DASet2OpenPlaytest.pdf

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Dragon Age Roleplaying Game

Set 2 Open Playtest

Hi! Welcome to the Dragon Age RPG Set 2 open playtest!

If youʼve stumbled across this document without having heard anything else about this

open playtest, hereʼs a recap of the announcement we originally posted about what

weʼre trying out here:

Dragon Age Open Playtest: September 2010!

The Dragon Age RPG Set 1 was enthusiastically received. Old hands and new

tabletop roleplayers leapt at the chance to tell exciting stories of their own in Thedas.

We at Green Ronin hoped to follow Set 1, which covers PC levels 1–5, with the

speedy release of Set 2, containing rules for heroes of level 6–10. Weʼre sorry that

Set 2 is not out yet, because we know that many Dragon Age players have hit level 5

and are anxiously waiting for the rules that will take them further.

If we could publish Set 2 tomorrow, weʼd do it. Because we canʼt, weʼre going to do

what we hope is the next best thing. In mid-September, weʼre going to open a public

beta test of most of the game-mechanical aspects of Set 2, including rules for

advancing Player Characters through levels 6–10.

We hope to kill two birds with one stone, giving the Dragon Age RPG ʼs fans the

chance to resume their campaigns right away while also strengthening the Set 2

rules with the whole Internetʼs playtest notes.

When theyʼre ready, the free beta playtest materials will be available at

greenronin.com. Anyone who wants to download them will be able to. More details

about how to submit your playtest reports—if you choose to do so—will be posted

along with the playtest package.

Our heartfelt thanks go out to the fans whoʼve adventured in Thedas since Set 1

came out, whoʼve told us how much they like the game, and whoʼve patiently

awaited Set 2.

Weʼll see you on the forums!

Whatʼs Here

This PDF contains (a) these playtesting instructions, (b) a blank playtest release, and

Unless youʼre a writer, editor, proofreader, or graphic designer by trade or inclination,

youʼre probably not used to looking at manuscript pages before theyʼre laid out. But

youʼll see that the playtest rules are just such a document, containing, for example,

different levels of headers notated with layout tags rather than differing levels of size

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and weight. Youʼll see similar notation marking the beginnings and ends of tables and

sidebars. None of this should be especially confusing, but a warning seems fair.

Youʼll also notice that most of the playtest rules havenʼt been edited or proofread yet.

Typos abound! Just ignore them. Our process will catch them later on.

Finally (and although we hope itʼs obvious) many of the mechanics youʼll ﬁnd in these

playtest rules have not been thoroughly playtested… yet! So let this serve as a warning

that you may run into rules that still need some tweaking. Heads up!

Whatʼs Not Here

The playtest rules found here are not the entirely of Set 2ʼs contents. They are simply

the majority of the setʼs game-mechanical elements. So you may (for example) see

references in the playtest rules to sections that are not actually found here. Donʼt let this

alarm you—Set 2 will be released as a comprehensive product!

How to Playtest

One of the key reasons for this open playtest is to enlist your help in making Set 2

awesome, so we hope youʼll submit a playtest report.

Your playtest report should consist of a single PDF document, which should have three

parts, occurring in this order: First, your playtest release; second, your answers to four

main questions; and third, your other notes.

Please only submit one report for your group that reﬂects its consensus, or summarizes

its differing opinions. (Or, if different voices in your group want to submit individual

reports, thatʼs ﬁne, too.) What we donʼt want is a series of reports that chronicle your

thoughts as they evolve over the playtest period, for the simple reason that we expect to

receive lots of reports even at one per group or voice. So, plan to submit one report that

reﬂects everything you think.

We promise to read all the reports we receive in their entirety. Although it probably goes

without saying, good reports will communicate clearly and succinctly. Your conclusions

are most likely to be persuasive if theyʼre supported with concrete evidence.

To be considered, submit your playtest report by midnight (US Paciﬁc time) on October

17, 2010. Send it, attached to an e-mail, to openplaytest@greenronin.com.

You are free to discuss, debate, write, and talk about the open playtest rules on forums,

blogs, podcasts, and other social media. Just be aware that we wonʼt necessarily be

aware of those discussions unless you also submit your thoughts as described above.

Playtest Release

The ﬁrst page of your playtest report PDF must be a playtest release signed by each

member of your group who contributed. Any playtest report whose ﬁrst page is not such

a release will be deleted unread.

Note that we will assemble a list of playtest credits from the names recorded on these

releases, so legibility counts!

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Four Questions

In the next section, answer the following questions in as little or as much detail as you

wish:

1. How did you use the playtest rules?

(Did you just read them? Use them in actual play? For how many sessions? Using what

kind of PCs?)

2. What kind of experience does your group have with tabletop RPGs?

(Are you old hands? Relative novices? A mix of both? Feel free to list your most favorite,

or least favorite, other RPGs if that would help us understand your perspective.)

3. What is the most critical problem youʼve identiﬁed in the playtest rules?

(Keep in mind that if you have an issue with something thatʼs baked into the core of the

Adventure Game Engine, taking issue with it here isnʼt likely to result in your

satisfaction. We obviously canʼt make sweeping changes to the basics of the game in

Set 2.)

4. Whatʼs the most critical success youʼve identiﬁed in the playtest rules?

(That is, what would you like to see published in Set 2 exactly the way itʼs presented in

the playtest rules, without any signiﬁcant changes at all?)

Other Notes

After answering the four questions, include any other notes you want us to read, the bad

and the good. (Or just the bad. Or just the good. Up to you!)

If you want to summarize your critical problem and critical success (#3 and #4, above)

at ﬁrst and then provide extended notes and back-up in the “other notes” section, thatʼs

ﬁne. If you want to draw diagrams and make charts and embed videos of the members

of your group waving their arms in outrage about some travesty of game design, thatʼs

great!

One area you might want to address in this section are any rules or elements that you

expected to see but did not seem to be addressed, or that you observed but you donʼt

think belong here. (But keep in mind that the playtest rules only include the Set 2 game

mechanics. Lots of background material will also be provided as part of Set 2, itʼs just

not included in the open playtest.)

You are likely to want to refer to speciﬁc passages of the playtest rules in these notes.

Itʼs generally better to refer to sections by their header names, rather than by page

numbers, but keep in mind that some headers recur in different sections, so make sure

youʼre clear when you make a reference. (For example, every class description has a

“Class Powers” header, so itʼs not speciﬁc enough to say that you love everything found

underneath that header.)

Something thatʼs not useful are proofreading and editing comments, unless you want to

identify a passage so obtuse that you could not even understand what it meant. At this

stage, proofreading and editing comments just distract everyone from the big picture.

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One ﬁnal—and important—instruction about writing your playtest notes is that weʼre not

looking for you to do design work. Thatʼs our job! Because tabletop RPGs attract

creative people, you may be tempted to whip together a new subsystem to address

something that you think is a hole or shortcoming, and drop it into your playtest report.

When this urge strikes, please restrain yourself. We simply want your feedback on the

playtest rules as they exist. To be clear, though, itʼs ﬁne to say something like, “I think

there should be a talent for dancing.” What you shouldnʼt do is send us the six new

Talents you designed.

A Great Big Thank You!

We at Green Ronin are excited about this open playtest. We really want to thank you in

advance for downloading this playtest package, especially if youʼre able to send us a

playtest report.

Thanks!

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Dragon Age RPG Set 2 Open Playtest — Playtest Release

By signing my name below, I certify and agree that my playtesting suggestions, ideas,

and comments as recorded in this document are mine to freely express, and become

the exclusive property of Green Ronin Publishing, LLC.

Name (print legibly!):

Signature: