GENCON 2013 CHAMPIONS INTERVIEW

BEHOLD!

An interview with some of the winners and dangerous competitors of the GenCon 2013 Tournament of Champions, wherein we discuss the tournament, what makes Fourthcore Team Deathmatch so great, winning strategies, and contemplate the future of FTDM.

GENCON 2013 RECAP: PART 1

The GenCon 2013 Dungeons & Dragons Fourthcore Team Deathmatch Tournament of Champions has come and gone with blood, pain, and tears. An event lauded by many, but mastered by so very few, it represents the ultimate embodiment of brutality. For truly, can there be no greater quarry than thy fellow man? No, there is none.

Tournament Basic Info

Benoit's amazing terrain graciously donated to the cause:

• Vault of the Spider Queen
• Mortal Kombat
• Run!

Morning Entry Round
Moose Hockey Maple Syrup, Eh? vs. Team Walk-Ons
At this point in time, the returning champions are on the ropes and losing, visible via the clear cups used to track deaths. Victory went to MHMSE? with a brutal 12-7 score while at the other end of the room the Badass Dungeon Crushers mopped the floor with The Stalkers 14-10

Such a nice, beautiful setup of Benoit's Vault of the Spider Queen terrain. We used the shining gold pipe cleaner ring to denote which dungeoneer carried Lolth's Egg, while the player held a lilac-colored plastic Easter egg. Glass beads were dropped in cups to record number of deaths, while traditional colored pipe cleaners were wrapped around the minis to denote which team they belonged to.

A shot of Marc Talbot (MHMSE?) standing proudly in front of the FTDM banner, anxiously squaring off against the Badass Dungeon Crushers on E1M9 - Run!

Defeated teams from the Entry Rounds were given the privilege of playtesting FTDM's newest map, E5M4: Carbon Freeze while the semifinals raged on behind them.

MHMSE? vs. BDC in an intense struggle during the morning semifinals on Run!, Jon Green presiding.
Arguably the most difficult challenge to them all, this would prove to be the closest anyone has ever come to defeating MHMSE? with a narrow defeat of BDC at 13-14.

The poster size tournament ladder is filled in with the names of the defeated and the victorious.

After a short 45 minute break, we are back in high gear with the afternoon matches. The entry round at this table had a total of three teams vying for dominance - Stormhawks v. Eh Team v. Order of the Radiant Sun, in a heavily populated, chaos-filled, target-rich environment.
Three teams enter, only one team leaves; as the Eh Team crushes their enemies and dominates the field.

The epic three-team battle continues as twelve dungeoneers duke it out against each other simultaneously.

Red Bulls were given freely, but only to those who would roll their dice faster.
At the other end of the room, Big Jim's Sons are unceremoniously splattered by Don't Make This Weird.

I lieu of pictures, video was taken of the afternoon semi-finals round, to be revealed later in the week. Don't Make This Weird capitalizes on their mastery of forced movement to shut down the Eh Team with a remarkable victory of 10-3.

The fighting stays mostly confined to the bottom two floors, Don't Make This Weird trying to force the tide of battle there to capitalize on their forced movement and prone-ing capabilities.

"See this guy I'm pointing to? Dead."
The use of tiers for this terrain is perfect and expresses the core concept beautifully.

The end scene of the entire tournament. If we could only see the true carnage, dungeoneers knee deep in the dead. MHMSE? clinches victory for a second year in a row with a solid 21-16 score. Congratulations!!!

The tournament ladder is updated with finality, Moose Hockey Maple Syrup, Eh? once again taking the championship and establishing a dynasty of triumph.

"We're #1, two years running."
Immediately beforehand, no shit, a rousing rendition of O Canada is sung by the members of MHMSE?, both in English and in French. You can expect to see that video as well.

Marc and Derek, stalwart defenders of Canada's honor honour.

Team Moose Hockey Maple Syrup, Eh?
Victorious.

A post-game pic of Marc the next morning, running some D&D Next and proudly showing off his medal.

Be sure to check out Andy Kotch's personal picture roll, mostly of the final match between Don't Make This Weird and Moose Hockey Maple Syrup, Eh? found at imgur.com/a/0WuVE

DOOM COMES TO INDIANA

Watch a live Fourthcore Team Deathmatch now!

GREETINGS, MORTALS!

An unholy display of savagery and barbarism awaits! The arena of Pac-Man, a realm of unceasing hunger plagued by the tormented spirits of the fallen, has been deemed worthy of a Fourthcore Team Deathmatch!

Watch our LIVE STREAMING GAME on this TwitchTV link, starting on Saturday March 23rd 12:00pm (noon) Eastern Standard Time as the forces of Dr. Wily battle against classic monsters of the silver screen!

http://www.twitch.tv/ftdm/new

Pre-Generated Dungeoneers

Dungeon Master James Barlow has graced the Fourthcore Team Deathmatch community with a most splendid gift. He has lent his talent and artistry in creating intuitive, easy-to-read, easy-to-understand character sheets for Fourthcore Team Deathmatch dungeoneers. These character sheets go a long way towards extending a helping hand and welcoming new players into the fold by cutting through the typical clutter and presenting information in a thoughtful and well-designed manner. There are no templates for this, one cannot simply cut and paste their ideas into here. These are labors of craftsmanship.

BEHOLD!

Google+ Community

GREETINGS, MORTALS!

A Google+ Community has been created for Fourthcore Team Deathmatch to better facilitate discussion on various topics: strategy, tactics, bloodshed, murder.

LINK TO G+ COMMUNITY

FTDM Banner at GenCon Tournament

As if the excitement of the forthcoming Fourthcore Team Deathmatch GenCon 2012 Tournament of Champions wasn't high enough, wasn't already raised to a fever pitch;

BEHOLD!!!

The 3ft. x 8ft. full color banner (provided by BannersOnTheCheap.com) has arrived!

Come ye mortals! gaze upon our magnificent sigil and despair!

(Cats provided for scale.)

We're still taking sign-ups for those who wish to rise about the common rabble and secure their place in victory. Email the Dungeon Masters Jon and Rob to reserve your place!

Dungeon Oracle Interview

The Overlord at Dungeon Oracle sat down with one of the FTDM Dungeon Masters to discuss, among other things, the place for competition in Dungeons & Dragons. Naturally, Fourthcore Team Deathmatch was mentioned.

Worth a listen if you've got the time!

PAX East 2012 Ladder Bracket

T-minus 8 days!

PAX East Trophy Gallery! Are you worthy?

      The PAX East Council of Doom has convened in secret these past months, searching our tomes for great ways to punish and reward those brave enough to enter the PAX East 2012 FTDM tournament, on April 7th in Boston, MA.  Maps were chosen, blood was shed, and runes drawn.  I took the opportunity to learn the ways of the Illustrator, and survived a harrowing trip to deliver the plans to the awesome Lyndsay of Dragonchow Dicebags!

      Bags will be awarded to the victorious four at PAX East this year, so they may carry the skulls and souls of their fallen foes with them until the end of days.  Check them out below!

"GET PSYCHED!"  & Sign-up today!

[VIDEO] E1M1: Slaughterhouse

It's been a long time coming, but Fourthcore Team Deathmatch finally has a series of short videos made to display the fear, excitement, and glory of the most fun way to play Dungeons & Dragons. The video serves not only to entertain, but also to educate those who are unfortunate enough not to be able to witness a live match first hand. The videos capture the first 4 rounds of the match, about half of the entire event, as well as an introduction to the rules and players, and a post-game analysis.

• Introduction
• Match (Part 1)
• Match (Part 2)
• Post-Game Analysis & Credits

Play-by-Post Match 02 - The Aftermath

A prize to be fought over ...

Wetworks defeated by The Breakfast Club; Hap (Renato) smiling as he claims glory over the humiliation of C. Steven Ross.

Baltimore FTDM Tournament Post-Game Report

The January 14th Baltimore Fourthcore Team Deathmatch is over and has been a resounding success!

This past Saturday, sixteen dungeoneers delved against the most fearsome of foe: a band of rival dungeoneers. Pit against each other in a nightmarish realm of eternal death and suffering, these tormented souls battled for supremacy.

The assembled masses were organized together into four teams of four; quadcore to the max! We occupied by force the upstairs gaming tables at our local FLGS Games and Stuff. The match setup was brutal, the dungeoneers determined, the victory full of glory.

Baltimore Jan 14th Tournament - Post Game Interveiw

Crush your enemies ...

The energy and elation of the January 14th Baltimore Fourthcore Team Deathmatch Tournament is now beginning to subside. A full report of the glorious events is coming soon, pending the upload of pictures we were able to grab in the midst of the furious events (waiting on you, Samorodin!) and the official release of the newest Fourthcore Team Deathmatch map, E3M2, when this Secret Map is revealed to the public after the coming Austin Fourthcore Team Deathmatch Tournament.

For now, I wanted to sit down with the champions of the Baltimore tournament and fields one or two questions brought out by myself, and quite a few more brought out by the global Fourthcore community through the magic of the internet.

It's Lunch Time.

So, you know why I have no clue who's gonna win Match 4? 'Cause neither team has a (patent pending) Angille Fourthcore Team SmackTalk Banner, that's why! The banner wins. Or, to put it another way, only teams who care enough to have a banner care enough to win.

... Was that over the top? I'm such a nice guy, I almost feel dirty.

FTDM Trash Talking

Once again, the dungeoneers take time out of their life-and-death struggle for supremacy to engage in some trash talk!

First up from Match 2 is "The Breakfast Club" a.k.a. Team 2:


Ooh...is Team 1 going to let that stand, or are they going to prove once and for all which team is made up of Cereal Killers?


Next up from Match 1 Part 2, Team Quadcore takes time to flaunt their recent use of the Pit of Wombs!



Was the daring use of the Heart of Malcanthet enough to seal Quadcore's victory, or was it simply setting up Team Playoff for a glorious comeback?

FTDM at Octobercon!

Not long ago, Fourthcore Team DeathMatch was contacted by Paul Weigle in regards to running some FTDM at the seventh annual Octobercon, held at The Shunned House in Norwich, CT. The con features an event called "The Clash of Champions". In this event, dueling Dungeon Masters Paul #1 and Paul #2 put their adventuring groups through a wringer of an adventure, "Hell Hath No Fury", the winner receiving a small boon for the final round. The dungeoneers knew that this was a competetive event, not unlike the D&D Open, but what they did not know was the special surprise that awaited them in the coming finale. After completing the first portion of the event, the dungeoneers were then wisked away to the (N is for ...) Netherworld and forced into a nightmarish scenario of unending bloodshed and torment, played out for the amusement of lords of the hell.

You may know this as E1M1: Slaughterhouse.

Below is the official post-game write up. You can read the excitement and exhiliration in the author's words. FTDM is the most frantic and exciting way to play Dungeons & Dragons, and it really shows here.

Play-by-Post: Match #1 - Smack Talk!

Team 3 has a few words for their rivals!

E1M2: The Citadel - rendering

Milwaukee Joe has gone ahead and rendered E1M2: The Citadel in the glorious HeXen engine. Check it out below, and then sign yourself up for a tidal wave of bloodshed in the first play-by-post Fourthcore Team Deathmatch!

Podcast Interview

A 4th Edition podcasting blog, A Roving Band of Misfits, has posted a podcast where they start out excitedly talking about the Fourthcore Team Deathmatch. All this support and excitement has gotten me very encouraged! I can't wait! There has also been talk from Benoit's side about some very special treats for some lucky teams in the Deathmatch. More details will be dropped as things progress!

As I write this, we're at 23 31 players signed up! Only 1 ticket remaining! I see this event easily selling out by the end of the week. I thank you all for your love of killing your fellow man.

With that in mind, please make sure to get in touch with me and get your team squared away. I'd hate to have to do all that messy administrative juggling at GenCon, splicing together teams and all, when we could be better spending our time telefragging.