SCAG Thread

[Anthraxus]

Cons still have the wholesale exclusivity of Epics and timed exclusivity of Expeditions. They also have the upside of having more resources to provide a more memorable experience. Plus all of the non-D&D things that take place at a con are incentive to attend.

It's only the really big Cons that get the Epics, though, and the premiere Mods are only for one convention in a fairly large area. I know this because I am working on running a small, Expeditions-only con in december, and I'm only getting the normal mods that are available to stores just like everyone else. I'm only getting things(Fei-Chen) that aren't available in stores because I am working with an RC to get them to drive an hour+ to the convention.

 

[RealAlHazred]

Cons still have the wholesale exclusivity of Epics and timed exclusivity of Expeditions. They also have the upside of having more resources to provide a more memorable experience. Plus all of the non-D&D things that take place at a con are incentive to attend.

As Anthraxus stated, only the really big cons (GenCon, Origins, and I think PAX Prime and originally Dragon*Con) get Epics; Winter Fantasy only gets one because it's the "D&D Con." And only one or two cons in each region get premieres.

While you may feel that the cons have to compete with stores, those of us running games at stores feel the opposite. The level of support given to stores feels minimal, like they only want us to push books on the players.

All of my DMs at the Cons I support also run games at stores; I am no exception, running D&D Encounters and Expeditions at the FLGS. I remember wistfully the kind of physical store support we got under 4E. We probably won't get that level of support under 5E, as Hasbro doesn't even consider D&D a product line. However, the stores get the D&D Encounters program, along with faction folios and certs; the Cons only get certs for Expeditions modules, and are effectively locked out of Encounters.

Truthfully, my real beef is with the DM rewards structure and the secondhand sales of certs. Since changing the former isn't possible at the moment, my focus is on the latter by reducing their value. There are plenty of other things that can be given to con attendees and resold by those who wish to make a buck, just don't let game mechanics be something that can be bought and sold. This isn't MtG, where a collectible nature is part of the game, thus justifying secondhand sales of game mechanics for a competitive advantage. D&D is a collaborative game, not a competitive one. Prevent arms races whenever possible.

Again, what would you propose to replace them?

I'd say that if a person is just going to a convention only for the rewards, they're going to a convention for all the wrong reasons to begin with.

I'm not arguing that point, but the fact remains that many players I've spoken to myself generally need to have something special to justify the expense of going to a Con.

Anthraxus mentioned Fai Chen's Market. So far, that's the only other reasonable draw that doesn't involve handing out certs directly -- you trade them for the limited selection of available certs. However, Fai Chen's can only be run with one of the RCs in attendance, and there are very few of those, and asking them to travel all over at their own expense seems unreasonable.

 

[Tia Nadiezja]

As Anthraxus stated, only the really big cons (GenCon, Origins, and I think PAX Prime and originally Dragon*Con) get Epics; Winter Fantasy only gets one because it's the "D&D Con." And only one or two cons in each region get premieres.All of my DMs at the Cons I support also run games at stores; I am no exception, running D&D Encounters and Expeditions at the FLGS. I remember wistfully the kind of physical store support we got under 4E. We probably won't get that level of support under 5E, as Hasbro doesn't even consider D&D a product line. However, the stores get the D&D Encounters program, along with faction folios and certs; the Cons only get certs for Expeditions modules, and are effectively locked out of Encounters.Again, what would you propose to replace them?I'm not arguing that point, but the fact remains that many players I've spoken to myself generally need to have something special to justify the expense of going to a Con.

Nothing. Nothing my local game store does not also get. Except, perhaps, a restructuring of Epics so that smaller cons can do them too (as long as the only place for Epics in my region is PAX, I will never play an Epic, for PAX's people have made clear that they do not want my kind there; structure Epics so Geekgirlcon can run them too and I'll be there every year).

Anthraxus mentioned Fai Chen's Market. So far, that's the only other reasonable draw that doesn't involve handing out certs directly -- you trade them for the limited selection of available certs. However, Fai Chen's can only be run with one of the RCs in attendance, and there are very few of those, and asking them to travel all over at their own expense seems unreasonable.

Maybe allow Fai Chen's to be run without an RC? Maybe allow LCs to do so, or regular volunteers who have earned the trust of RCs?

This sounds like it might be a place where the limitation is policy rather than practicality, and the great thing about those is that policy can be changed.

 

[StinkyEttin]

Epics are much wide spread than people seem to think.

 

[Z. H. Darkstar]

I think that faction folios should be part of the general convention support package, with Epics getting their own special folders. This is useful as not just a means of putting something physical in the hands of the players, it also reduces the need for DMs to have to provide character sheets and adventure logsheets. If you want to differentiate them more, the general convention folders could be season-specific like the DM folders and contain a consumable cert similar to the ones in the EE run of faction folios.

I'm not completely against the notion of conventions having some exclusive content and rewards. I just don't want them to be things that otherwise remove content that are in materials that players should have reasonable expectations of accessing. The rewards should be additive to game, rather than come at the expense of everyone else of who doesn't get them. That's why I support the idea of "Play as X regardless of story origin" certs, as opposed to certs being the only way to play as X.

 

[RealAlHazred]

But essentially, this is another cost that has to be born by Wizards of the Coast, which has no budget for it. I mean, they had to let two more people go a few months ago! I think they're down to 6 full-time staff!

 

[Steve_MND]

But essentially, this is another cost that has to be born by Wizards of the Coast, which has no budget for it. I mean, they had to let two more people go a few months ago! I think they're down to 6 full-time staff!

One might then say that if they do not have the resources to put into properly running an Organized Play campaign, maybe they shouldn't be doing it to begin with. Using that as an excuse (however valid that excuse may be) is like saying you don't have enough money to advertise your product, and yet at the same time, you're wondering why more people haven't heard about it.

They could run a perfectly viable Living Campaign with absolutely no printing, certs, folios, or other material costs on their end; the RPGA and its constituent OP campaigns did so numerous times, for many years. The decision to include certs, folios, etc. is their own, and AL could run just fine with a different structure that didn't use them (and in fact, some might say it'd run better).

 

[skerritthegreen]

This thread has ceased to be about anything related to the SCAG (especially since there is another SCAG thread). I recommend starting a new thread and taking this discussion over there.

 

[Tyranthraxus]

Yep my original post did what it was intended to do.. it sadly got co-opted by yet another 'Epics' topic.

I know Im enjoying reading all the setting info! So many ideas!

 

[Burticusb]

So, I'm sure my answer lies somewhere within this 22 Page post, but I'm lazy...

So, the question is...

Are the spells that are offered in either supplement book allowed no matter which book you chose for your origin?

Meaning, I play a character with the SCAG cantrip option of Booming Blade, can I still select EE spells as he levels, or are those in essence locked out of my character?