TOPIC: Raven's Post-Con Thread

Heya! It's been a week since I got back from GenCon, and I've had the chance to catch up on my sleep (yay!), so here's my $.02 on the good/bad/ugly of GenCon 2016

Location: Lucas Oil : Neutral

I think there's a significant learning curve on this one. It was the first year, so i wasn't expecting it to be perfect, but there were definitely some things which worked better than others.
* The congestion at the front desk was unpleasant - tho it got better with use of posts & barriers to direct traffic in later days. Signage could have been a lot better tho.
* The long hall to walk down was a pain... but really, once you get used to allowing extra time for travel, it wasn't too bad.
* Sound Walls were good - the lighting control between dungeons/storyscape space was very nice.
* Sharing with the Cosplay crowd... Man, I love Cosplayers... but things did get a bit crowded sometimes. Too often, really.


Storyscape : Poor

Lack of good lighting, lack of things to do, lack of PROPER RESTROOMS, all made this a frustrating place to hang out.

I think the few tables placed in the Storyscape did have good lighting. That was nice. But it was extremely hard to find Ektdars (I had to direct many players there) and people would wander aimlessly trying to find the Coaching area (again, I played Guide quite often) which could have been resolved with better lighting on the overhead signs.

The center of the Storyscape was dark and empty, and although it did evoke a cavernous fell, it was more like "empty warehouse" cavernous, and not "mood setting underground caverns."

I realize part of this was because registration/Treasure Draws / Store / BagCheck were all moved up front. That was a good call (much better to do those things with good lighting) but with those gone, and with players exiting the dungeon through the back tunnels and not re-entering the Storyscape, it was basically a dead zone.


Coaching : Good

Excellent coaches again this year. I think the overall quality of our player coaches tends to go up every year.
I also liked the strip-lighting above the coaching rooms. less stark shadows and more overall ambient light made it a much better place to sit, sort tokens, and read the (updated) player cards.


Dungeon Runs / Difficulties : Good

* Excellent puzzles - good Rogue clues, good mix of elements (mental/physical/group participation)
The one (inevitable) puzzle malfunction was fixed by turning the UV light on and making it "too easy" which was definitely better than ignoring the problem and leaving it unsolvable as has sometimes happened.

* Good variety of combats. It didn't feel like just one monster after another. In particular I liked the mechanic with the Lava Lurker, and breaking the party into 3 groups (even though we got slaughtered by it a couple times)

* DMs seemed overall more knowledgeable and more consistent than in past years. In particular, I've noticed the Combat DMs all seem to be a notch above what they were, say, 3 years ago, when it was very much luck-of-the-draw whether you got a competently quick or super-slow DM.

* Sound seemed improved this year - I know there's always some bleed-over, but it seemed like this year the audio cues were a little easier to here, and the atmospheric music was at a good level.


Drow NPCs : Excellent

I loved this mechanic with the Hawk Kin in the past, and am really glad it has come back. It helps to set the mood, and provide continuity between the rooms, to have your NPC / DM following you for (at least part of) the adventure. Would love to see more of this in the future!

Other NPCs were also fantastic, including the Fallen Angel, the succubus, and the lava Lurker.
Oh, and the Beholder puppeteers who would taunt players coming too close to the mouth!

XP cards : Bad

This is the second year we've had errors with the wrong XP card being given out for dungeon completion.
I realize it's minor in the grand scheme of things, but being that I'm one of those players who values the XP system, it really gets under my skin. Especially considering how easy it would be to fix it!

You know where that sticker goes? The one with the Unique XP code?
Have that sticker state the Dungeon name & type.
So instead of using the first letter to indicate the dungeon (codes starting with A are DeeperDark Combat, B are DD puzzle, etc) the sticker could just say "Behold Her Majesty: Puzzle [insert code]" and people would be able to tell immediately if they were getting the right card. Or passing out the right card.

On that topic, I'd love to see different cards given out for Normal XP and HC/Nightmare XP.
I don't know how easy that would be on the computer software side (maybe it's just impractical) but it would be remarkably easy at the XP desk. The attendant could just pull from a different stack of XP cards, marked "HardCore XP" which have their own (clearly marked!) stickers for [Insert Dungeon] HardCoreXP [Insert Code] and people could quickly tell if they were being handed the correct card.
It wouldn't even require more/different XP cards to be printed - it would just mean different stickers to stick on 'em. And if you ran short, it wouldn't be too hard to print more stickers, would it? (Perhaps the XP desk could even be supplied with a few sheets of extra stickers in case demand was higher than expected.)


Treasure Draws : Good

I liked the new Treasure Box & Wand - they were a bit unweildy, but seemed overall to work as intended.
The only frustration was that they were slow, and it seemed to cause things to back up at the XP desks regularly.

A recommendation: Make a *Max* number of draws which can be made from the XP desk Treasure Box. If the player needs to do more beyond that max, refer them to the desk up front, so as to keep the XP area flowing smoothly. (If pressed, I'd set Max at 5. That's 3 from the run, 1 from Lenses Treasure Finding, and 1 from 6th level bonus. So, essentially, URTEs mean go to the front desk - tho you can still do up to 5 draws at XP.)

Also, I really liked the bags of 10 or 50 or 100 available for players who wanted to do "bulk" treasure. It was great to have them as an option, and also great that it wasn't a forced default. Many people I knew who did some of each (draws and bags) were very happy with the results from both, and liked the time-saving on the bags.

Also, the mix of Treasure seems to hit a pretty sweet spot this year. While I might echo some folks who suggested slightly fewer Legendaries, I really like the level of URs and Relics & "other"available.
A+++.
Would Treasure Again.


MasterEd's Prototype Sliders : Good

Not everyone got to see these, but as a Grind DM I interacted with them quite a bit.
They're pretty sturdy, hold the tokens in well, and stack up in a cool cylinder when not in use.
I'd love to see True Dungeon consider these prototypes with an eye to eventually using them everywhere.

Especially with the number of valuable tokens people invest in, these would make a number of people much, much happier.

(They're also harder to "accidentally" take with you to the next room - and easier for the DM to count at the end of a combat)


Rob's Prototype Combat Board Lighting (Beholder's Backstop): Good

Another excellent step to preventing token loss through combat mishap.
When I first saw the lighted backstop, I found it actually made combat harder, ebcause the light reflecting off the combat board made it hard to see the numbers on the board.
After Rob made some tweaks, it became a lot easier to use, and I hear the DMs had an easier time seeing the tokens & calculating damage, too.

I don't know how practical it would be to include these on all the combat boards (they won't stack easily) but anything which makes it easier to calculate damage, while making players less likely to stall combat to look for a token overboard, is good.


Meta-Puzzle (Path of Runes) : Excellent

Alright, I am biased on this one... but I really liked having the chance to solve this year's meta-puzzle.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about: There was a river of lava just to the right when you came into the storyscape (it was partially hidden beyond a rock wall) which had a series of runic stepping stones across it, and there was a clue on the wall that meant very little - unless you'd also seen the Christmas Clue (something Jeff posts on the forums every year on Christmas Day).

This was the culmination of a multi-year meta puzzle which some of us (particularly Laz & Mike Steele and I) have been trying to solve. We flubbed it last year (translating the glyphs late Saturday to discover they said, "Insert Fish by Noon Day 3") so we'd all booked extra time to work on the puzzle this year.

When the time came, we crossed the path, balanced on our stones, and waited. And waited. And waited. (I think Jeff was a little tied up?) but eventually we were surprised by a stony hand which burst out of the very rock walls (taking advantage of a crack in the seams ; ) and we were able to make our trades, to get a cool prize.

Unfortunately, we've no idea what the prize(s) do. So, there should be some fun times yet, trying to figure that out.

I'm hoping, now that this multi-year puzzle is done, that the meta-puzzle will become something solvable by a wider audience again. Or perhaps a new multi-year puzzle will start, with new participants wracking their brains on a yearly basis


Over all: Another EXCELLENT year. True Dungeon remains my highlight of the Con.

Also.....

Fun Moments: Many and varied!

Okay, this is where my memory fails me. There were just too many cool moments, and awesome people, and neat stories, that I can't possibly recount them all.

Here's some of my favorites, tho:

* Hearing Laz and Mike Steele shouting "RAVEN!" from through the Storyscape doors, as the MetaPuzzle was starting (it started late, and I'd gone to check my bag so I'd be ready for my next dungeon run in time) - and dashing back just in the nick of time.

* Solving the Meta Puzzle, and having The Hand throw Laz' "Smells Like Fish" Amulet to the ground, like it was spitting out something which tasted bad.

* Adventuring with Hawk Fingle and the rest of our Thursday noon crew, taunting the monsters and teasing the Drow, and having a blast going through the dungeon.

* That first moment where the Lava Beast reared up over the stone wall... belly rippling like molten rock... and thinking, "Wow. If we get eaten by this monster, at least it's a beautiful way to go."

* Watching Chip sacrifice a Wish Ring (and 2 party members) to close a rift between dimensions, and banish 2 Elder Gods at once.

EDIT TO ADD: * The one Grind where we had the Paladin Guarding the Elf Wizard, and after a brain swap, had the Elf Wizard Guarding the Paladin.
Honestly, there was a lot of fun with brain swaps all over. Not a mechanic I'd want to see in the dungeon, but a fun twist for Grind.

* Finally getting the Rogues Box clue to BHM room 1 approximately 24 hrs later. (We'd solved the room, but I hadn't caught the meaning in the clue yet.)

* Juggling our 5-man Nightmare group to cover the 3 zones in the Lava Lurker room, trying desperately to freeze one pool and get as many rounds of combat in as possible, to take that beast down!

* The fantastic posing of the Fallen NPC (John?) on our first run through.. where his over-acting seemed properly like melodramatic posing which one would expect of an angel.

* The puppeteer who made the Rock Monster dance on our Sunday afternoon run

* The succubus who invited us to Tea, before smelling the stench of good on us, and attacking. She had some of the best banter - pushing the limits of decency, but not quite going "too" far.

EDIT TO ADD: * After a touch'n'go 5-man run with Valetutto, we were collecting our treasure, and due to my cursed item, I had to give up a treasure chip. I passed it to a lady who was actively drawing her tokens from the box, so she did one more draw once all of hers were done... and pulled an UR (Cloak of Blending.)

I had another player stop me near the doors later in the day, to say thank you for the treasure chip I'd given him, and that he'd drawn a Relic with it.

Apparently my cursed treasure chips were very lucky this year!

* Seeing so many friends through the course of the Con; from having lunch with Ash to chilling with Druegar to laughing with the DDA to puzzling with Laz & Mike to bumping into Eversuede to hanging out with Dave Radtke in the transmuting room to touching base with Jon and Jen and Mike, to the fantastic bag check crew, and the efficient sign-in babes, and everyone who made the event as spectacular as it is every eyar.

And Jeff and Lori: THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for putting together an incredible event, year after year.
Even when some things seem disappointing, it's only because you keep setting the bar higher and higher, and building up our expectations for a fantastic experience every time.

I'm really looking forward to the improvements made for 2017!

I greatly enjoyed the dungeon this year...and can't wait for next year. I hope one of these years to be on a run with you as that would just be fun. I think it's happened once. If I luck into a GT...well, we'll just say that would be a fun year.

I agree with your points on pretty much every angle.

Also thanks for sharing information about the Meta puzzle. I was unaware of this and am curious now.

It was great to get to see you and hang out a tad between what all else we both were working on this year....and was happy to help your completionist nature when it comes to tokens.

Will hope you are able to make WYC next year..if not, we have three hundred and fifty some days.

I was one of the two tasty sacrifices offered up in Epic Grind.

I was feeling pretty good at that point. Eric kept throwing cold damage at us, but my SRoEC and Icecrag Hero Earcuff resulted in a whole lot of "that's not touching me." That and my High AC had me in pretty good shape. I'd been kicking myself earlier for not remembering to bring an eldritch runestone for the 20 hp bonus. But it wasn't looking like it would matter.

But even a nearly full complement of 71 HP was no match for a wish ring and a party member who held a grudge over some pretty serious damage inflicted while I was mind controlled.

I would add that one of my highlights this year was the fantastic coffee mug that made it's way from nort of the wall into my welcoming hands. Thanks again, Raven

balthasar wrote: I would add that one of my highlights this year was the fantastic coffee mug that made it's way from nort of the wall into my welcoming hands. Thanks again, Raven

Glad you liked it, Ian!

Harlax wrote: I was one of the two tasty sacrifices offered up in Epic Grind.

I was feeling pretty good at that point. Eric kept throwing cold damage at us, but my SRoEC and Icecrag Hero Earcuff resulted in a whole lot of "that's not touching me." That and my High AC had me in pretty good shape. I'd been kicking myself earlier for not remembering to bring an eldritch runestone for the 20 hp bonus. But it wasn't looking like it would matter.

But even a nearly full complement of 71 HP was no match for a wish ring and a party member who held a grudge over some pretty serious damage inflicted while I was mind controlled.

Now now, you "gave" your life for a noble cause and I admit having been killed 7 times (8 if you count gunning down my own mind swapped body) might make extra sacrifices some what easy to select and the late Sherrifus Bartius was a little testy at that time. But hey you could have raised the Elf wizard and thrown her in front of my picks (she killed me 4 times, the hungry dwarf fighter twice, you once and strangely no monsters ever killed me)

That Run was FUN!!!

Thanks for posting about the meta puzzle. I was wondering about that. How does one start on it? Do you need some special token to participate?

Hey Raven, I really enjoyed both our run with you and solving the meta-puzzle with you! You're "Her Ring" offering at the end was genius! I'm looking forward to Meta-Puzzle Part Two, figuring out what (if anything) to do with the Crystal Skulls. I'll definitely bring mine next year just in case.

Regarding the start of this Meta-Puzzle, it started with the two Red Herrings that were given away during Gold Ticket runs a few years ago.

Jeff321 wrote: Thanks for posting about the meta puzzle. I was wondering about that. How does one start on it? Do you need some special token to participate?

The best way to start on the Meta Puzzle is to be online Christmas morning, and watch for the Christmas Clue.

on (rarer) occasions, there's also an Easter Clue (/EasterEgg?)

Usually that gives you some hint about where to go, or what to do.

Sometimes there's hints & clues in the Storyscape, too, in which case you may need to do some searching.

One year (At True Realm, I think?) there were some letters scattered through the various dungeons, and if you could remember them, and made a list, you could unscramble them to form a word or phrase which pointed you to look at/behind a specific banner hanging on the wall. There was another clue there.

I worked with a team to solve that one (collecting letters) but left the unscrambling to the Mensa folk. Then I helped with the 2nd clue, which told us to make a specific offering on the altar in the dungeon. That was a close call, because we were about 3 mins from the end of the final room, when I thought to ask, "Is this [prop] an Altar?" and the DM said Yes.

So we laid the offering there, and the DM had no clue what to do. he called for Jeff, who showed up and said, "Yeah, i forgot to tell you... You're actually DMing 2 rooms here" at which point he pulled aside a black curtain, and there was another small room with a single combat table in it. Jeff pushed a button on the wall and Cow sound effects started up all around us, and we had to kill 100 (points of) Bovinoids before the 1 minute timer on the sound track ran out, in order to get a prize. (This was the "Mad Cow level", with a hat tip to Diablo)

So that particular year, you didn't need the Christmas clue, you just needed to be very observant, and willing to spend some brain power.

Other times, the Christmas clue will tell you what to look for or when to do it (This year told us to cross the Path of Runes at 3pm.)

Sometimes the Meta-puzzle can only be solved by one person or party (Gary aka Gearon used to love solving them, and beat me to the solution at least a couple times before I'd even figured out what the puzzle was.) If you solve it later, there's no longer a prize for it.

Team Groupies!

Certainly added a challenge to that run, such fun though.

Raven wrote:

Jeff321 wrote: Thanks for posting about the meta puzzle. I was wondering about that. How does one start on it? Do you need some special token to participate?

The best way to start on the Meta Puzzle is to be online Christmas morning, and watch for the Christmas Clue.

on (rarer) occasions, there's also an Easter Clue (/EasterEgg?)

Usually that gives you some hint about where to go, or what to do.

Sometimes there's hints & clues in the Storyscape, too, in which case you may need to do some searching.

One year (At True Realm, I think?) there were some letters scattered through the various dungeons, and if you could remember them, and made a list, you could unscramble them to form a word or phrase which pointed you to look at/behind a specific banner hanging on the wall. There was another clue there.

I worked with a team to solve that one (collecting letters) but left the unscrambling to the Mensa folk. Then I helped with the 2nd clue, which told us to make a specific offering on the altar in the dungeon. That was a close call, because we were about 3 mins from the end of the final room, when I thought to ask, "Is this [prop] an Altar?" and the DM said Yes.

So we laid the offering there, and the DM had no clue what to do. he called for Jeff, who showed up and said, "Yeah, i forgot to tell you... You're actually DMing 2 rooms here" at which point he pulled aside a black curtain, and there was another small room with a single combat table in it. Jeff pushed a button on the wall and Cow sound effects started up all around us, and we had to kill 100 (points of) Bovinoids before the 1 minute timer on the sound track ran out, in order to get a prize. (This was the "Mad Cow level", with a hat tip to Diablo)

So that particular year, you didn't need the Christmas clue, you just needed to be very observant, and willing to spend some brain power.

Other times, the Christmas clue will tell you what to look for or when to do it (This year told us to cross the Path of Runes at 3pm.)

Sometimes the Meta-puzzle can only be solved by one person or party (Gary aka Gearon used to love solving them, and beat me to the solution at least a couple times before I'd even figured out what the puzzle was.) If you solve it later, there's no longer a prize for it.

I actually caught the clue this year, but from what i gathered it was a multi-year thing, so i didn't make the trek to the dungeon on Friday