Charity Auction to Benefit the American Stroke AssociationItems to be auctioned off:True Dungeon Golden Ticket – this token provides access for a special True Dungeon adventure run not open to the general public. Wednesday July 31st at 7pm, prior to GenCon opening, a small number of individuals (approximately 60 in 2019) will have found these special access tokens in various token purchases from True Adventures or from sealed 10 packs when running an adventure at Origins Game Fair. Millions of tokens are sold every year so finding one is an extremely rare event (why it shares the name with a famous movie/book).https://truedungeon.com/ticketEstimated value (including the special elements included): $1,500

• The auction winner will be doing this run with a veteran True Dungeon group. Any tokens needed to prepare the individual for the most difficult level of run will be loaned out to the winner.
  
• Each year, the Golden Ticket holders (including the auction winner), will be given a gift bag from True Adventures – the contents are unknown but will be related to True Dungeon and are often of significant value (estimated value: unknown – has ranged from nothing to $500+).
  
• For this run, the group will be provided with a complete set of Charms of Transmorph allowing for an unusual experience (estimated value: $150).
  

Auction add-ons:*The ticket donor is also offering a handful of additional True Dungeon tokens to the winner:1 Tooth of Cavadar, 1 +2 Light Crossbow of Stunning, 1 Shoes of the Sneak, 1 Out of Print Boots of the South Wind, 1 canteen of quaffing, 10 Potions of Condensed Healing, and 100 treasure draws.Non-Golden Ticket elements being provided to the winner if they are interested. Up to 3 tickets for True Grind Live on Friday night at 7pm and 1 ticket for True Grind Live on Saturday at 3pm.Estimated total package value: $2,400100% of proceeds will go to the American Stroke Association with a matching donation (up to $10,000 maximum) also being made to the American Stroke Association (so 200% of the proceeds will go there!)=9.0pt*Stay tuned: More may be added!The story:Growing up, I was introduced to D&D early in middle school in the early 1980’s. Despite the stories of D&D causing suicides or turning kids into “devil worshippers,” my mother supported my interest. Although money was tight, she saved up enough to buy both the player’s handbook and DMG for “Advanced Dungeons and Dragons” and gave them to me as a present.  She wrote my name and address and phone number into the inside binding of each book in case they were lost. I recently ran across those books after losing her to a stroke earlier this year. It occurred to me that my love of gaming had really started with the support of a loving mother who had spent most of her life helping others. That’s why I wanted to do something to help others tied to the gaming community. Why is supporting stroke awareness and research important?800,000 Americans have strokes each year resulting in 140,000 deaths (5% of all US deaths annually). Contrary to popular belief – strokes hit people of all ages: 34% of all strokes happened to people under the age of 65 years old (10% of all strokes happen to people under the age of 45). Additionally, 1 in 3 people have conditions such as Diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, or are smokers – these conditions are the leading causes of stroke. Strokes are something that will impact us either personally or through loved ones.Stats that are critical to know:

• Only 38% of Americans can recognize the symptoms of a stroke
  
• Most people are unaware of treatments for strokes that are timecritical – application of stroke treatment drugs can reduce the impact of many strokes by more than 90% if applied immediately (at most, within 3 hours but the earlier the application – the more significant the impact the drugs can have)
  

Making a difference can start with something as simple as teaching others the FAST acronym.Face – Ask the person to smile – does one side of the face droop?Arms – Ask the person to lift both arms – does one arm drift downward?Speech – Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is their speech slurred or strange? Time – If you observe any of these signs, call 911 immediately. Response time impacts both survival rates and reducing the impact of the stroke long-term. Note the time of the first symptom – this will impact how treatment is handled. The auction is being run through a site set-up by the American Stroke Association:

Auction Link

Thank you – hopefully we’ll raise awareness and generate a good amount of funds for the American Stroke Association!

Thank you also to Mike and the rest of the GenCon staff for approving me being able to promote this in the GenCon Forums.

Good luck on your bid! Keep in mind everyone, the package includes the Golden Ticket but also nearly a thousand dollars of additional add-ons! It's a great event and it helps an important cause. Bid if you can!

Fred