Andy Lingua
Before starting this preview of Dungeon Tales – Dark Fantasy Adventures, I would like to thank the author Gabriele Guazzini (Magic Dice Manufacturing) who provided us with the quickstart. It is a dark fantasy OSR roleplaying game with strong dungeon-crawling elements, born from the author’s passion for the genre.
If you want to browse the quickstart, you can download it for free from the official Itch.io page.
The Concept of the Game
This TTRPG was born from the author’s passion for the OSR genre. In a very transparent and correct manner, it also reports within the quickstart the sources of inspiration, i.e. those products that led to the birth of Dungeon Tales – Dark Fantasy Adventures.
The experience it wants to recreate is that of lethal dungeon exploration with modern elements. To facilitate immersion, Dungeons & Lairs terrains are also suggested, but they are not mandatory.
Dungeon Tales – Dark Fantasy Adventures focuses heavily on versatility by offering various game modes (further expanded in the definitive version). We find the solo mode, the cooperative one (without a master) and the classic one (with the traditional approach that includes a narrator).
The need to provide the tools to play without a master is immediately evident. The rules system therefore includes an interesting procedural generation system for environments and encounters, as well as the Oracle, which is a tool for randomizing various game elements.
One of the elements of modernity is the approach to prizes. The characters are in fact rewarded for exploration, which is the fulcrum of the game. Unlike many other tabletop RPGs, not only the monsters killed, but also the places reached and the interpretation are taken into consideration; this last element can be very risky, but we will see how it works in the final version of the game.
Dungeon Tales Characters Preview
Speaking of the protagonists, the character sheets are simple and quick to fill out.
First of all, each character is characterized by six Attributes: Vigor, Agility, Health, Intellect, Reason and Influence. Nothing new here, these are the classic parameters familiar to most roleplaying players. However, they are generated in a particular way, i.e. by rolling 3d6 and then attributing a die (and not a fixed value) based on this roll. For example, getting 12 with 3d6 our Attribute will be d10. This means that every time we have to make a check with that attribute we will roll 1d10. Particular is the choice to consider the highest value of the Attribute Die as an Amazing Success; this means that a lower die will also have a higher chance of getting one. A 1 on any die corresponds to a Disastrous Failure.
We then move on to the choice of some elements that define the other aspects of the characters. As a good OSR, some can even be defined randomly.
Lineages (Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, Halfolks and Half-Blood) grant unique abilities.
Archetypes (Mercenary, Rogue, Sorcerer, Cultist, Shaman, Wandering Knight, Storyteller and Adventurer) give access to disciplines and skills that outline the character’s role in the party.
The Backgrounds define physical and character aspects that are purely narrative, but useful for facilitating immersion.
Finally, Equipment also plays a very important role. Its management is linked to dice that can be consumed when needed, recalling already-known mechanics such as Supply Dice and Armor Dice.
Some characters may also know spells belonging to one of three types of magic, each linked to one of the mental Attributes. Its casting requires a check and consumes Magic Points.
Game Mechanics
The quickstart introduces the basic mechanics of Dungeon Tales, but I also appreciated the fact that it gives a preview of the other advanced rules that will be present in the final manual.
Most of the tests are faced by rolling the Attribute Die taken into consideration, adding the experience level and trying to overcome a Difficulty Level.
The combats are divided into classic turns, punctuated by an initiative roll. Each activity requires a certain number of Action Points based on its difficulty, thus defining what a character can do in their round; it must be said, however, that it may be wise to save some also to react to the actions of the opponents. The latter makes a few rolls so as to speed up the combat phases and not take away the rhythm of the narrative.
Some tables and some circumstances also require the use of particular dice: d2, d30, d40, d66 and d100. Some are very intuitive and functional, but two of them left me stumped. The d30 and d40 are resolved with the roll of 3d10 and 2d20 respectively. However, this means that it is impossible to obtain the lowest values (by throwing two or three dice you will never get a result of 1) and that the distribution of results is not homogeneous but favours the average results.
The included introductory adventure is very useful. Thanks to it, it is possible to test the basic mechanics in all game modes and in doing so you can also rely on a dungeon map and pre-generated characters.
Finally, as anticipated, it is interesting to know what advanced mechanics we can find in the final product. Among them, I can mention encumbrance, critical hits and fumbles and the use of the camp to heal and repair equipment.
Dungeon Tales Preview Conclusions
The graphic aspect of the quickstart is decidedly satisfactory. It is a 54-page manual totally in black and white. The illustrations are strongly themed and very evocative, immediately capturing the sensations that the author wants to convey. The layout and font are also functional, but I admit that sometimes a greater distinction between chapter titles and paragraph titles would have improved readability.
To conclude, I can say that I was intrigued by the Dungeon Tales material available in the preview. What immediately catches the eye is the fact that the author has put all his passion into a product that aims to be both a celebration of works that have written the history of OSR TTRPGs and the right mix of mechanics that want to offer a new and different experience.
I therefore advise you to follow the project and download the quickstart, so that you too can get an idea about this product!
