2020 Vision Map

This is an update to current projects in development.

First is my major ongoing Norse Mythology project, currently being called the Book of Valkyries. It has several components to it including a bestiary and maps. The text is largely written, now I am focusing on the artwork and layout. I provide regular in depth updates on my Patreon as well as exclusive content. On the current trajectory it looks like there will be an OSR version, a 5e version, and a literary (non-gaming) version.

Second is a supplement for Warriors of the Red Planet. A Princess of Mars adventure is a translation of the classic pulp novel into an OSR rpg adventure. A design diary of sorts is posted here and on the ODD74 board. Large parts have been written, I am currently working on the maps which are a fun challenge.

Third is the fantasy world of Hawkmoor. This grew out of the flavor text of the Beasties books, and a homebrew campaign I've played off and on now for years. It is a self contained OSR RPG that is also my take on original white box DnD with streamlined rules, better organization, layout, and art. Patrons also get updates and bonus content.

If there are other projects you've heard mentioned here that aren't listed it isn't because they've been forgotten. I am using a technique I learned about from a talk by Warren Buffett called the 5/25 strategy. Where you list 25 things you want to accomplish, choose 5 to focus on. The other 20 are things you must avoid spending time or energy on at all costs, so they do not distract from the 5. As you complete the 5 you can consider adding those (or others) to your current 5 priorities.

So these 3 things (and 2 other personal goals) are my current priority.

It doesn't mean there won't be occasional odds & ends posted here, or made available on DriveThru. I have many interesting tidbits to release here and there. Like most people I have more ideas than time most not worth spending time on, but once in a while there is a good one. Like last night I couldn't sleep because my brain was churning through some concept for a grimdark fantasy setting so I had to get up and write it down to get it out of my head and onto paper, because it will become one of those projects I need to avoid. For now.

Thanks for checking this out. Stay tuned for more.

Brainstorming Custom Dice

Taming the randomness and upping the fun.

Prototype Playtesting

I'm Running a Demo at Gamescape in San Rafael

Game #2 – A Darklord Emerges!
World of Dungeoneer 3-5 Players
GM - Thomas Denmark
Mon Jan 30

The Darklord and his minions are marching across the freelands of Tarnyss. A ragged band of heroes is all that stands between enslavement and peace. You can defeat the Darklord by beating back his armies, by crushing his dungeon strongholds, or by destroying the artifact of evil that gives power to the Darklord. You will face impossible quests and overcome heroic challenges to win – or you will die trying…

World of Dungeoneer is an RPG-like boardgame set in a grim fantasy world. It is based on the popular card game series published by Atlas Games. At the start of each game, a “Darklord” card is chosen who is trying to conquer the world with his evil minions: Angrihm the Lich King and his Undead Hordes, Nakari the Queen of Darkness and her legion of Naga maidens, or Umbar the Golem Lord and his mechanized horde. Players work cooperatively against the game. The war rages on both a giant world map where armies battle, and small dungeon maps where special Quests are completed by the players’ characters. Run by the famed artist and creator of the Dungeoneer card game, this will be a great chance to try it out before it hits the shelves!

Gvandir

The greatest hero in the mythos of Tarniss - the grim fantasy world of Dungeoneer - is Gvandir. He is a mighty paladin who defeated the forces of Lashtar, demon lord of the abyss, in an epic battle. He sealed their defeat with the eternal whirlstorm over the island of Bandimar that prevents the demon hordes of the abyss from returning to Tarniss. This is a drawing I did of Gvandir battling the demon hordes, it is intended to be an interior illustration for Dungeoneer Deluxe.

Torchiere

Some time ago I did a drawing of a concept for Torchiere. A card that had the effect of dealing damage over a series of turns agains undead. While the card mechanics itself has changed over the course of many playtests, the illustration I did for it has remained essentially the same. This is a drawing I did and recently inked for an interior illustration in Dungeoneer Deluxe.

This drawing was inspired by a card from Wrath of the Serpent Goddess: Torchiere Corpse.

Interior Art

To me, the interior art of the Dungeoneer Deluxe booklets is every bit as important as the art on the cards. The interiors must be black & white due to printing restrictions, but I believe b&w art can be every bit as compelling as color art. Even more so in some circumstances. The limitations of b&w art and the stark feeling it creates can often lead to more compelling illustration in some circumstances. I have done quite a bit of pen & ink work for the interior illustrations of Dungeoneer Deluxe. One of my biggest influences goes way back to the early days of D&D: Dave Trampier. His inking style, and storytelling skills are an inspiration to me.

I have done a number of illustrations for Dungeoneer Deluxe using a brush trying to get that wonderful thick-to-thin quality Trampier achieved in his beautiful illustrations.

This scene depicts a warrior leaping in midair and a wizard disposing of some pesky skeletons in a deadly dungeon.

Shadowhaven Dragon

I wonder what the stats are on this little beastie?

Palanthion

Palanthion is the capitol of Dolmaranthuz - the most powerful empire in Tarniss. It boasts the tallest castle-palace in the world, home to emperor Kaelus the great. If you are a citizen of Dolmaranthuz, an "imperial", you are afforded special privileges that no foreigners get - access to the socialized system of the empire.

You may notice some subtle changes to the map card layout. I think it adds to the legibility of the map cards, and makes the game better. (the final Peril/Glory value of the card hasn't been settled yet, so I've left that off. Playtesting, playtesting...this game needs to be awesome).

Leaf Nosed Dragon

Another card preview for the Dungeoneer RPG. This is a Leaf Nosed Dragon. They can be found in the heights of the Shadowhaven mountains, though they occasionally reside in deep forests, particularly when brooding.

Here is a detail of the illustration:

Yep, I flipped it for the card. Many of my illustrations are done digitally, but for the Dungeoneer RPG I'm trying to do as many in real paint (acrylics) as I have time for. This one is 10"x14" acrylic on Arches hot press watercolor block.

Character Sheet Sampler

A Dungeoneer RPG character sheet. Human Warrior at 1st level with 1 melee, 0 magic, 2 speed, 6 life, 7 peril, 8 glory. His culture is "Ancient" and his calling is "Renown".

 

Abyssal Eruption

News of the Dungeoneer RPG trickles out slower than molasses in winter. I do try, at the very least, to post something once per month here.

Most of the cards I have previewed have been for Hero players. In this installment I wanted to preview a card for Dungeonlords. This is a particularly nasty one that your players really will not be happy to see come into play. A tad expensive at 5 Peril, it more than makes up for its cost if you have multiple Demons in play, especially against a band of snotty Heroes who think because they are now "epic" level that few challenges can withstand their awesomness.

Note that cards are subject to change from now until publication. But this one has proven to be pretty solid in gameplay, though a tad limited since it only works for demons currently.

Character Sheet Sampler

With each revision the Character Sheets having gotten simpler, tighter, and more refined. We've boiled the game down to its essence without losing any verisimilitude. This has been one of the most difficult parts to design. Creating a Character is now 3 Steps:

1. Deal a Character Sheet to each player. (analogous to "class")
2. Deal 1 Culture card to each player. (somewhat analogous to "race")
3. Deal 1 Calling card to each player. (vaguely analogous to "alignment")

Done!

Here is a sample of some of the Character Sheets that will be included in the set:

I'm particularly happy with the way all your stats are tracked on a single bar at the top of the sheet where it is easy for everyone to see. Peril, Glory, Melee, Magic, Speed, Life - all on 1 tracker.

Happy Easter

About All Those Rules

I've been posting more frequently about the Dungeoneer roleplaying game lately, but there is another product that has been quietly brewing in the background. It is a product that bridges the gap between the Dungeoneer roleplaying game and the Dungeoneer card game. It is called Dungeoneer Scenarios. It is a document that I have long been working on, adding little bits over the months and years as ideas come to me, or as I read interesting things on the interwebs. It is a collection of optional rules, and most importantly pre-constructed scenarios for the card game - which coincidentally are highly useful for the roleplaying game.

One of the major topics are the rules. Nearly half of Dungeoneer Scenarios is devoted to the "crunchy bits" that make up the game. Illuminating how things work and offering alternatives and expansions. My post here today is an excerpt from Dungeoneer Scenarios explaining the different editions of the rules.

About the Different Rules editions
Dungeoneer has gone through 5 versions of rules. The original version was published by Citizen Games in the first ever Dungeoneer set. The final version, called Legendary Dungeoneer Rules version 2.3, was published by Atlas Games in the Legendary Dungeoneer: Wrath of the Serpent Goddess set and represents years of playtesting and feedback by Dungeoneer players from all around the world.
Why so many versions of the rules? The primary reason for multiple editions of the rules is that the game expanded with each set. This meant new cards with new card effects, and these had to be accounted for and explained as the rules developed. Also, there was tremendous feedback from the Dungeoneer community that helped to clarify and correct sections of the rules. These clarifications where added with each version.

Rules v. 1
The original rules were concise and bare-bones. The strength of this rules set was its simplicity and brevity. It cut straight to the point and was designed to fit on a small sheet of paper with minimal graphics. Unfortunately it suffered from being too terse on key points that needed elaboration. It was most criticized for appearing to have 2 contradictory win conditions. The win goal of completing 3 Quests was the correct win goal, but another paragraph seemed to suggest you won by achieving 4th level, which if you complete 3 Quests you probably would be 4th level, however there was a card in the set called a Wraith that could drain levels from your Hero, making it possible that you could complete 3 Quests without achieving 4th level.

Rules v. 2
This rule set benefited from the feedback of many players and elaborated on several fine points in the rules. The release of 2nd edition Dungeoneer by Atlas Games represented increased production values with full color backs and better card stock. Several desirable elements that were missing from the original game were included in this revision of the game, including expanded Monster stats and the ability for Heroes to initiate attacks of their choice. The rules also featured a whole new mode of play called Campaign where one player acted solely as the Dungeonlord while all the other players participated solely as Heroes co-operating to complete their Quests. (These campaign rules are included in a revised and improved format in this book) Unfortunately these improvements also made the 2nd edition cards essentially incompatible with the 1st edition.

Rules v 2.1
In response to increased criticism regarding confused wording on some rules this version 2.1 was a refinement of the v. 2 rules. These rules remained the standard through most of the Dungeoneer releases until the Epic set. Unfortunately by clarifying the length of the rules grew. Campaign play was removed in favor of a section of “best of” optional rules that were in common use by Dungeoneer players.

Rules v. 2.2
The release of an Epic set meant new rules had to be incorporated to account for higher levels and explanation for combining Heroic level sets with the new Epic set. These rules were a complete rewrite and revision of the v. 2.1 rules and expanded on describing common card effects and optional rules. This rule set was greeted with the most positive response from the Dungeoneer community as being the best rules set to date.

Rules v. 2.3
The release of the Legendary set required additional rules to explain combining sets of various levels. Care was taken not to mess up what players liked about the v. 2.2 rules. Only a small section was re-written to accommodate expanded and revised explanations required for using the Legendary and Epic sets with other sets.

Numbered 2.3 Rules
A Dungeoneer player, Dane Barrett, posted a set of rules on Boardgamegeek.com that rearranged the rules into a numbered sequence for ease of reference. This quickly became my favorite set of rules to reference when running a Dungeoneer game. Also, Dane made a Rules Summary that I've since expanded and use for quick reference. (These are linked to on the right for your convenience.)

Another Ogre

Here is another illustration that will be accompanying the ogre description in the Dungeoneer RPG Player's Guide.

Ogre

Hello, welcome to another Dungeoneer Roleplaying Game update. This week we take a look at the Ogre, one of the 6 races you can choose from in the core rules.

An ogre (feminine: ogress) is a large, cruel and hideous humanoid monster. They are brute creatures who seek only to serve their own pleasures: usually finding shiny stuff, killing things, and eating food. The common mythical perception is that ogres feed on human beings, which is not true, unless they are feral or extremely hungry, or in a particularly bad mood. Ogres have a large head, protruding tusks, abundant hair and beard most often of a reddish or dark brown color, small dark eyes, a voracious appetite, and a large strong body. Their skin is ruddy, leathery, and tough.

Considered the smallest, or runts, of the giant family, ogres are rarely accepted in civilized lands. Indeed, they are also not always welcome by giants in the mountainous regions they inhabit. Most ogres are from rural, savage, or even esoteric cultures. Those from distant or exotic lands may seem to be more intelligent, or refined.

Being ferocious in combat, but generally not smart enough to make good wizards, ogres tend to excel at being warriors or barbarians.

Melee +1
Magic -1
Treasure Limit +1
Boon Limit -1

Special Abilities

Heroic
Intimidate (pay 1 glory): chosen enemy has -1 Melee for the duration of this combat. Limit once per combat.

Epic
Charge (pay 2 glory): one attack can be aimed at up to 3 enemies. You roll attack once, each opponent rolls defense normally. Limit once per combat.

Legendary
Bullrush (pay 3 glory): +2 Melee against all opponents this combat. Limit once per combat.

_____________
I hope you enjoyed this week's update. I've been doing a lot of art and writing, as usual being productive in my studio means being unproductive on this here blog. Hopefully next week's post will be more prompt. Thanks for visiting!

(note I updated this post because it was missing the special abilities previously)

Calling

The Dungeoneer RPG does not have an alignment or moral system, but it does have a way of encouraging certain roleplaying opportunities that is tied in with the Quest system. This is your Calling.

Calling

Your choice of Calling defines your motivation, it explains why you are a Hero.

When you create a Dungeoneer Hero, in addition to specifying how they fight and explore the world of Tarniss, you also choose why your Hero is on such an adventure. Your Calling determines your initial knowledge of what Quests are available as you start a level. Heroes earn a special bonus when they work to complete Quests associated with their Calling.

Belief: Live according to your calling, you specialize in Sacrifice Quests.
Curiosity: Explore the Map, you specialize in Chance Quests.
Honor: Eradicate evil, you specialize in Slay Quests.
Justice: Save those in Peril, you specialize in Escort Quests.
Renown: Gain Glory, you specialize in Threat Quests.
Revenge: Find and destroy a foe, you specialize in Search Quests.

Belief
Your actions are dedicated to serving your beliefs no matter what the cost. Your faith is strong and you know that life and limb are less important than your cause. You work to teach others what it is you believe, spreading knowledge and wisdom wherever you go. You would give up your life if you knew it could help fulfill your cause.

Role-playing: Choosing Belief as your Calling provides firm guidelines for how your character will behave. Be careful to clearly define your set of beliefs early on in the game, but do not hesitate to allow the moral dilemmas you will encounter along the way to further flesh out the Character of your Belief. Whatever the source of your belief, take care to make it clear to the other Heroes. Make sure the other Heroes know what it is you believe early on, and encourage them to work with you on implementing your goals. It’s fine to have a bit of dramatic tension between Heroes during the game. You may present yourself as a person of firm conviction, or as a mindless zealot who is unable to listen.
Famous Heroes: Moses, Zoroaster, Gandalf

BONUS: When you complete a Sacrifice Quest, recover a Boon Card from the Discard.

Curiosity
You are driven by insatiable curiosity. You love to learn interesting facts, solve strange puzzles and resolve mysteries. You are infatuated by new spells, odd maneuvers, cryptic blessings, weird skills, undecipherable sigils and ancient mysteries.

Role-playing: Playing a curious Character is always fun. You help keep the band moving forward because you must know what is underneath that last unexplored Map Tile, or what is needed to fulfill the next Quest. With a Curious Character, you do not need to be afraid to make mistakes, as you can always consider them a good learning experience.

Getting Along: Curious Heroes can get along with just about any other Calling. Make sure you spend some time in the Role-Play Phase asking the other Heroes why. This will let you express your curiosity, help them clearly enunciate their position on issues and lets each band member reveal their agenda.
Famous Heroes: Merlin, Bilbo

BONUS: When you complete a Chance Quest, recover a Treasure card from the Discard.

Honor
You are filled with contempt for evil. You seek to destroy all vile Monsters and scheming villains. They shall be given no quarter. There must be no hesitation.

Role-playing: You are a shining example to the rest of the world. Act like it. Your excuse for destroying the Monsters and villains of the world is your contempt for their lack of honor and goodwill. The maintenance of your own honor is of great importance. Treat the innocent with courtesy and respect. Comport yourself in an irreproachable manner at all times. You do not always need to lead, but when given the opportunity you excel at leading the charge. You know that whatever dank dungeon you end up in, you will have foes enough to confront. Stand bravely beside your allies and face the terrors of the world without fear. Once the battle is done, celebrate victory without pity or remorse
Famous Heroes: Beowulf, Achilles

BONUS: When you complete a Slay Quest, Gain 2 additional Glory.

Justice
You cannot stand unfairness and act to remedy all inequities. You are a champion of the weak, an upholder of the law, dedicating your life to the rescue of the defenseless and the protection of the meek. Defend those in danger, aid those in need and bring down the hammer of justice upon those who seek to harm the innocent.

Role-playing: Justice is a straightforward Calling that gives your Hero a simple set of rules to act upon. It’s a great Calling to choose if you want to act as the moral compass of your group and be their leader. When you role-play a Hero motivated by Justice, do not forget to apply the standards of fairness and consistency to the band itself. The focus of your attention should be on those who need your help. Dealing with the other Heroes is a secondary priority for you. However you can make friends by making it clear that when they are in need, you will not hesitate to do anything you need in order to keep the band safe.
Famous Characters: Robin Hood, Spartacus

BONUS: When you complete an Escort Quest draw 2 cards, then discard a card from your hand.

Renown
You seek Glory and understand that engaging in the most Perilous of Quests is the best way to do so. You would not turn down any Quest presented you. One day your name will be sung by bards in taverns across the land. Onwards to Glory!

Role-playing: Seeking renown is great fun. Do anything to get more Glory, and don’t worry too much about how. You cooperate with the band because you know it is the best way to gain Glory, and that bad behavior will be punished with Peril. Playing a Hero with a calling to renown creates great motivation for the band to march onward to great adventure. Do what gains you Glory, while taking care not to attract too much Peril. But then again, more Peril means more Monsters, and more Monsters means more opportunities to gain Glory! Keep it light, jump in to help other Heroes when they need it, because if they fall, who will be around to tell the tale of your extremely awesome and generous behavior and the great sacrifices you make.
Famous Heroes: Conan

BONUS: When you complete a Threat Quest, gain one additional Glory and discard one Peril.

Revenge
You seek to find and punish one who has harmed you, your family or your people. Your single minded devotion to this task propels you to search the world for your foe. No matter how long it takes, you will track them down and extract whatever punishment you see fit.

Role-playing: A grand Quest for revenge allows you to help weave the various adventures you and the band have together into one large coherent narrative. When you choose revenge as your calling, you agree to help the Dungeonlord weave a tale overlapping multiple dungeon levels and wilderness areas. Do not expect each twist and turn of plot to relate obviously to your grand Quest for revenge. When you choose revenge as your calling, you should specify a nemesis. This nemesis is the villain who wronged you in the past. You have no lofty goals or rarified aspirations. Your motivation is tangible, palpable and reachable. However, to reach your nemesis, you know you must have help. Once you have revealed your chosen foe to your allies, you will need to help them with their goals if you expect to be able to receive their help.
Famous Heroes: Inego Montoya, Batman

BONUS: When you complete a Search Quest discard two Peril.

Culture

The Dungeoneer RPG treats the race/class matrix a little differently than traditional fantasy RPG's. First is the addition of Cultures. Nearly as important as your innate abilities acquired through your character's race, are the things she learned in the culture she was raised in. You choose the culture for your character at the beginning of the game. Or the Dungeonlord can deal culture cards out randomly.

Cultures
Ancient: the ancient civilizations, thought to be long lost, remain in various hidden and isolated regions of the world. They hold forgotten knowledge, but are also somewhat naive to the modern world. +1 MG

Esoteric: from the mysterious lands beyond the seas, esoteric people have unique skills and customs that seam strange and fascinating. +1 BL

Imperial: people from the conquering nations of Dolmar, Ilbor, and Baulephor may seem to have a sense of supremacy to others. They are citizens of powerful nations and accorded the rights that come with citizenship. They are often trained professionally for the military. Beyond the borders of their lands though, they are often hated and despised. +1 ML

Rural: these are simple folk, peasants and farmers that come from regions far from cities. They may seem uneducated, but they have a wisdom that comes from a sense of community and making a living through hard labor. +1 TL

Savage: far from the civilized lands are people that live in tribes and forage for a living. They are hardy and have valuable survival skills in the wilderness. +2 ML vs. chosen foe

Is this the final list of cultures? I don't know, playtesting continues, things are revised and improved. This has been pretty stable for a while now and works well in play.

Warrior

You are a combat specialist. With weapon in hand you are a terrible force of nature cutting through opponents like a farmer harvesting wheat.

You show great vigor, courage, and competence in battle. You are the first line of defense in your party. You can deal out immense damage and absorb wounds that would kill an ordinary man. You protect the weaker members of the party, giving wizards time to cast their spells, afford paladins enough time to call on their gods, and provide cover for the scouts to do their handiwork.

While your melee aptitude is second to none, you are inexperienced in the forces of magic and have the least magic ability of all classes. But you more than make up for this lack of mystical knowledge with your powerful sword arm and raging bloodlust. As you gain experience the other party members will learn powerful spells and gain various strange special abilities, but you will only get better at fighting. You will deal more damage, aim more accurately, and hit more foes than anyone else.Melee aptitude: pay any # of Glory, add this # to your next Melee attack.
Rapid strike: on a Melee hit you inflict 2 wounds, and hit in the case of a tie.
War cry: you and your allies gain +2 Melee for the duration of this encounter. This ability may be used once per encounter and uses 1 Melee attack.
Stronghold: you establish a stronghold to begin ruling your kingdom from, gathering peasants and warriors to your banner.

Hope this provides some idea of what a character class write up will look like in the Dungeoneer RPG. Wonder if anyone can guess what the mysterious acronyms QP is?

I know it must seem like I've abandoned this project, but I assure you it is still in development. There have been some major impediments I'll write about some day.