The DUNGENERATOR: DIE in a Dungeon
A downloadable narrative crawl
DIE in a Dungeon is a solo or cooperative, narrative dungeon-crawler.
In it, your polyhedral dice become doomed adventurers attempting to save and rebuild a village that sits on the edge of a labyrinthine, ever-changing dungeon!
PLEASE NOTE:
This digital version of DIE in a Dungeon is built to be played on PlayingCards.io, a free, browser-based tabletop platform.
It includes files and instructions to get the game set up on there, and some automation is built in, but it is not a video game! (You will be running the rules yourself, much like an actual tabletop game.)
If you'd like the physical version of the game, go here: http://dungenerator.net/
- Narrative dungeon crawler: DiaD's player decks contain many different actions for the players to take. Each action is associated with a verb, and this generates a story each game session!
- Roguelite campaign: DiaD is built to be played over several sessions. In order to have a shot at defeating the evil that lurks within the dungeon, players will have to first complete smaller Village Quests to build up their Village, collect Loot, Train, and add Gear and special Heroic Actions to their decks.
- Deckbuilding: There are many ways to customize your party throughout each campaign and several paths to victory. Each campaign will be a unique experience!
- Jam-packed with art and surprises: Each card in the deck is different on the front and back, and the game is filled with hundreds of hand-drawn illustrations. You never know what magic item you'll find, ability you'll unlock, or foe you'll face!
HOW TO PLAY:
Full rulebook available here.
PlayingCards.io Controls:
- Drag and drop cards to move and stack them
- Use the buttons to draw cards (where available)
- Click/Tap to flip cards/roll dice (when a card tells you to!)
- Hover/Long press on a card to zoom in
- Stacks of cards have "handles" with additional options
Your Goal:
Either complete a Village Quest to end a session, or attempt to summon and kill the Boss Monster to win the whole campaign!
DIE in a Dungeon is meant to be played over several sessions, with players adding to their decks and growing in power each game.
The Basics:
ALSO NOTE: This game is a work-in-progress! Please help me catch bugs and edge cases.
If you have any issues while playing (or if you enjoy the game and want to share how your campaign is going), please comment below or in the DUNGENERATORS discord!
Purchase
In order to download this narrative crawl you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $20 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Download demo
Development log
- The DUNGENERATOR: Series 2 added to DIE in a Dungeon digital!Aug 12, 2025
- DIE in a Dungeon version 1.6 update!Aug 01, 2025
- DIE in a Dungeon rulebook updates!Jul 31, 2025
- DIE in a Dungeon Quick-Start Rulebook Released!Feb 18, 2025
- DIE in a Dungeon Print-and-Play files released!Jan 10, 2025
- DIE in a Dungeon v1.4Jan 05, 2025
- DIE in a Dungeon digital beta launch!Jul 26, 2024
Comments
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hope to see this game available again! You surely got my attention with your art style!
Thank you kindly! :)
The physical game will be available on my web-store once fulfillment wraps up, and should be available in retail stores ~early February next year. If you want to be notified when the web-store is online, just send me an email here:
https://www.rollinkunz.com/contact
Cheers!
Hi Rollin,
I'm new to ttrpgs and only just stumbled across your game from Lone Adventurer's video. I know the preorders are closed since you're about to start KS fulfillment. Will there be physical copies of DIAD and the Dungenerator decks for sale after KS fulfillment? If so, where (preferably in the US)? Thank you!
Btw, I really love your art style and design. It looks amazing!
Hi there! Thanks for the compliments and for asking!
After backers get their physical copies, you'll be able to get the game and the decks either from Modiphius (who'll handle retail distribution) or directly from me! I'll redirect dungenerator.net to a web store for that purpose. I'll probably add an announcement post to a few places, including here, once the web store is up and copies are available to ship!
awesome! I want a copy too!
Happy to hear it! Some extras have been printed; just need to finish fulfillment first. :D
I am interested iin a personal deck as well! I have a shop (Knucklebones Games & Hobby) and we will definitely want to carry the game and any/all expansions. I'll watch for Modiphius to start pre-orders. =)
Hey there! Please do send me an email so I can get you hooked up with Modiphius!
http://rollinkunz.com/contact
i understand then that the pledge manager is closed and we can’t access it? So we will have to wait correct?
Hi there!
Physical copies of DIAD and both DUNGENERATOR decks will be available on my (under construction) web-store once backer fulfillment is complete! (I will post an update to Itch, the KS, the BackerKit, the DUNGENERATORS discord, my mailing list, etc.)
Also, there will be a retail release of DIAD (which comes with a Series 1 DUNGENERATOR deck) and a limited retail release of DUNGENERATOR: Series 2 happening in (most likely) early February. They'll be available on the Modiphius website and in brick-and-mortar stores worldwide (which will make shipping cheaper for you, if you happen to not live in the US).
If you'd like to be sent an email when my web-store is ready for orders, just let me know which email to send it to. You can DM me or send it here:
http://rollinkunz.com/contact
awesome! From where do you ship or does modiphius ship? As I am in the eu I fear the might tax god!
You are right to fear the VAT gods! Luckily, you'll be able to order them from the Modiphius website in ~early February to avoid their wrath. :)
Would it be possible to release a black-and-white version of the print-and-play files?
I'll add it to the to-do list! (There are already black and white PnP versions of Series 1 and 2 DUNGENERATOR decks, if that's helpful.)
Amazing, thank you! Yes, I have already printed those!
Hi goldael,
I've looked into making all the DIAD PnP files black-and-white, and it's going to be a pretty huge task (which means I have to put it off for a while). Have you looked into simply printing the color files in grayscale mode with your printer?
Thank you for the update. It is totally understandable. I will try and print in grayscale to see how it looks.
Please report back when you do! I have tested a sheet on my laser printer, and they are readable for me. I'm curious how accessible they are in BnW.
Good God there is a lot of repetitiveness to those files, Took me a second to wrap my head around, especially because I piece-mailed the downloads between the first two decks the first time. - thanks for giving so many options. I started a game with my nephew before I fly back home and wanted to know if you had cheat sheet rulebook for playingcards.io? There are two black bars on either side of the mat that seem perfect for a few rule cards to hang out in for quick reference during gameplay.
If not, would you happen to have a template I could use to create that option.(I know that's not a small ask - 3rd party licensing, legal, etc so I appreciate the complexities]. I've done similiar things for COLOSTLE (rook card] and 2D6 DUNGEON[I created a Lair's expansion with Toby (the creator) templates
Hi there! Itch.io didn't send me a notification for this! Sorry for the slow reply.
I'm about to upload a fancier rulebook that should make it easier to pick up and play. There are already some reference cards in the PCIO version, but I'm curious what others would be helpful?
Hope you're enjoying the game! :D
I just saw the update, looking forward to divbing into it. I've been playing on the website and I enjoy the reference cards. I'm gonna start to play around with customizing the play mat. I have run out of space with exploring and having 3 entrances so I was gonna try and place the town in the center of a big play area. I like the ability the website gives you to play around with customization.
I have been getting stuck with no more monsters to draw, so losing quiet a bit lol. I think having a reference card for how to handle ending a session with a loss or win.
Just so you know, the Entrances are adjacent to the Village Square no matter where you place them! That should free up room for you to explore more. :)
I'm having so much fun, as I said on another platform, very, very clever yet simple system.
As a feedback, I would use different art on trained Move cards, so it's easier to identify them on hand (I know there is the moon symbol, but a bigger clue would be faster to check)
One question: when monsters attack and I win, I'm tooking the victory, dispite them starting the combat (besides zombie, they always tank combat they started). Is that right?
That's right! Battles that Monsters start act just like Battles you start (you still roll surviving Heroes, you can still use in-Battle Gear/Actions, etc.). Thank you for the kind words! I'm so happy you're enjoying it. And I'll think about what I can do about the Basic/Trained Actions' look. Cheers!
This is a solo or 2 player rule set only?
The digital version works either for a solo player or 2 cooperative players. The game is designed with the assumption that if you have 3+ players, you have enough to play your regularly scheduled TTRPG! :D
That being said, you can very easily add additional players to the physical version of the game; you just need a second copy of the game for the Basic Action cards (and a set of polyhedral dice per player).
If you have any questions or suggestions, post them here!
we need more language
Any suggestions? :D
I need Chinese，because my English is poor，plz
Unfortunately, that'll probably be a while away. If the physical edition campaign does really well, I'd love to translate it into different languages!
A german version would be great as well. There is a big game market here.
I was part of the german d&d5e translation Team, so I could help out myself or with contacts
Definitely something to think about! There's a lot of graphic design work involved in some language translations, but with Modiphius now co-publishing, some different languages could be in the works if retail sales allow for 'em. Feel free to send me your info here:
https://www.rollinkunz.com/contact