TOPIC: Dealing with "wandering" Treasure Enhancers

Looking at this as an opportunity to enhance things:

Add a new half room after the coaching room.

Extend coaching from 12 to 18 minutes. You'd spend the first 12 minutes in the coaching room as normal.

Then you'd be ushered into a new 6 minute room which would be decorated / themed to the dungeon.

You'd be met by an NPC who would give you the spiel there (which would be better than the coaching room where you can't hear a darn thing and where players are distracted and it's dark as midnight).

The NPC would also look at the party card and check URTEs.

The horn would blow and you'd proceed into the first room proper.

While this requires more resources for sure (need to build and decorate an extra room, need to always have an NPC), is could add something to the experience.

I don't at all like the idea of carving out time from an existing room in the dungeon for this - that punishes non-URTE players because URTE players can't follow the rules on the honor system.



Alternatively, check in coaching, check in epilogue is probably the next best thing.

It just needs to actually be done every time.

Fiddy wrote: Do you need to thoroughly check every person through the dungeon? Or could a properly-randomized check suffice? As a possible example: at the top of each hour, the volunteer coordinator (or someone else in a trusted position) checks the randomizer to see which run (or runs) needs to be checked during that hour. She then lets the epilogue room know to check that run when they get out. Those on the runs don't know whether or not they will be audited until they get to the end, so will in theory need to have their TEs with them just in case.

I think anyone already doing this though would then just take their chances of not being caught with the odds being so low.

MasterED wrote:

Joshua Baessler wrote: If TE's were only checked in the epilogue room, there is only the risk of passing them off to the group behind or ahead.

I think the big scenario that is trying to be stopped is an unscruplous Rogue person shows 10 TE to the coach for team 1 and then also shows the same 10 TE to a coach for team 2.

When Team 1 reaches the Epilogue room the Rogue person mysteriously appears and shows the 10 TE to the volunteer for Team 1. Then when Team 2 appears they do the same thing.

By putting a TE check after Room 7 but before the Epilogue room and only ticketed players enter via Room 7 then the mysterious Rogue should be restricted from validating the TE. Of course Jeff will need to have an AC on standby for any issues and a plan on resolution.

Ed

Ed, in essence adding an "8th" room to the Dungeon where the Treasure Enhancing Tokens would be checked would work as long as entry to the room were controlled, but it would require additional volunteers, who's only job is to check treasure enhancing tokens for a couple of minutes every 12 minutes. As a positive though, it wouldn't break up the flow of the adventure.

I do think that whatever is put in place needs to be a 100% check and not a random check. Otherwise people might feel they are unfairly being singled out, or that others are being given a pass.

Matthew Hayward wrote: Looking at this as an opportunity to enhance things:

Add a new half room after the coaching room.

Extend coaching from 12 to 18 minutes. You'd spend the first 12 minutes in the coaching room as normal.

Then you'd be ushered into a new 6 minute room which would be decorated / themed to the dungeon.

You'd be met by an NPC who would give you the spiel there (which would be better than the coaching room where you can't hear a darn thing and where players are distracted and it's dark as midnight).

The NPC would also look at the party card and check URTEs.

The horn would blow and you'd proceed into the first room proper.

While this requires more resources for sure (need to build and decorate an extra room, need to always have an NPC), is could add something to the experience.

I don't at all like the idea of carving out time from an existing room in the dungeon for this - that punishes non-URTE players because URTE players can't follow the rules on the honor system.



Alternatively, check in coaching, check in epilogue is probably the next best thing.

It just needs to actually be done every time.

That might work, as long as procedures are put in place to assure nobody leaves or enters the room once the group enters.

Matthew Hayward wrote: Looking at this as an opportunity to enhance things:

Add a new half room after the coaching room.

Extend coaching from 12 to 18 minutes. You'd spend the first 12 minutes in the coaching room as normal.

Then you'd be ushered into a new 6 minute room which would be decorated / themed to the dungeon.

You'd be met by an NPC who would give you the spiel there (which would be better than the coaching room where you can't hear a darn thing and where players are distracted and it's dark as midnight).

The NPC would also look at the party card and check URTEs.

The horn would blow and you'd proceed into the first room proper.

While this requires more resources for sure (need to build and decorate an extra room, need to always have an NPC), is could add something to the experience.

I don't at all like the idea of carving out time from an existing room in the dungeon for this - that punishes non-URTE players because URTE players can't follow the rules on the honor system.



Alternatively, check in coaching, check in epilogue is probably the next best thing.

It just needs to actually be done every time.

Not a bad idea your timing is off though. Everything needs to be on 12 minute marks because of the Horn timing. Unless you meant 18 and then 6 not 12 and 6. Also I think you mean after the training room not coaching.


EDIT: 8th room ideas though are probably not going to work for this Gen Con. I would guess (though could be mistaken). That Jeff already has the dungeon mapped out for space.

To those advocating for an in-dungeon TE check: In what room should we take away several precious minutes of combat/puzzle solving?

Adding an 8th room to the dungeon for treasure checks is not an option.

jedibcg wrote:

Matthew Hayward wrote: Looking at this as an opportunity to enhance things:

Add a new half room after the coaching room.

Extend coaching from 12 to 18 minutes. You'd spend the first 12 minutes in the coaching room as normal.

Then you'd be ushered into a new 6 minute room which would be decorated / themed to the dungeon.

You'd be met by an NPC who would give you the spiel there (which would be better than the coaching room where you can't hear a darn thing and where players are distracted and it's dark as midnight).

The NPC would also look at the party card and check URTEs.

The horn would blow and you'd proceed into the first room proper.

While this requires more resources for sure (need to build and decorate an extra room, need to always have an NPC), is could add something to the experience.

I don't at all like the idea of carving out time from an existing room in the dungeon for this - that punishes non-URTE players because URTE players can't follow the rules on the honor system.



Alternatively, check in coaching, check in epilogue is probably the next best thing.

It just needs to actually be done every time.

Not a bad idea your timing is off though. Everything needs to be on 12 minute marks because of the Horn timing. Unless you meant 18 and then 6 not 12 and 6. Also I think you mean after the training room not coaching.


EDIT: 8th room ideas though are probably not going to work for this Gen Con. I would guess (though could be mistaken). That Jeff already has the dungeon mapped out for space.

I did mean training room.

But the training room can be 18 minutes long with no problem.


The training room, or training room + room 0 doesn't need to start with a horn, it just needs to end with a horn.


Today, parties enter the training room and room 1 at, for example:

00 -> 12
12 -> 24
24 -> 36
36 -> 48
48 -> 00

Under my plan, parties enter the training room, then room 0, then room 1 at, for example:

54 -> 06 -> 12
06 -> 18 -> 24
18 -> 30 -> 36
30 -> 42 -> 48
42 -> 54 -> 00

Nothing changes when people arrive in room 1 - it just means all adventures start 6 minutes earlier than they would have otherwise, and that you'd hear a horn 1/2 way through your time in the training room.

The NPC would need a way to know they were at the halfway point between horns to go into the training room and grab the party. Whomever ushers parties from the coaching area to the training room would similarly have to operate on the 1/2 cycle.

At least... I think that works?

That yonder option looks neat.

Maybe a cheaper version?

I'm thinking of a scenario similar to:
In coach room add bags with some sort of seal that the TE tokens get placed into. Bag is kept by player.
In epilogue room intact seal is verified, but excessive time is not wasted counting each token.

Probably an annoyance for players that have TE tokens in laminated sheets etc.

Druegar wrote: To those advocating for an in-dungeon TE check: In what room should we take away several precious minutes of combat/puzzle solving?

Adding an 8th room to the dungeon for treasure checks is not an option.

If that's not an option, then I'd say:

1. Check in the coaching room (this should be done anyway).

2. Check in the epilogue room.

3. If we really want to be serious, also check in the training room.

If TD staff observes people darting in and out of the training and or epilogue rooms who don't have a wristband for the run, pull them aside and indicate they need to stop and / or apply whatever disciplinary action is needed.

If they aren't wearing a badge have them ejected. If they are wearing a badge, well then, you know who they are.

A low tech way to do this is to number the tokens and have someone write down TE start times and crunch the numbers at a later time.

Some things you might not be thinking about:

• When you catch someone without their TE tokens, what are you going to do?
• As the tokens currently are, there is no way to ensure that they are not used on multiple runs.
• If you force people to place the tokens in a non individually possessed bag, you are taking possession and are responsible / liable.
• The fostering of a secondary market makes the selling / lending / renting of tokens inherent

Druegar wrote: To those advocating for an in-dungeon TE check: In what room should we take away several precious minutes of combat/puzzle solving?

Exactly, that is why the audit should be done before and after the dungeon.

Druegar wrote: Adding an 8th room to the dungeon for treasure checks is not an option.

That makes it more difficult. If that is the case perhaps having a security bag is a better option then.

I know there is the worry of losing it. But I would assume something that valuable people would be more responsible with it. One could possibly even do the equivalent of handcuffs to the bag and a person to make sure they are not lost.