LAIR ASSAULT IS FINALLY HERE!!!... then again, I'm not, so what am I so excited about?? :P
No, but really, I guess I belong to that hated group of gamers who really enjoy power gaming and optimization. I think a lot of us math nerds get our kicks through stuff like this. The strategies and tactics of power gaming can be so much fun, are you in?
Today, August 22nd, Wizards released a bit more news talking about their Lair Assault program and exactly what that would entail. The game sounds like it is going to be a barrel of fun. I would love to be the DM running that, but at the same time, I think I would love to run through it once as a player first, mainly to see if I am up to the challenge, and can actually get through all those waves of killer monsters in what could be one of the most difficult encounters that WotC has put out.
Needless to say, I will be keeping my eyes out for copies of the DM kit as they show up on Ebay and used book stores/game shops. I hope people enjoy the encounters and come home wary from the thrill of total party annihilation.
If I have the time, I might post some of my favorite optimized character concepts for your collective perusal. Also, if you happen to be reading this blog and plan on partaking in this event, I encourage you to post links to your optimized character for the full benefit of the world at large. We would love to see what you have in store for Forge of the Dawn Titan!
Showing posts with label optimization. Show all posts
Showing posts with label optimization. Show all posts
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
News: New Wizards Organized Play Announced, Fortune Cards Mentioned
Ok. It appears that we are now finding out what these much talked about Fortune Cards are going to be required for in terms of Wizards Organized Play of D&D 4e and I am actually moderately excited. Yesterday, Wizards sent out this announcement, detailing the following:
Ok. So. This actually sounds interesting in several ways. It appears that we will actually be having an Organized Play event which is based around power gaming. This event sounds like it will be an opportunity for groups of hard-core power gaming enthusiasts to build an optimized party at home, bring that party to the table, and do your best to WIN the game.
I have always said that Power Gamers are a part of the market for gaming; you might not like them very much and sometimes they might be a pain to have at the table, but you can't deny that a portion of this hobby, especially D&D 4e is populated by the power gaming folks. I have a side of me that loves power gaming as many people know. I started playing D&D through essentially gauntlet style team based player vs. player events.
This event sounds like it might be something like that, but without the pvp side of things.
What this announcement also says to me is that maybe, just maybe, this type of game is going to be somewhat tournament style. It also may in fact have some kind of reward involved, as many tournament style events do. If the cost to play in a D&D tournament is essentially the cost of a pack of fortune cards, I can get on board with it. I would usually pay some kind of entry fee to play in a MtG tournament or a 40k tournament. If I have to pay $5 to play in a D&D tournament, I am on board with that. I don't think I will be collecting a lot of the Fortune cards, but if that is their use, cool. I wouldn't want to use them in encounters, if the game is going to only last an hour, but if the adventure will take perhaps 3-4 hours, which is about standard for the typical tournament that I would attend (or run, which I did for years as an FLGS store manager).
So, I guess I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised. This style of game intrigues me. I hope that I can perhaps get a chance to play in or run a game of this when it comes out in September.
You can find the announcement at Wizards of the Coast
A New D&D In-Store Play Program
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you think you have what it takes to brave the fiercest foes, fight the toughest battles, and conquer the vilest enemies, we have a new D&D play experience for you! Starting in September, gather your master tacticians and rules experts together to kick down the dungeon doors and begin the assault!
The new Wizards Play Network in-store program pits tactically-minded players against a super challenging adventure where the difference between victory and defeat is dependent upon your game knowledge, ability to adapt, and a little bit of luck. You’ll pit your wits against some of the most challenging encounters you’ve ever played. Each adventure plays in just a few hours, but for many players, they’ll need to make more than one run at it in pursuit of victory. A season lasts 2 months, and stores can schedule their sessions at any time during the season.
Bring extra character sheets. Bring Fortune Cards. You’ll need them.
Begin your lair assault this September.
Ok. So. This actually sounds interesting in several ways. It appears that we will actually be having an Organized Play event which is based around power gaming. This event sounds like it will be an opportunity for groups of hard-core power gaming enthusiasts to build an optimized party at home, bring that party to the table, and do your best to WIN the game.
I have always said that Power Gamers are a part of the market for gaming; you might not like them very much and sometimes they might be a pain to have at the table, but you can't deny that a portion of this hobby, especially D&D 4e is populated by the power gaming folks. I have a side of me that loves power gaming as many people know. I started playing D&D through essentially gauntlet style team based player vs. player events.
This event sounds like it might be something like that, but without the pvp side of things.
What this announcement also says to me is that maybe, just maybe, this type of game is going to be somewhat tournament style. It also may in fact have some kind of reward involved, as many tournament style events do. If the cost to play in a D&D tournament is essentially the cost of a pack of fortune cards, I can get on board with it. I would usually pay some kind of entry fee to play in a MtG tournament or a 40k tournament. If I have to pay $5 to play in a D&D tournament, I am on board with that. I don't think I will be collecting a lot of the Fortune cards, but if that is their use, cool. I wouldn't want to use them in encounters, if the game is going to only last an hour, but if the adventure will take perhaps 3-4 hours, which is about standard for the typical tournament that I would attend (or run, which I did for years as an FLGS store manager).
So, I guess I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised. This style of game intrigues me. I hope that I can perhaps get a chance to play in or run a game of this when it comes out in September.
You can find the announcement at Wizards of the Coast
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Power Gamer Tips and Etiquette for Keeping the Game Fun for Everyone
If you were wondering, I am a bit of a Power Gamer when it comes to D&D 4e. If the title of my blog, The Dump Stat, doesn’t clue you in, the survey over there to your right (which has been going on for over a year now, and will continue to go on for over a year) should really make that obvious.
I started playing D&D back in middle school/high school. While we did get together for games of 3.0 and later 3.5 after school and during lunch (I think the D&D club actually shows up in the yearbook), the bulk of our time spent playing D&D was actually in the character creation process. Me and my friends would bring our books to school, not so much to play (since we had a limited amount of time), but to build awesome optimized characters. For us, we spent a lot of time trying to one up each other, finding awesome ways to make and break the rules of character creation in order to build ridiculously one-sided characters that could do things that normal characters couldn’t do.
This whole mind-set was also impacted a lot by convention gaming. There were about 4 of us who were dedicated enough to D&D that we would convince our parents to take us down to LA for Strategicon; there, our favorite events were the Team Player vs. Player event, and Player vs. Player event, run by our convention buddy Dave (who I would love to get in touch with if anybody knows what has happened to him). These two events were essentially the hub for optimized character gaming. You were given a very specific set of rules, in advance, which you had to use in order to build a really tooled out character. That character, or team of 3 characters, is then set at a massive Dungeon for about 20 hours of non-stop brutal game play. These events were challenging and a lot of fun; they cemented the power gaming ideal into my head and the heads of my friends.
Once I started playing 4th Edition D&D, not much changed. Character Optimization in 4e is a much more streamlined process because of the character builder tool, which also allowed us to share our characters. Being abroad for a year, when I was studying in Japan, I didn’t get a whole lot of time to play D&D, but I had a huge amount of spare time, so Character Optimization really turned into a great way to kill time.
But, the problem with Character Op, Min/Maxing, Power Gaming, or whatever you want to call it, is that when you take the Power Gaming from the Prep Side to the Table, you are GOING to change the dynamic of the game. I will say now that I whole-heartedly condone and support Power Gaming, but I think there are a few things that every power gamer can do, or should remember, when they are flexing their Min/Maxing muscles in order to keep the game fun, so I thought I would write up this little guide for Power Gamers, so that you can keep the game fun, but still bring your Optimized Character to the table.
#1 – Know you Party
I don’t think it can be said enough. You need to know the people you are playing with when you bring an Optimized Character to your game table. You need to know your DM very well and you also need to know your fellow players. Talk to the Players and the DM before the game starts, preferably even before you spend a ton of hours making your character. Make sure that they are OK with you bringing a power house PC to the table. If everyone is going to be doing the same thing that you are, make sure the DM is prepared to go up against a power house group of PC’s. Make sure that he is ready to challenge you and provide you with the kind of game that will allow you and your Power Gamer friends to shine.
#2 – Don’t Steal the Show
Although the most of the joy in Power Gaming comes from bringing a character to the game that can do something, or several things, really, really, well to the table, you should never make it your goal to out-do everyone else that you are playing with. If you are trying to be a Bad-ass and make your character better than everyone else’s, you are being a bad Power Gamer.
#3 – Don’t be a Rules Lawyer
You may have built your character around some rule that you felt was painfully obvious. However, you should not count on rules interpretations to always go in your favor. If you want to Power Game fine, but don’t slow the game down when a Rules adjudication doesn’t go your way; even more so, don’t adjudicate rules for other people. If you want to make a statement about a rule, don’t spend more than 1 minute doing it, and don’t do it if it doesn’t directly impact your character. Nobody likes a Rules Lawyer, they are even one step above the Power Gamer in the hierarchy of hated players (in my humble opinion).
Apart from these 3 big Etiquette points, there are some things that you can do as a Power Gamer in order to have a fun time Min/Maxing your character, but also still fit in with a party of players who may or may not be as dedicated to Character Optimization as you are. One of the easiest ways you can do this is by setting limitations on your character. Instead of trying to make a Fighter that does an incredibly high amount of DPS per round, try Min/Maxing a Fighter with an off-race that doesn’t support your primary or secondary abilities and then try to min/max within those somewhat weakened boundaries. That initial hit that you take may actually make the playing field equal.
So, take my advice and roll with it. Have fun, don’t be afraid to Min/Max, but don’t let your Character Optimization ruin anybody else’s fun.
I started playing D&D back in middle school/high school. While we did get together for games of 3.0 and later 3.5 after school and during lunch (I think the D&D club actually shows up in the yearbook), the bulk of our time spent playing D&D was actually in the character creation process. Me and my friends would bring our books to school, not so much to play (since we had a limited amount of time), but to build awesome optimized characters. For us, we spent a lot of time trying to one up each other, finding awesome ways to make and break the rules of character creation in order to build ridiculously one-sided characters that could do things that normal characters couldn’t do.
This whole mind-set was also impacted a lot by convention gaming. There were about 4 of us who were dedicated enough to D&D that we would convince our parents to take us down to LA for Strategicon; there, our favorite events were the Team Player vs. Player event, and Player vs. Player event, run by our convention buddy Dave (who I would love to get in touch with if anybody knows what has happened to him). These two events were essentially the hub for optimized character gaming. You were given a very specific set of rules, in advance, which you had to use in order to build a really tooled out character. That character, or team of 3 characters, is then set at a massive Dungeon for about 20 hours of non-stop brutal game play. These events were challenging and a lot of fun; they cemented the power gaming ideal into my head and the heads of my friends.
Once I started playing 4th Edition D&D, not much changed. Character Optimization in 4e is a much more streamlined process because of the character builder tool, which also allowed us to share our characters. Being abroad for a year, when I was studying in Japan, I didn’t get a whole lot of time to play D&D, but I had a huge amount of spare time, so Character Optimization really turned into a great way to kill time.
But, the problem with Character Op, Min/Maxing, Power Gaming, or whatever you want to call it, is that when you take the Power Gaming from the Prep Side to the Table, you are GOING to change the dynamic of the game. I will say now that I whole-heartedly condone and support Power Gaming, but I think there are a few things that every power gamer can do, or should remember, when they are flexing their Min/Maxing muscles in order to keep the game fun, so I thought I would write up this little guide for Power Gamers, so that you can keep the game fun, but still bring your Optimized Character to the table.
#1 – Know you Party
I don’t think it can be said enough. You need to know the people you are playing with when you bring an Optimized Character to your game table. You need to know your DM very well and you also need to know your fellow players. Talk to the Players and the DM before the game starts, preferably even before you spend a ton of hours making your character. Make sure that they are OK with you bringing a power house PC to the table. If everyone is going to be doing the same thing that you are, make sure the DM is prepared to go up against a power house group of PC’s. Make sure that he is ready to challenge you and provide you with the kind of game that will allow you and your Power Gamer friends to shine.
#2 – Don’t Steal the Show
Although the most of the joy in Power Gaming comes from bringing a character to the game that can do something, or several things, really, really, well to the table, you should never make it your goal to out-do everyone else that you are playing with. If you are trying to be a Bad-ass and make your character better than everyone else’s, you are being a bad Power Gamer.
#3 – Don’t be a Rules Lawyer
You may have built your character around some rule that you felt was painfully obvious. However, you should not count on rules interpretations to always go in your favor. If you want to Power Game fine, but don’t slow the game down when a Rules adjudication doesn’t go your way; even more so, don’t adjudicate rules for other people. If you want to make a statement about a rule, don’t spend more than 1 minute doing it, and don’t do it if it doesn’t directly impact your character. Nobody likes a Rules Lawyer, they are even one step above the Power Gamer in the hierarchy of hated players (in my humble opinion).
Apart from these 3 big Etiquette points, there are some things that you can do as a Power Gamer in order to have a fun time Min/Maxing your character, but also still fit in with a party of players who may or may not be as dedicated to Character Optimization as you are. One of the easiest ways you can do this is by setting limitations on your character. Instead of trying to make a Fighter that does an incredibly high amount of DPS per round, try Min/Maxing a Fighter with an off-race that doesn’t support your primary or secondary abilities and then try to min/max within those somewhat weakened boundaries. That initial hit that you take may actually make the playing field equal.
So, take my advice and roll with it. Have fun, don’t be afraid to Min/Max, but don’t let your Character Optimization ruin anybody else’s fun.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Some more Vox incarnations
So, i got bored because i couldn't get onto the wizards forum so i started experimenting with the fighter a little bit more to make sure i understood all of his powers. The one thing i'm noticing is that a lot of the powers that you take when you get to higher level are virtually exactly the same regardless of what build you're doing. Although boring, it makes leveling a bit easier... lol.
Well, here they are for your viewing pleasure.
Vox Board and Sword Build
http://www.mediafire.com/?dyrhxuzjnvm
Vox Spear/Greatspear and Net Build
http://www.mediafire.com/?mjjeyninz2z
Vox Double Whip Build (Particularly amusing)
http://www.mediafire.com/?mjjeyninz2z
Hope you enjoy checking them out. If you think there is something that i could do better for an optimized build let me know. I'm trying to opt these ones so that when i make others that have a bit more...how should i say this, unconventional builds, that they are still effective.
Well, here they are for your viewing pleasure.
Vox Board and Sword Build
http://www.mediafire.com/?dyrhxuzjnvm
Vox Spear/Greatspear and Net Build
http://www.mediafire.com/?mjjeyninz2z
Vox Double Whip Build (Particularly amusing)
http://www.mediafire.com/?mjjeyninz2z
Hope you enjoy checking them out. If you think there is something that i could do better for an optimized build let me know. I'm trying to opt these ones so that when i make others that have a bit more...how should i say this, unconventional builds, that they are still effective.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Vox the Bugbear Fighter
Now that i have a faster computer to tow around with things on, i've been doing a lot of experimenting with different builds for monsters. Right now, i've been playing with the fighter as it is the class that i play the most often (not that its my favorite, but bards don't look like they are any fun under the new 4th edition rules....) and being the power gamer that i am i like to try and optimize, so i've been following the guide book set out by lordduskblade on the wizards character optimization forum found here http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1080296.
So far, i've come up with three differnt builds for him (so far, i'm sure more are on their way). The first i made was the dual wielding version utilizing the large double sword. The second i made is a small variation of this one which has swapped out his powers relating to the double sword in favor of using the double flail. The thrid version i made uses a totally different build around the execution axe. I love this as a double weapon and it dishes out some seriously wild damage, especially in the large brutal one which rolls 2d6 and thus has more potential for optimizing the use of the brutal feature. I rolled him out all the way to level 30 in each of these builds, but it wouldn't be hard to back track him in order to actually use him for play. I'm putting the character files for the Character Builder that wizards of the coast uses so that people can download him if they wish. They will be up there later.
Vox Double Sword Build
http://www.mediafire.com/?yznemfgkntt
Vox Double Flail Build
http://www.mediafire.com/?ndowwzyq4yz
Vox Execution Axe Build
http://www.mediafire.com/?nojzdztdjmy
Here is a little back story that i rolled up for him as well.
Vox was captured at a young age by a group of traveling mercanaries. He was sold off to the first black market traders that he could find. The traders past him on to a wealthy noble who took great pleasure in watching the fights at the arena. This noble trained Vox to be a brutal and merciless killer. Vox had his first fight in the pit at the age of 12. He won a perfect victory. From here on, Vox's potential was never left unfulfilled. He grew to become, what some would say, the greatest pit fighter in the history of the worlds. Finally, vox was offered a position in the army and a release from the pit. The nobles saw that his capability as a dealer of death could be put to better use against enemies of the country. He served willingly and without complaint, as long as he was challenged he cared not for whom he fought or for the motives behind it. When finally there was no warrior in the vast armies of the world that could match him, Vox left to go it alone, seeking out dragons and beasts of the underworld to do battle with. Vox was never one for comrades, they only got in the way. Finally, Vox began his ascent into the ranks of the gods as a servant of Kord, at whos side he finally took his place, swearing loyalty to the only man who ever defeated him in one on one combat.
So far, i've come up with three differnt builds for him (so far, i'm sure more are on their way). The first i made was the dual wielding version utilizing the large double sword. The second i made is a small variation of this one which has swapped out his powers relating to the double sword in favor of using the double flail. The thrid version i made uses a totally different build around the execution axe. I love this as a double weapon and it dishes out some seriously wild damage, especially in the large brutal one which rolls 2d6 and thus has more potential for optimizing the use of the brutal feature. I rolled him out all the way to level 30 in each of these builds, but it wouldn't be hard to back track him in order to actually use him for play. I'm putting the character files for the Character Builder that wizards of the coast uses so that people can download him if they wish. They will be up there later.
Vox Double Sword Build
http://www.mediafire.com/?yznemfgkntt
Vox Double Flail Build
http://www.mediafire.com/?ndowwzyq4yz
Vox Execution Axe Build
http://www.mediafire.com/?nojzdztdjmy
Here is a little back story that i rolled up for him as well.
Vox was captured at a young age by a group of traveling mercanaries. He was sold off to the first black market traders that he could find. The traders past him on to a wealthy noble who took great pleasure in watching the fights at the arena. This noble trained Vox to be a brutal and merciless killer. Vox had his first fight in the pit at the age of 12. He won a perfect victory. From here on, Vox's potential was never left unfulfilled. He grew to become, what some would say, the greatest pit fighter in the history of the worlds. Finally, vox was offered a position in the army and a release from the pit. The nobles saw that his capability as a dealer of death could be put to better use against enemies of the country. He served willingly and without complaint, as long as he was challenged he cared not for whom he fought or for the motives behind it. When finally there was no warrior in the vast armies of the world that could match him, Vox left to go it alone, seeking out dragons and beasts of the underworld to do battle with. Vox was never one for comrades, they only got in the way. Finally, Vox began his ascent into the ranks of the gods as a servant of Kord, at whos side he finally took his place, swearing loyalty to the only man who ever defeated him in one on one combat.
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