Here at EN World, I'm looking at all-ages tabletop role-playing games, board games, and card games. Do they engage the players at the kids' gaming table? Would they cut it at the adults' table? Are they genuinely fun for every age? Tiny Dungeon: Second Edition from Gallant Knight Games "is the newest iteration of the minimalist fantasy roleplaying game!" While this is a minimalist system, the book is not as it rings in at 209 pages of rules, monsters, microsettings, and GM tips.
What is Tiny Dungeon? A fantasy RPG that keeps the rules light enough that you can create fully realized characters, enemies, and magic on the fly while also having enough crunch to let the dice augment the thrill of the game. Using Gallant Knight Games' house system, TinyD6 , this game is "easy to understand and teach rules, Tiny Dungeon 2e is great for all groups, ages, and experience levels!"
Since the core system is minimalist, the rules can be (and are) described in detail then recapped in succinct bullet points and charts. How do you create a character? Five sentence fragments describe the process. Without going into depth about the mechanics (see Christopher Helton's article about Tiny Frontier for more system details), the game moves along at a lightning pace. Since Tiny Dungeon is not Tiny Frontier, I'll touch on a difference – core rule magic in Tiny Dungeon. As laid out, magic is broad and offers endless possibilities because the rules do not describe preset spells. Its lightness could be a hindrance if you are a player that needs spell lists to get an idea of what magic is capable of. For those players, the optional rules for magic – Archmage and Magical Disciplines – offer tighter direction for the players.
Using magic as a reference, are the core rules too light? The rules are about open possibilities while the optional ones feel better for those used to the formality of D&D. Tiny Dungeon lives up to its promise of being rules light and, while it will never be Phoenix Command, there are some options do add crunch if you need a more familiar style of gaming.
A selling point of the core rulebook (121 pages worth) are the twenty microsettings. These settings are 5 or more pages of story possibilities. Not full-blown worlds or simple quests, these are setting seedlings that can be placed into any adventure or campaign. They offer possibilities like Ryan Schoon's The Land of Roses and Thorns in which you form a noble house that is competing with other noble houses. Less physically structured and more open setups exist like Wendelyn A. Reischl's The Final Wardens where, after the possibility of a TPK, the god of chance has resurrected a PC or a party to fulfill a task. Collectively, these settings can inspire a varied world of adventure.
Does Tiny Dungeon: Second Edition win the kids' table? Yes. The core rules are just complex enough to give the game organization while being broad enough to allow every bet of imagination. Monsters can be created on the fly, the microsettings are excellent and offer a variety of adventures, and the art is pitch perfect.
Does Tiny Dungeon: Second Edition work at the adults' table? Affirmative. With the optional rules and ease of play, this system works well at any gaming table. Tiny Dungeons is a system that can mix tables letting all-ages play the same game.
contributed by Egg Embry
What is Tiny Dungeon? A fantasy RPG that keeps the rules light enough that you can create fully realized characters, enemies, and magic on the fly while also having enough crunch to let the dice augment the thrill of the game. Using Gallant Knight Games' house system, TinyD6 , this game is "easy to understand and teach rules, Tiny Dungeon 2e is great for all groups, ages, and experience levels!"
Since the core system is minimalist, the rules can be (and are) described in detail then recapped in succinct bullet points and charts. How do you create a character? Five sentence fragments describe the process. Without going into depth about the mechanics (see Christopher Helton's article about Tiny Frontier for more system details), the game moves along at a lightning pace. Since Tiny Dungeon is not Tiny Frontier, I'll touch on a difference – core rule magic in Tiny Dungeon. As laid out, magic is broad and offers endless possibilities because the rules do not describe preset spells. Its lightness could be a hindrance if you are a player that needs spell lists to get an idea of what magic is capable of. For those players, the optional rules for magic – Archmage and Magical Disciplines – offer tighter direction for the players.
Using magic as a reference, are the core rules too light? The rules are about open possibilities while the optional ones feel better for those used to the formality of D&D. Tiny Dungeon lives up to its promise of being rules light and, while it will never be Phoenix Command, there are some options do add crunch if you need a more familiar style of gaming.
A selling point of the core rulebook (121 pages worth) are the twenty microsettings. These settings are 5 or more pages of story possibilities. Not full-blown worlds or simple quests, these are setting seedlings that can be placed into any adventure or campaign. They offer possibilities like Ryan Schoon's The Land of Roses and Thorns in which you form a noble house that is competing with other noble houses. Less physically structured and more open setups exist like Wendelyn A. Reischl's The Final Wardens where, after the possibility of a TPK, the god of chance has resurrected a PC or a party to fulfill a task. Collectively, these settings can inspire a varied world of adventure.
Does Tiny Dungeon: Second Edition win the kids' table? Yes. The core rules are just complex enough to give the game organization while being broad enough to allow every bet of imagination. Monsters can be created on the fly, the microsettings are excellent and offer a variety of adventures, and the art is pitch perfect.
Does Tiny Dungeon: Second Edition work at the adults' table? Affirmative. With the optional rules and ease of play, this system works well at any gaming table. Tiny Dungeons is a system that can mix tables letting all-ages play the same game.
contributed by Egg Embry
