Token Pre-Orders Begin Feb. 1st at Noon (Central)
We are excited to announce that we are opening our pre-orders for the 2008 tokens at Noon (Central) on Friday, Feb. 1st. The tokens have been improved this year with module specific weapons and treasure items like a Potion of Monk’s Mead or a +1 Orcish Sickle. We have also added some old-time D&D favorites like the Ring of Wizardry and +1 Mighty Longbow. The tokens will mailed in the later half of March.
We are using the same pricing and bonuses as last year:
1 pack = $10
10 pack = $95 plus two FREE bags (a total of 12)
25 pack = $250 plus five FREE bags (a total of 30) PLUS one Ultra Rare token of your choice mailed when order is sent in March.
50 pack = $500 plus 10 FREE bags (a total of 60) plus one Ultra Rare token of your choice (mailed in March), plus one "first-run" Ultra Rare token of your choice (mailed shortly after placing your pre-order!). This "first-run" Ultra Rare token will be taken from our very limited stock of factory sample tokens that just arrived. Both types of UR tokens are free to be used at the event. These proof tokens have a special mark on their backs to brand them as unique.
100 pack = $1000 plus 20 FREE bags (a total of 120) PLUS two UR tokens of your choice (mailed in March), plus two "first-run" UR tokens of your choice (mailed out shortly after placing pre-order!). PLUS, you will receive a signed copy of the module after the event is over in August. This module will contain a map of the event as well as many photos and illustrations not available anywhere else. These proof tokens have a special mark on their backs to brand them as unique.
Also, please keep in mind that "1 out of 100 bags" will contain an UR token -- so everyone has a chance at drawing an Ultra Rae token in your order in March.
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If you place a $250 (or greater) order, you will be contacted by us via email to provide your choice for the UR token(s) you wish to receive. Note that these pre-ordered tokens will be shipped to you without any drawstring bags. All orders add $10 of shipping charges regardless of the size of the shipment.
IMPORTANT NOTE: There is no need to rush to our TD Store at noon on Friday, Feb. 1st! For orders of $500 or more, the quantities of on-hand "first-run" Ultra Rare tokens should be sufficient for everyone that places an order. Please don't stress about getting your order placed. Finally, I want to thank all the great Forumites at the True Dungeon website for their awesome help with developing the 2008 tokens. You did a great job this year!
Golden Ticket
To add in a bit of fun for all our collectors, we are inserting 16 special Golden Ticket tokens into the group of first-run 2008 tokens (which should sell out by June). Presenting one of these Golden Ticket tokens at the entrance to the True Dungeon Tavern at 9:00am on Thursday morning at Gen Con 2008 will get you into a special VIP run of True Dungeon. Note only will you be the first to play TD in 2008, but your adventure will feature extra treasure pulls, an exclusive extra room/puzzle, a few surprises, and admission to an exclusive post-adventure reception inside the closed Tavern.
This Golden Ticket program should be a lot of fun for collectors – as any 10-pack could hold an extra-special token for a lucky gamer (or Charlie!).
IMPORTANT NOTE: Please use our website service to pre-order. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE A PAYPAL ACCOUNT to buy the tokens even though we use PayPal to process your order. They take normal credit cards too. Just click on the CONTINUE button at the bottom of the check out page. AGAIN, you DO NOT have to have a PayPal account to purchase tokens. We just use their website to process your VISA, AMEX or MasterCard. ALL Canadian orders must be a minimum of $95.
Treasure Token Video
Click on the images below to see short videos of the last year’s tokens in action. You can really get a sense of how they feel and sound! All of the info is current in 2008.
Online Token Generator
To show you how much fun it is to collect Treasure Tokens, one of our awesome volunteers (Doug Martin) designed an cool online bit of fun. This application simulates you "rolling up" your treasure tokens, and there is even a 1% each time that you click on the button that you will see an Ultra Rare token. Updated for 2008 tokens, but no Golden Tickets are possible (you have work to do!). Click on the image of the bag to try it out.
Sample Result:
We NEED Volunteers!
If you are interested in being a full-time or part-time volunteer please email volunteer@truedungeon.com and let us know. We need DMs, Player Coaches, Monsters/Actors, and Admins to help make True Dungeon even better in 2008. We have some awesome plans for 2008, but we need your help to make them happen. Volunteering for True Dungeon is a great way to give back to the event while becoming friends with the coolest gamers on the planet. You also get these benefits:
Part-time (20 hours): FREE Gen Con 4-Day badge – a $75 value!
Full-time (40 hours): FREE Gen Con 4-Day badge ($75), a spot in a nice Marriott Hotel room (great location), free TD T-shirts, free soda and food, and free cool stuff. Plus, you get to see True Dungeon from behind the scenes and meet the cool people who bring it all off.
Volunteer now – and 2008 will be your best Gen Con.
The True Dungeon Podcast!
Can’t wait until August to get your True Dungeon fix? Well check out a fan-site called THE TRUE DUNGEON PODCAST to get the inside scoop on past and future events. There you will find a complete summary of last year’s event, general topics of interest, as well as some nice “what is True Dungeon?” episodes that are perfect for your interested newbie friends.
“Hope For the Lost” – the 2008 Episodic Story Introduction
A great True Dungeon contributor (and all-around great guy) Dennis Baird is an excellent novelist who has volunteered to write the Introduction for this year’s module. Every few weeks we will publish another TD Newsletter, and each issue will come complete with another installment of “Hope For the Lost”. This story will feature some of the named characters from TD lore (such as Nightshade), and it will give a nice background story to the last installment of the 3-year story arc entailing the assault of Greyhawk by Iuz. There just might be a clue or two along the way. You can check out his novel work HERE.
Enjoy!
Jeff Martin
Director
True Dungeon
Dennis Baird in action in 2007 (left)
Chapter One – “Hope For the Lost”
I am but a small voice of little or no importance when compared with the events of the world.
When all this started, I was but a young lad. My father had been killed by marauding orcs as he worked in the field when I was eight. My grandfather, Widseth, had taken mother and me into his home.
He taught me my letters, and showed me beautiful scrolls and books. He taught me to sing and play the lute. Over the years I learned that he could cast magical spells. He told me that even I could use some of the scrolls to create magic. But mostly, I remember sitting on the hearth listening to his stories and songs of adventure. He played a most marvelous instrument that seemed to have a life of its own. I can still hear the beautiful strains sometimes in my dreams.
On the last day of the summer of my fifteenth year, not long after the sun set, a knock on the door disturbed my grandfather’s singing as we sat around the table after our evening meal. It was a cool night, announcing the arrival of autumn, but not unpleasant. Grandmother rose to answer the door, but Grandfather motioned her to be still. He continued to sing, but then a strange thing happened. He set his lute on the table, but it continued to play. As he sang, he drew his sword from its scabbard and moved like a cat toward the door. I had never seen him take the sword from the wall hanging before. It glistened in the candle light. My heart pounded in my chest.
A man shouted from outside. “Widseth, I hear your song. It soothes my troubled mind. Open the door and hear me.”
Grandfather looked at us and smiled. He opened the door.
“You’re lucky I didn’t skewer you, you young rascal,” Grandfather said as he sheathed his sword and extended his hand.
The man standing at the door reached his hand out from under his black cloak. I saw the flash of armor under the outer covering. The lower half of his face was covered by the cloak draped over his shoulder. His dark eyes scanned the room. I felt naked to his inspection, and I knew those eyes missed nothing.
“Skewer me?” he asked. Then he burst into laughter. “Not before my little friend would have severed your spine.”
Then I saw her. She was like a ghost. I suppose she had been standing beside the tall man all along, but in the evening shadows, I had not noticed her at all. Maybe Grandfather had seen her, but before she stepped into the light, I had seen nothing more than a shadow.
“Ah, now my heart is full. It is an honor to see you again.” Grandfather knelt, took the girl’s hand, and kissed it lightly.
I was confused, but Grandmother appeared completely at ease as if old friends had just arrived. I guess they had.
The man named Gearon was younger than my grandfather. He was probably ten years older than my father would have been. Their conversation was familiar like they had known one another in times past. I sensed Gearon was a hard man who concealed great sorrow and anger.
The girl puzzled me the most. Her appearance deceived me. At first glance, I was sure she was no older than me, but a sword hung from her side, and her supple armor was travel stained. She spoke with confidence to my Grandfather and Gearon. No doubt they considered her their equal. Her words were not those of a child. My first instincts painted the picture of her as a thief in my mind. I didn’t trust her, but she was kindly and entertained me with slight of hand tricks for a while. Then I learned her name. It scared me at first because it was a name that portended evil. Who would call herself Nightshade?
I tried to stay awake to listen to them, but they talked long into the night. I heard snatches of the conversation about a city named Greyhawk, and someone called IUZ. They spoke of elves, but I couldn’t quite follow because it seemed they said something about the elves or drow, as they called them, living underground. That made no sense to me.
In the morning, grandfather and his friends were gone. His sword and lute no longer hung in their familiar places on the wall. Grandmother and Mother said nothing, but I deduced that he had departed with the man and the girl. For a month I worked in the fields to get the harvest in before the winter snow. At night Grandmother told me stories about Grandfather, his friends, and the great city of Greyhawk.
It was a hard winter, but now spring was at hand. I helped Mother and Grandmother get the early planting started, but Grandfather was not back.
Last night I had a dream. In it I saw my grandfather and his friends in danger. I knew I had to help them if I could. I slipped out of bed and opened Grandfather’s large chest as quietly as I could. It surprised me to find a traveling pack, many of his scrolls bundled with a note to me to use them well, an old mandolin that I had never seen before in a leather carrier, and a small sword. The note told me to take what I thought I might need.
I stuffed a crust of bread and several handfuls of hard wheat into the pack. I quietly opened the door and left the farmhouse. As the road plunged into the forest, I looked back. Everything I knew was there. The scene surprised me. Grandmother and Mother stood in the doorway. They raised their hands and waved. I guess they knew I had to go. In the early morning light they glowed with the warmth of home. I didn’t know if I would see them again. My spine tingled with anticipation as I took my first step into a larger world.