Hussar
Legend
And why would they need to if the GM is the one playtesting? Half the players aren't fluent in English, although they tend to get better thanks to the game. Why does this mean they wouldn't be able to see problems with the game ideas, or can't play the pregens so the GM may see possible issues?
Hey, as an ESL teacher for almost twenty years in a number of countries, I understand the value of using RPG's in a classroom with ESL students.
However, I can think of a number of reasons. 1. Language dependency could skew results - since the DM has to interpret the language itself, rather than simply the mechanics, it's not testing the mechanics as much as the DM's interpretation of those mechanics (which is unavoidable in any group, but, at least in a native group all of whom have the rules (since they downloaded) they can catch the DM's mistakes. 2. They don't only want one person at the table playtesting the rules - they want everyone. 3. They don't only want DM's perspectives on the rules - they want everyone's.
I could easily be wrong here, but, I would think that the surveys will poll whether or not someone is a DM during the playtest and will likely weight responses based on which roles someone takes during the playtest.
This is not a "hey, we got a great game, what do you think?" exercise. This is a playtest. Which means control groups and limited access.
I just wish they had covered this in the actual agreement instead of via the FAQ. I know it is a small detail, but be up front about it in the initial agreement you are getting people to agree to and download.
Totally, TOTALLY agree with this.