provide play opportunities for D&D, and encourage relationships with stores selling D&D product. (Encounters replaced D&D Delve Night, a short-lived program for 4E.) A hallmark from the beginning is that Encounters runs every Wednesday at gaming stores that have requested the Encounter season kit (through their WPN - Wizards Play Network - rep). The program has been an incredible success, attracting many players to the weekly games. It is likely the most-successful store-focused organized play program of all time. Different seasons (each tied to an adventure) have brought in new changes and innovations. Encounters originally supported 4E, but supported the D&D Next playtest version of 5E and facilitated 3E play for a few seasons. The program officially migrated to the published form of 5E when it became a part of the Adventurers League.
D&D Encounters was run in seasons of varying length (often 12-15 weeks, in contrast to roughly six months with Adventurers League). Adventures were at first provided for free as part of a store kit, along with other rewards. The kit was always free for stores. Beginning with the Scourge of the Sword Coast season, stores received a credit for DMs to download the adventure for free.
For most of the pre-AL period, each Wednesday featured a single encounter from the adventure, progressing the story forward. PCs gained experience, wealth, and/or rewards as they adventure. This made dropping in on a session very easy. A player could show up even midway through most seasons and quickly grasp the current stakes and have an enjoyable 45-60 minutes of D&D. Later pre-AL seasons provided an increasingly open play experience where PCs impacted the story. Play length also increased. The longer open experiences, no longer focused on just a specific encounter, made dropping in or switching tables harder, though not insurmountable.
The seasons have included: (hyperlinks lead to the product page on DnDClassics.com)
Seasons were often tied to new releases and were good ways of showcasing new product (in turn available at the stores). DMs and players often received rewards for play. Seasons before Murder in Baldur's Gate granted DMs a copy of the adventure and other nice benefits (Very funny drink cozies for Dark Sun, for example), while players tracked Renown and earned boons such as in-game reward cards or special dice. The number of physical goods provided as rewards was higher during the earlier seasons. The first season even included a miniature digital camera for stores to take and share pictures!
Wizards experimented with Twitter for a while, providing temporary "buffs". They also used Fortune Cards for several seasons. Both are no longer used.
[sblock=Player Impact on Story and Sundering Summaries]
Beginning with Murder in Baldur's Gate players could report their actions and help determine the fate of the Forgotten Realms. After each season players could visit the Facebook Sundering app and log their results. Wizards then provided a video summarizing the results of the season.
Introduction to the Sundering
Results of Murder in Baldur's Gate and introduction to LotCS
Results of Legacy of the Crystal Shard and introduction to SotSC
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Adventurers League - D&D Expeditions:
[sblock=Learn More
Official site
Expeditions extends the play options, providing play in any public location, including conventions and stores. You can play online or arrange for a game at a location such as a school, coffee shop, or library - it just has to be open to the public for other players to join.
Characters have a home base in the Moonsea. The exact town can vary with the story arc, allowing players to learn more about the region and play a hand in the development of the location. Changing locations also makes it approachable for new players. Characters during the Tyranny of Dragons story arc began in the town of Phlan, in the dangerous Moonsea region. (Phlan is known to many gamers as the site of the Pool of Radiance, featured in adventures, novels, and video games.) For the Elemental Evil story arc (and resulting from events in the previous story arc) players have moved to the city of Mulmaster. For Rage of Demons, play moves to the city of Hillsfar.
Play resembles 'living campaigns', allowing characters to get to know their region and to influence how it fares through their in-character actions. Adventures premiere at select conventions, where players can give feedback and shape the storyline. The adventures are then available as pdfs and can be ordered for store and convention play. Kits for conventions and stores provide certificates. Adventures debut in North America, but play is worldwide. Expeditions cannot be played as a home game, but they can be run in a public location such as a school, library, coffee shop, etc. Players can replay D&D Expeditions adventures, but they must use a different character. Expeditions will support each storyline, with support for Elemental Evil beginning in March of 2015 and Rage of Demons in September 2015.
Each season may have additional rules. A specific player guide is usually published for that season, and players may choose the season to which a new character belongs (including previous seasons). Thus, new seasons may allow different classes, races, or other options. Seasons may also provide custom backgrounds and other aspects. For example, Rage of Demons provides new backgrounds and bonds.
[sblock=List of Expeditions Adventures
Season 1 - Tyranny of Dragons
DDEX1-1 Defiance in Phlan
DDEX1-2 Secrets of Sokol Keep
DDEX1-3 Shadow on the Moonsea
DDEX1-4 Dues for the Dead
DDEX1-5 The Courting of Fire
DDEX1-6 The Scroll Thief
DDEX1-7 Drums in the Marsh
DDEX1-8 Tales Trees Tell
DDEX1-9 Outlaws of the Iron Route
DDEX1-10 Tyranny in Phlan
DDEX1-11 Dark Pyramid of Sorcerer’s Isle
DDEX1-12 Raiders of the Twilight Marsh
DDEX1-13 Pool of Radiance Resurgent
DDEX1-14 Escape from Phlan
Season 2 - Elemental Evil
DDEX2-1 City of Danger
DDEX2-2 Embers of Elmwood
DDEX2-3 The Drowned Tower
DDEX2-4 Mayhem in the Earthspur Mines
DDEX2-5 Flames of Kythorn
DDEX2-6 Breath of the Yellow Rose
DDEX2-7 Bounty in the Bog
DDEX2-8 Foulness Beneath Mulmaster
DDEX2-9 Eye of the Tempest
DDEX2-10 Cloaks and Shadows
DDEX2-11 Oubliette of Fort Iron
DDEX2-12 Dark Rites at Fort Dalton
DDEX2-13 The Howling Void
DDEX2-14 The Sword of Selfaril
DDEX2-15 Black Heart of Vengeance
DDEX2-16 Boltsmelter's Book
Season 3 - Rage of Demons
DDEX03-01 Harried in Hillsfar
DDEX03-02 Shackles of Blood
DDEX03-03 The Occupation of Szith Morcane
DDEX03-04 It’s all in the Blood
DDEX03-05 Bane of the Tradeways
DDEX03-06 No Foolish Matter
DDEX03-07 Herald of the Moon
DDEX03-08 The Malady of Elventree
DDEX03-09 The Waydown
DDEX03-10 Quelling the Horde
DDEX03-11 The Quest for Sporedome
DDEX03-12 Hillsfar Reclaimed
DDEX03-13 Writhing in the Dark
DDEX03-14 Death on the Wall
DDEX03-15 Szith Morcane Unbound
DDEX03-16 Assault on Maerimydra
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Adventurers League - D&D Epics:
[sblock=Learn More
Official site
These are special one-time kickoff events that run at a major convention and start off a storyline. The adventures center on an exciting moment, such as a major battle or special location. Interactive elements, impact by individual characters, and special rewards are all part of the experience. Epics are massive multi-table events, where the actions of each table can affect the others and, in turn, the overall success of the interactive event.
The following Epics have been written so far:
Sounds great! How do I get started?
[sblock=Learn More
For store games, use the store locator to find the store near you running Encounters or Expeditions. If there is a store in the area but it is not running Adventurers League, encourage them to sign up and to contact their WPN representative. Once you have a store, just show up at the appointed time (they will have everything else you need, including pregens). You can create your own PC ahead of time if you wish - just follow the rules in the Player's Guide (found on the AL downloads page). You can use the free Basic Rules for D&D or access additional options in the Player's Handbook.
Once a story arc has been running for several months, check with the store to ensure a new player can play. Many stores will provide an option for new players, even if their core players have reached higher levels.
DMs should sign up to DM with the store itself. Stores often need DMs, and even really new DMs can be a great asset to the program!
For Convention Play, check the D&D Adventurers League Convention Map. Also do a web search for tabletop gaming, board game, and comic conventions in your state. Even if they aren't running games now (and they often are), they may be looking for a volunteer to help get things started!
For other public play, you can order adventures as long as you register a public location or online game. The key is for others to be able to join your games (not just your friends). You can request adventures for conventions or public games here.
The forums and Adventurers League site are full of good advice and it is common for DMs to discuss strategies for how to run the upcoming session in fun ways. There is typically a DM Tools thread with advice and great downloads like monster tokens/standies, maps, and more. [/sblock]
Previous Programs:
[sblock=Learn More
Living Forgotten Realms (LFR) - 4th Edition, Concluded 2014
Web site for rules and adventure: Living Forgotten Realms
Group and Forums for campaign discussion: LFR Community Forums
[sblock=Campaign Overview and History
Set in the 4th edition Forgotten Realms, LFR was created by WotC in 2008 as the central/flagship living campaign, replacing Living Greyhawk. WotC recruited a number of talented campaign admins, placing an emphasis on admins that could create a new program that would be open to a lot of different types of D&D gamers. The campaign had a number of initial regions, using the new 4E FR setting (where various things changed due to the death of Mystra and the Spellplague).
The final LFR adventures premiered at Winter Fantasy 2014. LFR adventures will continue to be accessible through 2014.
LFR is a traditional living campaign in many respects. You are encouraged to start at 1st level and as you play you gain experience, treasure, and story awards. You track your progress and can take your PC to other LFR adventures run by other gaming groups at homes, stores, or conventions. The portability and shared community experience is a big draw of a living campaign.
LFR has had a focus on accessibility. The rules allow for the use of the vast majority of the printed 4E material. There are pregen PCs and options for casual or walk-up players to start at higher level if necessary. You can play LFR at home, at stores, at conventions, even online.
Initially, this accessibility also came with the idea that adventures should be light on setting. The initial batch of adventures had little way of story arcs and FR setting flavor. That has changed and story is a big focus area for the global admins.
Other changes have come as well. There were many problems getting adventures out and Wizards once had a vision of LFR integrating into many WotC opportunities (gaming table, novels, etc.). Adventures were once held up by being reviewed by some really important people at WotC. The decision was made for LFR to become volunteer-led. WotC still has a say in the campaign and still supports it (check out the post-D&DXP podcast!), but the campaign direction and adventure publishing is now led by the global admins.
You can read the blog post explaining the new direction.
Christ Tulach, who leads WotC organized play, discusses the changes here. The campaign recently announced that meta-organizations will be added to provide groups in which PCs can obtain membership.
As part of the changes the campaign now has fewer regions, their own web site, and is releasing adventures in series tied to regional story arcs.
The campaign to date has provided more than 200 different adventures in various formats. Adventures span heroic, paragon, and even epic tiers! At D&DXP 2012 it was stated that the Epic storyline will be completed in 2014, ensuring LFR PCs can go all the way from level 1 to 30 (including play at level 30).[/sblock]
[sblock=Sounds great! How do I get started?] To get started, go to the campaign site and download the Campaign Guide (CCG). This will explain the rules and how to create a character and provides guidance for DMs.
Next, find players and a DM. You can look for gaming stores, post on EN World's Gamer's Seeking Gamers, use Meetup, etc.
If you are a DM, you will want to select an adventure from the LFR site that is appropriate for the level of the PCs the players have. Once finished, check the site to see if there are open requests for results. You do not need to use the WPN ordering system unless this is specifically noted.
Players track their progress (XP, gold, magic items, story awards etc.) on log sheets at the end of each adventure. Adventures are released in arcs (such as CALI3-1, CALI3-2, and CALI3-3) that together provide a story experience within one region. Players may enjoy the campaign more if they play in arcs, though they can also play any adventures available for their PCs' tier of play. The cover of each adventure notes the story arc in its summary "blurb".
The 200-plus adventures are all available for download for free. Players can play as many or as few of the adventures as they desire. If groups find they end up with widely different PC levels due to infrequent play, players can use the rules for starting at a higher level of play. All adventures are designed to be four hours in length, though there are a few two-round and even three-round adventures (with each round being four hours).
LFR is available at tons of locations, including most conventions and even online through software like MapTool. LFR games are also organized and run on the WotC Virtual Table Top. Large conventions may feature special battle interactive events.
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Lair Assault - 4th Edition, concluded 2013
Note: This program ends with the March-May season!
Web site for rules: Lair Assault on the WotC Events page.
initial info here
A monthly series of articles began in June, explaining the program. There is also a WPN page here.
Group and Forums for program discussion: None yet.
[sblock=Program Overview and History
This program began in September of 2011 and concludes in May 2013. The concept is a very challenging encounter or encounters that are hard enough that you should not be surprised to fail the first few times. This is a tactical game experience rather than a rich ongoing story with heavy role-playing. DMs receive cool materials for running the game (color poster maps, tokens, etc.) and players can earn bragging rights through badges that appear on their DDI account.
The program features 2-month seasons of a single adventure lasting a few hours. It is available only in gaming stores. Unlike Encounters, games can be scheduled at any time during the season. Seasons are not expected to be linked (unlike the advancing story of LFR or even Encounters) and will likely be in mid to upper heroic tier.
The program is described by Wizards as follows: "D&D Lair Assault is a new Wizards Play Network in-store program that pits tactically-minded players against a super challenge where the difference between victory and defeat is dependent upon a player's game knowledge, ability to adapt, and a little bit of luck. Players pit your wits against some of the most difficult encounters they’ve ever played. Each challenge is a mega-encounter that plays in just a few hours, but many will need to make more than one run at it in pursuit of victory. D&D Lair Assault challenges are available for a few months, and stores can schedule their sessions at anytime during that period."
Chris Tulach, WotC lead for Organized Play, wrote an article on how the program was developed.
List of Lair Assault Scenarios:
Prestige Badges:
For each season of Lair Assault a player may record their accomplishments on their Wizards account. This displays a badge next below his or her user name when posting on forums. The badge's color and name signify how well the player did.[/sblock]
[sblock=Sounds great! How do I get started?]
Read the rules so you know what is involved. Check with your gaming store to make sure they ordered the kit (kits are offered periodically, and sold out for the first season). Once play begins, schedule a game with your store. Victory is hard to achieve, so spending time on a good PC build and working on a team build with other players can increase your chances of doing well.
In particular, note the rules for magic items:
"Each character receives one magic item of one level higher than their level (level + 1), one of their level (level + 0), and one of one level lower than their level (level – 1). In addition, characters receive gold pieces equal to the value of one magic item of one level lower than their level (level – 1) to buy other equipment they think they’ll need. Each character may have no more than two consumable items (like potions or magic ammunition) equal to or less than the challenge’s level, and no more than one rare magic item. Note that players may equip their characters with magic items that are less than the stated levels if they so choose."
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Ashes of Athas - 4th Edition, concluded 2013
Web site for rules: Baldman Games - Ashes of Athas
Group and Forums for program discussion: Ashes of Athas Forums
Ordering Adventures for Home Play: Send a personal message to this profile with your e-mail address
[sblock=Campaign Overview and History
Launched at D&DXP (Winter Fantasy) in January of 2011, Ashes of Athas is a 4e D&D organized play campaign set in the Dark Sun campaign setting. Each adventure continues the story, beginning with your character being asked to aid a secretive faction of the Veiled Alliance against an unknown assailant. PCs take up the mantle of heroism in the grim and brutal desert world of Athas. The campaign concluded in January of 2013, but adventures can still be ordered at no cost.
As a central character in the story, your PC has an opportunity to shape that future while the PC grows in power and prestige. The PC's choices are important and impact how the campaign unfolds. The campaign admins are focused on delivering a rich story and experimenting with unconventional design around encounters, rewards, NPCs, and other elements to achieve that rich story.
The campaign guide provides special rules for character creation to create a true Dark Sun feel. Players track progress on log sheets and gain a level every three adventures.
The campaign was convention-driven with home play. Chapters of three linked adventures were offered at major gaming conventions (Winter Fantasy, Origins, and Gen Con). Some smaller conventions carried the chapters after they premiered, and several are still offering the adventures in 2013. Each adventure is four hours in length, though they may present role-playing opportunities that can extend play if desired. A total of 7 chapters (21 rounds of four-hour adventures) were released over the three years.
The campaign was administered by Baldman Games (the company is best known for organizing conventions for WotC).
[/sblock]
[sblock=Sounds great! How do I get started?] PCs started the campaign at 3rd level and advanced with each chapter (playing chapter 6 at 8th level, etc.). The rules for creation are found in the Campaign Guide document. Pre-generated characters are available at conventions and when adventures are ordered for home play.
Chapters One through Three were based on a story arc around a secret organization known as the True. Chapter Four reset the action slightly, so as to make the game more approachable for new players. The story continued as the players began to hear of a threat from an ancient primordial. The connection to The True is eventually explained. Each adventure includes an overview of "the story thus far" to help DMs and players quickly understand previous events. Adventures are meant to be played in order due to their story focus, but this is not a requirement. Chapter 7, the final chapter, includes an adventure suitable for new players who want to understand the story before engaging in the final Battle Interactive.
The campaign has a unique feature called a Death Certificate. The dangers of the brutal world of Athas can often claim a PC. Each adventure has a Death Certificate specific to the adventure, providing a means by which your PC (perhaps as a new PC, perhaps transformed) can return to the storyline. The certificate helps players stay connected to the ongoing story even when they perish!
The Campaign Guide includes important rules DMs should read, including important tips for achieving the right feel for the campaign.
Players and DMs interested in the campaign should sign up for conventions featuring the campaign or order the adventures for home play. To request the adventures, simply send me a personal message (I am an admin for the campaign).
Conventions previously providing Ashes of Athas include:
Winter Fantasy in Fort Wayne, IN
Origins in Columbus, OH
Gen Con in Indianapolis, IN
Genghis Con in Denver, CO
ConnCon in Connecticut
GameStorm in Portland, OR
SynDCon in Washington, DC (TBD)
ComicPalooza in Houston, TX
Space City Con in Houston, TX
OwlCon in Houston, TX
[/sblock]
Living Divine - 4th Edition
Web site for rules: Living Divine
Forums for program discussion: There is a There is a page on Facebook.
[sblock=Campaign Overview and History
This campaign was launched in 2011 with 10 preview adventures and officially premiered at Gen Con 2011. Living Divine is based around the concept of the PCs having the spark of divinity within them. The campaign uses a regional system. Each adventure progresses the story, though a player need not play every adventure.
Introductory information:
You are a god among men, born with the spark of divinity within you. Gather followers, build an empire, start a legacy. Will you be merciless and power-hungry? Or benevolent and kind? Begin your rise to immortality in this exclusive sneak preview of this new shared-world campaign, before the official premiere.
Living Divine is a new shared-world Dungeons & Dragons campaign:
* Using the current, 4th Edition ruleset (though they are open to conversions).
* Set in a unique, never before seen world.
* Your character isn't just a hero... he's a god.
* Story- and character- centric scenarios.
* No power creep.
* Regional play, each region with a different feel and plotline.
* Aimed at the most mature and experienced player.
[/sblock]
[sblock=Sounds great! How do I get started?]
The introductory Campaign Guide document and Log Sheet should be downloaded by players. In Living Divine you have the spark of divinity, gaining special divine feats and at your first game you gain a divine trait.
A list of events can be found on the Event page or in the News area. The first three months of a scenario's life, it is convention only, in-region only. The second three months, available for public game days, in-region (your store play would likely fall into this category). After 6 months, it can be played anywhere... including home play, and out-of-region. Outside of conventions each adventure costs $4 to order.
Adventures tend to be four hours in length and playing in order within a region is encouraged (but not a requirement). Each region has different story arcs that progress as the timeline of the campaign advances. 2011 released 9 introductory scenarios and one 2-round conclusion. In 2012 and beyond each region can have up to 9 adventures. Characters earn their advancement - there are no level bumps in the campaign.
The campaign is seeking volunteers, including Tribunals (regional admins). Volunteers should apply here.
[/sblock]
[/sblock]
Other living campaigns:
[sblock]There are many other awesome living campaigns for other editions of the game or for other gaming systems. Current campaigns include Shadowrun Missions, Tales of the 13th Age, Pathfinder Society, Heroes of Rokugan, Legends of the Shining Jewel, Wyrmstone, Spymaster, Living Traveller and more. You should check them out, but please discuss them in different threads. Here is one thread that discusses them and lists additional current and past living campaigns.[/sblock]
Questions? Post here and we can do our best as a community to provide answers. The point of this thread is to provide information.
[sblock=On RPG Diversity and Respecting Others
It is really easy to want to express a personal preference for one type of game or campaign. There are so many kinds of games and gamers. Over the years I have had the fortune to try many different living campaigns, including Pathfinder, LG, LFR, Ashes of Athas, Heroes of Rokugan, Living Arcanis, Living Spycraft, Living Seattle, Shadowrun Missions, 13th Age, and others. The immense diversity is one of the great things about being an RPG fan. One gamer might love the clan loyalty aspect of Legend of the Five Rings. Another might love the open-ended play of Spycraft. The enthusiasm for all these options ends up influencing designers/developers/authors/admins and enriches our hobby. Please: be tolerant of others in this thread! Promote our hobby in all its variations![/sblock]
[sblock=What is Organized Play, a living campaign, and what do some of these terms mean?]
At a high level, "organized play"" is a term for a range of programs run by game companies to encourage people to come together and play their games - often in a public setting. An “OP” program has recognizable and dependable elements so all participants use common rules and can reliably find an opportunity to play.
The program often provides some continuity. An example of organized play is the Encounters part of the organized play program called Adventurers League (see below), which provides play every Wednesday at participating gaming stores. For Encounters, each play session constitutes an encounter or chapter in the adventure/campaign. Too busy with work, school, or kids to run a home campaign, or having trouble finding gamers?Show up at a store running the program every Wednesday and get a quick fix of D&D! DMs receive a copy of the special adventure, while players often receive promotional materials (cool dice or other benefits).
A "living campaign" is another type of organized play that tries to create an experience similar to a home campaign, but where hundreds or thousands of players are interacting with the ongoing story. In these large-scale campaigns players all over the world play the same adventures, share the experiences with each other and the campaign leadership, and the result often influences the development of subsequent adventures.
Living campaigns give a DM or player great flexibility. You can play anywhere at any time and know you will have common rules and be a part of the same overarching plot. A player in New York is part of the same campaign as a player in Sheffield, England. The two players could play several adventures separately, then meet up at a convention. Sitting at the table for the first time, those two players nonetheless have a shared history, common goals, and their characters use the same rules for play with regards to character builds, magic acquisition, and so on. A DM can travel as well, benefitting from his or her knowledge of the campaign wherever they go. As play progresses the community builds up a shared history and experiences and can discuss them with each other – even if they played with different groups. The whole world becomes their home campaign!
An example of a living campaign is the Expeditions program, where your character is based in the Moonsea region and can participate in convention or store-run adventures to explore the Moonsea region and protect it from developing threats. As you play adventures the story progresses and your character develops a deeper relationship with the land, the NPCs, and other players. You also become more experienced, gain levels, and gain treasure. Often, your actions can impact the story, especially when the adventures premiere at conventions. Your table might be the one that frees an important NPC, uncovers critical information, or outwits a villain in a way that impacts the campaign and causes the story to change.
There is a rich history to organized play, beginning in the 1980's with the RPGA (Role Playing Game Association) as a gaming club/network started by employees of TSR (the original company that published D&D). The RPGA created community and wrote and ran adventures at major conventions. The early tournament adventures were one-shot adventures where you might easily not make it to the end. Tournaments were often scored, providing a competitive aspect (no longer prevalent today). Many of those early convention adventures became classics, such as the Against the Giants adventures, Slaver series of adventures, Barrier Peaks, Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan, Dwellers of the Forbidden City, and others. In 1987 the first living campaign, Living City, was launched as a way to provide a style of play more similar to that of a home campaign. In a living campaign you can progress through the plot over time, with each adventure becoming an episode in the story. You can attend a convention and play the first adventure, then later find a local store and play another adventure with completely different players... and the story still progresses for you.
Because the DM also changes, campaigns (living or otherwise) need rules and tools to maintain order. It wouldn't make sense for one DM to give you a free Wish spell while another DM gives out a rusty sword! It wouldn't be okay for your character to have all attributes set to 18 while others have average scores. Similarly, it wouldn't be okay if after raiding the castle my character sold the castle's siege weapons for thousands of gold pieces. Character creation and play rules are published to keep play consistent, fair, and fun. Rules also tell DMs how much judgment they can use to adjust an adventure. Treasure and experience points are stated by the adventures. Log sheets track your character's play and show the name of each scenario you play, when you played it, and what you earned playing the scenario. Certificates are provided if you receive magical treasure or special rewards at a store or convention. Certificates allow you to trade an item with another player for a certificate they have. Players can have their character join a Faction, an NPC organization that is part of the larger world and which can provide PCs with benefits. Renown is tracked as PCs accomplish deeds for their faction, helping to measure their recognition within the faction. Fifth edition has rules for Downtime, allowing characters to perform special activities in between adventures. Downtime is provided according to strict rules to ensure consistency across the player base.
Living Campaigns often use story arcs, creating an unfolding plot across a series of adventures. In the Adventurers League, the story arcs are several months long and have a strong theme. Story Arcs include Elemental Evil and Tyranny of Dragons and also tie the play experience to product releases.
The organized play campaigns run by different RPG companies tend to have common elements. Administrators of the campaign maintain the rules mentioned above, plus other guidelines (whether you can play evil-aligned characters, whether you can replay an adventure with another character, etc.). They coordinate adventure-writing, approving volunteers to write adventures, reviewing their work, and then distributing the adventures to individual DMs at conventions, game stores, small game days, even groups that play at home. The DMs run the adventure, and the players keep a record of what happened, how much XP they gained, what treasure they acquired, and so on. The next time that character’s played in an adventure in the campaign, whether with the same DM or with a completely different group, the PC has the benefit of that XP and treasure - and, often, story consequences. If you decided to help the usurper in the first adventure your DM in the next adventure will roleplay the king’s reaction accordingly. By playing these adventures your character levels up and also gains more knowledge and involvement in the campaign. These campaigns can run for years, so characters can reach high levels and play in adventures which have significant consequences for the campaign setting. For example, the finale of the Living Forgotten Realms campaign includes the campaign administrators’ interpretation of the end of the Spellplague, with the high level characters challenging gods in an effort to remake the Weave. The final set of adventures for LFR drew on the various NPCs and plotlines which had evolved over the six years of the campaign, giving a payoff to players who’d been involved from the start - while still providing fun adventures for players who had missed parts of the campaign or had only just begun playing.
For some people this set-up provides some real advantages. It’s a great way to keep continuity if you attend a lot of conventions or store events. It’s also a good set-up for people who travel, people who have unsettled working patterns, and anyone who isn’t able to commit to a regular weekly or fortnightly game. If you can find people who are running organized play adventures, you can drop in and drop out without having to sign up for an ongoing commitment or letting people down if you can’t play on a regular basis. Even players with a regular gaming group can be drawn to organized play for the shared experience.
Organized play can also be a gateway to further involvement and even freelance work. There have been months where more than half of the contributors to Dragon and Dungeon magazines were previously authors for organized play. Mike Mearls, who led the 5th Edition design team, began as an administrator for a region of the Living Greyhawk organized play campaign. Even if you don’t rise to such heights, organized play offers an opportunity to contribute and to hone your RPG skills as a writer, coordinator, event manager, and more.
To get started, check out the sections below on the different program options. Rules will be linked (soon) so you know how to create a character and the rules governing play. Use the Wizards store locator to find a gaming store offering D&D play. You can also look for conventions in the area offering Adventurers League play. There are tons of helpful players you will meet once you get started![/sblock]
So, what are the options in organized play for D&D and how do they differ?
D&D Adventurers League
Important: The program changed significantly in 2016 and again in 2018-19 with Season 8:
- You can download the current rules for the D&D Adventurers League here.
- You can find all of the D&D Adventurers League adventures here.
- Changes since 2016 include the creation of the Dungeon Masters Guild, a site where anyone can sell or offer content
- Chris Lindsay (now the organized play lead for D&D) announced that all AL content will be distributed through the Guild and the terms Expeditions and Encounters are going away
- Anyone can play content anywhere (previously Expeditions adventures could only be played publicly and Encounters only on Wednesdays in stores)
- The WPN site adds additional information. Stores now have to pay for Guild content, just like anyone else. Stores often receive a pdf intro adventure, including early access to adventures tied to core books (even if the book isn't an adventure). The AL site has additional information.
- Conventions still can receive complimentary premier events and Epics are still convention-only. Conventions can request both current Epics and, for charity, older Epics.
- Authors of AL adventures are no longer paid up front. They receive payments through the Guild (50% of the adventure price). Over time, most authors will earn more this way.
- Certs have changed in various ways, as has gold and treasure acquisition and how you spend it. You also level by gaining advancement checkpoints in each adventure. You can further choose to advance more slowly, if desired (see the rules).
Because of all of the above, much of what is below will need to be rewritten. One thing that has always been true: organized play constantly evolves. No iteration is ever perfect and each change brings new positives (and many learning points too).
Summary of current rules:
In January 2019, the DM David Blog posted an overview and Quick Start for the Adventurers League. This is an excellent 2-page summary of the current rules.
==
On May 21, 2014, Wizards announced the current organized play program, the D&D Adventurers League! This program began in August 2014.
The third storyline season, Rage of Demons, launched at Gen Con 2015 (official start of Encounters was Sept 9th) and deals with the underdark, drow, and Abyssal lords! Expeditions play will be centered on the town of Hillsfar!
Web sites with key information: Official Web Site and Downloads Page!
Find a store running DnD!
Summary of how to get started with the program as a player, DM, organizer, club, or store!
Campaign Resources, including the Player's Guide, Quick-Start Guide, Log Sheet, and other printable resources!
Adventurers League Program Overview: [sblock=Learn More
The program began in August, 2014, and uses thematic seasons:
- Season 1: Tyranny of Dragons, Aug 14, 2014 - March 11, 2015 (Based upon the core adventure produce Hoard of the Dragon Queen.)
- Season 2: Elemental Evil - March 18, 2015 - Sept 2, 2015. (Based upon Princes of the Apocalypse.) NOTE: There are additional rules options in the for-sale Elemental Evil Player's Companion.
- Season 3: Rage of Demons - July 30, 2015 at Gen Con (Encounters Sept 16) - TBA (perhaps Feb 2016). (Based upon Out of the Abyss.)
Setting: Forgotten Realms. Encounters and Epics can take place anywhere in FR. D&D Expeditions has a home base in Phlan, in the Moonsea region. (Read about the Moonsea on the FR Wiki)
Administration: Run by Wizards of the Coast, with three administrators: a Community Manager (interacts with gamers, gathers feedback), a Content Manager (develops and edits adventures), and a Resource Manager (keeps schedules on track, supports designers). Each administrator is accompanied by an accomplished associate manager.
Volunteers: Information is posted from time to time, including an Open Call for adventurers (first one ended Feb 28th, 2015)
This EN World Thread collects many resources for DMs, local coordinators, and more.
The latest information is found on the Adventurers League site, though Wizards of the Coast provides overview information here for Players, DMs, and Organizers.
[sblock=Original Informational articles on the DnD Web site]
AL Resources, Jul 31, 2014 (Players Guide, QuickStart Guide, Character Sheet, Adventure Log)Faction Talk, Part 1, Jul 30, 2014 (Information on Faction ranks and benefits)
Finding Your Game, July 28, 2014 (How and where to play).
Expenditions and how it provides a living campaign, Jul 3, 2014.
Using the Starter Set for Adventurers League, June 26, 2014
Magic Items and Rewards, June 18, 2014.
Introducing the admins, June 4, 2014.
Coming Soon: D&D Adventurers League! May 6, 2014.
Origins Panel on Adventurers League.
Interview on ICv2 marketing site with Liz Schuh, head of Publishing and Licensing.
ICv2 overview.
[/sblock]
[sblock=Forums, Groups, and Social Media
Forums for Adventurers League
Group and Forums for program discussion: Forums for each Encounters season
Adventurers League G+ Community (Also see the many regional sites run by each Regional Coordinator)
Adventurers League on Twitter
Adventurers League on Facebook
[/sblock]
D&D Adventurers League is an organized play program launched in 2014, pulling together several types of play. The three types of play are: Encounters (in-store weekly gaming, typically following a published campaign-style adventure), Expeditions (4-hour adventures based in one geographical region, playable at any time in public locations including conventions and stores, but any public location or online is allowed if you invite the public to attend), and Epics (special adventures available at a few conventions to launch a new story arc). Each is described in detail further below. Playing several types of play provides greater story depth, encouraging engagement. A player may move a PC across different types of play if the content is appropriate for their PC level. All of the types of play are woven together around a central story arc. When a story arc concludes, the player may retire the character or continue playing with the same PC in the new story arc.
Players earn rewards for their characters, such as experience, gold, and magic items. These are tracked on a log sheet. Some rewards (generally magic items, but occasionally special rewards such as titles or favors) are uniquely available as certificates. An adventure may offer magic items, and if a player receives one they may write it on their log sheet and use it. If they also have the certificate they may trade the item to another player in exchange for a different item (the item must also have a certificate and be of similar rarity). Certificates are an optional system to allow trading and are available when you play at stores and conventions.
Characters can join a Faction, providing them with NPC alliances and an organization whose goals they can advance during play. Additional information on rewards was provided in this blog. See additional information on the factions below.
Factions:
Official Faction Information
Factions are a key part of all three types of play. Each PC will be part of a Faction. "As factions gain and lose power, will have an impact on the story, and the story can react to the realities of faction growth/shrinking." As you play adventures, you gain renown points in your faction. Renown points translate to ranks, and unlock new benefits as rank increases. Players can switch factions, but their renown goes down to 0, just like a starting character.
The Factions are:
The Harpers: a semi-secret organization dedicated to promoting good, preserving history (including art and music of old) and maintaining a balance between civilization and nature by keeping kingdoms small and preventing any one group from gaining too much power. Official page. (Read The Code of the Harpers on DnDClassics)
The Order of the Gauntlet: An organization often inspired by faith, seeking to uncover evil threats and face them head-on, bringing them to justice. Official page.
The Emerald Enclave: focused on the health of the natural world and preserving nature, destroying abominations, and keeping elemental forces in check. Official page.
The Lords' Alliance: a partnership of merchant cities, seeking their stability and opposing criminal organizations (and, historically, the Zhentarim). Official page.
The Zhentarim: a mercenary organization, historically led by powerful evil individuals and often tied to terrible acts. Many individual members are not evil, but generally purse power and wealth. Official page.
The Order of the Gauntlet: An organization often inspired by faith, seeking to uncover evil threats and face them head-on, bringing them to justice. Official page.
The Emerald Enclave: focused on the health of the natural world and preserving nature, destroying abominations, and keeping elemental forces in check. Official page.
The Lords' Alliance: a partnership of merchant cities, seeking their stability and opposing criminal organizations (and, historically, the Zhentarim). Official page.
The Zhentarim: a mercenary organization, historically led by powerful evil individuals and often tied to terrible acts. Many individual members are not evil, but generally purse power and wealth. Official page.
[sblock=Backstory on the current story arc
The Rage of Demons season brings together the rich D&D history of powerful demon lords and that of the underdark. The drow have often meddled in the balance of Faerun, tampering with the Weave (which controls magic in the Forgotten Realms) to try to control the civilizations living above them. Such tampering has often resulted in devastation. In this case, it seems to allow several demon lords to enter the underdark, promising chaos and devastation. From early information it seems the drow may have formed a tennuous alliance with the surface world. Some of the demon lords who have been mentioned are Demogorgon, Graz'zt, Fraz-Urb'luu, and Zuggtmoy. Each demon lord has its own deep history, detailed in sourcebooks such as the excellent Fiendish Codex and Demonomicon and often appearing in at least one classic adventure. For example, Zuggtmoy in Temple of Elemental Evil and Graz'zt in Tsojcanth. The drow were first detailed in the Fiend Folio, and then famously in Descent into the Depths of the Earth and Vault of the Drow (available as a bundle here).
The adventure is said to use "themes of treachery and discord." Several drow adventures in 4th edition used those themes heavily. Especially relevant is War of Everlasting Darkness.
[/sblock]
[sblock=Timeline leading up to 1489 DR Adventurers League
Forgotten Realms Timeline:
1357 DR - First Grey Box FR setting
1358 DR - Time of Troubles
1367 DR - Second Edition's FR boxed set
1372 DR - Start of 3rd Edition
1376 DR - roughly the end of 3E
1385 DR - Year of Blue Fire, when Spellplague begins.
1479 DR - Year of the Ageless one, main year covered by 4E play. Mystra returns at the end, causing the end of the Spellplague.
1484 DR - The Sundering then takes place. The first novel starts in 1484 DR.
1489 DR - Adventurers League campaign begins.[/sblock]
[/sblock]
Adventurers League - D&D Encounters:
[sblock=Learn More
Official site
This is a store-based program taking place each Wednesday and follows the story arc theme (such as Elemental Evil) for the Adventurers League season. Play starts at 1st level. Stores receive a kit, which allows them to modify a published adventure and bring excitement to character Factions. Players can simply show up and will receive a pregenerated character so they can jump right into the action. No prior knowledge of D&D is required. DMs use a free version of a published adventure (for example, for the Tyranny of Dragons story arc the packet provided levels 1-4 of the published Hoard of the Dragon Queen adventure.
Current season information for Rage of Demons can be found here. The Encounters adventure became available on August 31. The hardback adventure became available to Wizards Play Location stores on September 4. The official start of the season was September 9th.
Continuing Play: Players can continue the Encounters season by playing through the rest of the published adventure or by participating in Expeditions or Epics.
The first season of Adventurers League play was the 19th Encounters season.
[sblock=Historical information on Encounters before the Adventurers League]
D&D Encounters began in 2010 as an in-store program designed to introduce the game to new players, provide play opportunities for D&D, and encourage relationships with stores selling D&D product. (Encounters replaced D&D Delve Night, a short-lived program for 4E.) A hallmark from the beginning is that Encounters runs every Wednesday at gaming stores that have requested the Encounter season kit (through their WPN - Wizards Play Network - rep). The program has been an incredible success, attracting many players to the weekly games. It is likely the most-successful store-focused organized play program of all time. Different seasons (each tied to an adventure) have brought in new changes and innovations. Encounters originally supported 4E, but supported the D&D Next playtest version of 5E and facilitated 3E play for a few seasons. The program officially migrated to the published form of 5E when it became a part of the Adventurers League.
D&D Encounters was run in seasons of varying length (often 12-15 weeks, in contrast to roughly six months with Adventurers League). Adventures were at first provided for free as part of a store kit, along with other rewards. The kit was always free for stores. Beginning with the Scourge of the Sword Coast season, stores received a credit for DMs to download the adventure for free.
For most of the pre-AL period, each Wednesday featured a single encounter from the adventure, progressing the story forward. PCs gained experience, wealth, and/or rewards as they adventure. This made dropping in on a session very easy. A player could show up even midway through most seasons and quickly grasp the current stakes and have an enjoyable 45-60 minutes of D&D. Later pre-AL seasons provided an increasingly open play experience where PCs impacted the story. Play length also increased. The longer open experiences, no longer focused on just a specific encounter, made dropping in or switching tables harder, though not insurmountable.
The seasons have included: (hyperlinks lead to the product page on DnDClassics.com)
- Undermountain (Forgotten Realms) (March 17 - June 2, 2010)
- Fury of the Wastewalker (Dark Sun) (June 9 to September 15, 2010)
- Keep on the Borderlands (Nentir Vale, based on the classic adventure) (Sep 22 - February 2, 2011)
- March of the Phantom Brigade (Nentir Vale, loosely linked to the Ghost Tower of Inverness classic adventure) (Feb 9 – May 4, 2011)
- Dark Legacy of Evard (Nentir Vale, but using the classic Greyhawk villain) (May 11 - August 3, 2011)
- Lost Crown of Neverwinter (Forgotten Realms) (August 10 – November 8, 2011. Launch event was Gates of Neverdeath on August 6, 2011)
- Beyond the Crystal Cave (based on the classic adventure) (November 16, 2011 – February 15, 2012)
- Elder Elemental Eye (Forgotten Realms, dealing with Tharizdun and the Abyssal Plague) (February 22, 2012 – May 9, 2012)
- Web of the Spider Queen (Rise of the Underdark plot series, May 16 - Aug 15)
- Council of Spiders (Rise of the Underdark, PCs are all drow from one of three houses, Aug 22 - Oct 17)
- War of Everlasting Darkness (1st-8th level, Oct 24 - Dec 19) Note: this ends the drow story arc, but there will be additional encounter seasons after this.
- Against the Cult of Chaos (1st-3rd level, Feb 6 - April 3, 2013). Note: first season supporting either 4E or D&D next!
- Storm Over Neverwinter (4th-6th level, April 10th - June 5th, 2013). Supports 4E (including all rules sources) and D&D Next. An exclusive d20 is provided as a reward.
- Search for the Diamond Staff (4th level, June 12th to August 14th) Supported by June 15th Vault of the Dracolich gameday.
- Murder in Baldur's Gate (1st-3rd level. August 21st to Nov 13th) Supported by Baldur's Gate launch weekend August 17-18. Stores or DMs must purchase the adventure. Supports 4E, 3.5, and DnD Next.
- Legacy of the Crystal Shard (1st-3rd level. November 21, 2013 – February 12, 2014) Supported by Legacy of the Crystal Shard launch event weekend November 16-17. Stores or DMs must purchase the adventure. Second Sundering adventure, supporting all three editions.
- Scourge of the Sword Coast (2nd-4th level, Feb 19 - May 7, 2014) Supported by launch event gameday Feb 15-16.
- Dead in Thay (6th-8th level, May 14 - July 2014) Supported by launch event gameday May 10-11. Last season before Adventurers Leage play. (There was a break between July 23 and August 20, 2014. The Starter Set adventure, Lost Mines of Phandelver could be played during this time and remains valid for Adventurers League play.)
- AL Season 1: Tyranny of Dragons, Aug 14, 2014 - March 11, 2015 (D&D Encounters supported 1st-4th level, beginning August 20, 2014. Stores received the first part of the Hoard of the Dragon Queen adventure.)
- Season 2: Elemental Evil - March 18, 2015 through mid-summer, 2015. (Encounters uses the first part of the Princes of the Apocalypse adventure (supporting levels 1-15). Stores received a kit very similar to that for Tyranny of Dragons.) NOTE: There are additional rules options in the for-sale Elemental Evil Player's Companion.
- Season 3: Rage of Demons - July 30, 2015 at Gen Con (Encounters Sept 19) - TBA (perhaps Feb 2016). (Encounters uses the first part of the Out of the Abyss adventure (supporting levels 1-15). Stores receive a kit similar to previous ones.
Seasons were often tied to new releases and were good ways of showcasing new product (in turn available at the stores). DMs and players often received rewards for play. Seasons before Murder in Baldur's Gate granted DMs a copy of the adventure and other nice benefits (Very funny drink cozies for Dark Sun, for example), while players tracked Renown and earned boons such as in-game reward cards or special dice. The number of physical goods provided as rewards was higher during the earlier seasons. The first season even included a miniature digital camera for stores to take and share pictures!
Wizards experimented with Twitter for a while, providing temporary "buffs". They also used Fortune Cards for several seasons. Both are no longer used.
[sblock=Player Impact on Story and Sundering Summaries]
Beginning with Murder in Baldur's Gate players could report their actions and help determine the fate of the Forgotten Realms. After each season players could visit the Facebook Sundering app and log their results. Wizards then provided a video summarizing the results of the season.
Introduction to the Sundering
Results of Murder in Baldur's Gate and introduction to LotCS
Results of Legacy of the Crystal Shard and introduction to SotSC
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Adventurers League - D&D Expeditions:
[sblock=Learn More
Official site
Expeditions extends the play options, providing play in any public location, including conventions and stores. You can play online or arrange for a game at a location such as a school, coffee shop, or library - it just has to be open to the public for other players to join.
Characters have a home base in the Moonsea. The exact town can vary with the story arc, allowing players to learn more about the region and play a hand in the development of the location. Changing locations also makes it approachable for new players. Characters during the Tyranny of Dragons story arc began in the town of Phlan, in the dangerous Moonsea region. (Phlan is known to many gamers as the site of the Pool of Radiance, featured in adventures, novels, and video games.) For the Elemental Evil story arc (and resulting from events in the previous story arc) players have moved to the city of Mulmaster. For Rage of Demons, play moves to the city of Hillsfar.
Play resembles 'living campaigns', allowing characters to get to know their region and to influence how it fares through their in-character actions. Adventures premiere at select conventions, where players can give feedback and shape the storyline. The adventures are then available as pdfs and can be ordered for store and convention play. Kits for conventions and stores provide certificates. Adventures debut in North America, but play is worldwide. Expeditions cannot be played as a home game, but they can be run in a public location such as a school, library, coffee shop, etc. Players can replay D&D Expeditions adventures, but they must use a different character. Expeditions will support each storyline, with support for Elemental Evil beginning in March of 2015 and Rage of Demons in September 2015.
Each season may have additional rules. A specific player guide is usually published for that season, and players may choose the season to which a new character belongs (including previous seasons). Thus, new seasons may allow different classes, races, or other options. Seasons may also provide custom backgrounds and other aspects. For example, Rage of Demons provides new backgrounds and bonds.
Read more about the Moonsea! D&D Classics provides digital versions of the 2E sourcebook The Moonsea and the 3E campaign sourcebook Mysteries of the Moonsea. (I recommend the 2E book for your first read)
[sblock=List of Expeditions Adventures
Season 1 - Tyranny of Dragons
DDEX1-1 Defiance in Phlan
DDEX1-2 Secrets of Sokol Keep
DDEX1-3 Shadow on the Moonsea
DDEX1-4 Dues for the Dead
DDEX1-5 The Courting of Fire
DDEX1-6 The Scroll Thief
DDEX1-7 Drums in the Marsh
DDEX1-8 Tales Trees Tell
DDEX1-9 Outlaws of the Iron Route
DDEX1-10 Tyranny in Phlan
DDEX1-11 Dark Pyramid of Sorcerer’s Isle
DDEX1-12 Raiders of the Twilight Marsh
DDEX1-13 Pool of Radiance Resurgent
DDEX1-14 Escape from Phlan
Season 2 - Elemental Evil
DDEX2-1 City of Danger
DDEX2-2 Embers of Elmwood
DDEX2-3 The Drowned Tower
DDEX2-4 Mayhem in the Earthspur Mines
DDEX2-5 Flames of Kythorn
DDEX2-6 Breath of the Yellow Rose
DDEX2-7 Bounty in the Bog
DDEX2-8 Foulness Beneath Mulmaster
DDEX2-9 Eye of the Tempest
DDEX2-10 Cloaks and Shadows
DDEX2-11 Oubliette of Fort Iron
DDEX2-12 Dark Rites at Fort Dalton
DDEX2-13 The Howling Void
DDEX2-14 The Sword of Selfaril
DDEX2-15 Black Heart of Vengeance
DDEX2-16 Boltsmelter's Book
Season 3 - Rage of Demons
DDEX03-01 Harried in Hillsfar
DDEX03-02 Shackles of Blood
DDEX03-03 The Occupation of Szith Morcane
DDEX03-04 It’s all in the Blood
DDEX03-05 Bane of the Tradeways
DDEX03-06 No Foolish Matter
DDEX03-07 Herald of the Moon
DDEX03-08 The Malady of Elventree
DDEX03-09 The Waydown
DDEX03-10 Quelling the Horde
DDEX03-11 The Quest for Sporedome
DDEX03-12 Hillsfar Reclaimed
DDEX03-13 Writhing in the Dark
DDEX03-14 Death on the Wall
DDEX03-15 Szith Morcane Unbound
DDEX03-16 Assault on Maerimydra
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Adventurers League - D&D Epics:
[sblock=Learn More
Official site
These are special one-time kickoff events that run at a major convention and start off a storyline. The adventures center on an exciting moment, such as a major battle or special location. Interactive elements, impact by individual characters, and special rewards are all part of the experience. Epics are massive multi-table events, where the actions of each table can affect the others and, in turn, the overall success of the interactive event.
The following Epics have been written so far:
- DDEP1 Corruption in Kryptgarden: Gen Con 2014, Tyranny of Dragons. Players uncovered information about the Cult of the Dragon and Thay, then assaulted a hobgoblin stronghold to prevent an alliance with the green dragon Claugiyliamatar.
- DDEP-2 Mulmaster Undone: Origins 2015, Elemental Evil. Players work to defend the city of Mulmaster from the cults of Elemental Evil.
- DDEP-3 Blood Above, Blood Below: Gen Con 2015, Rage of Demons. Players assault the city of Szith Morcane or work above ground to draw attention away from the drow outpost.
Sounds great! How do I get started?
[sblock=Learn More
For store games, use the store locator to find the store near you running Encounters or Expeditions. If there is a store in the area but it is not running Adventurers League, encourage them to sign up and to contact their WPN representative. Once you have a store, just show up at the appointed time (they will have everything else you need, including pregens). You can create your own PC ahead of time if you wish - just follow the rules in the Player's Guide (found on the AL downloads page). You can use the free Basic Rules for D&D or access additional options in the Player's Handbook.
Once a story arc has been running for several months, check with the store to ensure a new player can play. Many stores will provide an option for new players, even if their core players have reached higher levels.
DMs should sign up to DM with the store itself. Stores often need DMs, and even really new DMs can be a great asset to the program!
For Convention Play, check the D&D Adventurers League Convention Map. Also do a web search for tabletop gaming, board game, and comic conventions in your state. Even if they aren't running games now (and they often are), they may be looking for a volunteer to help get things started!
For other public play, you can order adventures as long as you register a public location or online game. The key is for others to be able to join your games (not just your friends). You can request adventures for conventions or public games here.
The forums and Adventurers League site are full of good advice and it is common for DMs to discuss strategies for how to run the upcoming session in fun ways. There is typically a DM Tools thread with advice and great downloads like monster tokens/standies, maps, and more. [/sblock]
Previous Programs:
[sblock=Learn More
Living Forgotten Realms (LFR) - 4th Edition, Concluded 2014
Web site for rules and adventure: Living Forgotten Realms
Group and Forums for campaign discussion: LFR Community Forums
[sblock=Campaign Overview and History
Set in the 4th edition Forgotten Realms, LFR was created by WotC in 2008 as the central/flagship living campaign, replacing Living Greyhawk. WotC recruited a number of talented campaign admins, placing an emphasis on admins that could create a new program that would be open to a lot of different types of D&D gamers. The campaign had a number of initial regions, using the new 4E FR setting (where various things changed due to the death of Mystra and the Spellplague).
The final LFR adventures premiered at Winter Fantasy 2014. LFR adventures will continue to be accessible through 2014.
LFR is a traditional living campaign in many respects. You are encouraged to start at 1st level and as you play you gain experience, treasure, and story awards. You track your progress and can take your PC to other LFR adventures run by other gaming groups at homes, stores, or conventions. The portability and shared community experience is a big draw of a living campaign.
LFR has had a focus on accessibility. The rules allow for the use of the vast majority of the printed 4E material. There are pregen PCs and options for casual or walk-up players to start at higher level if necessary. You can play LFR at home, at stores, at conventions, even online.
Initially, this accessibility also came with the idea that adventures should be light on setting. The initial batch of adventures had little way of story arcs and FR setting flavor. That has changed and story is a big focus area for the global admins.
Other changes have come as well. There were many problems getting adventures out and Wizards once had a vision of LFR integrating into many WotC opportunities (gaming table, novels, etc.). Adventures were once held up by being reviewed by some really important people at WotC. The decision was made for LFR to become volunteer-led. WotC still has a say in the campaign and still supports it (check out the post-D&DXP podcast!), but the campaign direction and adventure publishing is now led by the global admins.
You can read the blog post explaining the new direction.
Christ Tulach, who leads WotC organized play, discusses the changes here. The campaign recently announced that meta-organizations will be added to provide groups in which PCs can obtain membership.
As part of the changes the campaign now has fewer regions, their own web site, and is releasing adventures in series tied to regional story arcs.
The campaign to date has provided more than 200 different adventures in various formats. Adventures span heroic, paragon, and even epic tiers! At D&DXP 2012 it was stated that the Epic storyline will be completed in 2014, ensuring LFR PCs can go all the way from level 1 to 30 (including play at level 30).[/sblock]
[sblock=Sounds great! How do I get started?] To get started, go to the campaign site and download the Campaign Guide (CCG). This will explain the rules and how to create a character and provides guidance for DMs.
Next, find players and a DM. You can look for gaming stores, post on EN World's Gamer's Seeking Gamers, use Meetup, etc.
If you are a DM, you will want to select an adventure from the LFR site that is appropriate for the level of the PCs the players have. Once finished, check the site to see if there are open requests for results. You do not need to use the WPN ordering system unless this is specifically noted.
Players track their progress (XP, gold, magic items, story awards etc.) on log sheets at the end of each adventure. Adventures are released in arcs (such as CALI3-1, CALI3-2, and CALI3-3) that together provide a story experience within one region. Players may enjoy the campaign more if they play in arcs, though they can also play any adventures available for their PCs' tier of play. The cover of each adventure notes the story arc in its summary "blurb".
The 200-plus adventures are all available for download for free. Players can play as many or as few of the adventures as they desire. If groups find they end up with widely different PC levels due to infrequent play, players can use the rules for starting at a higher level of play. All adventures are designed to be four hours in length, though there are a few two-round and even three-round adventures (with each round being four hours).
LFR is available at tons of locations, including most conventions and even online through software like MapTool. LFR games are also organized and run on the WotC Virtual Table Top. Large conventions may feature special battle interactive events.
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Lair Assault - 4th Edition, concluded 2013
Note: This program ends with the March-May season!
Web site for rules: Lair Assault on the WotC Events page.
initial info here
A monthly series of articles began in June, explaining the program. There is also a WPN page here.
Group and Forums for program discussion: None yet.
[sblock=Program Overview and History
This program began in September of 2011 and concludes in May 2013. The concept is a very challenging encounter or encounters that are hard enough that you should not be surprised to fail the first few times. This is a tactical game experience rather than a rich ongoing story with heavy role-playing. DMs receive cool materials for running the game (color poster maps, tokens, etc.) and players can earn bragging rights through badges that appear on their DDI account.
The program features 2-month seasons of a single adventure lasting a few hours. It is available only in gaming stores. Unlike Encounters, games can be scheduled at any time during the season. Seasons are not expected to be linked (unlike the advancing story of LFR or even Encounters) and will likely be in mid to upper heroic tier.
The program is described by Wizards as follows: "D&D Lair Assault is a new Wizards Play Network in-store program that pits tactically-minded players against a super challenge where the difference between victory and defeat is dependent upon a player's game knowledge, ability to adapt, and a little bit of luck. Players pit your wits against some of the most difficult encounters they’ve ever played. Each challenge is a mega-encounter that plays in just a few hours, but many will need to make more than one run at it in pursuit of victory. D&D Lair Assault challenges are available for a few months, and stores can schedule their sessions at anytime during that period."
Chris Tulach, WotC lead for Organized Play, wrote an article on how the program was developed.
List of Lair Assault Scenarios:
- Forge of the Dawn Titan (5th level, Sep 1 - Nov 30)
- Talon of Umberlee (8th level, Dec 1 - Feb 29)
- Attack of the Tyrantclaw (6th level, Mar 1 - May 31)
- Spiderkiller (9th level, Jun - Aug)
- Kill the Wizard (8th level, Sep - Nov)
- Temple of the Sky God (7th level, Dec 1 - Feb 28)
- Into the Pit of Madness (10th level, March - May). Final season of Lair Assault.
Prestige Badges:
For each season of Lair Assault a player may record their accomplishments on their Wizards account. This displays a badge next below his or her user name when posting on forums. The badge's color and name signify how well the player did.[/sblock]
[sblock=Sounds great! How do I get started?]
Read the rules so you know what is involved. Check with your gaming store to make sure they ordered the kit (kits are offered periodically, and sold out for the first season). Once play begins, schedule a game with your store. Victory is hard to achieve, so spending time on a good PC build and working on a team build with other players can increase your chances of doing well.
In particular, note the rules for magic items:
"Each character receives one magic item of one level higher than their level (level + 1), one of their level (level + 0), and one of one level lower than their level (level – 1). In addition, characters receive gold pieces equal to the value of one magic item of one level lower than their level (level – 1) to buy other equipment they think they’ll need. Each character may have no more than two consumable items (like potions or magic ammunition) equal to or less than the challenge’s level, and no more than one rare magic item. Note that players may equip their characters with magic items that are less than the stated levels if they so choose."
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Ashes of Athas - 4th Edition, concluded 2013
Web site for rules: Baldman Games - Ashes of Athas
Group and Forums for program discussion: Ashes of Athas Forums
Ordering Adventures for Home Play: Send a personal message to this profile with your e-mail address
[sblock=Campaign Overview and History
Launched at D&DXP (Winter Fantasy) in January of 2011, Ashes of Athas is a 4e D&D organized play campaign set in the Dark Sun campaign setting. Each adventure continues the story, beginning with your character being asked to aid a secretive faction of the Veiled Alliance against an unknown assailant. PCs take up the mantle of heroism in the grim and brutal desert world of Athas. The campaign concluded in January of 2013, but adventures can still be ordered at no cost.
As a central character in the story, your PC has an opportunity to shape that future while the PC grows in power and prestige. The PC's choices are important and impact how the campaign unfolds. The campaign admins are focused on delivering a rich story and experimenting with unconventional design around encounters, rewards, NPCs, and other elements to achieve that rich story.
The campaign guide provides special rules for character creation to create a true Dark Sun feel. Players track progress on log sheets and gain a level every three adventures.
The campaign was convention-driven with home play. Chapters of three linked adventures were offered at major gaming conventions (Winter Fantasy, Origins, and Gen Con). Some smaller conventions carried the chapters after they premiered, and several are still offering the adventures in 2013. Each adventure is four hours in length, though they may present role-playing opportunities that can extend play if desired. A total of 7 chapters (21 rounds of four-hour adventures) were released over the three years.
The campaign was administered by Baldman Games (the company is best known for organizing conventions for WotC).
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[sblock=Sounds great! How do I get started?] PCs started the campaign at 3rd level and advanced with each chapter (playing chapter 6 at 8th level, etc.). The rules for creation are found in the Campaign Guide document. Pre-generated characters are available at conventions and when adventures are ordered for home play.
Chapters One through Three were based on a story arc around a secret organization known as the True. Chapter Four reset the action slightly, so as to make the game more approachable for new players. The story continued as the players began to hear of a threat from an ancient primordial. The connection to The True is eventually explained. Each adventure includes an overview of "the story thus far" to help DMs and players quickly understand previous events. Adventures are meant to be played in order due to their story focus, but this is not a requirement. Chapter 7, the final chapter, includes an adventure suitable for new players who want to understand the story before engaging in the final Battle Interactive.
The campaign has a unique feature called a Death Certificate. The dangers of the brutal world of Athas can often claim a PC. Each adventure has a Death Certificate specific to the adventure, providing a means by which your PC (perhaps as a new PC, perhaps transformed) can return to the storyline. The certificate helps players stay connected to the ongoing story even when they perish!
The Campaign Guide includes important rules DMs should read, including important tips for achieving the right feel for the campaign.
Players and DMs interested in the campaign should sign up for conventions featuring the campaign or order the adventures for home play. To request the adventures, simply send me a personal message (I am an admin for the campaign).
Conventions previously providing Ashes of Athas include:
Winter Fantasy in Fort Wayne, IN
Origins in Columbus, OH
Gen Con in Indianapolis, IN
Genghis Con in Denver, CO
ConnCon in Connecticut
GameStorm in Portland, OR
SynDCon in Washington, DC (TBD)
ComicPalooza in Houston, TX
Space City Con in Houston, TX
OwlCon in Houston, TX
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Living Divine - 4th Edition
Web site for rules: Living Divine
Forums for program discussion: There is a There is a page on Facebook.
[sblock=Campaign Overview and History
This campaign was launched in 2011 with 10 preview adventures and officially premiered at Gen Con 2011. Living Divine is based around the concept of the PCs having the spark of divinity within them. The campaign uses a regional system. Each adventure progresses the story, though a player need not play every adventure.
Introductory information:
You are a god among men, born with the spark of divinity within you. Gather followers, build an empire, start a legacy. Will you be merciless and power-hungry? Or benevolent and kind? Begin your rise to immortality in this exclusive sneak preview of this new shared-world campaign, before the official premiere.
Living Divine is a new shared-world Dungeons & Dragons campaign:
* Using the current, 4th Edition ruleset (though they are open to conversions).
* Set in a unique, never before seen world.
* Your character isn't just a hero... he's a god.
* Story- and character- centric scenarios.
* No power creep.
* Regional play, each region with a different feel and plotline.
* Aimed at the most mature and experienced player.
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[sblock=Sounds great! How do I get started?]
The introductory Campaign Guide document and Log Sheet should be downloaded by players. In Living Divine you have the spark of divinity, gaining special divine feats and at your first game you gain a divine trait.
A list of events can be found on the Event page or in the News area. The first three months of a scenario's life, it is convention only, in-region only. The second three months, available for public game days, in-region (your store play would likely fall into this category). After 6 months, it can be played anywhere... including home play, and out-of-region. Outside of conventions each adventure costs $4 to order.
Adventures tend to be four hours in length and playing in order within a region is encouraged (but not a requirement). Each region has different story arcs that progress as the timeline of the campaign advances. 2011 released 9 introductory scenarios and one 2-round conclusion. In 2012 and beyond each region can have up to 9 adventures. Characters earn their advancement - there are no level bumps in the campaign.
The campaign is seeking volunteers, including Tribunals (regional admins). Volunteers should apply here.
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Other living campaigns:
[sblock]There are many other awesome living campaigns for other editions of the game or for other gaming systems. Current campaigns include Shadowrun Missions, Tales of the 13th Age, Pathfinder Society, Heroes of Rokugan, Legends of the Shining Jewel, Wyrmstone, Spymaster, Living Traveller and more. You should check them out, but please discuss them in different threads. Here is one thread that discusses them and lists additional current and past living campaigns.[/sblock]
Questions? Post here and we can do our best as a community to provide answers. The point of this thread is to provide information.
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