True Adventures
Encyclopedia
True Adventures, Ltd., is a role-playing game
company started by Jeff Martin. It operates two entertainment venues at Gen Con
Indy: True Dungeon and True Dungeon Fantasy Tavern. True Adventures is notable because their signature event, True Dungeon, is "the single most popular event" at Gen Con, drawing people to the convention just for it. The event is also notable for its scale; about 3,000 players play in groups of up to eight people (more recently ten) over four days each year. With tickets for each player costing $38 each, the event grosses
about $100,000, a phenomenal amount for a LARP in the United States. The company also hosted the event True Heroes in 2004 and 2005. True Adventures ran these events at Gen Con SoCal when the convention was still in existence. The company grew out of Martin's work in creating elaborate props and puzzles for his Dungeons & Dragons
game.
. Combat is played out by sliding weapon counters along a waist high shuffle board table. True Dungeon focuses on riddle and puzzle solving along with the shuffle board combat system.
Jeff Martin originally ran yearly immersive games of this sort for groups of friends. Gen Con owner Peter Adkison
was invited to one of these events, then running under the name "Jeff Con" for about 30 people.
After his experience, Adkison invited Martin to run the game at Gen Con after participating in one of Martin's events. True Dungeon was first run at Gen Con
Indy in 2003. The first event was arranged at the last minute; there was no promotion and tickets were not in Gen Con's system.
The events takes about 100 volunteers to run. The 2006 event supplies filled two semi-trailers.
Equipment for player characters exists in the form of "treasure tokens". These are marked wooden tokens indicating various pieces of traditional Dungeons & Dragons equipment. Examples include rope, small steel mirrors, weapons, and armor. In 2005 players were given a random weapon and random armor; they were expected to trade within their group to optimize their equipment usage. In 2006 players were given a random bag of 10 tokens. Since the game began players could also purchase additional bags of random tokens. There is a sustantial after-market for these trade-able tokens on Ebay.
True Dungeon provides an interactive environment, complete with multiple solutions to many problems. There are a small number of NPCs as the plot requires. Players move through various rooms in the game world. Each room contains a challenge in either the form of a puzzle, a combat, or both. The puzzles can be very difficult and the game has a high rate of character death, although the games lethality has dropped over the years. Jeff Martin said of the 2004 Gen Con Indy game that only 20% of characters survived, while in 2005 42% did.
Closer to live action role-playing, players are expected to physically explore their surroundings, not simply describing interactions with the gamemaster
Many interactions do require gamemaster interaction, with some details of the environment described to players by the gamemaster assigned to each room.
The first few years, each group of players were accompanied by a gamemaster throughout the dungeon. In 2005, this was switched to having a gamemaster assigned to each room to ensure more consistent rulings for a given room.
To maximize throughput of players, each room of the dungeon has a group of players in it. Groups all advance to the next room simultaneously. As a result, each room has a hard time limit. If players finish early, they must wait for the time limit to expire before advancing. If the players are too slow, they are penalized hit points and are moved into the next room. The plot for each dungeon usually provides a reason for the time limit. One year the plot specified that the characters were fleeing lizardmen. Sometimes the rooms themselves explain the time limit; in 2005 one room had a moving wall that would crush characters who failed to open the locked door into the next room quickly enough.
Player success in True Dungeon (and True Heroes) is tracked in the form of Experience Points. Players with larger numbers of Experience Points (or XP) are given levels. These levels have no impact on the gameplay, but offer benefits outside of the game.
In 2006 two very similar copies of the same adventure, "Escape from the Spider Cult", were run in parallel, effectively doubling the number of slots available for players. The playable classes were also expanded to include Barbarian, Druid, and Monk, in addition to the previous Wizard, Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Ranger and Bard.
In 2007, again two very similar copies of the same adventure, "Race Across Greyhawk", were run in parallel. But this year, one dungeon was more combat oriented while the other was more puzzle oriented. This year also marked the addition of live monsters to the game including a shambling mound
, a medusa, and a stone golem.
2008's adventure was entitled "Hope of the Lost." The plot line had the players infiltrating a temple of Pelor
that had been taken over by evil forces. Again two versions were run in parallel, a "combat" version and a "puzzle" version. Like 2005's game, groups on the two paths had to work together at the very end to win. Unlike the 2005 year, the two teams actually joined up in the same room. The puzzle group had to solve a puzzle while the combat group had to fight a monster. Both groups had to succeed to win.
In 2009 True Adventures ran four events. "Five Aspects" was a revised version of the original 2004 game. "Smoak" was a new full length event. "Getting In" was a shorter event. "True Grind" was an all combat event.
In 2010 True Adventures ran three events. "The Evading Hilt" offered 1,500 tickets, "DragonWard" offered 3,000 tickets and the True Grind event offered around 300 tickets.
In 2006 players with a ticket for the day's event could enter the tavern. Any player with enough Experience Points to be fourth level could also enter. Anyone else wishing to enter needed to pay a fee.
-themed game that is played much like True Dungeon. It was produced in conjunction with Upper Deck Entertainment and Marvel Comics
. Combat involved throwing small balls containing magnets at metal targets. Combat also used aspects of Upper Deck's "VS System
". True Heroes operated at Gen Con
Indy and So Cal in 2004 and 2005 before being cancelled.
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
company started by Jeff Martin. It operates two entertainment venues at Gen Con
Gen Con
Gen Con is one of the largest and most prominent annual gaming conventions in North America. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card-style games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, board games, live action role-playing games, collectible card games, non-collectible...
Indy: True Dungeon and True Dungeon Fantasy Tavern. True Adventures is notable because their signature event, True Dungeon, is "the single most popular event" at Gen Con, drawing people to the convention just for it. The event is also notable for its scale; about 3,000 players play in groups of up to eight people (more recently ten) over four days each year. With tickets for each player costing $38 each, the event grosses
Gross (economics)
In economics, gross means before deductions. The antonym is net, meaning after deductions.-Usage:In this sense, it may appear an adjective, following the noun it modifies, e.g., "earned two million dollars, gross"...
about $100,000, a phenomenal amount for a LARP in the United States. The company also hosted the event True Heroes in 2004 and 2005. True Adventures ran these events at Gen Con SoCal when the convention was still in existence. The company grew out of Martin's work in creating elaborate props and puzzles for his Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
game.
True Dungeon
Although True Dungeon shares some characteristics with live action roleplaying (LARP) games, the game's developers don't consider it a LARP. While players are free to role-play particular characters, True Dungeon does not emphasize role-playing aspects; characters lack backgrounds and names. Instead characters primarily are collections of spells and statistics useful for solving puzzles and battling opponents. The rules mechanics are loosely based on those of Dungeons & DragonsDungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
. Combat is played out by sliding weapon counters along a waist high shuffle board table. True Dungeon focuses on riddle and puzzle solving along with the shuffle board combat system.
Jeff Martin originally ran yearly immersive games of this sort for groups of friends. Gen Con owner Peter Adkison
Peter Adkison
Peter D. Adkison is the founder and first CEO of Wizards of the Coast , as well as a hobby game professional.During Adkison's tenure, Wizards of the Coast rose to the status of a major publisher in the hobby game industry. Wizards achieved runaway success with its creation of "Magic: the...
was invited to one of these events, then running under the name "Jeff Con" for about 30 people.
After his experience, Adkison invited Martin to run the game at Gen Con after participating in one of Martin's events. True Dungeon was first run at Gen Con
Gen Con
Gen Con is one of the largest and most prominent annual gaming conventions in North America. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card-style games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, board games, live action role-playing games, collectible card games, non-collectible...
Indy in 2003. The first event was arranged at the last minute; there was no promotion and tickets were not in Gen Con's system.
The events takes about 100 volunteers to run. The 2006 event supplies filled two semi-trailers.
Equipment for player characters exists in the form of "treasure tokens". These are marked wooden tokens indicating various pieces of traditional Dungeons & Dragons equipment. Examples include rope, small steel mirrors, weapons, and armor. In 2005 players were given a random weapon and random armor; they were expected to trade within their group to optimize their equipment usage. In 2006 players were given a random bag of 10 tokens. Since the game began players could also purchase additional bags of random tokens. There is a sustantial after-market for these trade-able tokens on Ebay.
True Dungeon provides an interactive environment, complete with multiple solutions to many problems. There are a small number of NPCs as the plot requires. Players move through various rooms in the game world. Each room contains a challenge in either the form of a puzzle, a combat, or both. The puzzles can be very difficult and the game has a high rate of character death, although the games lethality has dropped over the years. Jeff Martin said of the 2004 Gen Con Indy game that only 20% of characters survived, while in 2005 42% did.
Closer to live action role-playing, players are expected to physically explore their surroundings, not simply describing interactions with the gamemaster
Gamemaster
A gamemaster is a person who acts as an organizer, officiant for questions regarding rules, arbitrator, and moderator for a multiplayer game...
Many interactions do require gamemaster interaction, with some details of the environment described to players by the gamemaster assigned to each room.
The first few years, each group of players were accompanied by a gamemaster throughout the dungeon. In 2005, this was switched to having a gamemaster assigned to each room to ensure more consistent rulings for a given room.
To maximize throughput of players, each room of the dungeon has a group of players in it. Groups all advance to the next room simultaneously. As a result, each room has a hard time limit. If players finish early, they must wait for the time limit to expire before advancing. If the players are too slow, they are penalized hit points and are moved into the next room. The plot for each dungeon usually provides a reason for the time limit. One year the plot specified that the characters were fleeing lizardmen. Sometimes the rooms themselves explain the time limit; in 2005 one room had a moving wall that would crush characters who failed to open the locked door into the next room quickly enough.
Player success in True Dungeon (and True Heroes) is tracked in the form of Experience Points. Players with larger numbers of Experience Points (or XP) are given levels. These levels have no impact on the gameplay, but offer benefits outside of the game.
Events
In 2005 two different adventures were run in parallel: "Battle Below Castle Greyhawk" and "Assault Above Castle Greyhawk". In the last room of one of the adventures players could send a brief message to the other adventure, a clue to help the second party complete their last room. Players were free to play both adventures.In 2006 two very similar copies of the same adventure, "Escape from the Spider Cult", were run in parallel, effectively doubling the number of slots available for players. The playable classes were also expanded to include Barbarian, Druid, and Monk, in addition to the previous Wizard, Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Ranger and Bard.
In 2007, again two very similar copies of the same adventure, "Race Across Greyhawk", were run in parallel. But this year, one dungeon was more combat oriented while the other was more puzzle oriented. This year also marked the addition of live monsters to the game including a shambling mound
Shambling mound
The shambling mound is a fictional plant-like creature in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. The shambling mound is also called shambler, a name which lends itself to the eponymious magic spell.-Publication history:...
, a medusa, and a stone golem.
2008's adventure was entitled "Hope of the Lost." The plot line had the players infiltrating a temple of Pelor
Pelor
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Pelor is the god of the Sun, Light, Strength, and Healing. Pelor is also a prominent member of the third edition of the game's default pantheon, and is a popular choice among player character clerics because he...
that had been taken over by evil forces. Again two versions were run in parallel, a "combat" version and a "puzzle" version. Like 2005's game, groups on the two paths had to work together at the very end to win. Unlike the 2005 year, the two teams actually joined up in the same room. The puzzle group had to solve a puzzle while the combat group had to fight a monster. Both groups had to succeed to win.
In 2009 True Adventures ran four events. "Five Aspects" was a revised version of the original 2004 game. "Smoak" was a new full length event. "Getting In" was a shorter event. "True Grind" was an all combat event.
In 2010 True Adventures ran three events. "The Evading Hilt" offered 1,500 tickets, "DragonWard" offered 3,000 tickets and the True Grind event offered around 300 tickets.
True Dungeon Fantasy Tavern
In 2005, True Dungeon added a tavern area in front of the True Dungeon adventures proper. The area is decorated as a stereotypical fantasy tavern. Drinks are available for purchase. The area is intended to be a fantasy-themed area for gamers to congregate and socialize. It also acts as a staging area for players waiting for their session of True Dungeon. A shuffle board is available to practice combat, and many players meet here to trade tokens.In 2006 players with a ticket for the day's event could enter the tavern. Any player with enough Experience Points to be fourth level could also enter. Anyone else wishing to enter needed to pay a fee.
True Heroes
True Heroes was a superheroSuperhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
-themed game that is played much like True Dungeon. It was produced in conjunction with Upper Deck Entertainment and Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. Combat involved throwing small balls containing magnets at metal targets. Combat also used aspects of Upper Deck's "VS System
VS System
Vs. System , also written as VS System and abbreviated as VS, is a collectible card game designed by Upper Deck Entertainment . In the game, players build and play a deck of Vs. System cards in an attempt to win a game against their opponent. It was first published in 2004 and is set in the...
". True Heroes operated at Gen Con
Gen Con
Gen Con is one of the largest and most prominent annual gaming conventions in North America. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card-style games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, board games, live action role-playing games, collectible card games, non-collectible...
Indy and So Cal in 2004 and 2005 before being cancelled.