Orien Weekend Trivia Competition!

[Leclaire1]

What it is

Hi all! Guerric/Carrianne from the Forever Knights of Orien here. As many of you know, Cordovan held trivia events these past few days in honor of ddo's 8th anniversary and Dungeons and Dragon's 40th. Many of us who work during normal hours were disappointed on having missed out on the fun, but Cordovan offered to support an event if a player wanted to run it. Hence we are having a round 2 of trivia with prizes from Cordovan on Orien, with a slightly different twist- while there will be some DDO questions, their will be an emphasis on classic Dungeons and Dragons trivia, focused particularly on the first three and a half editions of D&D.

When it will take place

This first two rounds took place on Saturday, March 8, at 2pm EST. The third round will take place on Sunday, March 9 and 2pm EST.

Where it will take place

The event will take place on the guild ship of the Forever Knights of Orien. Participants will be teleported to the ship for each round.

The prizes

Cordovan has given me ten 500 Turbine Point Codes, a Snowy Owl Bear Companion Certificate, and a few other flavor items (described in "How it Works" below) to give to the champions each round. The top three contestants will all receive 500 Turbine Point Codes as well. Additionally, we'll be offering awards from the personal coffers of myself and some of my fellow Forever Knights, including sets of dragon scales, x10 stacks of GS mats, 100k, 50k, and 10k plat awards for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place winners, a Draconic Soul Gem, a True Imperial Globe of Dragon Blood, Ability Tomes of up to +3, and players can choose from a bank of 20 named items as well. The Current item bank includes- Necklace of Contemplation, Sunblade, Token of the Faithful, Mystic Band, Dusk Heart, Dream Cloak, The Mad Lute, Spider-Spun Caparison (Wiz +8), EN Aquatic Bracers, EN Shamanic Fetish, EN Glorious Dawn, EN The Turmoil Within, EN Jeweled Cloak, EN Shadowsight, EH Silver Ingot Arcanum, EH Ring of the Stormreaver Prophecy, EH Dream Visor, EH Giantcraft Siberys Compass, EH Helm of the Black Dragon (Dex +8), EE Belt of the Seven Ideals, +5 Magnetism Scepter of Lightning Lore with a small guild slot (ML 22),, +8 Con Boots with FL +40 (ML 24), and +8 Con Bracers of FL 30. All participants will earn rewards regardless of how well you do, so there's no reason not to give it a shot!

How it works

These will be run a bit differently than Cordovan's event. I'll be emceeing the event on Guerric (he has more inventory space than Carri) along with Olathural, who will help to form groups, distribute items, etc. We will put up the LFM and form raid groups for each round. At the beginning of the round, I'll teleport you to our guildship and give instructions over voice (if you are unable to hear I will accommodate, but I'd prefer you be able to hear voice if able), as this will expedite things greatly. Rather than rolling off for a chance to respond, which will take forever, there will be a d20 initiative check which will give the winner the choice of category. They alone will then roll a d20 to single out a specific question from a list of 20 questions for that category. I will then paste the questions into party chat and the first person to type in the correct answer (answers will be 1 to 3 words typically) will receive a point, and have their choice of category for the next question. Some questions will have multiple answers, resulting in the possibility of multiple points to multiple people for a single question. There will also be five point challenge questions and other mechanics which I will explain during the event. The categories will be D&D Editions and Rulesets, Classic Modules and Campaigns, Lore and Campaign Settings, Game History, D&D Video Games, and Dungeons and Dragons Online. Each round will last 30 mins or until all questions are asked. Whoever receives the most points at the end each round will get their first pick from a set of prizes including the point codes (multiple codes will be given out each round). The runner up and others will then get to pick prizes in descending order of points earned until everyone has something. The winner will additionally receive a Robe of Trivial Knowledge (which will become a unique cosmetic armor kit in U21) and a Sceptre of Siberys to honor his or her victory. I'll most likely host a final round with champions from earlier rounds for an additional reward (likely the Owlbear certificate and a point code). We'll most likely do two to three rounds prior to the final one.

What will the questions be like?

The questions will be over classic Dungeons and Dragons topics, including rule sets over various editions, classic modules, campaign settings, lore, the history of the game, and even some classic Dungeons and Dragons based computer games. As I have little experience with 4e (since I hate it with a passion), the questions will probably be more focused on the first three editions, though I can try to put some 4e stuff in for those that play it, even though its out of my area of personal expertise. There will also be a DDO category with questions about adventure packs and DDO storyline topics for non PnP types.


I'm not a PnP player. Is there any reason for me to play?

Yes! Though PnP players will have an advantage in several categories, there will be purely DDO questions, general world lore questions for those who read D&D novels, and even questions for those who have a background playing older D&D computer games like Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights. There are also mechanics which may allow you to play on grounds of your own choosing. While some will be advanced, others will be accessible even to those with a basic knowledge of the subjects involved. Additionally, everyone who participates will earn something, so there is no reason not to give it a shot!

Special Thanks

Special Thanks goes to Cuyar of the Apocolyptic Raiders and to my fellow Forever Knights Tockk, Olathural, Lijuh, and Rowmeo for donating rewards to the event. Thanks also to Olathural for letting me chip in with the Thanksgiving Giveway and inspiring me to do this, as well as for co-hosting the event. Great thanks also goes to Cordovan, for lending incredible support to the event.

Aside from that, happy anniversary D&D and DDO, and looking forward to seeing you all there!

[TheMagicFairy]

Sounds like fun!

[Shaatan]

Meh, I never played the real D&D, so I guess I'm out. Sucks to be me.

[whereispowderedsilve]

Meh, I never played the real D&D, so I guess I'm out. Sucks to be me.

Don't worry your not the only one, my polish brother from another mother! I never played *any* PnP either! :P! ! ! Hehe! Lolz!

[caellwin]

im working then
so much sadness

[NexEverto]

Good luck! Hope it goes smoothly.

[XiaNYdE]

A nice gesture indeed, but once again eliminating a fair chunk of the player base that never played PnP and those of us on the other side of the world sleeping @5am.

[Leclaire1]

Just wanted to additional reward information from Olathural, who is helping to donate additional rewards to participants and winners. In addition to full sets of dragonscales, he is adding x10 stacks of Greensteel mats to the reward options, as well as donating 100k, 50k, and 10k plat to the second, third, and fourth place winners each round. I'll also probably offer up a Draconic Soul Gem and a True Imperial Globe each round as well. All participants will get something, but winners will get to pick from prizes first.

[Leclaire1]

Meh, I never played the real D&D, so I guess I'm out. Sucks to be me.

This is a valid point, so I'll modify the event a little bit to give some choices for those with little pnp experience a reason to play while still giving some deference the many classic d&d vets among us. I also wanted to add some rolling to the event, as Ola made the point that rolling the dice somewhere in the event adds to the classic feel. With these in mind, below are some modifications to the event. Keep in mind that everyone who participates will get prizes, so you won't walk away empty handed even if you don't dominate and win a place in the event.

Instead of just firing off questions randomly, I'll divide questions into 6 categories, like on Jeopardy. These categories will be as follows- Rulesets, Modules, Campaign Settings and Lore, Game History, D&D Video Games, and DDO. Some of these categories such as modules will be heavily in favor of those of us who have done pnp, but the ddo category should be accessible to us all, the lore category to some ddo players and those who read d&d novels, and video games to those who have played Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, etc. These questions will also vary in difficulty, but there will be some easier answers, especially in the rulesets category, which anyone reading up on wiki about core rule mechanics of the various versions of d&d should be able to learn.

At the beginning of the round players will roll off and the highest roller will pick the category. Whoever answers the question first correctly will then pick the category for the next round, or can choose to put it up for a roll resulting in a question worth double points. I'll also have more challenging questions in each category which the person with the choice of category could choose to have an exclusive first chance to answer which will be worth five points. Hence a pure ddo player could choose a ddo challenge question and have a chance to win 5 points without any competition, and still retain control of the choice of category if they answer successfully.

These modfications should make the event more interesting and give more options to a variety. PNP and prior d&d computer game players will have a distinct advantage in certain categories, but everyone has a chance to play smart and do well in his or her area of expertise, and once again all participants will earn prizes, so no one should walk away empty-handed.

[Cordovan]

This is great, hope your event goes well!

[Leclaire1]

Updated the OP with new treasure and changes to some event mechanics.

[caellwin]

should move it to sunday since thats a day people dont normally work more often than a saturday

[kyostal]

should move it to sunday since thats a day people dont normally work more often than a saturday

Except.. the Co-Host works all day Sunday.. so.. bleh. XD

A nice gesture indeed, but once again eliminating a fair chunk of the player base that never played PnP and those of us on the other side of the world sleeping @5am.

And as far as "people on the other side of the world" yes.. yes you are... why would we wake up at 4 in the morning, to host an event specialized for you O.o we need our sleep too...

[Leclaire1]

should move it to Sunday since that's a day people don't normally work more often than a Saturday

Hey Caell. Thanks for your enthusiasm about the competition. I debated between Saturday and Sunday originally as both have high server traffic, but as Ola said he is unavailable Sunday, and for other reasons as well we decided on Saturday.

That being said, if there are some people that can do only Sunday, I might be willing to do a single more low key round on Sunday as well, provided I can get at least 5 people to sign up in advance on this thread for a Sunday half round. Ola will not be able to help me then, and all of the flavor items and the Snowy Owlbear will go out at the main event Saturday, but I can probably save a point code or two as well as the usual plat, mats, and named items and augments for a Sunday round if we get enough people signed up in advance to do this. It would have to be between 2 and 6 pm EST as I have a commitment in the evening and have church in the morning. Of course, this option is only for those who are unable to do Saturday, and will happen only if at least 5 sign up in advance on this thread. So, if you want a trivia option for Sunday, let me know here and I can plan to make the secondary round happen.

[Leclaire1]

A nice gesture indeed, but once again eliminating a fair chunk of the player base that never played PnP and those of us on the other side of the world sleeping @5am.

As for the European question, as Ola said, there is not much we can do about that as we'll be sleeping. Additionally, the objective way to plan an event with convenience to most is simply to examine server traffic, and the peak times by far on Orien are Sat and Sunday afternoon EST according to ddooracle, so those are the proper times to offer an event that will be convenient to the most people. Nonetheless, if AU/EU peeps want to run a similar event, as NextEverto is doing on Khyber, you can feel free to contact Cordovan and ask him for prizes and post the event at a time convenient to this population. I would be more than happy to give my questions to someone who would be willing to run such an event.

[XiaNYdE]

Except.. the Co-Host works all day Sunday.. so.. bleh. XD



And as far as "people on the other side of the world" yes.. yes you are... why would we wake up at 4 in the morning, to host an event specialized for you O.o we need our sleep too...

Didn't ask anyone to wake up did i?? that would be just as useless, common sense says that say 3 events over a 24hr time period would pretty much give most of the population outside the US a go as well, where was the post asking for people to volunteer to host such an event, myself and/or others in varying time zones i am sure would have thrown up a hand to help, no-one asked you to get out of bed at 4am, that's what you are asking us to do if we wish to participate.

[Evennote]

Kudos to you for taking the time and effort to do this! We need more people like you.

(And far, FAR fewer of the ones who find something to whine about even when someone does something nice... I don't generally play at this hour, nor on this server, nor have I played enough PnP to think I'd do well on those questions, but SHEESH. You've taken the initiative to do a REALLY NICE THING, and you deserve to do it the way YOU want to!)

[Hathorian]

This looks like a lot of fun!! Even if there weren't prizes I'd still like to do it. I really hope I can get into the event!!

[caellwin]

well ill be on Sunday so you have at least 1 person now

[Hathorian]

Didn't ask anyone to wake up did i?? that would be just as useless, common sense says that say 3 events over a 24hr time period would pretty much give most of the population outside the US a go as well, where was the post asking for people to volunteer to host such an event, myself and/or others in varying time zones i am sure would have thrown up a hand to help, no-one asked you to get out of bed at 4am, that's what you are asking us to do if we wish to participate.

Hey...since you are so full of ideas (and criticisms) I think you would do a great job of hosting a similar event that would be more accessible for other time zones.