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8 months ago ::
Oct 05, 2012 - 4:05AM
#11
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Date Joined:
Feb 13, 2010
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I wonder if there are plans for an organized play Dungeon Command program.
I know there was a Dungeon Command Tournament Rules – the official document for tournament play, covering all the specifics - sent out to WPN organisers, and with the release of Tyranny of Goblins a pack of special action cards were also sent out.
DC hasnt really taken off at our store as most of the regulars are more warmachine/40k orientated and our little D&D group have eeked our niche, but I really enjoyed the demo at games day and have my own drow band.
Just wish they'd release individual boosters to customise your bands, or monster/order cards to go with older released mini's.
"Well that encounter was easy....er, guys, why is the DM grinning?" (party members last words) It's not a party till the screaming starts!
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8 months ago ::
Oct 05, 2012 - 10:57AM
#12
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Date Joined:
May 22, 2009
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The fact the Shawn Merwin (prolific LFR writer, Critical Hits blogger, and published D&D author) is saying that season 11 is NOT the last season, you can take that to the bank.
That's something I have not seen, and that's interesting. I will be glad to see the program continue if it does so.
I will point you to the 2nd post in this very thread (which he also posted in the Session 6 is a mess thread):
Post #2
The relevent quote is:
I think it is safe to say that Season 11 will not be the last season.
OK. I didn't realize that's who you were referring to, and that you were referring to that post. I thought you were referring to something he wrote elsewhere (perhaps on the Critical Hits blog). And in my defense, he didn't say unequivocally that it isn't ending (for example, "I have it on the highest authority from WOTC that this will definitely not be the last season of Encounters") but that he thinks it's safe to say that it won't be ending. Again, I will certainly be happy to see it continue. I was just expressing my opinion. Many people I've talked to have drawn the same conclusion based on the description of next season.
- Rico
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8 months ago ::
Oct 05, 2012 - 11:43AM
#13
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Date Joined:
Jun 18, 2003
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I am always in an odd position in terms of Wizards of the Coast stuff because of NDAs--I can only talk with certainty about things that I don't know anything about. :-)
So while I cannot say exactly what I know and how I know it, I'll say this. A new game store just opened close to me that is going to run D&D Encounters, and I am volunteering to DM there for Season 11. I am fully expecting to also volunteer for Season 12.
I am also asking questions about different issues that DMs and players are having with Encounters because I am interested in all things that Wizards does for D&D Organized Play. It makes sense that as the playtesting of D&D Next continues, we are most assuredly going to see experiments with OP programs--both current ones and new ones.
Thanks for the discussion so far!
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8 months ago ::
Oct 08, 2012 - 12:04PM
#14
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Date Joined:
May 22, 2009
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D&D Next is not coming out for at least 1.5 years and maybe 2 years (that is the development cycle that Mike M earls is stating are on track for as of last GenCon this summer).
I'm aware of that. I didn't say that D&D Next was being released. I suggested a possible expansion of the current public playtest program, which is part of that development cycle.
From the new October in the Works article:
D&D Encounters: War of Everlasting DarknessThe latest season of D&D Encounters starts up later this month, with Session 0 (for character creation) taking place October 24th. This season is something new for the D&D Encounters program. War of Everlasting Darkness is an exciting mini-campaign—and an opportunity to playtest elements of the next edition of the Dungeons & Dragons rules.
So, it seems I wasn't so far off the mark after all.
- Rico
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8 months ago ::
Oct 08, 2012 - 1:33PM
#15
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Date Joined:
Aug 30, 2008
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NDAs prevent either Shawn, Alphastream, or myself from directly commenting on material we may or may not have playtested until it comes out.
So, I am not able to address your assertion without being in violation of a contract that I signed.
It frustrates me that you can make such an assertion with so little information, while I am constrained.
I guess I will have to wait until the kits ship before I can speak.
So, speculate away, it has been super productive and on target so far.
Bryan "In A Box" Blumklotz
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8 months ago ::
Oct 10, 2012 - 7:54AM
#16
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Date Joined:
Oct 20, 2010
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It might frustrate you that we can speculate wildly, but imagine for a moment the complete lack of information for those of us who are trying to plan and schedule a campaign about which we have no information, but which is starting in 2 weeks.
I'm taking back coordinator duties this season.
I don't know if I need to create 8 sets of 6 pre-generated characters. It takes me about an hour to make a character, so that could be upwards of 40 hours of work for me, in addition to having to export them all out of my DDI account since there's a space limit in character builder.
I don't know if I need to slot extra time for character leveling before each session. Between each chapter, I've found myself staring at anywhere from 5 to 10 players who want me to level up their PCs, 5 minutes before the game starts. I would have felt comfortable saying "only if you're following the essentials/encounters limits" before, but with the rumored "any source is ok" rules, am I now going to have to work with power gaming and people sifting through 300 options each time they level up?
I don't know how much I need to change the logistics in my store with my DMs. I don't know how much I need to train my DMs for a new format.
I don't know if I need to teach them a new ruleset, because this season is going to introduce rules for a system which I'm not really invested in. I was looking forward to this season of Encounters as being my kind of "last hurrah" with 4e organized play. Now, I don't know if that's supported by the adventure, or if I'm going to have to become a rules expert on a system I have never played and didn't intend to learn yet.
Your NDA might be frustrating you, but a near-complete lack of communication from WotC to organizers frustrates me. I'm used to it, though-- it's always been a scramble to find information for every bit of organized play. The program has many strengths, but if we didn't have the inter-group communications here on the forum, I know my group would be severely struggling to maintain it.
Sure, maybe we wildly speculate sometimes-- that's the natural result of silence and non-communication. If WotC doesn't want that, then they need to put out a press release and actually do a better job of communicating with their organizers. Heck, they made thousands of public playtesters agree to terms-- it can't be that hard to do the same with a few hundred organizers who are known to their store owners and vetted by WotC before they're cleared to sanction games.
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8 months ago ::
Oct 10, 2012 - 8:10AM
#17
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Date Joined:
Jun 18, 2003
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I hear your frustration, and I share it. There are so many moving parts in a successful OP program that has to benefit everyone: Wizards, the stores, the players, etc. But the most important link in this chain are the coordinators and DMs. They are the ones who need the most help and support, and whose needs must be met if the OP programs are going to survive. We content designers and playtesters understand those needs, and we do pass them on in our feedback. And I personally appreciate hearing how things could be made easier--even if they are things I personally cannot contol.
As Encounters seasons continue to deviate a bit from the paradigm we are used to, we can do a lot to support each other in things like creating pre-gens, talking about strategies to get around rough spots in the sessions, etc. I am truly impressed by the hard work that so many have done to make the program better and serve the players, and I hope it continues. I will do what I can to add to that as well.
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8 months ago ::
Oct 10, 2012 - 8:32AM
#18
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Date Joined:
Jan 10, 2008
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I have it on good authority that for the next season of D&D Encounters characters will level up at the end of every week. So if you’re planning to have pre-gens you’ll need 8 sets.
Visit Dungeon's Master.com – The D&D Resource Blog For DMs and Players.
http://dungeonsmaster.com
Follow me on Twitter @ameron_dm
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8 months ago ::
Oct 10, 2012 - 12:20PM
#19
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Date Joined:
Apr 14, 2011
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8 sets of pregen, but you really only create one set then level them and export... rinse, repeat. And to make it simpler, you use only essentials classes, so there are less options to deal with on leveling. Still some hours of work to get through it all, but not 40 hours. And you only need the level 1's for the first week. So you can spread to work out. What's more troubling to me with leveling every week is having to print out new character sheets every week... times 3 for me and my brood... that's 15+ pages every week. That's a lot of ink. I'm glad work can afford it. Not everybody has access to free high quality printing. And I've never asked about it, I just do it on the sly. I wish it was easier to level up a 4e character without recreating the character sheet(s) from scratch. TjD
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8 months ago ::
Oct 10, 2012 - 1:36PM
#20
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Date Joined:
Oct 20, 2010
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Well, you could use a paper character sheet and a pencil, and just write down your power cards separately....
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