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  About The FCSGL  

Updated September 18, 2006

If you have a specific question, use your browser's Find (on this page) feature to look for key terms.

The FCSGL is coordinated by Christopher J. Ford and is an outreach program of Ford Computing Services. It was founded in 2001 and had it's first game in December of that year. After more than 150 events, it is a very active component of gaming in the Capital and Adirondack Regions. Our games have taken place at GenCon, Origins, Genericon, Albacon, Council of Five Nations, multiple SWA Game-A-Thons, Ubercon, UBCon, SimCon, Running GAGG, Astronomicon, as well as many home games. In 2006 we will add BadCon in Johnson City, NY to that list. We have a 5 star rating on the RPG Gateway. We also run RPGA and non-RPG games as time permits. Flights of Fantasy, Zombie Planet, and Gamers Guild have each hosted our events. I've listed the founding ideas behind the League below.

Website: http://www.firstduty.org/add/league/
Email: gaming@firstduty.com

1. Multiple Characters: One of the issues i have with RPG campaigns is that the number of game masters in any one area is very limited. Therefore, you only have the opportunity to join a very limited number of games. In each game you usually only play one character. In my opinion, this doesn't allow you to explore as many facets of an RPG as you may like. The very first principle i wanted to work with was the opportunity to play multiple characters. By putting together a team of characters, you get to explore many more classes, skills, and abilities. It also decreases the urge to build a "super character" that can do everything. By putting together a well rounded team, you can cover most situations.
2. Multiple GMs: I want to give people the opportunity to GM or try GM'ing without committing to a long term campaign.
3. Standard Rules: For good or ill, we all have our house rules when we game. This works well if you build a character for single campaign. Or if you can convince your new GM to let in your character. But for the most part, we end up tossing or recreating characters every time we start a new campaign. By sticking as close to possible with the standard rules, people can bring in characters from other campaigns or use these characters elsewhere later. We will of course need some house rules to cover odd situations or book errata, but for the most part i want the standard rules used. I count these to be those in the DMG, PHB, Monster Manual, and base set WoTC hardcover books. Classes, skills, feats, and spells may be allowed in so long as the League has a copy of it and it is approved by the League.
4. Social Gaming: One of the great things about an RPG is that you are actually interacting with other people. Many campaigns run for extended periods of time and require that you make the commitment for the length of the campaign. This occasionally becomes more like an obligation than a recreation. I want a setup where people can come and go without feeling like they are tied down.
5. Tournament Gaming: One thing i had seen at conventions was the increase in player attention to the game when RPGs were in a tournament style. I hadn't seen a lot of that in this area and i wanted to introduce it. With this in mind, i want to create an environment where there is competition. Enough to keep the games interesting and driven, but not enough to create contention and hostility.