# DM Rewards: Hommlet and Ship Tiles (Soilers)



## thalmin (Aug 11, 2009)

A nice surprise was waiting in my mailbox when I got home from work today, my DM Rewards _Village of Hommlet_ and 2 sets of Ship Dungeon Tiles. The double set makes ship-to ship possible. 

corrected: I originally posted the tiles were thinner, they are not. My error. Same as other tiles.

edit: some spoilers in later posts


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## Mark (Aug 11, 2009)

2 sets?  That's even more useful.  I hope mine comes tomorrow.


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## grodog (Aug 11, 2009)

My Hommlet hasn't arrived yet, but I'm hoping it'll be soon:  I'm curious to read 4e first hand.


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## Thanee (Aug 11, 2009)

Those ship tiles look quite nice. 







Bye
Thanee


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## Mark (Aug 11, 2009)

Anyone else get one?


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## MrMyth (Aug 11, 2009)

Mark said:


> Anyone else get one?




Both arrived for me yesterday as well. I definitely like the ship tiles!


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## Herschel (Aug 11, 2009)

Here's hoping they're in the mail today. I'm so jonesing for both.


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## Ktulu (Aug 11, 2009)

I wish.  Unfortunately, we do not run any RPGA stuff, so I didn't stand much of a chance at scoring those.  I would kill for tiles like those.


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## Pour (Aug 11, 2009)

I'm a member of the RPGA, but I haven't run any official events yet. Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but does that mean I won't see any of this awesome stuff until I do?


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## darjr (Aug 11, 2009)

The adventure was for just signing up and/or renewing. The tiles, AFAIK, are for running games.


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## Dragonhelm (Aug 11, 2009)

darjr said:


> The adventure was for just signing up and/or renewing. The tiles, AFAIK, are for running games.




Yeah, I just got the adventure since I haven't run any games.  And that's okay by me.  I'm not big into tiles.

Of course, it gave me a scare at first since I run a fan site and we had the whole fan site policy scare of late.


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## Phaezen (Aug 12, 2009)

Ktulu said:


> I wish.  Unfortunately, we do not run any RPGA stuff, so I didn't stand much of a chance at scoring those.  I would kill for tiles like those.




The best part ofcourse is, you odn't need to run RPGA games to get the points.  You can register home games, which are worth the same number of points as the RPGA events.


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## Dire Bare (Aug 12, 2009)

Dragonhelm said:


> Of course, it gave me a scare at first since I run a fan site and we had the whole fan site policy scare of late.




Aren't you guys the "official" Dragonlance website, designated by WotC?  If so, I wouldn't worry.

If not, I still wouldn't worry until I received a C&D from WotC, and then I would just simply comply with the C&D.  Or, if I felt that I wanted to be proactive, I would contact WotC legal and ask if my logos are OK.

I think you're probably fine.  But then again, I'm not a lawyer or expert, just a fan who thinks your site rocks!


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## grodog (Aug 13, 2009)

grodog said:


> My Hommlet hasn't arrived yet, but I'm hoping it'll be soon:  I'm curious to read 4e first hand.




Still waiting....


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## malraux (Aug 13, 2009)

grodog said:


> Still waiting....




As am I....


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## Kez Darksun (Aug 13, 2009)

I received my adventure today.


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## grodog (Aug 13, 2009)

No love today either.  Were they sent by USPS or UPS Ground or FedEx Ground, etc.?


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## ExploderWizard (Aug 13, 2009)

Nothing yet here either. I even updated my info again when I moved in July and got a confirmation e-mail thanking me for updating.


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## GuJiaXian (Aug 13, 2009)

Still waiting here as well.


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## Kez Darksun (Aug 13, 2009)

grodog said:


> no love today either.  Were they sent by usps or ups ground or fedex ground, etc.?




usps


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## Kelanen (Aug 13, 2009)

I got my copy of Hommlet today


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## Glyfair (Aug 13, 2009)

thalmin said:


> A nice surprise was waiting in my mailbox when I got home from work today, my DM Rewards _Village of Hommlet_ and 2 sets of Ship Dungeon Tiles. The double set makes ship-to ship possible.



Was it one shipment or two?

I got my ships today, but my Hommlet is still MIA.  It's quite ironic because my brother got his the first wave (as did some of my players) and I am almost always the one running games.  My brother runs a few times, but it's pretty much me DMing.


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## Jools (Aug 13, 2009)

I'm a little bit concerned about mine. I registered and ran the required number of events, its a clunky system so it took quite a while but juuust barely got them in before the cut off. I was chuffed! However,  I've just noticed that my reward points never went down. My understanding is that your points are "used" when they send you the reward tiles. I'm concerned!!


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## Jack99 (Aug 13, 2009)

Still nada here, but since I am in Europe, I am guessing it will be a few weeks or a month until it finds its way over here. Can't wait to read it though.


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## Kralin Thornberry (Aug 13, 2009)

Got my ship tiles today!  Nice!  Now I can run/write my ghost ship adventure!


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## Ktulu (Aug 14, 2009)

Incidentally, I've got $20 for anyone who doesn't want their ship tiles.


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## thalmin (Aug 14, 2009)

It was one shipment. Don't know how they batched the mailings. It could be region alphabetic, or DCI numeric.


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## Glyfair (Aug 14, 2009)

thalmin said:


> It was one shipment. Don't know how they batched the mailings. It could be region alphabetic, or DCI numeric.



I guess I will have to send off another problem case for them.  I was assured the first time my module would be shipped in August.  Ah well...


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## vagabundo (Aug 14, 2009)

Nothing here, but I'm in Europa too...


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## grodog (Aug 14, 2009)

My copy arrived today, sans ship tiles---I guess they're extras for folks who are actively earning DM Rewards points.  I'll dig into Hommlet over the weekend


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## Shroomy (Aug 14, 2009)

My fiancee just called, mine came in the mail today.


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## fba827 (Aug 14, 2009)

grodog said:


> My copy arrived today, sans ship tiles---I guess they're extras for folks who are actively earning DM Rewards points.  I'll dig into Hommlet over the weekend




Yeah - it is my understanding that the ship tiles are for those who actively earned a certain number of DM reward points within a certain time frame (which I think was the first half of the year).


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## Zaukrie (Aug 14, 2009)

I got Hommlet today. Nice. Thanks WotC.


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## Mark (Aug 17, 2009)

Back from Gencon, picked up my mail (which was on hold), still nothing.  I suspect a conspiracy.


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## darjr (Aug 17, 2009)

I got my tiles. Mine are as thick as any of the other WotC dungeon tiles I own.


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## ExploderWizard (Aug 17, 2009)

Mark said:


> Back from Gencon, picked up my mail (which was on hold), still nothing. I suspect a conspiracy.




Same here. Speaking of conspiracy, I wonder if my mail carrier is a dirty thieving little hobbit!!!   He took our precious!!!!


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## Mark (Aug 17, 2009)

ExploderWizard said:


> Same here. Speaking of conspiracy, I wonder if my mail carrier is a dirty thieving little hobbit!!!   He took our precious!!!!





Does he claim to be a Ring-winner, Luckwearer, and Barrel-rider.  If so, you might be on to something . . .


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## fba827 (Aug 17, 2009)

I got mine this weekend.

*If anyone from WotC is reading this, thank you for the little freebie/bonus*

(I don't know how else to send a 'thank you' to the right people without actually calling and, well, I have phone-a-phobia  )


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## Dire Bare (Aug 17, 2009)

ExploderWizard said:


> Same here. Speaking of conspiracy, I wonder if my mail carrier is a dirty thieving little hobbit!!!   He took our precious!!!!




I actually had that exact problem years ago when some post office punk was stealing my Dragon magazines.


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## MerricB (Aug 18, 2009)

fba827 said:


> Yeah - it is my understanding that the ship tiles are for those who actively earned a certain number of DM reward points within a certain time frame (which I think was the first half of the year).




Five sessions from Jan-June 2009, IIRC.

I'm hoping mine arrive sometime soon, but posting to Australia and all... tends to be erratic in timing. (Back in the days of paper Dragon magazine, some issues arrived out of order!)

Cheers!


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## ExploderWizard (Aug 18, 2009)

Mark said:


> Does he claim to be a Ring-winner, Luckwearer, and Barrel-rider. If so, you might be on to something . . .




It came today!  No thieving gollum. There is, however, the matter of the evil illiterate module bending gnomes

Just looked at the maps so far, they look really cool. I will suspend my perusal a few days so the module can sit under a heavy pile of books and straighten out. Thanks WOTC.


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## Mark (Aug 18, 2009)

My buddy Trevalon got his module, too.


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## grodog (Aug 18, 2009)

I read through it over the weekend.  Now I have to decide if I'm going to go pick up a 4e PHB to better understand some of system differences (Lareth doesn't seem to be a Cleric as I recognize a Cleric, for example).  

In any event, thank you DM Rewards/RGPA/WotC folks for the module:  it's nice to see Greyhawk get a nod


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## Greatfrito (Aug 18, 2009)

Ktulu said:


> Incidentally, I've got $20 for anyone who doesn't want their ship tiles.




Logging in (after 2 years of -not- doing so... sue me) to say: As do I (or whatever people are asking for as a "reasonable" price).  Let me know, I guess.

Sadly, I've had no chance to get into the rewards program, what with lawschool -always- managing to put classes right in the middle of each and every local game I've found.

Mildly related: Is there any way to sign up (and report home-run games) -without- going to an actual event?


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## Mark (Aug 18, 2009)

Ship Dungeon Tiles Dungeons & Dragons RPG Promo Rewards - eBay (item 360180041854 end time Aug-19-09 13:42:22 PDT)


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## thalmin (Aug 18, 2009)

Greatfrito said:


> Mildly related: Is there any way to sign up (and report home-run games) -without- going to an actual event?



 Yes. Log in to DCI, click _Sanction Events, _click the logo for _D&D Private_ (not _D&D WPN_) and register your game.
You do need a DCI/RPGA number, must have taken the DM test and register for the DM Rewards program.


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## thalmin (Aug 18, 2009)

Mark said:


> Ship Dungeon Tiles Dungeons & Dragons RPG Promo Rewards - eBay (item 360180041854 end time Aug-19-09 13:42:22 PDT)



 Is that for 1 of the tiles, since they sent 2?


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## Jack99 (Aug 18, 2009)

Greatfrito said:


> Logging in (after 2 years of -not- doing so... sue me) to say: As do I (or whatever people are asking for as a "reasonable" price).  Let me know, I guess.
> 
> Sadly, I've had no chance to get into the rewards program, what with lawschool -always- managing to put classes right in the middle of each and every local game I've found.
> 
> Mildly related: Is there any way to sign up (and report home-run games) -without- going to an actual event?




Anyone in Europe get those yet? And I mean during this round, not back in april.


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## Mark (Aug 18, 2009)

thalmin said:


> Is that for 1 of the tiles, since they sent 2?





They might have sent you mine.  I'll drop by the store to pick it up later.


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## C_M2008 (Aug 18, 2009)

thalmin said:


> Yes. Log in to DCI, click _Sanction Events, _click the logo for _D&D Private_ (not _D&D WPN_) and register your game.
> You do need a DCI/RPGA number, must have taken the DM test and register for the DM Rewards program.




One of the people in your group needs a DCI number too, I can't report(and thus get the DM points) as no one in my group besides myself has a DCI number.


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## mearlus (Aug 18, 2009)

C_M2008 said:


> One of the people in your group needs a DCI number too, I can't report(and thus get the DM points) as no one in my group besides myself has a DCI number.




I thought all of the players had to be a RPGA member, or at least the minimum of 4 players.

I'd love to get points for our home game.  I should say, I'd love to have our DM get points for our home game as I'm not currently running   Out of the 8-9 people that play only the DM and I have a DCI number.  We thought because of the size of our group, the fact that it is FR but not running official RPGA adventures we couldn't submit our event even for home play...


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## Herschel (Aug 18, 2009)

Still no goodies for me.


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## thalmin (Aug 18, 2009)

C_M2008 said:


> One of the people in your group needs a DCI number too, I can't report(and thus get the DM points) as no one in my group besides myself has a DCI number.






mearlus said:


> I thought all of the players had to be a RPGA member, or at least the minimum of 4 players.
> 
> I'd love to get points for our home game. I should say, I'd love to have our DM get points for our home game as I'm not currently running  Out of the 8-9 people that play only the DM and I have a DCI number. We thought because of the size of our group, the fact that it is FR but not running official RPGA adventures we couldn't submit our event even for home play...



 So get  numbers for everyone!


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## tuxgeo (Aug 18, 2009)

*Getting RPGA (DCI) number without attending events*



Greatfrito said:


> Logging in (after 2 years of -not- doing so... sue me) . . .
> Mildly related: Is there any way to sign up (and report home-run games) -without- going to an actual event?



I signed up remotely just this month: I went to the Wizards' FAQ page about that here; copied the list of required information into Notepad; clicked on the "Email Us" TAB below the "Wizards" logo at the top of the page; selected "WPN (RPGA/DCI) Players" from the drop-down list; selected "Membership Request" from the secondary (new) drop-down list; filled out the required data and sent it to them. That was Sunday, August 9, 2009; Wizards sent me my DCI # and password by email on Tuesday, August 11. 
Once they send you your number and password, you can login at webapp and see about ordering RPGA modules and/or sanctioning your own home games.


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## Glyfair (Aug 19, 2009)

Glyfair said:


> I guess I will have to send off another problem case for them.  I was assured the first time my module would be shipped in August.  Ah well...



Emailed them earlier this week and have a response.  They are fixing the problem by sending me a copy in a week or two.  Great!

I was never in a rush, except for the fact that they ran out last time.


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## vagabundo (Aug 19, 2009)

Jack99 said:


> Anyone in Europe get those yet? And I mean during this round, not back in april.




I'm still waiting Jack. Good to know I'm not alone...


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## Jhaelen (Aug 19, 2009)

vagabundo said:


> I'm still waiting Jack. Good to know I'm not alone...



Ditto.


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## Jack99 (Aug 19, 2009)

vagabundo said:


> I'm still waiting Jack. Good to know I'm not alone...






Jhaelen said:


> Ditto.




I just got it today - although going by the envelope, it seems it has been past NZ before coming to Denmark.. That's quite the detour there...

Either way, I am now a happy camper. Thanks to WotC and I hope you all get yours asap.


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## Festivus (Aug 19, 2009)

I received Hommlet with the first mailing a while back, but haven't seen hide nor hair of the ship tiles, even though I have way more than enough DM points for them.  

I'll check with all our meetup DMs and see if any got theirs yet, perhaps it's a California thing.


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## Netherstorm (Aug 19, 2009)

One thing I believe wizards asked people to do between the time they sent Hommlet and the ship tiles, was to go to your RPGA/DCI information page and save it again. You don't have to change your address or anything, but apparently this puts you on the list of people who get stuff.

Also, it seems pretty random as to when you get the free stuff. I didn't get Hommlet until two weeks after everyone else did. But I got the ship tiles right away.

And I'm a little appalled that these two tiles are going for $41 on ebay right now. I hope wizards makes them available somehow for other people, because no tile is worth that kind of money. 

I'm kind of wondering what their next free adventure will be like. Will it be another re-working of a classic adventure? I'd like to see Tomb of Horrors, or the Temple of Elemental Evil (though I guess that would be too big for 32 pages).


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## Festivus (Aug 19, 2009)

Netherstorm said:


> I'm kind of wondering what their next free adventure will be like. Will it be another re-working of a classic adventure? I'd like to see Tomb of Horrors, or the Temple of Elemental Evil (though I guess that would be too big for 32 pages).




My money is on "The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh"  

I hadn't realized they wanted us to update our info AGAIN, after I had just done it so that they could send me Hommlet, but I'll take a look and update again just to be safe.


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## Greatfrito (Aug 19, 2009)

Netherstorm said:


> And I'm a little appalled that these two tiles are going for $41 on ebay right now. I hope wizards makes them available somehow for other people, because no tile is worth that kind of money.




Seriously.  I was hoping / expecting something more akin to ~$20.  But 40?  Jesus.  And it's not done yet.  And that's not including shipping.


As is though, we've got the next two DT sets announced, right?  So we're not looking at WotC even making anything similar to the ship tiles available until, when?  After the "base set" of tiles?  So, like, a year?

Really, it's just frustrating.  It feels like they took one of the more asked-for tile types, and gave it out to a limited portion of the community (don't get me wrong, I'd be in the Rewards Program too, if I could).  Though maybe the ebay prices will motivate someone over there to go "Holy crap, we could _sell_ these!" [/whining]


EDIT: That said, for those with the tiles, how do they compare to this (linky) from Paizo?  It's only the one ship, yes, but with four decks, my only complaint on casual inspection is the cannons.


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## Black Flame Zealot (Aug 19, 2009)

fba827 said:


> I got mine this weekend.
> 
> *If anyone from WotC is reading this, thank you for the little freebie/bonus*
> 
> (I don't know how else to send a 'thank you' to the right people without actually calling and, well, I have phone-a-phobia  )




No, THANK YOU for running D&D games and reporting your play!

Folks, if you haven't received your ship tiles or Village of Hommlet yet, just wait a few weeks before contacting customer service. They just started shipping right before Gen Con Indy, so they might take a little while to get to you. We will be able to fulfill requests for missing tiles if you scheduled, ran, and reported your 5 games within the 6 month timeframe (Jan 1 - June 30). But give it some time, since the mail can be a little fickle.


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## Maggan (Aug 19, 2009)

Got Village of Hommlet today, in Sweden. Didn't really expect it to show up, but it did!

/M


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## thalmin (Aug 19, 2009)

Greatfrito said:


> That said, for those with the tiles, how do they compare to this (linky) from Paizo? It's only the one ship, yes, but with four decks, my only complaint on casual inspection is the cannons.



The tiles look realy nice, as you would expect. Quality is like all the other tile sets.
Advantages to the tiles:

Two sets, so able to have ship-to-ship
Long boat and rowboat included
Large ship can be single-masted cog or 3-masted caravel
2 decks shown for large ship
Tile included with planks between two ships for boarding actions


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## Black Flame Zealot (Aug 19, 2009)

thalmin said:


> The tiles look realy nice, as you would expect. Quality is like all the other tile sets.
> Advantages to the tiles:
> 
> Two sets, so able to have ship-to-ship
> ...




When we concepted the tiles and we realized we wanted to maximize utility, we wanted to make sure to deliver 2 sets to each DM that got them, so they could do either ship-to-ship with the big ships or have an above/below deck setup without having to flip the tiles back and forth. It turned out great. I hope we can give more of these one-sheet tiles out in the future with different useful images on them.


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## Greatfrito (Aug 19, 2009)

tuxgeo said:


> I signed up remotely just this month: I went to the Wizards' FAQ page about that here; copied the list of required information into Notepad; clicked on the "Email Us" TAB below the "Wizards" logo at the top of the page; selected "WPN (RPGA/DCI) Players" from the drop-down list; selected "Membership Request" from the secondary (new) drop-down list; filled out the required data and sent it to them. That was Sunday, August 9, 2009; Wizards sent me my DCI # and password by email on Tuesday, August 11.
> Once they send you your number and password, you can login at webapp and see about ordering RPGA modules and/or sanctioning your own home games.




Y'know, I -completely missed this post- somehow.

Thank you, tons!  I've no idea why I couldn't find this before.  Time to get myself (and my players) signed up!


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## Mark (Aug 19, 2009)

Black Flame Zealot said:


> Folks, if you haven't received your ship tiles or Village of Hommlet yet, just wait a few weeks before contacting customer service. They just started shipping right before Gen Con Indy, so they might take a little while to get to you.





Fair enough.  Thanks for the assurance.


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## Festivus (Aug 20, 2009)

Tiles arrived today, postman nicely folded the crap out of them so I hope to salvage... but YAY!


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## Jhaelen (Aug 20, 2009)

Jack99 said:


> I just got it today - although going by the envelope, it seems it has been past NZ before coming to Denmark.. That's quite the detour there...
> 
> Either way, I am now a happy camper. Thanks to WotC and I hope you all get yours asap.



I've now got mine, too! Woot! Very nice poster map, btw. 

Now if they only got around to send me the RPGA membership request forms I requested, so I can start collecting those DM points... It's bad enough I missed out on the ship tiles. I guess, I need to send them a reminder - again.


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## beverson (Aug 20, 2009)

C_M2008 said:


> One of the people in your group needs a DCI number too, I can't report(and thus get the DM points) as no one in my group besides myself has a DCI number.




Can anyone confirm the actual number of group members required to have numbers?  For my group it's not as simple as just having everyone get a number, so if I can get away with only one, it would be great.


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## darjr (Aug 20, 2009)

minimum is 4 to a table plus a GM.


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## avin (Aug 20, 2009)

Black Flame Zealot said:


> No, THANK YOU for running D&D games and reporting your play!




To be honest, me and my friends are gaming a bit more than we are reporting 'cause the reporting system it's a little bit clumsy IMHO. 

I think the reporting system could see some improvement. For example, drop down menu with our most usual players.


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## Keefe the Thief (Aug 20, 2009)

Black Flame Zealot said:


> No, THANK YOU for running D&D games and reporting your play!
> 
> Folks, if you haven't received your ship tiles or Village of Hommlet yet, just wait a few weeks before contacting customer service. They just started shipping right before Gen Con Indy, so they might take a little while to get to you. We will be able to fulfill requests for missing tiles if you scheduled, ran, and reported your 5 games within the 6 month timeframe (Jan 1 - June 30). But give it some time, since the mail can be a little fickle.




Got my adventure a couple of days ago - all i can say is, sending a free module all over the world as an appreciation for DMs is awesomesauce. Keep up the good work!


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## Atras (Aug 20, 2009)

Black Flame Zealot said:


> No, THANK YOU for running D&D games and reporting your play!



Not to turn this into a vicious love circle, but  arranging all of the Organized Play materials and providing this kind of community support is really quite a bit farther than consumers can expect these days.  Thank you for your work, Chris.  Most of us play the game because we like it, so rewards like this are just a great bonus.


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## mearlus (Aug 20, 2009)

beverson said:


> Can anyone confirm the actual number of group members required to have numbers?  For my group it's not as simple as just having everyone get a number, so if I can get away with only one, it would be great.




From what I've been reading 4-6 players is the limit.  Which is unfortunate for us as some games we reach 7 or 8, others 4 or 5.  

I'm also finding it hard to get information on what qualifies as 'legal' for home games.  I've read some places that a 'sanctioned home game' can count and be recorded as play even if it is a home brew adventure.  What I don't see is if we're required to follow strict treasure/EP rules that LFR runs or if we just can't use our characters in any other LFR sanctioned game.  I'm waiting for the WoTC boards to come back up to post more specific questions about sanctioning home play.


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## darjr (Aug 20, 2009)

mearlus said:


> From what I've been reading 4-6 players is the limit.  Which is unfortunate for us as some games we reach 7 or 8, others 4 or 5.
> 
> I'm also finding it hard to get information on what qualifies as 'legal' for home games.  I've read some places that a 'sanctioned home game' can count and be recorded as play even if it is a home brew adventure.  What I don't see is if we're required to follow strict treasure/EP rules that LFR runs or if we just can't use our characters in any other LFR sanctioned game.  I'm waiting for the WoTC boards to come back up to post more specific questions about sanctioning home play.




Home games are up to you. As far as I know anything goes. The only stipulation is that you cannot then take those characters to another RPGA event that isn't a home game and expect to be able to run them.

As far as reporting.... well... 10 people would be two DM's with four players each, 9 people would be one DM running two groups of 4 each, 8 would be one DM running two groups with one player overlaping. Sorry, I'm not trying to be pedantic...


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## mearlus (Aug 20, 2009)

darjr said:


> Home games are up to you. As far as I know anything goes. The only stipulation is that you cannot then take those characters to another RPGA event that isn't a home game and expect to be able to run them.
> 
> As far as reporting.... well... 10 people would be two DM's with four players each, 9 people would be one DM running two groups of 4 each, 8 would be one DM running two groups with one player overlaping. Sorry, I'm not trying to be pedantic...




No worries, I'm not taking it that way.  We sort of assumed the home games are 'up to you' and the only thing you can do is take those characters to another RPGA event.  I was just looking for that defined solidly I guess.  Not like the RPGA police will come after us or anything 

When you discuss reporting as such do you just mean that if our DM and say I are both Herald level we both could just report our one game session to account for all the players even though he is the single person DMing?  Nothing would stop us I guess but I'd just like to do it the correct way and follow the rules.  

In the end it is probably more about getting marketing information/demographics of those who are actively playing that WoTC cares about I suppose. 

Thanks for the input.  I feel like I'm hijacking the thread so I'll leave the rest of my questions for the offical board.


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## darjr (Aug 20, 2009)

mearlus said:


> When you discuss reporting ...




The correct way would be to run them that way. ...

I think the ship tiles and the adventure are part of marketing. A wonderful marketing that works like you wouldn't believe. Sure, collecting info on DM's and players is part of it, maybe the largest? But encouraging people to DM seems to be the larger goal.

The adventure and tiles have been that little bit of niceness that have helped me push through a short period of burnout. Before the con season I was trying to get things together to run con events and life got uber busy and I was not having as much fun. I think many DM's know what I'm talking about.

Later I ran into some players that were in a game I ran during that time, and they thanked me for a great game. I thought it went horribly, but they remembered and loved little details about the game that I'd forgotten. I look at the tiles and the adventure and it reminds me of that and why I am a DM.

Is that petty?


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## vagabundo (Aug 20, 2009)

I'm in Ireland - I'm closer than any of those other continentalers..<sob>

Still not arrived...


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## GuJiaXian (Aug 22, 2009)

Still nothing here. I got the Hommlet adventure in the last shipment months ago, but I was hoping to get the ship tiles. Ah, well...


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## Kunimatyu (Aug 22, 2009)

You know, there are a lot of us who run adventures with ships who would like be to able to buy these normally.... :/

EDIT: Yeah, really ****es me off. I hate it when companies offer unique product as promotional items. Early product is one thing, same product with alternate art/foil/whatever is fine, but this just irritates.


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## Mark (Aug 22, 2009)

Kunimatyu said:


> You know, there are a lot of us who run adventures with ships who would like be to able to buy these normally.... :/
> 
> EDIT: Yeah, really ****es me off. I hate it when companies offer unique product as promotional items. Early product is one thing, same product with alternate art/foil/whatever is fine, but this just irritates.





They should sell a pack of six as a regular Dungeon Tiles product.  I could make use of more than two tiles, and might even buy a couple of packs for some larger battles or harbor scenario fun. 


People seem to be selling them one at a time and making some good money for them -

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38&_nkw=dungeon+tiles+ships


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## Wycen (Aug 23, 2009)

I think this is the second thread about these exclusive items, but maybe I'm wrong.  

Was the Hommlet adventure already given out earlier, or was it a different classic converted to 4E I'm thinking of?


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## Jack99 (Aug 23, 2009)

Wycen said:


> I think this is the second thread about these exclusive items, but maybe I'm wrong.
> 
> Was the Hommlet adventure already given out earlier, or was it a different classic converted to 4E I'm thinking of?




It was sent out in April, then again in August to those who signed up after the first batch was sent out. Afaik, it will be sent out once more, later this year, to those that sign up after August.


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## darjr (Aug 23, 2009)

It is the second thread. The other didn't start out about the tiles.

I don't have the link handy.

Note that the next reward is slated to be tiles as well. I wonder what? Anybody know?


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## Glyfair (Aug 23, 2009)

Jack99 said:


> It was sent out in April, then again in August to those who signed up after the first batch was sent out. Afaik, it will be sent out once more, later this year, to those that sign up after August.



And a lot of people who were signed up didn't get the first wave of Hommlet for some reason (I am one).


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## darjr (Aug 23, 2009)

Wizards got caught off guard at the demand. They switched gears and decided to do a second (third?) shipment.

And my post office folded mine...

No crease so I just used a few heavy books I just happened to have lying around...


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## Kunimatyu (Aug 23, 2009)

Hopefully we'll see a full set of nautical tiles from this.

2 different ships, a wrecked/ghost ship, whirlpools, sunken treasure, rocks poking out of the water - what else would be cool?


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## Ed_Laprade (Aug 23, 2009)

I got Hommlet today and want to say a big Thank You to those who so patiently helped me through the signup process!


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## fenzer (Aug 23, 2009)

A quick question, is the 4e version of Hommlet a remake of the original, of which I own a copy, or did Wizards update/change its history/story?  Thanks.


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## Ed_Laprade (Aug 23, 2009)

fenzer said:


> A quick question, is the 4e version of Hommlet a remake of the original, of which I own a copy, or did Wizards update/change its history/story? Thanks.



Its an update and a change. For 4th level 4E characters. Most of the town itself is still the same. (The town temple is to Pelor rather than St. Cuthbert, the village Elder is a woman, etc.) The history is still the same.


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## fenzer (Aug 24, 2009)

Thanks Ed.  How are the maps?  Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil provided mediocre maps of the town.  Did they get an update in this version as well?


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## PoeticJustice (Aug 24, 2009)

As one of the many, many people interested in the tiles who will not be receiving them for free, I'd like to congratulate Wotc on creating such a compelling incentive.

Also, anyone considering paying 50 dollars for a set of tiles is crazy if they don't at least consider DragonFire Armada's products before bidding that much money. 

Frigate


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## darjr (Aug 24, 2009)

There are cheaper bids. If you look.

The village map is similar to the 6th printing of T1... the version of T1 I own. It isn't as big or as detailed.


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## Ed_Laprade (Aug 24, 2009)

fenzer said:


> Thanks Ed. How are the maps? Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil provided mediocre maps of the town. Did they get an update in this version as well?



I don't know what everyone else got, but the only big map in mine was two sided, the ground floor of the Inn of the Welcome Wench on one side and the ground floor of the Moathouse on the other. The town map was on one side of the inside cover of the adventure. Smaller than the original from T1 (which was the whole inside cover), but grayscale so it was easier to see what was what.


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## darjr (Aug 24, 2009)

That's what I got. And that village map on the inside cover is what I meant.


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## N0Man (Aug 24, 2009)

I never had the chance to play RPGA games until a couple months ago.  Once I did, I quickly tested to get Herald level, but was not able to generate enough interest among my friends to pull off home RPGA games.  Actually, I just recently managed to get a game at all running, so I wasn't able to earn this nice prize.

However, I was in luck... the DM I often do home RPGA sessions with doesn't care much for dungeon tiles, and generously gave me his.  

On a slight tangent, but still vaguely related topic, did anyone happen to catch the "Dungeon Tiles Master Set" news?  Since that set is going to be a set that reprints elements from some previous sets, and is going to be one that stays in print constantly, there's always a chance we might see these or similar tiles again in the future.


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## Mark (Aug 24, 2009)

How does the town map compare to the town map from a few years ago in Dragon magazine (or was it Dungeon)?


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## darjr (Aug 24, 2009)

Mark said:


> How does the town map compare to the town map from a few years ago in Dragon magazine (or was it Dungeon)?




I've got both. I could scan a little tiny bit of each and post them... what amount would be fair use?


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## Mark (Aug 24, 2009)

darjr said:


> I've got both. I could scan a little tiny bit of each and post them... what amount would be fair use?





No need.  Just describe them.  Are they the same or not and, if not, how are they different?


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## Jools (Aug 26, 2009)

I'm due for both but haven't got either. Ah, the pain! Is anybody else still waiting? Anybody?


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## ferratus (Aug 26, 2009)

I haven't got mine either.


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## Mark (Aug 26, 2009)

Still waiting, too.


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## deadsmurf (Aug 26, 2009)

I finally got mine (got my 5th registered game in, just under the wire... now I have tons of games for the next mailing) [I'm in Canada, East Coast]

The Tiles look awesome, they would have come in handy months ago when I had a ship battle, and about a month ago when I had mid-air airship battles.  But I'm sure I'll get to use them eventually.

Hommlet looks pretty cool from my quick glance through it, love the poster maps, and its always good to have printed adventures to run if you need to have a game QUiCK.


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## malraux (Aug 26, 2009)

Still no sign of my copy either....


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## Jools (Aug 26, 2009)

I'm glad to hear that others are waiting too. I guess there's nothing to worry about then.


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## vagabundo (Aug 26, 2009)

Mine arrived today. Yey. Looks awesome.

<--- Ireland.


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## GuJiaXian (Aug 26, 2009)

Well, it looks like WotC screwed up my address for my shipment of ship tiles, even though the last shipment (beginning of summer) arrived without any problems. They've "sorted things out," but they're out of ship tiles, so they'll ship me some "when they become available again."

Consider me very annoyed.


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## MerricB (Aug 26, 2009)

Mine arrived. Hooray!


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## vagabundo (Aug 26, 2009)

I'm really chuffed with the adventure, read through it and it seems like a great adventure to run. I've read the original - mostly; gygaxian can be hard to read sometimes - but never run it. This version looks very accessible and would be great to run. 

Just wondering what is missing in this version from the original?


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## Ed_Laprade (Aug 26, 2009)

vagabundo said:


> I'm really chuffed with the adventure, read through it and it seems like a great adventure to run. I've read the original - mostly; gygaxian can be hard to read sometimes - but never run it. This version looks very accessible and would be great to run.
> 
> Just wondering what is missing in this version from the original?



There are a number of minor encounters missing. (Giant spider, snake, tick and rats on the ground floor. And Green Slime down below!)


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## Jools (Aug 27, 2009)

GuJiaXian said:


> Well, it looks like WotC screwed up my address for my shipment of ship tiles, even though the last shipment (beginning of summer) arrived without any problems. They've "sorted things out," but they're out of ship tiles, so they'll ship me some "when they become available again."
> 
> Consider me very annoyed.




 How did you know they screwed up your address and that they werent still on their way to you?


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## wedgeski (Aug 27, 2009)

I received mine in the UK a couple of days ago.

Many thanks to Wizards for this little gift... I can't resist plopping it into my campaign now.


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## 1darklord (Aug 27, 2009)

I and a friend (both in the UK) received our villages yesterday. 

Daniel.


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## Mark (Aug 27, 2009)

Ed_Laprade said:


> There are a number of minor encounters missing. (Giant spider, snake, tick and rats on the ground floor. And Green Slime down below!)





Probably space considerations.  Would adding those back in have much impact on gameplay?


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## Ed_Laprade (Aug 27, 2009)

Mark said:


> Probably space considerations. Would adding those back in have much impact on gameplay?



Hmmm. I'd say yes. The original ground floor encounters made that part much more exploratory than the one big fight in the new one. (You never knew what was going to jump out at you, or where.) Taking away the Green Slime downstairs, not so much. (But it could give the party a taste of the horror to come. _I_ certainly remember the first time I encountered it!)


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## Mark (Aug 27, 2009)

Ed_Laprade said:


> Hmmm. I'd say yes. The original ground floor encounters made that part much more exploratory than the one big fight in the new one. (You never knew what was going to jump out at you, or where.) Taking away the Green Slime downstairs, not so much. (But it could give the party a taste of the horror to come. _I_ certainly remember the first time I encountered it!)





Probably looking to just speed things along in the new one, then, yes?  Or is there a design philosphy aspect in regard to the number and type of encounters that requires removal of those minor encounters?


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## malraux (Aug 28, 2009)

Mark said:


> Probably looking to just speed things along in the new one, then, yes?  Or is there a design philosphy aspect in regard to the number and type of encounters that requires removal of those minor encounters?




The other issue is that, for example, in the original module, the tick room is a 20'x20' room that has a giant tick in it.  That just doesn't work real well in 4e.


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## Mark (Aug 28, 2009)

malraux said:


> The other issue is that, for example, in the original module, the tick room is a 20'x20' room that has a giant tick in it.  That just doesn't work real well in 4e.





So, a(n encounter) design philosophy issue, as it were?


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## MerricB (Aug 28, 2009)

My "bare bones" review is now up:
Return to the Village of Hommlet... again! | The Village of Hommlet | RPG Geekdō

Cheers!


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## Mark (Aug 28, 2009)

Has it changed from a setting with many status quo encounters into a linear adventure with tailored encounters?


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## Ed_Laprade (Aug 28, 2009)

Mark said:


> So, a(n encounter) design philosophy issue, as it were?



That would be my guess.


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## Jools (Aug 28, 2009)

Just got Hommlet and the tiles in the post here in Japan. So, are these worth eight million dollars on ebay?


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## Mustrum_Ridcully (Aug 28, 2009)

Jools said:


> Just got Hommlet and the tiles in the post here in Japan. So, are these worth eight million dollars on ebay?



I don't know, might be - the $ has been weak in the past few years...


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## thalmin (Aug 28, 2009)

Please try to watch the spoilers. I just put up a warning. Maybe use the spoiler tag? 
Urm, where IS the spoiler tag?


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## Windjammer (Aug 30, 2009)

MerricB said:


> My "bare bones" review is now up:
> Return to the Village of Hommlet... again! | The Village of Hommlet | RPG Geekdō
> 
> Cheers!




Thanks for your review, Merric. It's quite solid, though I think you could have mentioned the somewhat odd design choice to rescale the moathouse in the 4E version so it's only 2 thirds of its original size (check the battle map).

A key thing I agree with your review on is that it's a pity the (however brief) write up of 4E Hommlet doesn't mention a key element - the subtle conflict (in and around the village) between the old druidic faith and the "new" faith in St Cuthbert. That's even more surprising given that Mike Mearls said that this element in the original T1 module was a key player for 4E designers coming up for a rationale in the divide between the primal and divine power source. (It's somewhere in the DDI design articles on PH2.) So, on the one hand this element of the original T1 had a hugely formative influence on 4E, on the other they don't care to mention it when they re-release T1 for 4E.

It's a pity, I think. I also think that Andy Collins' version, while more polished in the mechanical details, is vastly inferior as regards raw flavour to Mike Mearls' version of T1 for 4E. Just compare the two versions of Lareth, and you'll see.


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## Glyfair (Aug 30, 2009)

MerricB said:


> My "bare bones" review is now up:
> Return to the Village of Hommlet... again! | The Village of Hommlet | RPG Geekdō




From the review:


> This 2009 release of The Village of Hommlet comes 30 years after the original with the module adapted for the 4e rules set. It makes, by my count, the fourth release of this town. The first is the original, of course. The second was included as part of the release of T1-4: The Temple Of Elemental Evil (basically a straight reprint with a few formatting changes). The third was for Monte Cook's redesign in Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, which looked at the village some 20 years after the original.



You are correct by your count as a release of the *town*.  However, the moathouse also appears in the early 4E RPGA one-off adventure, _Return to the Moathouse_ by Mike Mearls.


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## tuxgeo (Aug 31, 2009)

thalmin said:


> Please try to watch the spoilers. I just put up a warning. Maybe use the spoiler tag?
> Urm, where IS the spoiler tag?



You have to put spoiler tags in by hand. 
Open a Spoiler with the letters "sblock" enclosed in square brackets ([ and ]) but without the quotation marks; close a Spoiler with the letters "/sblock" enclosed in square brackets but without the quotation marks.


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## Mark (Sep 5, 2009)

Black Flame Zealot said:


> Folks, if you haven't received your ship tiles or Village of Hommlet yet, just wait a few weeks before contacting customer service. They just started shipping right before Gen Con Indy, so they might take a little while to get to you.





Still nothing.  It's been a few weeks.  Anyone else still Rewardless?


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## GuJiaXian (Sep 6, 2009)

As I posted in another thread, I'm still "rewardless." WotC claims to have gotten my address wrong (despite not having problems with the last shipment earlier this summer) and claims that I "might" get the tiles "some time in the future." I'm not holding my breath, and boy am I ticked.


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## jelmore (Dec 29, 2009)

I am also rewardless, after confirming my address at least twice and being told that I would get the Village of Hommlet during the August mailing.

I think I sent Wizards another on-site question about the module a couple of weeks ago, but never received any reply. And I think I'll stop there before this turns into a rant about the horrible design of the RPGA/WPN site. (Whose bright idea was it to design the site so that you literally cannot see your contact info, only update it?)

I told two of my friends about the module, they supposedly updated their contact info, and they are also Hommlet-less.

Extremely disappointed!


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