Thanks, yeah, that's the form I saw before. The form requires you to have a location in mind for running events. In my case, I haven't talked to my LGS about running games, and I'm hesitant to list them on the form without contacting them.
And I assume I can't write "my house" as the venue on the form.
I think it's a great concept; it's just unfortunate that a GM and his/her group can't sign up without having to go to a sanctioned event to get a number or host a sanctioned event. Yes, I understand the need to promote organized play, but me personally, I'd like less of a barrier to entry. Heck, I'd even pay for a RPGA/DCI membership.
I think that if you can get hold of an RPGA/DCI number then there's an alternative way without having to find a public venue's details to enter.
Note that you do not have to
play in order to get a DCI number. If you can find someone with a pack of membership cards, like a game store which runs Magic events, you can use that card to sign up as it has an automatic validation code on it.
Once you have a number, if you log into
http://judge.wizards.com you should be able to click 'Exams', click the 'Create' tab, select 'Tournament Organiser' on the left and a language on the right, click 'Next', click 'Level 1' then carry on following the on-screen prompts (I've not gone beyond that point as I already have organiser status). The 'exam' is, apparently, a 'read this and say "yes" to prove you've read it' process, rather than a test of knowledge. In theory once you've 'passed' that test you should be added as a Gateway WPN organiser.
Alternatively, choose the Dungeons and Dragons test, which is actually a test of D&D rules knowledge (or, at least, looking up in the book ability) which is more challenging and takes longer.
In both cases, if completing those steps doesn't get your status at
http://webapp.wizards.com/personal.aspx updated, send customer service a message (
www.wizards.com/customerservice) and post here if you can't get into the customer service system and someone will point you to the solution to that problem.
No-one's pretending it's simple - it's complicated by the fact that the majority of Wizards' organised play events are required to be held in public and the D&D organised play is the exception. The form you've seen is brand new and could do with a few tweaks, but I'm sure people like Wolfstar are on the case, and things might improve shortly. In the end, though, the customer service people can do whatever you can convince them it's appropriate for them to do, so if you want to start organising D&D organised play events, and are having any trouble, send them a message and see what solutions they suggest.
Have fun!
