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What's this housing lottery python script you speak of?
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# ? Aug 10, 2016 19:48 |
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# ? May 31, 2024 11:16 |
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GenCon post-mortem: The wife and I met goons Wednesday at the Tilted Kilt. Congratulations - you got us farther along on the path to drunk than we had been for a long time! (note to others - if you hang with goons at GenCon, I hope your liver is prepared or you brought a replacement one) We were, however, sorely disappointed that new management at the Colts Grille seems to think that scheduling trivia on Thursday, when they have to compete with the entire convention, is a good idea. Shout out to the goons who made Make America d8 Again happen! Thursday we avoided the dealer's hall madness and enjoyed a slow breakfast. We were very amused to hear that the VIGs bought every single copy of SeaFall before the doors even opened to the general public. Plaid Hat seems to really get off on having a game sell out the first day and ensuring they have no more stock for the rest of the convention. We eventually went to the dealer's hall and bought ~$75 worth of tea and talked with Greg Stolze for the first time at the convention. We playtested the Delta Green scenario The Star Chamber (which he wrote) for him and Shane Ivey, so we had a lot to talk about! Picked up a copy of Trail of Cthulhu for a friend, and also bought both expansions for Galaxy Trucker. In addition, I picked up Call of Cthulhu 7th in hardback. A different friend (one who came to the con with us) bought Mansions of Madness. We were scheduled for a Trail of Cthulhu session that afternoon/evening, but the GM backed out and didn't tell anybody. Apparently, Pelgrane Press caught wind of this and were quite upset. Instead, we played Mansions of Madness. First impressions - it is goooooooood. It's probably the best app-boardgame integration I've seen, and definitely a welcome one since it frees everyone to play the game and enables FFG to randomize the game for replay value. My wife and I also made copious amounts of soap that day at a hand-pour soapmaking event filed under 'spousal activities'. Friday we enjoyed a slow breakfast again and went off to the Tango (the dance) event at around noon. We then went around the dealer's hall again where I met Scott Glancy, Robin Laws, and Rob Heinsoo. I really liked talking to Scott Glancy and Rob Heinsoo is pretty much the coolest designer ever. Robin Laws is definitely one of those awe-inspiring figures in the RPG world, but he's a little harder to engage in conversation. I am inclined to blame that on him needing to be at so many different events and seminars at the convention more than anything, though. Picked up A Distant Plain from CSI. Later that evening we played a six-group Call of Cthulhu 6th edition scenario called 'Horror on New Year's Eve'. I have many stories to tell about this scenario, but it would be a hideously long read. Needless to say though my wife, my friend, and I enjoyed it. Saturday was a bit rushed, as we forgot to set the alarm clock and had to race to our first session, The Cthulhu 500. All in all, I really like how CoC 7th is actually a new edition compared to the changes from 5th to 6th. Also, the books are goddamn gorgeous compared to CoC 6th, which is a bit of an ugly book in many respects. I give all props to Sandy Petersen for actually getting CoC 7th made, printed, and shipped out the door in the condition (color pages, illustrations, etc.) as promised in the Kickstarter. At any rate, the scenario was great and as the Nosy Neighbor I went temporarily nuts and hid myself in a closet since the window was not an option available to me. I also may have made off with a vial of cocaine and a vial of laudanum, all the while presented the crooked ledgers to the police. I also played in a One Ring session as part of a group of Rohirrim, and the One Ring system is certainly interesting. Although I think we were somewhat hobbled by not having a diverse fellowship. Regardless, we then finished the night by playing THE STAR CHAMBER for Delta Green 2nd with a really cool keeper and a good fourth player. For those who weren't able to make it despite my GroupMe pings, you missed out on a very cool session. Greg Stolze really went all-out on writing the scenario and it's an amazing piece of player-driven role-playing (to the point where it's almost performance art). I started and finished Sunday quickly by blitzing the Arc Dream booth where I got Shane Ivey, Greg Stolze, and Dennis Detwiller to sign my Keeper's Screen for Delta Green (Scott Glancy signed it on Friday). Scott Glancy also gave me my Delta Green scenario book which I bought from him on Friday and promptly forgot at the booth - he is also awesome for remembering me and getting it back to me! I also made a mad dash for Pelgrane to get Rob Heinsoo to sign my copy of 13th Age which I had him sign right there, and I also met Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan very briefly and found myself immediately thrown off by his thick Irish brogue. I am not thrown off, however, by the good work he's done for Paranoia (which I thanked him for). This was my third year at GenCon, and I think it's the closest my wife and I have come to doing it 'right' in our book. I'm happy to elaborate on anything anyone is curious about anything I've seen/done/bought.
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# ? Aug 10, 2016 20:26 |
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Who are all those name drops?
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# ? Aug 10, 2016 21:07 |
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Junkie Disease posted:Who are all those name drops? They are RPG designers and writers, which makes them cool and good. Of note and in no particular order: Rob Heinsoo - D&D 4th, 13th Age, and apparently Legendary: Big Trouble in Little China, which was emblazoned on everyone's lanyards. Also worked on King of Dragon Pass. Robin Laws: GUMSHOE System, Trail of Cthulhu, Esoterrorists Scott Glancy: Delta Green, head of Pagan Publishing Greg Stolze: Unknown Armies, Reign, Delta Green 2nd Dennis Detwiller: Delta Green, Godlike, now works at Monte Cook Games Shane Ivey: Delta Green, Godlike Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan: Paranoia, Esoterrorists If you want someone else I met who is much less obscure, then... Eugene Mirman: Comedian, Bob's Burgers
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# ? Aug 10, 2016 21:18 |
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Texibus posted:Any of y'all VIG, thinking about maybe putting my hat in the lottery, not sure if it's worth. But after getting a taste of that Skywalk I don't know if I can go back. I've been a VIG since the second year it was available. Not having to worry about the room lottery is easily worth the extra cost.
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# ? Aug 10, 2016 21:27 |
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LuiCypher posted:They are RPG designers and writers, which makes them cool and good. Of note and in no particular order: Haha i went to the booth that owned the rights to Kind of Dragon pass, was nice to see that IP is being worked on. Played a simple game with them and helped them playtest it a bit.
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# ? Aug 10, 2016 21:29 |
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Glorantha is quite alive and well, indeed. It would also appear that Rob is working on 13th Age in Glorantha as we speak!
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# ? Aug 10, 2016 21:42 |
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I didn't realize the Feng Shui 2 people were at Gen Con. I tried to find the FS2 core book at one of the resellers but didn't have any luck--ended up ordering it via Amazon on my drive home. I'm bummed I didn't get to stop by their booth and chat them up.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 00:22 |
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Who else caught the con crud this year? It hit me last night pretty hard. I blame you lot, as I didn't hang around any other nerds.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 00:34 |
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Nerdstank is an aura of infectiousness
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 01:00 |
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I just started to rebound from the GenPlague. Rough this year.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 01:10 |
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Bottom Liner posted:Who else caught the con crud this year? It hit me last night pretty hard. I blame you lot, as I didn't hang around any other nerds. I caught it last year and lost my entire Saturday. I was envious of the folks who got it and didn't have it effect them until after the con.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 01:13 |
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Bottom Liner posted:Who else caught the con crud this year? It hit me last night pretty hard. I blame you lot, as I didn't hang around any other nerds. I avoided goons and hung with my group of friends and we gamified showering for the one guy who is gross, and did not get sick. I would not trust goons to wash their hands
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 01:31 |
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Travel hand sanitizer. All. Day. Long.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 01:32 |
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Philthy posted:Travel hand sanitizer. that's how I stay drunk but how do I keep from getting sick?
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 01:33 |
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Sigma-X posted:that's how I stay drunk but how do I keep from getting sick? So much more inconspicuous than a flask. Bottom Liner posted:Who else caught the con crud this year? It hit me last night pretty hard. I blame you lot, as I didn't hang around any other nerds. I didn't get sick, but one of my friends started to at the con. He made the long walk to CVS only to discover that they'd closed 30 minutes earlier. He bounced back fairly well after. But in addition to hand sanitizer, I tend to bring zinc-infused lozenges, NyQuil, probiotics, etc. Even an edge from the placebo effect is fine if it lets me do more at GenCon (or not get sick after). I bothered most of the same writers as LuiCypher. Talking to Kenneth Hite on Saturday was fun as he was riding high from the Ennies sweep the night before. I have to be careful hanging around the Pelgrane Booth, though, because a brief conversation with Steve Dempsey made me really want two books that aren't even fully written yet. I also tracked down Dennis Detwiller at Monte Cook Games and discovered that the Carcosa-centric scenario I'd just run my players through (Night Floors) is getting a follow-up that's being playtested by the Role Playing Public Radio crew. So many of my favorite things in one place. Great GenCon overall. Games were great, exhibition hall was overwhelming, good times were had.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 01:39 |
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I came away clean. It must have been the Leini's
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 02:05 |
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My lust for Saag Paneer inoculated me from Con Crud. We have one in our group that was however nailed. Obviously due to not ingesting enough indian foods. Those games you namedropped developers for sound neat. I know jack poo poo about the lot of them. If I had to pick one, which would it be?
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 02:44 |
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Bottom Liner posted:Who else caught the con crud this year? It hit me last night pretty hard. I blame you lot, as I didn't hang around any other nerds. Runny nose and snot throat for me. Worst of it was on the 14 hour drive back (thank god for car pool). Surprisingly minimal haul for me this year but got to play good games with fun people and my suitcase of games all sold so eh.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 03:15 |
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Yup, my nose is raw from blowing it and my throat is on fire. I have a long three days of work ahead starting tomorrow too. drat.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 03:24 |
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I made it out with no sickness at all. In other news my wife got a hold of my program and saw all the different crafting seminars and were already planning a trip next year together.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 04:10 |
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I noticed quite a few people just ... coughing out into the open, not covering mouths or anything. I also caught a lot of cropdusting. I guess the crowd noise covers it up.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 04:53 |
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Red posted:I noticed quite a few people just ... coughing out into the open, not covering mouths or anything. Most people I saw were firing out of both ends. MTG players are pretty much smog machines.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 07:42 |
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Sore throat and nose that's doing marathons here. Hit me hard on Monday night and I think I'm just now on the rebound.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 10:45 |
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By the way - where can one find the solutions to puzzles from True Dungeon?
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 13:28 |
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I had a bit of a cough but it went away pretty quickly. I mostly stuck with my friends and was pretty liberal with the hand sanitizer. I was also not using the full spectrum of allergy meds I have to use at home so it might have been that too. I didn't run anything this year but played in some games. Next year I'll have to run a bunch of stuff since getting into a game is getting harder and harder. I should conceivably have more free time and be set into my new job by then to develop and playtest some scenarios. It's also going to be the 50th Gencon so I think it'll be pretty crazy to boot. A number of games I want to run as one shots should also be out by then or in a more complete state too because it was kind of a weird in between year for RPG's.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 13:29 |
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Red posted:By the way - where can one find the solutions to puzzles from True Dungeon? True Dungeon puzzles will be posted online in a few days. If you have any specific questions though I know the answers to most if not all.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 14:38 |
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Radio Free Walrus posted:True Dungeon puzzles will be posted online in a few days. If you have any specific questions though I know the answers to most if not all. So we did 'Behold Her Majesty'. - The first puzzle was the cogs with letters and buttons underneath. You had to form a chain with eight buttons, or something, and the hint was 'What is a dark elf kidnapper's favorite weapon?'. We were completely lost, though the DM for the room said we had part of it right - we tried forming a literal human chain spelling out trapdoor. We each took some damage and moved on. - The next puzzle was a room with a panel that had valves, knobs, and switches. Then a wall had ropes attached to boards with letters - pulling the rope brought the board to a level, and you could spell out words across 8 boards (turn knob, etc.). Everybody just stood there and kept playing with the board, and just decided to try something random. We took damage and moved on. - Third was the demon woman who beat us up. Oh well. Took damage and moved on. - Next was the puzzle that had a board with creature names and symbols, and a chart of the creature characteristics. The only clue was the DM repeating "Focus". We had no clue. We took damage and moved on. - Next was the puzzle where you had panels on which you placed a laser lamp, and had to reflect it off a light and hit another panel. We couldn't get it. we took damage and moved on. - Then we had to drape chain links across tiny urns, but ran out of time. People not paying attention got us shocked for damage, and I died. Survivors took damage and moved on. - Finally, the boss, which took no thought - we just did shuffleboard. DM revived us all, but we all got wiped out. I might be missing a puzzle room, but each room was basically each person just doing their own thing, and trying the same thing over and over (and failing). The people who weren't in our group didn't really communicate. I wouldn't do this again unless we could do only our group.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 15:22 |
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Red posted:So we did 'Behold Her Majesty'. Drow's Sap Read the boards that came up, there was also the password clue in the previous room. Slide pucks better. Don't remember. Don't remember. Didn't solve this one, but the spinning light in the middle was a clue on how you had to put the chain on the things. Slide pucks better. Remember to use class skills. Heal.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 15:34 |
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pakman posted:Drow's Sap What the gently caress
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 15:47 |
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pakman posted:Drow's Sap Okay, how the gently caress was anyone supposed to guess that? quote:Read the boards that came up, there was also the password clue in the previous room. My group got pretty far, but got stuck trying to come up with the name for all the doodads. Sucks that getting partial success didn't reduce damage (my group was playing on Nightmare for some reason) quote:Slide pucks better. Actually didn't have too much trouble with this one quote:Don't remember. The one with the symbols we were just figuring out the full mechanics when time ran out. The laser one guy solved in like a minute. quote:Didn't solve this one, but the spinning light in the middle was a clue on how you had to put the chain on the things. Again, we were making good progress when time ran out, and it would have been nice if damage was reduced to account for that. quote:Slide pucks better. Remember to use class skills. Heal. At Nightmare difficulty, my group could only hit the Beholder on 20s. And since we were taking 15 damage per failed puzzle, we were short on healing items. We ultimately wiped on time. Overall not the best first impression of True Dungeon.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 15:58 |
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What does it spell backwards? I think that was hinted at by a clue on the wall of the room. Edit: why were you playing on anything other than normal for you first time? Edit 2: In one of the rooms, the GM mentioned that the puzzles were being designed for a 70% completion rate or something. pakman fucked around with this message at 16:03 on Aug 11, 2016 |
# ? Aug 11, 2016 15:59 |
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Red posted:- The first puzzle was the cogs with letters and buttons underneath. You had to form a chain with eight buttons, or something, and the hint was 'What is a dark elf kidnapper's favorite weapon?'. We were completely lost, though the DM for the room said we had part of it right - we tried forming a literal human chain spelling out trapdoor. We each took some damage and moved on. Red posted:- The next puzzle was a room with a panel that had valves, knobs, and switches. Then a wall had ropes attached to boards with letters - pulling the rope brought the board to a level, and you could spell out words across 8 boards (turn knob, etc.). Everybody just stood there and kept playing with the board, and just decided to try something random. We took damage and moved on. Red posted:- Next was the puzzle that had a board with creature names and symbols, and a chart of the creature characteristics. The only clue was the DM repeating "Focus". We had no clue. We took damage and moved on. Red posted:- Next was the puzzle where you had panels on which you placed a laser lamp, and had to reflect it off a light and hit another panel. We couldn't get it. we took damage and moved on.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 16:01 |
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SirPhoebos posted:At Nightmare difficulty, my group could only hit the Beholder on 20s. And since we were taking 15 damage per failed puzzle, we were short on healing items. We ultimately wiped on time. What in the heck were you doing in there on nightmare. That's crazy talk for a first run.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 16:02 |
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I literally cannot remember the laser or monster symbol puzzles. Granted i was basically half asleep because the people i was sharing a hotel room with decided to watch a movie at 1am. Edit: were you doing the puzzle one or the combat one because that might explain why i don't remember those puzzles. I did the combat one. pakman fucked around with this message at 16:08 on Aug 11, 2016 |
# ? Aug 11, 2016 16:06 |
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Radio Free Walrus posted:What in the heck were you doing in there on nightmare. That's crazy talk for a first run. There were a couple of vets that convinced us all because we get one extra loot token afterwards. And despite wiping we got both tokens, so yay, I guess? EDIT: What was the actual completion rate this year?
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 16:06 |
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I do not know on that one, my guess is we'll hear about it in the next few weeks. The completion rate is pretty variable, as if a combat is deemed to difficult they get toned down very quickly during the con. One of my friend's first times being an NPC last year resulted in drow-related TPKs for the first day and then basically none the next. Also, honestly while getting more tokens is great, actually having an enjoyable time is way more important. Our first run of the con was a little mediocre due to milquetoast NPC drow lady and a broken drum sound effect, but our last one was great with singing succubi, a dude in a sweet fallen angel costume, and friendly GMs. Does anyone need Deeperdark puzzle solutions? I've got a rough outline of those in my head too at the moment.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 16:16 |
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Yeah the last one with all the weapons in the room, how was that solved? Our portal exploded.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 16:36 |
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It'll do that. Basically if you did last year's final puzzle this one was pretty easy, because it was all about the names. Each one of the weapons in the room had different names, each with a different number of letters. As such, you'd start with Axe (3) and then work your way up with things like Mace (4) Spear (5) Dagger (6) .... until you reached whatever the final weapon was. The DM should've let you keep going after the first explosion, in normal it does damage, HC it immediately kills whoever did the wand but I thought you were able to try again.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 16:42 |
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# ? May 31, 2024 11:16 |
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Radio Free Walrus posted:I do not know on that one, my guess is we'll hear about it in the next few weeks. The completion rate is pretty variable, as if a combat is deemed to difficult they get toned down very quickly during the con. One of my friend's first times being an NPC last year resulted in drow-related TPKs for the first day and then basically none the next. Our succubus sounded half-asleep, and it was the first day of the con . And honestly, not losing half my HP wouldn't have diminished the frustration from not being able to finish any puzzle, save for one that one guy solved in a minute.
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# ? Aug 11, 2016 16:45 |