D&D 4E Really?? Is RPGA really the best place to test 4e

[gothmaugCC]

Yeah...what goth said...and stuff...

Hehe, guess i got a little heated

 

[WhimsyTheFae]

In another note,
Frankly i'm amazed at the ammount of negativity shown towards the RPGA on these boards. As a major proponent of RPGA sanctioned play AND more home games than I have time for, I was flabberghasted byt he number of uninformed posts on what the RPGA actually does. I mean were all gamers, right? We use the same books right?? We play the same game, right? So why the hostility toward the organized players?

This is the big one. I am not an active member of the RPGA (I got a card many years ago by subscribing to something, but I've never done anything RPGA-related), so I have no real experience. What I do have, however, is second-hand gossip and tales of bad experiences. Of course, I'm not socializing (in real life or online) with RPGA members, so I wouldn't expect to hear positive things.

What I'm trying to say is that you are correct, there are a large number of uninformed (or misinformed) people.

My advice would be to not speak about the RPGA unless you have first-hand experience with what you are speaking about. Ideas spread like the plague on the internet, that goes for educated and uneducated ideas.

 

[Gentlegamer]

I think the RPGA is just fine for testing the "stress limits" of the written rules. I firmly believe that such playtesting should be done by the most balls-to-the-wall hardcore min/maxing cheesy bastards you can find to see how the rules hold up.

However, I think the other phase of playtesting ought to be among much more casual players to see if the ruleset is accessible and able to be adjudicated easily by those who are new to the hobby or who play the game in a more casual manner.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Hey, Don - maybe you should check out the moderator warning in Post 4 before you continue to be offensive?

 

[Gundark]

Given the couple of RPGA groups I know, I would want them to have first crack at a news rules set for one big reason: if there is a loophole, they will find it. If there is a way to break a class, a spell, a feat, or anything else, they will find it. That's one of the big things you want in playtesting.

In our normal campaigns, we might stumble upon a certain rules situation once or twice a year. They'll probably find it that first night.

QFT. The RPGA in my area I think are exactly the right people to playtest 4e.

 

[Treebore]

This is the big one. I am not an active member of the RPGA (I got a card many years ago by subscribing to something, but I've never done anything RPGA-related), so I have no real experience. What I do have, however, is second-hand gossip and tales of bad experiences. Of course, I'm not socializing (in real life or online) with RPGA members, so I wouldn't expect to hear positive things.

What I'm trying to say is that you are correct, there are a large number of uninformed (or misinformed) people.

My advice would be to not speak about the RPGA unless you have first-hand experience with what you are speaking about. Ideas spread like the plague on the internet, that goes for educated and uneducated ideas.

My experiences with the RPGA were direct. Yes, there are plenty of good people involved, but I also got the distinct impression that the RPGA is where all the gamers normal groups refuse to let play in their games go to play.

Honest RPGA members will admit that they run into a lot of "strange" players, to put it nicely. Since I have good groups, with people I like, I don't find the RPGA pay off worth dealing with the "strange" people who go to RPGA meet ups.

So if your going to be involved with the RPGA just be prepared to get stuck playing with a person or two you can't stand.

There are ways to minimize chances of getting stuck with such RPGA members, but it wasn't worth it to me to go through the network building process. Especially since I live over 90 minutes from where they normally play.

So yes, overall the RPGA members are very good people, however, there are enough of the not so good to turn people off to the RPGA.

 

[WhimsyTheFae]

My experiences with the RPGA were direct. Yes, there are plenty of good people involved, but I also got the distinct impression that the RPGA is where all the gamers normal groups refuse to let play in their games go to play.

Honest RPGA members will admit that they run into a lot of "strange" players, to put it nicely. Since I have good groups, with people I like, I don't find the RPGA pay off worth dealing with the "strange" people who go to RPGA meet ups.

So if your going to be involved with the RPGA just be prepared to get stuck playing with a person or two you can't stand.

There are ways to minimize chances of getting stuck with such RPGA members, but it wasn't worth it to me to go through the network building process. Especially since I live over 90 minutes from where they normally play.

So yes, overall the RPGA members are very good people, however, there are enough of the not so good to turn people off to the RPGA.

Your experience gives your opinion weight. If I were to post what I've been told, it would read like the OP. The difference is, unlike the OP, I have no experience with the RPGA. His opinion may not be an accurate description of the RPGA as a whole, but at least he's experienced some portion of it that he can speak about.

I'm also not saying that anyone in this thread is guilty of speaking without experience, but that through the years, I've known many people (on ENWorld and off) who have these opinions without any experience. That gives credence to gothmaugCC's concerns regarding the spread of uninformed opinions.

 

[Wormwood]

So if your going to be involved with the RPGA just be prepared to get stuck playing with a person or two you can't stand.

You have just described the Internet---and Earth itself, actually.

 

[WhimsyTheFae]

You have just described the Internet---and Earth itself, actually.

Luckily, I decided not get involved with the Earth a long time ago.

 

[reanjr]

IMHO, given the structure of the RPGA, it lends itself well to discovering flaws in the rule set.

I disagree. It lends itself well to discovering flaws that come up in RPGA style games. It's not as good at discovering flaws in the average home game. I think 3e can attest to that. From what I recall, 3e was tested in the same way. Many rules work fine within the structure of encounter based play, but break down (sometimes severely) in story based play where encounters don't happen when and how they are expected to.

That said, not all the testers are going to be from the RPGA. There's also ones selected from DI, so I'm not too worried. They're covering both games in their tests.