Has the RPGA failed?

[Elder-Basilisk]

I think you miss out on two or three of the most significant ways the RPGA can be helpful.

First, it's quite useful for finding a game. A couple years ago, I moved to Canada to work on a master's degree. I spent some time on the gamers seeking gamers forum here and tried a post on Living Greyhawk's Duchy of Urnst yahoo group. I got the first response from the LG yahoogroup and ended up meeting a number of players who became friends through the RPGA there. Eventually, I also met up with two other players and a DM through the forum for a home game and had an experience that bore a disturbing resemblance to some famous rpg.net stories--mostly because the third player insisted on playing a "ninja" and had his character jump up onto the table and sit "like a ninja" in the "you meet at a bar" scene. We never met for a second session of the homegame, and I don't have any regrets on that account, but I continue to game with some of the people I met through the Living Greyhawk community up there. (At various cons).

So, while my efforts to find a good home group were unsuccessful, I was able to find quite a few good games through the RPGA. I also met the people in my current homegroup at an RPGA con during that time and they invited me to join them when I returned to California. So, that leads us to use number 2:

2: A neutral ground to meet gamers and understand their gaming styles. The two gentlemen I met at the RPGA con were both good gamers whose style meshed nicely with mine. We'd played three or four four hour games together, so when they invited me to the home group, they knew that I wasn't Mr. "I sit on the table like a ninja" and I knew that they weren't Mr. "I'm playing a really hot chick, but since I don't want your characters hitting on me in the four hour long session roleplaying the bar scene, I'm a lesbian and I'll hit on chicks in the bar scene." (The second individual is also from a home game that I attended for a short time).

3: It is still a very good forum to experience different play styles and to improve your DMing skills. Even in a home group like my current group where we trade DMing and campaigns, you only see a few styles. In my group, we have a kind of storyteller who tells a good story and makes interesting encounters, but who is only very slowly getting the mechanics of doing things right and doesn't improvise mechanics well on the fly. We have a power-DM who likes bigger and badder monsters and has some really neat ideas but who seems to have trouble creating a story or detailing the environment beyond the individual level. (There are numerous high level people, but there don't seem to be cultures, understandable politics, or topography). And we have a couple DMs in between them. (And then there is myself). That's a fair amount of variety. But it pales in comparison to the local RPGA--both in variety of style, in the high end of skill, and in accessiblity.

What might an average player can get out of the RPGA? The ability to shepherd and guide a character's development over many years is a big one, an RPGA campaign will never just "wither and die", but will either go to conclusion like with Mark of Heroes in Eberron, or your character will simply "retire" and you can start a new character in the same campaign where your old one has made an impact already... The ability to play in a campaign with standardized rules as close as possible to the Rules As Writen. If you are the type with such an interest but never get to play in a group often enough, you can see how the Rules As Written can be optimized in ways you may have never considered before.

 

[caudor]

Unfortunately, my first experience with the RPGA was in 2004 and was not so great. At the time, I had never played in an RPGA game and I was very excited to finally have the opportunity. I wanted to meet other players and just have some fun. It was quite a drive to get there, but I felt it would be worth it.

I arrived a little early and waited by my car until it was time for everyone else to arrive. The place was a hobby shop and I saw a few people lingering outside. I checked the door for signs to see if I was in the right place---yes, I was here, on time, and ready to go.

When I walked in the store I saw a group of people sitting around a table playing. Did I get the time wrong; was I late? I was a bit confused. Anyway, I started to turn around and head out to ask the people outside if I was in the right place. It was then that the group leader turned and said in a rather annoyed voice, "Uh, you need to leave. We are playing here--this session is running a little long." I apologized and stepped out. I checked again for signs saying "game in progress" or "please wait outside", but there was nothing.

Anyway, it was not the welcome I was hoping for but I not give up on the evening. Soon, the game started and we played. The group of players obviously knew each other well, but I still got a vibe that I was an outsider. The folks were nice, but seemed uninterested in the two news folks. When the game was over, I headed home and was rather disappointed.

I know one experience with the RPGA does not represent the whole, but I decided afterwards that I would much rather play near home with friends and family. At least I would know what to expect.

 

[francisca]

C'mon out to Denver for Genghis Con. We can always use more classics.

Heh. Would love to. Not likely, however.

 

[francisca]

Francisca, here in Chicago, the EN World Game Days are a great way to meet fellow gamers and try new one shot games. Possibly, we could organize more gamedays in our regions, make sure that people from the RPGA, FLGS, and the like know about the events, and have the EN World Game Days help introduce people to new games and meet some fellow gamers. It might be a model for the sort of RPGA that Piratecat enjoyed the most.

I also think there needs to be some effort to introduce new people to gaming as well as to connect gamers with each other.

That seems like it would be a recipe for success. Unfortuneatley, the locals are more inclined to be empire builders and preoccupied with playing kissy-face with each other online.

You know, I keep threatening to make a Chicago gameday. it is the closest gameday to West Lafayette, IN.

 

[William Ronald]

That seems like it would be a recipe for success. Unfortuneatley, the locals are more inclined to be empire builders and preoccupied with playing kissy-face with each other online.

You know, I keep threatening to make a Chicago gameday. it is the closest gameday to West Lafayette, IN.

Well, maybe we can have some more serious discussions about connecting gamers and recruiting new people into the hobby. (I suspect that th is will be after Gen Con.) I think there are some people in the RPGA regions who would be interested in such an effort, as would be people here on the boards and elsewhere. (IMaybe BelenUmeria, who is a WotC delegate, can offer his thoughts. Also, there are organizations like meetup.com that can connect gamers. Some of their members might be interested in connecting existing gamers and helping to creat new ones. )

The date for the next EN World Chicago Gameday has not been set yet. However, I think everyone would be glad if you showed up. We do have some people who travel from Milwaukee, Madison, and even as far as Detroit to the Gamedays. My advice: bring a few people from your gaming group, so they can share the drive and the expenses. Who knows? Maybe after you get a taste of an EN World Gameday, you might want to organize one for your area? (Buzz, Mark, Piratecat, and several other people on the boards could help you out with some good advice if you ever want to have a Gameday.)

 

[Shadowdancer]

I joined RPGA a few years ago in order to have the opportunity to play D&D more. Mostly I am DM for our group and don't get to play very often -- there is only one other DM in our group.

My experiences have been good and bad. The bad experiences have happened mostly at conventions. I've had better experiences going to FLGS that sponsor RPGA events on a regular basis, first in Arlington, TX, and now in Austin, TX.

My problem is that I live an hour away from Austin, so I don't get to go to too many of the RPGA events. I play Living Greyhawk, but my character -- which I've been playing for a couple of years now, at least -- is only 2nd level. Most of the mods are run for higher-level characters. My first two characters died in their first adventure -- life in the Bandit Kingdoms is tough!

But the game store where I usually play -- Thor's Hammer -- does run intro mods regularly to introduce new and young players to the game.

Some of the people who play regularly are nice, and some are sort of standoff-ish. Some are good role-players, and some are power players, only interested in killing things, finishing the mod, getting the XP and GP, buying more stuff and leveling up.

The last session I played (earlier this month), there were four of us at the table plus the DM. Two were teens (or maybe even younger) who were only interested in combat -- the mod started with lots of roleplaying as you looked for some clues to a mystery, and they were asking the DM if he could skip over some of the NPC encounters. Me, I was having fun playing my character, asking questions, trying to figure out the mystery. The other player was an older guy who I could tell preferred combat, but was willing to endure the investigation part of the mod because it was necessary to get the proper clues to steer us into the combat encounters.

Another thing I didn't like about the session was that the other players all wanted to play the mod at a higher APL in order to get more XP and GP, and have their characters go up faster. The DM had even warned us that for our level of characters (2-3), and because there was only four characters with no cleric (we had a druid, but no undead turning) and no arcane spellcaster, we might all die during the adventure. But the other players insisted on playing APL 4. And we all almost died (I think the DM went easy on us).

I've played some of the classic modules, where you have pregen characters and people aren't so worried about whether their character dies, or levels up. They can be a lot of fun, depending on the people you play with. I wish I had the opportunity to go to more conventions and play more classic mods.

 

[glass]

Looking at all of my issues with the RPGA, I think it comes down to one thing: I don't see any "leadership." Supposedly there are a couple of people in charge of the RPGA. For all I know, it's a random computer spewing random information, breaking down regularly and getting nothing done.

Trust the computer, the computer is your friend!


glass.

 

[Joshua Randall]

As long as we are griping about the RPGA, I'd like to add that the lack of a uniform, national (for the US) organization is a killer. I keep hearing great things about other regions, but that does me no good since I live in a certain region (Veluna / Ohio) and am not going to travel out of state just to play D&D.

And I don't want to hear someone tell me that I should make it better by volunteering. I don't want to volunteer; I want to play. If the RPGA can neither facilitate me playing nor me meeting new games, then it is useless to me.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Some interesting points about getting sanctioned.

How does that work for say, Dungeon Magazine and other official products. Are they automatically sanctioned?

 

[DevoutlyApathetic]

National leadership? The RPGA play often times makes me feel the lack of a firm DM. Rules are too often treated as what you can get away with at this table. It really doesn't help that absolutely nobody in the campaign in empowered to say "X is right, y is wrong." Which works just fine for those willing to push things and those that play "fair" get shoved aside at the table.

I'm sympathetic to some of the issues. Higher ups aren't allowed to contradict WotC party line. While I understand it, it's frustrating.

Okay, you're from Syracuse and you have a low opinion of SRM... I have a feeling I know you, but I can't decide which person you are. Jonathan?

Maybe...