Tales From Dungeons Deep (TFDD) is a quick and lethal semi-dark fantasy adventure game about dungeon delving, survival, and exploration. Characters die just as quickly as they level up, but death is not the end of the players forward progression.

 

This game has no specific setting, but it assumes generic fantasy. The core philosophy of this game means that players should favor clever tricks and tactics over brute force. However, the majority of the game play will resolve around risky decisions involving resource use, inventory management, and hit point management. Multiple systems work together to create a cohesive game that needs no other extra content. An adventure is not needed, it uses a sandbox styled hex-crawl realm generation rules paired with monster creation and dungeon building rules. TFDD is inspired by the do-it-yourself style of roleplaying and the OSR movement. Though, it does separate itself from its peers mechanically. Many of its ideas are designed to be harvested and used in any fantasy roleplaying game.

 

Here are some features that differ from similar games and give a greater sense of the game itself:

 

• Levels are capped at 10, and max level is quick to reach.

• Players are expected to go through many characters, and thus level very quickly

• Magic-users and Clerics use different magic systems

• Experience is carried over between characters

• Characters gain random advancement

• Stronghold building rules

• Tavern reputation mechanics

• 50 Silver = 1 gold

• Tools for campaign generation, including wilderness, tavern, and mega-dungeon

• Incrementing insanity rules

• Race-as-class

• Slot based inventory

• Random monster generation

• Darkness is more deadly than simply being blind

• A clock mechanic for tracking time

• Unique and detailed artifact rules

 

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