How To Play
View the Player's Handbook here.
How will you help your party make it through this adventure alive?
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 close 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 successfully attack, cast a spell, or pick a lock.
Character Class Cards
There are 12 different classes to choose from in True Dungeon. Each player must play a different class. Once character classes are picked, each player receives a full-color printed character class card that they use throughout the adventure. Players get to keep the card as a souvenir.
Most players use the 4th level player Character Cards, but there are magic items that can boost a character to 5th level. Above is what the 5th level Elf Wizard Card looks like. You can see all the Character Card images in the Resources section HERE.
You don't roll combat dice in True Dungeon. It is up to your skills to succeed!
When you attack a monster in a True Dungeon event you don't roll a d20 as is the case in many tabletop role playing games. Instead of luck controlling the fate of your attack, the result of the attack is determined by your hand and eye coordination!
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 to not only to bring forth healing, but to command the elements themselves as mighty weapons.
Bards' magic is varied and practical, but in addition, they can inspire their companions through their magical gifts of music and song as well as offer useful information on how to defeat a monster.
Magic occurs in two forms within the dungeon. The classes mentioned above have spells at their command which they may cast at any time. When casting these spells, each class performs a task unique to them in order to display their prowess and maximize the effectiveness of their magic. Also, some characters may use scrolls. Scrolls are treasure tokens that are consumed (collected by the DM) when used.
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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 also might be physical challenges such as walking a balance beam or dodging a foam dart.
Every player receives at least three Treasure Chips at the conclusion of their adventure. In the Epilogue Area, a Treasure Chip can be exchanged for a random pull from the Treasure Generator.
Tokens are never hidden inside the adventure, so don't waste your time (or damage the sets) looking for tokens.
In addition to Treasure Chips, players receive Experience Points (XP) at the end of their adventure. Your XP accumulates over time, just like in D&D, eventually letting YOU (not your character) gain levels! With higher levels come special abilities and privileges. You can track your XP by clicking the "Xth Level Player" link in the upper left of every page on this site.
1st 0–999 XP: No benefit
2nd 1,000–2,999 XP: Ability to enter certain special events like True Grind
3rd 3,000–5,999 XP: The Supporter Badge becomes available on the TD forums if you've done an on-line transmute or order
4th 6,000–9,999 XP: Gain a Level Badge on the TD forums
5th 10,000–14,999 XP: Gain title of "Lord" or "Lady" on the official TD website, access to a private section of the Forum, and the exclusive Medallion of Nobility token.
6th 15,000–20,999 XP: Gain one extra Treasure Chip at the end of your adventure
7th 21,000–27,999 XP: A specially designed True Dungeon convention badge holder
8th 28,000–39,999 XP: A specially designed True Dungeon lapel pin
9th 40,000–69,999 XP: A specially designed Badge of Nobility token that bestows +1 AC and access to the non-tangible perks enjoyed by Adventurers' Guild members
10th 70,000–99,999 XP: A lovingly hand-crafted amulet & lanyard to display your favorite non-RFID token and level rewards for 11th-15th levels; watch the reveal here
11th 100,000–129,999 XP: An 11th level cabochon to place in your 10th-level amulet
12th 130,000–159,999 XP: A 12th level cabochon to place in your 10th-level amulet
13th 160,000–199,999 XP: A 13th level cabochon to place in your 10th-level amulet
14th 200,000–249,999 XP: A 14th level cabochon to place in your 10th-level amulet
15th 250,000–??? XP: A 15th level cabochon to place in your 10th-level amulet
CLICK HERE for instructions on how to enter XP codes.
XP Stacking & Post-Adventure Rewards
Earning Player XP: The Player XP you earn depends on the challenge rating of the adventure you ran.
- Non-Lethal: 650 (no per room bonus)
- Normal: 650 + 50 per room entered
- Hardcore: 1,650 + 50 per room entered
- Nightmare: 1,650 + 50 per room entered (same as Hardcore)
- Epic: 1,650 + 50 per room entered (same as Hardcore)
Your character does not need to survive the room to earn Player XP, your character merely needs to enter the room alive to earn XP for that room. E.g., if your character died in room 7 (the final room), you would still receive full XP for that adventure because your character entered the room alive.
Stacking Player XP: You earn Player XP based on the highest challenge level you ran. E.g., if you survived Dancing Among Stones on Normal, you would earn 1,000 XP. But if you later survived Dancing Among Stones on Hardcore (or Nightmare or Epic, since they earn the same XP), you would earn a total of 2,000 XP--not 3,000. Repeating the same dungeon on the same difficulty does not earn additional XP--unless your character entered additional rooms in the adventure. E.g., if your first attempt at running Dancing Among Stones on Hardcore resulted in your character dying in room 6, you would earn 1,950 XP. But if you later ran Dancing Among Stones on Hardcore (or Nightmare/Epic) and made it to room 7--whether your character survived or not--you would earn a total of 2,000 for that adventure, thus making up the 50 XP deficit from your first run. Once you reach the XP cap of a particular adventure, playing that same adventure does not earn you any additional XP.
For the purposes of calculating XP, combat and puzzle versions as well as "B" or "C" versions of the same-named adventure count as the same adventure. E.g., surviving both the puzzle and combat versions of Dancing Among Stones on Hardcore (or Nightmare/Epic) would earn a total of 2,000 XP--not 2,000 each. The same-named adventure run at different conventions or VTD events counts as a single adventure for XP purposes. E.g., running Virtual Prancing Around Rocks A and Virtual Prancing Around Rocks B counts as one adventure. If you run the same-named adventure on different challenge levels at different conventions, you earn Player XP for the highest level you ran. E.g., in you survived Dancing Among Stones on Normal at Gen Con and then later survived Dancing Among Stones on Hardcore (or Nightmare/Epic) at Gamehole Con, you would earn a total of 2,000 XP for that adventure.
Player Level vs. Character Level: Your player level has absolutely nothing to do with your character's level and vice versa. Attaining 5th-level as a player does not mean you automatically play a 5th-level character. Only tokens can increase your character's level. Similarly, having tokens that allow you to play a 5th-level character does not entitle you to 5th-level player benefits.
Completion Tokens: All adventurers receive a Rare completion token. These tokens are only available by playing a TD adventure--they are never found in player packs.
How To Claim XP Rewards
Q: Now that my XP has been entered, how do I get my stuff?
A: It's as easy as 1-2-3.
- Go to the TD Store. (The link is at the top of this page or just click here.)
- Find the item you're now qualified for and click its [Add to cart] button.
- Check out.
There is a small shipping fee, but you're more than welcome to claim your Level Reward with another purchase or a Transmute order. They'll all ship to you together for the one shipping charge.
Q: Can I get my Level Reward shipped with another person's Level Reward?
A: Unfortunately, no. We used to offer this option but it proved to be problematic for many reasons. Each player needs to claim and order their own level reward(s). We need folks to do it this way so our system knows when a person has claimed their Level Reward.
"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.