The game was largely a success. Now that I have one under my belt, I will have a better idea what to do for next year.

Party dynamics are a huge issue, but other than some immaturity (edited for PG13), the game itself went relatively well. I think next year, some party-wide ground rules need to be set in stone. (It's called TEAMWORK.)

I think everyone ended up dying at one point or another, but at least a couple of us made it out in the end.

I had a great time again this year.  The Legio-IX crew run an outstanding high level game.

You know, we never did get to go toe to toe with the assassin.  Maybe that will be next years adventure.

Or we travel to hell to find and kill that demon for good. I seem to remember them being a bit stronger in their home plane.

 Made some more good Gencon memories that night, thanks all.  In the future I think I'll avoid fighting ghosts from the Ravensloft setting

My suggestions:

1) You should stress that potential players create their characters using the spell and magic item encyclopedias. Without these books the characters will be woefully underpowered.

2) The game needs more structure to ensure player cohesion. While unselfish players can play chaotic neutral or evil alignments without a problem, lessor players too often use these alignments as an excuse to ruin other player's enjoyment of the game. While some players will take the power game as a team challenge, other's invariably will come with a PvP mindset. This brought a lot of anger to the ending of the game.

I know I only really had the PHB and DMG to work from. I picked up a couple items from the Complete Book of Thieves, but everything else was straight out of the main books. All the other books I had at home were 1st edition AD&D, and there were some differences (like Unearthed Arcana is not allowed). I have the Tome of Magic, but I never really used it because I don't play caster classes. Way too much memorization for me, and too many inter-relations. That's why I stopped playing M:tG.

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You should stress that potential players create their characters using the spell and magic item encyclopedias. Without these books the characters will be woefully underpowered.

I suggested this here:  http://community.gencon.com/forums/p/13979/182024.aspx#182024, but the information probably got buried.  But yes, you're correct, if you walk in with only the items from the DMG, the chances of survival are small.

Draven:

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You should stress that potential players create their characters using the spell and magic item encyclopedias. Without these books the characters will be woefully underpowered.

 

I suggested this here:  http://community.gencon.com/forums/p/13979/182024.aspx#182024, but the information probably got buried.  But yes, you're correct, if you walk in with only the items from the DMG, the chances of survival are small.

Hey I only had items from the DMG and I, oh wait.  Never mind

There is one other thing though that can go a long way towards staying alive even without the more exotic stuff.  Stay with the folk who have the exotic stuff.  Going it alone when you know your outgunned just to prove a point is like taking a stroll through East St. Louis at midnight to show how bad crime is.  Your point might well be made but is it really going to matter anymore?  

Draven:

facade:

You should stress that potential players create their characters using the spell and magic item encyclopedias. Without these books the characters will be woefully underpowered.

 

I suggested this here:  http://community.gencon.com/forums/p/13979/182024.aspx#182024, but the information probably got buried.  But yes, you're correct, if you walk in with only the items from the DMG, the chances of survival are small.

I believe it should be part of the event description, not everyone reads these forums or has prior experience with the game.

RedWizard:

Draven:

facade:

You should stress that potential players create their characters using the spell and magic item encyclopedias. Without these books the characters will be woefully underpowered.

 

I suggested this here:  http://community.gencon.com/forums/p/13979/182024.aspx#182024, but the information probably got buried.  But yes, you're correct, if you walk in with only the items from the DMG, the chances of survival are small.

 

Hey I only had items from the DMG and I, oh wait.  Never mind

There is one other thing though that can go a long way towards staying alive even without the more exotic stuff.  Stay with the folk who have the exotic stuff.  Going it alone when you know your outgunned just to prove a point is like taking a stroll through East St. Louis at midnight to show how bad crime is.  Your point might well be made but is it really going to matter anymore?  

The trouble with this is that unless you come with a group it can be difficult to know who you can trust. The moment my character died he was robbed of his items by a party member(s).

facade:

RedWizard:

Draven:

facade:

You should stress that potential players create their characters using the spell and magic item encyclopedias. Without these books the characters will be woefully underpowered.

 

I suggested this here:  http://community.gencon.com/forums/p/13979/182024.aspx#182024, but the information probably got buried.  But yes, you're correct, if you walk in with only the items from the DMG, the chances of survival are small.

 

Hey I only had items from the DMG and I, oh wait.  Never mind

There is one other thing though that can go a long way towards staying alive even without the more exotic stuff.  Stay with the folk who have the exotic stuff.  Going it alone when you know your outgunned just to prove a point is like taking a stroll through East St. Louis at midnight to show how bad crime is.  Your point might well be made but is it really going to matter anymore?  

The trouble with this is that unless you come with a group it can be difficult to know who you can trust. The moment my character died he was robbed of his items by a party member(s).

Part and parcel of doing games at conventions is that you will most often be in groups composed of players you do not know.  I go into all games with the idea that I can trust the players to play to their character's personality and morals as opposed to their own in real life.  If the character's would strip the dead of valuables which they themselves can in turn use to survive I see nothing out of character in such an action.  Likewise I see the players as having done nothing wrong.  Obviously if the character is Lawful Good, thats another issue.  A player assuming the valuables should stay with their deceased character simply because the player of the deceased believes he can be brought back to life later in the game is meta gaming. That said, this idea of having to have OOC trust in the other players before you could yourself be a party player may be a sign that you as a player have trust issues and perhaps convention gaming is not for you seeing as a prerequisite of such gaming is to have trust in the other players.  Perhaps keeping your gaming within your regular group is a better option for you.  

At the end of the day, Legio-IX gave the information he was required to give.  He announced several times where players participating in the event could find the guidelines to his game on his web site.  The web site stated specifically what books would and would not be used.  It was also stated numerous times that this would be a dangerous adventure where experience with the edition would play a key role to survival.  It is the player's responsibility to take in all this info and then do their own research within the materials that have been stated as available for use. It is not the GM's role to indicate his favorite books in the event description.  Again, I reiterate, the info and warnings that this event was aimed at people who already knew where in 2nd edition to look for the best items was spelled out in the event description...

"We cannot stress enough, this game is a nightmare meant to challenge the very best players. Check the Gen Con forums and if the veterans of this game can't scare you off, whoot fresh meat! See website for char creation details."

So when you signed up, it was already assumed by those running the event you had read and understood their expectations. 

facade:

RedWizard:

Draven:

facade:

You should stress that potential players create their characters using the spell and magic item encyclopedias. Without these books the characters will be woefully underpowered.

 

I suggested this here:  http://community.gencon.com/forums/p/13979/182024.aspx#182024, but the information probably got buried.  But yes, you're correct, if you walk in with only the items from the DMG, the chances of survival are small.

 

Hey I only had items from the DMG and I, oh wait.  Never mind

There is one other thing though that can go a long way towards staying alive even without the more exotic stuff.  Stay with the folk who have the exotic stuff.  Going it alone when you know your outgunned just to prove a point is like taking a stroll through East St. Louis at midnight to show how bad crime is.  Your point might well be made but is it really going to matter anymore?  

The trouble with this is that unless you come with a group it can be difficult to know who you can trust. The moment my character died he was robbed of his items by a party member(s).

I'm not sure as to why you need to know who you can "trust". That should be played out as a factor of the role-playing, which is usually done pretty well. As for the items, it does state in the event description that all books can be used except the ones that Legio had specifically listed. If you've played using those books, then you know there are some border-line awesomely powered items in them. If you haven't played with them, you can easily get the PDFs from Paizo. I personally for Mike's games have nvere used anything that wasn't in the DMG and survived to the bitter end in his last game. A certain staff can be your best friend as a caster. Take that as you will, you cretins

I really wish I could have made the game, but once Bubba need shock trauma and the wife took him, I wasn't about to bring my 3 year old into that den of destruction.....I can only imagine the horrors he would have committed on you poor people.

RedWizard:

Part and parcel of doing games at conventions is that you will most often be in groups composed of players you do not know.  I go into all games with the idea that I can trust the players to play to their character's personality and morals as opposed to their own in real life.  If the character's would strip the dead of valuables which they themselves can in turn use to survive I see nothing out of character in such an action.  Likewise I see the players as having done nothing wrong.  Obviously if the character is Lawful Good, thats another issue.  A player assuming the valuables should stay with their deceased character simply because the player of the deceased believes he can be brought back to life later in the game is meta gaming. That said, this idea of having to have OOC trust in the other players before you could yourself be a party player may be a sign that you as a player have trust issues and perhaps convention gaming is not for you seeing as a prerequisite of such gaming is to have trust in the other players.  Perhaps keeping your gaming within your regular group is a better option for you.  

At the end of the day, Legio-IX gave the information he was required to give.  He announced several times where players participating in the event could find the guidelines to his game on his web site.  The web site stated specifically what books would and would not be used.  It was also stated numerous times that this would be a dangerous adventure where experience with the edition would play a key role to survival.  It is the player's responsibility to take in all this info and then do their own research within the materials that have been stated as available for use. It is not the GM's role to indicate his favorite books in the event description.  Again, I reiterate, the info and warnings that this event was aimed at people who already knew where in 2nd edition to look for the best items was spelled out in the event description...

"We cannot stress enough, this game is a nightmare meant to challenge the very best players. Check the Gen Con forums and if the veterans of this game can't scare you off, whoot fresh meat! See website for char creation details."

So when you signed up, it was already assumed by those running the event you had read and understood their expectations. 

There is nothing OOC with a character stealing provided it matches his alignment. It is more a matter of respect for the other players. Just because one's alignment allows them to do it does not mean that they should do it. If a game is designed to be PvP then this kind of behavior is expected. If a game is designed to be cooperative then stealing and attacking other players is just disrespectful to the other players no matter what alignment you are playing. It too often leads to harsh feelings. The game got real ugly at the end and I was threatened with physical violence by another player.

But this is only my opinion and not really relevent to the point I was trying to make.

I merely mentioned my plight because those whose characters are under-powered can not always rely on the protection of the other characters. Those who strip bodies and start in-fights aren't likely to help the weaker characters. So when you don't know anyone and there are a number of players with that mindset it isn't so easy to "stay with the folk with the exotic stuff".

It isn't the DMs duty to mention the books but I think the game would benefit if they did. Having players in the game that aren't using the necessary resources doesn't benefit anyone (except players with a PvP mindset).

I've played a lot of 2nd Ed.  The first time I played in Legio's game, I was ill-prepared too.  I just happened to have a lucky roll of the dice to stave off universal destruction.  Just learn from this as to what is expected of you as a PC and what you can expect from the Legio IX crew.

Two years ago, I played a thief and looted a PC's body.  He was in some sort of whizbang stasis spell and none of us thought he would get out.  This guy stayed and watched for several hours until we found a way to free him.  He asked for his stuff back and I gave it to him because we needed another person wielding a sword for the final battle.  It all has to do with your PC's goals, along with alignment. 

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RedWizard:

Part and parcel of doing games at conventions is that you will most often be in groups composed of players you do not know.  I go into all games with the idea that I can trust the players to play to their character's personality and morals as opposed to their own in real life.  If the character's would strip the dead of valuables which they themselves can in turn use to survive I see nothing out of character in such an action.  Likewise I see the players as having done nothing wrong.  Obviously if the character is Lawful Good, thats another issue.  A player assuming the valuables should stay with their deceased character simply because the player of the deceased believes he can be brought back to life later in the game is meta gaming. That said, this idea of having to have OOC trust in the other players before you could yourself be a party player may be a sign that you as a player have trust issues and perhaps convention gaming is not for you seeing as a prerequisite of such gaming is to have trust in the other players.  Perhaps keeping your gaming within your regular group is a better option for you.  

At the end of the day, Legio-IX gave the information he was required to give.  He announced several times where players participating in the event could find the guidelines to his game on his web site.  The web site stated specifically what books would and would not be used.  It was also stated numerous times that this would be a dangerous adventure where experience with the edition would play a key role to survival.  It is the player's responsibility to take in all this info and then do their own research within the materials that have been stated as available for use. It is not the GM's role to indicate his favorite books in the event description.  Again, I reiterate, the info and warnings that this event was aimed at people who already knew where in 2nd edition to look for the best items was spelled out in the event description...

"We cannot stress enough, this game is a nightmare meant to challenge the very best players. Check the Gen Con forums and if the veterans of this game can't scare you off, whoot fresh meat! See website for char creation details."

So when you signed up, it was already assumed by those running the event you had read and understood their expectations. 

There is nothing OOC with a character stealing provided it matches his alignment. It is more a matter of respect for the other players. Just because one's alignment allows them to do it does not mean that they should do it. If a game is designed to be PvP then this kind of behavior is expected. If a game is designed to be cooperative then stealing and attacking other players is just disrespectful to the other players no matter what alignment you are playing. It too often leads to harsh feelings. The game got real ugly at the end and I was threatened with physical violence by another player.

But this is only my opinion and not really relevent to the point I was trying to make.

I merely mentioned my plight because those whose characters are under-powered can not always rely on the protection of the other characters. Those who strip bodies and start in-fights aren't likely to help the weaker characters. So when you don't know anyone and there are a number of players with that mindset it isn't so easy to "stay with the folk with the exotic stuff".

It isn't the DMs duty to mention the books but I think the game would benefit if they did. Having players in the game that aren't using the necessary resources doesn't benefit anyone (except players with a PvP mindset).

 

I guess I just don't see what other resources you needed provided other than what Legio and his website/event description provided? The first year I played, I used only those instructions, DMG items only, and managed to produce a pretty nice stand up Mage/Cleric. Legio and his group can't direct you to every resource 2nd edition has, that's far to subjective as it mainly plays to your gaming style. I've known players who could take 3 ioun stones, and a +1 mace to the Abyss and come back smiling, while others could peruse the Encylopedia of Magica for decades and still get no benefit from it. I guess it mainly comes down to playing what you are comfortable with. If you haven't had much experience with High-Level Extreme Gaming then this was a learning experience and no reason to feel like you didn't perform well...as long as you learned about the other resources, and had some fun gaming...that's what matters.

I originally looked at a Fighter / Mage / Thief, but decided to stay way away from the casting classes because I knew they would be out of my league. The PHB alone would not have the spells I needed to be uber in an uber campaign, and it had been so long since I played that I didn't want to chance not remembering most of the magic rules.

All, I would like to offer my sincere appologies for missing this, trust me when I say that no one wanted to be there more than I did, but I was really sick Friday and in no shape what so ever to play, hopefully next year.

BHT is a liar.  He was watching a Cartoon Network marathon.

 Thanks to all who came out and played, we really enjoy putting on the game and the performance of most of the new players was very good. Red wizard comes right to mind, he worked some nice magic while staying true to his character build. Astep made a good choice, keep it simple is the way to go if you are unsure. Keep in mind the three spells with the most impact in the game, stasis, speak with dead and disjunktion where phb spells.Draven of course was prepared as a veteran should be, this also served to highlight the desparity in vetrans and beginners. No matter how we stress expert, there always seem to be some who show up whofully unprepared. In light of this future games will likely be invitation only. We may run a preliminary tourney as a qualifyer or just use a referral/ mentor program.

The video guy is in Austrailia so it will be a month before it goes on the site, they are pretty entertainning.