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<blockquote data-quote="Piratecat" data-source="post: 1688651" data-attributes="member: 2">Interesting how a few events can color peoples' perceptions.I've run about 300 RPGA games, and played in about as many. I tend to prefer &quot;Classic&quot; modules with pre-generated characters, which definitely takes a back seat nowadays to the &quot;Living&quot; campaigns where you develop your own character.In my experience, if you're at a con both modules and GMs are on a classic bell curve. Out of 9 games, I find 1-2 are sucky, 1-2 are freakin' amazing, and 5 are okay to decent. I go to cons for those amazing games, though, because they make up for all the sucky experiences. The GM is an essential factor; a good GM can make a lousy module sing, and an inexperienced GM can make a great module only so-so.Players are also a mixed bag. Play RPGA games at cons for a while, and you learn who the fun players are -- then you get at the same tables with them. I've met some superb friends this way.For home play, only the module becomes an issue, and as I said the quality of these varies. Most seem to be pretty well edited, but a cut below professional quality. When I find an author I like, I try to order other things from that same person.So to sum up, RPGA is great if you go to cons or don't have a regular gaming group at home. It's also great if you want to polish your GMing skills. It's not essential if you have a good home campaign. Whatever you do, just don't let a first impression (good or bad) color your perception of the RPGA as a whole. There's a lot of variation.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Piratecat, post: 1688651, member: 2"] Interesting how a few events can color peoples' perceptions. I've run about 300 RPGA games, and played in about as many. I tend to prefer "Classic" modules with pre-generated characters, which definitely takes a back seat nowadays to the "Living" campaigns where you develop your own character. In my experience, if you're at a con both modules and GMs are on a classic bell curve. Out of 9 games, I find 1-2 are sucky, 1-2 are freakin' amazing, and 5 are okay to decent. I go to cons for those amazing games, though, because they make up for all the sucky experiences. The GM is an essential factor; a good GM can make a lousy module sing, and an inexperienced GM can make a great module only so-so. Players are also a mixed bag. Play RPGA games at cons for a while, and you learn who the fun players are -- then you get at the same tables with them. I've met some superb friends this way. For home play, only the module becomes an issue, and as I said the quality of these varies. Most seem to be pretty well edited, but a cut below professional quality. When I find an author I like, I try to order other things from that same person. So to sum up, RPGA is great if you go to cons or don't have a regular gaming group at home. It's also great if you want to polish your GMing skills. It's not essential if you have a good home campaign. Whatever you do, just don't let a first impression (good or bad) color your perception of the RPGA as a whole. There's a lot of variation. [/QUOTE]

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