Wizards released the final Rules Update for 2009 on Tuesday, and while it was shorter that the November changes at just over 13 pages total, there were a few significant edits.  None were bigger, however, than the “nerfing” of Healer’s Sash.

For simplicity’s sake, I’ve summarized the important portions of that item’s description BEFORE and AFTER the change to help identify just how big of an edit was involved:

Healer’s Sash (before)

As a Standard At-Will action, either the wearer or an adjacent ally could spend one healing surge and instead of regaining hit points add that healing surge to the sash (which could hold a maximum of five surges, or charges, at a time).

As an Immediate Reaction once per encounter, the wearer of the sash could spend one of the charges and allow an ally within 5 squares who had just taken damage to regain hit points, plus 1d6, as if they had just spent a surge.

Healer’s Sash (after)

As a Minor Action once per day, the wearer or an ally within 5 squares may spend a healing surge to allow the wearer or an ally withing 5 squares to regain hit points as if (s)he spend a surge.

*****

As you can see, this went from being an encouter item to a daily item with a reduction in healing power (as the additional 1d6 was lost, too).  As the Healing Sash was an item a significant number of characters would quest for and/or purchase outright, this change will have a significant effect on the 4th Edition landscape.

While I doubt there are many players not already aware of this, I strongly recommend printing a copy of the Rules Update (or at least this page) and having it with them to show players.

Most of the other books received either no updates or a very small number; the exceptions being the Divine Powers book (3 1/2 pages of revisions), Adventurer’s Vault 2 (2 1/2 pages of revisions), and the Eberron Player’s Guide (1 1/2 pages).  Few of the revisions will have the impact on play that the changes to the Healer’s Sash will.

Tags: Errata, update

WotC released a 27-page rules update on November 17th; 21 pages of that errata focus on player sources such as the PHBs and the various Powers books. We’ll explore those changes this week, with the focus being on those changes most likely to impact your experience running a game at a Con. Next up - changes to the Player’s Handbook 2.  As this is the first real errata for the PHB2, don’t be surprised to see a good number of changes:

CLASSES

Avenger

• The Armor of Faith class ability was significantly changed.  Now, the Avenger only gets the +3 AC bonus while wearing cloth armor or no armor: this eliminates the bonus while weather leather or hide armors.  This is one of the more significant changes in the errata.  A majority of Avengers wear leather or hide for the better armor class - you will want to check with PCs and make sure they are aware of the update.
• The 5th level power Oath of Consuming Light was changed to correct a significant damage imbalance:  the damage is 2d10 + Wisdom MODIFIER radiant damage.  The PHB 2 omits the word “modifier”, making the power seriously unbalanced.  This affects H2 play, and there could be some number of Avenger PCs with this power.

Barbarian

• A single adjustment to the Barbarian’s Rage Strike ability allows it to interact with some paragon paths better.  The ability gained at 19th level is duplicated at 20th level.  Not a huge change as P3 modules will not be released for some time.
• The 1st level at-will power Devastating Strike is changed to allow small-sized PCs to take the power using versatile weapons.  Only impacts small-sized PCs playing Barbarians - Gnomes, Halflings, Kobolds, etc.  I suspect this will come up rarely.
• Howling Strike, another 1st level at-will power, undergoes the same modification to work with small-sized PCs.  Again, very unlikely to have arisen already.  It may catalyze a small increase in smaller Barbarians.
• Yet another change to 1st level at will powers to accommodate small PCs.  This, too, now only requires the Barbarian to wield a melee weapon in two hands.  How many gnome Barbarians have I overlooked?
• The 13th level power Storm of Bladed has been modified by reducing the number of attack to either three or until you miss, whichever occurs first.  It also limits the attacks to the same creature.  While I haven’t seen to many P1 Barbarians yet, I can see this power being somewhat common.
• The damage output from the 27th level power Hurricane of Blades was changed.  Now, the damage is 2[W] + Strength Modifier, and the total number of attacks made is 4, split up against one or more targets as the Barbarian chooses.  Has not come up in play, and will not until E3.

Bard

• Changes to the wording of the 13th level power Song of Storms ensures that the extra damage is 1d6 per hit, not 1d6 per opponent hit.  As Bards are seeing a lot of play, this might come up during P1 adventures.

Druid

• A change to the druid’s 1-st level at will power Call of the Beast makes it friendly during targeting; this eliminates the possibility that the Druid would inflict this upon allies who then attacked, via domination, etc.  Druids are not the most plentiful, but there are there and the H1 status of the errata makes this one key to recall.
• The 19th level power Primal Bear loses the “Healing” keyword.  Not relevant yet but might change some folks builds.  Check back here in a couple of weeks to see what changes standard Druid builds have undergone.

Invoker

• Blood Debt, a 17th level power, now does the following damage:  3d10 + Wisdom MODIFIER radiant damange.  Potentially unbalanced but not a factor except potentially in P2 mods.  As P2 mods become more commonplace, expect to see this one dusted off and trotted out from time to time.
• The Warding Thunder paragon path 20th level attack power has been slightly reworded to prevent the power’s zone effect from recurring. This comes into play at P3 and thus has not been a convention issue yet.

Shaman

• A very small change to the 27th level power Spirit of Elder Widsom.  The older version indicated that someone who missed with an encounter power didn’t expend it; the new verbiage indicates that someone who does not hit with an encounter power doesn’t expend it.  The difference is that the latter version accounts better for multiple targets; only if ALL targets are missed does the power not hit.  This comes into play at H3 and won’t likely be an issue.

Warden

• A simple omission in the 9th level power Form of the Frenzied Wolverine was inserted:  the attack is Strength vs. AC.

PARAGON PATHS

Twilight Guardian

The path feature has been tweaked to specify that the re-roll applies to ONE of the attack rolls made; this prevents it from being used to target multiple targets and getting re-rolls against each of them.  P1 mods are in play right now so this could come into play, but I have seen no one using a racial paragon path as of yet.

EPIC DESTINIES

Lorekeeper

• The Lorekeeper’s Cunning destiny power has been changed to exclude creation feats from the changes; this should keep the economy intact.  Creation rules currently occupy such a minute role in LFR play as to make this edit moot.

FEATS

Improved Armor of Faith

• The same change that was made to the Armor of Faith was made here; leather and hide armors have been removed; it only works if the Avenger is wearing no armor or cloth armor.  Could have an impact on play at the H1 tier.

Strength of Valor

• The feat was edited to ensure that the ally in question had an opportunity to take advantage of the ability.

Agile Opportunist

• opportunity action was replace with immediate reaction to limit the number of “free” attacks the character can make.

Tags: Errata, update

WotC released a 27-page rules update on November 17th; 21 pages of that errata focus on player sources such as the PHBs and the various Powers books. We’ll explore those changes this week, with the focus being on those changes most likely to impact your experience running a game at a Con. First up - changes to the Player’s Handbook:

CLASSES
Paladin

• The Hospitaler’s Blessing 11th level Paladin Paragon Path power now triggers only when the opponent makes an attack against one of the Paladin’s allies that does not include the Paladin. This allows enemies to use close and/or ranged powers without triggering a lot of PC healing.  While paragon level mods are still in short supply, this paragon path might see play.

Ranger

• A rewording of the Ranger’s 17th level Cheetah’s Rake power specifies that the target’s immobilization lasts until the end of the Ranger’s next turn. This only affects the highest end of P2 mods, so it’s very unlikely to come up.
• Basic melee attacks are now excluded from the effect of Ranger’s 29th level power Follow-up Blow in order to keep the power from triggering itself.  This will have no impact until E3 mods become available.

Warlord

• The action used for the follow-up attacks resulting from critical hits after a Warlord’s Relentless Assault has been changed from a free action to an opportunity action; this better limits the number of attacks a group can generate in a turn. No effect until epic tier play.

Wizard

• A small change to the Blood Mage Paragon Path’s power Bolstering Blood; the extra damage resulting from the self-inflicted wounds only applies to damage rolls and not static damage. This is a relatively small change that will prevent on-going damage from getting the damage boost and will only come into play for P1 & P2 play.
• The Force keyword was added to Battle Mage Paragon Path’s 11th level encounter power Forceful Retort. This is essentially negligible in terms of impact for you.

EPIC DESTINIES

Archmage Epic Destiny

• The 30th level Archmage Epic Destiny feature Archspell was slightly limited so that only daily attack powers are eligible; this prevents the usage of an utility power (which could allow for recall of multiple daily powers, etc.) This won’t be an issue until the Epic tier adventures are released, which we are looking at in Summer of 2010, probably Gen Con).

Demigod Epic Destiny

• The 30th level ability Divine Miracle has been limited so that only encounter attack powers can be regained.

FEATS

Triumphant Attack Epic Feat

• One of the conflicting durations has been removed, leaving the effect in place until the end of the encounter. Has not come up in play and won’t until epic tier is released.

EQUIPMENT

Rod of Reaving

The item no longer damages minions. This represents a huge shift in heroic and paragon tier play; Rod of Reaving was commonly used as a minion slayer - that is no longer possible This might be one of the of the most significant changes in this errata.

Tags: Errata, update

The RPGA implemented a new replay rule for LFR designed to keep players playing as much as possible; now a player may run through a given mod any number of times as long as each run is with a different character.  Even with this rule, new adventures remain the lifeblood of a living campaign.

EDIT: The list below contains all of the currently available LFR adventures (as of 9:40 am on November 21st, 2009) and the allowable PC levels.

Tags: Adventures

CORE1-3 Sense of Wonder Levels 1-4

OVERALL RATING 3 (of 4)

• Plot 3


• Playability 3


• Ease of Running 3


• Quality of Combat Encounters 4


• Quality of Non-Combat Encounters 3

REVIEW


Plot

1. While linear, the plot holds interest well.


2. The cyclical nature of the appearance of the island sets a compelling adventure clock.


3. While I enjoy Gond, I was disappointed to see one of the first mods point towards the past when we are all admonished in the Campaign Guide, the Player’s Guide, and the writing guidelines to look forward, not back.

Playability

1. The mod is fun as it shifts from combat to RP to skill challenge and even to a somewhat tough puzzle.

Ease of Running

1. Straightforward structure makes running the mod simple.


2. The Skill Challenge (encounter 3) and the Puzzle (encounter 5) need a bit of mental prep time.

Combat Encounters

1. The bar fight can be fun, particularly in hamming up “The Big Man”.


2. There is a LOT happening in the Automation fight (Encounter 4); read this one through a few times.

Non-Combat Encounters

1. The skill challenge needs to have the time period accurately described.


2. The puzzle seems complicated on reading, but most parties grasp the concept very quickly while playing.

Tips & Suggestions for running the mod {including DME}

1. Make at least one extra set of the six visions pages from the mod - they are necessary for the skill challenge.


2. Describe the elapsed time for the skill challenge - this constitutes some REAL time spent. Consider having one or two of the NPCs become familiar and comfortable with the PCs

SUMMARY of TREASURE BUNDLES

• bracers of the perfect shot (heroic tier)(low only)


• shield of protection (heroic tier) (low only)


• cloak of resistance +1


• boots of spider climbing


• bracers of defense (heroic tier) (high only)


• shield of defiance (heroic tier) (high only)


• ritual scroll of Comprehend Languages


• ritual book of Make Whole

LISTING OF STORY AWARDS

• CORE06 Glimnock’s Gratitude


• CORE07 Contact with the Cowled Wizards Starts a Major Quest

Listing of Quests and On-Going Stories

• Aboleth Quest 1 (continued in CORE1-4)

Tags: Adventures, Review

Skill challenges play an important role in nearly every LFR module for two reasons: 1) they serve to break-up combat and 2) they are “encounters” designed to take roughly half the amount of time as a combat encounter (thus allowing more encounters to be fit into a limited time frame). Every LFR module to date has at least one skill challenge; many have two or more. This prominence suggests that having a firm grasp on running skill challenges is a necessity for running fun LFR mods and begs the question “How am I supposed to run a skill challenge?”

Components of a Skill Challenge

First off, let’s review what exactly comprises a skill challenge; we are going to break up skill challenges into game mechanics and role playing aspects.. From a rules perspective, a skill challenge consists of a goal, a list of skills the PCs can use to reach their goal, the number of successes they need to achieve before they accumulate two failures, and some penalty for failing that doesn’t detract from the opportunity to complete the module.

The mechanical process is straightforward - find out what skills the PCs want to use from the list in the module, adjudicate their skill roles normally, track successes and failures, and announce the completion of the skill challenge and the result. This accounts for the dice rolls and the rewarding of experience points but doesn’t explain the in-game activities, the time-frame involved, or the role playing opportunities.

The role playing aspects comprising a skill challenge include the setting(s), the NPCs (if any), the time frame, and how you present the challenge. Like every other aspect of the game, the settings for a sill challenge need to be described to the players so they can interpret how they might interact with it. Particularly if you have chosen not to put out the skill challenge sign when starting the encounter, your maintaining consistent description and narrative information allows skill challenges and pre-combat warm-ups to blend together; this makes the skill challenges a bit more intuitive and fun. In a like manner, play the significant NPCs of the skill challenge similarly to how you would play NPCS during other RP opportunities; again your consistency blends the skill challenge with the rest of your encounters and allows you to maintain the moment while you are running the session.

Skill Challenges Take Time

The time frame for the skill challenge constitutes the most significant (and most under-utilized) component. Some skill challenges must be completed quickly (as in the collection of particular items before or between a monster’s attack), while others might stretch out over minutes, hours, and possibly even days. You can use these extended periods of time for narration and story advancement, you can handle some travel that might make sense, and you can break up the overall skill list into subsets that might be appropriate at a particular point in the challenge.

Preparation Checklist

For each skill challenge in the module, run through the following checklist:

1. Determine the goal of the skill challenge - this will often help you see how different skills apply and which story elements to highlight.


2. Review the list of skills for the challenge - see if any class is under-represented and form a holistic picture of the writer’s envisioned solutions.


3. Determine the location(s) for the challenge - if several locals seem to make sense, it’s likely the challenge will involve some travel and an extended duration. These are cues for you to plan to extend the challenge a bit and include some notes for narration, etc. Also, keep in mind that challenges with multiple locations might have portions where skill list subsets make sense. These can provide mini showcases for particular characters.


4. Determine the time frame for the challenge - the shorter a challenge, the more important it is to showcase the drama and heighten tension during story telling. Longer challenges call for travel description.


5. Note any NPCs relevant tot he skill challenge and prepare notes on what they know, what they want, and how they act. This will quickly allow you to establish each of them as a unique persona on the module and provide a brief role-playing opportunity.

When DMs prepare to run a mod, often skill challenges get glossed over. By spending just a little time learning how the challenge fits into the adventure, both spatially and chronologically, a DM has a opportunity to showcase the setting, add a bit of role playing, and set the tone for an adventure.

Tags: Running, Skill Challenges, Tips

Being as prepared as possible before you sit down to run a mod ensures that you and the players are best positioned to get the most out of the adventure; not only do you have a handle on tactics for a particular encounter, you also have an understanding of the flow between encounters and the underlying theme tying the encounters, the back story, and the NPCs together. This means your combats are challenging, your NPCs memorable, and your on-the-fly adjustments fine-tuned. How do you best prepare to run a mod?

Read the Adventure

Read it cover to cover looking for theme, flavor, and flow; at this point focus on the mood of the mod (frightening, humorous, etc.), get a sense of mystery, adventure, romance, etc., and see how the different encounters lead to one another and into the encounter as a whole. This will provide clues regarding narration and basic NPC attitudes.

Read Each Combat Encounter

Lay the encounter out to get a sense of terrain, enemy placement, basic tactics, etc. Look for appropriate interplay between foes’s powers keeping in mind the roles and intelligence of the monsters. Remember that the difficulty of an encounter is based in large part on how well the creatures use their powers. Poor choice of power usage can under power the fight in the PC’s favor, although having a monster change to a suboptimal tactic is a subtle way to give the players a small break (if necessary). Make notes about the best time to use a foe’s powers and have them be as opportunistic as possible.

Make index cards for each foe (or group of essentially identical foes) so you can include them in your initiative stack and track HPs, powers, etc. right on the card. Doing this will speed up play and will help you remember tactics, etc. Also, if you prepare the cards for 4, 5, and 6 PCs at both low and high difficulties, it will make the combat process much smoother and maximize playing time.

Read Each Skill Challenge

Make a list of skills available and determine whether they are primary (i.e. a success counts toward the number of successes necessary to complete the challenge) or secondary (i.e. a success gives a bonus to another PC or removes a previous failure). Mike Mearls has a series of articles in “Dungeon” and “Dragon” magazines that discuss skill challenge design and I have a post on adjudication as well. See if there are any glaring holes in the design (i.e. the primary skills are all specialized into one or two classes, a particular class doesn’t have ANY trained skills from the list, etc.) Most importantly, make sure you have a sense of the time frame each skill challenge encompasses; this will enhance the narration by making sure it covers the elapsing of time during the challenge.

List Each Significant NPC

One criticism of LFR is the relative lack of role playing opportunity the mods provide, particularly given the amount of time a convention session provides. An easy way to provide some role playing opportunities and enhance the story you and the PCs are telling is by making the NPCs come alive. While there are dozens of techniques available, I’ll suggest three easy ones:

1. Pick a (somewhat) distinctive voice. It doesn’t have to be flawless, but having the old guy talk with a gravely voice and the service wench talk in a high-pitched voice can make a world of difference.
2. Pick a mannerism. Have him wheeze, sneeze, cough, sniffle, squint, scratch his beard, break wind frequently, whistle, etc. Just make sure he does it enough that the players can associate the mannerism with the NPC.
3. Pick a goal. It can be simple (He wants to bring the PCs food and get paid for it), or complex (he wants the attractive female pc to become sympathetic to him so he can use her to make the Mayor’s Daughter jealous). Then just have everything the NPC says or does work in some fashion towards that goal. Generally, the smarter the NPC, the more complex the goal CAN be (although it certainly does not have to be that complex).

Make an index card of each NPC with a brief physical description, notes on his voice, mannerism, and goal, and keep that index card by the appropriate encounter(s). Then, pull that card out and run with it during the encounter.

Make Any Narration Notes

The last preparatory step is to make sure you have a grasp on the narration. Be sure to note anything you feel MUST be conveyed. Try to pick a theme for each encounter to make sure your descriptions match the tone and feel of the encounter and the adventure. Also note the passage of time during the narration and that helps keep the story in focus.

Conclusion

The above work takes roughly one hour preparation but the results are worth the effort. Don’t forget that you can complete this work when you first get a module then just keep your notes for repeated running. This can also help continuity when you run multiple mods from an extended story arc.

Tags: Conventions, Preparation

WotC recently announced major changes in their Rewards Program, effectively ending the player mailings entirely.  To compensate, just about every player who had qualified for any rewards received all twenty current cards via download.  This increases the odds that players will sit at your table with a stack of these cards expecting to use them during your adventure.  We’ll go over the different types of cards available, their impacts on the game, and ways you can adjudicate their usage with minimal detraction.  These rules can be found in the RPGA Character Creation Guide (current version is 1.7) and are subject to change.

Types of Cards

There are four card types; their names and effects are listed below:

* General Cards - These common cards affect play twice during a run. The first impact occurs when they are played; each card contains a one-time benefit for that player’s character.  The second time occurs when the bonus is granted.  In the upper right corner of general cards is a +1 or +2.  This bonus may be given to any ally for any d20 roll after the die is thrown.  This bonus may only be used once per session, may only be used after the original benefit is used, and may not stack with other card bonuses.  There is no limit to the number of general cards in a card stack up to the maximm size of a player’s stack.

* Creation cards - These rare cards grant permission for a player to create a character somehow not usually permissible under the current rules set; perhaps there is a race or class restriction removed, an allowance of a normally prohibited feat, etc.  Any of these cards used in the creation of a particular character must remain in that character’s stack for the character to be legal.  Only one creation card may be in a stack, and it does count against a player’s stack size.

* Expansion cards - these uncommon cards provide new options a character may add when they level up; these options could be backgrounds, feats, etc.  Any of these cards used to modify a particular character must remain in that character’s stack or else the character will have to retain or otherwise lose the benefit of the card.  There is no limit to the number of expansion cards allowable in a card stack up to the maximum size of a player’s stack.

* Quest cards - these rare cards have in-game achievements spread across many modules; when all of the achievements have been obtained, this card then allows the character access to special closed mods. There is no limit to the number of quest cards in a card stack, and quest cards do NOT count against a player’s stack size.

The Card Stack

Each player may have a “stack” of cards in front of him; the size of this stack varies depending upon the level of the character and the type of cards present.  Every character is entitled to 2 cards at 1st level and additional cards are added every 5 levels beyond 1st (6, 11, 16, 21, and 26). Only one of these cards may be a creation card; the remainder must be either general or expansion. In addition to these cards, the stack may contain any number of quest cards. Stack limits look like this:

Only one of these cards can be a creation card.  The maximum stack size does NOT take into account quest cards.

Adjudicating Reward Card Usage

Of the four card types, only two have a direct impact on in-game play: general cards and quest cards. The other two card types merely need to be in a player’s stack if they represent some facet of character generation.

* General Cards. The primary purpose is easy to manage; if the player meets the condition they are rewarded with a specific action. To date, I haven’t seen any cards with a cause and effect scenario that wasn’t clear.  The secondary purpose has a larger affect on in-game play, as the bonus retains it’s potential until used and alters the dice roll AFTER it’s completed; this means that you will get a LOT of questions along the lines of “would a +1 (or +2) alter this result?” With potentially six players having cards active, this can become a real drag. My advice is to get in the habit of announcing to folks whether a bonus would impact the result. That way, you put that info out there as part of your information transfer and not have to deal with a bunch of interruptions.

* Quest cards. When both you and the player(s) recognize a quest event, you have a great opportunity for some role playing; play up the drama, the intrigue, etc. I suggest making note cards for the character so he can add it to his folder. I recommend prepping note cards when you happen upon a rewards event in the mod; then, when players trigger the event and have the quest card, you can give them your prep card and quickly wrap up the administrative work without disrupting the flow of play. Other than serving as notice that a particular part of the quest is complete, these cards have no effect during play.

Reward cards add a small dimension of player control to the events of a run; being prepared for them takes very little work on your part and a]enhance the player’s experience. Now you are ready for them!

Tags: Conventions, RPGA, Running

Running LFR mods at Conventions introduces the time constraint as a potential limitation to the gaming experience.  Generally, an adventure slot will be 4 hours; that includes the time it takes to handle administrative considerations, deal with character generation , etc.  We really can’t eliminate these necessities but there are some tricks that allow us to minimize their impact on the game.

New Players & Character Gen

Attracting new players is one of the goals for a Convention, and everything should be done to make these folks feel welcome and help them get the most out of their gaming experience.  However, character generation can be a long process, particularly for the uninitiated player, and can really eat into playing time.  There are a couple of ways to address this depending on time and resources:

• Character Generation session.  If you can speak with the tournament organizer ahead of time (via e-mail, etc.), suggest that one or two experienced gamers set up a very visible table to help new players create characters.  This will minimize time spent during the run handling this function, it will provide some experienced players the chance to teach the game, and it will give new players a chance to craft a persona they will be eager to play.

• Pre-make Characters.  I know there is some work involved, but take the time to create some pre-built first-level characters.  You don’t have to get crazy with concepts and burn through a bunch of great ideas you were saving for yourself; instead, you can focus on some of the fundamental class-race combinations that new folks will likely be familiar with:  Human and Dwarf fighters, Elven wizards and rangers, etc.  The WoTC Character Builder is pretty good for this purpose and can cut creation time down pretty significantly.  While I wouldn’t worry too much about background or history (let the player have some free reign), I WOULD probably list three or four common actions for the player and detail the game mechanics behind them.  This simple and short summary will help the new player grasp the core of his new character quickly.

Administrative Details

We all have paperwork details to complete for each run in order to report the event properly, etc.; many of these can be streamlined as well.

• Complete as much of the Session Tracking Log ahead of time as you can.  While players get seated and are still moving things out of their backpacks, pass this around for player names, RPGA numbers, etc.  I always attach a couple of blank RPGA cards and instruct my players to grab a card if they don’t already have one.  I also attach blank Adventure Tracking Logs for the same purpose.  This gets all of the paperwork out of the way during a bit of dead time and gets folks focused.  If you are really pressed for time you can also be reading the boxed text prologue simultaneously.

• Pre-make bundle cards.  Take some blank index cards and list the various treasure bundles available at the end of the module.  Go ahead and list them all (low and high).  Once the players have determined which path they will run you can cross off any inapplicable bundles.  Then, at the adventure’s end, you can give each player a card and they can tell you which bundle they select.  This speeds up the process and makes sure the module pages with the bundles don’t get tattered or lost.

• Prepare index card adventure summaries for each player; this summary should have the name and number of the module being played, along with room for gold and treasure bundles.  At the end of the adventure, the players claim their treasures and you can mark the summary cards and distribute them.  This allows the players to complete their Adventure Tracking Logs at their leisure without taking up valuable time at your table.

Most of these tasks can be completed with 20-30 minutes of prep work and can save you that much time each session.  And at a Convention, that time could be the difference between getting a real lunch or grabbing vending machine fare (again)

Tags: Conventions, Preparation, Supplies