TOPIC: Feedback and Suggestions

Garrison wrote: While I understand alternate paths have the potential to be a logistical nightmare, I think it'd be neat to test out a 1-room alternate in one of the dungeons next year. Perhaps a puzzle room could involve trying to figure out which of 2 doors to take, or there could be a secret passage to the hidden room. This room would be an alternate to the next room in the dungeon, so you'd only need 1 DM for both rooms and the party would rejoin the main dungeon path. This could be done on a single dungeon, and even just one version of the dungeon (likely puzzle). I feel the impact of this would be huge. Secret passages, alternate routes, and the fear of getting lost or off track is a big part of dungeon delving!

This would be so cool! I understand it would difficult to accomplish. But if it were possible it would definitely be an awesome addition to one of next year's runs!

Toran wrote: Now I badly want DMs to ask for planes that don't exist.

I would do that sometimes, but found I had to be very careful who I would do that to. Some people just do not like you to get too creative.

Dave

I thought the Village and **all** the scenery in the TD runs was **freakin' amazing**!! All the sets and props were very, very, very well done. I especially thought the Lycans puzzle with the reflecting pool to get the puzzle clue was ingenious.

The AG seating area wasn't really used and could be repurposed. Jeff has already announced plans for that, so that's covered already.

The finishing room for XP and treasure tokens needs a lot of work. A lot. Again, Jeff is already aware, so I am sure this will be improved next year.

The village scape could use much better signage, all over. Inclusive of treasure box location markers and clear markings as to what each treasure box "mostly contains", like "Gear Box" and "Trophy Box". Also better signage for the various games we are supposed to be able to do in the village scape, and better marking of hours of operation for those games.

As mentioned in other threads, the other seating and tables around the storyscape were way too dimly lit. People are using this area primarily for trading, so as suggested in another thread, improving the lighting and making a "Trade Bazaar" area would be great!

Lastly, I agree with the notion that the next big evolution for TD should be actually making it "more dungeon like". Right now it just an adventure "run on rails". There are no choices of direction once in the dungeon. The big, big, big problem of implementing something like this is the logistics of moving people in 12 minute blocks per room, from room-to-room, while avoiding collisions and jams or backups. Its a question of gating logic if you boil it down. Solve that for each adventure run, and yeah, you could implement direction choice as the next evolution for TD adventures.

Overall, I thought everything was great with amazing set and prop work. Sure, there are things to improve on, but none of that took away from my enjoyment of the things that were done well.

Creativity in the dungeons is paramount. The experience would be greatly augmented by alternate paths or options that lead to different endings. If it is the case that some people don't want that level of creativity, they could be warned at the outset or at the ticket purchase time that this dungeon has some odd conditions. My bet is this would sell out first, not last.

I would love to see more athletic challenges. I don't mean olympics, but little things like the stones in the water. I realize this also is not for everybody, but there could be a walk around option for those not wishing to participate.

The storyscape this year was challenged by poor lighting and a minimum of NPCs. I recommend better light after the dungeon ends. No harm in keeping some dark corners and poorly lit areas for shady characters, but the majority should be well lit so friends can find each other, trading can occur without limitation, and we can generally see what is happening.

There were a couple of games at the treasure box area but they seemed to get minimal attention and weren't that exciting. I would love to see TrueCraft return in an enhanced version. I'd even be willing to design it away from long lines and other discomforts.

The dungeons this year were better than last year. The monsters were good. The puzzles were challenging but not unsolvable. Some coaches and DMs need polishing but that is the nature of the beast and understandable under the circumstances. I still encourage you to strive for maximal creativity and ingenuity. Surprises and familiar monsters from D&D help alot. It's much more important than tokens to the experience.

One poor incident was taking damage for looking at the monster too long. The first time I thought the DM was just an ass but the second run with a different DM it happened again. It must have been written into the script. What gives with that?

We'd be willing to design or build a monster for you or make True Craft work better. We have lots of ideas.

CrowOfPyke wrote: I agree with the notion that the next big evolution for TD should be actually making it "more dungeon like". Right now it just an adventure "run on rails". There are no choices of direction once in the dungeon. The big, big, big problem of implementing something like this is the logistics of moving people in 12 minute blocks per room, from room-to-room, while avoiding collisions and jams or backups.

I don't think it would need to be that complicated. In cases like this, I find less is more. Just a single alternate room would create a huge impact in the feel of a dungeon.

For example, let's say room 3 of a dungeon has two exits. These could lead into two rooms that are side-by-side: the default room 4a and the alternative room 4b. A simple curtain could separate them (or a whole red-light hall, if you want). In this setup, only one of these #4 rooms would have a party in it at a time, so you would not need any more DMs or Blue hands. Both the default room and alternate room would then exit into the same hallway, which would have a single green light leading into room 5.

I think this would lead to a great deal of player excitement, even if there is only 1 alternate room. It wouldn't even need to be all that interesting of a room.

Jeff, please consider giving this at least a test run in one of next year's dungeons. All you would need is a single extra room and DMs for that step of the dungeon willing to learn 2 rooms instead of one. (Likely puzzle/challenge rooms, to keep it simple.) I realize floor space might be at a premium next year if you add a 4-room planar dungeon. But perhaps a slim/narrow element to the alternate room could be part of the challenge?

Brad Mortensen wrote: As long as you don't call for one that isn't there you can bluff. "I don't think there IS a plane of Dubstep..."

You enter the alternate plane and hear a low, reverberating "womp womp womp bwomp bwomp womp womp womp womp..."

It's the best dubstep impression I could muster up via a keyboard. I'm *so* going to be tempted to use that line now. ;-}~

Disbeeleaf wrote:
One poor incident was taking damage for looking at the monster too long. The first time I thought the DM was just an ass but the second run with a different DM it happened again. It must have been written into the script. What gives with that?

She looked into your soul and ripped part out. Yep, written in if you looked at her directly for too long.

+10 vs. Gaze attack goggles?
Potion of Immune to Undead Special Attacks for Room?

Let there be light.

Rafiq

No save so the goggles would not help, but gaze reflection would.

I really liked TrueCraft last year, just not some of the implementations. The quests were my favorites. The games less so, because of the lines. If there were games that could be played in parallel (like coin tosses) instead of serially (like the anvils) it would work much better with fewer volunteers. But there we go again - there was a shortage of those this year.

I'm wondering whether it would be possible to organize some more Tavern games/quests with minimal strain on current volunteers. For example, could we pull from the playerbase to run more games like Rogues Game, or True Plinko, or something similar to True Craft but only running for 2-3 hrs/day in the storyscape.

If Jeff could (for example) offer a part-time volunteer token (no free badge, no need for other cool volunteer perks) to people who organize or produce storyscape activities, I think we could have a really neat storyscape for next year.

There would have to be some thought put into it, obviously... like would these tavern games charge GP or Treasure Coins? Would the prizes be provided by the player themselves, or by TD (and if so, would there be a max to how much treasure could be won?) Would the player be able to keep any GP earned from the games, etc.