TOPIC: 2019 Volunteer & Other Special Token Suggestions

Picc wrote: In fairness there is almost always s treasure enhancer in print. No veteran started out with a charm of avarice, for the most part they just bought pyp treasure enhancers and stuck around. If you do the same I guarantee in a few years when the ioun stones are done someone will be looking at the tokens you have and making that case that they represent a barrier to entry.

Well put Picc [+1]

Ed

I would agree picc but if you equate this to other mediums like ccgs then the trend will be that CoA era tokens are stronger than intended and won’t be reprinted but a second less powerful set will be next which to my understanding is what is planned.
Unlike ccgs this game has one other huge hinderance and that’s the huge price variation from rare to ultra rare. One of the things that I thought was gonna draw me into this game was trading on the forums but the only thing that is worth while to trade is URs and up and due to the rarity that makes it hard to jump into that aspect of the game without spending an exorbitant amount of money.
Just my two cents, I love the game I guess I just wish the stepping stones for price were a little different instead of .50 , 1$ , 100$, 300$ , 1000$+

Steven wrote: I would agree picc but if you equate this to other mediums like ccgs then the trend will be that CoA era tokens are stronger than intended and won’t be reprinted but a second less powerful set will be next which to my understanding is what is planned.
Unlike ccgs this game has one other huge hinderance and that’s the huge price variation from rare to ultra rare. One of the things that I thought was gonna draw me into this game was trading on the forums but the only thing that is worth while to trade is URs and up and due to the rarity that makes it hard to jump into that aspect of the game without spending an exorbitant amount of money.
Just my two cents, I love the game I guess I just wish the stepping stones for price were a little different instead of .50 , 1$ , 100$, 300$ , 1000$+

I empathize, I played for several years and was trying to figure out how to make the jump from C/UC/R to UR

It eventually became clear that there's just this big chasm that you fill with money, and then walk over to UR land.

On the plus side, you simply don't need to do that (unlike CCGS). TD is collaborative, not competitive - I've never had more fun at TD than my first year with a few token 10 packs (although this year was close).

The real challenge with TD isn't the price of URs, its the fact that the items are in such a narrow range.

The difference between a common weapon and the best (non artifact) weapon in the game is around an enhancement bonus of 5.

There just aren't enough gradations to make a nice, smooth curve between rare and UR. The difference between a UR weapon and a rare weapon is +1 to hit and damage. The difference between a UR cape and a rare cape is +1 to saves. Not much distance to build a ramp in between these things.

I see transmutes (the 3- and 4-point one’s anyway) as the step between Rare and UR

The barrier to forum trading, IMO, is postage. Cards are flexible and can be mailed for 50 cents. Tokens have to go as packages and start at $3. Doesn’t make sense to spend more on postage than the tokens are worth.

Trading in person at conventions is more practical.

Brad Mortensen wrote: The barrier to forum trading, IMO, is postage.

Canada post is worse. I would love something like a flat rate box

Given that there will be a TE UR available for purchase every year for the foreseeable future (at least through 2026) I don't think there is a need to also have TE as Volunteer tokens. And I do think that it will create a large amount of unhappiness in all the players that want to have max Treasure Pulls and aren't able to get their hands on these. I'm sure Jeff has the numbers, but I have no doubt that the number of Ioun Stone Silver Nuggets purchased dwarfs the amount of Volunteer tokens given out in a year.

Matthew Hayward wrote:

Wade Schwendemann wrote: Does the +1/+2 Focus charm have enough of a need that it will help drive volunteers?

I think whatever we do needs to help increase volunteer rolls.

I strongly suspect there would be more demand for a +2 focus charm than a +2 dex charm.

Only one way to tell!

I wouldn't make any effort to get any +2 Dex Charms, but I might try to pick up a couple of +2 Focus Charms for our Wizards.

Brad Mortensen wrote: I see transmutes (the 3- and 4-point one’s anyway) as the step between Rare and UR

I agree with Brad and a number of other people that mentioned this in other threads. I think we will see a set of Transmutes (3/4 star) in the near future that helps bridge the gap between Rare and UR.

Ed

MasterED wrote:

Brad Mortensen wrote: I see transmutes (the 3- and 4-point one’s anyway) as the step between Rare and UR

I agree with Brad and a number of other people that mentioned this in other threads. I think we will see a set of Transmutes (3/4 star) in the near future that helps bridge the gap between Rare and UR.

Ed

Agree 100%

From someone who is trying to coordinate a growing group of brand new to casual vets (casual vet = token packs collected over 3 years as well as some of them spending 30-40 in rares to fill missing slots) it would be great if there could be a few more 3 star and 4 star transmutes available that were in the $15 to $75 value range. I think there are 4 or 5 available every year - any chance that could double to 8 or 10? Maybe the answer is to have a few that are always available or available for a longer run of years to keep down the work in designing new tokens?

Mike Steele wrote: Given that there will be a TE UR available for purchase every year for the foreseeable future (at least through 2026) I don't think there is a need to also have TE as Volunteer tokens. And I do think that it will create a large amount of unhappiness in all the players that want to have max Treasure Pulls and aren't able to get their hands on these. I'm sure Jeff has the numbers, but I have no doubt that the number of Ioun Stone Silver Nuggets purchased dwarfs the amount of Volunteer tokens given out in a year.

What if volunteers were given out print urtes every other year?

Like, 2019 vol could be ioun stone silver nugget, 2021 vol could be whatever the 2019 ioun urte is?

That way vol tokens are sure to have some value, without changing the loot cap.

bpsymington wrote: I know the price increase has been an issue. I didn't do N3, and a big reason was the cost (I was the N3 AC, so I had seen everything and knew all the puzzles). Gave me ore to spend on boardgames! My regret is that this will knock me way down on the list of top players.

But as far as the price goes, I like to think about how the experience compares to other things: I went to the Hollywood Bowl this week, for a screening of Star Wars: A New Hope with the LA Philharmonic playing all the music live. That was like $75 a ticket. A Broadway show can be hundreds more.

I hope the next price increase isn't too onerous.

I really think than GenCon 2019 is the year for NO price increases for True Dungeon. I mean the $78 price was originally done as part of dropping down to ~6000 tickets. Then we ended back up to about 8000 tickets anyways.

GenCon 2017 dungeon runs were about $480k in revenue by my math. GenCon 2018 dungeon runs were about $555k by my math. Yes I know Jeff spent more, but then again Viper's Pit should have been almost free (other than volunteers).

Just a proposal for a option for volunteers that work more than one con. What if you had the option between the volunteer token or a package of a PYP and 5k gold chip.