Origins 2014 BI Certs

Also, has it been confirmed that there will be exclusives at GenCon in addition to Origins or were you assuming Origins + ArcanisCon?

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).

Also, has it been confirmed that there will be exclusives at GenCon in addition to Origins or were you assuming Origins + ArcanisCon?

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).

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

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.

The only problem I see with that if what about people who go to one but not the other? .

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

The only problem I see with that if what about people who go to one but not the other? .

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

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.

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!

It’s an interesting idea and would certainly be enjoyable, but only for the small number of players that could be at both. The amount of negativity this would create is significant. I think this is a really bad idea and I’m someone in a position to make both events.

Now, a variation on the theme that might work would be to do a multi-round mod/story with release dates pre-planned to be in close proximity – say 2-3 months apart. Try and do targeted launch weekends and do critical event summaries open for a month to impact the next piece of the chain. The mods would still be available to everyone as they’ll be released. There’d be a sense of urgency and inclusion as there’s a clear next mod that will be impacted that will be available to play. Depending on how it’s structured, perhaps even ask tables to submit interesting snippets that happened with brief descriptions of the characters involved and if reasonable give them a mention in the next mod. That may be more trouble than it’s worth though.

With a sweep of his hat,

Paul

It may come down to work load. As much as I enjoy a good BI, regular mods are my bread and butter. If the extra work to do a second BI impacts regular mod output then I’m less interested. That said I don’t object to something special at GenCon for those who can attend. I would have loved to go to ArcaniCon but can’t and probably never will be able to go in my current job. But I bear no ill will to those who went this year and got the cool stuff in the Delve. Heck they got cool stuff but most have strings attached I don’t want.

While I’m thinking about it, I want to throw this out to James Z. Those of us who went on the jailbreak special mission at the Origins BI should get a special cert titled : “I met a Voiceless One and lived to tell about it. And I have the soiled underwear to prove it!”

While I’m thinking about it, I want to throw this out to James Z. Those of us who went on the jailbreak special mission at the Origins BI should get a special cert titled : “I met a Voiceless One and lived to tell about it. And I have the soiled underwear to prove it!”

That’s up to Tony