Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Real Riddle Reveal
I got an email with the real True Dungeon Riddle Reveal. There really isn't anything new that we didn't already know except for Room #3 - The Secret Room. I totally don't remember anything at all about this room. I guess that's why it's a secret. Here's the reveal:
Battle Beneath Castle Greyhawk
Room #1: The Dog Archway
One of our volunteers, Fritz Fuchs-Snider made an ultra-cool carved canine archway here – with a hole being left between the dog’s paws. The group had to find a “bone” inside one of the holes to appease the dog. This bone was inside the hole with the “Good” bardic symbol. A sign near the archway read: "Seek the wealth of those that die, and simple egress is your prize. Weal not woe is what you seek, heed these words of what I speak." The other holes might have had a few treasure tokens or a trap.
Room #2: The Crushing Wall
The start of this room had the party fumbling with a lock to open within 3 minutes, or they all take some crushing damage. The lock was a trick lock…and the key was necessary. There was a small rivet near the keyhole that could be pressed with one of the tines of the lock. This would open a spring-loaded hidden key hole with the key could then be inserted into to open normally. Again…groups that allowed one person to try at a time did the best here.
After the Crushing Wall, the party found themselves before a former explorer on the dungeon to had died just in front of a stream. After a few moments, the parties movements caused a bone wand that the adventurer was carrying to come loose and float down the stream. The party had about 5 seconds to react and grab the wand – or it disappeared behind the wall. (This was a tribute to the module inside the original DMG).
The bone wand had a gold tip, and if the party explored the room’s stone altar, they could see another gold circle that was engraved into the stone. If the bone wand’s gold circle was touched to the altar’s stone wand, then a magnetic lock would open and a secret compartment would open – revealing a Very Rare or Ultra Rare token.
The altar had a beautifully done stain glass window (by volunteer David Seymour) of a large rose with some text written on it: “Welcome to my tomb all who venture here; Your wisdom is far and your folly is near; For a creature most foul now awaits that is true; And by reading this text you have called him to you.” This summoned a Shadow for the party to fight. Note that you could end the combat at any time by simply covering up the stain glass again with the fur skin. By the way…the room had a faint odor of the Rose.
Room #3: The Secret Door of Greed
The players in this room were faced with a tough decision…do they continue into the room (and stay on mission) or do they go into the secret door and waste a lot of time by playing with the treasure. While spending some time inside was advisable, many groups simply forgot about everything else when they saw all that treasure.
The correct thing here was not to spend a lot of time in the secret room – but instead you were to keep on mission and first fight the monster in the next room. Note that the summoning pit of the Efreet had the compass points on it. This was useful info for Room #5.
Room #4: The Room of Four Orbs
This room had a table with four balls magically floating above the table. A riddle was on the wall: “One orb you must choose – that much is clear; To prove your wisdom and exit from here; One of these spheres is most holy to me; And it holds most deep nothing to see;
You have no choice if you wish to flee; An orb in the chalice serves as the key."
The correct ball to put into the chalice was the one that smelled like Roses. You were given many clues in the intro and in Room #2 that the Rose was sacred to Bellvale – the lady whose tomb you were entering. This was a tough puzzle, but one of the spheres had the odor of the Rose about it.
Room # 5: The Classic Chessboard Room
I wanted to create one of those classic dungeon rooms/puzzles – and the chessboard room was perhaps the coolest room that everyone should experience. Every player got to start in row One, and there was a flashing magical ball at the other end. The correct method to cross the room was to get someone across, pick up the ball, and then toss it to each player as they crossed. The Ball gave immunity to the lightning strikes in the room – so after the Ball was picked up and carried that person would not take damage from crossing the room.
Also, there was a riddle on the wall that gave the party a clue on how to move across without taking any damage: "The victor sees across the battlefield while fools be seen. Nothing new marches to victory, and something old cannot be." The words that were bolded (or underlined) were the clues how to move. The first 3 words were made up of the first letter of compass directions. So…the victor SEES across the chessboard or moves SOUTH, EAST, EAST, SOUTH to get across. The compass points on the Efreet’s summoning pit in Room #3 would give the party the correct way to cross – or get closer to the end.
Again…groups that were united in there strategy did better in this room – and groups that were filled with individuals who wanted to be the one to solve the puzzle took a lot of damage.
Room #6: The Room of Archways
This room had an entrance that had a sign which read: “There are 1002 ways to leave the next room.” And once inside the found 5 possible ways to leave:
#1 – One would be a fool to exit here
#2 – One lacks vision if she exits forth
#3 – One seeks death if he enters here
#4 – One ought not to exit here
#5 – One should not enter here
The correct answer was to heed the entryway sign of “1002” or “One ought not to” exit here.
Room #7: The Tomb of Bellvale
This room was were the party could find out the piece of information they were sent to find – what symbol resided on the tomb of Bellvale. It changed every day (to punish cheaters) but it could always be found on the mirror. At that time, the party was given a transmitter to give their matching Tower group this vital piece of information. They had to describe to the other party what the symbol looked like.
After this was done, the party had to figure out a puzzle in order to leave. This riddle was on the table along with 7 plaques with the symbol of a Sun, Moon, a Sword, an old man with one eye, a lightning bolt, a bundle of grain, and the planet Saturn.
“I bid hello to all of those, who seek this wilted, lifeless rose. Are thee friend or are thee foe? Do you seek to rob me so? One test I have to give to thee, for only friend will know of me. Take those plates of bone you see, and place them here most carefully. You must know that Death you face, use your wits to leave this place. Work fast now and keep your pace, use of time will win this race. Now listen close of what I speak, and think of what I sought to seek. Hurry now, do not be meek, for your answer could make one weak.”
The correct answer was to arrange the symbols to make “one weak”…or “week”. Hence, these symbols represent the origins of the names of the days of the week. Sun Day, Moon Day, Tyr’s Day, Odin’s Day, Thor’s Day, Frigga’s Day, and Saturn’s Day. Putting these in order on the wall would allow the party to leave and to get a free random token…which could have been anything from a Common to an Ultra Rare token.
Battle Beneath Castle Greyhawk
Room #1: The Dog Archway
One of our volunteers, Fritz Fuchs-Snider made an ultra-cool carved canine archway here – with a hole being left between the dog’s paws. The group had to find a “bone” inside one of the holes to appease the dog. This bone was inside the hole with the “Good” bardic symbol. A sign near the archway read: "Seek the wealth of those that die, and simple egress is your prize. Weal not woe is what you seek, heed these words of what I speak." The other holes might have had a few treasure tokens or a trap.
Room #2: The Crushing Wall
The start of this room had the party fumbling with a lock to open within 3 minutes, or they all take some crushing damage. The lock was a trick lock…and the key was necessary. There was a small rivet near the keyhole that could be pressed with one of the tines of the lock. This would open a spring-loaded hidden key hole with the key could then be inserted into to open normally. Again…groups that allowed one person to try at a time did the best here.
After the Crushing Wall, the party found themselves before a former explorer on the dungeon to had died just in front of a stream. After a few moments, the parties movements caused a bone wand that the adventurer was carrying to come loose and float down the stream. The party had about 5 seconds to react and grab the wand – or it disappeared behind the wall. (This was a tribute to the module inside the original DMG).
The bone wand had a gold tip, and if the party explored the room’s stone altar, they could see another gold circle that was engraved into the stone. If the bone wand’s gold circle was touched to the altar’s stone wand, then a magnetic lock would open and a secret compartment would open – revealing a Very Rare or Ultra Rare token.
The altar had a beautifully done stain glass window (by volunteer David Seymour) of a large rose with some text written on it: “Welcome to my tomb all who venture here; Your wisdom is far and your folly is near; For a creature most foul now awaits that is true; And by reading this text you have called him to you.” This summoned a Shadow for the party to fight. Note that you could end the combat at any time by simply covering up the stain glass again with the fur skin. By the way…the room had a faint odor of the Rose.
Room #3: The Secret Door of Greed
The players in this room were faced with a tough decision…do they continue into the room (and stay on mission) or do they go into the secret door and waste a lot of time by playing with the treasure. While spending some time inside was advisable, many groups simply forgot about everything else when they saw all that treasure.
The correct thing here was not to spend a lot of time in the secret room – but instead you were to keep on mission and first fight the monster in the next room. Note that the summoning pit of the Efreet had the compass points on it. This was useful info for Room #5.
Room #4: The Room of Four Orbs
This room had a table with four balls magically floating above the table. A riddle was on the wall: “One orb you must choose – that much is clear; To prove your wisdom and exit from here; One of these spheres is most holy to me; And it holds most deep nothing to see;
You have no choice if you wish to flee; An orb in the chalice serves as the key."
The correct ball to put into the chalice was the one that smelled like Roses. You were given many clues in the intro and in Room #2 that the Rose was sacred to Bellvale – the lady whose tomb you were entering. This was a tough puzzle, but one of the spheres had the odor of the Rose about it.
Room # 5: The Classic Chessboard Room
I wanted to create one of those classic dungeon rooms/puzzles – and the chessboard room was perhaps the coolest room that everyone should experience. Every player got to start in row One, and there was a flashing magical ball at the other end. The correct method to cross the room was to get someone across, pick up the ball, and then toss it to each player as they crossed. The Ball gave immunity to the lightning strikes in the room – so after the Ball was picked up and carried that person would not take damage from crossing the room.
Also, there was a riddle on the wall that gave the party a clue on how to move across without taking any damage: "The victor sees across the battlefield while fools be seen. Nothing new marches to victory, and something old cannot be." The words that were bolded (or underlined) were the clues how to move. The first 3 words were made up of the first letter of compass directions. So…the victor SEES across the chessboard or moves SOUTH, EAST, EAST, SOUTH to get across. The compass points on the Efreet’s summoning pit in Room #3 would give the party the correct way to cross – or get closer to the end.
Again…groups that were united in there strategy did better in this room – and groups that were filled with individuals who wanted to be the one to solve the puzzle took a lot of damage.
Room #6: The Room of Archways
This room had an entrance that had a sign which read: “There are 1002 ways to leave the next room.” And once inside the found 5 possible ways to leave:
#1 – One would be a fool to exit here
#2 – One lacks vision if she exits forth
#3 – One seeks death if he enters here
#4 – One ought not to exit here
#5 – One should not enter here
The correct answer was to heed the entryway sign of “1002” or “One ought not to” exit here.
Room #7: The Tomb of Bellvale
This room was were the party could find out the piece of information they were sent to find – what symbol resided on the tomb of Bellvale. It changed every day (to punish cheaters) but it could always be found on the mirror. At that time, the party was given a transmitter to give their matching Tower group this vital piece of information. They had to describe to the other party what the symbol looked like.
After this was done, the party had to figure out a puzzle in order to leave. This riddle was on the table along with 7 plaques with the symbol of a Sun, Moon, a Sword, an old man with one eye, a lightning bolt, a bundle of grain, and the planet Saturn.
“I bid hello to all of those, who seek this wilted, lifeless rose. Are thee friend or are thee foe? Do you seek to rob me so? One test I have to give to thee, for only friend will know of me. Take those plates of bone you see, and place them here most carefully. You must know that Death you face, use your wits to leave this place. Work fast now and keep your pace, use of time will win this race. Now listen close of what I speak, and think of what I sought to seek. Hurry now, do not be meek, for your answer could make one weak.”
The correct answer was to arrange the symbols to make “one weak”…or “week”. Hence, these symbols represent the origins of the names of the days of the week. Sun Day, Moon Day, Tyr’s Day, Odin’s Day, Thor’s Day, Frigga’s Day, and Saturn’s Day. Putting these in order on the wall would allow the party to leave and to get a free random token…which could have been anything from a Common to an Ultra Rare token.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
True Dungeon Riddles
Well , the "official" riddle reveal hasn't been posted by Ture Dungeon yet. They should probably have it on their website by this weekend. But, I gathered a few things that we missed from the GenCon forums:
1) Rod said that he heard there were rune symbols above the holes we were supposed to stick our hands into. According to the forums, if the bard had deciphered the runes, he would have been able to know which one the bone was in. But, we were able to figure it out anyway by using the detect traps from the Rogue. A couple people never figured out what to do with the bone and got damage in the first room.
2) The lock had a button on it that, when pressed, opened another place to insert the key in the back. I did press a bunch of little stubby metal things on the lock, but apparently not the right one, or not hard enough. Some people had a "knock" spell that they used instead that opened the door.
3) The room with the big box with the lighted clue under the bearskin had a picture of a rose on it. The yellow ball in the orb room has a slight rose scent to it. I don't know how we were supposed to figure that out. Maybe the clue said something obtuse about smelling them, but I don't remember.
4) Must give kudos to Jo. Tons of people died in the chess room because they didn't figure out the south-east-east-south thing.
5) The final room's puzzle said "time is of the essence" and something about making us "weak". We were supposed to figure out that we should arrange the blocks according to the days of the week. There was a picture of the sun (Sunday), one of the moon (Monday), a two-headed monster (Tuesday), wheat (Wednesday)...etc.
I'm sure there was other stuff we missed, but those are the major ones that did us in.
1) Rod said that he heard there were rune symbols above the holes we were supposed to stick our hands into. According to the forums, if the bard had deciphered the runes, he would have been able to know which one the bone was in. But, we were able to figure it out anyway by using the detect traps from the Rogue. A couple people never figured out what to do with the bone and got damage in the first room.
2) The lock had a button on it that, when pressed, opened another place to insert the key in the back. I did press a bunch of little stubby metal things on the lock, but apparently not the right one, or not hard enough. Some people had a "knock" spell that they used instead that opened the door.
3) The room with the big box with the lighted clue under the bearskin had a picture of a rose on it. The yellow ball in the orb room has a slight rose scent to it. I don't know how we were supposed to figure that out. Maybe the clue said something obtuse about smelling them, but I don't remember.
4) Must give kudos to Jo. Tons of people died in the chess room because they didn't figure out the south-east-east-south thing.
5) The final room's puzzle said "time is of the essence" and something about making us "weak". We were supposed to figure out that we should arrange the blocks according to the days of the week. There was a picture of the sun (Sunday), one of the moon (Monday), a two-headed monster (Tuesday), wheat (Wednesday)...etc.
I'm sure there was other stuff we missed, but those are the major ones that did us in.
Monday, August 15, 2005
Disaster at Gencon!
"A fVcking Disaster!" shouted enraged GenCon Event Manager Joe Zavala, "How can we continue, attendance is going to drop to a trickle. The fans of this genre, are not going to stand for this. I believe most are going to cancel their trip."
Statements like these were made after Chivalry games annonecd they are not I repeat not attending GenCon this year. GenCon spokesperson Wanda Holsberg was shocked and dissmayed, "We at GenCon almost cancelled the 'Con after Chivalry Games dropped out. We had focused this year's events around Chivalry Games flagship product CHAOSTLE. Once they dropped out, it was, well chaos here at GenCon HQ. Their were people that wanted to throw in the towel; but we decided to persevere. For more information regarding Chaostle please visit http://www.chaostle.com/
Statements like these were made after Chivalry games annonecd they are not I repeat not attending GenCon this year. GenCon spokesperson Wanda Holsberg was shocked and dissmayed, "We at GenCon almost cancelled the 'Con after Chivalry Games dropped out. We had focused this year's events around Chivalry Games flagship product CHAOSTLE. Once they dropped out, it was, well chaos here at GenCon HQ. Their were people that wanted to throw in the towel; but we decided to persevere. For more information regarding Chaostle please visit http://www.chaostle.com/
The Bus Is Leaving...
at 8:30. Erich had expressed some concern that 9:30 was a little too late. It's 5 1/2 hours to Indy with no stops. But of course, we'll want to stop for lunch and at least once more to put some gas in the van and go potty. And traffic in Chicago plus decreased speed due to the big van will add more time. So, we'll shoot for earlier.
I can pick the van up at 7:30. Everyone should meet at Rod & Jo's. When you get there, please put all of your stuff at the end of the driveway. When I get there with the van around 8:00, we can load it up and hopefully be on the road by 8:30. We can go through a McDonald's drive-thru for breakfast or go to Einstein's. Please have $80 in cash for the van. Any travelling games or music are welcomed.
Also, the final cost for the room will be $76 per person. Please have cash or check available, or if you'd like to charge your portion at the hotel, then we'll have to try to figure that out when we're there. But, they always seem to have problems with that, so if you can swing the cash, please do so.
Sunday, August 14, 2005
pictures
Here's a picture of Fletcher rocking out at the Mallard's game.
Erich's first put of the day.
Tournament Spokesmodel:
Jo McHorton
ProShop Instructor:
Fletcher "Angus" O'Huelsemann
I also found a photo of the Dungeon Quest drinking game.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Friday, August 05, 2005
Simpsons Season 6 Packaging makes Baby Jesus Cry
* Jason's Rant # 1164 *Here are the final packaging shots for the Simpsons-Season 6 DVD release due on August 16th. I'm all for DVD sets being packaged creatively, but this kinda ticks me off. When you have 16+ seasons of a TV show that are coming out on DVD, could you at least make the packaging look good together? Why the need to change it up now??!
...this is probably how the meeting went:
[ minutes for FOX Studios Marketing meeting - 1/20/05 ]
David(Director of Marketing): Here's our agenda for this morning's meeting - the design for the 5th re-release of the Star Wars films, the Unrated Extreme edition of 'On Golden Pond', and our packing designs for the next Simpsons Season. Stanley, you're new here, why don't you start with the Simpsons sets?
Stanley: I propose we completely do a 180 degrees on the packaging we started with the first 5 seasons and make the cases based on the heads of the main characters. We'll also use cheap plastic to make the durability on these horrible. According to our customer survey last year, a high percentage of people do want their DVD sets open like Altoids boxes. How does that sound? Good? I'm going on break.
[ end of copy ]
Sheesh.
Take a look at the X-Files, Buffy, M*A*S*H, Shield, West Wing, Stargate SG-1, Friends, etc. etc. DVD sets...they're similar in concept and design. Christ, even the Sanford and Sons DVD sets match.
If they would've used this concept from the beginning, i think i'd be a little more tolerant. I honestly don't mind the concept, but this packaging does look flimsy and cheap. It looks like they have some sort of slip cover that attemps to match the spines from the previous seasons, but it doesn't quite work.
I probably am being too critical and anal retentive here, but once the Simpson family heads are done, will they come up with yet another design starting on Season 11?? 
The only apparent good news is that some people who have gotten this set early say that there is a phone # included that lets you call and supposedly they'll send you the 'old style' packing. Although, it's probably a recording that yells at the caller and says 'NERD!!' really loud.
That's just my opinion, i could be wrong.
~Jason.
Monday, August 01, 2005
Vitense 50¢ day Aug 14th!
50th Anniversary Celebration
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Ripped right from http://www.vitense.com/
Vitense Golfland began operations in 1955. Come celebrate with us on Sunday, August 14, 2005 from 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. to celebrate our 50th birthday where ALL activities will be just $.50. Play miniature golf, the par 3 golf course, batting cages, Water Wars, HiBall and "The Rock" climbing wall all for $.50. Medium golf range buckets will also be $.50. To top it off, The Goflland Pass and The Big George Pass normally priced at $120 and $170 respectively, will be available for $50 off the normal rates! Brats, hot dogs and soda will also be availalbe for just $.50 while supplies last. Come enjoy "the putting edge" of fun.
Rod had mentioned bogies awhile ago, here is an opportunity for us to do something like that for less jack, (although Jack will still be coming).
The Greatest Day of Gaming.
Hello fellow Gamer,
This email has originated from Chris and Adam Bauknecht. We have been thinking about all the people who we never get to play games with anymore, and lamenting that loss. So we've finally gotten our heads out of our asses and set up what will one day be deemed:
The Greatest Day of Gaming.
Well maybe not, but we'd like everyone to check their schedules and try to make themselves available on Sunday, August 28th.
We are reserving space at Misty Mountain Games (www.mistymountaingames.com) starting around noon and going until ~10pm-ish. What we need from you are 3 things:
**1. We need you to send this information on to anyone you know who enjoys gaming.
**2. We need you to RSVP to cbauknecht@yahoo.com by Tuesday, August 23rd. I need to give them an approximate head count, so we have enough space. If we can get 30+ people, I'm going to try to get Misty Mountain to give us a discount on gaming supplies.
**3. We need you to come and play games with us. Adam and I are going to play board games, but Misty Mountain also has a 6-player LAN which should be available if anyone is interested in it. (There is, however, a fee to use their computers.)
There will be no cost to play anything else and we ask that if you have games you'd like to play, you bring them along. We aren't planning any sort of tournaments or special-event games...just a day to hang out with you. We hope that everyone can make it.
It should be a lot of fun.
See you then, Chris and Adam Bauknecht
PS. If this email hasn't inspired you to join us, August 27th is my (Chris's) Birthday and since you haven't gotten me anything yet, I'll consider your attendance your gift to me. ;)
I am planning on going. It sounds like a blast!
This email has originated from Chris and Adam Bauknecht. We have been thinking about all the people who we never get to play games with anymore, and lamenting that loss. So we've finally gotten our heads out of our asses and set up what will one day be deemed:
The Greatest Day of Gaming.
Well maybe not, but we'd like everyone to check their schedules and try to make themselves available on Sunday, August 28th.
We are reserving space at Misty Mountain Games (www.mistymountaingames.com) starting around noon and going until ~10pm-ish. What we need from you are 3 things:
**1. We need you to send this information on to anyone you know who enjoys gaming.
**2. We need you to RSVP to cbauknecht@yahoo.com by Tuesday, August 23rd. I need to give them an approximate head count, so we have enough space. If we can get 30+ people, I'm going to try to get Misty Mountain to give us a discount on gaming supplies.
**3. We need you to come and play games with us. Adam and I are going to play board games, but Misty Mountain also has a 6-player LAN which should be available if anyone is interested in it. (There is, however, a fee to use their computers.)
There will be no cost to play anything else and we ask that if you have games you'd like to play, you bring them along. We aren't planning any sort of tournaments or special-event games...just a day to hang out with you. We hope that everyone can make it.
It should be a lot of fun.
See you then, Chris and Adam Bauknecht
PS. If this email hasn't inspired you to join us, August 27th is my (Chris's) Birthday and since you haven't gotten me anything yet, I'll consider your attendance your gift to me. ;)
I am planning on going. It sounds like a blast!
