Exclusive Adventures for DnDAL

[Dracoprimus]

I didn't suggest that Admins should pay for anything, let alone everything. And unless your contributor agreement is substantively different than mine (which is certainly possible), I know how much we get paid for writing AL adventures. I'm sorry if suggesting that Hasbro pay you to attend a con is somehow offensive; that's not the intent. What I'm saying is that we have an existing channel in which content creators are paid to produce adventures for the AL community as a whole, and I find that preferable to devoting resources towards producing adventures for a very small subset of AL players.

To your own point, if con attendance costs so much that writing an AL adventure doesn't cover it (which is certainly true for some cons, depending on size and distance), we shouldn't be passing that financial burden on to players who want to experience AL content.



I understand the question, and Day 1 is the period I think is right; I don't see any value to the broader AL player base in enforcing content-exclusivity behind a convention paywall.

Similarly, if we were to suggest "This adventure can only be run in Japan until January 1, 2018" or "This adventure can only be run at stores that have sold 50 copies of the SCAG" or "This adventure can only be run by DMs who are certified Level 3 by the Herald's Guild", I would say that this exclusivity feels artificial and intended for the benefit of someone other than AL players. And that's not awesome.

also, admin exclusive modules(and possibly RC and LC) are being looked at in terms of being a perk for us volunteers as well. AL has a very limited budget, and we(admins, RCs, and LCs) are all volunteers. When looking at ways of compensating, or rewarding, us for the time we put in, physical rewards are difficult to distribute to those outside the US. Allowing an exclusive module is something that could work as well for the volunteers in Europe as it does for the volunteers in the US. Actually, this could allow the players in Europe, or Asia, to play AL legal adventures that those of us in the US would NOT have access to. As opposed to everything being accessible in the US.

 

[Mithreinmaethor]

I am not in favor of allowing/creating a Myrealms setup for AL.

If it was done it would need to give out low exps, low gold and no magic items or consumables.

 

[Pauper]

Just a few quick-hits while I digest this thread:

- Baldman is exactly right when he talks about figuring out how to get the cool stuff paid for. Universal access and global simultaneity are great goals, but if you can't explain how to pay for your plans, you're just being an unrealistic utopian. I'll admit that the first admin-specific games being part of the new VIP program at Winter Fantasy probably rubs a few people the wrong way, but the reality is that the folks paying for those programs are stepping up with funds to make this cool stuff happen. Exclusivity, even if for a limited time, is part of the 'value' they are buying. If you're saying 'don't do this unless you can do it for everybody at the same time', then you're saying 'don't do this'.

- Please, please, please *don't* authorize a MyRealms-style adventure template for Adventurers League. I say this as someone who wrote a number of MyRealms adventures during Living Forgotten Realms, and played in a few others. The presumption is that a MyRealms-style adventure is good for local folks who want more specific content, but the reality is that the folks writing MyRealms adventures either can't or won't write AL-quality adventures. If you have a great idea for an adventure or a series of adventures, write them up and run them as a home game!

- The US/non-US divide is a real thing, and I have no insights on how to resolve that problem. I will point out, though, that a number of RPGA-style programs have developed organically from the fan-base rather than being imposed by the mothership. Of course, any potential Australian regionalization of AL will immediately run into the funding issues discussed in the first point above, so that may not be an answer, either.

--
Pauper

 

[Cascade]

I am also opposed to the MyRealms model.

The adventures become to "cut and paste". The stories are usually off topic. I can always buy a third party mod or home brew if I need more.

I'd certainly support a more regional flavor or flaire as was done in Living Greyhawk where regions had a local plot or story for cons and special events based upon geography. The admins / RC / LC would be the only ones to organize and run them. I routinely travel for something special; not so much for cookie cutter stuff.

Cas

 

[Anthraxus]

I am pro some-exclusivity for Cons, in a short term run by admins, then RC's and LC's, and then available to the general gaming populace(maybe 3-6 months in between exclusivity levels).

I am also very pro-Myrealms model for something different. I'm sure it could work with average to low XP/Gold rewards, and no permanent magic item. I'd love the opportunity to write a FR mod for whoever would like to play at the local gaming store. I don't even understand why people are so opposed to them. To be more clear- I've read the reasons others have listed already and still don't understand the opposition.

 

[Ovinomancer1981]

Yes, Baldman is correct insofar as his events are concerned, but Baldman's objectives aren't the same as the objectives for the Adventurers League as a whole. That's not a criticism; it's totally appropriate for his concerns to be focused upon how to maximize value for the people attending his conventions. When that manifests in a form detrimental to the majority of AL players who are not attending the cons Baldman runs games at (which is what's really in question here), the "Does it make AL games at Gen Con cooler?" becomes a far less valuable question.



With the exception of Epics (which are limited by gameplay logistics) and one or two Expeditions a season (which are usually only delayed by a couple of weeks from their con premieres), all AL content is released to all players worldwide at the same time. We're already meeting the standard that you're saying is impossible to achieve; all I'm saying is "Let's maintain that philosophy as best we can."

If the core value proposition here is "We want to reward our overworked and under-compensated AL Admins.", then I'm totally on board. I just don't think adventure content exclusivity is a good way to do that.

I can't agree with this more.

Baldman Games should work to solve their problems, while the AL stuff should work on their own. Not saying that either do a bad job, but there are other ways to address these issues.

I fully understand that without Cons there would be no organised play to begin with, and I have no idea about the numbers but I imagine that worldwide there are more people playing in public places than there are on Cons in the US.

In this way this exclusivity will drive more people away, than gain. I mean we are the ones that need to explain that the players cannot play the same things other people can unless they spend thousands of dollars on travel and accomodations....

If the AL Admins are spread equally over the world however, I would probably change my view on this....

 

[skerritthegreen]

I would like people to consider the original four questions in their answers, as we are rapidly repeating the same misconceptions.

Baldman Games should work to solve their problems, while the AL stuff should work on their own. Not saying that either do a bad job, but there are other ways to address these issues.

I should point out (again) that this idea has zero to do with BMG other than we are doing a trial run of the concept at one of their conventions. I also plan to run my adventure at Conflagration in March in Milwaukee and CODcon in April in Chicago, as well as some stores (and possibly GaryCon in Madison). Just to be clear, none of those are associated with BMG.

In this way this exclusivity will drive more people away, than gain. I mean we are the ones that need to explain that the players cannot play the same things other people can unless they spend thousands of dollars on travel and accomodations....

Also please note that all players would get the opportunity to play these events as they would eventually be freely available like any adventure. It is just likely they would have a slightly longer embargo time than the 1-2 months most adventures currently have so that the author has some time to go to cons and run them.

If the AL Admins are spread equally over the world however, I would probably change my view on this....

We do have RCs and LCs around the world, so yes, assuming the idea works we might expand the program to them as well. This would be similar to the expansion of the Epic program that we have already implemented around the world.

 

[Pauper]

I should point out (again) that this idea has zero to do with BMG other than we are doing a trial run of the concept at one of their conventions. I also plan to run my adventure at Conflagration in March in Milwaukee and CODcon in April in Chicago, as well as some stores (and possibly GaryCon in Madison). Just to be clear, none of those are associated with BMG.

I wouldn't mind getting you in touch with the guy who's putting together the Adventurers League slate for Con of the North in the Twin Cities (Valentine's Day weekend 2016), if you think you might be available and the adventure ready by then.

Edit: PM response is fine.

--
Pauper

 

[Pauper]

We're already meeting the standard that you're saying is impossible to achieve; all I'm saying is "Let's maintain that philosophy as best we can."

Except you're missing that 'maintaining a philosophy' isn't the same as 'paying the bills'.

Example: Let's say AL wants to implement a more interactive way for players to report their adventure results so that more folks than just con-goers get to influence the direction of the campaign story. Admirable goal, right? So how do we do it?

LFR had a survey at the end of each adventure that could be filled out. Do we have people fill out a paper survey and mail it to someone? To whom? Who counts the survey results and makes sure they get to the admins? Do we just mail them to an admin? Who pays for postage -- the local groups? Won't someone in Australia feel left out by that, since international postage is higher cost than domestic US postage?

OK, let's do the survey on-line. Who hosts it? WotC? Who codes it? How do we get the coder access to WotC's servers to test the code? Who updates the code for each new adventure? Who pays the folks coding and updating the servers? Do they have to be volunteers? Would WotC even allow a volunteer access to their servers, or do they have a policy in place that requires anyone with server access to be a paid contractor, with an appropriate agreement in place as to what that contractor's responsibilities and privileges are?

If the core value proposition here is "We want to reward our overworked and under-compensated AL Admins.", then I'm totally on board. I just don't think adventure content exclusivity is a good way to do that.

Adventure content exclusivity isn't the path, it's part of the price -- you make the content exclusive for a limited time because more people will put money in for that than they will to just play the same adventure everyone else is currently playing for free.

I'm on board with doing something nice for the admins as well. But me typing "Skerrit is most bestest AL admin"** six times a day will get him a vente latte at Starbucks -- if I also wire him $7 after I finish. In that sense, Baldman's point is valid for all of Adventurers League, because no matter how cool an idea might be, if nobody's available to pay to make it happen (in whatever sense 'pay' means, such as people volunteering time, etc.), then all it will ever be is a cool idea.

** -- Even though he didn't let me bribe him into getting a cert at GameHoleCon. *sniff*

--
Pauper

 

[skerritthegreen]

vente latte at Starbucks

I prefer a chai tea latte with honey and cinnamon.