PAX East D&D

flatline

Last year, the D&D room did have two computers running the character creator, attached to one or two printers. However, the official generator was buggy, slow, and prone to crashing. It also wasn't fully updated with the newest rules, if I recall. Willi still hasn't responded to me, so I'm not sure if he's actually in charge this year or not. I wouldn't count on being able to print, but if you really need to you can probably find one.

There is a new character generator, based on Silverlight instead of .NET. This is good and bad - it's good because it now runs on both Windows and Mac machines. It's bad because it is online only, so if you don't have net access you're out of luck. Haven't used it much yet, so I can't speak to whether it is more stable/reliable than the previous app.

PS - You're welcome. I didn't realize there were still people who hadn't listened to those podcasts yet!

PPS - Is anyone else on here a "certified" D&D DM (you have to take a test online through WotC)? I'm thinking of running Tomb of Horrors, maybe at the Pre-PAX gaming night on Thursday. I will bring along some RPGA cards with me so you can sign up if you're not already a member. If you are an RPGA member, bring along your card or know your number! Us DMs get rewards for doing games and we have to have "real" players to get the credit.

Halfazedninja

Frugus wrote: »

Whoever pointed me to the PA Podcasts on Wizards of the Coast web site: You are awesome.

It will be a tad easier to wait for PAX now.

Those podcasts are godly. I'm really, REALLY hoping that the adventures of Acquisitions Inc continue at PAX East.

Also, how do I get involved with the RPGA?

flatline

Halfazedninja wrote: »

Also, how do I get involved with the RPGA?

Sadly, WotC has made this (in my opinion) too hard for their own good. They really want to make you come to an event and participate in order to become a member (even though it's 100% free). This can be a pain if you live in a remote area or something and want to become a DM, since you need a DCI# to login and take the test online. This might be able to help: http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/253063-rpga-membership.html#post4725148

Are you already a member of the DCI (the group that does Magic:The Gathering Tournaments)? If you've ever played an 'official' event, then the answer is yes. The DCI/RPGA have essentially merged and your number is good for Magic or D&D events.

Becoming a Herald (entry-level Judge, in DCI terms, or DM in everyone else's) requires that you get at least 85% correct on a 20-question quiz about the rules of D&D. This can include things like "What is the damage modifier of a gelatinous cube's primary attack?" or "Which of the following are Level 5 Ranger powers?". Obviously no one will have all of these memorized, so it really helps to have a D&D Insider membership and some knowledge of how to quickly use the online Compendium. The exam is timed so unless you own like all of the books and are very good at quickly referencing them, you might be cutting it close without the online tool.

Let me know if you have any other questions about the DCI/RPGA thing.

flatline

Halfazedninja wrote: »

I'm sure some of the official WotC games will have some pregens for their games. I think they did that last year if I'm not mistaken.

There were pregen characters available last year for almost all of the WotC official events (and like i said they had 2 terminals up where you could create your own if you knew how and wanted to do so).

• For the Dark Sun preview, I know you were only allowed to use their characters. (which makes sense since the books/rules for creating DS characters were still months away from release at that point)
• The Encounters sessions, you could use your own level 1 or a preemie.
• The Delve was, I believe, pre-gens only.
• Learn How to Play D&D, I have no idea. Probably would let your run your own, but I'm really not sure.
• Lastly, the DM challenge was for slightly higher-level characters. I didn't get a chance to play any of those adventures and I can't quite recall if it was BYOC or if the players had to use a cookie-cutter set across all the tables. I think it was the latter...

Halfazedninja

I actually got my DCI number at last year's PAX East because I played in a sealed deck tourney. I haven't done much with it since. So does that basically mean that I'm already a member?

flatline

Halfazedninja wrote: »

I actually got my DCI number at last year's PAX East because I played in a sealed deck tourney. I haven't done much with it since. So does that basically mean that I'm already a member?

Yes, the RPGA is essentially a sub-group of the DCI at this point. If you have a DCI # it is valid for any RPGA stuff. Here is information I wrote up for my friend on how to become an RPGA DM.

OK. So first you need to activate your DCI membership if you haven't already done this. (https://webapp.wizards.com/activation.aspx) It involves entering the code under the scratch-off section.

Once you're registered you will be able to get to your personal DCI page (https://webapp.wizards.com/personal.aspx). On the right there is a box that says "My Links". Click on the "Judge Center" (http://judge.wizards.com/).

Once you're in the Judge Center, click on "Exams". You want to "Create" an exam - Dungeons & Dragons, English. It'll give you the Herald exam. You have 60 minutes to answer all the questions. I recommend grabbing your core books (PHB, MM, DMG in order of importance) and firing up the compendium in a separate browser window BEFORE you start to make sure it's working (all WotC code seems to be buggy).

After you pass the Herald Exam (assuming you do), a bunch of new stuff will appear on your personal page. You can then also go back to the Judges Center and create an exam for "Tournament Organizer". This is like 5 questions that aren't even questions. It's not really an exam, more just you acknowledging the responsibilities.

When you pass the Herald test, initially you are only approved to run private/home D&D games. If you get all of this done we can work on getting you approved to run public events - you have to get confirmed by the store owner of the public venue (the comic store in this case).

Lastly, you'll probably want to enroll in D&D rewards. They will send you stuff (adventures, maps, etc) the more you play (and log it through DCI). http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/272176-i-love-you-wizards-coast-dm-rewards-stuff.html It can be a bit tricky to figure out, as Wizards' web apps aren't much better than the rest of their code. This thread should help you out: http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75854/20318113/Where_to_sign_up_for_DM_Rewards&post_num=9#361432441

Now, I think Wizards may have discontinued their Rewards program, or at least overhauled it, but everything before that should still be valid advice.

jma00a1

Just curious if there is anyone planning D&D at the Seaport the night before start of PAX (Thursday)?

Halfazedninja

Awesome info. Thanks a lot!

xipetotec

flatline wrote: »

Halfazedninja wrote: »

I'm sure some of the official WotC games will have some pregens for their games. I think they did that last year if I'm not mistaken.

There were pregen characters available last year for almost all of the WotC official events (and like i said they had 2 terminals up where you could create your own if you knew how and wanted to do so).

• For the Dark Sun preview, I know you were only allowed to use their characters. (which makes sense since the books/rules for creating DS characters were still months away from release at that point)
• The Encounters sessions, you could use your own level 1 or a preemie.
• The Delve was, I believe, pre-gens only.
• Learn How to Play D&D, I have no idea. Probably would let your run your own, but I'm really not sure.
• Lastly, the DM challenge was for slightly higher-level characters. I didn't get a chance to play any of those adventures and I can't quite recall if it was BYOC or if the players had to use a cookie-cutter set across all the tables. I think it was the latter...

Well this is all good to know. I would *love* to sit in a Dark Sun or Eberron with a pregen. But I figure these are now "old news" for WOTC so they'll likely be pushing more on essentials ...

Ixmasat

Oh man, I really hope to have the chance to play some Gamma World. I think it has a great deal of pick-up-and-playability. Great for someone who hasn't played before, and nothing beats the insanity of randomness.

mountainblade

I absolutely love Gamma World so if no one else is running a game or if more people want to play Gamma World I can run a game. I might not be the best at telling a story but I've been running a campaign for my friends that we started on New Years Eve that I might be able to truncate for a game at PAX East. I'm also considering running something on the Metal Gear Line for PAX Train.

flatline

Apparently I was wrong before, the entire Herald system has been retired for the time being. Anyone whose DCI membership has them listed as a D&D WPN Organizer can run/judge D&D games.

http://wizards.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wizards.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=178&p_created=1109819918

From my own email to Wizards support:

Thank you for contacting us. The reason the D&D Judge (Herald) status no longer shows up is because that program has been retired for the time being and we do not have any information about the program. However as long as you are a public D&D WPN organizer, you will be able to run events. Currently, I do show that you are a public D&D WPN organizer, so this change has not affected your ability to run or judge D&D events.

Please let me know if you need anymore help!

I guess this means it is a lot easier to become an 'official' DM for WotC!

RainbowTunnel

I'm going to effectively ignore all the "official" games and hopefully gather a pod (yes, a pod) of random D&D-playing con-goers to partake in my ridiculously casual 3.5 adventure. The only question is - where is the best place? If all else fails, the floor of the hallways will suffice, but an actual table with perhaps a chair or six and three, preferably four walls and a ceiling surrounding us will be nice.
What I'm getting at is this: does anyone know if there will be open rooms with tabletop space available for unofficial use?

Twinkie

Hotel rooms?

Frugus

I'm getting more and more curious about DnD as I trot along the PA podcasts. There's even a chance I won't a complete newb once PAX arrives.

I also noticed that there are a couple of apps on the iPhone for DnD. Many boast all the core D20 rules but I see nothing related to the latest 4th edition. How different are the 3.5 core rules vs the 4th? Are those apps still worth getting?

Also, this app made my geek blood boil.

xipetotec

Frugus wrote: »

I'm getting more and more curious about DnD as I trot along the PA podcasts. There's even a chance I won't a complete newb once PAX arrives.

I also noticed that there are a couple of apps on the iPhone for DnD. Many boast all the core D20 rules but I see nothing related to the latest 4th edition. How different are the 3.5 core rules vs the 4th? Are those apps still worth getting?

Also, this app made my geek blood boil.

I started getting into DND a few months back ( yep, you guessed it, thanks to the PA podcasts ) and tried a bunch of ipod apps, at the end of the day, I found them all to be a hassle. I tried ones to track initiative, to roll dice, to create characters on the fly... I don't really use any of them...

Also, my group prefers Call of Cthulhu

Backwoods

So I've quite literally never played a game of D&D before, but am very intrigued after having watched the PATV episode and speaking with some fellow line-standers last year. I think I remember hearing that there's a game for n00bz at PAX that gently acquaints players with the games subtleties. Did anyone take part in this last year? Is it a sign up situation, or do you just show up at the room? Any info would be appreciated!

Given my disproportionate love of role playing, it kind of boggles my mind that I've never played a tabletop RPG

Halfazedninja

Backwoods wrote: »

So I've quite literally never played a game of D&D before, but am very intrigued after having watched the PATV episode and speaking with some fellow line-standers last year. I think I remember hearing that there's a game for n00bz at PAX that gently acquaints players with the games subtleties. Did anyone take part in this last year? Is it a sign up situation, or do you just show up at the room? Any info would be appreciated!

Given my disproportionate love of role playing, it kind of boggles my mind that I've never played a tabletop RPG

We just brought a new player into our game last week that had never played a tabletop RPG before. Once he had the epiphany that "Hey, this is just like Final Fantasy Tactics" he was all in.

lefthandpunk

So I pretty much just registered on the forums since I'm going to PAX (any PAX) for the first time - I'd be totally down for getting in on something like this. I just don't know how you guys organize these or figure out who is playing where.

I never actually played D&D - I did my first tabletop game two weeks ago doing a one off run of a Mouseguard mission and had an absolute blast. I've been reading up on Shadowrun a lot lately but I wouldn't mind doing a game of D&D - does anyone mind taking a new player or two?

RainbowTunnel

lefthandpunk wrote: »

So I pretty much just registered on the forums since I'm going to PAX (any PAX) for the first time - I'd be totally down for getting in on something like this. I just don't know how you guys organize these or figure out who is playing where.

I never actually played D&D - I did my first tabletop game two weeks ago doing a one off run of a Mouseguard mission and had an absolute blast. I've been reading up on Shadowrun a lot lately but I wouldn't mind doing a game of D&D - does anyone mind taking a new player or two?

I'm planning on going to PAX and recruiting all new people to play with. Not because I don't like my usual group, of course, but because I want to meet new people, and DnD is a fabulous way to socialize. I'm sure there will be plenty of DMs like me who want to lasso a bunch of random folk to make a party with.

With all this uncertainty of where to play and who to play with, official or unofficial, maybe we should have a giant whiteboard for DMs and players who want to join/start games and need people to play/DM? You could set a time and a place to meet or something. I know there was this kind of idea for official games, I just wasn't sure if it was for open use, too.

Obsolete Model

I am going to bring some pre made 3.5 and 4e characters, blank character sheets, bag of dice and a few minis just incase.

I also have Shadowrun 4e handbook on my color nook along with the Unwired and Runner's Companion books. You never know.

lefthandpunk

RainbowTunnel wrote: »

lefthandpunk wrote: »

So I pretty much just registered on the forums since I'm going to PAX (any PAX) for the first time - I'd be totally down for getting in on something like this. I just don't know how you guys organize these or figure out who is playing where.

I never actually played D&D - I did my first tabletop game two weeks ago doing a one off run of a Mouseguard mission and had an absolute blast. I've been reading up on Shadowrun a lot lately but I wouldn't mind doing a game of D&D - does anyone mind taking a new player or two?

I'm planning on going to PAX and recruiting all new people to play with. Not because I don't like my usual group, of course, but because I want to meet new people, and DnD is a fabulous way to socialize. I'm sure there will be plenty of DMs like me who want to lasso a bunch of random folk to make a party with.

With all this uncertainty of where to play and who to play with, official or unofficial, maybe we should have a giant whiteboard for DMs and players who want to join/start games and need people to play/DM? You could set a time and a place to meet or something. I know there was this kind of idea for official games, I just wasn't sure if it was for open use, too.

Hey, just let me know. I'm going to be there all three days and I'm totally up for playing with a group of new players. I might know some others who'd be up for it as well. You can get in touch with me via PM or something, or if there's something where people are organizing this I'd be happy to sign up.

Obsolete Model wrote: »

I am going to bring some pre made 3.5 and 4e characters, blank character sheets, bag of dice and a few minis just incase.

I also have Shadowrun 4e handbook on my color nook along with the Unwired and Runner's Companion books. You never know.

I have this handbook as well + the blood in the boardroom book. Of course, having only played one game of Mouseguard being my only D&D related experience I didn't intend to run a game myself any time soon (I'm a huge cyberpunk nerd, what can I say?) but I'd be happy to bring these. Never played Shadowrun but I've been dying to.

flatline

Interesting that there are several people interested in Shadowrun. I have practically every edition of the game (many of them on my iPad), but I don't want to derail this thread too much since it is more/less about D&D specifically. Even with the latest 4th edition rules, Shadowrun is still a lot harder to pick up than D&D4E, so I'm not sure about the feasibility of getting a game together on the fly with a bunch of new people in any reasonable amount of time (that is, not taking 6 hrs to run one battle or what have you). Shadowrun is easy to get crazy with (I recall at one time having a rigger who had a hovercraft that was basically like an airship from Final Fantasy, a complete mobile base of operations that was also loaded to the teeth with smart weapons and drones.)

There are some nuances to the combat of D&D, but overall (especially with a grid map and minis/tokens) it is a lot easier to pick up the idea of flanking and combat advantage than it is to factor in skills, cyberware, smart weapons, vehicle combat rules, etc etc.

I have posted in a few other threads that I am thinking of running the updated Tomb of Horrors module that I got as my DM reward this year, probably Thursday night somewhere in the Westin as part of the Pre-PAX gaming night. I might even have a challenge coin(s) or something to give out as rewards

Scorpius

@Frugus - The way 4e breaks down actions/attacks/powers/spells is a completely new system than the 3e/d20. Anything that tracks those is completely incompatible.

Frugus

@Scorpius: Drats!

@Everyone_Else: I still consider myself as being in the "LFG" bunch.

Halfazedninja

Frugus wrote: »

@Scorpius: Drats!

@Everyone_Else: I still consider myself as being in the "LFG" bunch.

If you only knew the power of the Dark Side! (also known as 4e)

It's really fun

lucek

I just bought my 3 day pass and want to start sending feelers out about table top games. I can run DND 4e-3.5, shadowrun, or a savage worlds game/willing to play just about anything.

Halfazedninja

lucek wrote: »

I just bought my 3 day pass and want to start sending feelers out about table top games. I can run DND 4e-3.5, shadowrun, or a savage worlds game/willing to play just about anything.

I haven't played Shadowrun since the 90's lol. 2nd edition I believe.

Obsolete Model

Halfazedninja wrote: »

I haven't played Shadowrun since the 90's lol. 2nd edition I believe.

Most of my Shadowrun campaigns were in the 90's with 2nd edition as well. I haven't found a solid group to keep up a 4th edition campaign but I still have my minis and books so one day I will be ready to take up that call.

lucek

Frugus wrote: »

I'm getting more and more curious about DnD as I trot along the PA podcasts. There's even a chance I won't a complete newb once PAX arrives.

I also noticed that there are a couple of apps on the iPhone for DnD. Many boast all the core D20 rules but I see nothing related to the latest 4th edition. How different are the 3.5 core rules vs the 4th? Are those apps still worth getting?

Also, this app made my geek blood boil.

3.5 has nearly nothing exactly in common with 4E. In fact because they are different but use the same terms it's best to learn one before learning the other, Otherwise a save isn't a save and your to hit is completely different.

Spoiler:

3.5 reflex, fort, and will are numbers witch you add to a D20 to make a save, 4E they are defenses, and saves are a strait D20. 3.5 an attack roll is your base attack bonus+ability modifier(strength or reflex depending on the attack)+miscellaneous modifiers(magic weapon, proficiency, etc.) 4E it's your ability modifier(any of the 6 modifiers depending on the power)+half level+miscellaneous modifiers(magic weapon, proficiency, etc.)

lucek

Just had a thought, I've run it before and could do it again. Anyone interested in attempting storm tower? It would be appropriate to be playing a penny arcade inspired adventure at PAX.

jma00a1

Halfazedninja wrote: »

Backwoods wrote: »

So I've quite literally never played a game of D&D before, but am very intrigued after having watched the PATV episode and speaking with some fellow line-standers last year. I think I remember hearing that there's a game for n00bz at PAX that gently acquaints players with the games subtleties. Did anyone take part in this last year? Is it a sign up situation, or do you just show up at the room? Any info would be appreciated!

Given my disproportionate love of role playing, it kind of boggles my mind that I've never played a tabletop RPG

We just brought a new player into our game last week that had never played a tabletop RPG before. Once he had the epiphany that "Hey, this is just like Final Fantasy Tactics" he was all in.

reading this reminds me of "Bender's Game" :wink:

lucek

Backwoods wrote: »

So I've quite literally never played a game of D&D before, but am very intrigued after having watched the PATV episode and speaking with some fellow line-standers last year. I think I remember hearing that there's a game for n00bz at PAX that gently acquaints players with the games subtleties. Did anyone take part in this last year? Is it a sign up situation, or do you just show up at the room? Any info would be appreciated!

Given my disproportionate love of role playing, it kind of boggles my mind that I've never played a tabletop RPG

Oh god yes there is a sign up. And it goes fast, to the point were Gabe relayed a story were he wanted to play in one of the wizards run games and they told him (one of the guys running the whole damn thing) that he should have shown up at opening on Friday if he wanted to play.

Frugus

Guys, the more I listen to the WofC / PA podcasts, the more I want to play DnD, however I admit I'm at a loss as to what I should get.

Obviously I need to start with the Player's Handbook but there are three of them out there. Amazon did not make it clear if the content was Extra to previous versions or if they were consecutive add-ons.

Back in my day, you litteraly needed the Player's Handbook, the Dungeon Master's guide and the Monster Manual if you wanted to learn anything because some information was cross referenced. Is it still the case today?

I saw a starter box à la Basic DnD. Looks like Basic DnD too. Worth getting?

To add to the confusion I saw that people mentioned other bundles containing the core books but a) can't find them and b) they spoke as if the same red box was exactly that.

lucek

Frugus wrote: »

Guys, the more I listen to the WofC / PA podcasts, the more I want to play DnD, however I admit I'm at a loss as to what I should get.

Obviously I need to start with the Player's Handbook but there are three of them out there. Amazon did not make it clear if the content was Extra to previous versions or if they were consecutive add-ons.

Back in my day, you litteraly needed the Player's Handbook, the Dungeon Master's guide and the Monster Manual if you wanted to learn anything because some information was cross referenced. Is it still the case today?

I saw a starter box à la Basic DnD. Looks like Basic DnD too. Worth getting?

To add to the confusion I saw that people mentioned other bundles containing the core books but a) can't find them and b) they spoke as if the same red box was exactly that.

You have some decisions. The PHB1 is all you need, PHB2&3 don't have the core rules just new races, classes, items and feats. However with the new essentials line heroes of the forgotten kingdoms and heroes of the fallen lands are essentially the PHB1 with different classes and races ETC. The red box and the older "roleplaying game starter set" have the basic rules but not the stuff you really need to make a character.
Last things to consider is size and price. You can pick up a used PHB1 for less then the essentials books but new they are about the same (~$15 on amazon), The phb1 is 8.5*11 and hardcover and the essentials books are 9*6. They both contain the same material so you save some weight and space in your pack with essentials, but you may want the hardcover. Just for completeness the red box and starter set have an 8.5*11 pamphlet that's even lighter but again is missing much of the material.

If this helps here are the the respective first pages of character creation chapter.

PHB1

HOTFL

Spoiler:

Warning to others check file size. Don't assume that it's small enough. 500kb is a tiny image in png or bmp.

Malchior Devenholm

I've actually played the Star Wars RPG (both the traditional version and the Saga edition), so I'm familiar with the d20 system.

But 4e of D&D doesn't use d20, or uses it in a different way?

I'm going to try to familiarize myself before the the convention. I'm hearing all this stuff about paths and themes in 4e that I never heard of when comparing Star Wars RPG to the 3.5e of D&D it was based from. I'm actually LIKING all this stuff about "no divine powers."

I'll gladly join one of the noob games that a few DMs seem willing to run. I just hope I get enough sleep for the convention the following day

Halfazedninja

Malchior Devenholm wrote: »

I've actually played the Star Wars RPG (both the traditional version and the Saga edition), so I'm familiar with the d20 system.

But 4e of D&D doesn't use d20, or uses it in a different way?

I'm going to try to familiarize myself before the the convention. I'm hearing all this stuff about paths and themes in 4e that I never heard of when comparing Star Wars RPG to the 3.5e of D&D it was based from. I'm actually LIKING all this stuff about "no divine powers."

I'll gladly join one of the noob games that a few DMs seem willing to run. I just hope I get enough sleep for the convention the following day

4e does use d20. It's just a variation of the old ways.

Frugus

Thanks for the input Lucek!

Also it turns out they have a special at Amazon.ca where each book is 25$ compared to 39$ which seems to be the usual cost. I'm saving up like mad for the trip but that probably falls into the expenses

nduggzz

Hey I am wondering about Table top gaming at PAX East this year. I would be very interested in starting D&D is there anything I need too do to be able to start at PAX East. please post back.

Halfazedninja

nduggzz wrote: »

Hey I am wondering about Table top gaming at PAX East this year. I would be very interested in starting D&D is there anything I need too do to be able to start at PAX East. please post back.

There are going to be a lot of D&D games there, both official and unofficial. Just bring some dice, a couple of characters and that's about it!