Learn How to Play Dungeoneer Videos

BlackBeltGaming has posted a series of videos as he walks through setting up Tomb of the Lich Lord and playing Roderick Talus the Paladin vs. Tannin Shadefoot the Rogue.

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.

Tomb of the Lich Lord reprint

Atlas Games has reported that they've reprinted Tomb of the Lich Lord and it will be in stores soon. This item has been unavailable for some time now and I'm glad to see it back in stock because it is as close to a "base set" as Dungeoneer has. Though all Dungeoneer sets can be played alone or combined with other sets.

So don't pay any more for it then retail price. (Unless of course you want to support this site and get a signed copy along with original art)

I don't think any changes have been made to the cards, but it is likely to have the latest rules in it (v2.3).

Reprints

Dungeoneer fan Tyler Dion asks when Tomb of the Lich Lord will be reprinted? Good question Tyler!

Currently there are 3 sets out of print:
Tomb of the Lich Lord
Haunted Woods of Malthorin
Den of the Wererats

We prepped the art for the press (there was minor errata on a couple cards) and were ready to go, when we discovered a sudden, and HUGE, spike in the printing costs. We didn't want to raise the retail price, but we couldn't print them at a loss either.

To put the problem in context, the larger your print run, the lower your costs can be. Large games like Magic: the Gathering can absorb the printing cost increase, but our print runs are closer to 5-10 thousand. And a reprint just doesn't sell as much as a new game, generally.

The options left are to wait until there are enough pre-orders and to hope the cost spike is only a bubble that will come back down. Or, raise the retail price. We're still deliberating.

In the meantime I've made copies I own available for sale on eBay. To make it worth the time and effort, I've had to add incentives: an original sketch and signed print.

Also, the Dungeoneer RPG will have some of the cards from those sets, when it is completed and hopefully printed later this year.

Dungeoneer Rules Numbered

I've been told time and again how great and fun Dungeoneer is and how not-so-great the rules are...the rules have been rewritten a few times, and improved upon, and expanded as the game has grown, but it has always been tough to write the perfect rules set.

Boardgamegeek.com user Dane Barrett has posted his version of the Dungeoneer rules, where he divided up all the rules, reorganized them a bit, and numbered them. The result is an incredibly handy version of the rules where every rule can be quickly found and more easily understood!

Is Boardgamegeek.com the best site on the interwebs? Quite possibly.

Play Dungeoneer Online!

Studio Denmark and Vassal Factory are proud to announce the English version of the Dungeoneer module for the VASSAL engine.

The VASSAL Engine is a set of general-purpose Java libraries for creating online versions of traditional board and card games. It provides support for game piece rendering and interaction, and supports play by email or over a live connection.

Currently in development, the entire Tomb of the Lich Lord set is being converted to work with Vassal Factory's virtual tabletop gaming technology.

Special Sale

Haunted Woods of Malthorin and Den of the Wererats have long been out of print, but I found some extra copies! I know these are in demand, so I'm offering a special: each set includes a signed copy, an original sketch, and a fine art print of Dungeoneer art - a value of $55 for only $40.

There are only 5 copies of each set available. I'm also offering some of the other sets with the same deal. Click here to see.

Dungeoneer computer game online in French

I'll be watching with interest as Vassal Forge develops the online Dungeoneer in French. Maybe if it comes out good we'll try to convince them to do an English translation.

Dungeoneer Scenarios Design Diary 2: pre-designed maps

Dungeoneer Scenarios will contain several illustrated scenarios for you to get the most out of your Dungeoneer sets. Since I want to provide a wide variety of pre-constructed Dungeon layouts it would not be an option to print out poster-sized maps for retail purchase.

An idea I have been toying with for sometime is having pre-constructed Dungeons printed on canvas. This would be a flexible, durable, and portable "game board" in addition to looking and feeling cool. The problem is printing on canvas is quite expensive! There are some POD (print on demand) options, but each Dungeon would cost $40 or so for a decent size. However, for those who are really interested some of the best scenarios will be available on my Zazzle storefront so players will have the option of purchasing printed scenarios on canvas or heavy-weight poster paper.

We are still looking for scenario submissions if you have a good idea for a pre-constructed Dungeon, or Wilderness, or both!

Dungeoneer Scenarios: Solo Play

One of the most common requests I've heard from players, online and in person, is for a good set of solo rules to play Dungeoneer by.

Dungeoneer was designed as a multiplayer game from the beginning. For a game to be successful I believe it has to have a strong social aspect, players must be able to interact frequently, a game should foster communication. One of the reasons I think so many dungeon-crawl boardgames (and card games) have failed in the past is because each player takes his or her turn independent of what the other players are doing. This creates isolation and reduces the crucial community aspect of game playing! Dungeoneer solves this by forcing player interaction each turn through the Peril/Glory mechanic and the Dungeonlord/Hero phases of each player's turn. This interaction is the heart of the game - well, almost.

Quests are the only time a player is really "playing in isolation" compared to the rest of the game. And Quests are the other piece of the heart of the game.

So how do we go about creating a compelling solo player experience out of a game intended for multiple players? The answer must lie in the Quest system. And this means the solo player's goal must be almost exclusively to complete Quests. I've seen several solo variants floating around on the Internet, and I do pay attention to how others have tried to solve the problem. It almost always boils down to automating the Dungeonlord aspect of the game, and allowing the players to focus on playing their Hero. Still, there are many cards such as those with Shift and Warp effects that only make sense in a multiplayer game. After considering all the solo rules what we've ended up doing is choosing 4 solo rules variants and polishing them. In addition we've put together a collection of modular solo rules that can be used with any of the solo variants. This is the basic description of each variant:

Variant 1, Run Forest Run:
In this variant the goal is to complete 3 Quests and return to the Entrance to win the game. All "problem cards" are removed from the deck.

Variant 2, Revise Problem Cards:
In this variant, similar to the first the goal is to complete 3 Quests and return to the Entrance to win. But it has a breakdown of all the "problem cards" and explains how to use them in a solo context. Yeah, more consulting the book, but you can use all the cards.

Variant 3, Simple:
The turn order is cut down significantly. Problem cards are removed. None of the modular variants are used, instead it describes it's own abbreviated variants.

Variant 4, Scenarios:
This isn't so much a set of solo rules, as it is various scenarios using the cards in a pre-determined manner to create interesting problems to solve with your Hero (some even as the Dungeonlord to slay all the heroes defiling your evil lair before they can kill off your Boss monster and make off with your captive Princess...).

Now, I'm sure I've disappointed many of you since I haven't put up a full solo rules set for you to try out. Sorry, but you'll have to pick up Dungeoneer Scenarios for that when it comes out. Besides, we are still testing them out.

Happy Dungeoneering!

Dungeoneer: Polish Editions

One of the greatest pleasures has been seeing Dungeoneer published in various languages. So far we have French, Italian, Spanish, German, and Polish. I recently toured Rome and was surprised to find a game store right across the street from our hotel! It was exciting to see that they stocked the Italian version of Dungeoneer - they even had the Italian Vault of the Fiends which I had not received a copy of yet from the publisher, so of course I bought one. :)

However, I must say that the Polish editions are far and away the highest production values of all editions, even beating our own American edition! The box is sturdy, full of all the components needed to play (including hero stands!) and it is a very nice size. The printing itself is very true to the actual art as I illustrated it (most non-Polish editions have come out too dark, losing much of the detail). I don't know how to get a hold of copies here in America, but they would be well worth getting just for the components to use for playing the American sets with. If anyone knows how to get copies please let me know. :)

Tomb of the Lich Lord

Vault of the Fiends

Dragons of the Forsaken Desert


Haunted Woods of Malthorin (combined with Den of the Wererats)


And Realm of the Ice Witch is currently in production.
Polish Publisher: Galakta

(Images gathered from Boardgamegeek.com posted by Łukasz Czajka (thanks Łukasz!!!)

Dungeoneer Scenarios Design Diary 1

Now that you are enjoying Legendary Dungeoneer: Wrath of the Serpent Goddess I would like to introduce an exciting new product we are working on for you avid Dungeoneer players. Dungeoneer Scenarios is a book designed to give you the most value out of your Dungeoneer decks. It is a product long needed to tie all the loose ends together and be the definitive resource for the Dungeoneer expandable card game.

Dungeoneer Scenarios is the ultimate collection of variant rules and so much more. It describes in detail ways of using your Dungeoneer sets to create interesting new scenarios. Cooperative play, solo play, pre-constructed decks, pre-made maps, errata, complete and detailed card lists, and back stories for many of the fascinating heroes and villains of the Dungeoneer world!

One of the things that has long been needed in Dungeoneer is a condensed rules summary that clearly explained how to play the game. Sure this problem has been mostly solved in the latest rules, but there has long been a need for rules that explain the game in the simplest terms for new players.

As your first taste of the kinds of goodies you will find in Dungeoneer Scenarios I present the concise rules summary. This document was inspired by a document posted on Boardgamegeek.com that almost had the rules boiled down to 1 page (sans combat), but it had a few errors. You can check out our version right here:

http://www.studiodenmark.com/images/dungeoneer/Turn Summary.pdf

Current players don't worry, exhaustive detailed rules explanations for experienced players will be included as well!

Future Dungeoneer Scenarios design diaries will explore variant rules, and most exciting of all scenarios that can be played cooperatively, competitively, or even solo!

Legendary Dungeoneer: Final Sneak Peek

In this final installment of Legendary Dungeoneer sneak peeks we will reveal the most powerful card, and the core concept of the game.

As with all sets since Realm of the Ice Witch, the legendary set includes a card with special rules. These rules alter the base environment of the game to give the set its own special flavor. These special rules are, of course, optional, but I think you will enjoy trying them out.

Nakari, the Queen of Darkness and Goddess of Serpents likes fiends. Well, really she loves fiends. Those who worship her too much may just find themselves...changing. The Wrath of the Serpent Goddess allows fiends to become cheaper and cheaper to play (their Peril cost is reduced) as the game advances. In addition her most faithful followers, her priestesses become more deadly.


When the Lair of Nakari is placed it triggers a special event. The Legendary Quest: Defeat Nakari becomes active as a global Quest (anyone can attempt it). And Nakari appears in her lair.



And revealed at last, the Queen of Darkness herself, the Serpent goddess!

As I write this, copies of Legendary Dungeoneer should be in the Atlas Games warehouse ready to be shipped out to game stores and to those who have ordered the game all over the U.S. If you can make it to Kublacon this weekend I will be there with a copy waiting just for you. :)

Enjoy.

Legendary Dungeoneer: Sneak Peek

Welcome to another Legendary Dungeoneer sneak peek! This week we bring you the second most powerful card in the deck. If you are familiar with Dungeoneer you will immediately recognize frightening stats like an 8 Melee and a 7 Magic and a 5 in Speed which is also a standard-attack! Nakari's Daughter has the power shared by all "boss" monsters of being immune to wards like Repel, her attacks inflict multiple wounds (except Speed attack which does the default 1-point of damage). But she also has the dreaded "explode" like the Bug-a-bear in the original Tomb of the Lich Lord inflicting damage even if she is killed. And she's not nearly as strong as her mother...

Legendary Dungeoneer: Sneak Peek

The original Dungeoneer: Tomb of the Lich Lord featured a map card called Well of Healing. It was one of the few places a hero could go that wasn't filled with danger. It had a low Peril value and it provided the opportunity to heal wounds. Every Dungeoneer set since then has had a variation of this idea. Legendary Dungeoneer takes this idea to a whole new vicious level. Here is Chamber of Channeling:

Here you can recover wounds, but you "channel" that wound to an opponent! Of course there is a cost, 4 Peril and it does take two movements to perform. That's it for this sneak peek, next week we'll begin to take a look at the really powerful stuff you'll find in Legendary Dungeoneer: Wrath of the Serpent Goddess.

Legendary Dungeoneer: Sneak Peak

Last week we talked about how to combine heroes with the new Legendary set. Just to be clear, last week's example was to show how to combine old heroes with the new hero cards, the example card we used was from Tomb of the Lich Lord she is not in the new Legendary set. Nearly all the cards and art in the new set are original and unique to that set!

This week we present a fun little card with a really annoying mechanic. This one isn't mind blowing or revolutionary, but I really expect it to be a favorite for many players. Distraction:


So for a relatively low cost of 4 Glory you can give one of your Peril to another player once per turn. Stay tuned for next week when we reveal a new map card from the Legendary set.

Legendary Dungeoneer: Sneak Peak

Last week we showed you Elendus Sular the Arcane Archer so this week we will see how the hero cards combine from heroic (1st) to legendary (10th) levels.


Here is the Sorceress from the original Tomb of the Lich Lord. Any hero can be combined with any other hero in the heroic/epic/legendary chain. For example the Sorceress is heroic level and can combine with any epic level hero. Here she is combined with the epic level Spellslinger from Call of the Lich Lord to become an Elf Sorceress Spellslinger:


She could just as well be combined with another epic level hero instead such as the Mageblade to become an Elf Sorceress Mageblade:

When combined like this the 4th level stats are added with the + stats, so at 5 level the Elf Sorceress Mageblade would have 7 (6+1) Magic.

Finally we can add any legendary level hero card to upgrade the Elf Sorceress Spellslinger, in this example we add the Arcane Archer to end up with an Elf Sorceress Spellslinger Arcane Archer (whew!):

If you do not have an epic level Dungeoneer set and only have a heroic and a legendary set, not to worry! There is a simple way to combine the sets. When your hero achieves 4th level she is automatically and instantly upgraded to 7th level! But you will have to line up the card at the beginning of the legendary stats and take the 7th level stats, even if that means a lower score in something (ignore the hero race if it is different on the legendary card):

That's all for this week's sneak peek. Sorry the posting was a little late, its been hectic here around Studio Denmark making cool art for you to enjoy!

Dungeoneer Rules v. 2.3

Atlas Games has posted the newest rules set: version 2.3. As astute Dungeoneer player Silverdragon (slvrdragon41) has noted "I just read quickly through them. The only addition is how to handle the legendary and epic expansions in the back. Other than that there appear to be no rule changes."

We've gotten a lot of flak over the years about how the Dungeoneer rules are written, and honestly folks I've given it my best shot several times. 2.3 versions worth to be exact! As a new set comes out of course it has new rules, so the rules have grown over the years. But we've been careful to make the additions not overly complicated for new players and just enough to enhance the game play for long term fans.

The new 2.3 rules are identical to the 2.2 rules, we have only added and revised the section on combining sets and how to use epic and legendary sets as needed for the new set. This is the only new rules:

Combining Heroic, Epic, and Legendary Sets: Begin the game with the heroic deck; epic and legendary decks are set aside. As the last player achieves epic level, replace the Adventure and Quest decks with the epic set. Do the same with the legendary decks upon the last player achieving legendary level.

When combining epic sets (Levels 4–6) or legendary sets (Levels 7–9) with heroic sets (Levels 1–3), you do not gain the epic special abilities until you reach 4th Level, and the legendary abilities start at 7th Level. Stack the heroic Hero card on top of the epic Hero card and line them up at the red line. Similarly, a legendary Hero card would go underneath the epic card. Add the totals to determine your current score in each stat. Use the epic carry totals when you reach 4th Level, and the legendary totals at 7th Level; if this results in a reduction, immediately discard extra Treasures or Boons of your choice.

When an epic set is played alone, all players start at 4th Level. Legendary games begin at 7th Level. A hero gains Levels only by completing Quests of the appropriate grade.

Unlike standard games, in combined heroic/epic/legendary games Quests act as victory points. When you achieve epic level, the epic quests are not dealt out until everyone has achieved epic levels. But you may continue to complete global heroic quests; you do not gain levels for completing them, though, only victory points. The moment the last player achieves epic level then epic quests are dealt: 2 personal quests to each player and 1 global quest. Do the same for legendary level.

The moment a player achieves the highest level possible (7th Level in an epic game, 10th Level in legendary) the game is over. Count up the completed Quests’ victory points. The player with the most points wins. In the case of a tie the player with the highest level wins.

Each heroic quest = 1 victory point
Each epic quest = 2 victory points
Each legendary quest = 3 victory points

Combining heroic and legendary sets without an epic set requires that when the last player achieves 4th Level all heroes are automatically promoted to 7th Level. Continue normally as described above.

You can discuss the new rules here.

Enjoy!

Legendary Dungeoneer: Sneak Peak

Some of you who have the Haunted Woods of Malthorin set may recall the archer hero Elendus Sular. Well, she has returned more powerful then ever ready to wage war on the Serpent Goddess. She is the first hero to naturally be able to inflict multiple wounds on a hit, and she can control Fiends to boot. What an elf!

Legendary Dungeoneer: Sneak Peak

Of course Legendary Dungeoneer requires legendary treasures, and here is the infamous Axe of Retribution! With a steep price of 7 Glory you get a lot for your money: immediately gain a life (and just a little peril for balance) a whopping +3 melee and recover a life each time you score a hit! Wow. You'll notice it is categorized as a legendary weapon, this is a new rule in Legendary Dungeoneer, only legendary heroes (levels 7+) may use cards with the legendary category.

This card also represents a slight shift in the way art is used. This is also the character art for the Dwarf Barbarian hero card.