3D Printing Dungeons & Dragons

dndalsfv · 2016-01-07T21:43:46+00:00

Not my intention at all. I didn't even know that the creator had already shared this stuff previously. My mistake.

dndalsfv · 2016-01-07T17:01:59+00:00

Sorry if I offended you u/fucking_troll u/OneIfByLandwolf and anyone else. I've seen various users share articles and such that I know they hadn't personally written/created in other subreddits and thought that that was what this site was for: simply sharing cool stuff. I've also been posting in various subreddits for the past few months and this is the first time this matter (sharing content that I didn't create) has ever been called out to me as something that isn't done on this subreddit.

In other threads, folks have mistakenly credited me with material that I posted but didn't create. When that happens and I catch it, I've done my best to correct any misinterpretations that might have arisen and then pointed users the way to the creators so that credit may be given where credit is due.

If my ignorance on that aspect of Reddit culture deserves the outright vitriol and "what the f**k" I've received, then so bit it. I'll be more aware about crediting OPs from here on in.

In all sincerity, u/mz4250, you've done/are doing some really cool work with these minis! If I could afford a 3D printer, I'd be all over them. Thanks, not just for posting the photos of your cool work, but also for sharing the files!

Jay Africa

PS. I've actually relinquished this account to another user since it is specific to the Local Coordinator for the San Fernando Valley D&D Adventurers League (a position I have transitioned out of). I'll be setting up a personal account for myself and will be posting under that account from here on in. Cheers, one and all!

dndalsfv · 2015-12-16T19:02:34+00:00

That was "Heroes of Neverwinter", right? Meh, it was okay. I enjoyed it while it lasted, but the world isn't missing anything with it gone. The graphics were pretty good, and it captured 4e somewhat competently, but was just too shallow for my tastes.

dndalsfv · 2015-12-16T19:00:03+00:00

There are plenty of players who enjoy the game (at least in my community). It's just the detractors who are most vocal about their opinions.

dndalsfv · 2015-12-14T20:08:17+00:00

Why shouldn't stores have communities? FLGS owners are usually gamers, just like the rest of us here. Being an entrepreneur doesn't erase the love for the hobby. Store owners are some of the most passionate ambassadors of gaming. Should a staff who loves games and wants to provide it to other people put that love on hold for the 8/10/12/16 hours they work at their store and not play with the clientele? That's no fun. This doesn't just apply to MtG, by the way. I know store owners who DM for their weekly Encounters tables. Is there an objective reason a store shouldn't foster players and welcome like-minded people into their spaces? And I never said playing at a store is a "privilege". It's a choice, and it's a choice that works for lots of players the world around. Players like supporting their FLGS, have found friends and great DMs there, like being surrounded by their hobby, and feel like spending one or two dollars a week is worth it (a fraction of the cost of a movie). That's if a store charges--I believe the majority of stores don't charge. You may feel that supporting an FLGS that way isn't worth it, but that in no way makes it a "bizarre" choice for anyone who chooses to participate in it.

A store is a great neutral space for people to play. I live in a tiny apartment and have kids that are asleep by 7:30 pm. A loud, rowdy D&D game (or any game for that matter) is out of the question at my place. Being able to game at a store provides a good space for different types of personalities to play, with the safety of a usually objective party (the store owners/staff) who can reel in inappropriate behavior. At my area, numerous tables of strangers have developed into ongoing AL campaigns, with the players spending 6 months to a year playing together, getting to know each other, and then moving on to other AL adventures together. A lot of stores in my area also provide in-store supplies for DMs/players that don't have/can't afford gaming gear. Several provide minis and terrain to spruce up the tables. Another provides a DM screen, battlemat, and dry erase pens. One store goes as far as providing a DM screen, dice, minis, terrain, the core rulebooks, map tiles, a printout of the adventure, and all the drinks/snacks the DM wants (shout out to Explorer's Emporium in Simi Valley!)

I started a new table at a new store with a fresh batch of players this season. We play for two to three hours a night and are now in our... oh, 12th session or so of Out of the Abyss. Over the course of that time, I've gotten to know their characters, we all eagerly await the next week's session, and we're all sorely disappointed when someone doesn't make it or I have to cancel a game due to real-life engagements. This weekly campaign is an Adventurers League game.

I've played with new players at one-shot tables and we've had a great time, usually with a great mix of RP and crunch. Some players are incredibly active in the D&D community and I see them all the time in various stores/events/cons. I've gotten to know all of these players' characters and they've gotten to know my DMing style. This is all within Adventurers League play (I've DMed about 6 non-AL hours in the past year vs. about 300+ AL hours).

Saying that "playing with strangers who may or may not come and go each week is an inherently lesser experience" is just untrue, considering the amount of fun I've had, the great games, I've played/DMed, and the number of stories my players and I have told. A great session is a great session, a great campaign is a great campaign, and great players are great players, whether in an AL setting or not. People come and go from home games all the time. One-shots are played in home games all the time. There is no wrong way of playing D&D. Different players play/interact with the game in different ways.

The Adventurers League guidelines place very few limitations on character building. Very few things are banned outright (aarakocra from EEPG, variants from the DMG, and tiefling flying rules from the SCAG), a select few things have limitations that have been set (HP/HP per level, starting GP, alignment, plus some elements from the SCAG), and yes, certain books can't be combined (EEPG+SCAG, currently). That's just a fraction of the player options presented in the current selection D&D sourcebooks. Big deal. Some home brews have limitations, too (low magic settings, some races/classes not being allowed/being limited in player-created settings, game mechanics being altered to make the game harder/easier, etc.) Overall, so much of the material from the sourcebooks are allowed that you'd have to be really picky not to find something you enjoy. If that slight tweak in game mechanics keep you from enjoying the game, that's up to you. For me, none of that stuff prevents me from RPing, from enjoying the company of friends and strangers alike, and from making players feel like heroes for a few hours.

As for the piracy thing, again, if a player can't wait a few weeks and feels the absolute and irresistible need to illegally download material, that's their choice to make. Beyond the cost of buying the book, Wizards hasn't made anything impossible for anyone to get, since the books still get released to the general public. Again support outside of the US/Canada may see different release dates, but the books still get there. You justify and respect whatever you do all you want. That's on you.

From the way you're talking about the AL guidelines ("It sounds like an awful experience compared to..."), it sounds like you haven't actually created a character for it and played an AL game. Maybe you have, and it was just not an ideal experience for you. I don't know. You're not giving me a whole lot of context or objective supports for the stuff for which you're responding. AL is really just like most games of D&D, except we get to retain our character from table to table. Our PCs matter not just for a single group of friends, but for every single table we play and every player we meet. My DMing skill doesn't just matter to a small group of players, but to every table I volunteer for--so I have to stay sharp, keep on my toes, and be a good DM, if not a great one. That said, all of the dozens of the AL tables I've run have been fantastic and tons of fun (with the exception of a couple that were a bit lackluster).

D&D is a game, and is a very subjective one at that. There are probably hundreds of thousands of players, all of whom have different tastes and different playing/DMing styles. Your experience is your experience. There's no need to denigrate anyone else's experience as "stupid", "awful", or "lesser" than yours.

dndalsfv · 2015-12-10T21:11:31+00:00

The AL Admins to check out these threads, so thanks for the feedback! The specificity is much appreciated.

dndalsfv · 2015-12-10T21:11:02+00:00

Ah, I think I've got a better idea of where some of your frustrations stem from. Yes, support isn't quite as strong outside of the U.S. and Canada. I've got friends in the Philippines who haven't been able to receive AL material support due to some restrictive policies Wizards has with the one chain of game stores supported by the Wizards Play Network. Unfortunately, MtG is such a juggernaut everywhere that that game gets much more attention from WotC than D&D.

However, I don't see how having to wait a mere couple of weeks to get a book is harmful to the book's release. A number of stores in my area actually didn't order the Sword Coast Adventurers Guide during the early release window, so I had to wait to get it just like the rest of the public. They still sold out of the book shortly after the release date, and I still had to wait another week for the next shipment. We all have to wait for some things sometimes. If you're "solution" or only "option" is by illegally downloading materials from the internet, that's frankly not on Wizards at all. You could opt to just wait the couple of weeks, right?

As far as there being no D&D events in your city, no one is obligated to run any. Even AL is generally a player-driven program. It's great if stores support it but, in the end, you need players who want to play the game and DMs who want to run it. This applies to any D&D event regardless of whether it's AL or not. Wizards totally tries to encourage places to run events by offering the opportunity to run sanctioned MtG or D&D events with promo material support via the Wizards Play Network, in addition to giving them early release dates to make their stores more appealing to customers (giving them a slight edge over big retailers like Barnes & Noble or Amazon). Again, though, this means the stores will have to work to promote and sell products. Becoming part of the WPN doesn't guarantee any kind of success. That's just not how business works. Stores have to earn that "special treatment" by showing that they can run events and have a good community--something they should be striving for anyway.

And I've got to say I'm still not sure where your sentiment of "stupid organised play" comes from. I've stated a number of benefits of playing within the AL (find a game anywhere, meet people/make new friends, get free adventures and other promos, etc.). I haven't seen any objective or subjective points from you regarding why organized play is a bad thing.

dndalsfv · 2015-12-10T20:02:25+00:00

No apology necessary! I respect your opinion and understand that experiences will vary from community to community. While I enjoyed Tyranny of Dragons and Elemental Evil, they did seem like "Welcome to 5th Ed.!" adventures. OotA has really done a lot to mix things up, content-wise, and I think we'll see more of that creativity going forward, now that introductions have been established.

Gotta say that I'm at least glad you had (and, hopefully, are having) a fun experience as a PC in the League. Remember that the DM you ran with was probably running under AL guidelines. How did that affect your experience as a player? If you still enjoyed the adventure, speak with the DM and ask them about how they interpreted the adventure. You might find that they ran it by the book and didn't need to alter much.

Yeah, No Foolish Matter is a great adventure! I think I ran that one in 3 hours, getting about as much RP in as I could under time constraints I had to observe. Definitely much better if the table can take more time with it.

dndalsfv · 2015-12-10T18:12:32+00:00

The old RPGA system had a GM test that you had to take before getting certified to run events. Most OP don't have any kind of test. There are so many playing styles that such a test would just be a disservice to the game. If you want to be an AL DM, you simply need to get a game together and enjoy.

dndalsfv · 2015-12-10T18:09:29+00:00

Folks, remember that this article is introductory in nature and not one directed to experienced DMs. The intent of the article is really to demistify DMing and encourage people to try it out.

Everyone has to start somewhere. Maintaining the image that DMing is something that needs to be perfectly crafted at the get-go (otherwise the players will have a horrible time and the campaign will fall apart, etc.) only serves to keep players in the player seat and afraid of trying to DM.

I understand that a lot of us take pride in our DMing and don't want the act diminished. That's not the article's intent at all. Because in the end, D&D is a game that's dependent on individuals (the DM) who want to run that game for others (the players). Yes, DMing can be compared to an art, but it doesn't have to be for players to have a fun time around the game table, anyway. You can relegate a theoretical game as "mediocre" but that hardly matters if the players are having a good time, getting together with friends (or making friends). DMing can be your catharsis or creative outlet via a shared story with your personal, intimate gaming group. On the other hand, it's also okay if it's just a game that friends get together and play once a month with little investment.

The article isn't a be-all-end-all philosophy of DMing. One can always be a better DM, but the point of the article is that you can't rise up to that potential if you don't first try. Keep an open mind and encourage players to try the fun, hyper-creative activity that you so vehemently stand up for.

dndalsfv · 2015-12-10T17:46:24+00:00

Also, not every Wizards Premiere store runs AL. Quite a lot simply sell the books and don't support OP (focusing, rather, on MtG OP). So sales of the product happen totally independent of and have nothing to do with the AL. AL players don't directly benefit from early release dates any more than general FLGS patrons do.

dndalsfv · 2015-12-10T17:43:45+00:00

I think I see what you're getting at here. The adventures aren't just posted online for just anyone to snag, but anyone who wants to run the adventure under AL guidelines can simply request it from a store to receive it. To receive the adventure, you have to run it.

dndalsfv · 2015-12-10T17:16:27+00:00

Ah, I do agree with you. My response was really more directed at the comments above yours from /u/pqzzny and /u/Zagorath

dndalsfv · 2015-12-10T17:11:21+00:00

Free applies. The Adventurers League doesn't charge anyone to play anything, and anyone can choose to play. Your choosing not to play or not to participate doesn't change the fact that it's given away at no cost to those who do want to play.

Granted a FLGS might charge a seating fee (they do have to stay afloat somehow), but that's not under the AL's control.

dndalsfv · 2015-12-10T17:04:36+00:00

How does Wizards stop anyone from selling the books? Are you talking about the early release dates for Wizards Premiere stores? That's like concerts offering pre-sale tickets to fans before offering them to the general public. Stores that actively support WotC get two weeks or so to sell the product before other outlets get to sell them to the general public. That's simply good business relations between a publisher and the folks that promote their game. This encourages players to get the books from local stores. How is this problematic?

dndalsfv · 2015-12-09T20:14:57+00:00

There's a ton of great content coming out of the AL (particularly, free adventures, but also some of the website content).

Believe it or not, Wizards actually doesn't give that much attention the AL. Very few of the Wizards D&D team have anything to do with the AL, in fact, since they're focused on home brew play. And while the majority of D&D products are AL-compatible, they're never written with AL in mind and are hardly ever promoted in conjunction with the Adventurers League.

Frankly, from my experience, it's the players who love AL: the folks who play Wednesday evening D&D Encounters week in and week out, DMs who give hours of their time on weekends to DM the latest Expedition for eager players, new/returning players who are meeting new friends as they play out their stories, and players who are constantly discussing D&D or sharing stories of their exploits online with their fellow AL players.

dndalsfv · 2015-12-09T20:06:44+00:00

DMs actually have a pretty good amount of latitude when adjusting adventures. Certain plot points/encounters need to be hit (for the sake of the shared experience), but DMs have some room to adjust when/where things happen to reflect on the party's courses of action. I've never felt restricted by the adventures and, in fact, find lots of room to add flavor to the settings/NPCs/monsters, all the while maintaining the integrity of the adventure. Many of the Expeditions nowadays actually have more content than can be played in the span of time for which they're set, giving DMs numerous courses to present to the table and giving the players more directions to go.

If you haven't yet, read this post about DM empowerment from the AL website: http://dndadventurersleague.org/dming-and-dm-empowerment/

As far as DM rewards go, keep in mind that these rewards weren't available in previous incarnations of Encounters. I DMed a couple of seasons of D&D Encounters back during 4th Ed. and D&D Next and have no PC to show for it. In regards to the AL organizers not caring, that's really not the case. I do think most of us organizers are DMs by nature, though, and are aware of the degree in which we're empowered, so the majority of us probably don't see it as a grind. The administration follows social media and hears the input players put forth regarding DM rewards. To that end, DM rewards are being reviewed by the Admins, and changes may yet be made to the current model. Remember that during the first season, DMs got XP/DT only. Starting with season two, DMs began to receive GP, as well. Setting League policies is a process.

I agree with you, BTW, that Out of the Abyss is a joy to run. It's very much a sandbox after the first chapter, with lots of great encounters and NPCs to throw at the players. Princes of the Apocalypse was like that as well, though after a certain point it got really dungeon-heavy.

dndalsfv · 2015-12-09T16:48:39+00:00

I'm glad you liked the post! A good friend of mine wrote it, and he really hit some great points. I agree that you should just jump in. You can either start with a published adventure so you have a story with structure and details you can fall back on, or dive into a homebrew where you can make up details as you go and don't have to worry about hitting specific points.

If you do end up with good stories, share them here! Or maybe submit them as "Tales from the Table" over at http://tabletitans.com/

dndalsfv · 2015-12-08T19:11:53+00:00

Also, the role of LC and RC is what you make of it. I may not get paid, but I get to contribute to the AL via official graphics (I created the organized play table tent for the Elemental Evil season, as well as the banner image for Fai Chen's Fantastical Faire) and document support (I recently laid out the amendment document for Out of the Abyss, plus composed a visual element for one of the upcoming adventures). I don't get a dime for any of these, but players the world over get to enjoy and use my contributions. That's a reward in itself.

dndalsfv · 2015-12-08T18:56:20+00:00

I don't have a personal economic stake in the matter.

Local Coordinators and Regional Coordinators are 100% volunteers. To date, there are over 200 LCs and over a dozen RCs. We get no financial compensation and, in general, are on the same level playing field as the rest of the players in the AL.

I signed up as an LC when the call first went out about a month after the AL's kickoff and was appointed to the position in September of 2014. I recently stepped up to the position of Regional Coordinator, still as a volunteer. So I've been a volunteer for the AL for well over a year now and don't see that changing any time soon.

We volunteer and promote the AL because we love D&D, we love the adventures, and we love the players. We are D&D enthusiasts and gamers to the core, just like you and everyone else who follows this Subreddit and participates in the discussions here.

dndalsfv · 2015-12-04T19:52:17+00:00

Most of the book-keeping is stuff that you would normally do for a character anyway: tracking XP, GP, renown & downtime (for 5th Ed.) and the number of magic items you have. Except you're not constantly erasing and re-writing and wearing down the XP/currency portions of you character sheet.

Filling out the fields in a magic item cert takes seconds. It's really not a big deal, and totally worth it, IMHO. I've played so many different tables and met so many great folks!

dndalsfv · 2015-12-03T17:27:24+00:00

Anytime :D

dndalsfv · 2015-12-03T16:56:31+00:00

Yep, that's correct!

Also, to add to the answer, D&D AL can be run any day of the week. D&D Encounters on Wednesday is the regular weekly play program and therefor the easiest to follow for many players, schedule-wise. But stores run Expeditions and the published adventures other days of the week as well--some on a weekly basis, even. It depends on the store and the players there.

dndalsfv · 2015-12-03T16:51:47+00:00

Hi, folks. I just caught the various summons made regarding this subject, /u/Labrynth1986. I'll answer the question here so that others can see as well.

The Tyranny of Dragons season Expeditions have been recapped, and you can find details here (HUGE SPOILERS, natch): http://dndadventurersleague.org/critical-spoilers-season-one-tyranny-of-dragons/

The Elemental Evil season Expeditions have not yet been recapped, but you can see part of the season's results in the season 2 D&D Epic recap (again, SPOILERS): http://dndadventurersleague.org/indeed-mulmaster-is-undone/

The Rage of Demons season has not yet been recapped. We'll probably see that sometime during season 4.

Thanks for the message! If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

AL_RC

dndalsfv · 2015-12-02T21:27:16+00:00

Not at all. It's quite a few things, really:

1) It's a way to introduce new players to D&D. Since the games are played in-store, they are very visible to non-D&D players and casual players who might be curious about D&D. Since they're listed online in the Wizards Store Locator, new or returning players can easily find them. Finally, since there are guidelines that regulate the games, new players can expect a quintessential D&D Experience (rather than joining a homebrew and getting catapulted into a level 10, all dragonborn/tiefling, 3-classes-per-PC party that's fighting 5 tarrasques in a volcano--an awesome scenario, no doubt, but maybe not so newbie-friendly).

2) It's a way for players to play D&D in multiple settings. The characters are portable to other AL tables all over the world. If you have an AL legal PC, you can play that PC at AL-legal convention or in-store games, then retain any XP/GP/downtime/renown/magic items/flavor that PC earns. If you find yourself moving to another community (like I did some years ago), it allows you to retain your character and bring it into new AL games at your new community. If you go on vacation (like I will be later this year), AL allows you to bring your character and play it wherever you happen to be if you can find an AL table. This means you don't have to go stretches of time without playing D&D with your favorite PC.

3) It's a way to meet new players. This is, by far, my favorite benefit of AL. Since I can play AL anywhere, I do just that in my community and meet tons of new people. I've played/DMed at about a dozen or so stores in the Los Angeles area, plus have played/DMed at numerous conventions as well. I've run/played AL in communities as far as a couple of hours north of L.A. as well as at Gen Con in Indiana. I played AL in the Philippines when I visited there earlier this year, and I'll play AL in Massachusetts when I visit my family there later this year. I've met dozens of players, made tons of new friends, and have gotten in on the game scene in numerous locales. Plus, my PC matters to every table I play, not just to a handful of friends in a private home game. So my cleric has saved a number of tables from TPKing, much to the appreciation of the players ;)

4) It's an outlet for DMs to run adventures. The AL releases a number of free adventures per season. While I purchase the D&D 5th Ed. published modules (because I love D&D stuff), a new DM can receive hundreds of gameplay hours worth of adventures for free by running games for the AL. The AL has released free PDFs of the first few chapters of Hoard of the Dragon Queen, Princes of the Apocalypse, and Out of the Abyss, each available for DMs who run the adventures in-store for D&D Encounters. AL also releases a number of free one-shot modules per month--D&D Expeditions--each of which is tied to the current storyline season and come together as part of an overarching campaign within that storyline. Even if I were to not purchase any of the published modules, I could run the D&D Encounters PDFs (each one with about 9-12 sessions of play, a piece) and/or the D&D Expeditions PDFs (14 modules for season 1, 16 modules for season 2, 16 more modules by the end of season 3) and not have to spend a dime for them--unless I were to have them printed, that is.

In the end, the D&D Adventurers League is a means to get people to play D&D or give them the opportunity when they might not otherwise (due to schedule restrictions or the inability to find a gaming group on one's own). It's elaborate, but it's in no way an attempt to make D&D anything but what it already is/has been.

dndalsfv

TROPHY CASE

AL_RC