Your experience with RPGA events..good or not so good?

[Piratecat]

I have more than two dozen incredibly good friends from all over the country that I've met solely through the RPGA. Of course, I've also gamed with some poor players - in over 300 RPGA games that's pretty inevitable - but I stay in touch with the folks who are fun, and my life is vastly more interesting thereby.

I prefer "classic" games without continuing characters, but the RPGA has recently been experimenting with gutting these events by removing character personalities and interactions; other than that, I wouldn't be able to recommend them highly enough. I'm a little suspicion of Living games for some of the reasons that other folks have mentioned.

My usual rule of thumb is that out of 6 games at a typical con, one will be bad, 2 will be okay, 2 will be good, and one will be amazing. I live for that amazing game, bcause it makes the occasional crappy encounter fade into the background.

 

[Pyske]

My biggest complaint with the RPGA is the modules.

Ah, yes, module stories. I think this one was the straw that broke the camel's back, for me (spoilered for those who might play it):

After a bit of light investigating, we found the man we were looking for. He drew his sword,

Spoiler

which turned out to be cursed. Everyone who saw it had to make DC24 Will saves, or be compelled to kill the person who possessed the sword and take it for themself (becoming the new target in the process).

I was playing a level 2 Fighter among a mostly level 3 - 4 group.

. . . . . . . -- Eric

PS -- I mention this partly because it's an in-region module for caudor.

 

[MarauderX]

RPGA kicks @$$!

I've had a few bad DMs (and who hasn't...) but I find it's best to go with a friend or two. Invite your regular gaming buddies, you will all have a blast together, make it a road trip.

 

[diaglo]

My experiences have been similar to caudor and Psyke. I think there is definitely an insular mentality throughout a lot of the RPGA, but I've also had a couple of good experiences.

The RPGA tournaments, on the other hand, have never been anything but awful.

ditto this experience.

pretty much why i left RPGA in the 80's. i've been to a few local meets in the past 3 years....and it hasn't really changed.


i've seen what happened in caudor case time and time again.

 

[Inconsequenti-AL]

I've only ever played one RPGA game - run by nemmerle. Pre-made characters and played a bit of the Temple of the Spider Queen - I really enjoyed it. Best parts of it were the customisations to the module.

Edit: Oh, it probably didn't hurt that the other players were really friendly and went a long way towards making me feel welcome. Only a minor detail, of course.

I'd like to play some more, but it's rather difficult in the UK.

 

[Hand of Evil]

I was very displeased with my local RPGA found it to be run by a corrupt role-playing element that allowed friends and buddies special treatment (this may have changed by now).

At GenCon my feelings are mixed, I have had good games and bad, I have a few issues with the people at the Con but as said some people are just asses.

 

[Ghostwind]

I can certainly say that the bad experiences far outweigh the good when dealing with the RPGA. My very first Winter Fantasy resulted in one excellent game because I was fortunate to have good players and a respectable GM who made the best out of a very lousy and poorly written module. At another Winter Fantasy, I played a Living Kalamar game which I found to be quite enjoyable.

On the other hand, when I've tried to play in local events, I've found them to be nothing but little gamer buddy groups that are so insular that even the gaming store they game in on a regular basis doesn't welcome "outsiders" unless you are there to buy something right away and then leave. It's not a friendly atmosphere, especially to female gamers. So I decided awhile back that there was no need for me to kill myself trying to get into RPGA games in my area. It just wasn't worth it.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

But also during all these years, I dreamed about going to Gencon to play in RPGA events

In general my experience has been positive.

But, if you're going to GenCon, I would avoid most Living Greyhawk RPGA events. Why? There is one special event you can only play at GenCon. Play it if you want. Last year was "Return to the Ghost Tower of Inverness"--it was a lot of fun. Everything else for LG is just the same "core" modules you can play anywhere in the world. There is nothing special about the other mods.

I really enjoy the Living Death campaign. It's 1890's horror (a 3.5 version of Ravenloft's "Masque of the Red Death"). That campaign is ending in couple of years, so if you want to play it, do so now. They have an interactive and two module premieres at GenCon, but they can fill up fast, so try to register for them early if you can.

Since you invested time (and a lot of money, unless you're local), just play other stuff. I use GenCon to try games I usually don't play.

I have a lot of fun with RPGA stuff locally (Milwaukee, WI), but my nearby LG regions (Wisconsin = Highfolk and Illinois = Verbobonc) both have great leadership which strive to make the campaign fun (but challenging) for everyone. Other regions aren't so lucky. And in the three years I've been playing, only once has a "clique" sort of screwed over other players at a local con. Generally, the people have been great--welcoming and a lot of fun to play with.

 

[Seule]

I joined the RPGA shortly before 3rd edition came in, and I've played in several campaigns. Most of my RPGA energy has gone into Living Greyhawk, trying to get my region (Ket) more active. Last friday I started a biweekly Living Greyhawk game, specifically aimed at new players, to try to give them a friendly, welcoming place to get started in the campaign.
Recently the campaign has started producing Introductory modules that can only be played by 1st level characters, which helps the getting-started thing a lot. Most conventions that run LG should have at least a couple on offer.
Sure, there are some bad players and DMs, but I've found them to be in the minority and easily avoided once you know them... and I'm happy to share my experience with anyone who asks, so they aren't burned as well. My local convention organizers know who's good at running games and who isn't, and those people aren't invited to run games for them.
Recently, I wrote a regional mod, and have started working on a second. I find it very rewarding to write something that'll be played potentially by hundreds of people, and that's one of the coolest things about LG, with so many mods produced each year, anyone with some experience can try.

I have to comment on Living Force, I haven't been very impressed. The core rules set being heavy skewed towards Force users doesn't help.

I recommend Living Greyhawk as a good place to start if you can get into some Intro mods, but the best RPGA campaign I've ever tried is Living Spycraft. It's really still getting started, but it's a whole lot of fun.

If anyone's in Southern Ontario (Guelph) and wants to play, drop me a line at pdavies at uoguelph.ca.

--Seule

 

[dsfriii]

I like a lot of others also had very bad experiences with the RPGA. They all seem to be power gamers. And it seems that when WotC designed 3.5 they designed it reign in those power gamers.