At Gen Con 2019, Goodman Games ran the third annual DCC Team Tournament, The Greatest Thieves in Lankhmar. This year 96 players competing on a record 20 different teams took on the deadly challenges of the fabled city of Lankhmar, City of Sevenscore Thousand Smokes. Over the course of four fantastic days and three hard-fought rounds, many PCs fell to the deadly traps and cunning puzzles that made up this year’s adventure, and a number of teams were wiped out in TPKs before two emerged as champions, the first place Oh, God! and the runner-up Sponsored by Mace Hardware. You can read Harley’s recap of the tournament here.
We now present the official tournament stats, including all the judges, rooms and authors that contributed to this year’s amazing event, along with this year’s Count Dante Tournament Rating – a rating scale for the deadliest tournament modules based on actual play results. See below for the rating of this and previous year’s tournaments.
Round 1 Results
| Place | Team | Round Score | Players | Judge |
| 1 | Consolidated Arson and Stabbing LLC | 308 | John Garel Mike Markey Joe Moore Silas Moore David Zelasco | Tim Deschene |
| 2 | The Black Togas | 252 | Gary Libby Vellitrix Doroshenko Conar Densmore Derek Seibel Ken Winland | Tim Deschene |
| 3 | Brendan’s Kids | 192 | Clint Trice Ben Walker Dave Kimble Leslee Everett Rosie Walker | Mike Bolam |
| 4 | Sponsored by Mace Hardware | 173 | Matt Free Nick McKinnon Paul Romer Tyler Hodge Matt Lindgren | Eric Daum |
| 5 | Oh, God! | 169 | Jim Batka Mathew Batka Joe Batka Jason Cefaratti | James Walls |
| 6 | Five Nimble Spiders | 158 | Travis Mayes Kent Duncan Dana Johnson Lance DeClue Chris Page | Terry Olsen |
| 7 | The Wood Wizards | 131 | Ian Smith Lucas Anthony Darren McVittie Heather Morse Warren Foshaug | Eric Daum |
| 8 | The Mind Phlayers | 126 | Corrine Hornbeck Garion Muckenfuss CJ Gaver Ron Hornbeck Graham Hornbeck | Marc Bruner |
| 9 | Blueberry Dragons | 103 | Jeremiah Rose Aaron Winemiller Jeremy Earl Chris Lone Spencer Miller | Terry Olsen |
| 10 | Brown-Iron Bruisers | 50 | Tim O’Brien Craig Lewin Gary Soldati Kevin O’Brien Michael Price | Haley Skach |
| 11 | The Seekers | -4* | Evan Ritt Rich Green Vincent Green Duncan Green Jane Ritt | Mike Bolam |
| 12 | Gong Rippers | -12* | Toney Robinette Ben Gianulis Corey Arnold Jordan Starks Colin Murphree | Aaron Koelman |
| 13 | Lion Pride | -32* | Arodi Rivera Josef Lenz Alberto Cintron Scott McKinley | Marc Bruner |
| 14 | Delzar’s Disciples | -65* | Jason Mulvey Andreas Fridlund Ross Grinvalds Jordan McCarrel Keith Haddad | Jeff Goad |
| 15 | Teen Girl Squad | -98* | Caleb Beckstrom Chris Bryan Cullen McDonald Brad Bernstein Matt Rishel | Jim Skach |
| 16 | Dude, Where’s My Cleric? | -104* | Lynn Register John Olszewski Brian Gilkison Laura Register Trevor Stamper | Aaron Koelman |
| 17 | Bettermen | -123* | Joseph Housel Adam Carbonneau Derek Carbonneau | Haley Skach |
| 18 | The Lords of Sarcasm | -184* | Harold Brantley Nate Garth David York Ken Burnette Jason Riddell | James Walls |
| 19 | Entropy Incorporated | -200* | Jackson King Rich Mundy Andy Bates Edwin Praff Emily Mundy | Jeff Goad |
| 20 | The Autobots | -201* | Gregg Steve Gary Ruiz Mark Goddard Carl Hafferty Tar Druggan | Jim Skach |
* Games that ended in a TPK
Round 2 Results
| Place | Team | Round Score | Players | Judge |
| 1 | Oh, God! | 223 | Jim Batka Mathew Batka Joe Batka Jason Cefaratti | Jeff Goad |
| 2 | Sponsored by Mace Hardware | 214 | Matt Free Nick McKinnon Paul Romer Tyler Hodge Matt Lindgren | Tim Deschene |
| 3 | Consolidated Arson and Stabbing LLC | 188 | John Garel Mike Markey Joe Moore Silas Moore David Zelasco | Marc Bruner |
| 4 | Brendan’s Kids | 91 | Clint Trice Ben Walker Dave Kimble Leslee Everett Rosie Walker | Harley Stroh |
| 5 | Five Nimble Spiders** | -134* | Travis Mayes Kent Duncan Dana Johnson Lance DeClue Chris Page | Mike Bolam |
* Games that ended in a TPK.
** Alternate team in place of The Black Togas, who could not field a full team at the start of Round 2.
Round 3 Results
| Place | Team | Round Score | Players | Judge |
| 1 | Oh, God! | 56* | Jim Batka Mathew Batka Joe Batka Jason Cefaratti | Marc Bruner |
| 2 | Sponsored by Mace Hardware | 30* | Matt Free Nick McKinnon Paul Romer Tyler Hodge Matt Lindgren | Harley Stroh |
* Games that ended in a TPK. The two final teams battled each other right until the very end, both TPKing after three and a half hours of play within 1 minute of each other!
TPKs by Round and Judge
| Round | TPKs | Teams | TPK % | Top TPK Judges |
| 1 | 10 | 20 | 50% | Tie – Jeff Goad, Aaron Koelman, Jim Skach, and Haley Skach (2) |
| 2 | 1 | 5 | 20% | Mike Bolam |
| 3 | 2 | 2 | 100% | Tie – Harley Stroh and Marc Bruner (1) |
Deadliest Round
| Round | Ratio of Fatalities to Total Number of Players | Total PC Fatalities* | Total Players |
| 3 | 2.3:1 | 21 | 9 |
| 1 | 1.5:1 | 145 | 96 |
| 2 | 0.3:1 | 20 | 24 |
* ”PC Fatalities” includes both the total number of times a PC reached 0 hp and the number of PCs that bled out.
Deadliest Rooms by Round
| Round | Room | Author | % of Total PC Fatalities* in Round |
| 1 | Area 1-6 – The Thieves’ Road and the Telekinetic Sponge | Terry Olsen | 31% |
| 2 | Area 2-5 – The Wall | Alasdair Cunningham | 70% |
| 3 | Area 3-8 – The Overlord’s Whipping Post | Terry Olsen | 76% |
* ”PC Fatalities” includes both the total number of times a PC reached 0 hp and the number of PCs that bled out.
Deadliest Judges
| Judge | Ratio of Fatalities to Total Number of Players | Total PC Fatalities* | Total Players |
| Aaron Koelman | 2.5:1 | 25 | 10 |
| Terry Olson, Jim Skach, and Harley Stroh (Tie) | 2.0:1 | 20 | 10 |
| James Wall | 1.9:1 | 17 | 9 |
| Jeff Goad | 1.6:1 | 23 | 14 |
| Michael Bolam | 1.5:1 | 23 | 15 |
| Marc Bruner | 1.4:1 | 25 | 18 |
| Haley Skach | 1.0:1 | 8 | 8 |
| Eric Daum | 0.4:1 | 4 | 10 |
| Tim Deschene | 0.1:1 | 1 | 15 |
* ”PC Fatalities” includes both the total number of times a PC reached 0 hp and the number of PCs that bled out.
Deadliest Tournament Modules
Returning for Gen Con 2019: the Count Dante Tournament Rating System! Because tournament modules are played at Gen Con over a large sample of tables and judges, we are able to quantify their danger level. Based on this quantification we have a rating system to use as a guide when selecting your next adventure to run. Here are the ratings for this year’s tournament The Greatest Thieves in Lankhmar, along with our previous tournament adventures, Riders of the Phlogiston and The Black Heart of Thakulon the Undying. Future tournament modules will also use this rating system once they are put through their paces at Gen Con or other large gaming events!
| Adventure | Count Dante Dungeon Rating* | Ratio of Killed PCs | Total PCs Killed | Total Players, Including Rounds 2 and 3 |
| Riders of the Phlogiston – Gen Con 2018 | IV | 0.62:1 | 83 | 134 |
| The Greatest Thieves in Lankhmar – Gen Con 2019 | III | 0.57:1 | 74 | 129 |
| The Black Heart of Thakulon the Undying – Gen Con 2017 | II | 0.35:1 | 23 | 65 |
*Based on the ratio of killed PCs (eliminated) to players for every PC that entered the dungeon across all rounds:
Type I – 0.0 to 0.2:1
Type II – 0.2 to 0.4:1
Type III – 0.4 to 0.6:1
Type IV – 0.6 to 0.8:1
Type V – 0.8 to 0.99:1
Type VI – 1:1, or 100% lethal!
Most Popular Pre-gens:
- Lankhmar wizard (L3) – 17
- Lankhmar warrior (L3) – 13
- Cold Wastes thief (L4) – 11
- Cold Wastes warrior (L3) – 10
- (Tie) Lankhmar thief (L3) – 9
- (Tie) Eight Cities wizard (L4) – 9
- (Tie) Mingol thief (L3) – 8
- (Tie) Cold Wastes warrior (L4) – 8
- Eastern Lands warrior (L4) – 7
- Mingol thief (L4) – 4
Notable Team Compositions:
- Redundancy, Inc.: Teams with three or more warriors – 2
- Power magic-users: Teams with two wizards – 6
- Levels, smevels: Total number of level 3 vs level 4 characters – 57 vs 39
Special Awards:
- Most cursed creature: Judge Terry not only runs an amazing table, as a writer, his creatures are a perennial bane of teams that encounters them. This year Terry’s telekinetic sponge from the first round was the subject of many a muttered imprecation and earned the honors for the creature that killed the most PCs!
- Count Dante Black Belt: Goes to judge Mike for running a record total of 13 official tournament games! That includes two at Gen Con 2017, three at Gen Con 2018, five at Origins 2019, and three more this year. Over that same period, judge Mike has also run six play test sessions, bringing his total count to an amazing 19 games run in support of the tournament!
- Dungeon Provisioning LLC – Not only did judge Jim go beyond the call in keeping the other judges supplied with a place to gather on the eve of the con, he and his business partner Paul made a dozen complete sets of the most amazing map tiles for Round 1 and Round 2 that you have to see to believe. Our best wishes to Jim and Paul on making them into a product and available to more folks!
- The Circle is Now Complete – After literally growing up with the system, judge Haley made her tournament debut this year, immediately diving into taking two teams through the first round. She even recorded the first TPK of the tournament!
- RAW, Please – During the first round, judge Eric’s two teams held on tightly to their reserves, refusing to give up any advantage that might carry them into the second round. Amazingly, neither team used magical healing or invoke patron once, trusting to the gods and Eric to see them through!
- Huddled Masses – Judge Marc guided the most players this year, with a total of 18 players passing through his table, including the winning team, Oh God!
- Invoke Patron Stroh – Once again, judge Harley saw this year’s tournament all the way from design to implementation, and played a crucial role during Round 1 of wrangling all ten tables that were being run simultaneously. His continuous presence and gentle guidance gave all the judges what they needed to make this year’s event so successful!
- Death By Koelman – This year, Judge Aaron managed the highest ratio of PC fatalities to players out of every judge in the tournament, achieving an amazing 2.5:1 ratio of fatalities to players at his tables!
- Atlas Caught Napping – After TPKing two out of three of his teams in 2017, judge Tim let through not one, not two, but all three of his teams into the next round, including eventual second place team Sponsored by Mace Hardware and third place Consolidated Arson and Stabbing LLC!
- The Snail God Smiles on You – Judge James started the tournament in grand style, entertaining his players with ape impressions and always delightful play. James also had the honor of judging the eventual winners, team Oh God!, in his debut game!
- No More Tears – Like last year, Judge Jeff continued to stymie and challenge players to perform at their peak for the tournament, and even though he managed to TPK both of his Round 1 teams, he did so with such shared enthusiasm that both teams walked away completely happy with the experience!
Complete Stats by Room
Round 1
| Room | Author | PC Fatalities | % of Total PC Fatalities in Round |
| Player Start | Harley Stroh | 0 | 0% |
| 1-0 – Paths of Woe | Harley Stroh | 22 | 16% |
| 1-1 – Smoke, Ghosts & Sentinels | Terry Olson | 12 | 9% |
| 1-2 – The Doorless Vault | Marzio Muscedere | 21 | 15% |
| 1-3 – A Gift from Mog | Terry Olson | 22 | 16% |
| 1-4 – Undead Mess | Mike Bolam | 2 | 1% |
| 1-5 – Trapped Hallway/Bones of the Guild Masters | Tim Deschene | 0 | 0% |
| 1-6 – The Thieves’ Road and the Telekinetic Sponge | Terry Olson | 44 | 31% |
| 1-7 – Escape! | Harley Stroh | 18 | 13% |
Round 2
| Room | Author | PC Fatalities | % of Total PC Fatalities in Round |
| 2-1 – The Rooftop Warrens | Marc Bruner | 1 | 5% |
| 2-1a – Poison Pit | Terry Olsen | 0 | 0% |
| 2-1b – Glue Basin | Terry Olsen | 1 | 5% |
| 2-1c – Oily Roof | Terry Olsen | 0 | 0% |
| 2-1d – Shingle Beast | Terry Olsen | 0 | 0% |
| 2-1e – Launch Pad | Terry Olsen | 0 | 0% |
| 2-1f – Mind the Gap | Marc Bruner | 0 | 0% |
| 2-1g – Rooftop Fane | Marc Bruner | 0 | 0% |
| 2-1h – The Pigeon Keeper | Marc Bruner | 0 | 0% |
| 2-2 – The Tile Masters | Julien Bernick | 3 | 15% |
| 2-3 – Underpants Alley | Alasdair Cunningham | 1 | 5% |
| 2-4 – A “Quick” Drink at the Blighted Bloom | Bob Brinkman | 0 | 0% |
| 2-5 – The Wall | Alasdair Cunningham | 14 | 70% |
Round 3
| Room | Author | PC Fatalities | % of Total PC Fatalities in Round |
| 3-1 – The Pleasure Gardens of the Mad Overlord | Marzio Muscedere | 0 | 0% |
| 3-2 – The Crystalline Ball | Harley Stroh | 0 | 0% |
| 3-3 – Menagerie of the Moon | Marc Bruner | 1 | 5% |
| 3-4 – Hall of Mirrors | Harley Stroh | 0 | 0% |
| 3-5 – Servants of the Secret Slime | Terry Olson | 0 | 0% |
| 3-6 – Sticks and Rods | Marc Bruner | 0 | 0% |
| 3-7 – Doorway of the Hates | Thorin Thompson | 2 | 10% |
| 3-8 – The Overlord’s Whipping Post | Terry Olson | 16 | 76% |
| 3-9 – The Flames | Marc Bruner | 2 | 10% |
| 3-10 – Tessellations and Combinations | Marc Bruner | 0 | 0%* |
| 3-11 – The Black Sloop | Harley Stroh | 0 | 0%* |
* Rooms that no teams reached during the tournament
All-Time Gen Con Stats for Judges
| Judge | Gen Con Games Judged | Ratio of Fatalities to Total Number of Players | Total PC Fatalities* | Total Players | Years Active |
| Tim Deschene | 10 | 1.0 | 53 | 51 | 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| Marc Bruner | 9 | 1.5 | 68 | 46 | 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| Mike Bolam | 8 | 1.2 | 51 | 42 | 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| Jeff Goad | 6 | 2.1 | 67 | 32 | 2018, 2019 |
| Aaron Koelman | 5 | 1.5 | 36 | 24 | 2018, 2019 |
| Terry Olson | 5 | 2.3 | 62 | 27 | 2018, 2019 |
| Harley Stroh | 5 | 1.5 | 36 | 24 | 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| Eric Daum | 4 | 0.9 | 18 | 21 | 2018, 2019 |
| Rick Hull | 4 | 0.9 | 18 | 20 | 2017, 2018 |
| David Baity | 3 | 1.7 | 24 | 14 | 2017 |
| Haley Skach | 2 | 1.0 | 8 | 8 | 2019 |
| Jim Skach | 2 | 2.0 | 20 | 10 | 2019 |
| James Walls | 2 | 1.9 | 17 | 9 | 2019 |
| Jonathon Perkel | 0 | Mathematically undefined! | 0 | 0 | 2018 |
* ”PC Fatalities” includes both the total number of times a PC reached 0 hp and the number of PCs that bled out.
