Pssst... Now Accepting Playtest Applications

[Chuck Chuck Razool]

I'm down on this like you don't even know. I'm currently part of two gaming groups, one is weekly, and one is significantly less often. I told them about the dresden RPG long ago and said that when it came out we'd be playing whether they like it or not. They said they were down too.

[Ren]

Ok, so any idea how soon we'll hear back on our applications? Nothing I hate more than waiting on word on an application.

[Elf_NFB]

I just wanted to say one quick thing. Once the play testers are chosen, please send an email to those not chosen thanking them for volunteering. I'm still more than a bit miffed at Wizards for their utter contempt for play testers.

[iago]

We've got somewhere between 250-300 playtesting applicants right now.  It's still going to be several weeks before we even start touching the early edge of our multi-stage Alpha playtest plan, and that's to be followed by beta whenever the Alpha's proven, etc... 

There's certainly no contempt intended, but it will be some time before we know who we won't need!

[The Last Bean]

Ah, good. I was starting to worry a little bit not hearing anything for a few weeks. Kinda glad it'll be a while, honestly. I tend to run games on a semester-ly basis, and I'm already booked for this semester with killing players off in Cthulhu setting. (Interesting fact: Water elementals are a LOT scarier when you don't assume that swords and guns would hurt water)

[Ren]

Progress updates are good though!

And agreed on the water elementals...eww...and whats worse is making them out of local water, especially if it's sea-water full of garbage...ew....

[The Last Bean]

Yeah, Agreed. Just knowing that this thing is almost done is thrilling news. I've been waiting for this game ever since.... well... honestly, It's probably been what I was waiting for ever since my first game of WoD Mage, but I'll say since I read my first DF book four years ago.

And the elemental IS going to be made out of local water. Unfortunately it's lake water, from a large frozen lake... that I plan to have the players standing on when it strikes. I'm a mean, mean GM sometimes. :3 And no, it won't have the same volume as the lake. That'd be just a bit too ridiculous for me. I'd probably class it as "large" in DnD terms, but being able to crack the ice and appear from anywhere will suck, in addition to the fact that water at that temp can kill a person in about 3-4 minutes after exposure. I think they're also planning to park their car on the ice, which is where they keep a lot of their gear. Should suck quite a bit to be them this week. ~evil GM laugh~

[harleshade]

you have to love a group that puts all thier eggs in one basket, or car as this case may be.

[finarvyn]

I'd love to play!  Cept...I've never played a table top RPG before *stares at her, now dusty, Serenity core book on it's shelf* and I don't have any friends close enough who could participate.  *is made of sad*

I would say that you should find a way to play a few times to see what the experience is all about.

You might look for a local hobby store or book store to see if they have a board where folks post when they are looking for players or for games to join. You might ask around here or on other gaming message boards to see if anyone near you also plays. (It's a lot easier to learn when someone shows you, rather than trying to read about it.)

I would suggest you find a RPG that is simple and fits a campaign setting which you find interesting. Maybe get into the mood by reading books or watching movies on a similar theme to the campaign. Get together and play a few games and don't stress over the exact rules, but instead try to experience the fun.

If you want to look at Dresden Files, maybe download a copy of FATE or the Spirit of the Century SRD. Maybe support Evil Hat games by buying a copy of SotC (I really love my hardback copy!) and reading about how this kind of game is played.

It'll give you a feel for what RPGs are all about. Give it a shot!

[BlueStocking]

I would say that you should find a way to play a few times to see what the experience is all about.

You might look for a local hobby store or book store to see if they have a board where folks post when they are looking for players or for games to join. You might ask around here or on other gaming message boards to see if anyone near you also plays. (It's a lot easier to learn when someone shows you, rather than trying to read about it.)

I would suggest you find a RPG that is simple and fits a campaign setting which you find interesting. Maybe get into the mood by reading books or watching movies on a similar theme to the campaign. Get together and play a few games and don't stress over the exact rules, but instead try to experience the fun.

If you want to look at Dresden Files, maybe download a copy of FATE or the Spirit of the Century SRD. Maybe support Evil Hat games by buying a copy of SotC (I really love my hardback copy!) and reading about how this kind of game is played.

It'll give you a feel for what RPGs are all about. Give it a shot!

I've sat in on games before, so I have some idea on how to play.  But finding locals is hard since I live in a town so small that we don't even have a stoplight.  I know there are groups in Asheville as there was a listing for the national day of DnD (I think that's what it was).  However, without a car, I won't be driving the hour to get there ^^;

Thanks for the tips, though

[Craz]

Sadly, none of my "friends of higher intelligence and increasing eccentricity" play table-top games. There wouldn't happen to be any folks in the San Jose, California area who have a group looking for a new leg? 

[SoulCatcher78]

Hope you're still taking applications (finally stumbled onto this).

[harleshade]

How long are you all accepting apps for ?

[iago]

I'll probably be closing the application form come January, if not before.  Several spammers have found it (though why they think it'll be useful to spam it, who knows?) and right now less than 50% of the apps we're getting through the link on a daily basis are legitimate.  It's definitely muddled the process a bit.

Regardless, we're hoping to embark on our alpha rounds "soon", whatever that happens to mean.  The alpha rounds will probably span a couple months at least once they kick off; the early alpha set will be people who've got deep knowledge of the Spirit of the Century "core" and some playtesting experience, which will expand a bit to some more casual SOTC-conversant folks as time goes on.  Once we're confident we've got all the alpha information back, there will be a pause where we incorporate the feedback into the design and try to get the game closer to a "text-complete" state.  Once the text is ready, we'll select possibly several rounds of beta testers from the applicants.

What I'm trying to say is don't expect it to be a blisteringly fast process.

We've gotten hundreds of applicants, which is a bit more than we were originally expecting.  Even if we don't end up using everyone (and it's unlikely we would), we're hoping to come up with something to "thank" all of the folks who took the time to fill out the apps, somewhere down the road...

[Erlking]

If you need someone to sort out spam from an application I will do it, I don't have nothin else to do till Captain's Fury anyway