Welcome, adventurers and storytellers, to the grand gathering of Founders & Legends, the ultimate celebration of old school and new school tabletop and roleplaying, wargaming, and board gaming! Founders & Legends is a sanctuary for those who yearn for the nostalgia and magic of the classic era of tabletop RPGs. Here, we pay homage to the pioneers who forged the path, and we honor the legends who inspired generations of gamers.
Incarnate Tournament
Background
In March, 2024 at the Founders & Legends Convention, we introduced a unique Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) premier tournament event crafted to test the mettle of even the most experienced gamers. This idea emerged while Luke Gygax and his friend Andrew Scott Perry, the Harper, were at Gen Con the previous year. Together, Andrew and Luke conceptualized the first ever tournament campaign taking place through four TTRPG conventions and designed as an homage to Luke’s father, as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of D&D.
They wanted players to experience the difference in style through each edition of D&D in the same scenario. Andrew and Luke outlined the initial concept, then Andrew forged the opening and surprise ending scenario. Meanwhile, Luke recruited four of the best designers in the TTRPG community to help build the rest of the initial adventure, filling in the details from Andrew’s outline. The team for Ragnarök consisted of Keith Baker, David “Zeb” Cook, Kelsey Dionne, Mike Mearls, Andrew Scott Perry, and Luke Gygax. This group of legendary Dungeon Masters worked for months to create something unprecedented and sublime. The result was Incarnate: Ragnarök!
Scenarios
- Incarnate Part I:
- Ragnarök – debuted March 16-18, 2024
- Incarnate Part II:
- Descent – debuted March 16-19, 2025
- Incarnate Part III:
- Hell Freezes Over – coming March 15-18, 2026
- Incarnate Part IV:
- Blitzkrieg – concluding March of 2027
Incarnate Part I: Ragnarök
The people who participated in the inaugural event were blown away! Many said it was one of the best, if not THE best experience they had in their decades of gaming. The storyline, characters, and format were combined to challenge and entertain them in the best way possible.
We won’t give away any spoilers about the scenario in Ragnarök, but we can tell you about the format. The tournament begins when the “Heroes” (i.e., tournament players) arrive in the evening for our Day 0. We begin with a social hour, where everyone meets one another and chats before forming teams of eight (8) people and assigning characters. Heroes have until the first event begins the following day to familiarize themselves with their character and teammates.
Each team is assigned a Dungeon Master (DM) and Assistant DM (ADM) for the following morning; for the inaugural tournament our DMs were the design team: Keith Baker, Zeb Cook, Kelsey Dionne, Mike Mearls, and Andrew Perry. In Ragnarök, there are four different game events, each up to 4-hours in duration. The tournament begins on Day 1 at 8:00 am sharp and lasts up to 4-hours. Event One is OD&D, Event Two is AD&D (1e/2e), Event Three is 3e and 4e, and Event Four is 5e. Each part is timed and tracked as the team earns points scored on how they navigate through the various challenges presented. Once Event One is complete, team members are given their character sheets for the next session before going on a break. After the intermission, players return for an afternoon session with a different DM and ADM. After completing Event Two, Heroes are issued character sheets for the following morning. There is an optional social event that evening so people can compare notes on the first half of the adventure. The next day, Day 2, follows the same pattern with Event Three in the morning and the afternoon session, Event Four, being the primary tournament’s scoring finale.
After the Heroes have finished the adventure, our judges compile the scores and discuss how each team traversed the scenario. The winners are determined by an objective scoring system and other accolades are awarded (or made up) by committee. The following morning, team rankings are announced, and unique awards are presented to an assemblage of all the Heroes. After that, the epilogue/prologue begins with the winning team facing a final challenge. All of the participants went wild for the surprise ending to the tournament.
To be completely honest, we weren’t sure how this tournament would be received, however the design team exceeded expectations and created something truly special. We couldn’t have asked for a better tournament to honor Luke’s father and celebrate the 50th anniversary of D&D.
Incarnate Part II: Descent
One year had passed for our players but time in the Underdark, where we left our heroes at the end of Ragnarök, moves differently…
Once again on Sunday evening players formed teams of eight (8)—many returning players attempted to stick with their existing teams—to learn their fates. As before, we divided our sessions on Monday and Tuesday, but—just to be mean—we’ll omit the exact details of those sessions. There were five events on Monday and Tuesday with two additional events that happened else-when. The tournament commenced promptly at 7:00pm Central Time on Sunday with the drawing of runes! At which point play was officially in real time!
The legendary tournament, known as Descent, played the following events for Monday and Tuesday:
- Event 8 – Below
- Event 9 – Snacks in the Underdark
- Event 10 – Jacked
- Event 11 – Sharlotoz
- Event 12 – Edge of Madness
Dungeon Masters (GCXVII: 2025)
Our phenomenal Dungeon Masters for Incarnate: Descent included these notable industry and role-playing personalities, who offered an exclusive tournament gaming experience unlike any other…

Luke Gygax

Keith Baker

Zeb Cook

Mike Mearls

Andrew Perry

B. Dave Walters
Incarnate Part III: Hell Freezes Over
Coming March 15-18, 2026!
Incarnate Part IV: Blitzkrieg
Concluding in March 2027!