The first PrinceCon convention was run in 1976 under the direction of Howard Mahler. It introduced the concept of a super-dungeon where multiple game masters led players on adventures into the same interconnected dungeon. The dense, 46-hour, non-stop format allowed participants to experience up to seven or eight related adventures in a single weekend. Each adventure followed a central theme and worked towards a carefully orchestrated climactic resolution on the final day of play, simulating the experience of a longer role-playing campaign. In 1978, the convention adopted Mahler's PrinceCon role-playing system, loosely based on Dungeons & Dragons with optimizations for convention play. These optimizations included elements such as a Mage 'Spell Point' system and a similar Clerical 'Prayer Point' system. In 1984, another extensory refinement was the introduction of Clerical religions, where each religion having its own complementary and semi-customized list of Prayers. Over the years, this RPG system diverged from D&D and acquired a following outside of the PrinceCon convention, leading to the introduction of additional guidelines for campaign play. In 2006, it was further adapted to work with the D20 system of role-playing games and was re-released under the Open Gaming License. In 2017 it moved to Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition rules. After the first few years, the use of a super-dungeon was dropped; however, from that concept developed one of the continuing aspects that makes PrinceCon different from other events: a strong meta-theme. All adventures take place in the same "universe" with an overarching plot and goal. Generally the meta-theme and game universe are different every year. Another noteworthy aspect of PrinceCon, since its conception, is how characters are managed. Instead of being assigned characters by each individual game master for the duration of an adventure, players are allowed to create a character at the beginning of the convention that they keep throughout their stay, gaining experience, collecting magic items and leveling up as the story progresses between adventures, which is generally more representative of campaign play.
