The D&D Championship Series was a yearly Dungeons & Dragons championship run at Gen Con. Prior to 2008, the event was known as the D&D Open Championship. The Open first ran in 1977, and was discontinued in 2013. Teams of players competed to complete and score well in a pre-written, multi-part adventure, with higher-ranking teams advancing to later rounds. Eventually a single winning team was selected based on scores. The event was brought back by Wizards of the Coast in 2016 with an adjusted format and for the Origins Game Fair.
The championship was originally handled by the RPGA, a fan organization run by TSR and Wizards of the Coast. The judges were all sanctioned RPGA Dungeon Masters. Prior to the competition, the RPGA created the adventure.
From 2008–13, the championship used the 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons rules. Fifth edition was used for the 2016 Open.
Structure
The Championship was a multi-round event. Pre-generated player characters were provided to the players. The many Dungeon Masters were provided with the same adventure to run. The adventure was divided into three parts, one for each round. Each round was about four hours long. All teams competed in the first round, and were scored after each round based on their progress through the adventure. The exact scoring system was kept secret as the scoring may reveal secrets to be discovered in the adventure, as well as to encourage players to play to the spirit of the game, not to the exact scoring checklist. The highest-ranked teams were invited into the later rounds, and a winner was determined based on overall score.
Preliminary round
There are two different kinds of preliminary events, or prelims: on-site and off-site. The off-site prelims were run by a local agent of the RPGA and the results are sent in a few weeks before the actual championship. In 2008, roughly 200 teams of five players participated in off-site prelims. On-site prelims were held on the Friday before the final, with 150 teams participating. Each team sits down with a RPGA DM, and they all go through the same module, with the same characters, and the same rules. The round usually lasts around 5 hours, with 30 minutes to prepare, 4 hours of actual gameplay, and another 30 minutes to wrap up.
Once the Prelims were over, judges select around 60 teams to participate in the semifinals, held on Saturday. The scoring criteria for this competition were obscure; even the Dungeon Masters were not certain of the exact method of scoring, and players mostly do not know why they win or lose.
Semi-finals
The semis followed the same structure as the Prelims, but with fewer teams present. The teams still have to complete the module within 4 hours. Usually, the adventure contains at least one encounter with a less-obvious solution that will give teams seeing that method an advantage.
Finals
The final is the hardest part of the open, involving the most difficult encounters. It is not surprising to see monsters up to 5 levels higher than the players. During the 2008 finals, the players were level 11, while the final boss, The Rakshasa Emperor, was close to a level 16 Solo Elite Controller, with above 600 Hit points. As the previous rounds, the finals are 4 hours long, with only 12 teams reaching this part of the championship.
Events
1977
The 1977 event featured a judge running two teams against each other, alternating between the two every 15 minutes.
1978
The 1978 event became the series "Vault of the Drow", written by Gary Gygax. There were about 100 slots available for players. About 250 players turned up, and most were turned away.
1979
The first Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Open Tourney at Gen Con XII was based on a high-level character campaign with teams of nine. The winning team—which included Jon Huettel and Todd Huettel (later of FASA), Joel Finkle Kurt Lukas and others—survived longest against a large battle including vampires and Orcus.
1980
The 1980 event became the series Aerie of the Slave Lords.
1988
The 1988 event was "The Changing Season." The first Place Team Consisted of Michael A. Ramos (Wizard), Eric Smith (Cleric), and others.
1997
1997's adventure was entitled Cutters, set in Planescape, with characters subtly potentially set against one another in the final round as representatives of Factions all seeking a dangerous tome.
1998
1998s adventure was entitled "The Last Time."
The Open was won by a team of first time players from Arkansas: Jerry Hamra, David Kowalski, Eddie Overstreet, Angie Overstreet, Norman Hunter, Patryk Borowicz, and Robert Beasley.