D&D 5E My interview with Trapdoor Technologies about DungeonScape

[Morrus]

103071 is the hex code for the colour blue. "DU BLUE" mean anything to anybody? Or if you say it aloud... double-u, or W. If there was an N on the end, you could almost say the coin was a doubloon.

 

[coriolis]

103071 is the hex code for the colour blue. "DU BLUE" mean anything to anybody?

Maybe a reference to the D&D Blue Box (a.k.a. the Expert Set)?

Doesn't seem likely for a first release.

 

[mechascorpio]

FINALLY, I can talk about DU 103071 !!!!

As Hobo the Delightful mentioned, I was one of those at Origins who got the coin and, shortly after, figured out that there must be some hidden meaning to the code. I contacted Rachael after the con, and she confirmed that the code was not unique to each coin, that all of the Origins coins had that code, and that it had a purpose (which she explained in the video) but it also had a secret meaning, apparently known only to Evil Chris Matney. But because it was technically part of the NDA in my playtest of C:M, and I wasn't sure if a further clue/code might be revealed at GenCon, we agreed to say nothing public at the time.

Now that the cat is out of the bag, I'll share some guesses I've made and some clarifications I got, and perhaps we can work it out together. None of my guesses have nailed it when she ran them by Chris:

• DUngeon Magazine #10, page 30, word 71? No.
• "Passage to Dawn", the 10th book of Drizzt Do'Urden (DU), page 30, word 71? No.
• Something else to do with Drizzt, a 10th Level Ranger? No answer.
• Something to do with Chris at University of Denver (DU)? No. Chris says that the code can be broken with public information and has nothing to do with him personally.
• Something to do with Dave Arneson possibly having watched "The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle" and during a Creature Feature marathon on October 30, 1971 in St Paul, partly inspiring Blackmoor? No.
• Does Chris have an original first printing of "Chainmail" in his collection, that also had the original receipt tucked in it, indicating it was bought by someone with the initials DU on Oct 30, 1971? No. Chris does have a copy of the original Chainmail but the receipt is long gone.
• Has anyone else from Origins asked about it (as of the end of June)? No.
• Will similar coins be going out at GenCon? They want to keep the coin theme running, but it would likely be a different code/badge.

I wasn't at GenCon, and Hobo says in the video that the swag didn't make it, but participants would receive something in the mail from Trapdoor. Anyone get anything yet? Another coin with a new code?

Based on Chris' offscreen comments in the video, I think I've been thinking about this way too hard, and it's something much more obvious and simple than the kind of guesses I made above.

 

[Ranes]

Based on Chris' offscreen comments in the video, I think I've been thinking about this way too hard, and it's something much more obvious and simple than the kind of guesses I made above.

Maybe but I love your ideas (especially the one about Arneson watching a creature feature). Thanks for sharing.

 

[Plaguescarred]

That was a pretty good (and long) interview thanks Morrus!

I look forward to try out DungeonScape

 

[zoroaster100]

On Chris Sims' Facebook page it notes:

Basic Info
Founded October 30, 1971

So I'm guessing that is where the 103171 comes from?

 

[Morrus]

On Chris Sims' Facebook page it notes:

Basic Info
Founded October 30, 1971

So I'm guessing that is where the 103171 comes from?

What, as in his birthday? That seems like an odd thing to use, and not really public info. A coincidence, maybe?

 

[zoroaster100]

What, as in his birthday? That seems like an odd thing to use, and not really public info. A coincidence, maybe?

It was the first thing that came up when I googled "October 31 1971 Dungeons and Dragons". Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chris-Sims-Writer-and-Designer/123928617666452?sk=info

Could it be coincidence? Maybe, but it seems like a very peculiar coincidence if so.

 

[Morrus]

It was the first thing that came up when I googled "October 31 1971 Dungeons and Dragons". Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chris-Sims-Writer-and-Designer/123928617666452?sk=info

Could it be coincidence? Maybe, but it seems like a very peculiar coincidence if so.

Not really. Imagine you could google a birthday for a lot of dates. There are thousands of people in our little industry and a *lot* of them (us) are in their 40s now.

 

[Dahak]

Q. Will the app cost or the content?

i dont want to have to buy it for pc, android and ios.
bet it only runs on newest ios...making it useless to me.
whereas a pdf would work on all platforms...

I'm not sure about that. Wasn't that an iPad 1 he was using? It certainly looked thicker than newer ones. Of course as it's a developer's version of the app, they might have just relaxed the iOS version requirement in xcode for that build.