RPGA - Sanction your regular campaign!

[MerricB]

There's a few big changes to the RPGA for 2005, but this would have to be one of the most significant:

Home Games Faster and More Flexible!
Sometimes the opportunity to game jells quickly, and two weeks is an awful long time to wait for a home event. Because of this we are changing the database so you can order a home event five days prior to the day of play. With faster turn around, you have greater flexibility in sanctioning your home games.

We'll even let you in on a little secret: that functionality is already in place. You don't have to wait until 2005. You can start sanctioning for the weekend right now!

Even better yet starting in January 2005 you'll be able to start sanctioning your Dungeons & Dragons home campaign for D&D Rewards points -- you can even tell us what setting you are playing in. Each session of a D&D home campaign is worth 1 reward point. Your home campaign is sanctioned like any other home play event using the adventure ordering system at least five days before game day. Play as much as you can and report it all!

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=rpga/conventions/2005ordering

Since I'm likely to get a few questions about this...

What are Reward Points?
Every RPGA-sanctioned game you play or DM, you gain a number of Reward points. (e.g. 4 for playing "Whispers of the Vampire Blade" or a Legacy of the Green Regent game).

For every 20 points you acquire as a player, you are sent 3 Campaign cards which allow you special options in one or more of the ongoing RPGA campaigns. (Currently cards are sent out for the Eberron "Mark of Heroes" campaign). Yes, this isn't that great if you're not interested in those campaign.

For every 20 points you acquire as a DM, you get some special reward - plastic templates for spell effects, promotional miniatures, booster packs of D&D Miniatures. This is more interesting.

How do I join the RPGA?

To join the RPGA as a DM, you need to go to the Wizards RPGA site - http://www.wizards.com/rpga - and undertake the Herald DM test online. When you've successfully completed it, you'll be a member of the RPGA and will have the opportunity to order adventures and sanction events.

To join the RPGA as a player, you need to play in a RPGA event. When a DM orders a scenario, they can also request a number of membership cards and applications.

Joining the RPGA is free - there are no costs.

How do I order and report games?

It's all done online on the RPGA website. You tell the system on what date you're playing, what game you're playing, and if it's a RPGA module, you get the ability to download it.

Reporting the games is just a case of filling in the RPGA numbers of those who participated on the online form. Very easy indeed.

Why is this news so interesting?

Beforehand, you had to play adventures written by other people to get RPGA reward points. Now, the RPGA (and Wizards) is giving you rewards just for playing D&D. While the rewards aren't that substantial, they are nice to get. It is nice to be appreciated. (A regular campaign, meeting once per week, will obtain one reward per 20 weeks. Heh.)

Another point is that it improves the market research of Wizards of the Coast with respect to D&D - something that benefits all of us. This will give Wizards information how many people are playing D&D, how often we play, and what campaign settings we are using. Greyhawk fans, unite!

There are other event-ordering changes, but this was the big one with respect to the average D&D player, who doesn't care about running RPGA adventures...

Cheers!

 

[Tortoise]

Interesting, but I want to know if it is limited to only their published campaign settings or can you play a homebrew and be considered sanctioned?

(At work, don't have time to read Wizards site.)

 

[MerricB]

Interesting, but I want to know if it is limited to only their published campaign settings or can you play a homebrew and be considered sanctioned?

(At work, don't have time to read Wizards site.)

Doesn't say anything about limiting it to their published settings only - I very strongly believe that it is any setting at all, including homebrews.

Cheers!

 

[FireLance]

Hi Merric, thanks for the heads up. Problem is, my campaign uses a non-standard point buy character creation method. Would you know if this disqualifies my game?

 

[Shadowdancer]

I read somewhere that they would be allowing homebrew adventures to be counted in Eberron: Mark of Heroes campaigns. IIRC, it one homebrew adventure a month.

 

[Imret]

What if you have evil PC's (which, last I heard, were forbidden to RPGA games)? Or ditch alignment altogether? Use 4d6 to determine stats, as the Lords of Heaven intended? Or, more simply; is it "sanction your homebrew as long as it looks like an RPGA game"?

Of course, if you're not sure, that's cool. We can't ALL know everything.

 

[Timeboxer]

Okay, I must admit that this is niftiness, but.

To join the RPGA as a player, you need to play in a RPGA event. When a DM orders a scenario, they can also request a number of membership cards and applications.

Due to the fact that I can't actually gather anyone around me to play D&D, I usually run my "home" games online. I'm an RPGA DM, but this is my real major stumbling block for such things. Any resources for distributing RPGA applications and so on for online players?

 

[dpmcalister]

As far as the RPGA website is concerned (from what I could read) any game you run using D&D is considered santioned for RPGA reporting. You don't have to mention the alignments of the party, nor whether the game is online or tabletop.

Of course, I can already see the potential for abuse...

 

[smerwin29]

What if you have evil PC's (which, last I heard, were forbidden to RPGA games)? Or ditch alignment altogether? Use 4d6 to determine stats, as the Lords of Heaven intended? Or, more simply; is it "sanction your homebrew as long as it looks like an RPGA game"?

The RPGA hasn't specificied any details. This change was a long time in coming, as the RPGA is simply an extension of the WotC marketing department, and the exclusive (and sometimes exclusionary) nature of the RPGA in the past wasn't making the RPGA as an effective marketing tool as it could have been.

I imagine what is going to happen is this: you will have to sign up all your players as RPGA members (no cost). As the DM, you will have to pass the Herald Level test. Then as part of sanctioning your home game to get points for it, you are going to have to answer a great many questions about what settings you use, what books you use, and maybe even questions like what stat generation method do you use, do you allow evil PCs, etc. As a sanctioned RPGA event, it will be interesting to see if they do lessen some of the restrictions currently in place: no PC-PC conflict, no arguing with the DM, etc.

As Merric wisely notes, this is going to be great information for WotC to plan future products. Ironically, the rewards you get (at least currently) for playing RPGA events are really incentives to play more RPGA events and purchase non-Core WotC products. This may change in the immediate future, of course.

I'd like to think this is a positive step on the part of WotC to better use their resources and serve their customers/fan base.

Shawn

 

[Shadowdancer]

Actually,you can be a member of the RPGA without getting the periodic freebies mentioned above (cards, minis, etc.) In order to get the freebies, you have to also register for the Rewards program. I suspect the requirements for getting your home campaign registered with RPGA are less stringent if you are not signed up for the Rewards program. But I don't know that for a fact.