So what are the thoughts on the RPGA?

[Thanlis]

Ok, time to reveal and embarassing fact ... I sorta get what organized play is all about, but I really don't fully understand what it is, how it works, why people do it, all of the detail stuff. The few things I think I know (playing with strangers at a game store, keeping "score", creating "legal" characters) don't sound all that appealing to me and maybe I have some of that stuff wrong. Can anyone kind of walk me through what it's like when you're actually doing it?

Sure!

So I decided to try out LFR because there was an active group in my area and I really wanted to experience 4e as a player. (I'd been DMing, which is also awesome, but you know.)

I started by downloading the RPGA character creation guidelines. It's a medium-sized document but the key things I needed to know was pretty simple: here's a list of legal options, you start at level 1, you have the usual 100 gold to work with, you use the standard point buy for stats.

The list of legal options is super-simple. I don't know how it worked in Living Greyhawk, but in LFR more or less everything is legal if it's been presented as a player option. I.e., monster races aren't legal, but (say) artificers are, even though they're from the Eberron book. The only exceptions are some very locale-specific material like dragonmarks. I didn't feel constrained or confused at all.

I also printed out the character record sheets, because the CCG said that was important, and filled them out dutifully. Nobody's ever asked to see them, and at this point I'm just maintaining them on a Google Docs spreadsheet. I think in theory a DM could ask to see my character history, but mostly it's helpful to me to remember which of my PCs has played which adventures and to make sure I don't make stupid math errors.

While I'm on the subject, here's what I track: the adventure name, the gold I got from the adventure, the experience I got from the adventure, any magic item I selected, and the story awards. Story awards are little chunks of text with no game effect that provide some roleplay flavor. Here's an example:

Tymora’s token is an octagonal golden coin about 1 inch in diameter. One side depicts three rolling dice and the other the head of Tymora. The coin glows softly as long as in the hands of the person who earned the token. When the coin is tossed by its owner, it always land on the side predicted. When shown, Tymorans treat the owner of the coin more favorably. Enemies of Tymora’s faith tend to react less favorably instead. The exact effects are up to the DM, but it should never generate automatic success or failures unless specified otherwise in the adventure.​

So I showed up with a level 1 cleric. I got my RPGA card from the store on the spot, no problem. I was kind of worried about the tracking and having to show my math and getting something wrong and so on. Not at all an issue. The DM passed around a form, I filled in my name and RPGA number, and that was it. We had a six person table, which was fairly typical. The minimum number of players is 4, and 6 is the max. Every encounter has rules for scaling if you don't have the basic 5 players at your table.

The adventure was OK. Not great, not awful. It ran the expected 3.5 hours; there were five encounters (skill challenges and combats), which is also typical. I was planning on getting into character in a fairly low-key way, and that worked out fine. There was a bit of religion in the plot, so I played to that, and the DM let that affect the encounter in an appropriate way. The rest of the people at the table were functional human beings. I made a couple of rules mistakes, and nobody cared. I had fun.

Once my schedule permitted, I started hitting Pandemonium's game regularly. They run four tables every Monday night, with a pretty big pool of DMs so nobody's stuck running all the time. You have to pay two bucks to play, which turns into store credit for your table's DM: that's not RPGA policy, that's just an incentive to play and a bit of guaranteed income for the store. I don't know how common that sort of thing is.

Modules are divided up into (currently) four level ranges: 1-4, 4-7, 7-10, and 10-14 (I think). We tended to have at least 1 level 1-4 module on any given night to accomodate new players. The decision about what module to run was pretty loose -- there's a poll on the group mailing list to see what people are looking for, but in the end the people volunteering to DM get to run whatever will make them happy.

I know that particular group has a fair number of people running side games on different nights, as well. Since your LFR character(s) can go from private to public play at will, so long as they're always playing in official WotC LFR modules, there's no problem doing that. It's handy if you want to do some of the extended multiple-session modules without chewing up a whole table on the regular night.

Once I got my feet wet I really enjoyed the community aspect. It felt... very band of brothers, from a roleplay perspective. My cleric, Alesk, wasn't always adventuring with the same people, but he was bumping into the same people over and over again. "Hey, Jervis! How've you been? I haven't seen you since that time back in Waterdeep." In a weird way it's sort of like a LARP, or like I imagine those big 30 person Lake Geneva campaigns must have been.

Now, that's just one group. I'm currently bootstrapping a new LFR group. We run once every two weeks, and at the moment -- two sessions in -- I'm the only one DMing. We only have one table going. Three players have been the same at every table and I suspect they'll keep on showing up every time. Thus, there's a bit more party coherence and so on. At some point one of them is gonna hit level 5 and have to start a new PC if I need to keep running 1-4s... I sort of hope we have two tables by that point, or maybe I'll find someone else to run on the Sundays I'm not running. I'll play it by ear.

Point is, it's going to vary a lot depending on where you are and who you're playing with. But that's cool.

There are some weird artifacts of the framework. Magic items come to mind. You can buy as many magic items as you can afford of your level or less. However, you can only find one magic item per level as a module reward. So sometimes you'll find a +1 whatever of awesome, and you can even use it for the duration of the module, but you have to give it up afterwards.

Items are also genericized, so you don't find a +1 lightning bastard sword. You find a +1 lightning weapon which can be whatever you want it to be. Also, at the end of the adventure, everyone can take the same item. So there's some suspension of disbelief action happening there.

If your PC dies, which is super-rare, you can get raised at no cost in gold. The penalty is a -1 to all rolls for the next six encounters, which tracks out to about an adventure and a bit.

Let's see, what else? There's no keeping score other than tracking gold and XP. You can play any given module multiple times with different characters, which is a big important change in LFR. People do sometimes want to run specific modules for specific items. (If you're a frequent LFR player, odds are good you know where you can get the +2 vicious weapon.) It's not as rewarding as a good home game, but it's got its own attractions.

Oh, and you learn things you won't learn in a home game. Like "how will this go if we have no defender?" "What happens in a game with three leaders and no strikers?" "How well can two wizards with Thunderwave work together?" Forced suboptimal combinations are awesome.

 

[Timeboxer]

Ok, time to reveal and embarassing fact ... I sorta get what organized play is all about, but I really don't fully understand what it is, how it works, why people do it, all of the detail stuff. The few things I think I know (playing with strangers at a game store, keeping "score", creating "legal" characters) don't sound all that appealing to me and maybe I have some of that stuff wrong. Can anyone kind of walk me through what it's like when you're actually doing it?

I've both played and GM'd in the RPGA several times, both in the 3E days and the 4E days. I'll try to summarize what it's like for you.

Firstly, you make a character according to the Character Creation Guide. Back in 3E, this document was amazingly extensive and had a huge list of banned prestige classes and magic items and feats; nowadays it's more like "Pick stats this way, you can't use Dragonmarked feats from these books, you can't use magic items from these books," and so on.

Second, you show up at an event. If you don't have an RPGA card, you get one. Yes, you do basically play with strangers, but I suggest that it's best to bring a friend or two and ask to be seated with them. My experience with this has been somewhat hit or miss. In my very first event way back in 2001 I went with some friends who ditched me with strangers because the particular GM and table they wanted was full; this resulted in having my first RPGA character molested in-game by a halfling rogue played by someone else at the table (really). By contrast, I have a friend I've known for two years now who I originally met during RPGA at a random sit-down. So it's a bit of a mixed bag.

Third, you actually play. During the 3E days they were a lot more stringent about what GMs could and couldn't do during a game, because the organization was much more player-centric; now the GMs have much more flexibility in changing up encounters as long as the story is maintained. (Or else you can run whatever you want and call it an RPGA game, which is a new option.)

Fourth, you track results. Often you'll get a slip of paper asking you who played in your game, their RPGA numbers, resources lost/gained, and a questionnaire asking if the BBEG was killed/incapacitated, if a certain piece of evidence was uncovered, and so on. Supposedly the questions inform the future of the campaign's adventures, but I've never felt a strong connection here. The key thing here though is that things that happen outside the game table are pretty regulated; this ensures that everyone comes to the table, even if you don't know them, adhering to some standard.

Last, some months later, you get rewards. Players get special cards that give their characters special abilities, e.g. "Gain +5 to Diplomacy for one check," "You are allowed to play a non-standard race," and so on. This appears to have been deprecated in favor of the pre-existing but now expanded GM rewards.

In sum, to me it's a bit like a bite-sized version of D&D, in the sense that it's missing the "I'm playing with a bunch of my friends" aspect. For a period of time when all the GMs in my group were burnt out, we frequented the for our D&D fix, but once we got our campaigns back into gear we spent less time there. That said, if you potentially want to make some new friends, or you're GMing all the time and you want to play a little, it's a good place to go.

By the way -- regardless of how frequently you do RPGA events, I've found that being an RPGA GM is occasionally very useful. If you show up at an RPGA event or a convention and there aren't enough GMs to go around, and there are lots of sad players who can't play, you can say, "Uh, I'm an RPGA GM!" and suddenly they have a game. So.

 

[amysrevenge]

The few things I think I know (playing with strangers at a game store, keeping "score", creating "legal" characters) don't sound all that appealing to me and maybe I have some of that stuff wrong. Can anyone kind of walk me through what it's like when you're actually doing it?

Well, Thanlis made an excellent review of the process, from the point of view of a new person joining in. All I can really do is add some overview type comments.

1) Keeping score - we used to do that, but we haven't since early in the decade. Although we do still formally keep track of experience and treasure for our characters; since we don't have the same group/DM every session the necessity for formal character tracking becomes apparent.

2) Playing with strangers - the first time you go, you're definitely playing with strangers. After you've been, though, they are friends (or at least acquaintances). The best situation, for me at least, is to play with a mixed group - some strangers, and some friends. It is pretty fun to travel to another part of the world and play with all new people though, at least for me. It also provides an opportunity to quickly meet new people who share your interests, if you ever happen to move to a new city (as I've done several times since joining the RPGA).

3) Creating legal characters. Was somewhat difficult in 2E and 3.x days (easy-peasy if you wanted to make a "normal" thing like dwarf-fighter or elf-wizard, difficult if you wanted to make something unusual). Is pretty easy now. Basically, if it is in a book or a Dragon magazine, you can make it. There are some very small exceptions (such as the Dragonmarks that Thanlis mentioned), and there is a short delay (on the order of days, or weeks at the most) between books and articles being released and them becoming legal, but again, as long as you're not itching to build the very newest PC with the very newest rules, you can basically build whatever you like and it will be legal.


My standard advice for anyone who is even a little bit curious about the RPGA: try it out, and make sure to try it at least twice, with two different DMs. The play style is most definitely NOT for everyone. I used to be the biggest RPGA proselytizer, convinced that everyone would be better off playing RPGA games. I have since realized that this is not true. It is perfect for me, and for many of my friends, but it is not a good fit for everyone.

 

[Nebten]

I find the biggest benifit is the "have character, will travel" aspect of it. For a lot of people, its hard to get a core group of people together to play D&D on a constant basis. With RPGA/LFR, you just show up with your character sheet and play. It may ore may not be the same people you played with before. I know when I traveled alot, I still wanted to play. I started play RPGA/LG to get that "D&D fix." Games are not that hard to find and they don't always occur at gaming stores. There are private games, game days and conventions going on all the time. Sure you may not get the individual treatment you may get from a homebrew game with the same D&D, but you are sharing the gaming with so many more people. This works for some people, and not so much for others.

Also, there is no "keeping score" any more. Just XP and gold like a normal D&D game. You just have limitations on how one goes about getting magic items. But then again, which DM doesn't have those?

 

[darjr]

I've runned a few RPGA adventures and find out that they don't fit my style. No much focus on roleplaying.

Then things have changed. The latest mod I've looked at has 7 encounters, 2 of which are combat, 2 are skill challenges and 3 are rp.

 

[smerwin29]

Wow! Excellent thread so far.

I just wanted to add a couple thoughts to what has already been (expertly) said. People who are not overly familiar with the RPGA might assume there is one "RPGA play style." There is not. The RPGA is an open organization containing every type of gamer you can imagine.

There is also a misconception that DMs just adhere slavishly to the text of the adventure. This used to be somewhat the case in past RPGA offerings, but we are actively encouraging DMs to use their common sense and talents to make adjustments to adventures on the fly if it makes the table more fun for players. Obviously this is a bit of a tightrope: since it is a campaign, you want players to be able to go to another DM who might be running a sequel to an adventure and have the player recognize the plots and NPCs of the series. But within that restriction of playability as a campaign, the DM has a lot of leeway. For the Living Forgotten Realms campaign we have even introduced what we call "My Realms" adventures, where a DM can create his own homebrew adventure to entertain the players and focus on whatever plot, topic, or style suits his or her (or his or her players') wishes. These can be used to bring a "home game" feel to an RPGA campaign.

The most important thing to remember is that the RPGA is not each of its individual members; it is a loose organization that promotes gaming by offering content and a means to interact more directly with WotC. Too often I hear people say "The RPGA is [blank]" based on going to only one RPGA event or only interacting with the people at one RPGA venue. The RPGA is no one thing, except maybe a cross-section of gamers. What the RPGA is there for is to promote D&D in general by offering free content and bringing gamers together to play.

If anyone has any questions or comments about the RPGA in general, or Living Forgotten Realms specifically, don't hesitate to send me a PM.

Thanks,

Shawn Merwin
Living Forgotten Realms Global Administrator

 

[Shazman]

Ok, time to reveal and embarassing fact ... I sorta get what organized play is all about, but I really don't fully understand what it is, how it works, why people do it, all of the detail stuff. The few things I think I know (playing with strangers at a game store, keeping "score", creating "legal" characters) don't sound all that appealing to me and maybe I have some of that stuff wrong. Can anyone kind of walk me through what it's like when you're actually doing it?

Well, first you have to join the RPGA. The most common way is to attend an RPGA event or game, and usually whoever is the organizer will have some membership cards available. You fill out the membership card, half of which is a post card you mail out for the RPGA's records. The membership card has a number on it. You use that number when you attend and RPGA game which can be at a con, meetup, or just someone's house. You fill out a form with your RPGA number at the beginning of the game. After the game, you get a slip of paper stating that you have completed the session which has your exp gained, and whatever gold or magic itmes were gained as well as gold spent to purchase things. You are expected to keep a record of these. Before, the DM would keep a record and register the details online, but now it is more of an honor system. Your character progresses just like a normal D&D character. The adventures are set up for certain level ranges, and you are not allowed to play outside of that range. They also have rules governing how many and what level of magic items your character can have. Before 4th edition, the options availabe to your character were really restrictive, and you had to earn special cards for some options. Thankfully, most options that are not specific to non-FR campaigns are legal now. I hope that answers your questions.

 

[UniversalMonster]

The RPGA has changed over the years. I think everyone here is stating it really well.

It's not the masons, dude. You don't have to join a secret society or buy a membership. It's free. Basically you show up with a character and play! If you want to DM there's a very easy test to take (which will hopefully ensure you at least know how to run the game) and then you can download adventures to run.

Then, when you go to GenCon (or Origins or DDXP, or you move across state or you visit your grandma in Poughkipsie or whatever) you can still bring your leveled up character and get into a game. Since it's all one big campaign (imagine it as a giant campaign with like 26,500+ active players all over the world) it's cool to bring your character from one campaign group to the next. "Hi, I've never met you in my life, but my Ranger just hit 4th level. Can I join your group?" The answer is yes.

You track your own gold and experience. The Dm records the player ID numbers so that they have some kind of idea about how successful the program is. You can have multiple characters. You can get free stuff like map tiles and adventures.

Its fun.

 

[EricNoah]

Thank you everyone, I'm starting to get the picture!

 

[ProfessorCirno]

If it's changed for the better, then there's that.

RPGA up until 3.x was iffy. RPGA at 3.x was absolutely atrocious.

It's nice to hear they've cleaned up their act, though.