This is a great and very innovative game that is just as much - if not more - fun reading it as there is fun playing it. The rules are both simple and very confusing, but if you are willing to just roll with some more abstract concepts needing a creative mind while playing this will be a great and unique experience !
The Treasure At The End Of This Dungeon is a lyric game about roguelike dungeon crawls. Don't go in expecting something extremely concrete and runnable. But do go in expecting some spectacular writing, and the execution of a concept that hits harder than any other dungeon crawl I've ever seen.
Treasure At The End's PDF is 16 pages, with a straightforward layout that's well organized and easy to read.
For core mechanics, Treasure At The End is pretty direct. You follow the rules for your character class, and you follow the rules for the dungeon room you are in. Anyone who breaks the rules dies. Anyone who opens the door to two dungeon rooms dies.
The dungeon rooms are simple, and focus on broad, common beats in dungeon crawls. A puzzle, a trap, a fight, etc. And then the loop begins again.
The character classes are much more interesting, and each interact with death-looping in different ways. The Muscle can simply ignore death by crossing rules off of their sheet. The Mage loses spells on death, but gains more casts and the ability to combine their remaining spells. The Thief can bluff new mechanics, but erases everything on death. The Healer can prevent deaths and permanently erase mechanics from rooms.
Overall, if you like lyric games and metafiction and seeing the dungeon crawler formula picked apart into fractals, I'd strongly recommend checking this out. It's playable, but more than that it's a fascinating read.
Also, there is a way out of the dungeon. I think you can find it too.
I'm interested in buying but it looks like I can only pay through paypal; some searching says stripe payment is something that creators have to sign up for separately. Is that in the cards right now?
Okay was anyone going to tell me that The Treasure At The End Of This Dungeon Is An Escape From This Dungeon And We Will Never Escape This Dungeon is the best Dark Souls ttrpg or was I just supposed to realize this while thinking about the game at 4 am?
Yes! I am kickstarting the game starting 2/29 and the price here is an incentive to get the game through the Kickstarter. There is a link and explanation in the game’s description.
← Return to game
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Best and most daring representation of a Thief class I've ever seen.
This is a great and very innovative game that is just as much - if not more - fun reading it as there is fun playing it. The rules are both simple and very confusing, but if you are willing to just roll with some more abstract concepts needing a creative mind while playing this will be a great and unique experience !
A brilliant piece of art. I know I'll read and reread this game over and over and I will find more things to love.
The Treasure At The End Of This Dungeon is a lyric game about roguelike dungeon crawls. Don't go in expecting something extremely concrete and runnable. But do go in expecting some spectacular writing, and the execution of a concept that hits harder than any other dungeon crawl I've ever seen.
Treasure At The End's PDF is 16 pages, with a straightforward layout that's well organized and easy to read.
For core mechanics, Treasure At The End is pretty direct. You follow the rules for your character class, and you follow the rules for the dungeon room you are in. Anyone who breaks the rules dies. Anyone who opens the door to two dungeon rooms dies.
The dungeon rooms are simple, and focus on broad, common beats in dungeon crawls. A puzzle, a trap, a fight, etc. And then the loop begins again.
The character classes are much more interesting, and each interact with death-looping in different ways. The Muscle can simply ignore death by crossing rules off of their sheet. The Mage loses spells on death, but gains more casts and the ability to combine their remaining spells. The Thief can bluff new mechanics, but erases everything on death. The Healer can prevent deaths and permanently erase mechanics from rooms.
Overall, if you like lyric games and metafiction and seeing the dungeon crawler formula picked apart into fractals, I'd strongly recommend checking this out. It's playable, but more than that it's a fascinating read.
Also, there is a way out of the dungeon. I think you can find it too.
I love your reviews, by the way.
But wait, there is an escape????
Thank you!
And I might be reading the rules wrong, but I think there's a way you can use Thief + Healer hijinks to engineer an escape.
OH NO! I'll check it out haha!
lot of word.
I'm interested in buying but it looks like I can only pay through paypal; some searching says stripe payment is something that creators have to sign up for separately. Is that in the cards right now?
Okay was anyone going to tell me that The Treasure At The End Of This Dungeon Is An Escape From This Dungeon And We Will Never Escape This Dungeon is the best Dark Souls ttrpg or was I just supposed to realize this while thinking about the game at 4 am?
I really like this game.
I think something went wrong is it supposed to be $560.00?
Yes! I am kickstarting the game starting 2/29 and the price here is an incentive to get the game through the Kickstarter. There is a link and explanation in the game’s description.