darkangel866 wrote:

I would really like to, but right now it seems unlikely. As I previously mentioned, TD needs to vacate the premises by 8 P.M. on Wednesday.

Hypothetically, maybe we could do something during the "DM Training" time (5-8 P.M.). I'm an experienced DM and I keep up to date on the forums, so it might not be as necessary for me to attend during the mandatory hour. The rest of the time is usually for people to spend time in their rooms and since I'm by myself in Grind, it's kind of pointless (in past years, I would use that time to explain the module to the other DM's).

If you can convince Jeff to give the okay, I'd certainly be up for it. But I also understand that with so much going on it's just another added complication that can go wrong.

Last year I actually wanted to do a practice test run on Wednesday evening. Ironically enough it was like pulling (dragon's) teeth trying to grab random passerbyers who were willing to be guinea pigs through a free test run of Grind....



Picc wrote:

The Earcuff of Salvation will specifically be banned. That is because if players are killed, they will soon be raised as undead to claim vengeance on their former teammates (who allowed them to be killed). As a result, the lethality factor might be higher than normal, since even players who die will still be involved - just playing for the other side (people had so much fun with the Aboleth last year).

Most of the time in True Grind, time is actually the biggest enemy and party killer. If you want to maximize your chances of success then it helps to plan ahead. Here are some generic Grind tips (many of which also apply to any combat rooms):

- Even with potential help from a player coach, it's a really good idea to prepare and print your party card before the event. Even more so if you can't arrive early. I have seen players arrive at the official start time and then needing to spend the first 10-15 minutes of the hour getting the party card filled out. You really want all the time you can have to fight the monsters.

- If you know your group, then coming up with some basic tacticals can save time. Having a marching/attack order. Being able to line up and have everyone quickly take their slides.

- Time is precious. Certain actions (especially those requiring DM attention) might not be worth the time. Even if the DM makes a mistake, arguing about a ruling (unless it is really major) may not always be worth the time that it takes.

- Humility is also helpful. Just because a player is allowed to make an attack and slide doesn't mean that he necessarily should (because it takes time). If the two Wizards are out of spells, maybe it's better to just stand there and let the Fighter attack by himself. Similarly, if your party already has a couple of crits on the monster, it might be best to end the turn rather than have the rest of the party keep sliding. I can't count the number of times that gloryseeking players end up knocking a critical out of the 20 area even when the rest of the party was telling the player to not slide!

Raywind wrote:

Sorry to hear about that. Hope the run which you were bumped to ended up working out!


archmage78 wrote:

My sympathies. I've found that one of the biggest challenges with Grind is when you have a combination of newer players vs decked out players.

If everyone is experienced and ready to fight (regardless of whether or not they know each other), then it's pretty straightforward and we can jump right in.

If everyone is very green, then I can make adjustments. You may not necessarily "win" (or get a "bona fide win" if I need to fudge things a bit like skipping an encounter) but at least I can make sure that you have a good time and have lots of fun.

It's really tricky when you get a mixed group because it's hard to please everyone. You can either proceed at normal speed (in which case the newer players get confused or are more likely to get killed) or you proceed at a slower speed for the newer players (in which the experienced players get impatient or annoyed b/c they won't be able to get through all the monsters in time).

Last year I had a half-full run which included several experienced players along with a kid and his parent who were completely new to True Dungeon (and Grind). Fortunately, the experienced players were good sports and were okay with me slowing down the pace to ensure the kid and his parent had a good experience.

On a different run, there was a Purpled out forumite who got in on a random run with a bunch of inexperienced players who were underequipped and ill prepared. I felt bad for the forumite because he knew from the start that the party was going to have a hard time winning.

---------------------------------------------------

Some general tips of advice:

If your party has some special circumstances, I would recommend you stick with the Normal difficulty level. If that's the case, I don't mind making reasonable adjustments. If you are missing players, I can adjust the difficulty level of the encounters. If there are timing issues, I can skip a combat so you still have the chance to encounter the final boss. I'm more willing to "fudge" things so that you have a good time on Normal. If you're playing Hardcore or Nightmare though, I'm going to be far less willing to compromise the integrity of a "win" though (you're gonna have to earn it!).

If your party has a large variance in experience and especially if there are some newer players, *please* do let me know. Generally, I will assume that everyone's on equal footing and the monsters will be ruthless. If I know that some of the players are relative newbies, I will work harder to spread out the attacks so that they aren't killed too early. I still feel bad about the time I prematurely killed an inexperienced Monk because I had assumed he was as purpled out as the rest of his companions!

Eric, if you are looking for folks to playtest/practice the Grind on Wednesday, I'm glad to volunteer. I'm sure some of the guys in my group would be happy to help as well.

The Broasted wrote:

i have never tried grind yet, this might be my year, so if you want a test subject wednesday (with no grind experience) let me know

Me me me! Pick me!!! (and my brothers)

I would be willing to be a guinea pig as well.

I'm sure you can count on P'Cola's Team Yeti to help - There's five of us; three who started last year, and two who can spell True Dungeon 3 out of 4 times, if you give 'em the first two letters as a head start...

I have a whole group of guinea pigs. We are also all students or ex-students so we can excel in constructive criticism.

I'm not sure if I will have time on Wednesday. If I am I would love to help out or even just watch to see how true grind works.

Rafiq

I heard archmage78 used to excel at making spreadsheets.


I'm here all week folks. Be sure to tip your waitresses.

Boo! Hiss!