Origins + ArcanisCon. I think they've said there will be an exclusive at each going forward so that's 2 events (which would be at least 1 rank at "old" xp levels per year). I haven't seen anything explicit but they seem to have implied that there will not be exclusives at GenCon (definitely not this year at least).

There is no exclusive event at GenCon this year. There is a premiere soft point by Eric Gorman entitled "To Die Alone". However, since GenCon has been a location where we have had Battle Interactives in the past, there is always the possibility it can be a venue for exclusive events in the future. There has been no discussions about it at this time.

That '1 rank/year' is assuming that someone misses both conventions every year as well.

Given the proximity of both Origins and GenCon in time (2 months apart) and distance (3 hours apart), and the amount of work it takes for a BI, I'm not sure we'll see BI's at both anytime soon.

That said, what I think could be interesting is a 2-part BI that starts at Origins and ends at GenCon. Keep the 12-14 encounters but split them up over 2 events with a logical break in the middle. Now that could be enjoyable!

John

The only problem I see with that if what about people who go to one but not the other? One way around this would be to set it in two parts (two linked battles say like the Napoleonic battle of Jena-Auerstadt or Waterloo [LignyWavre-Prussians vs French and Quatre Bras/Waterloo--British/French with the addition of Prussians at the end of the battle]. The mechanics may be too complicated, but it would be neat to see how the events of one could affect the other. For example if the French had decisively beaten and driven off the Prussians, Napoleon might have won the battle of Waterloo and who knows how that might have affected European history. I could see something similar for Arcanis. But given the amount of effort a BI requires it might be too much to pull off. But it's something to think about and discuss.

Which will be the vast majority of players.

Perhaps one of the questions that needs to be addressed is if the mods are designed for the great majority of players who aren't going to be in the stratosphere of ranks, how much does it matter?

So, if the rewards provided are not driven by tier - which they haven't been to date - and the mods themselves are targeted to be challenging to the vast majority of players in the campaign and positioned to new characters, does it matter?

There needs to be sensitivity in table assignments. Try to avoid full tier discrepancies when possible for example. There should also be sensitivity on the part of GMs and player of more powerful characters to let newer players and lowered tiered characters shine as well.

I'm working to pull my thoughts together and post them in a separate thread as this issue goes well beyond just the BI rewards.

With a sweep of his hat,

Paul

It would have to be split in a spot where characters could 'leave' or new characters could 'enter'. Much like the examples you gave, results of the first BI could have some implications to the other. I don't see it necessarily as twice the work but if it means a shorter BI at Origins and one at GenCon, then perhaps it's worth it.

John

My question (which may unanswerable) is this: What percent of the overall Arcanis player base never goes to one of the big conventions each year? Are these people reading the boards? Are they even aware of the discrepancies in XP?

Maybe PCI has these numbers based upon book sales? Looking at the Kickstarters for Arcanis and Witch Hunter, there were ~270 and ~200 backers respectively. I know many people created multiple accounts for the different pledge levels, so it's hard to save how many unique backers there were. The boards have 182 members, 150 of which have more than 1 post. Perhaps it's less of a problem than it seems since I think the conventions routinely have about 100 people attending Arcanis events I believe? Just something to think about.

John

I already envision the slew of complaints coming in that players could only participate in only 1 of the 2 events. There is also the logistical issue that if someone does want to participate in both events, what happens to soft point play between conventions? It does not seem logical to fight in a war at Origins, play in a Soft Point that takes them across the continent, and then return back to the same war at GenCon. The idea has merit but I am of the philosophy to keep things simple and streamlined.

There's no more continuity problem with that then there is today if people play mods out of order or with other mods in between. The suspension of disbelieve needs to be lose for a shared campaign.

John