Scenes from PAX East

Worth a thousand words, right? Here are some snapshots of some of my my D&D activities last weekend.

WotC's booth in the exhibitor hall with a huge ass Lolth statue

PAX East Fourthcore Team Deathmatch Tournament

The PAX East schedule is finally up! Check out what's going on on the convention and email Senor Ross to reserve your place in the Fourthcore Team Deathmatch tournament! Each member of the winning team receives a copy of the Fourthcore Armory (Extended Edition) as well as an exclusive Fourthcore Team Deathmatch dice bag by from the illustrious Dragonchow Dice Bags!

Also, be on the lookout for Ross helping out with a few official Wizards of the Coast events during the rest of the long weekend; namely the D&D Next Playtest and the DM's Challenge.

What are you waiting for?

GO FORTH AND DIE!!!

CSR in the media

In case you haven't seen these (and I'd be surprised if you read this blog and haven't), I've been out and about in the wild at a couple of locations:

• Narrating/hosting the Fourthcore Team Deathmatch actual play video on YouTube
• Doing a bit of blah blah blah with Sersa Victory and Dan Roanoke about Revenge of the Iron Lich

Baltimore Fourthcore Team Deathmatch - 10/15/2011

Introduction & Rules + Maps + Frequently Asked Questions

Attention dungeoneers!
Prepare yourselves for the coming onslaught!

Following in the unstoppable wake of national success at GenCon 2011, the D&D Fourthcore Team Deathmatch is arriving in the Baltimore-area for the first-ever local FTDM event. At high noon on Saturday October 15th, your collective faces will be melted by the sheer wall of awesome and Dungeons & Dragons nerdity! The most exciting and talked-about GenCon event of the year will landing at my friendly local game store, Games & Stuff (7476 Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard, Glen Burnie, MD 21061).

It is simply the most brutal D&D experience ever devised!

For those of you unaware, the D&D Fourthcore Team Deathmatch is a face-to-face competitive ladder tournament using the 4th Edition D&D ruleset. Full details on rules can be found at the links at the top of the post.

Players will be let in on a first-come, first-serve basis (with a maximum of 32 players), however full teams of four dungeoneers may register by emailing me (here) their Team Name and members' names to reserve their spot. The tournament will consist of an Entry Round debuting E1M4: Astral Ambush, followed by a Semi-Final Round of E1M1: Slaughterhouse, and a Final Round of E1M3: Tomb of the Iron Lich.

Please spread the word to all the dungeoneers you know, and godspeed you to victory!

Fourthcore Team Deathmatch - E1M4

I am proud to present the latest map to be added to the Fourthcore Team Deathmatch roster, to be debuted at the upcoming Baltimore-area FTDM Tournament on October 15th, 2011:

E1M4: ASTRAL AMBUSH

tiles from Brian Rollins (www.dungeoneering.net)

Fourthcore Team Deathmatch: Sights & Sounds

During GenCon, I was able to interview the top four FTDM teams. Some interviews were prior to the event, some immediately after.

Fourthcore Team Deathmatch Interview - Team Critzkrieg!

The first minute and a half or so has pretty low volume. My apologies. We had some technical difficulties.

Fourthcore Team Deathmatch Interview - Team Nighthawk!

Fourthcore Team Deathmatch Interview - combined Teams Cellar Dwellers and Don't Make This Weird!

Pictures below!

Fourthcore Team Deathmatch – E1M3: Secret

By the time this post goes live, I’ll be at GenCon in Indianapolis preparing to get ready for the showdown of champions known as the Fourthcore Team Deathmatch. It’s a little humbling to think of how long this has all been developing and brewing. The Secret Map, especially, as it was the first map I drafted and had the fewest changes from inception to implementation. Also, it’s the one I’m most proud of, the one I expect to wow the crowds the most. I’m really looking forward to springing this out and seeing the astonished faces of all the Fourthcore Fanatics.

Fourthcore Team Deathmatch Interview

I was interviewed this past Monday night by the guys at Roving Band of Misfits about my thoughts, intentions, and playtesting experiences on the Fourthcore Team Deathmatch. Enjoy! Comments welcome.

http://www.rovingbandofmisfits.com/?p=2194

Fourthcore Team Deathmatch: Pre-Tournament Analysis

Introduction & Rules + Maps + Ladder & Teams + Frequently Asked Questions

The Fourthcore Team Deathmatch (FTDM) has been my pet project for a few months now, and I have poured quite a bit of thought and energy into its design and implementation. Originally inspired by a chat with Sersa V, it has taken on a life of its own and promises to be an amazing event. My mind was filled with visions of blood and glory, and I could already hear the screams of both triumphant victory and devastating defeat. With GenCon fast approaching, I wanted to take a little time to explain my motives and reasoning behind many of the decisions made on FTDM.

Mission Statement

I know, how corporate, right?

FTDM has had an unofficial mission statement since Day #1. What this means is that I started the design with a number of goals I wanted to achieve with this event. They were:

+ Create a large event where many Fourthcore Fanatics could gather together and hang out at once; a Fourthcore Community Gathering

+ Use the tools of the internet to help organize and promote such an event

+ Capture the frantic, break-neck-speed feel of 90’s-era first-person deathmatch shooter games, such as DooM, Quake, and Heretic/HeXen; using the 4E D&D system.

Fourthcore Team Deathmatch: Terrain Pieces

For the last few month, Benoit & Co. at Roving Band of Misfits have been diligently working away at their fantastic cast-stone model terrain to create something truly unique. Behold! Cast-stone terrain pieces for the Fourthcore Team Deathmatch:  http://www.rovingbandofmisfits.com/?p=2048

Benoit will be running the table where these terrain pieces are setup, and then making them available to the general public afterwards. The plan is to spread out the love and give as many different teams a try on the terrain as possible.

The first two maps look absolutely stunning, but I'm even more excited by the Secret Map. It will be revealed around the start of the event, when setup is taking place, and my hope is that is will be a bit of an eye-catcher and a fascinating point of conversation to the onlookers. I want to tell you all about it, but I can't! It will be so much better when revealed if cloaked in secrecy now.

Fourthcore Team Deathmatch: Character Sheet Contest!

Introduction & Rules + Maps + Ladder & Teams + Frequently Asked Questions

I'm officially announcing a new contest related to the Fourthcore Team Deathmatch: Character Sheets!

Many D&D enthusiasts have come to me, excited and bubbling over the idea of a D&D team deathmatch. However, they are saddened, as their schedule simply cannot allow them to come to GenCon and participate in the bloodbath. Now, those who cannot be there in person have a way to influence the deathmatch.

At GenCon, a stack of approximately 20 pre-generated character sheets will be available for anyone playing in the Fourthcore Team Deathmatch to use. These characters will be designed by you, the reader, to help your fellow Man in their epic struggle for survival.

I am looking for pre-generated 1st Level character sheets, following the rules stated for the Fourthcore Team Deathmatch. All character sheets must have a custom layout, such as those created for SND-02 PreGens. Any direct, unaltered printings from DDi Character Builder is lazy and unbecoming of a serious 4E player. Optimization, creativity, and ease of use are the three most important criteria.

The author of any character sheet used by any of the players in the final match will receive full scale, color print outs of each of the three maps used in the Fourthcore Team Deathmatch. A small memento, and a way for all of us to say 'thanks'.

When accepted, character sheet will be made available here for preview.

Deathmatch Podcast & Updates

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.

Register for the Fourthcore Team Deathmatch!

Fourthcore Team Deathmatch is a go!

https://www.genconreg.com/events/27820

Sign up tomorrow, May 1st, when GenCon Events Registration goes live. I look forward to seeing your splattered dungeoneers' gibs cake the walls of the Slaughterhouse.

Don't forget: once you've secured your spot at the table with GenCon, get in touch with me to get squared away in the Competition's Ladder.

Fourthcore Team Deathmatch Playtest: How I Killed 40+ PCs in a Single Night

Introduction & Rules + Maps + Ladder & Teams + Frequently Asked Questions

EDIT: If you are anywhere nearby whatsoever, be sure to sign up for the Baltimore Fourthcore Team Deathmatch, held on Saturday October 15th 2011!


Brutality

This is the one word I can use to describe the experience. I will now relate to you the harrowing, awesome events of last night’s playtest of my latest project, the Fourthcore Team Deathmatch.