TOPIC: Newbie Questions - Right Equipment?

Greetings all,<br /><br />I played my first TD run last year with no preparation, and was immediately amazed and hooked.  My brother and his wife got me to join in, having played the year before, both years were "puzzle" runs that were a blast for those who did them.  We survived in part due to gear loans from our "extra" person, bless that mysterious man, as they had the year before.  Now we recruited a close friend, and this year, we want to do this right!  So we are putting together a batch of gear for each of us, and then adding some extras to lend out to other newbies we might get in our group.  <br /><br />THE QUESTIONS<br />1. Does this look like a smart set?  We are planning two runs (puzzle then a Hardcore Combat), we are a bit intimidated by hardcore tales and want to be sure we are not sheep for the slaughter.<br />2. We each have a strongly preferred class, do we have a decent chance of getting to play the class we are working so hard to equip?<br />3. Any suggestions for improvements on the gear that do not go into "purple land?"<br />4. Ingredients - They got a total of two on their first year (Dryder Silk and Stone Spider Fang), and we got none last year.  They were not sure how they managed to get them...how DO you get those ingredients?<br />5. Ring of Wizardry - Does it work for wands/scrolls?  I never saw a final answer on the forums.<br />6. Will the Amulet of Wonder's bonus help as we are all 2nd level right now?  What if one of them levels after the first run to 3rd?<br />7. Any other suggestions to us as we get ready?<br />8. Did we overdo it (as my sister in law suggests)?<br /><br />CLERIC (me)<br />Head - Helm of Clear Thought<br />Armor - Plate Armor<br />Weapon - +2 Mace of Dispelling<br />Shield - Large Shield<br />Neck - Amulet of Wonder<br />Wrist - Bracers of Defection (unless we get that combo made first)<br />Ring 1 - Ring of Protection +1<br />Ring 2 - Ring of Sanctuary<br />Back - Cloak of Curses<br />Feet - Boots of the Leopard (or Free Action)<br />Other - Holy Symbol of Pelor<br />Other - Ioun Stone Faceted Amber<br />Other - Ioun Stone Iridescent Spindle<br />Other - Gauntlets of Ogre Power<br />Other - Belt of Retrieval<br /><br />WIZARD (brother)<br />Head - <br />Armor - Robe of the Mage (with a few Mage Armor scrolls)<br />Weapon - +1 Quarter Staff (unless we get that combo built first)<br />Shield - <br />Neck - <br />Wrist - Bracers of Defection (unless we get that combo made first)<br />Ring 1 - Ring of Focus<br />Ring 2 - Ring of Wizardry (or Sanctuary if we trade off the RoW)<br />Back - Cloak of Curses<br />Feet - Boots of the Leopard (or Free Action)<br />Other - Wands! (life stealing/melf's acid arrows/etc)<br />Other - Wondrous Savior Stone (his prize from his first run two years ago)<br />Other - Ioun Stone Iridescent Spindle<br />Other - (may get belt of retrieval)<br /><br />FIGHTER (sister in law)<br />Head - Helm of Clear Thought<br />Armor - Plate Armor<br />Weapon - +1 Mythril Long sword<br />Shield - Tower Shield<br />Neck - Amulet of Thorns (or protection)<br />Wrist - Bracers of Defection (or Archery)<br />Ring 1 - Ring of Protection +1<br />Ring 2 - Ring of Reflexes<br />Back - Cloak of Curses<br />Feet - Boots of the Leopard (or Free Action)<br />Other - Gauntlets of Ogre Power<br />Other - Heavy Repeating Crossbow<br />Other - Ioun Stone Iridescent Spindle<br />Other - Belt of Retrieval<br /><br />BARD (friend)<br />Head - <br />Armor - Elven Chain mail<br />Weapon - +1 Long sword<br />Shield - Large Shield<br />Neck - Amulet of Protection (or thorns)<br />Wrist - Bracers of Deflection<br />Ring 1 - Ring of Sanctuary<br />Ring 2 - Ring of Fortitude<br />Back - Cloak of Curses<br />Feet - Boots of the Leopard<br />Other - +1 Longbow<br />Other - (hopefully Ioun stone Iridescent Spindle)<br />Other - Belt of Retrieval<br />Other - Gauntlets of Ogre Power<br />Other - Widseth's Mystical Lute<br /><br />OTHERS<br />Theif - Full set of Cloak/Boots/Armor of elvenkind w/masterwork tools<br />All classes - Best armor/shield / missile weapon/weapon avail in 2008, non-purple<br /> <br />We also are bringing a huge load of scrolls, potions, etc including combat scrolls for mage and many healing items.<br /><br />We made "backpacks" loaded with "standard gear for adventurers" (rope/hammer&spike / waterskin /etc) for all members.<br /><br />I want to thank all of you on the forums for the valuable information we found by reading, and especially those of you who volunteer or are GMs.  We have had so much fun over the last two years with this game, and are looking forward to this coming GenCon's runs. <br />

You seem pretty armed for bear. The only suggestion I have is you might want to find some cloak +2's for everyone, or at least for the bard if nothing else. They're discontinued this year so the trade value will be higher, but it's worthwhile. Ring of sanctuary will probably not be worth a bent nickel in nightmare setting. The saves of the monsters will probably be impressive. if you're going to go for that route, take a cloak of elven kind with you instead. ecspecially if you're running with strangers. It's just a variant of my 'kill the person you don't like' strategy with cloaks.

Dont forget for the bard to get your hands on a Masterwork Bardic Instrument.<br />And I for one would not wear Bracers of Defection, as then your friends will probably kill you.  But bracers of deflection would be an awesome choice.  (sorry I just couldn't resist)

Remind me - does Mage Armor stack with the Robe or Cloak of the Mage?<br />

<br />Remind me - does Mage Armor stack with the Robe or Cloak of the Mage?<br /><br />

<br />No, at least definately not with the Cloak of the Mage, I dont think I have seen anything official on the robe, but I would be surprised if it did.

It was another rule rewrite. Magearmor used to stack with actual armor of any sort. No more.

<br />It was another rule rewrite. Magearmor used to stack with actual armor of any sort. No more.<br />

<br />So scroll: Mage Armor > Robe of the mage with the possible exception it can be dispelled.<br /><br />But if you have both Robe and Cloak of the Mage > Mage Armor and +2 cloak of resistance by 1 point of Armor class.<br />

>1. Does this look like a smart set?  We are planning two runs (puzzle then a Hardcore >Combat), we are a bit intimidated by hardcore tales and want to be sure we are not sheep >for the slaughter.<br />Looks decent. For regular, it doesn't really matter that much, except it would be good to have the masterwork bard's instrument. For the new nightmare mode, which is designed for those with too many tokens, you might have some problems. No one has done it yet, so it is hard to say what it will be like.<br /><br />For nightmare, I would never go with cloak of curses over cloak +2. Same with the rings of sanctuary over rings of saves. I would expect some save or dies, so good saves may be very helpful.<br /><br />>2. We each have a strongly preferred class, do we have a decent chance of getting to play >the class we are working so hard to equip?<br />I have run with strangers about half the time, and I have never had a problem with that.<br /><br />>4. Ingredients - They got a total of two on their first year (Dryder Silk and Stone Spider >Fang), and we got none last year.  They were not sure how they managed to get them...how >DO you get those ingredients?<br />Luck in finding them in token draws. Some people just trade like mad for them at the con.<br /><br />>6. Will the Amulet of Wonder's bonus help as we are all 2nd level right now?  What if one of >them levels after the first run to 3rd?<br />If I understand correctly, your personal level has nothing to do with the amulet of wonder. You can be 1st level of TD experience and it does the same as if you were 5th. What it does (this year) is to make your character a 4th level x instead of a 3rd level x. This may be very useful on hardcore.<br /><br />>8. Did we overdo it (as my sister in law suggests)?<br />If you are really going to try to play hardcore, I really don't think so.<br />

apolloniansidhe,<br /><br />Welcome to the forums!  We've many good volunteers and True Players out there who will help you out with all your questions.  Hope you have a fantastic time this coming TD.  See you there.

Here are some tips on party tactics & equipment if you can get your hands on the right tokens.<br /><br />1. Get as many common Fire&Frost resistance potions as you can. Use both immediately right at the beginning of each room.<br /><br />2. The Ring of Sanctuary for the whole party is a great idea. I think most monsters (even nightmare baddies) will fail on a roll of 4 (+7 will) or less, that’s a 20% miss chance. Who needs a cloak of displacement  =D<br /><br />3. If you can get amulet of thorns for the party not bad either. 4 damage for each miss adds up quick.<br /><br />4. IF you think you might get into a fight pop those combat boosters (Bulls strength, Cats Grace, Salve Stone skin) early. You walk into a room; see something akin to a ghost... Bam!, use that oil of ghost touch, pop the salve of Shadow Vain and start the ghost bustin. Don't wait for combat to start.<br /><br />5. Use penalty healing (orc rations, orcish stout, dawarven ale) at the end of a room and Bonus healing (darwven rations, monk’s mead) at the beginning<br /><br />Good Luck!!!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

Thank you all so far for your help!  I forgot a key element, the "Widseth's Mystical Lute" we have for the bard...which is why we are buffing the combat abilities of a bard and also neglected the Masterwork Instrument.  I edited.<br /><br />It looks like there is a lot of suggestions for those +2 cloaks, so we will be trying to get some shortly.  We may be a bit light on "trade goods" unless people out there want random Red or Green weapons...and I have not seen much demand for those so far. <br /><br />We are really glad, after reading your suggestions, that we have been loading up on potions and such for combats. Especially for Nightmare mode.  We will probably grab a few more that you all mentioned.<br /><br />Yes, Bracers of Deflection…although Defection would be fun!<br /><br />One added question: how long (rounds) do most combats last?  <br />

If it's gone for more than 4 rounds, something's gone seriously wrong or it's the last combat of the combat-side run.