TOPIC: Incentive to help coaches create party card

Clever on the leave the party card...I saw the use of a smaller card which didn't have some of the stats...perhaps a "precard" (obviously not the TEs) so that a player can put that stuff down as they wait.

Being able to prefill and then verify by coach is awesome. It also gives a bit of a "training" if you will to those who may want to volunteer in the future. I know for me, I was overwhelmed by the party card in the past. I am learning the card...starting with my own entry is a nice "next step"...

One other thing...party cards...it is 2019...and an APP...especially an iPad app that can "consume" the token gen character seems to be a way forward. in fact, not to derail this thread, a simple network could support this and then each DM has the player card, and can be much more interactive...removing some of the manual parts of the game...even configuring so that the team can be told...you walk into a bog...blah blah...your monk and your fighter seem to have no issues...the rest of you are fighting and hindered...blah blah...

for hardcore players, they will know this stuff...but non-D&D types and new players, its just too much to remember...and they can be overwhelmed. I am really focused on getting the customer experience improved dramatically. I was a newbie only 30 months ago. I am looking at my personal experiences and wonder how to use tech to improve the experience...some processes are better served by tech than human...



so...lets start with a simple question...is iPad party cards a possibility or is there a strong opinion to keep it paper-based?

I think the issue is replacing the device, charging, theft, and initial cost of several tablets.

More than several tablets. 4 dungeons x 5 groups per hour plus the groups in coaching/training. Plus spares for charging, problems, etc.

It’s a lot of tablets.

actually....the devices never move...they are part of the rooms...14 per dungeon (7 for each stop...6 for the coaching rooms and one for the training room)...the coaching room and training rooms can all be kiosks...as for the dungeons, pedestals in the "motif" would make sense...for combat rooms, attaching them with a bracket to the side of the slide tables...and...

...if you attach them in a fixed position on the slide table with a bracket, the camera can serve other purposes such as AI recognition of the hit points for the puck...(cannot do To Hit unless the camera is directly over the image)

Ultimately, it comes down to efficiency and customer experience...I am not looking to improve the experience for the sake of improving accuracy...I am looking at it to improve the customer experience because that creates the expandable player base...

Is there any other issues than cost/blah....I mean if digital is available...is it an option to the motif and future of True Dungeon?

We also need to consider possible points of failure, paper cant crash, run out of batteries, or break. I'm not in principle against the idea of a digital party card, I think it could come with a lot of benefits, but working in tech I also know that the idea "these things just work" is not as true as some people think. Even if the devices work 100% of the time, someone needs to write/test the software and maintain the network (which could be another point of failure, even 30 minutes of downtime is a huge deal if you have 6 groups piling up behind you)

if the coaches get to comfortable using technology...then it crashes...then what..


I have thrown this one around...eliminate 6th level treasure (come up with something else)
then, use the 1 extra treasure pull for having the card filled out(one for every player)
better incentive to do it...more people will

Just FYI. The app already has a party card capability included, which is very rarely used, in part because one player doesn't have all the builds. (yes there is a way to email or bluetooth them across, but it doesn't happen)

For a time, the app also had views for use by DM's. It took into account the damage wheels, and calculated what the each player needed to slide to score a hit, included bard song and potions like Bull's Strength. It was never used, and was removed after a couple years, so no, technology is not the answer.

lazlo_hollyfeld1985 wrote: if the coaches get to comfortable using technology...then it crashes...then what..


I have thrown this one around...eliminate 6th level treasure (come up with something else)
then, use the 1 extra treasure pull for having the card filled out(one for every player)
better incentive to do it...more people will

When the inventors of the telegraph further invented the telephone, they had no idea what to do with it...In fact, they said it would never be used for business so we need to simply have a place to go to just use a phone...none suggested that it would be in anyone's home...or it would be in family conversations...and certainly at the time, no one considered they would be able to carry one with them...

I guess my point is...perhaps we need to think through how we overcome the devOps obstacles in our mind and consider the benefits of the customer experience. From observation, I am watching an entire country (India) change their focus...before, they would hire 50 people to do something by hand...today clients do not hire anyone because the client became self-sufficient and their customer's ability to do "self service" with assisted checks of tech enhanced the position going forward for the client. Improved customer experience, improved revenue, improved profitability...

Cranston wrote: Just FYI. The app already has a party card capability included, which is very rarely used, in part because one player doesn't have all the builds. (yes there is a way to email or bluetooth them across, but it doesn't happen)

For a time, the app also had views for use by DM's. It took into account the damage wheels, and calculated what the each player needed to slide to score a hit, included bard song and potions like Bull's Strength. It was never used, and was removed after a couple years, so no, technology is not the answer.

Yes, I have investigated the app deeply and am seeing where it was an ambition, but again, the intuitive nature of it is missing...for example, the user interface should look just like the placemat...that makes the new player get the same tactile experience...and they should scroll through the tokens and drag-and-drop....it is teaching the new player how to use the app...use the placemat and learn how to see easily what is to be done...

granted, the PHONE surface is not a sufficient amount of space for this...it requires a larger apparatus such as an iPad or Surface

OK....BACK TO PAPER PARTY CARD.


Another thought is a format thing...for example, to speed things up, having the app able to print a "ribbon" which is then placed over the top of the row for that player. It can have more interesting details that I watch coaches sometimes write...often times miss.

Now as a player, doing the app causes more data to be clearly stated on the party card. for the DM...it is easier to read as well the fine print notes added...for example...knowing on the party card that the player has the power to crit constructs is important and not a "device" to give away during combat...

I had such a situation where crit was not happening and I wasn't getting it counted...one DM missed two slides of crit...and I asked why...he said..."unless you have something ...to negate critical immunity"...which I did...again, I was new (second convention)...so I didn't understand as much as I do now.

Anyway...if paper fine...back to the real question of improving party card creation...but for the end-goal of player experience (especially newbies)

Jamie Campbell wrote:

Cranston wrote: Just FYI. The app already has a party card capability included, which is very rarely used, in part because one player doesn't have all the builds. (yes there is a way to email or bluetooth them across, but it doesn't happen)

For a time, the app also had views for use by DM's. It took into account the damage wheels, and calculated what the each player needed to slide to score a hit, included bard song and potions like Bull's Strength. It was never used, and was removed after a couple years, so no, technology is not the answer.

Yes, I have investigated the app deeply and am seeing where it was an ambition, but again, the intuitive nature of it is missing...for example, the user interface should look just like the placemat...that makes the new player get the same tactile experience...and they should scroll through the tokens and drag-and-drop....it is teaching the new player how to use the app...use the placemat and learn how to see easily what is to be done...

granted, the PHONE surface is not a sufficient amount of space for this...it requires a larger apparatus such as an iPad or Surface

Ugh, I'm not at all a fan of drag and dropping tokens onto a mat - that is significantly extra work to build a character for little gain - select token out of 1000s, drag it onto a location on a map, have the phone fail to recognize the drop area and have the token go back so you have to do it again. Give me texted based any day.

If I were to change the usability of the app at all, it would be to allow selection of a particular type of token - currently you select common or better, rare or better, etc. I could find tokens more quickly for a build if I could check a box for "rare only" and then a separate box for "completion" and drop my total number of, say, offhand melee tokens from 100+ to 1.

A completely unrealistic feature would be a "actually obtainable" checkbox. For example, I never see Mithral
Gauntlets for sale, so we might as well reduce the list of tokens in the hands slot and hide them for 95% of the TD players that will never be able to get them.

Endgame wrote:

Jamie Campbell wrote:

Cranston wrote: Just FYI. The app already has a party card capability included, which is very rarely used, in part because one player doesn't have all the builds. (yes there is a way to email or bluetooth them across, but it doesn't happen)

For a time, the app also had views for use by DM's. It took into account the damage wheels, and calculated what the each player needed to slide to score a hit, included bard song and potions like Bull's Strength. It was never used, and was removed after a couple years, so no, technology is not the answer.

Yes, I have investigated the app deeply and am seeing where it was an ambition, but again, the intuitive nature of it is missing...for example, the user interface should look just like the placemat...that makes the new player get the same tactile experience...and they should scroll through the tokens and drag-and-drop....it is teaching the new player how to use the app...use the placemat and learn how to see easily what is to be done...

granted, the PHONE surface is not a sufficient amount of space for this...it requires a larger apparatus such as an iPad or Surface

Ugh, I'm not at all a fan of drag and dropping tokens onto a mat - that is significantly extra work to build a character for little gain - select token out of 1000s, drag it onto a location on a map, have the phone fail to recognize the drop area and have the token go back so you have to do it again. Give me texted based any day.

If I were to change the usability of the app at all, it would be to allow selection of a particular type of token - currently you select common or better, rare or better, etc. I could find tokens more quickly for a build if I could check a box for "rare only" and then a separate box for "completion" and drop my total number of, say, offhand melee tokens from 100+ to 1.

A completely unrealistic feature would be a "actually obtainable" checkbox. For example, I never see Mithral
Gauntlets for sale, so we might as well reduce the list of tokens in the hands slot and hide them for 95% of the TD players that will never be able to get them.

" have the phone fail"....I would never develop drag and drop for a phone...iPad/Surface at minimum.