The Dark Legacy of Evard season is finally over. After running a table this season, I also ran a table for the World Wide Game Day event for the Neverwinter Campaign Setting at my local store. I had a lot of fun and I’m stepping down as a DM this season while looking forward to being a player in the Lost Crown of Neverwinter with many of the same players I DM’ed for. My husband will be DMing and he’s a great DM who brings life to his NPCs in ways I simply can’t emulate.
The best thing I’ve enjoyed about running Encounters is the people I’ve met. It’s not just meeting them though, it’s the playing with them that really mattered. I’ve met over a dozen people in the course of the last few Encounters seasons. Some of them I never want to see again, and some of them make me wish I had the time and energy to run even more D&D groups because they’re so awesome to play with. More importantly, I’ve made a point to get to know these awesome people, exchange emails and other contact info. Maybe I can’t run another table right now, but someday I might be putting together a campaign and I’ll have this list of amazing people I know I’d love to invite my table. I am already comfortable at a table with these people, I don’t have to worry about compatibility because I’ve already spent 4-8 weeks gaming with them and I know which ones are great role-players, which ones pay attention even when distracting movies are playing, and which ones make inappropriate jokes, or text on their phones in between turns.
If you’re a player or a DM wanting to put together a home group – I can’t emphasis enough how useful Encounters is for finding fellow gamers. Even if you dislike the current season, or you don’t want to play level 1, or you dislike the character options. That is secondary. If you play any form of 4e then you have the chance to meet people, see how they play, and invite them to form a real group. If there is a store running Encounters anywhere near you, think about giving it a try before posting on that Looking For Group forum.
www. Newbie DM .com 
Reanimated Gaming
August 14, 2011
I’ve only just returned to gaming after many years away. I haven’t tackled 4e yet but I have been reading what I can.
Am I correct that “Encounters” is sort of a campaign which WotC ships out to gaming stores, to be run in-store? I’ve seen it mentioned frequently and it sounds like a great idea.
I think I’ll have to try to find myself an opening once the rest of the dust settles with my life.
TheSheDM
August 15, 2011
Yes, it’s for stores only. Its fairly casual gameplay, a newbie DM (ha!) is just as likely to sign up to run a session just as much as an experienced DM – but it’s a great way to meet other players and get to know them.
Frank Foulis
August 21, 2011
at my store we regularly have at least 25 people playing each week. Most are regulars who have just enough free time for that 2 to 2.5 hour commitment for each session. It is designed that way. As a DM for 4e it really sharpened my skills for my weekend campaign at the store. Now with the Crown of Neverwinter going into it’s 3rd session this week it will be interesting.
We will probably see a drop off in regulars since nearly a quarter of them are around the age of 12 and school kicks in this week. But still, we will have enough for 4 stable tables of players.
I met most of my saturday players in encounters. so like TheSheDM says it is a great way to meet and greet other players and perhaps new friendships.