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Well, I'm sure other threads will spring up over time, but for now, if you have questions/comments about the list, please post them here.

And, for reference, The List is here.

Can an adventuring company be organized by race instead of region (such as a Dragonborn clan)?

Fedifensor wrote:

Can an adventuring company be organized by race instead of region (such as a Dragonborn clan)?

It can be whatever you want: it's player driven. There are already a couple of race-based ACs. See the LivingFR yahoo group's Links section for more info:
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/LivingFR/links

I have to ask: is there any real benefit to joining an Adventuring Company?

Because if not, then I'm going to have to pass.

Is there any real penalty to joining one? For the moment, it's much like saying you're part of any other organization or what color your hair is or what voice you speak in. All for RP.

I suspect that benefits will soon be introduced. Which will be cool on one hand, but also make them "required" which is a shame.

While we're still waiting on the official rules for AdCos, it was indicated by Chris that we may see reference to some of the larger AdCos in mods, and they may on occasion get a minor bonus (be it a +1 to a check, or a clue to a mystery) for members in mods.

By far and large, the benefit is for roleplay and comraderie. There may be some small mechanical benefits over time, however.

Having a standard benefit, not so great - circumstance bonuses in certain modules that they're in the flavor for? Great!

I'm new to the RPGA and we're trying to get a local public group started here in our area.

Do you have to register an Adventuring Company? Are there any guidelines for them that you can point me to?

I think that as long as you make a Yahoo Group for the company and set up a link to it from the main LivingFR group, that might be registered enough.

I just wonder how adventure company activities are reported.

There will be guidelines at some point in the future and probably some small benefits to membership. Nothing has been announced as yet.

I know getting the details about Adventuring Companies published is on Chris Tulach's list of a gizillion things to do, but I suspect finishing the prep/posting of the Weekend in the Realms adventure, finalizing the first 4Q LFR adventures to start rolling out, dealing with the budget review/program defense for his next year budget, working on D&D Delve night, and a few other things may be higher on his list.

The LFR Admins did contribute a wide variety of ideas on benefits to Chris.

His intent is to keep the program fairly simple.

Yes, it is possible that regional Writing Directors may include some reference or bennie for being a member of XYZ Adventuring Company, if appropriate, in an adventure but the adventure will not be for that AC's exclusive play.

I wonder if he would let me "frame" an AC for a crime they didn't commit, and the adventure is to prove their innocence. That would give a special twist if you were a member!

Keith

Thanks for the responses. We'll start organizing our local group as an AC and then make sure we're legal when the guidelines come out.

I have a question about what ties players would like to see in LFR adventures to adventuring companies. Adventures written exclusively for a given adventuring company members will not be possible, but the plot might touch on or be relevant to specific adventuring companies.

the hook--being offered a job/asked for help
the theme is relevant to backstory or purpose of the adventuring company
someone has accused the adventuring company of some misdeed

So post what you would like to see.

Keith

I think one important thing is in some cases to ask what the ground rules/purpose of the adventuring company is. I wouldn't mind the Heralds of Caiphon being put into most adventures, but they've got certain membership requirements that might surprise adventure writers...

When (if) I post a writeup of my Genasi War College I'd love to see an adventure set around it.

I haven't missed the AC guidelines document have I?

Not unless I've missed it too.

And we all know how unlikely that is.

I would like to see benefits. But only ones in specific situations, and almost always skill based.

Some ideas would be something like:

A group that has been terrorized by Lizardmen could +2 knowledge check when used to find information about Lizardmen.

+1 initiative when facing a group of 2 or more Gnolls in combat due to a hatred of Gnolls who almost killed the leader of the company.

The secretive assassin guild would let you buy non-magical shurikens for half price, or the ability to buy a shuriken with a magical modifier equal to your level + 1 (instead of just your level).

Get a +2 Athletics bonus to "catch yourself" when you fail a roll and start to fall from climbing because you're in the rock climbing guide.

+1 Diplomacy checks with Elves from Corymr because your company has had extensive dealings with them in the past.


I think things like that would be the best bet. Something extremely situational and small, but would really make people feel like they are unique. I was working on a small list of other ideas that would not change the balance of the game, and would not be of much interest to power gamers (who always seem to choose Akanul and Dalelands for regions... myself included).

WOOTZOR!!!!!!!!!

Dragon9 wrote:

WOOTZOR!!!!!!!!!

A-hem.

*points to red letters in start of thread, then wanders off to find a place to move these two posts*



[EDIT]
moved to the discussion thread

*composes himself* Sorry... I don't know what got into me... Had flashbacks to yesterday's gameday...

Dragon9 wrote:

*composes himself* Sorry... I don't know what got into me... Had flashbacks to yesterday's gameday...

WOOTZOR tends to have that effect on people. I could tell from your post that it came from deep within your inner bowels, so you have brought honor to the WOOTZOR!

*raises fist into the air*

I see some of the Companies in the main list need to update their listings now with the AC rules in the new CCG. i.e. no bonuses to rolls can be given from membership.

One point to be aware of for Adventuring Companies is that any restrictions or requirements must be character based, not player based.

Example, you may have an AC whose members are dwarves, but not one where the players are men only.

Example, you may have an AC whose members are all from Waterdeep (the character background), but not one that requires the players to be from Fairborn, Ohio, or Northcentral USA.

Example, you may have an AC whose members (the characters) are all red heads, but not one where the players must be all red heads.

Keith

So, I see ACs have been added in pretty much the exact fashion described at Gen Con. My questions are thus:

1) Is there an official "template" or form for an adventuring company?
2) Is there a place on the WotC site to register the company?
3) Are Senior GMs running conventions or weekly retail events empowered to grant additional bonuses, requirements or liabilities to adventuring companies?

My intention is to create a few "official" ACs for my weekly retail group, and I'd like to write in a rank/hierarchy structure and grant them bonuses and give them requirements - essentially, the way most of them looked in LG. And I'd like ultimate flexibility in the way I do this.

For example, I want to create an organization that is essentially a Cormyrian spy network working auspiciously for King Foril. I'd like to require some of the story awards from CORM1-1 and CORM1-2 as prerequisites for joining the organization, and I'd like to have my table DMs insert extra content into key mods as pertaining to that organization (ranging from a bonus or penalty to certain streetwise and diplomacy checks in certain skill challenges all the way through awarding extra gold/XP for the completion of custom quests within LFR mods, possibly even a little over the cap). I'd like to create ranks within the organization with increasing responsibilities and benefits, perhaps give them temporary item/feat access and aid as a benefit, and as a responsibility include that they must solve X encounter diplomatically or without being seen or they must make sure everyone comes back alive or they fail, or something like that as a responsibility. In short, I want to make the organization as interactive with the environment as possible, so that the players feel like the mods were made for them specifically. How much of that can I do?

Teh only benefits allowed to an AC are those listed in the CCG. You can't give them anything else. ACs are meant more for RP purposes.

I guess that, unless the upcomming DME-regulation will forbid it, Arin12 could just implement most of what he wants through DME.

Some thing that he certainly couldn't do would be to give extra Gold/XP to bring the adventure total over the cap (not even a little).

DME would certainly allow for givign a bonus or penalty to diplomacy checks, etc. That falls within normal DME caveat. You can't give out extra gold/xp, items, or feats as an AC benefit though. Even with DME. That's out of scope.

Yes, that what I meant with "most". Extra items/feats are of course as impossible as extra gold/xp (over the cap)

Two Questions:

1) What's DME?
2) I understand the gold/XP cap thing was a pipe dream - honestly, the reason it was there was as incentive to complete "AC quests". However, as LFR mods empower us to make adjustments to them based on local need, could we not, at least at our own venue alone, regulate "group" item control?

Other subthoughts to that:

Can the AC pool their money and resources, a la "guild bank"? If they do decide there's a "membership fee", does the PC controlling the AC pocket the coin? Could that coin be used to purchase "group items" that the group can pass around?

1) DME = Dungeon Master Empowerment.

In short, the rules that let DMs make minor adjustments to the adventures in order to facilitate fun and challenging play.

2) You cannot change what awards the adventure gives out. At all.

The PCs still need to successfully complete an encounter that gives out any given award, of course. (I.E. if they lose a combat and the bad guy gets away, they can't have his stuff).

3) PCs may never walk away from an adventure with any other PC's treasure or gold. They might loan an item to another character during an adventure, but at the end it always goes back to the owner.

You will always walk away for an adventure with the gold and treasure you came in with, whatever the adventure awards you, and no more. You might walk out with less if you spent gold, used a consumable, or lost or sold a magic item.


-karma

Arin12 wrote:

2) I understand the gold/XP cap thing was a pipe dream - honestly, the reason it was there was as incentive to complete "AC quests". However, as LFR mods empower us to make adjustments to them based on local need, could we not, at least at our own venue alone, regulate "group" item control?

not sure what you mean by this. If you mean sharing items, you can do that as long as it's within the module. Player's can loan out items to other players, but the recipient can't keep it. Also, you shouldn't be handing out other items for use in the mod. Let them find the stuff in the mod and use it during them mod. Handing out stuff for mod use can be setting a bad precedent to the player's who may wonder why it doesn't happen if they do go play elsewhere.

Can the AC pool their money and resources, a la "guild bank"? If they do decide there's a "membership fee", does the PC controlling the AC pocket the coin? Could that coin be used to purchase "group items" that the group can pass around?

No. Items and gold cannot be tranferred between characters. The only way to do this would be for everyone to keep a "cushion" of gp. Then if a group expense does come up (Raise Dead, an expensive bribe int he mod, etc.) they are allowed to split the cost. You can't pool money to buy items.

Hmm, I was really hoping to find some kind of Adventure Company roll sheet, or some kind of Company Member list.  I've searched around for awhile, and the closest thing I think I have found would be a Hackmaster sheet.

Anyone have a good sheet for their adventure company?  Just something with basic AC information, maybe their 'base region', a spot for a picture for their crest or banner, and of course the list of all the members, Player names and RPGA numbers, maybe their home region and/or a rank / title.

I'm really surprised I haven't run into one yet.  I may have to get off me arse and just make one, but that would take time and well, Origins is TOMORROW!