TOPIC: Raven's Review, TD 2013

Raven's TD 2013 Review

I know this is somewhat late in coming. I like to give myself a bit of time after the event to think things through, and see which details stick with me weeks later, and which ones have become water under the bridge. (Plus, it takes a bit before the sleep deprivation and utter exhaustion wear off, ya know? We ain't none of us as young as we used to be.)

Note: I'm not planning to do a room-by-room review of the dungeon(s). Others have done that. This is more my take on TD 2013 as a whole.

4 Dungeons!
Loved it. I really, really loved having 2 dungeons, with 2 versions (puzzle/combat). I know TD is always growing and transforming, but this felt like a really great year for giving people the options they wanted, while still having enough tickets available for everyone to play. I hope that we'll see this maintained in the future.

Volunteer Perks
Not everyone volunteers for TD obviously, but I think this year was one of the best years to be a True Dungeon Volunteer. The online training videos were great. The write-ups were thorough. Yes, some things didn't go exactly as planned, but the extra attention given to educating the Combat DMs (and rewarding them for their work) and the perks for part- & full-time volunteers were well thought-out, and I think they made the volunteers feel appreciated.
Also, the Water Bottle? Brilliant! Possibly one of my favorite (non-token) pieces of TD paraphernalia out there. Certainly the one I used most at the con.

StoryScape
Too dark
Sorry, I know lots of people commented on it, but this bears repeating. One of the things which makes TD great is the community… and there was just no way people could hang out/play games/get to know each other comfortably when they couldn't even make out their friends' faces in the dark. I hope we can find a way to provide spaces with sufficient light levels to let people trade tokens, play games, and socialize, next year.
There was also not enough "stuff to do" in the Storyscape. Compared to last year's True Craft, this year's "Hit the Wizard" game was very underwhelming. I guess we can't complain too much, since (unlike TrueCraft) it was not a ticketed event, but Free Fun on top of the regular dungeon.. but the advertising & newsletters made it sound like there would be a lot more uses for Treasure Tokens.

Would it be possible to have more mini-events next year? Even if there's not enough staff to run all of them, have one staff member who rotates between different events, like a token-roulette wheel, a hit-the-wizard game, and a game of wits (riddles?) Just post the times when each activity will be active, and people can come back to enjoy them later (or just spend their treasure tokens in the treasure generators as usual.)

Also, it would be great to have a "Bazaar" area, where there is enough light that token merchants could set up shops. Even if there's only room for 3 or 4 well-lit shops, players could cycle in and out of those (like they die with the few lit tables at the front of the storyscape this year), providing a service to the new players who are looking to upgrade their gear, or just spend their GP.

Lighting & activity levels aside, I really liked the look of the area, and the town-like feel. I just wish I could have seen it better!

Coaching
This was one of the main gripes last year, and WOW did TD ever listen to all the comments!
The U-shaped tables were great for Coaches. Being able to look at the players face-to-face made a huge difference when communicating in those rushed minutes before the dungeon. The stools were great too, and I didn't hear any of last year's complaints from Coaches with aching feet at the end of their shift.
The layout of Coaching ("Inn- style") was also really well done, and the light levels were fine. I hope this stays the same (or similar) for future years.

The Dungeons
I liked the light levels in here. Dark enough to be mysterious, but light enough to get things done and not trip over your team in the dark.
The DMs seemed well trained. Yeah, sometimes they also seemed tired, or a little antagonistic, but consider the numbers of new volunteers and the sheer volume of information they needed to know about token use and the way dungeons run, and compare it to the frustrated comments of past years! It's not perfect yet, but I think it was one of the better years so far, for DMs.
The puzzles were fun & challenging, for the most part. I *really* liked TD's bend towards puzzles which are very "hands-on". Getting the whole party involved and moving and sharing and reaching and doing… that makes for a great dungeon. And even if some folks didn't like the final (multiple answer) puzzle in Golembane, at least it wasn't a Treasure-Stamp room, right? I think there would have been a lot more grumbling if it was.
The combats were not just your standard hack & slash fests. It felt like a lot of work went into making each one unique. Everything from player choices (attack the genie, or her chains?) to special challenges (that bloody force shield on the Guardian… arrrrg!) gave flavor to the combats way beyond the different silhouettes on the combat board, or the (fantastic!!!) actors & animatronics.

Difficulty Levels
These also seemed to hit a sweet spot this year.
People running on Normal mode seemed to enjoy themselves.
Many groups who did Hardcore said that it was just the right blend of Challenge and Reward for them.
Nightmare seemed (to me) a little less deadly than it could have been… but I have to remind myself that I tend to run with very well prepared groups, and we don't need True-Grind-Nightmare levels in the main Dungeon. So Nightmare was also probably a good challenge level this year.

Completion Tokens
I really liked the tokens available this year. I definitely prefer the permanent equipment to the consumables which have been used as completion tokens some years.
The rewards for Normal (green), Hardcore (red), and Nightmare (both) also seemed like a very good reward levels, and it gave some incentive to play Nightmare beyond just the bragging rights.
Running out of Rare completion tokens on Saturday kinda sucked, tho
Please, pretty please, keep the rewards as they are, but make sure to order enough of the rares for next year?

XP Desk
Ouch. Yeah… this is one of those areas to work on for next year.
lots of suggestions have been made, and seeing how well TD listened to suggestions for the Coaching rooms last year, I look forward to many improvements made to the XP process next year.

Thanks for a great year of TD, and I am already eagerly anticipating 2014!

Raven wrote: And even if some folks didn't like the final (multiple answer) puzzle in Golembane, at least it wasn't a Treasure-Stamp room, right? I think there would have been a lot more grumbling if it was.

It was

Great review, Raven! Lots of good points

Picc wrote:

Raven wrote: And even if some folks didn't like the final (multiple answer) puzzle in Golembane, at least it wasn't a Treasure-Stamp room, right? I think there would have been a lot more grumbling if it was.

It was

Arg. In that case.. sorry

For my own interaction with this puzzle, I didn't find it particularly annoying that it had multiple answers which fit the clues. I payed more attention to the green dots, and used them (plus the clues) to figure out which switch order was correct. For me, there was only one correct answer to this room: The answer which would make all the lights go green. It was a bit frustrating that we couldn't figure it out without taking some damage, but I figured it was the final room, so who needs those HP anyway? As long as we kept our players above the threshold for death, it wasn't a big deal. And I prefer this puzzle by far to the type on the Lycan's side, where a wrong answer results in a player death every time.

That said, we managed to get this puzzle correct all 3 times, so I was less annoyed with it than some people.

No worries, great event over all ( and my team solved it so I can only complain so much )

Storyscape

Totally agree. One of the highlights of my Gencon is trading with players. This year it was just impossible to do so without my own lighting. I don't know if a dedicated area for traders is needed, but just better illumination would be great.

Difficulty Levels

I was on a normal run with the sealed pack team and I was grabbed by the plant in one of the rooms. The DM rolled a D20. It came up 15. I took 15 points of damage. On normal. WTH?

The DMs, especially the green ones, need to side in the error of the players when they aren't sure of a decision. It will promote better enjoyment of the whole experience. I know not everyone can be as awesome as Eric when it comes to True Grind, but it should be the standard every DM is aiming for.

XP Desk

I think this snafu could have been solved by the people working the desks to ask for help instead of waiting for 4 teams to be lined up to collect tokens. The transfer to the new system didn't help.

Jeff

I know you are under a lot of pressure every year to top the year before. I believe you deserve a well earned vacation. Kudos.

Rafiq

Re: Light - Would it be possible to just put some tables and chairs out in the main hallways?

I like the bazaar idea but TD can't look like they're endorsing the independent traders. There could be complications.

I loved the idea of converting some of the adventures guild seating into semi official player merchant stalls.