How To Play

2012 Event Details

True Dungeon 2012 will be hosted at the Gen Con Indy in Indianapolis, IN Thursday-Sunday, August 16-19, 2012. We are moving from our old 20,000 square feet location in the Marriott Hotel Grand Ballroom to a new 45,000 square feet location in Exhibit Hall D inside the heart of the Convention Center. Gen Con Indy is the world's oldest and largest game convention, and True Dungeon is its premier event.

You must obtain a 1-Day or 4-Day convention Badge either by purchasing one or earning one through volunteering. Badges are now on sale at www.genconreg.com and event tickets for True Dungeon go on sale on Sunday, May 20, 2012.

Event tickets cost $38, and it is recommended that you log in on May 20, 2012 to buy your tickets.

For more information about Gen Con Indy, please go to www.gencon.com

Click here to see the 2011 True Dungeon Teaser video. The 2012 True Dungeon Teaser video should debut in early May, 2012.

2012 Event Info

True Adventures, Ltd. is proud to offer the following THREE completely new two-hour and 15-minute adventures.

"Part One: Giants' Travail" Players must make a dangerous trek into the Dilmhold Mountains to find the entrance to an ancient dwarven burial site.

"Part Two: Draco-Lich Undone"(puzzle-oriented) Players must delve into the dark halls of a haunted crypt to slay Smoak -- a foul Draco-Lich. Two of the rooms in this adventure will be more puzzle focused than in "Part Two: Draco-Lich Undone" (combat-oriented).

"Part Two: Draco-Lich Undone"(combat-oriented) Players must delve into the dark halls of a haunted crypt to slay Smoak -- a foul Draco-Lich. Two of the rooms in this adventure will be more combat focused than in "Part Two: Draco-Lich Undone" (puzzle-oriented).

"Part One: Giants' Travail" is the first part of the two-chapter epic adventure. "Part Two: Draco-Lich Undone" (either version) is a separate ticketed event. This adventure is immediately set after the story told in "Part One: Giants' Travail". We structured the events this year to give passionate True Dungeon players an epic conclusion to a story arc that began several years ago. This year will see the final confrontation with Smoak -- who is now a Draco-Lich.

"Giants' Travail" players will receive a limited-edition Treasure Token at the end of their adventure., Players who survive will receive a cool "Survivor" button themed especially for the module. If your party plays the adventure on the Nightmare difficulty setting, you will receive TWO different limited-edition Treasure Tokens, If you survive on this higher difficulty, you will get a Nightmare "Survivor" button themed for the module.

Everyone who plays either version of "Part Two: Draco-Lich Undone" will receive a limited-edition Treasure Token at the end of their adventure. Players who survive will receive cool "Survivor" buttons themed especially for the module. If your party plays the adventure on the Nightmare difficulty setting, you will receive TWO different limited-edition Treasure Tokens., If you survive on this higher difficulty. you will get a Nightmare "Survivor" button themed for the module. Note: The rewards for both versions of this adventure are identical.

We also will be offering a one-hour combat hack-fest called True Grind. More information will be announced later. There will be a unique limited-edition Treasure Token given out to all True Grind players. Survivors will get a True Grind "Survivor" button. This event can be played on the Nightmare difficulty setting, but there is no additinoal token or button for doing so. Each True Grind player will also receive one Treasure Coin.

Storyscape (New for 2012!)

Because of our larger space in 2012, all the True Dungeon events will start inside a themed "storyscape" that resembles a cavernous dwarven village. When you enter into Exhibit Hall D you will immediately enter this storyscape and be teleported to the mountain cavern entrance of Icecrag Keep. Inside you will find a cool themed space where all your adventures will begin. In years past we have had a large Event Desk outside the dungeon in the hotel lobby where players went to start their adventure. However, this year each event will have its own unique entrance inside the storyscape. Each entrance will be well signed and located near the entrance to Icecrag Keep, so watch for your event title as you enter. After each adventure, players will exit into the rear of the storyscape area. This means you can spend the entire day immersed in True Dungeon fantasy setting as you go from event to event -- with rest periods scattered in between.

The storyscape will also feature NPCs, a concession stand, a cash bar (after 5:00pm) and restrooms. There will be limited seating available for players with either a valid True Dungeon two-hour event ticket for that day OR for players with a valid event wristband from that day. These must be shown when requested if you wish to sit at a table. However, all Gen Con Indy attendees will be welcome to come in and explore the storyscape.

Truecraft (New for 2012)

We will be premiering a new mini-game inside the storyscape that can be enjoyed at a player's leisure. Tickets will cost $12 and each ticket receives 8 Truecraft tokens that can be utilized at three different stations inside the storyscape. More information will be posted in May.

Three Levels of Challenge

Due to the response from our players, we make our three two-hour and 15-minute adventures playable at different challenge levels.

Normal: By default, the party will play their adventure on the Normal challenge level -- characters can die on this difficulty, but a good party can emerge victorious with only basic equipment as long as they work well together and think on their feet. If this challenge is too much (or insufficient) then other levels are available. Awarded XP for this challenge level is 650 + 50/room reached.

Non-lethal: If all players in the group agree, the party can tell their Coach they want to play their adventure on the "non-lethal" challenge rating. This is designed for people who just want to enjoy the True Dungeon adventure without having to worry about their character dying. Awarded XP for this challenge level is 650 XP

Nightmare: If all players in the group agree, the players can tell their Coach they want to play their adventure on the "Nightmare" challenge rating. This is for people who have lots of experience, moxie and/or tokens. There are also special slots set aside for Nightmare level, and tickets purchased in these slots must be played at Nightmare level. Awarded XP for this challenge level is 1650 + 50/room reached.

Sunday Time Slots!

For the first time ever, we will offer True Dungeon event tickets on Sunday, August 19, 2012 with start times from around 9:00am to 1:00pm. Event tickets for Thursday through Saturday will have start times from around 9:00am to 11:00pm.

Experience Points Earned

Players receive Experience Points (XP) for playing TD adventures and gain various benefits for achieving higher levels. Some TD veterans are now 7th level. The amount of XP earned is based on the challenge rating of the adventure as well as how many rooms your character makes it to alive. (Your character need not survive the entire adventureto get max XP, s/he just needs to enter the final room alive.)

Non-lethal = 650 XP

Normal = 650 XP + 50 XP/room

Nightmare = 1650 XP + 50 XP/room

If a player plays the same adventure more than once, they receive the highest XP earned in all runs of that particular adventure. So someone playing an adventure twice, once at the Normal level and once on Nightmare level, will receive only the XP for the Nightmare adventure. (I.e., the XP awards for the same adventure don’t stack.) Note that the two versions of “Draco-Lich Undone” are considered the same adventure because they are similar. The highest XP available for Gen Con Indy 2012 is 4,000 XP – if the player makes it to the final room of two different adventures on Nightmare difficulty.

Participation Tokens

As stated earlier, players earn a cool limited edition participation token just for playing a TD adventure. There are FIVE unique tokens available at Gen Con Indy 2012. The two versions of “Draco-Lich Undone” have the same participation token, and the Nightmare version of this module has its own special participation token. Similarly, “Giants' Travail” also has both Normal and Nightmare participation tokens. True Grind has its own unique limited-edition Participation Token. For the two-hour adventures, anyone playing on the "Non-lethal" setting will receive the Normal participation token, but no Survival button can be earned.

True Dungeon 101

This one-hour seminar, presented by a group of great TD veterans, is highly recommended for new TD players. More info will be available in May.

PRESS RELEASE

2012 True Dungeon Event Info -- Big Expansion!

Carbondale – (October 12, 2011) True Adventures, Ltd. has reached an agreement with Gen Con LLC to expand True Dungeon™ into a much larger event space inside the Indiana Convention Center. The four-year agreement gives True Dungeon™ a new home that will allow them to continue to push the boundaries of their unique style of immersive gaming.

“Gen Con Indy 2012 will be our 10th annual True Dungeon™ event, as well as Gen Con’s 45th anniversary, and I am incredibly excited about how our new location will help us celebrate these important milestones,” said Jeff Martin, CEO/Owner of True Adventures, Ltd. “True Dungeon will be an exciting celebration of Gen Con’s 45th anniversary as True Dungeon expands with an immersive story-scape area that players can enjoy before and after each two-hour adventure.”

“It will be possible for a group of gamers to spend an entire day immersed inside True Dungeon. They could arrive in the morning, speak with some NPCs for useful rumors, and then attempt to make magic items, gather information and obtain protective magic with a new event called “Truecraft,” noted Martin.

“After that, they could enjoy one of our famous two-hour adventures, and then they can sit down for a nice lunch. A little later they could take on the epic challenge of True Grind, and then they can enjoy a round of adult beverages as they boast of their incredible victory. Next, they could delve into a different two-hour adventure that would bring them back into the story-scape area at dinner time. A quick meal and more drinks could then be enjoyed – as well as another session of “Truecraft”. In short, gamers can spend the entire day immersed in True Dungeon’s fantasy setting.” said Martin. Washroom facilities will be available inside the event space.

True Adventures, Ltd. Media Contact
Jeff Martin, 618.201.5737
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

2012 Token Collection

Tokens have become a very popular component of True Dungeon since they were introduced at Gen Con So Cal in 2003. The tokens were added so that players could experience one of the most interesting and fun parts of adventuring -- getting treasure! They started out as "wooden nickel" type chips.

The Golden Ticket

We are randomly inserting 30 special Golden Ticket tokens into the 2012 token collection. If you have found one of these special tokens inside one of our 10-packs congratulations!

Please bring your Golden Ticket token to Exhibit Hall D inside the ICC and present the token at the entrance to the Hall of Heroes at 6:00pm on Thursday, August 16th, 2012. Shortly thereafter you will begin a very special running of a True Dungeon adventure that ends in an exclusive BONUS room where very cool treasure awaits you. You will also receive a limited edition, custom printed dice bag that will contain many hard-to-obtain 2012 tokens.

Please go to the official TD Forums and let your fellow Golden Ticket winners that you are ready for adventure! Teams are being formed now HERE.

Congratulations, again! Well done!

Character Classes

How will you help your party make it through this adventure alive?

View the Character Class Guide HERE .

Will you cleave your foes with your +1 Longsword? Will you command the forces of the arcane against your party's foes? Will you bolster your party with a rousing tune or will you use healing spells to cure their wounds?

The cool design of True Dungeon is that the degree of success you have with your chosen action is not done by a simple dice roll. Rather, every character class has a special, real world test that they must perform in order to successful attack, cast a spell or pick a lock.

Character Class Cards

Character Class Cards

There are 12 different classes to choose from in True Dungeon, and each player must play a different class. Once character classes are picked each player will receive a full-color printed character class card that they will use throughout the adventure. Players get to keep the card as a souvenir.

Most players use the 4th level player Character Cards, but those players with a Trio of Might (more info HERE on pages 10-11) can use the 5th level Character Cards. Above is what the 5th level Elf Wizard Card looks like. The back of the card has a Tutorial for helpful hints to players. You can see all the Character Card images in the Resources section HERE.

Combat System

Tokens are placed in sliders and then slid toward regions with the highest number.

You don't roll dice in True Dungeon. It is up to you to succeed!

When you attack a monster in a True Dungeon™ event you will not be rolling a d20 as is the case in Dungeons and Dragons. Rather, instead of luck controlling the fate of your attack, the result of the swing will be determined by your hand and eye coordination!

2012 Special Rules

Some of the 2012 Tokens use two new types of energy, and their effects are listed below.

Darkrift Energy

· Originating from the Negative Plane, this deadly form of energy was heretofore unknown to most adventurers.

· Energy-draining undead (vampire, lich, wight, etc.) are immune to Darkrift energy, but other undead take normal damage from it

· Smoak’s undead body has become so infused with Darkrift energy, you might say she lives and breathes it...

Sacred Energy

· The yang to Darkrift’s yin, Sacred energy comes from the Positive Plane.

· It’s exceptionally destructive to undead—they suffer double damage from any source of Sacred energy.

· Items infused with Sacred power deal normal damage to non-undead monsters.

· Because of their connection to its source plane, Good-aligned outsiders take no damage from Sacred power.

· If a weapon with added Sacred damage hits an undead, only the Sacred portion of the damage is doubled.

Cold Climate

Similar to 2011’s Underwater environment, there are some special rules in 2012 to simulate how characters are affected by glacial conditions. Thankfully, these rules are much less complicated and severe than in 2011.

· Initiative:Because of the numbing effect of a Cold Climate, characters are slower to react to danger. For every party member not protected from the cold, the party suffers a –1 to Initiative rolls. This penalty can be negated by any magical protection that reduces cold damage (Ring of Frost Resistance, Boots of Warmth, etc.), the 2012 Common item Winter Surcoat, or the Uncommon Yeti Cloak.

· Spell Failure:Every time a character casts an offensive spell, the DM will quickly roll a d20. If the result is a “1”, the spell caster’s cold hands have failed him and the spell is wasted. Offensive spells are classified as any spell that does damage or requires an enemy to make a saving throw. This penalty can be negated by any magical protection that reduces cold damage (Ring of Frost Resistance, Boots of Warmth, etc.), the 2012 Common item Caster’s Gloves, or the Uncommon Yeti Cloak.

· Weapon Drop:If a player lands a slide outside the unmodified 11–20 areas on the combat board, they have dropped their weapon (an automatic miss) due to cold hands. It will take them one round to regain the use of any weapon as well as their hands, so any slide of 1–10 means the character loses one round of action. The character cannot attack, cast spells, or take any other action other than attempt to warm-up their hands. This penalty can be negated by any magical protection that reduces cold damage (Ring of Frost Resistance, Boots of Warmth, etc.), the 2012 Common item Mountain Dwarf Mitts, or the Uncommon Yeti Cloak.

Magic

In the world of True Dungeon, magic plays an important role. Wizards are masters of devastating arcane power which they can use to cause massive damage to terrible foes! Clerics, with their divine healing and curative abilities are often the only thing standing between a fellow adventurer and certain death. Druids commune with nature not only to bring forth healing, but to command the elements themselves as mighty weapons.

Challenges

In addition to combat and class skills, there are many other challenges that await players in True Dungeon. Most of these challenges take the form of puzzles and creative problem solving tasks. There are also physical challenges such as walking a balance beam or dodging a jet of water.

Rewards & XP

Depending on how well your team does, you will receive a number of Adventure Coins at the end of your adventure. These Coins are then taken to the Adventurers' Guild (Ballroom 7) where you can turn them in in exchange for pulls from a random Treasure Token Generator, official True Dungeon merchandise, and other cool stuff.

Player's Guide

True Dungeon has lots of cool reference guides that are yours free to download HERE in the Resource section.

History of True Dungeon

"This is nuts!! How did this all come about?", you may be asking yourself. Well, it all started with a DM named Jeff Martin and a cool stick...

The True Dungeon module that you will be running through at GenCon has a long evolutionary track that started in 1997, when Dungeon Master Jeff Martin decided to host an all weekend game-a-thon with five of his gamer buddies.

2012 Event Info

View the Character Class Guide HERE .

How to Play