TOPIC: Preparing For The Event

Hello,

My friends and I are getting excited for the True Dungeon event at GenCon SoCal 2004.

In the spirit of a true adventuring party, we're trying our best to prepare for the event (to maximize our enjoyment vs maximize our chances of survival). I'm sure others feel the same way and would like to do their best to be ready without hearing "spoilers" or knowing too much.

Reading some of the complaints and questions raised elsewhere on this (and other) forums, it's seems like preparation or a strong group is key to survival - and having a positive experience in general.

We're wondering if it isn't "spoiling" things to try and understand what classes are available for a given group and how those classes are assigned or chosen by the players.

Thanks for any insights (but NO spoilers!),
Mike

Mike,
The seven classes (thus seven party members) are Fighter, Rogue, Bard, Ranger, Cleric, Magic User, and Paladin. This is the same for each party to travel through the dungeon.

The party members must decide amongst themselves who will fill which role, we can always roll a die if there are disputes.

It is fair to say that the Fighter, Ranger, Paladin, and especially Rogue need some manual dexterity (in real life).

The Cleric, Magic User, and Bard need the ability to memorize and associate facts, patterns, and objects (in real life).

These traits may help select who would be the best to fill which role.

Dave

From my experience organized and orderly parties tend to due better. Seven individuals who all want to take their own actions will encounter lots of problems and probably not have much fun. Decide on a party leader, work together as a team and most importantly have fun!

Lee

A few more peices of advice:

Don't wander away from the party and DM (some players find this tempting when they don't care what happens to the rest of the party, but is a dangerous tactic for all).

Also, DON'T handle props without the DM knowing. This can lead to trouble, in that your character could take damage, ruin the fun (by peeling apart the fabric of "reality" and discovering an electrical cord), or just REALLY tick off your DM.

And lastly, don't REALLY tick off your DM. (DM= , then Player= :cry: )

Obey these simple rules (and think before you act), and you should have a great time in SoCal! Enjoy the event!

One really big help to enjoying TD is to decide what ORDER your party will act in during combat situations

This helps the DM by giving him/her an ordering to easily follow with your party and saves your party wasteful minutes trying to clamour who gets to attack the zombie next.

Just as an example: the first time I went through, our party got hit by the fifteen minute penalty because we couldn't make up our minds who should go next. Second time I tried with an order and different group, had five minutes to spare and search the room *throughly*.

And yes, your D&D adventuring will help you decide who 'goes in front'. For the mix of fighters, decide who needs the first (and best) shot and who can work around other's blows.

On that topic, in combat, line up in that order unless the DM rules you are doing something separate. Go to the back when your turn is done.

Remember: the DM is going to need time to decide the outcome in the dim lighting. And the fifteen minutes is relentless. Don't waste time.

As a reminder to everyone, though, the rounds are twelve minutes :shock: not fifteen.

Since the 'characters' I'm interested in require memory skills and I'm not too great at that, can we bring a pad of paper and a pen to take notes? (I have to do this all the time in D&D games).

Denise

Nope. Sorry, no notetaking allowed.

If you're concerned that you won't be able to memorize well enough, perhaps think of taking a different character, or just do your best with the memorization. The magic-using classes (which have the majority of the memorization) have spells that operate even if you can't remember what you memorized so anyone can play any class, however, the spells are more powerful if you do remember. What I'm saying is that it's possible to play the wizard without having memorized much, but it will be much harder to be a GREAT wizard.

Good luck in SoCal!