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Message: <blockquote data-quote="GameDoc" data-source="post: 5543115" data-attributes="member: 53915">Tonight marks the end of a 6 month campaign I've run at my FLGS. I am moving on to run Encounters week after next when the new season starts up. In retrospect, I am a bit dissapointed in how things went with it and probably would have kept with it and skipped on encounters if things had gone better. I created a somewhat detailed backstory for the area in which the campaing takes place. I made sure to give a few landmarks and a few sentences about how each race came to the area and fits into the local history. Less than a written page of reading for a player. It's still in the default "Points of Light" world but an area unrelated to the Nentir vale. The idea was the player's could get insights or clues as to what might be going on or would have a chance to "take the lead" when the plot crossed through the parts of the setting tied to their race or class's role. To help out the game shop, I chose to run Essentials so that player's might be inclined to buy an in-print book that the store carried. Over the course of the campaign, I've had about a dozen players. Six regulars and six peple who (one or two at a time) took part at various points. Here is what happened: 1) Only two payers had ever played 4e (not in itself a problem). But of the remainder who had not (most of them were part of another group still playing 3.5), none of them ever bothered to educate themselves on the 4e rules between sessions.  2) No one threw the store any real business. No one bought even a single 4th edition book. Not even dice or miniatures. No one even asked if I'd allow a non-Essentials character if they bought their own PHB. Not a problem during game play as once you get the basic rules everything your need is on your character sheet. But it led to two hour sessions to level up as everyone had to share my copies of HotFL and HotFK to update their characters. I finally opted to level them up at home on my own time using my DDI account and bring them revised character sheets. 3) Only a couple ever bothered to familiarize themselves with the setting or even follow the plot from session to session. This led to frequent recaps and reminders as to why they were doing what they were doing. I am not an over linear DM. I ad lib a lot and restrucure the flow so that the players can get at their goals and resolve quests in a variety of ways. So this wasn't a "you must follow my story, dammit" kind of thing. This was a "you aren't even keeping up with the story you have created." As a result the clues, hints, and other opportunities to really interact with the setting were wasted on most players. I am surprised the one who was really interested stuck with us, as he was often visibly frustrated with the others for derailing and not paying attention. Item 2 I gelt was very discourteous to the game shop who allowed us to play, for free, in their facility. Items 1 & 3 were more of a disappointment to me. Keep in mind, I wasn't hitting them with a "Inception" style sotrylline with infinate layers of simultaneous events they had to track. It was a pretty typical campaign where things are conneted week to week. Anyway, a question I would pose to you all that have run D&D in game store is "I this typical?" Were my expecations mismatched for the types of groups you get in store play? I've only run camapaigns at home with friends and most of mine enjoy a good narrative component to the game. I know Encounters is meant for a clean break each session so that new players gan join each week, no tasks or quest remains unresolved at the end of the session, and players can easily get up to speed with a pregenerated recap. Is that about what is needed for in-store games?</blockquote>

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