Introduction to Living Greyhawk: The Yeomanry
Welcome to the RPGA Southern Realm' Living Yeomanry web page. This page serves as an introduction for those who might not be familiar with The Yeomanry, Living Greyhawk, the RPGA or even D&D. Getting immersed in the campaign is just as simple as reading this introduction, sharpening your pencil and rolling those dice.
If you are here, you probably have a few questions about what is going on. We'll start at the top with the general questions and work our way down to the detailed ones.
1) What is a Role-Playing Game(RPG)?
2) What is Dungeons & Dragons?
3) What is the RPGA?
4) What is a "Living" Campaign?
5) What is Living Greyhawk?
6) What is Living Yeomanry?
7) How do I sign up?
8) What if I have more questions?
Simply put, it is playing pretend. In a role-playing game, players can undertake great quests, explore new horizons and overcome fearsome villians. Your imagination is the limit. Every player creates a "character". This imaginary person is how you, the player, interacts with an imaginary world. It is the "role" that you will play during the game. Like an actor or actress who plays a role on stage, when you sit down to play, you will be pretending to be your character.
One of the players will assume the role of "Dungeon Master" or DM. Think of the DM as the narrator to a story or the director of a play. You and your fellow players are the main characters, while the DM takes the role of the villains and the supporting cast. Also, the DM sets the scene and creates obstacles for you to overcome. It's a tough job and requires an incredible imagination, but a DM weaves great games the way good authors write good books.
How do you win? Well, role-playing is a team game. There is no one winner - all the players win together. When does the game stop? Well, when the story is finished. That can be as short or as long as you and the other players want it to be. If you want to find out more about role-playing, take a look at the Wizards of the Coast Webpage.
Dungeons & Dragons is the first role-playing game ever created. It is heroic fantasy. When you play a game of D&D, fairy tales come true, magic is real, and the impossible can happen. Your character can be a knight on horseback, charging across the plains at the terrible dragon that roars in defiance. You can be the dashing rogue, who sneaks into the ball at the palace to steal the princess's heart with a smile. Or you can be the sorceress, who can wield the immense arcane power that can rework the fabric of reality.
In D&D, you and your fellow players form a "party" to go on adventures. Adventures can be most anything that involves a challenge to be overcome. It might be exploring a dangerous cavern, carrying a message from the king to his nobles, or stopping the monster that is terrorizing the common folk. Every adventure is different, so no two games are the same. Adventures can be strung together to form a campaign. The adventures that make up campaigns can be unrelated or part of a vast epic. The choice is up to you and the DM and what sort of game you want.
For more information on D&D see Wizards of the Coast's Introduction to D&D.
The RPGA is a world-wide organization made up of people who love roel-playing games. It is a social and support organization that connects gamers with each other, while sponsoring gaming events. The RPGA also encourages new role=players to join this dynamic and fantastic game by hosting learn-to-play sessions.
The RPGA runs role-playing games at conventions, in stores, on the World Wide Web and at one-day game events every weekend, all around the country. You can sign-up on their web page and receive instantaneous access to the games and materials on the website.
Check out the RPGA's Webpage.
Living Campaigns are campaigns that involve thousands of role-players from around the world. All these players share a single campaign. You can build characters, advance them in experience and forge relationships with fellow gamers from around the world. It's a unique experience and an opportunity to be part of a common dream.
The RPGA runs living campaign fames at conventions, game days and other gatherings around the world. You must be a member of the RPGA to play, but joining is easy and free.
The RPGA sponsors numerous living campaigns. They are described in full on the RPGA Website.
With the release of the Third Edition of Dungeons & Dragons, the RPGA has created a new living campaign - a living world. Wizards of the Coast (publishers of D&D) has given the PRGA the entire World of Greyhawk to be the setting for the biggest shared-world campaign ever.
The World of Greyhawk is the first setting created for Dungeons & Dragons. Designed by Gary Gygax, Greyhawk has a long history that includes many of the famous names in fantasy role-playing, like Bigby, Mordenkainen, Vecna, Iuz, the Scarlet Brotherhood and St. Cuthbert. It is a rich world that holds great potential for adventure.
Players play characters from different Greyhawk nations based on where they live in real life. Furthermore, the RPGA has seperated the World of Greyhawk into regions that will be built and administered locally. The RPGA has designated three people from each region to form the "Triad". These individuals will provide direction for each country and coordinate adventures, settings, and important personalities. For general Living Greyhawk information, see the RPGA Website.
When the RPGA divided up the World of Greyhawk, the Yeomanry Region of the RPGA was assigned the Yeomanry League. The Yeomanry Region is composed of Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. So if you live in those areas and want to join the Living Greyhawk campaign, your character will play in the Yeomanry.
The Triad feels incredibly fortunate on getting the Yeomanry as our home region. The Yeomanry is a relatively isolated region, yet surrounded by danger. It is located in or near where a number of classic adventures have been set (Against the Giants, Vault of the Drow and the Night Below box set, to name a few). At the same time, there is little developmental information on the Yeomanry in print, which gives us considerable leeway in our development plans. Finally, the Yeomanry is a representative democracy - unique to Greyhawk - and as such, we are excited about using politics and government as keystones to many of our adventures.
It couldn't be easier. Just come to an RPGA game convention. Tell the staff there that you want to play Living Yeomanry. They will sign you up and tell you everything you want to know. You will find a list of upcoming conventions on our Convention Schedule. Having a copy of the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer would be helpful as well, for it gives you info on the World of Greyhawk, character creation assistance and much more.
Can't wait that long? Join our Yahoo! Group! It's fast, it's easy and it's free. If you've never used Yahoo! Groups before, go to theYahoo! Groups webpage. You will have to register as a user first. Once youhave done so, do a search for us. We are "yeomanry". Subscribe to our list, and you will join more than 150 other role-players who play in the Yeomanry.
We though you might have some more. That's why we have a list of Frequently Asked Questions. The FAQ currently deals with a lot of game mechanics, but we are expanding it to include all the questions that we get on a regular basis, including how to create a character and how to get involved as a writer or developer in Living Greyhawk.
If that doesn't satisfy your thirst for knowledge, you can always email us, and one of us will get back to you or send you in the right direction.