In Excess Umbra
A downloadable game
In Excess Umbra is a tiny dungeon generation procedure designed for the 24-word RPG Jam. It requires 3 different coins and materials for drawing. The game itself is sized to fit on two sides of a standard business card.
As per the rules of the jam, it features 24 'words' (if you include the coin symbols in the table). It is intended to be played as a standalone activity or as a GM (or solo) tool for other games involving dungeons.
The prompt words in the table are my attempt at a taxonomy of dungeon encounters. In other words these can, when combined, be used to describe a wide variety of experiences. They are intended to not be taken at face value but interpreted to match the story the GM / solo player wants to convey:
| Prompt | Example interpretations |
|---|---|
| DISCRETE | present, immediate, one-off, temporary, finite, static |
| RECURSIVE | revealed over time, reoccurring, related to previous experience, infinite, fluid |
| CHALLENGE | danger, obstacle, difficulty, predicament |
| GAIN | reward, increase, extension, emergence |
| OBSCURITY | darkness, uncertainty, deception, scarcity |
| COMPROMISE | cost, sacrifice, risk, restriction, limits |
In a similar vein, you may also like DODMAN, my coin-based pointcrawl generator.
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Comments
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Hey, I love your zines. This one seems awesome, but I can't make heads nor tails (pun intended) of how you're supposed to use the table on the second page. Could you explain to me what the symbols across the top of the table mean?
Ha, you know it’s too obtuse when it baffles ‘Esoteric Knowledge’! That’s the issue with such minimalist restrictions.
This requires 3 different coins - they need to be uniquely identified, so different value coins for instance. The symbols at the top of the table just refer to these 3 different coins with unique, generic icons. One of your coins would correspond to the first icon, another to the second, and so on.
First step: flip all 3 coins. Find the corresponding shapes in the table and combine them however you see fit to make a room.
Second step: flip all 3 coins. Find the corresponding words in the table and use those to determine what’s in the room.
The process is repeated for each passage, which it defines as an offshoot of 2 or more cells.
I hope that makes a bit more sense!
Ah, I get it now! Tried it with the 5-room dungeon, and I have to say your work always amazes me. With DODMAN and Hill Marks, you have nearly created enough tools to run an entire campaign on! Your work has a beautiful aesthetic combined with ingenious design that truly makes it one-of-a-kind.
Thank you! Using those 3 things to run something sounds really interesting. They could certainly take you somewhere. Or you could skip the self-created oracle from Hill Marks and use the one from Lay On Hands. It’s nice being able to mix and match.