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Writer's pictureThe Tactical Dungeoneer

The dungeon map. It's really just a treasure map, innit? One filled with poison darts and curses. Somehow piles of wealf make their way to the hearts of such places. It's up to us to set them free! The Dungeoneer's Atlas is a deck of geomorph map cards, or tiles that can be laid out and connected to form a randomized, playable dungeon. The actual configuration can vary, but a 3x3 map has been our focus for design and play-testing. The Dungeoneer's Atlas allows for unique, fully furnished dungeons to be created on the fly!

Each tile has been lovingly created by hand with ink on paper, a tale woven with iconography. It was a difficult decision to begin digitizing them, but after printing some samples I had to acknowledge that the digital renderings better translate to a deck of cards. Even still, every tile has been artfully created on paper before being translated by map editing software, retaining the narrative quite nicely. This is a work in progress, refining the overall aesthetic and iconography through iterative prototyping.

The subject for the first collection was an obvious choice. Once we publish the Classic Dungeon collection, and a few compatible Dungeon Keys, we intend to create a Dungeoneer's Atlas for additional themes.

 

Left: A photo of some of the original Classic Dungeon ink drawings.

Right: Nine digitally translated tiles printed to card stock, arranged in a 3x3 grid to form a seamlessly randomized dungeon map.

Writer's pictureThe Tactical Dungeoneer

The most essential field guide to surviving the world's evilest of places in pursuit of wealth abundant, penned by this same hand that, ax in grip, hath plundered countless tombs, necromancers' towers, and tyrants' keeps!

The conquered fortress in which I make my study is built upon a vault, wherein the fruits of an old campaigner's life are piled high. Impenetrable by a lesser strategist than I, thus requiring a tactician of mythical wit to breach, I am secure in my boast that I am above peddling my letters for coin.

Hired now are dozens of monks and scribes, reproducing my work to distribute among the guild halls, martial colleges, and libraries across the realm. Access to all shall be granted, that the bold should gain the advantage of my experience, at no cost to they or thee.

Take this guide with you, economical with words to make light your kit, yet herein are the practices we live by. We seekers of fortune, we treaders upon evil, we dungeoneers!


[OOC]

The first component and back-bone to Heroes of Happenstance (working title) is complete! The Dungeoneer's Field Manual documents the rules for 1pd20, the game's light-weight d20 system. If you're new to RPGs, don't let that combination of numbers, letters, and words intimidate you. A d20 system means the rules are built to use a 20-sided die to determine success or failure of outcome.

As a mental exercise, I decided I was going to boil d20 down to its essence and see if I couldn't condense the whole thing to a single page. I'm happy to say that I was successful!

This will be made public and freely available once the entire game is fully developed and play tested. Still to come - an Adventurer's Almanac, which provides the lore for the game's setting, a Concise Cartography deck, an easy to use tool for creating game maps, and a Dungeon Key or two, which is a playable adventure.

To follow our tenet and fulfill the purpose of accessibility, a nice bundle of such components will be available in The Compleat Dungeoneer's Companion.

 

Writer's pictureThe Tactical Dungeoneer

The accumulated wisdom and tactics scrawled upon these pages was hard earned by hardened dungeoneers, yet fortune smiles upon thee, reader, for they are freely given to those of letter and grit.

I must confess my ax-arm grips the quill with some delicacy, its haft not made for the gnarled hands of war. Still, before I breathe my last I shall imprint the fruit of my experience, being of superior mind than those who would abuse this parchment with not but boasts and exaggerations!

For the aspiring dungeoneer, I will compile simple rules of conduct to illuminate your path through the dark and evil places that so often host also wonders and fortune. If you trod such a place, no other piece of kit will serve you as well as The Dungeoneer's Field Manual. I would advise you bring two copies, aspirant, for they will surely wear by virtue of their own usefulness.

The Dungeoneer's Field Manual is a pocket guide, easy to carry on adventures when ounces and cubic inches matter. To shape and prime a most respectable dungeoneer, however, I have laid forth the tactics and technicalities of a life's pursuit in The Compleat Dungeoneer's Companion.

Lastly, when the brandy flows freely, I have been known to share the process of my work, for though age hath found my ax grown heavy and my knees grown stiff, it hath too found my mirth grown light and my tongue spry!


[OOC]

I created this blog to showcase some of my work and my works-in-progress. Some of these posts will be in character for the fun of it, but I'll be sure to post out of character (tagged OOC) to communicate more clearly what I'm trying to accomplish.

Tactical Dungeoneering designs and publishes tabletop games, especially RPGs and RPG related material. The Dungeoneer's Field Manual is the rule book for a light-weight RPG system with a classic aesthetic and an emphasis on accessibility. This is accomplished not only by its simplicity of play, but also by foregoing the need for a dedicated Game Master.

Keep an eye on development by joining the mailing list and following us on social media!

 
Stairs descend into the Halls of Mor'dua Ren

The egress from the Hall of the Mor'dua Ren. Chains were installed by optimistic dungeoneers to assist with the conveyance of discovered fortunes, traversing over 900 damp and uneven stone-carved steps. Not one piece of gold has been recovered from these halls to date, yet the lives they have claimed are numerous.

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