Some welcome news for FTDM this month:
1). Blog Follower Will Doyle has announced word on his site that he will have an article published in DDi next month. Look for the article about a tavern strapped to the back of a flying dragon, a great idea for a FTDM map if I ever saw one!
2). A big thanks to dungeoneer Anthony Franchini (aka Deuce DM) for setting up the FTDM group on the Wizards of the Coast Community Bulletin Boards! This has been done partially to prepare for the upcoming FTDM Tournament at PAX East this year.
3). Speaking of live tournaments, at PAX East we will be switching from awarding cheap, plastic trophies to fabulously lush custom Dragon Chow Dice Bags as prizes for winning teams at tournaments. Each tournament will have a unique design, creating a prized treasure that can only be earned through bloodshed. Look for pictures to be posted soon.
3). The blog will be changing in the near future, expanding to accommodate our Pathfinder brethren and making room for the upcoming new iteration of Dungeons & Dragons, not to mention support for Wrath Deathmatch. Now is your chance to input ideas on how best we can accomplish these goals.
4). Last but not least, Match 05 is postponed indefinitely due to lack of available dungeoneers. Once Match 2 wraps up, another call to arms will be posted looking for recruits.
Hey, thanks for the mention, Casey! I'm really looking forward to seeing my article up on the page.
ReplyDeleteI would like to comment on this & please take my comments in the spirit they are intended--I am having a blast with FTDM, I tweet about it often, & encourage members of my Encounters group to sign up regularly by retelling our amazing exploits...
ReplyDelete> Match 05 is postponed indefinitely due to lack
> of available dungeoneers.
One of the great joys of Match One was the email and phone interaction that I was having with the other players--when the call to reduce email & planning went out the games became a lot less fun for me...
I understand the playtest nature of what we are doing here & I realize that speed of play is important, but I really enjoyed working with the other players to come up with wild combinations, insanely maxed characters, and general group madness. When we moved away from this into more of a Convention Simulation style of play, my burning desire to destroy everyone reduced significantly.
I would love Match 05 to be all about team work--maybe going so far to give bonus points if all members of the other team are gibbed in one round!
SCHWARM!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your comments and feedback. I'm always interested in hearing how the game is going for everyone, and delighted to hear that you're having fun!
A big part of the "no strategy emails" policy was due to a player (not on your team) who was at his wits end with the emails. He was getting bombarded with them, felt like he could never keep up with them, and then was chastised by his team for not knowing what their plan was when he acted completely against their desires. Needless to say, he was about to drop out of Play-by-Post, and I needed to do something fast and hard to keep that all together.
Both stances have their merits. No strategy emails mimic the live events better, but lots of strategy emails put the maps through a more grueling (and thus USEFUL) playtest.
I guess where I really want the policy at is to be courteous and considerate of your teammates desired level of email planning. For the next match where we can, which unfortunately won't be until Match 07, the Dungeon Masters will make sure to try and confidentially find out who has what preference, and then sort out the teams based on that to try and get everyone having maximum fun.
Again, thanks for the insights!