White Wolfs pay to play deal...

[kenobi65]

WotC already has two organized play structures - the DCI and the RPGA. The RPGA they inherited from TSR and has been generally turned over to Ryan Dancey.

That last bit is incorrect.

Ryan Dancey has (had?) a company called Organized Play. In 2002, Organized Play purchased the Living City campaign from WotC / RPGA. Under that arrangement, Living City would still function as an RPGA campaign, but it would be adminstered by Organized Play.

Dancey's idea was to charge people to play LC events (sort of like what White Wolf is trying here), but regardless of venue (i.e., convention, home play, whatever). If memory serves, you could get a "pay as you go" membership (something like $2 per module, IIRC), or an "unlimited" membership for like $25 or $50 for six months or a year.

He massively overestimated how much revenue he'd generate, and lost money hand over fist, apparently. One could argue how much of this was due to the pay-for-play scheme, and how much was due to LC having already suffered a possibly-fatal wound with the wonky conversion to 3E (which predated Dancey's ownership of the campaign).

Even with restaging Living City into two campaigns (Ruins of Ravens Bluff and high-level Living City), the campaign pretty much ground to a halt (I have to say, the 3 RRB modules I played were among the worst RPGA adventures I've ever played).

Organized Play returned the rights to Living City back to the RPGA in either late 2003 or early 2004, and Mr. Dancey and Organized Play had no connection to LC, or the RPGA, from that point on. At the behest of old-time LC fans, the RPGA had two "finale" modules written for LC, which ran at GenCon Indy in 2004 (they were orderable for other gatherings, as well, through the end of 2004). At this point, it's safe to say that LC is dead and buried.

At no time did Dancey or Organized Play have any involvement with any other of the RPGA's campaigns. RPGA continues to be an arm of the WotC marketing department. Ian Richards and Stephen Radney-Macfarland (hope I didn't butcher his name too badly) are the leaders of the RPGA, and both of them are RPGA / WotC employees.

 

[mcrow]

Here is a post from a post on rpg.net by Justin for those who don't want to page mindlessly through that thread:

"As always, topics like this bring out the armchair lawyers and the histrionics.

The purpose of this policy is to prevent larger, "unsanctioned" groups from trading on the White Wolf IP to generate profit for themselves. If you run a service for profit based on someone else's IP without a license, you have broken the law, just like selling bootleg CDs or DVDs without a license.

As a side benefit, it allows us to control a certain degree of quality and standards with regard to live-action groups. If we get a call from a convention organizer and she's all, "We'd like to have a Vampire LARP, but the last time we did, they sacrificed a goat and defiled all the minors in the building," we can say "They weren't officially sanctioned to run that game. Here's the contact info for your local Camarilla chapter, who will run this game professionally, safely and responsibly."

That's it. This isn't an attempt to invade your home game or generate another $20, nor is it an attempt to build a zombie world-conquest army populated by LARPers. It's quality control and trademark protection.

You may now return to the standard battery of hysteria. "




Then he goes on to spit insults back an forth with a pissed off fan. I think thats shows a lack of class IMO.

 

[reveal]

You may now return to the standard battery of hysteria.

That's funny. To me though. I'm sure people who already don't like WW take that as a slight.

 

[Glyfair]

I'd do it by sending notice to gaming stores that rent out rooms.


The merit of pay-for-play we can debate, but that's at least one way to enforce it.

It's probably this would fly. I'm not sure they could stop you from renting a room to players who wanted to play in a game. Would it stop hotels from charging rent for a room if the players are getting together to play a game?

 

[KenM]

So if I want to run a WW game in my own home I have to pay WW a fee? Right............. I don't think so.

 

[reveal]

So if I want to run a WW game in my own home I have to pay WW a fee? Right............. I don't think so.

I think it only applies if you charge for it. So no chipping in for beer and pizza!

 

[Templeton580]

*

 

[reveal]

Only, apparently, if you ask your players to chip in on your mortgage (pro-rated for game nights, of course), and were also stupid enough to register yourself with White Wolf as as "licensed game organizer."

In other words, that's not what it means. Your scenario is utterly unenforceable, and a little bit absurd.

Holy cow, I'm sounding like the voice of reason. Somebody flame me, quick!

Cutter XXIII is a putz!

 

[HellHound]

Then he [Justin] goes on to spit insults back an forth with a pissed off fan. I think thats shows a lack of class IMO.

LOL

To me, that shows a distinct amount of Justin. Justin doesn't pull punches or hold back. There is a reason he's not liked by a lot of people, and loved a bunch of other people. If there was ever a rockstar of the RPG world, Justin is it. Trashing hotel rooms, getting into brawls with gamers and non-gamers alike, moshing into wedding parties at the dance club pissed out of his gourd, and partying with Peter Adkison until Peter gets up ont he table and starts table dancing while we someone starts slipping dollar bills into Peter's pants, and so on.

Needless to say, he's a blast to party with until he decides to start hitting you. And if you like a good row, then he's still a blast to party with.

But you won't find me throwing insults at him without expecting him to throw them right back at me, and probably go to blows over it.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Cutter XXIII is a putz!

It's a beautiful thing.