TOPIC: A few questions

I have not had the pleasure of participating in a True Dungeon experience as of yet. I plan to go to Gen Con Indy 2005 and would like to join in TD. I have a few questions that I can't seem to find the answers for though.

1) Do you carry around your equipment such as weapons and shields throughout the dungeon?

2) Do you get to name your character that you create?

3) What will happen to me next year when I am level 1 and the dungeon that is created is made for the level 3 people?

4) How does combat work? I'm pretty sure you don't really get to hit people with swords and stuff.

5) Can you dress up with props from your house? Like say I have a cloak or something that I found in an adventure, can I bring a cloak from my house to wear throughout the adventure? This would probably help roleplay.

6) Do people roleplay their characters or does everyone just act like themselves?
Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions and hope to see you guys in a few months.

Daedric - Welcome to the boards! Let me answers those questions for you (hope I'm not stepping on any toes here, Mods )...

1) Do you carry around your equipment such as weapons and shields throughout the dungeon?
A) Each character has a sheet, outlining all of its abilities and basic equipment (weapons and armor, and I think the Cleric had a Ring of Fire Resistance). Every other piece of equipment is in the form of Treasure Tokens, which you get in one of four ways.
1a) You get Treasure Tokens before the start of the adventure. The
number of tokens is dependant on your level. Level 1 characters
get 2 tokens, level 2 characters get 4 tokens, level 3 characters get
6 tokens, and so on and so forth.
1b) You can purchase Treasure Token pouches before or after you
go through the dungeon. Each pouch costs $9 and contains 9 tokens
(you can also do the Party Deal, where you get 7 pouches - one for
each party member - for $50, saving you $13 dollars). These
tokens range from gld pieces to very rare items, such as magic
weapons, and can be invaluable in surviving the dungeon.
1c) You can trade tokens with the Tavern Wench at the start of your
time slot (this format may change a bit in 2005, but this information
is accurate as of SoCal '04). The Wench accepted trades of gold or
items for items of the same value. She had access to low-level
magic items (some common scrolls and potions) but nothing huge
(no magic weapons, for instance).
1d) You can find Treasure Tokens throughout the dungeon as you
go. Some of these will be concealed, others will be lying on the
floor as "random treasure". These can be picked u and used or
saved just as if you had purchased them ahead of time.
The most common Treasure Tokens are one-use items(potions, scrolls). Others are permanent items, like map cases, rope, magic items and gold. One-use items must be given to the DM when used. Permanent items are only given to the DM in rare cases (ie. when they are destroyed).

2) Do you get to name your character that you create?
A) You can, but there is no real need to. The characters are the same for each person (one of each class - Fighter, Wizard, Bard, Cleric, Ranger, Rogue, Paladin) each year, with the same starting abilities and equipment (this, again, may cange in 2005, but was correct as of SoCal '04).

3) What will happen to me next year when I am level 1 and the dungeon that is created is made for the level 3 people?
A) Characters don't really "level up". Experience levels only affect the number of tokens you get at the beginning of the adventure (thought new benefits for higher levels may be coming in the near future). Not to mention bragging rights, for being 2nd/3rd/4th level.

4) How does combat work? I'm pretty sure you don't really get to hit people with swords and stuff.
A) You're right, there is no "real" combat (thought I, personally, wish this dynamic could be added - it would be awesome!). Instead, combat is resolved via the Combat Board. This is essentially a table that has been polished, with a diagram of whatever monster you are fighting. Each region of its body (and the empty space surrounding it) is assigned a number (think of a Paint By Numbers picture and you'll have a rough idea). Each player slides a puck (with a number of sides equal to the amount of damage they can deal, depending on their class - Wizards got a d4, Fighters got a 12 I think). You'd slide the puck, and if it landed within a section that beat the monster's AC, you hit and did the amount of damage that pointed toward the end of the board. If another layer knocked your puck out of a "hit" area or into a "hit" area, the new result applied.

5) Can you dress up with props from your house? Like say I have a cloak or something that I found in an adventure, can I bring a cloak from my house to wear throughout the adventure? This would probably help roleplay.
A) Yes they allow costumes, with the exception of weapons of any kind (as per the Gen Con rules on weapons). Everything else is alright, as far as I know, and even encouraged. I know they had some people go through in costume that I saw, and I considered it myself (forgot my costume at home though, doh!).

6) Do people roleplay their characters or does everyone just act like themselves?
A) Some people roleplay, others just acted like themselves. There was no predetermined personality for the characters, so "roleplaying" was a matter of interpretation for the player. I know some people who played the Rogue acted a bit shadier than they normally would, some who played the Paladin were more stalwart about their convictions, etc. If it added to a person's enjoyment of the Dungeon, they roleplayed - if not, they didn't. Entirely up to you and your posse.

So, all that being said... True Dungeon is awesome, and I'm glad you're considering going for it! Its definitely an experience worth trying. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. I and a number of other people (including but not limited to the TD staff) are very cool people and willing to answer any questions you might have.

See you in the Dungeon!

Adding on to what Koralk said...

1) There will be an opportunity for trading before you go into the module this coming year. There will be new tokens available this year, including (hopefully) weapons.

2) Each character in the past has had a name but we are looking into allowing players to customize certain parts of the characters. More info to come once we work out logistics.

3) You CHARACTER will probably be level 3 (they were last year.) You as a PLAYER are level 1. There will be some different things for upper level PLAYERS to experience but characters will be equal.

4) Shufflboard is staying, with modifications.

5) Costumes (per GenCon rules) are great. Any props you think about carrying, remember you are going to be in there for 2+ hours, travelling, some of the spaces are tight, you need your hands free. When in doubt feel free to pm any of the TD staff and we can give you feedback on certain props. We do reserve the right to disallow anything we feel hazardous to you, the staff, other players or the dungeon.

6) Roleplaying is up to you and your party as Koralk said. The only people who 'must' roleplay are the NPC staff.

6) Roleplaying is up to you and your party as Koralk said. The only people who 'must' roleplay are the NPC staff.

ehehehehehe, ah yes, and it was indeed much fun playing the tavern wench at SoCal.