Riddle Reveal for 2008

 

 

 

 

What a Great Time!

 

This year’s dungeon was our best yet, and we hope to make it even better next year!  I hope everyone enjoyed the bigger rooms, the better costumes, the better sound/lighting effects and the cooler monsters.  All of the volunteers did a great job, and I cannot stress enough how awesome all these people are to give up their Gen Con (and a week’s vacation) so many OTHERS can have fun.

 

Thank you volunteers, and please know that you put on a heck of a show at Gen Con.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Volunteers of Special Merit

 

I think the thing that makes True Dungeon so cool is the fact that about 100 volunteers come together every year to make the magic happen.  Many of them take an entire week off of work to help put on the show, which shows how much some people love to help others have a lot of fun.

 

I would like to especially thank the following people for their outstanding contribution this year.  I could list ALL our volunteers here, but I will try to keep the list narrowed.  This year these people have made an outstanding contribution to our event.  Thank you all.  Here they are in no particular order.

 

Dave Radtke: Tokens, SPFX, Podcast, Volunteer Coordinator

Jeff Chandler: Podcast, SPFX, dance instructor

Mike Lutz: Electrical and sound install leader

Lee Vaughn: Operations, sounding board

Brian Kelley: Make-up, Costumes, art for novella

Heather Bergeron: Admin

Marc Landuyt: Vol. HQ (all-day shifts)

Gary Aswegan: Training, feedback

Will Walker: Training

Joyus Kelley: Tavern and Mind Flayer costumes!

Bob Stone: Tavern and tear down coordinator

Stuart Ough: DM training

Todd Lawson: Prop room, warehouse, plus much more!

Dennis Baird: Author of novella, great TD bard

Warren Snider: Year-around work on whatever needs to get done. 

Fritz Snider: Made the awesome slide show for Riddle Reveal

Lori Martin: Event paperwork, token sales, all-day shifts in Admin

 

And thanks to all the volunteers (some of the above, plus Linda, Marc, and Shawna) who came to the hot warehouse in July to help pack up the event. 

 

 

 

Marshalling Area

 

This year we saw the return of the Marshalling Area where groups could meet at a table before their event was to start.  The Coaches in this area worked VERY hard to overcome loud noises and a shortage of lights to do a heck of a job.  Next year we are going to have some improved systems in place so that the tables stay neat, there is more room, and the Coaches don’t have to shout themselves hoarse.  Finally, the dummy (me) buying the necklace lights next year will buy enough lights so there are plenty available.

 

 

 

Training Room

 

The Drow made their final appearance this year as the introduction NPCs.  Many thanks go to the Drow Crew for kicking the adventure off with some juice. 

 

Next year we hope to change things up a bit with the Training Room.  First, we hope to work it into the adventure a little more, and second we hope to introduce a new and cool intro character.  She is even meaner than the Drow!

 

 

 

 

 

Room 1 – The Cave        

 

This area introduced some very cool cavern walls as players moved into a cave that contained a long dead adventurer, a puzzle piece and a pool of water.  Unfortunately, after a short time in the cave the party was attacked by a swarm of Stirges with each character automatically getting one attached to her person.

 

 

 

The Stirges could be killed or driven off by doing any damage to them.  Unfortunately, this was easier said that done since if you missed the Stirge on the slider board, you may have hit the host player character instead. 

 

Spells were an excellent way to rid yourself of the pests worry-free as spells like Magic Missile, Ray of Frost and Burning Hands would remove them with no risk of injury.  A Token: Scroll of Chain Lightning was very useful in this room, as it would kill ALL the Stirges in one quick flash of lightning.

 

In addition, another way to rid yourself of the Stirge was to just jump into the water.  Submersing the pests in water makes them instantly let go as they need to breathe.

 

Regarding the pool:  If you have a magical means to breathe water, you could gain an extra token draw from the Treasure Chest, as your exploration of the deep pool would yield some bounty.

 

To enter the secret way into the Monastery, groups had to place a Pelor holy symbol on the top of the pedestal.  Luckily for the party, another previously unsuccessful adventurer had one of these holy symbols with him when he became Stirge food.

 

The puzzle on the pedestal read:

 

The Orb of Pelor travels far

His Hope, a warmth, of that star

It spins around so we can see

The truths we seek are then set free

 

 

 

 

The puzzle piece would easily fit onto the symbol on the sign, but another square piece of wood stops that from happening.  By spinning the whole thing, a player can cause hidden pistons to move, and thus the square piece of wood can be removed from the symbol.

 

 

 

 

 

Room 2 – The Seven Pillars

 

 

 

 

 

The party will travel down a short corridor before they find themselves in a large chamber lined with copper faces.  In the center of the room they will see seven short pillars whose tops are finished with a 45 degree flat top.  These flat stone surfaces contain seven different male faces and a ledge with which to rest one of the seven plaques that rest upon a stone table.

 

Written upon the wall is the following inscription:

 

Those who wander, seek and roam

Find hope does dwell within our home

But first a test is laid to you

Solve it now and venture through

 

Evil snares the Found each day

Countered with good, to Pelor we pray

Match the virtue to the sin

Wisdom is shown -- your journey begins

 

There are seven plaques (virtues) and seven columns (sins), and it is the task of the party to place each virtue with the proper sin.  The party should be able to divine the correct placement by looking at the expressions on the faces for each visage represents a different sin.  See below for a listing of each sin and the matching virtue.

 

Each time a virtue is incorrectly placed, the person placing the virtue will suffer a different effect from a holy bolt of magical energy that strikes from the ceiling.  (The DM activates a remote control that plays the sound effect).  A Scroll: Mage Hand token cannot be used here to prevent damage.  The person controlling the Mage Hand will still suffer the bad effect if the plaques are placed in the wrong location.

 

Vice                 Virtue             Effect for Wrong Placement (Keyed to Vice)

Lust              Chastity        DM marks player with Thieves’ Mark stamp

Gluttony        Temperance   Player is poisoned for 2 pts. of damage

Greed           Charity          DM marks player with Thieves’ Mark stamp          

Sloth            Diligence        Player is paralyzed for rest of room*

Wrath           Kindness        Player attacks wall with fist taking 2 pts. of damage

Envy             Patience        Player won’t help other players for rest of room*

Pride             Humility         Player is turned to stone for rest of room*

 

When all the virtues are properly placed the DM will activate a success sound effect -- followed by the sound of grinding stone.  The DM will then tell the party that a secret door now opens to allow them to proceed into Room 3.  If the puzzle is not completed in time, the DM will tell the group that they were attacked by Orcs as they did finally solve the puzzle with each group member taking 6 points of damage.

 

Finally, if someone casts a Detect Magic they may find on the central pillar a Bard Healing glyph.  The FIRST person who touches the glyph will have their bad effects removed, but it will not heal any damage taken. 

 

 

 

 

Room 3 – The Key Room

 

 

This room appears to be much like the previous room but this time the pattern of the 5-inch face disc is different – and the faces are now made out of hammered silver.  The room contains a eight feet wide by four feet tall hemisphere made out of glowing “magical” force bars in a geodesic pattern.  The five open areas at the top of the hemisphere are further restricted with glowing sting.  Sitting inside the half-sphere at the center is a large one foot long metal key that rests on a small stand.  The key is held by two small appendages. 

 

 

 

The only other thing in the room is a large sack.  The exact contents of the sack will depend on what tokens the party is carrying.  At this point the DM will ask the party if anyone is carrying any of the following tokens:

 

50’ rope  -  50’ twine  -  Mortar and pestle  -  Waterskin

 

Once it is determined what is carried, the DM will reach into her DM chest and give to the players a sack that contains a 50’ rope plus any of the tokens present listed above. 

 

Written upon the wall is the following poem:

 

To venture forth you must retrieve

Through careful acts this golden key

Use the tools that you have brought

Touch not the bars that I have wrought

Nor reach inside to grab your prize

Bridge your thoughts and be most wise

 

This is a creative problem solving room, and it is up to the party to figure out how to get the key without reaching their hand inside or touching the bars.  An easy method is to run to lengths of rope in parallel under the key and then pull tight and lift the key off of the stand.  Still keep the tension strong one side of the rope bridge is then lowered and the key simply slides down the ropes and out of the hemisphere.  The key can then be placed in the indention next to the exit to open the secret door.  The DM will activate a success sound effect exactly like the one in Room Two. 

 

Any player who touches the half-sphere or breaks the plane of the segments will hear a sound effect activated by the DM with a remote, and the character is thrown back against the wall.  They also take 4 points of damage.  If the key is not retrieved by the end of the round then all players take 4 points of damage as they just “brute force” the puzzle and grab the key. 

 

 

 

Room 4 – The Pit

 

 

The Combat and Puzzle versions of this room were slightly different.  The combat side had a longer hallway and trap at the start, and the puzzle room had a secret door in the final room.

 

The Combat side left the Key Room to find themselves looking down a long corridor.  If they were watchful, they would have noticed a large burn mark one on side of the corridor – as well as a blackened face on the wall opposite the burn mark.  Careful examination would see that the mouth of this darkened face had a one-half inch hole in it.

 

 

 

Anyone walking in front of the mouth would set off a photo-electric device that activated a loud poof of air through the mouth.  Not only would this scare the person, but all the characters in the area also took fire damage.

 

This trap could be deactivated by simply noticing that the face next to the fire-spewing face was turned 90 degrees clockwise – and then rotating the face back to its normal position.

 

---

 

After the Puzzle side was done with their combat, the party had time to cure up in a small room behind the pit.  An observant player could have noticed that one of the faces was a little bit different.  Not only was it a different color (Scooby-Doo style) but it also was turned 90 degrees.  The first person to turn it back to the upright position was told by the DM that they found a secret door – and they were allowed to draw an additional token from the Treasure Chest.

 

---

 

The Pit

 

The party travelled down a corridor that ends in an eight feet wide curtain.  The DM opened the curtains and she told them that they found a secret door into what appears to be the inside of an outdoor building – and that the secret door appears not to have been open for many years.

 

The party saw an 8 feet wide by 8 feet long 30 feet deep pit that completely cuts off the hallway.  Only a two feet wide stone bridge going over the pit gives them a way to cross.  If the party says they are looking into the pit, the DM told them that it looks like a plain 30 feet deep pit that has an iron rung ladder going up the other side.

 

Unfortunately, the Receiving Hall has been turned into the guest quarters of one of Iuz’s generals.  He is Brinenok – a Mind Flayer.

 

Since the bridge was so narrow only one person was able to make a melee attack against the Mind Flayer, but other players could have used missile weapons, ranged magic weapons or spells to attack.  The Mind Flayer could not be shoved off the bridge.

 

 

Anyone who fell into the 30’ deep pit took 10 points of damage, and there was an iron rung ladder on the walls that allowed the players to climb out.  It took two rounds to do so.  At that time the player could then attack the Mind Flayer with melee weapons.  Only a total of two players can make melee attacks at him at once since the bridge is narrow behind him as well.  Players could not jump across the pit as the bridge and floor around the bridge is slippery.

 

A player could have used a magic Scroll: Fly token to travel anywhere in this room – thus attacking the Mind Flayer from the side if the player wishes.

 

A player with a magic Ring: Feather Fall took no damage falling down the pit.  A player could have been lowered down into the pit with the use of a Rope token in one round, and then it would have taken another two rounds to climb the ladder.  The Halfling Rogue may be thrown across the pit by any of the other character provided the character slides a “15” on the combat board (modified only for Strength).  Failure means the Rogue falls to the bottom of the pit taking 10 points of damage.  A magic Ring: Ring of the Ram token does not create enough force to knock the Mind Flayer off of the bridge.  A person deploying a Smokestick token upon the area of the bridge will cause the Mind Flayer to be -4 to hit with his Scorching Ray spell but not his Magic Missile spell.  It will also give players -4 to hit with their ranged attacks too.

 

The Mind Flayer was a tough fight, but spells and missile weapons could be used to full advantage here.

 

I hoped you like the awesome Mind Flayer costume.  The masks were custom made at great expense, and the costumes were hand-made by a great volunteer Joyus Kelly.

 

 

 

Room 5 (Puzzle) – The Blacksmith Shop

 

 

The party left the Welcoming Room with the Pit and the Mind Flayer to find themselves outside in Monastery grounds.  There was a soft sound track playing in the area of partying orcs behind the walls and doors in the area. 

 

They were greeted by a DM who motioned that they needed to be very quiet, and soon they found themselves sneaking by a snoring Sleeping Giant.  Luckily, the party was able to get by the Sleeping Giant and make their way closer to the temple that they sought.

 

 

Unfortunately, they were stopped at a highly trapped gate that promised to do lots of missile damage to anyone who opened it.  The party then decided to investigate a nearby working blacksmith shop to see if they could find a way around the trap.

 

What they found was a magical suit of armor and a note:

 

To Hagroth, Giant Armorsmith,

 

I hope you find your new abode suitable to your liking and purpose.  It was not easy meeting your payment demands, but to avoid Iuz’s wrath I have done as you asked.  There will soon be plenty of time to enjoy your earned wines and meads, so do not partake in your treasure until after the assault is complete.  Your sleeping bulk is too heavy to move!

 

I bring grave news regarding the twenty suits of Winged Commander Armor you enchanted.  These suits were used by our troop Commanders during a recent skirmish with some Greyhawk forces.  Their “Fly” enchantment worked well and the Commanders were able to see the battlefield well and they were able to move swiftly.  However, your “Protection from Missiles” enchantments on the suits were not complete as some of the enemy’s hail of arrows was able to penetrate the armor and kill the Commander within.  This is the only suit to have survived the encounter.  My divining magicks tell me that a section of the armor was forgotten during the enchantment process and that it needs a protective Rune Badge fused to it to keep arrows from penetrating its section.  Enclosed is a Rune Badge that you can attach to an area of the armor to sure up the protection in the area you think needs it most. 

 

                                                                   -- Slithigarriett the Hale

 

 

It was then the task of the party to first identify the correct Bard Glyph, and then figure out which of the areas of the suit needed the extra enchantment.

 

 

This is where those neck lights come in handy, as a careful examination of the suit found that it was almost entirely covered in tiny puncture dents where missiles had hit it and been deflected.  Only the bottom right leg was free from these tiny dents, so this is the area of the armor that had not yet been hit with an arrow.  Thus, this was the area that needed reinforcement.  All the other areas proved strong against the past arrows, and the fact that the area was completely free of dents meant that it had not (luckily) been struck by any missiles.  All the other suits had been hit in this area and been destroyed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Room 5 (Combat) – The Sleeping Giant

 

 

The combat-side of this room was not so lucky as the puzzle side.  When they got to the Sleeping Giant, they had no place to go.  Unfortunately, they discovered that they had to sneak up on the giant and steal his keys so they could open the gate.

 

The first challenge was to get the key hanging on the fence.  To do that, the Rogue had to make her way through a rope maze on the floor – without touching any of the ropes.

 

And anything could have awakened the giant – even another player laughing or coughing. 

 

 

Any attempt to immobilize the giant beforehand woke up the giant, and the Tanglefoot token and the Weighted Net token had no effect on his large frame.  However, a smart party may have “powered up” by drinking potions or using magic items before the Rogue makes her attempt to get the key.  Spell-casting was not possible without waking the giant.

 

Once he awoke the DM activated a remote and the animatronics giant stood up to over 11 feet tall – which is the real size of a Hill Giant.  It was cool to see all the looks on players’ faces when the big guy woke up.

 

 

Note that it was possible for the party to try to bribe the hill giant with treasure items at any point in the combat.  The chance that he will be bribed and stop his attack is equal to this formula.  There can be only one attempt to bribe him with tokens.

 

Common: +5 % for every token

Uncommon: +10% for every token

Rare: +20% for every token

Ultra Rare: +95% for every token

 

Offering any of these following tokens will result in the giant immediately drinking the liquid and then going back to sleep: Orcish Stout, Dwarven Ale, or Monks Mead.

 

 

 

Room 6 – The Fire Demon

 

 

This was a crazy room, and I think it was a success for all the things we learned.  Next time we will keep the speeches shorter and we will use less audio effects on the voices. 

 

 

We hope to continue to have at least one room in the dungeon each year be more interactive with a NPC, and this was our first attempt at doing so.

 

The gist of this room was that it was a test set up by a Celestial to plumb the depths of the party’s courage and goodness.  To do this, the Celestial used her illusion powers to turn the chapel into an evil looking chamber covered with the symbols of Iuz and Lolth.  Second, she turned herself into a fire demon and she conjured the appearance of a monk of Pelor.

 

The test was this.  First, would the party attack the obviously charmed Monk of Pelor – or would they try to free or immobilize him?  Many groups just hacked the poor Monk to death, so the damage that was sustained in the fight was NOT HEALED by the Celestial.

 

Second, the Celestial wanted to see how the party would fight under an extreme challenge like her – or Iuz. 

 

After half-way through the round, the Fire Demon would stop the attack and make a startling revelation.  In the blink of an eye, the room and Fire Demon would turn into a holy chapel and a Celestial.  Congrats to the SPFX team for pulling off this nice illusion.

 

 

 

The parties used tokens were then returned, and the party had about 5 minutes to figure out an anagram puzzle on a column at the back of the room.

 

The starting words were:  “The Host of Pelor”

 

The finished words were: “Hope for the Lost”

 

I had a good chuckle naming the novella and module the same name as one of the puzzle answers, and I hope everyone enjoyed it as well.  There were many clues in the dungeon previous to this puzzle where the monks of Pelor referred to themselves as “lost” before coming to Pelor, and that he was the “hope” of those unfound.

 

 

 

 

 

Room 7 – The Final Room (Combat and Puzzle)

 

 

Wow…what a crazy room!  The number one suggestion we got over the years was to have both groups in the same room.  We tried that this year with pretty good success – except some people did not like the fact that they were killed by a storm of Iuz minions when time ran out – even though they did their part correctly.  If we ever do have two groups in the same room again, it will be done differently!

 

 

The room started out with the groups facing the Mirror of Faith, and once the curtains were opened the parties found themselves staring at a magically created group to aid their quest.  (This was the only way I could remotely see two parties coming together).  Basically, the combat group had to defeat Iuz and recover the Orb of Pelor before the Hordes of Iuz came into the room, and the puzzle group had to solve figure out which ring had to be worn to safely place the Orb of Pelor back on to the stand.

 

So, it was down to meeting Iuz himself, and after a short speech, the puzzle group got down to puzzle solving, and the combat group got down to fighting Iuz.

 

 

It was cool to see the combat group jump a bit when the character playing Iuz disappeared and instead a giant snake came flying out of the curtain.  The combat against Iuz was interesting in that players had to decide if they should go for the more easy body shot (with no chance of a Critical Hit) or whether they should slide for the eye in a Critical-Hit-or-Miss scenario.  Most groups did end up defeated Iuz, but many did die in the process.

 

 

The puzzle was another matter, as fewer groups solved it than defeated Iuz.  The beginning puzzle looked like this:

 

 

 

 

 

The sign on the wall read as follows:

 

Most Holy now is where you stand

Brought humbled low before his hands

Place now the orb within his hold

And listen well to what you’re told

 

All rows and columns must contain

Each letter once to grace attain

Each zone will also give you clue

Each letter sits within there too

 

Show thy wisdom and prove thy right

To don his Ring of Lordly Might

The answer waits for you to find

Which Ring your soul you should then bind

 

 

Many people asked me why I decided to go with this kind of puzzle for the final room.  The biggest reason is that it is process that must be solved – and it is much harder to “cheat” those kinds of puzzles.  We did something like this in 2005 with those silver hexagon plates.  These types of puzzles deliver the most fun as it is very hard for someone with any foreknowledge to ruin the experience of the rest of the group by simply calling out the answer they heard from a friend.  I wanted this last room at the end of the 3-year story arc to be really cool and a real challenge that made it tough for un-cool gamers to do well.  You must actually solve this one to win.

 

 

This puzzle is also a good example of how 10 seconds of forethought about team work can really pay off in the end.  Each player could have been assigned to a color region since each letter must appear in each column, row and zone.  By assigning every player a zone, when a particular square is under examination, that zone could be instantly checked for possible letters.  The most successful teams I saw were ones that divided up the puzzle and tried to solve it with as many eyes as possible looking at columns, rows and zones.  This speeded up the process quickly.  In the end, if it was done correctly, the puzzle table looked like this:

 

 

The DM would then make a red laser line briefly appear along the diagonal line to indicate the “CUMULUS” letters are a big clue to which ring to wear while placing the Orb of Pelor back into place.  This meant that the player should wear the ring with the CLOUD symbol on it.  The other clue is the CLOUD is the only symbol on the plates that regularly blocks out the Sun…and since the player had to stick her hand into a column of light, perhaps the CLOUD was the way to go.

 

 

If either of the groups was not successful, that meant that the entire room was swarmed by the Horde of Iuz and all the players were killed in the process.  That is why no Survivor Pins were available to groups who partially solved a room.

 

If BOTH of the groups were successful and the Orb was placed back correctly, then there was a loud sound effect of success, and the room was bathed in golden light.  All the evil minions of Iuz in the monastery were then banished back to their evil places, and the army attacking Greyhawk was thrown into chaos and ruin.  Greyhawk was saved!

 

Again, I am sorry that some were disappointed at not getting Survivor Pins.  I had no idea it was such a big deal.  I would do it differently now if I could do so.

 

 

Riddle Reveal Available as Podcast!

 

If you want to hear an audio recording of Sunday’s Riddle Reveal, please check out the official True Dungeon podcast at www.truedungeonpodcast.com .  The top episode is the Riddle Reveal.  Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter as many more episodes are coming online soon.  A lot of recording was done at Gen Con Indy – including a nice interview with Dave Arneson!

 

 

 

Epilogue

 

Next year’s adventure will be the first part of a TWO-YEAR story arc that will see what happens to our group of adventurers as they travel into the wilderness.  Who knows what they will encounter, but talk around the tavern is that a classic D&D monster will be there to devour your group.

 

 

Golden Ticket and (Silver Ticket) Runs

 

One of the highlights of True Dungeon this year was the Golden Ticket Run made on Thursday morning.  Sixteen Golden Tickets were sprinkled randomly throughout the first token printing, and eight Silver Tickets were scattered around the second printing.

 

Both of these groups got a special pack of tokens, and the Golden Ticket run people got a REALLY nice pack of tokens.

 

After both of the Golden and Silver Ticket runs, I met each group inside the Tavern for a surprise.  I made up a really cool set of the classic D&D relic “The Deck of Many Things” and each player was given the choice to draw from the Deck.

 

 

 

 

Each card had the weight and appearance of very old bone, and each front side had a custom piece of artwork that let the player know which card they had drawn.  The effects varied greatly from something like +2 to AC forever to never being able to cast spells again.  One gave a Wish Ring and another 15,000 GP in treasure.  One unlucky soul (Gary Aswegan) drew poorly and was cursed never to draw from Treasure Boxes again until 2010.  Luckily for him, a kind “stranger” who drew the “reverse someone’s bad effect” decided to be nice to him.  Thanks James!  (And thanks to Steve Sawyer for the help with all the cool artwork!).

 

 

 

 

True Dungeon Novella for Charity:  “Hope for the Lost”

 

At the behest of long-time TD volunteer Stu Bernard (who is recovering from colon cancer), we decided to offer a True Dungeon novella entitled “Hope for the Lost” at Gen Con Indy.  Professionally printed and bound, this novella was authored by Dennis Baird to give players a recap of what has taken place over the last two years in the TD story arc.

 

We raised more than $1,500 for the Cancer Research Institute, but we would like to raise another $500 with your help.  We still have 50 novellas left, so please think about going to the TD Store now and purchasing one.  All of the $10 price will go to the charity, and True Dungeon is picking up the publishing cost.  You can order your novella here:

 

http://www.truedungeon.com/true/store.htm

 

I would also like to thank everyone who chipped in to buy a few novellas.  Stu will be back next year ready to DM – and help with DM training as well.

 

 

True Arena

 

 

Once again the true sliders came together to do battle to see who is the best slider in all the land of Greyhawk.  Through many brawls and battles the weak were brought down low by the strong until only one man was left standing.  Congratulations to Don Rients who vanquished Henry Chi to claim the title of True Arena Grand Champion.

 

 

 

TD 101 Seminar

 

 

The members of the DDA (Dungeon Dwellers Anonymous) presented a few “TD for Beginners” seminars that were well attended and well presented.  Much thanks to all the DDA and especially to Candace Brister for working with me to get it in the program book.  Next year we are going to try to video tape the seminar and then post it on YouTube.

 

 

Bard Contest

 

 

 

The Bard Contest was another cool thing to happen in the Tavern this year, and it seems TD’s resident Bard Dennis Baird was up to the challenge.  Congrats to Dennis for his victory, and much thanks to Cody Jones and Kalen Tjarks for putting the contest together.  Next year it will be one word easier to thank them!

 

 

True Dungeon: Director’s Cut

 

I was really surprised at the HUGE response we received from our announcement of introducing a “Director’s Cut” version of this year’s Gen Con Indy adventure in southern Illinois next April.

 

Wow!  I have had people from California, Florida, Texas, New York and even the UK tell me that they want to fly in just to take part in our two-day True Dungeon celebration.  The response has been much greater than I had imagined.

 

The exact information is being worked out, but the event should be on the first Friday and Saturday in April (April 3-4^th) with the event running from 2:00pm-10:00pm on Friday and 10:00am-10:00pm on Saturday.  The tickets will run $49 each, but they will be available only in blocks of 8 tickets (one slot).  They will be sold online through a service with lots of server bandwidth.  We may hold a small percentage (10-20%) back to auction so that TD fans can get tickets if they are not able to get any of the fixed cost tickets when they go on sale.  We think the fixed price tickets will sell out fast.

 

Highlights of the True Dungeon: Director’s Cut:

 

+ It operates in an old, “dungeony” warehouse in southern Illinois.

 

+ The event will be the same length as Gen Con Indy, but the dungeon will have many “choice points” were parties can choose between 2-3 paths.

 

+ There will be 2-3 completely new rooms not seen at Indy.  These are test rooms for the next Indy, and they are sprinkled among the various choice points.

 

+ The dungeon will be DOUBLE the size of the one at Gen Con Indy

 

+ Each group will get a single, veteran DM who will guide them through the ENTIRE dungeon

 

+ Extra "warehouse friendly" effects (like smoke, fog, pyrotechnics, water, etc.), that we can't do in a hotel ballroom

 

+ Attendees will receive their 2009 tokens a week before anyone else!

 

+ Special "Token Collectors" luncheon in Tavern on Friday for big supporters

 

+ A regional airport is 7 miles from event and it offers flights from St. Louis for about $200 round trip.

 

+ Food and drink will be available in Tavern at reasonable price.

 

We also plan on providing an enhanced Tavern experience, and the lessons learned at TD:DC may come in handy in 2011 when more space MAY be available at Gen Con Indy. 

 

We also hope to have seminars, bar fights, and contests and other surprises to all players to fully enjoy and revel in their love of True Dungeon.

 

We are trying to acquire a block of discount hotel rooms at a nearby facility, and more info will be provided once details are finalized.

 

 

True Dungeon Treasure Tokens – On Sale Now!

 

True Dungeon Treasure Tokens are back up for sale on our website, and thank you all for the brisk sales.  We are still offering the  “Pick Your Own Ultra Rare Token” promotion for all orders over $250.  You can order them HERE.

 

 

 

 

In Conclusion

 

It has been another great year.  Great for me for having all this fun helping to make True Dungeon happen. Great for volunteers who love to provide a great event for the players, and great for the players who get to enjoy all the passion and work that goes into making True Dungeon happen.  Collectively, I think that me, the volunteers, and the players are a part of something really cool and special in this world – and I always try to remember that all of us are equal in this very creative and very giving “group project” known as “True Dungeon”.

 

Thank you for being a part of it – and I can’t wait to see where we are headed next!

 

 

Jeff Martin

 

Director