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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Elder-Basilisk" data-source="post: 1688734" data-attributes="member: 3146">Piratecat sums up my experience in a lot of ways.The RPGA games tend to be on the average to good side of con games. In my experience (at least in my area) I would guess that DMing quality and module quality don't dip below "below average" as often as non-RPGA con games. The players tend to be fun people who work together as a group as well. Vis a vis home games, I'll probably tick a lot of people off but I would estimate that the RPGA Living campaigns with a good or decent judge are about as good as a run of the mill home campaign. In the various campaigns I've played, several have been better than RPGA games and several have been worse. (Of those, two were bad enought that decided not to continue but there were a few others that were still enjoyable but generally, a session wasn't as enjoyable as the typical Living Greyhawk game). So, spectacular games are typically better than RPGA games (though with the right DM and the right module, RPGA games sometimes rise to the spectacular level) but the RPGA games are as good as most games.As for the other uses of the RPGA, it's very useful for meeting new players and practicing and polishing DMing. In a local gaming group, it's very easy to fall into less than optimal habits simply because with 1 or 2 DMs and 4-5 players, there's only so many ideas that people will come up with. With the larger player and DM base, there are a lot more people to steal ideas from.It's also very useful for getting games in when you're mobile. About a year ago, for instance, I moved to Canada to work on a Master's degree. Since I didn't want my only experience up there to be schoolwork, I was interested in getting a few games in as well. The best games I was able to find were the RPGA living campaigns. (I tried one home game but the people were somewhat freaky and we never got a second session organized anyway). Then, after I'd completed my classwork, I moved back home to finish a few papers and work on my thesis. By then, the home games I'd been a part of back home had collapsed (due to people moving, getting divorced, etc). However, I was able to continue playing my Living campaign characters. I was also able to find a home game with some people I met at an RPGA con. So, the portability of Living campaigns proved to be a big benefit to me.</blockquote>

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