TOPIC: New to True Dungeon had a couple of question?

I am hoping to participate in True Dungeon for the first time this year but had a couple of questions.

First of all should I go in with a character class in mind even if I don't have any tokens? I ask because I heard you get some tokens when you go, but I would think it's kinda strange if I want to play a wizard and end up with full plate, and two handed swords.

Also what is a new friendly class to play?

Lastly what's the difference between puzzle and combat? Is there much? and does it really affect classes? I was wondering if I were to play a fighter in puzzle would I be less effective.

Thank You, I'm sure I'll have more to come.

Hi Jennifer, welcome to the amazing community of TD! Below I will post an email to one of the Game Master's for True Grind in which I had VERY similar questions to what you had. I hope it helps but bear in mind that it was from 2011, so the names of the dungeons have changed since then...


Email reply follows:

Welcome to True Dungeon and GenCon!

A typical Dungeon Run (like Lair of the Sea Lich or Dragon's Redoubt) is a mix of puzzles and combat. Puzzles mainly require your brainpower and reasoning. Combat is done using shuffleboard sliders (tokens often help combat tremendous, but aren't strictly necessary). Generally, the breakdown for a typical dungeon is somewhere around 60% puzzle, 40% combat. You have 7 rooms, and around 3 monsters on average (though many of the monster rooms might have a short puzzle beforehand).

Some dungeons, like Lair of the Sea Lich, have Combat or Puzzle versions, which have slight emphases on one or the other. Typically about 2 rooms will be different. So a Puzzle run might have about 2 monsters (and more puzzles), while a Combat version will have 4 monsters or so. It's a toss-up whether combat or puzzle is "better". Many tokenholics like combat because it provides more opportunities to use tokens, but you don't need lots of tokens to get through on the lower difficulty levels. Combat can also be fun because you may see more NPC monsters (in costume) who you can interact with.

There are different difficulty levels, which can be used to tailor your experience. The default is Normal. This year there actually will be a Non-Lethal option, if you're more interested in just seeing everything and you aren't really familiar with how things work. I think it's mostly useful for people who just want to experiment with TD for the first time, and don't want the stress of success vs. failure. In that case, it's kind of like going on a tour at a Haunted House. If you do prefer a "challenge" with the possibility of failure, Normal might be the better choice.

For Novices and new players, you might greatly benefit from the free Introductory Seminar that is run every year. That helps explain some of the basic rules and will help you get familiar with the main concepts. These are:

SEM1124794 True Dungeon 101 (Will have changed from 2011 - but same principal applies)
Thursday 1:00 PM 1 hr $0 51

SEM1124795 True Dungeon 101 (Will have changed from 2011 - but same principal applies)
Thursday 5:00 PM 1 hr $0 28


True Grind differs from a typical dungeon in that it is completely combat focused. You fight a series of monsters (one after another). There are no puzzles whatsoever. Players who like the combat (and the shuffleboard system) enjoy True Grind, as do those who want to use more of their tokens. There are different difficulty levels (adjusted to your tokens), so you *don't* need lots of tokens to do well (just some basic equipment like weapon/armor). Time is the major constraint in True Grind. Most parties lose because they run out of time, not because they take too much damage. That's why True Grind, is typically recommended for players who are already familiar with True Dungeon. At the very minimum, you should understand the combat system (with the shuffleboard sliders), how it works, and be comfortable with it. If you don't know how the combat system works, you should probably attend one of the introductory 101 seminars or go through the normal dungeon first. But True Grind is definitely a lot of fun!


Hopefully that helps out and answers all your questions. Hope you have a wonderful time at GenCon and True Dungeon!


With regards,
(Incognito)
True Grind Head DM

Also, to answer your questions about class and puzzle ability;

Class preference does not typically matter for puzzles outside of the lack of ability to perform lore checks, detect magic spells, speak with animals, or other abilities. Most puzzles do not require those skills to be solved and many use basic logic and/or physical manipulatives.

As for rather or not you should get tokens? If you wanted to play a wizard I would reccomend you do get a basic class kit together ahead of GenCon. Typically there is an Elf Wizard and a Wizard class - usually free. If you show up ahead of time you are more likley to get the class you want as well. Most players are negotiable/flexable on classes they wish to play.

You will recieve tokens at the begenning of each run (a 10 pack) but if you simply play with one 10 pack you may not end up with gear that your particualr class can use. If you check out the Token Trades and Sales (hyperlink) board you will often find people selling class kits for relativly inexpensive prices overall (20-30$ in most cases tops).

Also you should look into getting a few of these for the dungeon run to help manage your tokens:
24 Pocket Coin Wallet (for your equipment)(Hyperlinked on left)
18 Pocket Coin Wallet (for your scrolls/potions/gear etc) (Hyperlinked on left)

Wow thanks that helps. But as far as the kits go are they just tokens individuals are selling that they have extras of? I'm not sure about spending money on tokens when it sounds like TD is already $45.

Welcome to the boards!
You've been given some great information already.

I'll just repete back that, You should Turn up early for your run.
If its your first time I wouldn't worry about tokens and classes. Getting firmilar with them all would be good.

The puzzles are mostly class indifferent so never let that stop you. Just because you play barbarian doesn't mean you have to sit out from the puzzle.

You may choose a class and decide its not for you, holding off a bit to get tokens would be decent or get tokens that any class can use.

Best advice I can give is to:

1) If you can, go with a group of friends! TD is much more fun when you're playing with friends who are also new players. And you'll definitely want to celebrate afterwards!

2) Tell your party, your training coach, and GMs that you're new players. People in TD are generally very welcoming- just let them know, and they'll take extra care to go over rules, make suggestions, etc.

3) Have a great time! Your first run in TD is one you'll always remember!

Jennifer Fleming wrote: Wow thanks that helps. But as far as the kits go are they just tokens individuals are selling that they have extras of? I'm not sure about spending money on tokens when it sounds like TD is already $45.

Jennifer, TD can be an expensive hobby, agreed - but bear in mind that you get to keep the tokens (minus consumeables like potions and arrows). So even a small 20$ investment will improve your experience on EVERY run - not just 1.

Overall I go for "red builds" when equipping people for first runs. I even started a Wizard build thread in the wizard section above. Feel free to mess around with the varios character builders and see what you can come up with for a small amount of $$.

Sometimes folks will even give you super discounts for new players (like Valetutto here - I believe he has sold Class kits in the past for VERY reasonable prices).

Also if you dont want any token investment whatsoever but you still want to have a good time you can always run on organized "Sealed Pack" Runs - in which the party all agress to go in with no equipment and make the best of things.

I'll post a few links below:

(Amorgen's Character Builder - Excell - Free - wont work on tables or mobile devices)

(iPhone Character Builder - costs$)

(Sealed Pack Runs Link)

(Token Trades and Sales) (See post above for link)

I'll echo the others. You don't need to buy any other tokens, especially as a wizard or monk. The game is designed so that a party of ten newbies can swap around their 100 free tokens and (probably) succeed, if they work together and use their heads.

My first adventure was with my starter pack of 10 tokens, and the others in my group loaned me some tokens to play a barbarian. I had great fun.

And there are those who like their "dagger runs." Everyone takes a dagger (a 10 to 25 cent common) and... that's it. I heard they were going to try it on nightmare just to see how far they could get, but I hear lots of things that may not be true.

That said, the tokens are way cool, and I feel great walking in to the coaching room knowing what I'm doing. Time is short, and the scramble of trying to sort out tokens and build an outfit can detract from the experience. It's much more peaceful to say "here's my kit" before all the mayhem starts

We are actually going in a group of probably 10 new players, although 2 I think played last year for the first time. So yeah 100 tokens to split is pretty good. I may check out some cheaper kits. Or see if ebay has just a lot of misc tokens for cheap. Just someone getting rid of extras then split them among our group.

Jennifer Fleming wrote: We are actually going in a group of probably 10 new players, although 2 I think played last year for the first time. So yeah 100 tokens to split is pretty good. I may check out some cheaper kits. Or see if ebay has just a lot of misc tokens for cheap. Just someone getting rid of extras then split them among our group.

If you're going to buy tokens off the internet, I would highly suggest doing so here on the forums. I have found ebay to be a little pricey. I also haven't run the numbers, but it seems like there's a lot of "fluff" in the "starter kits" people sell that are largely unneccessary and drive up the price and allows the seller to offload some dreck they don't want.

Meanwhile, you can usually catch a better deal here, and usually the seller will agree to meet you at Gen Con to do the trade and save you some shipping (as a reminder: if you are at Gen Con, make sure to walk off Gen Con/convention center property if buying tokens with cash. Otherwise, you run the risk of being kicked out of the convention. I recommend a parking garage or even the sidewalk on the other side of the street.).

I get what your saying Seth and I agree you should try and arrange something here on the boards but I dissagree that the fluff in the kits is what is raising the cost. More than likely, people that do these have a price point they want to make and are throwing in the "fluff" to make it seem like you're getting your $$s worth.

You're paying them for the service of getting a kit.
I've never done this for TD tokens but I did it for magic decks way back in the day so the concept is still sound and a direct translation. Asking me to include no lands wouldn't save you a dime.
For TD its more like, buy 2 good rares at top rare value and get a pile of commons free.

Jennifer, one thing to be mindful of is the value of the tokens range fairly greatly but here is a super quick blurb to make sure you might be getting your $s worth.
Common=~ 25cents
Uncommons=~ $1
Rares=~ $4
Ultrarare=~ $100 and up

Obviously rough guidelines. The better or out of print they are the more they will be worth. But this should help you evaluate if the token kit you may find has a value around what is expected. There will no doubt be some markup for the time it takes and the loss of the formate aka ebay fees.

7 commons, 2 uncommons and 1 rare should be ~$8
As this is what a pack of tokens cost when bought through the TD store.


Hope that helps

Also worth adding, coaches have a small cache of common/uncommon tokens we can draw on in addition to the starter packs people get just to make sure no one goes through the dungeon totally unequipped so you can usually count on at least having some basic gear available to you even if you go in totally blind.

That said just based on what we ran low on last year it might be a good idea to have a wizards robe and/or common short sword kicking about. Fighter types are usually happy to go through using a lighter weapon or armor they pulled in their starter pack but light armor classes are a little worse off if they only pull heavy armor/gold/etc.