TOPIC: Please give feedback on the new event strucure...

Players will have a separate room at the Tavern that will serve as a player orientation room and training room combined. The rest of the tavern and town will be open access for players/ hanger-outs. Last I heard players will have 36 minutes in the Tavern as part of the regular (character) adventuring time. Players are welcome to hang out in the Tavern before/after their adventure.

Staff will know to deal with character-players first because of the time limits. Staffers will be identifiable as such versus 'dressed up unoffical NPC's.'

2) I like the dual dungeon approach! Very cool. However, I see that you have decided to go with a Hardcore option that is the same dungeon only harder.

Yeah…I think the dual dungeon should give everything a more epic feel. And regarding the hardcore thing…well I tried to guess a good number for people who want a real challenge to overcome.

I'm another one of those people who was disappointed when I found out that the cool "HARDCORE Dungeon" wasn't actually going to be a seperate dungeon after all. I'd gotten so hyped about it.

After some thinking, however, I can completley see where Jeff is coming from. TD is so cool, you really want to give as many people as possible the chance to play it. Making TWO dungeons lets twice as many people play, and it still gives addicts 2 different dungeons to play (yay for epic dungeon crawls!). If you want the hardcore challenge, play one on normal mode and the other on hardcore... that'd be no different than the original "easy dungeon/hardcore dungeon" idea.

The only thing which has changed is that feeling of exclusivity: "Look, we got a hardcore dungeon just for us hardcore players. We rock!" Now instead of it being something special, ANYONE can run through the "hardcore" dungeon while it's set on "normal" difficulty. You loose a little of the glory that way.

But really - I think the loss of a little glory is a small price to pay for TWICE as many players getting to go through TD. Especially when you can still get some of the glory and bragging rights by playing either dungeon in hardcore mode.

Oh, and the idea of the two groups having the chance to meet near the end, and help eachother solve the dungeon - that's Brilliantly Cool!

Raven,

When you put it that way, I think you make a valid point. People can still do one normal and one hardcore, just as before, only now, people COULD choose to do either version twice so more flexibility.

My initial disappointment was grounded in that I hoped the Hardcore version would have a more intense atmosphere, harder mind puzzles, more challenging rooms both physically and mentally, etc. instead of just "the monsters with enchanced stats".

Either way though, I am still looking forward to it.

-Douglas

Douglas,
I am not sure you have entirely missed out.
Jeff will have to verify this, but my understanding was that in addition to the combat being harder, the other challenges my be either more difficult (and slightly different) or a completely different set all together.

While the objective will remain the same, I got the idea that the puzzles would be changed frequently from a rotating set of solutions and could/would be different from hard core, maybe.

I have a feeling that where additional options/choices can be built into the dungeon, he will.

I am not under the impression that "hardcore" mode is just where the DMs take the gloves off and try and screw the party anyway they can. (all though there is a certain appeal to that :twisted: ) In the end, you are still paying customers and while a players vs. DM environment might be fun for the first round or two, I can't imagine anyone enjoying it for a long time or feeling they got their monies worth in the end.

I could envision (and this is just speculation):
1. DMs not being as inclined to give hints when a party is struggling.
2. Harder monsters
3. More opportunity for combat (but balanced so that clever people can win too)
3. More difficult challenges either with fewer clues (i.e. must require more deduction) or different challenges all together where possible.

I have not had any thorough discussions to determine just what Jeff has in mind so I can not say for certain, however.

Dave

I should have described the Hardcore dungeon difference better. It won't just be harder monsters...but the puzzles will be made harder, the traps will be deadlier, and the DMs will be less likely to "guide" a party a certain way. I have also planned a few other surprises that will be unique to the Hardcore dungeon, but I don't want to give anything away. The Hardcore dungeon won't be the regular dungeon with tougher monsters...it will be generally more difficult in all aspects -- and there will be a few hardcore surprises as well.

Just remember that I am the biggest D&D geek out there...and I will geek this thing out to the max!

So, would it spoil things to go through in "normal" mode first, and "hardcore" later? (Having figured out how to solve puzzles the first time around, you wouldn't need extra clues the second time) or would things be sufficiently different?
Just wondering, since I'd kinda like to do Hardcore first, and then normal, but it sounds like one of the groups I'm going with will want to do the normal setting early in the Con, and I'll still want to go through Hardcore later.

Hrm... maybe I could try it both ways. Go thru Dungeon A (The Tower) first on Hardcore, then normal, and do Dungeon B (The Dungeon) on normal, then Hardcore.

Just as a point of curiosity (and since it was raised elsewhere in the forums) would it be possible to have some choice between hardcore and normal settings, even after 9pm, for those players who aren't up for a big challenge, but can't make it to TD 'til after their daytime tournaments are done?
Or would it be possible for players to pick the challenge level as they go in? Give the players Red character sheets or something, so every DM they encounter knows it's a harcore group and to set the challenges in their room accordingly? That'd work well with DM hints and monster stats, but I guess if hardcore has different puzzles, or if props need to be added or removed between hardcore/normal settings, that would be pretty tricky.

Just wondering.

- Raven

I had thought of allowing a team after 9:00pm to "opt out" of the hardcore rating, but we plan on doing some changes to the sets and other stuff...so it would not be possible.

I would play Hardcore first...and then maybe the normal version...as you will most likely die in the first attempt, and you would still enjoy the later version too.

Thanks for the good question...I should have addressed this.

I simply wanted to say that everything sounds good from my perspective. I believe the Inn will feel like a large and integral part of the quest and not just a starting point. It sounds like there will be much to do.

I really applaud the balance struck between expanding options for the players, the chance for the increased numbers of players, appeal to the masses and the business needs to make the venture profitable.

Personally, I agee with Jeff's decision to pull a complete Hardcore adventure and limit it to a nightly timeframe. I've no doubt it will sell out for the very reason of pride. I would be one of those who would want to test my skills against the hardcore night game and wear my badge with gusto.

I am very eager to see how the starting and ending with another party plays out... do we get to compete a little with 'em for the treasure and glory? :twisted:

I'll add more comments as we go. I just wanted to send a quick note.

I think the tavern/town adventure will be fantastic. I plan to spend a lot of time there. The tower and dungeon scenarios will be absolutely a great experience. What happens if one party makes it and the other is wiped out? Will there be opportunity to accomplish the task without input from both parties?

How will the XP work? I assume you can gain XP if you do the dungeon and the tower as separate adventures. Can you gain additional XP if you do them again in the hardcore scenario late at night after everything is ramped up?

Widseth

I think the tavern/town adventure will be fantastic. I plan to spend a lot of time there. The tower and dungeon scenarios will be absolutely a great experience. What happens if one party makes it and the other is wiped out? Will there be opportunity to accomplish the task without input from both parties?

How will the XP work? I assume you can gain XP if you do the dungeon and the tower as separate adventures. Can you gain additional XP if you do them again in the hardcore scenario late at night after everything is ramped up?

Widseth

All good questions...

If the party going into the dungeon for the info gets wiped out before they reach the last room (unlikely) then the party venturing up the tower will be at a disadvantage. They won't have that piece of info from the dungeon that makes shutting down the device a little easier. The group going into the dungeon MAY receive some help from the tower party...but how that happens is a secret.

Yes...you will receive XP for playing in both adventures, and players playing in the hardcore dungeon will receive an XP bonus depending on how far they make it through the adventure. As is standard, your XP for an adventure is max'ed at the highest point total you get during all the rounds you played of that one adventure. So, if you play the same adventure multiple times (and even one at hardcore level) the most XP you will get for the adventure is your highest XP earned in one round. Most likely your highest total will be the Hardcore round (if you play one). The exact bonus XP award during the Hardcore adventure has not been determined yet. It will most likely be something like a 50 XP bonus per room reached. I will ask for input on this at a later date.

Jeff can correct me if this has changed, but I think Douglas was asking in an earlier post about if a player pulled a weapon they couldn't use for their token they are given to start the adventure. You can trade basic weapons at the blacksmith for other basic weapons, so say a wizard draws a two handed sword which he obviously can't use. He could trade it at the tavern for a staff or dagger.

Lee

He could trade it with other players in his party, with NPC's, or with the Blacksmith.