Anyone RPGA members here currently playing in the Living Forgotten Realms? What's your opinion of the current Realms? Any favorite LFR mods? I'm new to the FR and find the current version a bit...bland...so far. The mods so far have been average with a few outstanding exceptions (Gangs of Wheloon).
joela wrote: Anyone RPGA members here currently playing in the Living Forgotten Realms? What's your opinion of the current Realms? Any favorite LFR mods? I'm new to the FR and find the current version a bit...bland...so far. The mods so far have been average with a few outstanding exceptions (Gangs of Wheloon). I agree, for the most part. I've always found RPGA mods a little lacking, though. In my opinion RPGA games are great for a quick, fun, low-hassle game, but they should never take the place of a regular, campaign-style home game. They're just two different animals.
Scott Betts wrote: In my opinion RPGA games are great for a quick, fun, low-hassle game.... True, true, but I love that aspect at times, especially when I'm exhausted from a rough day at work. I've also discovered something: like the recent Dungeon Delve supp, they can be easily used as a "seed", so to speak, to launch or use in a regular campaign.
Example: Gangs of Wheloon
How do you get RPGA mods? I'm a RPGA member and took the 4E Herald DM test, but can't figure out where to register a game & request a module. I'm interested in checking out how they use skill challenges, so Gangs sounds like a good example, but I don't know how to get my hands on it.
tav_behemoth wrote: How do you get RPGA mods? I'm a RPGA member and took the 4E Herald DM test, but can't figure out where to register a game & request a module. I'm interested in checking out how they use skill challenges, so Gangs sounds like a good example, but I don't know how to get my hands on it. Yeah, the ordering method (while straightforward once you know what to do), requires a bit of unexpected jumping about on the site.
Step 1: Go to http://rpga.com; this will take you to the RPGA section of the D&D site.
Step 2: You should see a link in the menu on the left that says 'Sign In' - click that to get to the DCI/RPGA sign-in page.
Step 3: Sign in, which will take you to your account.
Step 4: In the menu on the right, click on the 'Event Sanctioning' link.
Step 5: You have to select what type of event you want to order for; click the D&D logo at the top of the page.
Step 6: You now are able to fill out the info for your event - choose what type of event (con, game day, home game, etc), toss in a name for the locale, a date, and then choose your adventures. The adventure selection list has a filter to only display one campaign (such as LFR), which I recommend using.
Step 7: Choose what adventure you want to run. You can click on a module's name to see the blurb, region and level range. Once you've finished, continue to the end of the form and submit the event.
Step 8: Ok, your event is in their database! But... now you need to actually get the adventure. Now, click on the 'My Events' tag in the menu on the right, and again go to the D&D section.
Step 9: An events search form comes up, just hit search without filling anything in. It will bring up all events you have previously played in or arranged, including the one you just submitted.
Step 10: Click on an event's Sanction # (which will be clearly visible) to open up that event. The adventures for that event will be available for download in the bottom right of the page!
Once you've gone through the process once, it is pretty simple, but figuring it out in advance is much more of a hassle. Finally, once you have ordered and run it, you'll want to go to the Events Reporting page and submit the results.
It might seem something of an ordeal, but can definitely be worth it!
joela wrote: Anyone RPGA members here currently playing in the Living Forgotten Realms? What's your opinion of the current Realms? Any favorite LFR mods? I'm new to the FR and find the current version a bit...bland...so far. The mods so far have been average with a few outstanding exceptions (Gangs of Wheloon). I've been playing (and running), and enjoying it so far. I definitely agree that there hasn't been too much that 'stands out' - though at the same time, I've found it has more ability for a good DM performance to really make the mod.
I played Living Greyhawk in 3rd Edition, where the mods were much stronger, and one of the big differences I noticed was that the mods in each region were much more tightly connected into larger plots, while LFR mods so far have been very stand-alone. I imagine that is partly due to the ability to play in any region, resulting in much faster levelling and less need for interconnectivity. However... it is also the first year of the campaign, so I imagine the focus right now is also simply on getting the process down. I wouldn't be surprised if we see more quality and more overall story as the campaign continues.
What I really love about it, however, is how much more freedom it gives the DM. In LG, mods were generally very linear, with very little room for DM interpretation or adjustment for different groups. LFR, on the other hand, encourages a lot more focus on making the game enjoyable for the group you are running it for, whether it is adding in more specific plot reasons for specific PCs or adventuring groups to be there, or playing up the RP with specific NPCs that catch the group's interest.
I've been playing events at a local game store, and then running them for my own gaming group. In the home games I've been running, I've created my own ongoing plot that ties all the mods I've been running together - basically creating a group of creepy silent monks dedicated to causing chaos in the Realms (or who simply show up in areas where weird things are happening), which I've found ties in well for a lot of the mods where bad stuff just randomly happens.
In each adventure, I've included or adjusted a minor encounter to feature one of these monks, and the PCs have slowly been figuring out more about the organization and its plans. However, I've been making sure not to change the core of the mods themselves - the central plot remains intact, to ensure the players have the same experience with the central villains and story of the adventure. Any encounters with stuff I've added in doesn't make any change to the XP or GP they get from the adventure - but I do pass out story rewards that give benefits that they can use against the monks in future adventures. These extra rewards are only usable when I'm running the mods for them, so don't have any impact on their place in the larger campaign.
So in the end, they are able to enjoy a variety of mods from different regions, and get the proper feel and experience intended from those adventures - while also having an ongoing plot to focus their characters around, and to give them a feeling of working as a group for something more substantial than simply drifting from one random adventure to another. All in all, it has worked out quite well!
Matthew Koelbl wrote: I've been playing (and running), and enjoying it so far. I definitely agree that there hasn't been too much that 'stands out' - though at the same time, I've found it has more ability for a good DM performance to really make the mod. While the following is probably useless advice for most who read this forum (since the majority of you probably DM already), I feel that RPGA games are one of the best ways to cultivate some basic DMing proficiency. You'll very quickly get the hang of the rules, the flow of the game, deal with a hundred common issues that come up, and if you end up not liking it for whatever reason, you can just stop DMing - the campaign will go on without you just fine, and you can even play in it!
Scott Betts wrote:
While the following is probably useless advice for most who read this forum (since the majority of you probably DM already), I feel that RPGA games are one of the best ways to cultivate some basic DMing proficiency. You'll very quickly get the hang of the rules, the flow of the game, deal with a hundred common issues that come up, and if you end up not liking it for whatever reason, you can just stop DMing - the campaign will go on without you just fine, and you can even play in it!
Also to add is that someone always knows the rules better than you. This includes the errata, etc. And many of the times they're more than willing to share it with you. Properly utilize, you can use such folks to quickly resolve almost any rule issue. Just know when to clamp them down when their rules knowledge slows the game (i.e., "I understand, Eric. I'm ruling it this way, though.")
joela wrote: Also to add is that someone always knows the rules better than you. This includes the errata, etc. And many of the times they're more than willing to share it with you. Properly utilize, you can use such folks to quickly resolve almost any rule issue. Just know when to clamp them down when their rules knowledge slows the game (i.e., "I understand, Eric. I'm ruling it this way, though.") In my games I actually designate a "Rules Lawyer". It is this person's responsibility to quickly flip open the rules and attempt to resolve the issue. I find that making a player the "Rules Lawyer" helps me focus on the story more. And it helps them feel like they're more of the "abjudication" process rather than victims.
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