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Old 06-02-2018, 04:41 PM   #1
Kirk
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Default Adventure team of Four

OK, there is a good collection of some individuals here who love TFT and have played it perhaps, since 1977.

When we started, experimentation was the rule, to try and see if we could break TFT or a GM or a programmed module, within the rules, within the spirit of the game.

What I would be interested in would be what do you think is a good four character party that has the best chance of successfully exiting, say, Death Test II against a competent and aggressive GM? And let's say, 35 points each.

This surely will be happening once again in 2019 as TFT becomes available to the uninitiated.

And finally, *which* character would you want to be to gain the most EP and survive the test, knowing that you can only trust your comrades to a small margin, everyone acting primarily to gain what they can, regardless of the rest of the party, and even sometimes resulting in direct attacks against other party members.

We tried variety in skills and abilities, various mixes of ranged and special talents, magic, etc.

The most surprising win was my brother's suggestion for a team of four wizards! The dynamic tactics he put to use were quite ingenious.:)
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Old 06-02-2018, 05:16 PM   #2
Chris Rice
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: London Uk, but originally from Scotland
Default Re: Adventure team of Four

I seem to remember Halflings with dagger marksmanship were banned in our games after a particularly bad serous of encounters. Perhaps 4 of them would be a handful. Or perhaps 3 of them with a damage magnet, say a fighter in heavy armour for opening chests and such
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Old 06-02-2018, 05:33 PM   #3
Rick_Smith
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Coquitlam B.C.
Default Re: Adventure team of Four

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Rice View Post
I seem to remember Halflings with dagger marksmanship were banned in our games after a particularly bad serous of encounters. Perhaps 4 of them would be a handful. Or perhaps 3 of them with a damage magnet, say a fighter in heavy armour for opening chests and such
I would suggest 2 halfling dagger throwers, one halfling boomerang chucker for guys with high hit points / heavier armour enemy, and a guy with heavy armor and a pole weapon. The heavy armor guy can tank for all the ranged weapon guys, and if he stands still vs a charge he attacks first and with +2 DX has a decent chance to hit.

Regards, Rick

Last edited by Rick_Smith; 06-03-2018 at 11:02 PM. Reason: spelling error, darn autocorrect!
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Old 06-02-2018, 11:03 PM   #4
Skarg
 
Join Date: May 2015
Default Re: Adventure team of Four

I know what I think are some winning formulas, though I think they're appropriate and wouldn't call them broken. I think though that it's fun for people to play and find their own mixes - it seems more likely to spoil fun than to enhance it if I were to list what I've seen work.

I would say that I think 35 is about the point where you can beat Death Test I or II, though DT II is harder than DT I, and having ITL combat talents is worth at least a couple of points.
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Old 06-03-2018, 01:06 AM   #5
JLV
 
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Arizona
Default Re: Adventure team of Four

I'm kind of with Skarg on this one -- I'd hate to spoil the fun for any newbs that read these pages.

But yes, I had my preferred mix of four... ;-)

In the end, I think all those preferred mixes had a lot more to do with the player than they did the actual rules though -- what you felt most comfortable with seemed to work best for you in the many times we played the Death Tests back in the day...
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Old 06-03-2018, 06:30 AM   #6
RobW
 
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Join Date: Mar 2018
Default Re: Adventure team of Four

LOOK AWAY NEWBIES FROM THIS SECRET KNOWLEDGE (those who have been playing since 1977 will be safe)

Nowhere near as creative as your brother, but I think these 4 will do the job

F1: 11/15/9
long bow, no armor
talents: bow, missile weapons, running
Sniper/suppressive fire, attacks with long bow 2x

F2: 11/16 (13) /8
spear, chainmail
talents: pole, running

F3: 13/14 (12)/8
halberd, leather
talents: pole, running

The charge-attack brothers engage after opponents softened by long-range action. Their raison d'etre is to deal 8 damage and knock opponents down before they ever get a chance to attack.

F4: 11/13/11
wizard: illusion, lock/knock, aid,staff
talents: literacy, physicker
Stays safe, creates troublesome illusions of bears & gargoyles, heal wounds

Last edited by RobW; 06-03-2018 at 06:34 AM.
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Old 06-03-2018, 10:13 AM   #7
Rick_Smith
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Coquitlam B.C.
Default Re: Adventure team of Four - 32 Attributes.

Quote:
Originally Posted by RobW View Post
LOOK AWAY NEWBIES FROM THIS SECRET KNOWLEDGE (those who have been playing since 1977 will be safe) ...
Hi everyone, RobW.
As Rob says, look away Newbies, spoiler information.

When I was a kid, we went on a camping trip. I brought along my box of TFT stuff, and decided to run a group of 32 attribute figures thru Death Test (DT). Now I had run (and GM'ed) several groups thru DT before, so I knew what sorts of things were coming.

I decided that my party would ignore everything, but getting thru the adventure. (We wouldn't stop to open chests, etc. Just get in and out. We would not drink any potions unless were were at 3 ST or less.) I used the basic Melee and Wizard rules. I would randomly pick if I was going thru the north, middle or south routes at each major choice.

My team looked like this:

Wizard 1:
ST 9, DX 15, IQ 8, Staff spell, and a bunch of spells.

Wizard 2: (Same as Wizard 1.)

Spear Guy:
ST 11, DX 13, IQ 8. Spear, Short Sword, Dagger.

Bow Guy:
ST 10, DX 14, IQ 8. Horse Bow, Cultlass, Sm. Shield, Dagger.

If you study the Wizards, they look like rapier guys, who can cast spells.

The tactics were that the wizards were up front and would defend. Spear guy would charge for double damage for the tough opponents. Bowman would shoot up anyone who needed it. If my Rapier guys, (I mean wizards), wanted to they could cast a spell or two.

***

My tactics worked. My defending front line wizards would delay the bad guys enough for the spear guy and bowman to finish them off. The room I had the most trouble with was the one with the hob goblins who threw small axes at the guys they were not engaged with. That messed up my tactics pretty bad.

Anyway, this was the only time I saw that a group of four, 32 attribute figures could get thru DT. They got enough experience for an attribute each. So the wizards took +1 IQ (now they had more interesting spells), the spear guy took +1 DX and cloth armor, and the bowman took +1 ST (so he could use a long bow.. a big step up in damage).

Feeling cocky, I promptly put the group thru DT again. Should be easy, I'm tougher right?

I got unlucky and one of my Wizards was badly hurt in the first fight. Things went down hill from there and we were all dead by the time we were 2/3 of the way thru the adventure. This group could hand out damage, but not take it very well.

But I know that a group of 32 attribute figures CAN make it thru DT.

Warm regards, Rick.

Last edited by Rick_Smith; 06-03-2018 at 10:17 AM.
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Old 06-04-2018, 11:47 AM   #8
Kirk
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Default Re: Adventure team of Four

As a lot of the NPC fighters are lower IQ types, though not all, of course, four 32 point wizards, if played well, can actually do some very interesting things, whether with illusions, drop weapon, blur, confusion, speed movement, etc.

Strength management is always an issue, as it getting hit, but we've had success doing it, and wooden boomerangs are sometimes a wizard's best friend! :0
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