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Updated BI Certs and Plans Going Forward
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Author:  Njal Val'Assante [ Sun Jul 27, 2014 5:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Updated BI Certs and Plans Going Forward
Good afternoon to the Arcanis community,

We have taken all your comments and concerns under consideration. The Campaign Staff and PCI have discussed the matter and decided to send out updated certs, putting the experience gained on par with previous BIs. These updated certs will be sent out no later than Wednesday, July 30th. We are doing this because we realize that we did fail in properly communicating certain changes.

Going forward, we are going to be lowering the XP of all modules in an attempt to balance out the campaign. Right now it feels like we're rushing through levels, and there really isn't much time to truly appreciate the story, or tailor the stories well to the relevant levels. Hereafter, soft points will be 200XP and hard points will be 250XP, with up to 25 bonus experience available for secret societies, national factions, etc...

BIs will be considered Hard Points for XP, so they will grant 250XP as well. Given the time commitment difference between a BI and a normal module, we will do our best to give story appropriate rewards, but we do not promise anything in particular above and beyond.

Special events, such as a small-scale LARP (a standing RP module, basically), a large-scale LARP (what is traditionally seen as an Arcanis LARP), or a dungeon delve (such as the Vault of Larissa's Lament) will be dealt with on a case by case basis, never granting less than 50xp or more than 250XP. Again, we will do our best to give story appropriate rewards.

We are aiming to have an updated Campaign Guide out by the end of September, post-GenCon, incorporating the new Blessed Lands book. The update will include the official living campaign rules governing runes, reputation, and crafting, the official living campaign implementation of the Gritty Rules, and the official living campaign rules involving 'extra' encounters for those who are indiscreet in some manner (whether flagrantly casting in public repeatedly, breaking laws in front of city guards, or clearly worshiping heretical aspects of deities when the Inquisition is around), among other things.

Other announcements will likely follow, but we just wanted to let you know that there are things being worked on, and that we have been listening and considering everything that has been said for the purposes of making this a better game for all players.

Additionally, we are using the update to premiere the new Chronicle Pages, created by our amazing designer of all things, John Bellando. This is something else that will explicitly be in the new Campaign Guide, but in brief: All physical items of any note will have their own relic page. We will be applying this going back through the old modules as well, and have someone already lined up to do so. This gives us much more room to write out interesting Story Achievements, and gives room for GMs to write in other stuff their players may have acquired (like notices of the Inquisition or the Sorcerer King).
Author:  acurrier [ Sun Jul 27, 2014 5:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Updated BI Certs and Plans Going Forward
Thank you for the update, I'm sure I wasn't the only person wondering where we were at with this.

Njal Val'Assante wrote:
Going forward, we are going to be lowering the XP of all modules in an attempt to balance out the campaign. Right now it feels like we're rushing through levels, and there really isn't much time to truly appreciate the story, or tailor the stories well to the relevant levels. Hereafter, soft points will be 200XP and hard points will be 250XP, with up to 25 bonus experience available for secret societies, national factions, etc...

I'm not surprised by the change, and I think it makes sense. There are already PCs nearing T3, and it doesn't seem like the story line has progressed enough (in my mind) for us to have T5 PCs within 2 years or so.

Njal Val'Assante wrote:
BIs will be considered Hard Points for XP, so they will grant 250XP as well. Given the time commitment difference between a BI and a normal module, we will do our best to give story appropriate rewards, but we do not promise anything in particular above and beyond.

Not to beat a dead horse, but given the extra risk associated with BIs, it would be nice to see above-average rewards (aside from xp) associated with BIs. This doesn't necessarily have to be magic items...could be reputation, titles, land certs, etc. The reduced xp does make sense and to be honest with you I was expecting something lower than the 250xp...so no complaints from me there.

Njal Val'Assante wrote:
The update will include the official living campaign rules governing runes, reputation, and crafting, the official living campaign implementation of the Gritty Rules, and the official living campaign rules involving 'extra' encounters for those who are indiscreet in some manner (whether flagrantly casting in public repeatedly, breaking laws in front of city guards, or clearly worshiping heretical aspects of deities when the Inquisition is around), among other things.

I am very excited for this. One issue I've had with the new campaign is that it seems like arcane magic is no longer taboo, or hidden. This was something that came across far more clearly in the old Living campaign. I would guess that there are a lot of new players who don't even know that their arcane characters would be hunted/shunned for open displays of magic.

It will also be great to have the reputation and crafting rules, although by the sounds of it we won't be getting much out of the crafting.

Thanks for all the hard work, looking forward to seeing the new BI cert.
Author:  Hat [ Sun Jul 27, 2014 8:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Updated BI Certs and Plans Going Forward
Thank you for the answer and for the clarity it will provide moving forward. A lot of the additions will help bring back more of the flavor from the original campaign such as fear of Ymmandragore and the Inquisition (what a show!). Overall I think the changes are positive and well thought out. I look forward to seeing what lies ahead.

With a sweep of his hat,

Paul
Author:  val Holryn [ Mon Jul 28, 2014 1:02 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Updated BI Certs and Plans Going Forward
Hi Tony,

Thanks for the update. I am sure that most (all?) of the Arcanis community appreciates the campaign staff listening to us. In this we are very lucky as players. Looking forward to what comes next.
Author:  toodeep [ Mon Jul 28, 2014 7:07 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Updated BI Certs and Plans Going Forward
Tony,

Thanks for the update and I appreciate the attempt at standardization. One question though

Considering the drop in x.p. for modules going forward, has there been any thought on updating/changing the new character campaign cert that allows new characters to start at tier 1.5? (by upping the starting tier)

I ask for two reasons:

1. If a character plays the entire 1st story arc, where x.p. was much higher per module, they come out well over 2.0, I believe. These leads to a 0.7 possible (maybe more), probably 0.5 tier average difference between players who played the first arc and players who didn't. While there is nothing that will change this difference no matter how much x.p. is given, a 0.7 tier difference seems bigger the lower in tier the campaign is. If we're going to slow down advancement and keep the campaign at a lower tier longer, this difference is accentuated for longer.

2. Additionally, it appears to complicate the campaign staff's job, as was apparent at the BI, where the BI's lowest tier was apparently 2.0 - something our table was beneath because of the tier provided by that cert.

It seems to me that upping the x.p. awarded by this cert would improve the campaign. But at the same time some might feel that it would lessen the "reward" those who actually played the first campaign arc received (relative to other players), so I can see a good reason for the campaign staff to not do it. Thoughts?
Author:  PCIHenry [ Mon Jul 28, 2014 7:19 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Updated BI Certs and Plans Going Forward
Hello,

The 1.5 tier cert was createtd at that level on purpose. The reason for its existence was to give new players a leg up, allowing them to sit at tables with experienced players. It was never the intention to have it create parity with said experienced players. Frankly, if you played all the old adventures, then its not fair to have someone who hasn't invested the time and effort to be at your same level.

The old adventures are still available, so if a group wished to start from the beginning and end at Tier 2.0 by working their way through the Crusade, they are more than welcome to do so. But I am very much opossed to making any chnages to the "bump" cert.
Author:  EddieS [ Mon Jul 28, 2014 8:07 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Updated BI Certs and Plans Going Forward
Thank you for this highly anticipated update. I look forward toward all future events :)
Author:  Harliquinn [ Mon Jul 28, 2014 8:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Updated BI Certs and Plans Going Forward
Thank you for the update, Tony. I'm glad to see the campaign and PCI working together towards a good solution moving forward.

As much as I like advancing as anyone, I was worried that we might hit Tier 5 too quickly as well.

John
Author:  Hat [ Mon Jul 28, 2014 8:29 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Updated BI Certs and Plans Going Forward
toodeep wrote:
<snip>If a character plays the entire 1st story arc, where x.p. was much higher per module, they come out well over 2.0, I believe.


Characters who play through the entire 1st Story Arc and get maximum XP for every adventure will be just shy of 1.9 as I recall. I don't have my sheet here in front of me, but am pretty confident that the number is accurate. Not everyone gets max XP for every mod though.

With a sweep of his hat,

Paul
Author:  EddieS [ Mon Jul 28, 2014 8:33 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Updated BI Certs and Plans Going Forward
Hat wrote:
toodeep wrote:
<snip>If a character plays the entire 1st story arc, where x.p. was much higher per module, they come out well over 2.0, I believe.


Characters who play through the entire 1st Story Arc and get maximum XP for every adventure will be just shy of 1.9 as I recall. I don't have my sheet here in front of me, but am pretty confident that the number is accurate. Not everyone gets max XP for every mod though.

With a sweep of his hat,

Paul


Pretty close to it. I've played about 98% of the Crusade's hard points, about 40-50% of the Crusade soft points, several of the 2nd arc hard points, and Talendos is bearly 1/2 way through Tier 1.9.
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