Well, it took a whole week, but just this morning I got my first email from WotC congratulating me on becoming an RPGA DM. I wonder what took so long? Maybe my extrememly German-Irish name popped up on a few Terrorist Lists?
So, I’m expecting my card in the mail in a couple days. The email specifically said two things:
- If I’m not already an RPGA member, I am now.
- My DM membership is only valid for one year. I thought it was lifetime? Oh well. They make the rules.
Anyway, I got a chuckle when I was perusing around the Herald DM website. They list anyone who is banned from RPGA because of infractions. One person was banned until 2007 because of Tournament Fraud. Another was banned for life because of Assault. As much as I tried to stymie the image of the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons jumping up and clocking another player, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Assault?!
All of the DMs and players that have mentioned their negative experiences above all mentioned them in the context of a Gaming Convention. I don’t really think that I will fall into this group. You see, yes, it was a vanity thing to do without much effort, but I also see myself as helping out my local gaming store. The store does a ton of business in card games and miniature (especially Battletech) games. But, the hardcore table top gamers, like myself, who go there…well, we’re like lost souls, just trying to return to a place of comfort. We just happen to show up at the same place, at the same time, every week. Every game is a homegrown D20 game, and we’ll play a few sessions, and then move on to another game. And so on.
Frankly, I’m tired of it. The owner of the store is such a nice guy. He “keeps our tables warm for us.” Of course we are expected to buy things, but we are not doing anything of value, gaming-wise. The purpose that I will use my DM status for, is to gather a little continuity and momentum with the other players. Maybe I can pull some gamers together and establish something that contains a minimal amount of extended initiative.