Dear True Grinders,
I hope you are ready for a weekend of monster slaying! In anticipation for GenCon, I have put together a handout with Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and helpful tips. Special thanks to Dan/Druegar for putting it together in a nice PDF format.
Unfortunately, the forum doesn't seem to allow me to attach a file to a post, so here is the text data from the document. If you want a copy of the PDF, please e-mail me at: truegrinddm AT gmail DOT com.
TRUE GRIND 2013: SURVIVE THE NIGHT!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
#1. When does a room/combat end?
When a room or combat starts, pay attention to what monsters are present. As long as those initial monsters are still around, the room/combat continues. As soon as all of those monsters are replaced, a new room/combat starts. This means that tokens that are limited to once per room/combat are refreshed, though it also means that certain spell and consumable effects will end.
For example, if you only fight a single monster at a time, then each monster constitutes a different room/combat. If you fight two monsters at a time, then the room changes when both of the initial monsters are defeated. Etc. Note that ignoring a monster in order to artificially prolong the length of a room/combat is not recommended, and the monsters will have tactics to deal with that.
Usually the DM’s are pretty good about announcing a new room/combat but in the heat of combat, it may not always be clear. Don’t be afraid to ask whether or not a new room has started.
#2. How do skill checks work?
In order to save you as much time as possible for monster slaying, skill checks (Bard symbols, Cleric beads, Druid leaves, and Wizard planes) are considered automatically successful when casting a spell or using monster lore. You do not need to memorize these for True Grind.
#3. What sort of environmental rules are in effect?
In order to complement this year’s themes and tokens, some of the following situations may be relevant:
Hot and cold objects
Lycanthropy
Magnetic effects
Outdoor environment
Read and speak fey
Seeing in the dark
Silver weapons
Sleeping in armor
Slips and falls
Traps
Also, while the focus will be on this year’s themes, I always reserve the right to utilize environmental rules from past years, such as:
2011 Underwater Rules: <
truedungeon.com/newsletter/Underwater_Rules.pdf
>
2012 Cold Climate Rules: <
truedungeon.com/newsletter/tokens_final.htm
>
And it never hurts to refresh yourself about the various Status effects in the Condition Summary:
<
truedungeon.com/newsletter/Dungeon_Masters_Guide.pdf
>, Page 42
#4. How does treasure work?
At the end of True Grind, each participant will receive one treasure coin and one special Grind-exclusive token. This is regardless of success or failure in Grind and you get the same thing regardless of difficulty level, so you can focus on having fun!
Similarly, to keep the focus on having fun and slaying monsters, treasure enhancing tokens have no effect. Specifically, this applies to the Horn of Plenty, Ring of Riches, and Charm of Good Fortune. Similarly, treasure enhancing effects from artifacts (Kubu’s Coin of Coincidence, Lazlo’s Bag of Looting, Widseth’s +2 Dancing Sword, etc.) also do not apply, though their non-treasure enhancing powers are still in effect.
#5. What do the Amulet of Wonder, Eldritch Runestone, and UR Special tokens do this year?
AMULET OF WONDER bestows special proficiency with the twelve-gauge double-barreled Remington (and related models), including all of the following effects:
A. Wearer ignores class restrictions when using blunder weapons.
So any class could use the +2 Boom Stick, Double Barrel Blunder Cannon, and Blunder Cannon.
Everyone can already use the Blunder Pipe and everyone but the Wizards can use the Blunder Horn.
B. Wearer is immune to misfire/bomb damage from using blunder weapons.
While most things (stats, special abilities, damage modifiers) don't affect misfire damage, this is a special exception.
C. Barbarians, Dwarf Fighters, Fighters, Paladins, and Rangers using a blunder weapon score criticals on a natural 19 or 20 (Keen ability).
These classes can already use all blunder weapons, so this is their benefit instead of section 1.
D. All classes get +2 Dexterity (which results in +1 AC, +1 to hit with missile weapons, and +1 to Reflex saves)
ELDRITCH RUNESTONE sprouts an extra arm, which grants all of the following effects:
A. Player can use an extra (third) ring
If using a Hand of Glory you can use 4 total rings.
B. Player gets an extra hand. Note that players are still limited to the normal number of attack sliders. (Monk/Ranger limited to two sliders if using melee, all other classes limited to one slider).
I Practically speaking, you can use an extra off-hand item (Orb of Might, Brawler's Mug, Shield). If you want, you can use two shields but they have to have different names (due to stacking rules). So you can't use two Templar Shields, but you can use a Templar Shield and a Tower Shield +1.
II Rangers are a special case (can't use two-handed weapons). Instead their off-hand weapon can be any Ranger weapon (does *not* need to be usable by the Rogue) and can be a second copy of their primary weapon. So you could attack with two +2 Long Swords if you want and hold an Orb of Might with your third hand (but not attacking with the Orb since you can only use two sliders).
III Monks will be able to use Flurry of Blows as long as at least one of the attacks is a hand/bracer. The second can be any Monk melee weapon (one or two handed). Also, if the Monk is only attacking with one Bracer, he can also wear a non-weapon Bracer. So you could have a Monk attacking with a +1 Dwarven Glaive and Bracer of Smiting, while also benefiting from a +1 Bracers of Defense.
UR SPECIAL: Finger of Death: Once this Grind, the user may automatically defeat any one non-boss monster
This bypasses immunities and special defenses that monsters may have. (Spell Resistance doesn't apply. Works against monsters normally immune to death effects.)
If there are ambiguous situations (one of the monsters is an illusion or a decoy, like the Gas Spore), the DM will apply the effect to your advantage. (We won't screw you over).
It won't work on the boss monster(s), but if the Grind is nearing the boss monster and you still haven't use the effect yet, the DM will mention that the window of opportunity for using it is closing. (So you don't have to worry about it going to waste).
#6. Can healing tokens be used?
Yes, healing tokens can be used in True Grind.
Uncommon and rare healing tokens taken a standard action and are used normally. As for common healing, it’s not very worthwhile to spend a whole action drinking a 1 point healing potion, so we will allow you to combine common healing to heal up to 5 hit points to yourself as an action. Note that this only applies to healing yourself – healing another player requires using a scroll, casting a spell, or using a more specialized healing token.
#7. Are there any banned tokens this year?
This year there are no banned tokens.
The treasure enhancing tokens (Horn of Plenty, Ring of Riches, and Charm of Good Fortune) have no effect so you can consider them effectively banned, but you still wear them for no effect. There may also be a handful of old, obsolete tokens which no longer apply.
Helpful Tips
#1. Arrive early
Filling out the party card can take a surprisingly long time, even if you are an experienced player. The official event time starts on the hour and you will have a full hour to slay monsters. It is highly recommended that you arrive at least 15 minutes early in order to prepare. If you don’t arrive early, the prep time could eat into your hour of monster slaying, thus jeopardizing your chances of victory.
If you are a tokenholic with lots of tokens, you might want to arrive even earlier, since it may take even more time for you to sort out all of your tokens and for the player coach to go through them all.
#2. Please turn in your ticket
The player coaches and DM’s will make every effort to collect your tickets. Please remember to turn them in. True Dungeon does not get anything if the tickets aren’t turned in (in those situations, GenCon keeps all the money).
Even if you miss your True Dungeon event, don’t throw away your ticket! Please contact a staff member, who may be able to help you find a use for your ticket.
#3. Choose your difficulty level
For True Grind, there are three difficulty levels to choose from:
NORMAL is for casual players who are most concerned about “winning” and not “dying.” Normal monsters are designed assuming you have the access to the best Common and Uncommon tokens, so if you have lots of Rares and Uncommons, it might be on the easy side for you. Last year, 48% of parties chose Normal difficulty. Of these, every single party was victorious and 99% of players lived to see another day - there was only a single player death (which was an anomaly).
HARDCORE is for experienced players who want more of a challenge. Hardcore monsters are designed assuming you have access to the best Common, Uncommon, and Rare tokens. Having access to Ultra Rares will definitely give you a leg up, but won’t guarantee success. Last year, 43% of parties chose Hardcore difficulty. Of these, 80% of parties were victorious, 10% ran out of time, and 10% had a total party kill (TPK). Of players, 75% survived, 5% ran out of time, and 20% died.
NIGHTMARE are for the best players, tokenholics who are well-equipped, and gluttons for punishment! Don’t go into Nightmare expecting to win, though that is always a possibility. Go in with the expectation that you will die, but that you will have a fun and memorable time doing so. This difficulty level is for those who want the ultimate challenge, along with the exclusive bragging rights if they succeed. Nightmare monsters are designed assuming you have the access to the best Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Ultra Rare tokens. You do not need any Relics, Legendaries, or Artifacts, though at this level every little advantage can help. Last year, a mere 9% of parties were brave enough to step up to Nightmare. Half of the parties ran out of time, while half of the parties died. In terms of individual players, the lethality rate 84%, while 16% of players were still standing when time ran out.
#4. Review the token guide and token database
It never hurts to be prepared!
The official Token Guide can be found at:
<
truedungeon.com/newsletter/2013_Token_Guide_13.pdf
>
New this year, there is also a nifty online searchable database:
tokendb.com/
#5. Get your party card ready beforehand
It’s not mandatory, if you know your party beforehand and have your equipment already set, you can save a bit of time by preparing your party card ahead of time. It is still recommended to arrive a little early so that the player coach can review the party card. Doing this will greatly improve the chances that you start on time.
If you go this route, please bring 2 copies of the party card. If any of the + damage is of a special type (fire, cold, sacred) please note it separately. And it would be helpful to annotate any special immunities or resistances.
If you’re not experienced with filling out a party card or don’t know your party, do not worry. The player coach will fill out the party card for you.
#6. Manage your time
It is often said that time is the greatest foe in True Grind, not the actual monsters. You only have one hour, so carefully manage your time if you want to succeed.
#7. Misteaks are unevitable
All of the DM’s are highly trained, experienced players but at the end of the day, we are just human (for the most part). Some mistakes are going to be made and we apologize in advance. If you think we made a mistake, don’t be afraid to politely doublecheck. However, since time is such a scarce resources, you may want to consider if it’s a significant enough issue to spend additional time discussing it.
#8. Use your creativity
Although True Grind is combat focused, every year there are some “Easter Egg” puzzles built into the encounters. As a tokenholic, I regularly comb through the token guide looking for ways that can make obscure and cornercase tokens useful during Grind. So be creative and have fun!
