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3 years ago ::
Aug 24, 2010 - 8:56AM
#41
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My two cents:
I don't DM for the rewards; I respect that they're freebies and I've always appreciated the effort and cost WotC put into sending us things. So thank you, most sincerely. Likewise, I'm OK with changing the program to focus on the successful Encounters program. It makes sense and it doesn't surprise me at all, speaking as an LFR DM.
Now the bitchy part:
Please don't send me a card with a note claiming it's a custom reward, especially if it's a promo piece which is useless to me unless I buy the board game. I would have really just rather have gotten a letter apologizing for no DM reward. You've given me two modules, one of which was good and one of which was awesome; a bunch of cool tiles; and a pretty box. I would be OK with "missing out" on another free reward.
Claiming the Gray Hag is a custom reward, when it's the same thing you gave out at Gencon? Ow.
I am afraid that I have to agree.
I coordinate Game Days, Encounters and LFR at 3 Conventions a year... and while I never try to complain about anything free.... a DM Reward that is for some other game altogether???
I hope they will be worth something on eBay as I have less than zero interest in the Ravenloft boardgame/RPG.
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3 years ago ::
Aug 24, 2010 - 9:00AM
#42
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LFR is the reason many people subscribe to DDI
Many =/= most.
I think you might be surprised at how *few* D&D players (or DDI subscribers, for that matter) are involved in LFR, or have even *heard* of it. Based on numbers I've seen in the past about levels of RPGA play, I'm pretty confident that active RPGA players, worldwide, are in the tens of thousands. That's going to be a pretty small fraction of the total D&D player universe.
"Of course [Richard] has a knife. He always has a knife. We all have knives. It's 1183, and we're barbarians!" - Eleanor of Aquitaine, "The Lion in Winter"
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3 years ago ::
Aug 24, 2010 - 9:59AM
#43
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I'm sorry I disagree, yes many is not equal to most, but I do see that most RPGA players are indeed on DDI. So even if half of them are subscribing, lets calculate for 5000 rpga members on DDI...
5000*10*12=600k
Thats easy money, and given what little they were paying the authors for the RPGA, and the lack of printing costs on Dunegon and Dragon magazines, they are making a killing. They can afford one staffer to even read and cannonize the adventures, not to mention the cross promotion of novels, computer games and other revenue opportunities?
I know the Globals will do a great job, but if WoTC pulling back from the RPGA doesn't concern the player base, then we're in trouble...and so are they.$$
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3 years ago ::
Aug 24, 2010 - 10:51AM
#44
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but I do see that most RPGA players are indeed on DDI.
Not that I'm trying to be argumentative...but I have to ask, where do you see this? Among the RPGA players you know? Among the RPGA players here on the WotC Community boards? Both of those are small, and not necessarily representative, samples.
One of the things I've learned is that while "me and all my friends" may feel like a big group, and must be representative of the broader gaming community...odds are that it's not.
"Of course [Richard] has a knife. He always has a knife. We all have knives. It's 1183, and we're barbarians!" - Eleanor of Aquitaine, "The Lion in Winter"
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3 years ago ::
Aug 24, 2010 - 10:54AM
#45
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I'll give you that, it is a pretty active group up here in New England, can't speak to the financial commitments the rest of the players around the country have.
You might note I'm also lacking the DDI icon right now, but that's a temp. thing, will be getting back to the program in a couple months.
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3 years ago ::
Aug 24, 2010 - 2:09PM
#46
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Date Joined:
Sep 28, 2004
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LFR is the reason many people subscribe to DDI
Many =/= most.
I think you might be surprised at how *few* D&D players (or DDI subscribers, for that matter) are involved in LFR, or have even *heard* of it. *SNIP*
I would agree. There are many players that do not play LFR and depending on what happens with the changes that could change even more. I had two brand new groups of players start yesterday, all either new to D&D or having not played it since 2nd or early 3.0. If I had the redbox I might have let them use it. I am not sure I will, I just don't feel like taking a step back myself and eventually if everyone else played the current system new players should be able to pick it up as well without needing essentials. I realize this is not all on topic but I look at it this way. The card simply made me laugh. I would have been happy with a letter that simply said, "Thank you for your work." In fact, if money were an issue send it to me here or in an email and save the printing and stamp. I have every hard cover book (no soft covers as I have not seen much worthwhile there) so if things change too much I can still play. I may question my DDI subscription if things change too much but I will hold my breathe to see what happens over the next number of months.
As a side note for Greg - I am not sure what will happen with future rewards but here is something simple to consider. We probably have plenty of people willing to volunteer a bit of time, such as yourself, and have skills in cartography. Have someone make a bunch of simple maps say 24x24 or whatever that an be set to 1" squares and have them saved as a .pdf. Then you can email them at little cost and let us print them out if we find them useful. At least it is a resource and potentially not much in terms of cost, you may simply need to somehow get updated emails etc.
Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate.
"Abandon all hope ye who enter here."
A child of 5 could understand this, someone bring me a child of 5.
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3 years ago ::
Aug 24, 2010 - 6:01PM
#47
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Date Joined:
Jul 17, 2003
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Thanks for the comments folks. I really appreciate the feedback.
We're going to be talking a lot in the next few months about the types of rewards we can offer DMs (and players) outside of the program play kits. I know that with the addition of other component enhancements to the D&D game in the coming months, we'll have more potential options.
Believe me, if I could give all of you a pony or a Camaro (one per DM please - quantities are limited), I totally would do that. I know how hard you work to make your games fun for everyone involved. And we're still going to try to find more ways to show our appreciation.
Game Days are going to start to see more promo materials in the near future - takeaways for players and DMs. In addition, if you're running LFR games in the stores or at cons, we're investigating ways to deliver promos to you as well.
As soon as I can tell you more about it, I will!
Chris Tulach
D&D Program Manager
Wizards of the Coast
http://community.wizards.com/wotc_tulach
http://twitter.com/christulach
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3 years ago ::
Aug 24, 2010 - 6:14PM
#48
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Date Joined:
Jul 27, 2003
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Thanks for staying engaged in the discussion, Chris.
As a DM who runs only home games, I am sad to see home games excluded from the Rewards program. My schedule won't allow me to commit to encounters, and when I can attend a game day or a convention, I like to sit on the other side of the screen. Although I am certain that nobody at Wizards would put it in these terms, removing home games from the Rewards program sends the message that home games don't really matter. Yet I'd wager that there are a lot more people playing home games than Encounters and such.
It would be nice to hear more about the reasoning behind these changes.
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3 years ago ::
Aug 24, 2010 - 6:55PM
#49
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It would be nice to hear more about the reasoning behind these changes.
I'm obviously not Chris, but I've seen this topic debated on this board repeatedly over the past decade.
In the past, I've heard (on this board) that the RPGA's point of view was that public play was considerably more likely to be bringing in new players than home play, which tends to be more insular and is more likely to consist of the same players, week in and week out. In most cases, private play groups are just that -- private. If someone wants to learn how to play D&D, public play events are generally going to be the easiest way for that person to do so.
While the RPGA certainly exists to encourage overall play of D&D, bringing those new players into the hobby seems to be particularly important.
Now, certainly, some home games will be bringing in new players (even, in some cases, those who are totally new to the hobby). Nonetheless, the RPGA has seemed to feel that it's the public play which they really want to encourage, as that's where the likelihood of bringing in truly new players seems to be the highest.
And, finally, if the RPGA is operating under a limited budget (which I do not know for a fact, I'm just hypothesizing), and lacks sufficient resources to reward *every* DM, then they're going to reward those who are most likely to be recruiting new people to the hobby.
"Of course [Richard] has a knife. He always has a knife. We all have knives. It's 1183, and we're barbarians!" - Eleanor of Aquitaine, "The Lion in Winter"
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3 years ago ::
Aug 24, 2010 - 7:01PM
#50
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Date Joined:
Jun 21, 2007
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Chris - I'm afraid that even if you found a way to send a pony to my PO Box, I would have to return it - I live in a downtown in a 2nd floor apartment with a tiny little stairway.  I'm glad to hear that you're still examining other options for DM Rewards. Please don't write off home play quite yet - perhaps expand it to require 15 points instead of 5? That might give more incentive to play at a store/ convention/ etc as opposed to playing at home, without directly discounting the effect that home players have on the hobby. Another suggestion: dice! I love my DDM dice from GenCon a few years back and would love to see further sets... maybe with LFR faction symbols in place of the 20 or something? Even sending a basic d20 instead of an entire set would be sorta cool. Our rewards should always tie into the hobby we're promoting, after all. I love showing my new swag to my players and saying, "Hey, see what you get for DMing? All these cool tools and enhancements for the game we're already playing!"
Writing Director, Abolethic Sovereignty storyline Spoiler:
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