Basic Idea:

What if being in an adventuring company means you are on a meta-quest to collect clues from participating DMs that lead to a special high level adventure catered to the story/theme of your adventuring group and even your characters’ back-stories? Then we’ll finally have continuity and character stories that actually matter.

From each player’s point of view, it would work similar to the existing Quest Cards. You play normal LFR modules and may encounter special NPC/scenarios that will help you complete your meta-quest. However, instead of arbitrary tasks, we can make it more interesting by creating a mystery or a search/hunt that members of the adventuring companies can work together toward. The best way to implement this though, is if we have at least two adventuring companies each implementing a quest for each other. So group A creates a quest and drop hints for group B in the games that Group A is DMing while group B do the same for group A. It’d be mutually beneficial and everyone can have fun. :D

What do you guys think? Discuss here! If we have enough interest, we can probably discuss further in person on the next Saturday meetup during lunch. I’ll bring note pad. :D


Details:

- We can create the reward adventure with MYRE. To overcome MYRE’s limit of 2 writers/DMs, the participating groups must then nominate 2 writers/dedicated-DMs while the rest of the group will help brainstorm and release hints to players! If we end up having more people contributing ideas to a single module than official LFR modules have, the resulting module should end up to be pretty awesome! :D

- I doubt we need to require everyone to actively contribute to the development if they don't have the time/energy/desire to do so. We should allow anyone interested in playing to join the groups. At the very least, they can still help with spreading clues for other groups and gathering clues/information for their own groups.

- The current Adventuring Company restriction is a maximum of 1 character per player in each adventuring company. If that ever becomes a problem, however, we’ll simply not use official adventuring company and do our own RP-only thing with no mechanical benefit. Who really need that 1 extra action point anyways? Just put more Lucky Shot cards if you really need to destroy the encounter. We’ll just doing it for RP and character backstory fun. There’s no rule against that!

- MYRE restricts cross-table event modules, but as long as we do things like QUES1-1 where the DM simply runs one (or two) individual module for PCs, there’s nothing wrong with that. Pretty sure the rule is only to prevent MYRE from stealing the thunder from SPEC2-1 and ADCP2-1 anyways (where multiple tables play simultaneously in the same in-game location, and their own progress affects other tables’ progress).

It is funny you should post this Shaun. I had mentioned a similar idea to my buddies Jordan and Eric. The biggest issue I have is that it really isn't worthwhile for players to play in MYREs. The Gold, Experience and Items that are attainable by that are pretty lackluster in comparison to regular LFR mods. For instance, AKAN1-7 on high grants Vicious Weapon +2 (level 7), Magic Amulet +2 (Level 6) and ANY item 4th level or lower from AV2.

That's just the main concern of generating interest in MYREs.

I admire the initiative, and would like to see where this goes, but it would take a solid group effort. I'd love to contribute what I can.

Too bad it has to be LFR.

Yeah, I'm not the biggest fan of LFR myself, Brad. I think the main goal with LFR/RPGA though is the accessibility of it to a lot of us more casual gamers. I myself am kind of in the middle ground of casual and hardcore. Sometimes LFR frustrated me, but at other times it offers a more relaxed version of D&D for me when I can't concentrate as much on the game. You know how it is. I think every D&D gamer knows how that is.

Shaun, I was totally thinking about this. I have a great idea for an adventuring company with a few plot hooks and a general storyline, even! I've even adapted the random placement nature of LFR into it (why you are in Cormyr one weekk and Tymanther next).

My only issue is that I have the reverse Lucas effect. I want 100% control of my storylines and story arcs. Though I wouldn't mind a cowriter! :)

I'm also not quite sure what the collective group thinks about this... though some might be tired of the current modules out there.

Re: Brad: You can use the same core concept in any adventure.

Re: Shaun: My recommendation is to keep it simple. The less work players need do, the better. The less work DMs and organizers need to do, the better.

Re: General: I think MYRE is a chance to:

1. Have stories that can really interact with the players. It's just not possible with regular published LFR.

2. Have interesting storylines. LFR writers have been told to very deliberately avoid mention of the campaign world, meaning other places, trade groups, NPCs, and even other LFR events, unless absolutely absolutely necessary. And even then - if it's "absolutely necessary", there's a good chance the writer will be told that the whole storyline will have to change so it WON'T be necessary. Sad innit. Well, that's my op.

3. For authors to write really interesting combat encounters. Editors tend to make changes to combat encounters too, and LFR writers are allowed almost no leeway in terms of monster design or changes. (example: I took a monster, and said it was "undead". No stat changes except vulnerable to radiant and resistant to necrotic. It was Absolutely Not Possible To Do That, apparently. So you can imagine. Very little creative freedom)

3) should not be taken as a license to, oh, I don't know, stick goblins in bunkers. Ahem.

Yeah in terms of weapon/armor rewards, MYRE is lacking in that department. However, in 90% of the LFR modules we play, we choose the more gold option anyways. :)

I don't think we need to really worry about LFR submission requirement though. We're not submitting it to RPGA, we're just doing a non-canon MYRE and no editor is going to hack into our computers and change things... i hope...

Wow, I too was thinking of doing a MYRE and tying into Adventuring Company idea I had. Also would introduce NPCs / Plot to play out over 6 mods (2 at each tier).

As far as what Shaun suggested, I don't know. It would take coordination and more time would be spent searching for clues, cause really... when do you know when you found the clue. If it's obvious, smack you over the head with it, then it's basically the same railroading you get in LFR.... which, incidentally, is really pretty impossible to avoid with mods designed to run in 4 hour blocks. The best you can get is the illusion of choice which isn't really that bad. Though some mods have done a really good job of giving you real choices but they also are the ones that tend to run long.

As far as poor equipment choices, sure but you only get one found item per level. That leaves ~2 mods per level where you are taking the extra gold option. And for those that search out items before deciding to play a mod, well then you have nothing to worry about. For the most part you get to play the one mod with an item you want. Add a couple other options for mods that continue quests and you still have plenty of chances to play My Realms.

The only thing I will point out is that you cannot grant a Major Quest XP reward in a MYRE. But you guys knew that.

Let's discuss this in person during lunch on March 13.

As for clue searching, Rob, the mystery and clue searching doesn't take place inside the final MYRE. Rather, the clues would be scattered in random modules similar to the Yellow Cloak man and Potter Merchant clues.

Edit: Also, the level range I'm thinking of for the MYRE should be 7~10 or paragon. That'd give plenty of time to write the module and collect clues. That level range is also where custom content is most desired. The issue of competing with modules that give Vicious +2 also don't exist. The only item i ended up "finding" in higher level mod was Goggles of the Night... just for fun. :o