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Aug 30, 2012 -- 10:25AM, tomjscott wrote:

I'm guilty of abandoning 4e like a sinking ship, but I didn't run to Pathfinder. I considered that option, but I just don't like any form of 3e at all. Instead, I've gone to 13th Age by Pelgrane Press. 

Yeah, that I totally understand. I'm very curious to try it out myself.

Of my 4 D&D 4e groups,

1) we finished a multi-year campaign a couple weeks ago and it's now switching to something else _but that's how it's always worked_, it just switches systems around frequently.
2) we're finishing a multi-year campaign and it's switching to D&D Next testing, though not due to abandoning 4e per see.
3) we've cut back on playing 4e except for playtesting Epic. Currently trying pathfinder, and half of us dislike it or don't see the point, and starting Next this weekend. I might see if they want to try 13th age.
4) one group is still going strong with 4e. 

Aug 30, 2012 -- 11:27AM, kenobi65 wrote:

I'd concur.  PFS runs a pretty tight ship (and this seems to be particularly true since Mike Brock took over).  They release 2 adventures per month, IIRC (plus extras which get released at big cons), and they meet those release dates pretty religiously.

I suspect a lot of that has to do with a campaign where people are paid to do the work as opposed to one based entirely on volunteerism.

Aug 30, 2012 -- 9:44AM, Alphastream1 wrote:

There really isn't any reason why PFS should overtake LFR. We know it isn't mod quality, and in my opinion it isn't about special play rewards. I would argue it is all about organization and corporate support.

Absolutely -- it's all about the support.

I haven't played PFS, but looking at the web site, it's well organized and seems to make it easy to get started.

If WotC did something similar, by advertising LFR on the D&D landing page, offering a slick "getting started" document with the official branding, and providing functionality to advertise LFR meetups, if would go a long way.

Aug 29, 2012 -- 7:34PM, ShakaUVM wrote:

The RPGA used to do this kind of stuff, and they don't any more. Yes, as Alphastream said, there's some people that complain that they can't go to the big conventions. The trouble is that the RPGA listened to them. So the campaigns that are doing these sorts of things are waxing even as the RPGA's turnout declines.

Really? Because of them? Are these campaigns so small? A hundred players that are attracted to these kind of event have such a huge impact?

The campaigns are waxing in Europe because some people a six-thousand miles away (and the handfull of locals who actually spend the money to attend US conventions) get something special? Even in the US I would guess that 95% of the players never travel to the big cons.

I see the number of impacted people as to few to matter in either scenario (whether there are specials or not).

Aug 30, 2012 -- 3:31PM, Cpttylorx wrote:

than really why should people show up to support product, or support play numbers,

I guess in this case they just shouldn't. Why do people show up at the cinema to watch Dark Knight when they get nothing that a million other viewers don't get as well? Because they live near and wanted to pass 2.5 hours.

I think for the campaign it's better to have 90 tables played at stores accross the globe than having 90 tables played at one playe during a Con.

I think most people don't go to Cons and don't ever meet someone who went to Cons. Thus whether or not these people can bring back special stuff from the Con doesn't effect most players at all.

The only consideration worth thinking about would be whether creating those special stuff takes away from the capability to instead create standard stuff for the masses. Other than that I think it's better to have a hundred stores run their monthly game day with their two tables than having 200 tables run at some Con.