TOPIC: True Grind Prep Material??

Kirk Bauer wrote:
I did like one year at GenCon when Eric had an easel with one of those big pads on it. He would flip the page to a new page every time we entered a new "room". It made it easier to keep track.

Yes, I really liked the flipboard as well, it was very helpful in keeping track of where you are in the experience and was a visual reminder for end/beginning of room effects. Wonder if Eric would consider using it again?

jedibcg wrote:

Druegar wrote:

Raven wrote: The exception (as in True Dungeon) is Weapons. You may switch to a different weapon if {bad things happen}

(as usual) I'm confused. One may switch weapons in standard TD. What is this an exception to?

I believe she means weapons are the except to tokens not being switched, in grind and dungeon.

Yes. What Jedi said.

I'd love to see the flip board back again. It was great the one year we used it, but I don't think it was available the next couple years.

I'll add it to my list of things to ask Incognito to look into.


Regarding "destroyed" items or tokens, what others have said is correct: We don't take your token away, we just tell you you can't use it for the rest of the room.

Sometimes players will voluntarily give up tokens (like the 50gp to bribe a monster, or the turkey leg to distract a hungry ogre, or using a 10' pole token and rope and oil for a make-shift torch) but in those cases, we try to be clear that you won't get them back.

Continuing my hijack of this thread for tips in Grind strategy...

* How useful is the Improved Evasion ability - especially relative to AC? I'm trying to decide between an AC boosting ring and Ring of Improved Evasion.

* Can you play RoSP classes?

* Are sense of typical monster to-hit bonus and save threat DC at hardcore and nightmare?

* I see last year was in the dark, and you needed to equip wither Goggles of Seeing, or carry a torch or do some other method of lighting the room. Do you expect that again this year?

Also - any tips from the epic grind team as to how to manage your consumables? I saw a good number got handed in from Eric's report.

Is there a nearby table in the room where you can lay out your consumables?

Can't answer all of your questions, but I can get some of 'em...

Matthew Hayward wrote: * How useful is the Improved Evasion ability - especially relative to AC? I'm trying to decide between an AC boosting ring and Ring of Improved Evasion.

While AC is important in the main dungeon, in Grind it's roughly equal to Saves. Many (most?) monsters have optional attacks which don't go straight for the AC, and the intelligent monsters will look for your weaknesses... especially if you're playing Nightmare or Epic. Area Effect spells are not uncommon.

I have seen Improved Evasion save lives in Grind, more than a couple times.

* Can you play RoSP classes?

Yes.

* Are sense of typical monster to-hit bonus and save threat DC at hardcore and nightmare?

Incognito has posted Grind Post-Mortems in the past. You might be able to find this info in one of his older threads.

* I see last year was in the dark, and you needed to equip wither Goggles of Seeing, or carry a torch or do some other method of lighting the room. Do you expect that again this year?

No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!!

Erm, I mean, I don't know. I haven't heard anything about it.

Matthew Hayward wrote: Is there a nearby table in the room where you can lay out your consumables?

Yes.

Since the Grind adventure doesn't move from room to room like regular TD runs, we usually supply a table for players to put their binders on, and a space along one wall (usually the back wall) where players can stash back packs, rolling luggage, etc.

...But be aware that if it takes you too long to find a specific token in your gear, the monsters are unlikely to stand patiently by, waiting for you.
(I keep asking Incognito if we can recruit some polite Canadian monsters, but most of them are on the no-fly list, so it's really hard to get them to GenCon.)

Raven wrote: (I keep asking Incognito if we can recruit some polite Canadian monsters, but most of them are on the no-fly list, so it's really hard to get them to GenCon.)

psst, I know a guy... PM me!

Matthew Hayward wrote: Also - any tips from the epic grind team as to how to manage your consumables? I saw a good number got handed in from Eric's report.

Is there a nearby table in the room where you can lay out your consumables?

I was on the Epic Grind Team. HOO-YAH!!

When I used a consumable I just handed it to Eric telling him quickly what I was doing. I believe he pocketed them so he didn't have to go back and forth to a bucket like in the Dungeon Rooms. Also, this way he could easily tally them later as he normally does.

As to "how to manage your consumables?"...

I keep healing/resurrection consumables in a blue TD Token bag. That way I can easily recognize it in my pocket and use it quickly if needed. In a red TD Token bag I keep miscellaneous Tokens like the Mithral Coin of Luck, etc.

More questions:

1. I know you often fight multiple monsters simultaneously and the party tends to split up.

Do spells that effect all monsters like Burning Hands, Stone Storm, etc. actually effect all monsters, or just the ones your part of the party is dealing with?

2. After you finish a "room" do you get a breather to consume healing potions and scrolls, or is it that you are basically always in combat?

Spells and scrolls that affect ALL monsters do indeed affect all the monsters in a certain "room."

As far as I remember you are basically always in combat.

Matthew Hayward wrote: More questions:

1. I know you often fight multiple monsters simultaneously and the party tends to split up.

Do spells that effect all monsters like Burning Hands, Stone Storm, etc. actually effect all monsters, or just the ones your part of the party is dealing with?

Yes, what Brian Said: they'll affect all monsters in the room.

Sometimes Grind has split rooms, though - We've done it before where half the party is in the tiny cabin, and half is camping outside (there was a different physical space for each zone) and we've had a giant cavern which was split with a river of Lava, and each side was a room. On the plus side - when we have different rooms, the monsters which use AoE spells will only hit the players in their own room.

2. After you finish a "room" do you get a breather to consume healing potions and scrolls, or is it that you are basically always in combat?

Sometimes.

Generally, the combat is non-stop... but if you kill a monster, and finish that "room", sometimes there's a round in which the party can heal up or re-set buffs. Sometimes.

binia wrote: Can I trade in this phone, Druegar??

i will give you 50 hit points...now where you can use them...that will be another story