Please remove Demiplane of Dread Story Award next season

[Azurecobalt]

I'm a big fan of the story award. Story flavor is important to me. Season 4 is over now - if you don't like the flavor, you don't have to play it. Just like if you don't like the Death Curse, don't play Season 7 content. I appreciate that each season has a different flavor (like madness from Season 3, the chance to lose an arcane character in Season 2) that make adventures feel fresh and new.

 

[Caliban]

I'm a big fan of the story award. Story flavor is important to me. Season 4 is over now - if you don't like the flavor, you don't have to play it. Just like if you don't like the Death Curse, don't play Season 7 content. I appreciate that each season has a different flavor (like madness from Season 3, the chance to lose an arcane character in Season 2) that make adventures feel fresh and new.

I'm really not sure how "making it minorly inconvenient to play an adventure from a different season after you play a Season 4" equates to "makes the adventures feel fresh and new" when the season 4 module is 2+ years old, but at least someone is happy.

I'm not bothered much either way. I just think it's pointless and outdated, but on the upside, it is also less incentive for my friends to try and force me to play season 4 again. So win/win.

 

[Azurecobalt]

I'm really not sure how "making it minorly inconvenient to play an adventure from a different season after you play a Season 4" equates to "makes the adventures feel fresh and new" when the season 4 module is 2+ years old, but at least someone is happy.

I'm not bothered much either way. I just think it's pointless and outdated, but on the upside, it is also less incentive for my friends to try and force me to play season 4 again. So win/win.

It motivated my group to make characters specifically for the season and play it straight through. It truly made it feel like our characters were trapped in Barovia. Getting out felt like a major achievement. It was the most memorable experience, story-wise, for AL so far, next to Season 1 (since that was all there was in those days, we played Season 1 straight through with the same characters, so that also felt like one awesome ongoing storyline).

 

[MerricB]

I don't bother scheduling Season 4 games. We've run the adventures from Season 1, 2, 3 and 5 many, many times in my FLGS. Season 4? It's a black hole that we don't revisit except under special circumstances.

I hope such a restriction never occurs again. It discriminates heavily against new and casual players, and is a pain for organisers.

 

[Caliban]

It motivated my group to make characters specifically for the season and play it straight through. It truly made it feel like our characters were trapped in Barovia. Getting out felt like a major achievement. It was the most memorable experience, story-wise, for AL so far, next to Season 1 (since that was all there was in those days, we played Season 1 straight through with the same characters, so that also felt like one awesome ongoing storyline).

Most people don't need Stockholm Syndrome to enjoy D&D.

 

[KahlessNestor]

We shouldn't say that being trapped in Barovia isn't a problem. It can be. But there are ways out and no one forces a PC to have to go there.

As I've said, I think character portability is important in AL but I was also swayed by the Admins' assertion that one thing they want to do is shake up AL in different ways each season to keep it fresh. Some ideas would work and others, well, not so well. Having had a couple of characters survive Barovia I think that the Mists should be respected and that anyone going there should have to earn their way back out.

Um...during S4 you were kind of forced there if that's all your location was running. Lots of people sat out the whole season (and the current season with the death curse) for just that reason. It isn't a good thing when your story "rewards" force people to stop playing for six months to a year.

 

[KahlessNestor]

I'm a big fan of the story award. Story flavor is important to me. Season 4 is over now - if you don't like the flavor, you don't have to play it. Just like if you don't like the Death Curse, don't play Season 7 content. I appreciate that each season has a different flavor (like madness from Season 3, the chance to lose an arcane character in Season 2) that make adventures feel fresh and new.

You could easily cure madness in season 3. And even with madness, the character was still playable. It's not so easy to cure being locked in Barovia or the death curse. Remember, AL isn't just for dedicated gamers that can play a whole season straight through. It's actually more important that it be conducive to new players or more casual players that play when real life allows. Trapped in Barovia and Death Curses do not do this.

 

[KahlessNestor]

And your work drop in and drop out schedule is not relevant. If you knew before hand you were going to locked in. And you knew your work schedule would not allow you to complete the season, Why did you play in the first place? So you options are
No not going play in that season. I going to play a one shot pc. Or I going to play and gripe about it.

I didn't fill an entire post with my schedule. I merely mentioned it. And it is way more relevant than your store hours, given that AL is supposed to be convenient for more casual or drop-in players.

 

[Azurecobalt]

You could easily cure madness in season 3. And even with madness, the character was still playable. It's not so easy to cure being locked in Barovia or the death curse. Remember, AL isn't just for dedicated gamers that can play a whole season straight through. It's actually more important that it be conducive to new players or more casual players that play when real life allows. Trapped in Barovia and Death Curses do not do this.

I'm aware of how the story awards work and how they affect character portability. I just see the Season 4 limitation as a bonus that reflects story flavor, not a negative. If you don't happen to like the flavor of Ravenloft, then clearly Season 4 isn't for you. I don't see why it should be changed. If the story award is removed, the unique flavor would be lost.

You can either:

1) Not play Season 4. All these negatives about character portability are only a problem if you play one of the adventures. It's not like we're lacking for content now, especially considering the CCC adventures.
2) Play Season 4 with a new character that you plan ahead of time to be trapped in Barovia.
3) Use the Bar-exit rules to escape if you really want to pull your Season 4 character out.

The ONLY real problem I see is if you want to play a single Season 4 adventure with a new character and then immediately leave Barovia. Existing characters will have enough downtime to use Bar-exit. So... don't do that. And even that is only an issue if you're trying to grab a specific magic item. I don't see the need to encourage loot grabbing, so this is a plus for me.

Obviously we're not going to agree, but I just don't see the logic here. Leave Season 4 alone so those players (again, obviously not you, but players like me and my group) who want the unique experience that Ravenloft offers to still be available.

 

[Warmaster Horus]

Um...during S4 you were kind of forced there if that's all your location was running. Lots of people sat out the whole season (and the current season with the death curse) for just that reason. It isn't a good thing when your story "rewards" force people to stop playing for six months to a year.

Like I said, some ideas work and others don't. I admire the AL team for stretching the game to keep things fresh and interesting. Sure people can sit out a season because they're annoyed. Or they can jump in and deal with the challenge. Dealing with the Death Curse has been a serious issue in Season 7 and I can understand why folks might hold out a favorite Tier 1 or 2 PC because perma-death can happen at any time. I just wound up making up a new PC, like I do every season, and only put one legacy PC to risk. That said, I doubt I'd play a surrogate if one of them died because I don't want to play a pre-gen, I want to play my character.

Barovia is most definitely a place no one who's been there wants to return to because it was a harsh experience for many and being trapped there was oppressive. It was something to be survived and escaped from. Barovia 'survivors' have that service ribbon on their chests from that point on and it forms a camaraderie between those that escaped.

A mechanic like The Mists is not something I'd want to have repeated in AL because it was restrictive and, well, claustrophobic in it's own way. But I don't want to cheapen the experience by giving a free pass to players who want to go now. If you want Barovia 'cred', you should have to pay for it.