News Digest: Background Checks for WPN Volunteers and Store Employees, New D&D 5e Release Details, G

Hello everyone, Darryl here with this week’s news. Wizards of the Coast requiring background checks for volunteers and store employees, details on classic Dungeons & Dragons 5e updates of classics, important Gen Con information, and more!

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Wizards of the Coast updated the terms of the Wizard Play Network, the governing body for stores and conventions that participate in organized play and promotion for Wizard of the Coast games such as Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons. The new terms require that all stores and conventions must perform background checks on all staff members and “those you engage with that interact with the public”, which means Magic: The Gathering certified judges, tournament organizers, and others. The new policy does not specify what kind of background check, only that stores may not employ or otherwise engage staff who “appear on a sex offender registry” or “have been convicted…for a violent sexual offense or a crime against children.” These changes were announced on January 12 and will become effective on February 9.

This action comes in response to a retaliation from YouTuber Jeremy Hambly of Unsleeved Media following his lifetime ban by the DCI. Hambly posted a list of DCI certified judges on social media with DCI numbers, full names, city, and state to encourage his fanbase to search for judges with criminal records and “reporting” them by posting their information publicly. Official confirmation of the events came through a pair of announcements from Judge Conduct Committee Lead Johanna Virtanen and from Regional Coordinator Jack Doyle, both on January 11, though Hambly was not named directly in either announcement. The incident was also referenced in a post “Making Magic Spaces Safer” by Elaine Chase, Vice President of Global Brand Strategy and Marketing for Magic: The Gathering on January 12.

The new policy angered many in the community as a background check would require providing personal information to store and convention employees who, themselves, may or may not have been properly vetted. In particular, women and members of the LGBT community have objected as this will increase the potential of harassment and further endanger those who are harassed as it requires providing personally identifying information such as full legal names, addresses, and more. Several Level 2 Judges have already stated via social media their intent to resign rather than submit their personal information to administer events.

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Goodman Games released information about their licensed Dungeon & Dragons line of classic adventures with the first release, Into the Borderlands. The book is less a simple reprint and more a love letter to the original adventures they’re updating to Fifth Edition. Confirmed so far are two restored scans of B1: In Search of the Unknown (the second and sixth printings) complete and as originally presented, a “pure conversion” into Fifth Edition rules, three monster and treasure listings for the previously “empty” sections of the original, and a new chapter for the Caverns of Quasqueton for Fifth Edition. There will also be two restored scans for B2: The Keep on the Borderlands (the second and fourth printings), a conversion for Fifth Edition, and a chapter with additional encounters for use in the adventure. Additionally, a brand new chapter will be included with introductions, essays, and testimonials about the modules. The layout is still in progress, but is currently at 368 pages and is estimated to be over 380 pages when completed. The MSRP of the hardcover book will be $49.99, but no release date has been announced yet.

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Gen Con badges went on sale this past Sunday. All passes are currently available with the exception of VIG (Very Important Gamer) passes. A full four-day pass is $110, Thursday and Friday passes are $60, Saturday passes are $70, and Sunday passes are $15. Trade Day passes for Librarian/Educator or Retailer tracks are available for $200 and include a four-day pass, and a proof of employment is required. The “Family Fun Package”, a four-for-one pass just for Sundays, is discontinued as of this year, but wristbands are available for children age 10 or under to attend for free when accompanied by a parent or guardian with a badge. At this time, a limit has not been announced for pass sales this year (2017 was the first year Gen Con capped attendance).

Additional deadlines were announced as well. Applications for press passes are now open for news outlets, podcasters, bloggers, and other gaming media. Event submission is also currently open to submit an application to host an event, panel, or game. Film Festival submissions open on January 19 for films and webseries from gaming genres. Early registration for housing beings February 11 at 12 noon Eastern time and requires a badge purchase to purchase a room. If you’re thinking of booking a room using the system, it would be best to look over the updated Housing and Travel page as, in an attempt to manage that which is unmanageable, the system has been updated once again with new requirements and limitations in order to better and more fairly distribute discounted rooms in Indianapolis. The convention itself will take place from Thursday, August 2 through Sunday, August 5.

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Infinity The Roleplaying Game from Modiphius released this past Tuesday. The production of the game funded on Kickstarter in 2015 with a final funding of £346,330 (about US$479,000 based on current conversion rates) and released on PDF with a hardcover release shipping next month. The system uses the Modiphius 2d20 system combined with the setting and worldbuilding of the Infinity skirmish miniature game from Spanish company Corvus Belli, set in an anime-influenced space opera/transhumanist cyberpunk world. This release has been plagued with setbacks including an entire chapter needing to be rewritten from scratch after an upcoming storyline from the wargame contradicted it and a break-in at the Modiphius offices delaying the release for almost two years. The 529-page core rulebook is available in PDF for $24.99, with the 148-page Player’s Guide available for $12.99. No preorder information is available for printed books, and it’s unlikely any will be released until after fulfillment of the original Kickstarter is complete.

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A Night in Seyvoth Manor is a 5e conversion of the ENnie nominated adventure originally published for D&D 4^th Edition back in 2013. This update takes the original free adventure and expands it with updated content and new artwork. The design itself borrows its theme and some mechanics from the original I6: Ravenloft adventure with its horror/haunted house/mystery tone and the use of random cards for quests goals and item locations, while also feeling a lot like the S-series tournament modules as it is a true one-shot meant for highly optimized characters in a potential meatgrinder adventure. You can get the PDF version of this adventure for an $8 pledge, add on an at-cost print copy for a $15 pledge, or add an at-cost deck of the 112 item/quest cards for $20. This project is fully funded with more stretch goals to be announced as it runs until Thursday, February 1.

Highlander: The Board Game is a licensed dueling game between up to six immortals seeking the Prize based on the original film. While the game does include enough immortal characters for all six players to take control of one in order to claim the Prize. However, many of the characters are completely original and did not appear in the much-maligned sequel films nor the much more well-received television spin-off. Each character has a 32mm unpainted miniature with some coming with variants unlocked through stretch goals (so there’s a Renaissance Scottish MacLeod and a modern New York Russell Nash). The game is available for a £29 (about US$40 pledge) with price breaks for multiple copies and a high-cost backer levels for custom characters. This project has until Friday, February 2 to unlock all their remaining stretch goals for new characters (some of which are original to the board game).

After the launch of their successful Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of game, it was only a matter of time before they turned their attention to another big pulp-era property, John Carter of Mars. Not only will this Kickstarter cover the roleplaying game, but also a line of miniatures featuring John Carter, Dejah Thoris, Tars Tarkas, and more. The game itself is written and laid out so Kickstarter backers should get the first wave of shipment this summer (based on the Kickstarter statements) with a retail release this fall. You can get the core book in PDF for £15 (about US$21), the four-piece core resin unpainted miniature set for £25 (about US$34), all unlocked PDFs for £35 (about US$48), the core book in print for £40 (about US$55), the core book in hardcover plus all the PDFs for £60 (about US83), and other combinations from there. This Kickstarter has already unlocked several stretch goals for new books and more miniatures and runs until Sunday, February 11.

That’s all from me for this week! Find more gaming crowdfunding news at the EN World RPG Kickstarter News website, and don’t forget to support our Patreon to bring you even more gaming news content. If you have any news to submit, email us at news@enworldnews.com. You can follow me on Twitter @Abstruse where I’ve been pondering questions about the intersection of science and science fiction, follow Gamer’s Tavern on YouTube featuring videos on gaming history and Let’s Plays, or you can listen to the archives of the Gamer’s Tavern podcast. Until next time, may all your hits be crits! Note: Links to Amazon, Humble Store, Humble Bundle, and/or DriveThru may contain affiliate links with the proceeds going to the author of this column.

 

[Sunseeker]

I wonder if WotC could help with that?

I'm sorry I find this funny.

Because that "3rd party qualified organization" should be WOTC. That's who should be doing the background checks. Not store owners. I feel like this is going to blow up massively in their face either with many stores dropping out of WPN (because they don't want to deal with the increased information security) or people dropping out from volunteering due to mandatory release of personal information to potentially questionable store owners/employees.

 

[Queer Venger]

I'm sorry I find this funny.

Because that "3rd party qualified organization" should be WOTC. That's who should be doing the background checks. Not store owners. I feel like this is going to blow up massively in their face either with many stores dropping out of WPN (because they don't want to deal with the increased information security) or people dropping out from volunteering due to mandatory release of personal information to potentially questionable store owners/employees.

I don't; not funny at all; and I predict it not going to "blow up massively". A business, any business, that caters to gamers, and children are gamers, SHOULD be doing background checks on their employees; this is not a WotC thing, this is the law. Im actually really thankful to WotC for taking the step to make their WPN stores safe. If a store is irresponsible enough to hire an employee with a sex offender conviction thats on the store, not Wizards.

 

[Sunseeker]

I don't; not funny at all; and I predict it not going to "blow up massively". A business, any business, that caters to gamers, and children are gamers, SHOULD be doing background checks on their employees; this is not a WotC thing, this is the law. Im actually really thankful to WotC for taking the step to make their WPN stores safe. If a store is irresponsible enough to hire an employee with a sex offender conviction thats on the store, not Wizards.

Oh please don't give me that "think of the children!" argument to emotion. You know exactly what the problem is here and you know darn well I'm not complaining about background checks. I'm complaining about who's doing them and who you're required to give your personal info to.

NOBODY is complaining about background checks.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

If you go in anywhere in the US to apply for a paying job, you have to give all this information already. You also have to fill out a form stating you are legally able to work in the US and have to provide your ID and SSN to the employer before you can even be hired. Why would the official volunteer positions be treated any differently? Yes, the background checks are an extra step that may not be needed, and there are a lot of jobs where people interact with children that do not require them. I would be automatically suspicious of anyone who refused to give their legal name when working in any kind of official capacity.

 

[MGibster]

I don't; not funny at all; and I predict it not going to "blow up massively". A business, any business, that caters to gamers, and children are gamers, SHOULD be doing background checks on their employees; this is not a WotC thing, this is the law.

I don't believe there is a law requiring small retail outlets to run background checks on their employees in any of the 50 states. And while your local friendly game store might include minors as part of their customer base I can't really say I've ever seen one that catered to children. Retail employees are not typically in positions of authority over minors in the same way teachers, medical personnel, or coaches might be.

Im actually really thankful to WotC for taking the step to make their WPN stores safe. If a store is irresponsible enough to hire an employee with a sex offender conviction thats on the store, not Wizards.

That's a valid point. It's going to cost less than $50 to run a background check on an employee, and, even if not required by law, it would probably be in my best interest to have it done if I were hiring someone to work in my store. And so far as privacy goes the information used for a background check will be the same information you provide to your employer anyway.

This biggest issue I think is this addition to their terms and conditions.

To protect players of all ages, to the extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to conduct background checks to meet your obligations under Section 15 on your Staff as well as those you engage with that interact with the public.

I think the problem might come into play with the part I've highlighted. I used to DM a lot of RPGA games at the local game store until 2003 when I decided I wasn't interested in making the switch from 3.0 to 3.5. But I'm really digging 5th edition and I've been toying around with the idea of getting involved with Organized Play and running some games. If I contact the store and ask to run some games during their next Organized Play even have they engaged me to interact with the public? Are they required to have me submit to a background check? As I read the terms of service it appears as though the answer is yes.

What exactly is my relationship with the venue that hosts Organized Play events? WotC is very clear that the WPN is a promotional program and doesn't imply any franchise or agency relationship. But what about my relationship with the local gaming store? Am I a contingent worker? What kind of obligations might the store have to me at this point? Because if they're running background checks on me then we've moved beyond the normal retailer/customer relationship.

And I'm not really sure WotC's actions are going to make anything safer. Are they going to run regular audits of the WPN stores to make sure they're in compliance with their terms and conditions?

 

[MGibster]

Why would the official volunteer positions be treated any differently? Yes, the background checks are an extra step that may not be needed, and there are a lot of jobs where people interact with children that do not require them. I would be automatically suspicious of anyone who refused to give their legal name when working in any kind of official capacity.

Perhaps they should do away with volunteers and start paying people to run these events.

 

[darjr]

I'm sorry I find this funny.

Because that "3rd party qualified organization" should be WOTC. That's who should be doing the background checks. Not store owners. I feel like this is going to blow up massively in their face either with many stores dropping out of WPN (because they don't want to deal with the increased information security) or people dropping out from volunteering due to mandatory release of personal information to potentially questionable store owners/employees.

I find that dumb. They are NOT a background company and shouldn’t even be involved in any said checks. They are a game company. Finding a service we can trust I’d like them to do, and or point out a few. But even then I’d like to hear of any others.

 

[Sunseeker]

I find that dumb. They are NOT a background company and shouldn’t even be involved in any said checks. They are a game company. Finding a service we can trust I’d like them to do, and or point out a few. But even then I’d like to hear of any others.

But that's the point, WOTC should be hiring a background-checking company and requiring WPN volunteers to submit their information to WOTC's agent, because people are volunteering for WOTC's event that the store is hosting, not volunteering for the store who then employs them for a WOTC event; the distinction is important. WOTC is more than capable of doing all of this, and indeed they likely have the capability to do secure background checks faster, safer and more easily than your FLGS. Plus we would avoid any concern of mishandling by the store (who again, may not be equipped to handle it to begin with) or potentially giving your information to locals with unknown intent.

There are lots of background-checking companies. WOTC is simply more equipped to engage with them than (F)LGS are.

 

[pogre]

Is the background check like a state police background check for coaches and teachers? If so, it is not super expensive, but is a cost and sometimes it takes a few weeks.

I'm sorry if I missed it, but I don't see where WOTC specified the kind of background check.

 

[Advilaar]

Checking just SEX OFFENDER/ CHILD PREDATOR stuff is pretty easy to do and is free. Google Sex Offender Registry and Child Predator Database for your area. It takes two seconds and is free. Not like this is FBI fingerprint teacher or nurse stuff. The government does not hide this info.

Now, it's not perfect. Some of these registries put people in them that ZERO to do with being a pedophile. Things like being drunk and caught trying to pee behind a building. Buying hookers or being hookers themselves. 15 year old girlfriend when you are 19 and the girl's parents wanted to punish you. NOR does it catch predators who have NOT been caught.

There's the rub, though. Hopefully there would be common sense.

Safety, yes, but enough prying to make someone not WANT to judge a card game or run a railroad-y, unimaginative DnD session? Basically MARKETING something for FREE and NOT GETTING PAID???? Particularly if it gets too onerous or meddlesome? Particularly for those that have been running for YEARS with no incident and now must submit to not being on a list?