Crothian
First Post
Dungeon Decks Quests
Dungeon Deck: Quests is a deck of specialty made cards to be used to create a dungeon in thirty seconds. The pack of the packaging says there are hundreds of combinations but the actual number is in the millions though not all the different combinations will have a significant difference from each other. The adventurers are created by randomly drawing one card from each of the seven different parts that each adventure is going to be composed of. There is the lure, the entrance, the atmosphere, the setting, the map, the challenge, and the reward. Each of the seven areas has eight cards so while there are many different combinations if it used a few times the chances for something repeating is high.
The deck is made underthe GSL for 4th edition but can be easily adapted to any fantasy game. The rules part on the cards is very simple and easy to convert. It is very easy to use but just does not have the depth of detail or variety that I would like to see in the product. The lure cards are the cards that get the player characters interested in the dungeon. They are mostly clichéd like rescuing some one’s grandkid, seeing the dungeon in a dream, or just luckily finding it. These are not great reasons to lead someone to a dungeon, they are filler when one knows the dungeon is going to be found and explored and the reason.
Next are the entrances cards. This just sets the tone for how one enters the dungeon. They found some good pictures detailing what the entrances look like. With the entrances I would have liked to have seen them matter. The dungeon the entrance can lead to can be anything and the type of entrance is just a detail that I think the players will soon forget about because it does not matter or hook into anything else.
While the dungeon can be created in thirty seconds it can be a little difficult on the DM to really showcase some of the cards like Atmosphere to the players. It is one thing to just read from the card and say the dungeon has the feel of being Damp and Musty or Ancient and Venerable but a good DM really needs to be able to make that detail come alive and be apart of the various descriptions for the different rooms and corridors in the dungeon.
The setting card gives an over view of what each room is like. It does not detail monsters or treasure or traps. It’s purpose is to add a little more detail to the rooms but once again really relies on the DM to be able to do something with it.
The Maps are all not very big. They range from three to seven rooms so no big dungeon crawls to be found here. A way of linking maps together to create something bigger at the DMs option would be useful. The maps are easy to read and not complex in the least.
The Challenges card shows what the dungeon is inhabited by. There are no stats for the creatures just the names. Until one looks at these it is not apparent that the deck is designed for low level characters. It is up to the DM to detemine numbers and actual placement of the monsters. This can be challenging in 4ed because encounters seem to work better with multiple types of monsters and even some terrain obstacles to take advantage of the abilities of the PCs.
Lastly is the reward and they vary quite significantly. Something could be found worth just 50gp or they could get to question the DM who has to answer the question truthfully. There are some different type of rewards and I appreciate the writers trying to do something more then just give out treasure.
The deck is interesting but just does not offer enough for a DM. I think the product could make a better PDF with many different types of cards easily added and expanded on. Plus as a PDF the cost would be cheaper.
Dungeon Deck: Quests is a deck of specialty made cards to be used to create a dungeon in thirty seconds. The pack of the packaging says there are hundreds of combinations but the actual number is in the millions though not all the different combinations will have a significant difference from each other. The adventurers are created by randomly drawing one card from each of the seven different parts that each adventure is going to be composed of. There is the lure, the entrance, the atmosphere, the setting, the map, the challenge, and the reward. Each of the seven areas has eight cards so while there are many different combinations if it used a few times the chances for something repeating is high.
The deck is made underthe GSL for 4th edition but can be easily adapted to any fantasy game. The rules part on the cards is very simple and easy to convert. It is very easy to use but just does not have the depth of detail or variety that I would like to see in the product. The lure cards are the cards that get the player characters interested in the dungeon. They are mostly clichéd like rescuing some one’s grandkid, seeing the dungeon in a dream, or just luckily finding it. These are not great reasons to lead someone to a dungeon, they are filler when one knows the dungeon is going to be found and explored and the reason.
Next are the entrances cards. This just sets the tone for how one enters the dungeon. They found some good pictures detailing what the entrances look like. With the entrances I would have liked to have seen them matter. The dungeon the entrance can lead to can be anything and the type of entrance is just a detail that I think the players will soon forget about because it does not matter or hook into anything else.
While the dungeon can be created in thirty seconds it can be a little difficult on the DM to really showcase some of the cards like Atmosphere to the players. It is one thing to just read from the card and say the dungeon has the feel of being Damp and Musty or Ancient and Venerable but a good DM really needs to be able to make that detail come alive and be apart of the various descriptions for the different rooms and corridors in the dungeon.
The setting card gives an over view of what each room is like. It does not detail monsters or treasure or traps. It’s purpose is to add a little more detail to the rooms but once again really relies on the DM to be able to do something with it.
The Maps are all not very big. They range from three to seven rooms so no big dungeon crawls to be found here. A way of linking maps together to create something bigger at the DMs option would be useful. The maps are easy to read and not complex in the least.
The Challenges card shows what the dungeon is inhabited by. There are no stats for the creatures just the names. Until one looks at these it is not apparent that the deck is designed for low level characters. It is up to the DM to detemine numbers and actual placement of the monsters. This can be challenging in 4ed because encounters seem to work better with multiple types of monsters and even some terrain obstacles to take advantage of the abilities of the PCs.
Lastly is the reward and they vary quite significantly. Something could be found worth just 50gp or they could get to question the DM who has to answer the question truthfully. There are some different type of rewards and I appreciate the writers trying to do something more then just give out treasure.
The deck is interesting but just does not offer enough for a DM. I think the product could make a better PDF with many different types of cards easily added and expanded on. Plus as a PDF the cost would be cheaper.
