Dungeon Fantasy[Genres]
Dungeon FantasyA character in a dungeon fantasy adventuring party can expect to be challenged by a host of bizarre monsters and life-draining undead, traps and curses, and eventually, maybe even dragons or gods. Many of these challenges will come as you explore perilous places like dungeons, caverns, and ancient ruins. But the rewards are well worth the threats, because often they include treasures of gold, gems, jewelry, and—sometimes best of all—magic.
If you've played Dungeons & Dragons as it's normally presented, you've played in a dungeon fantasy setting.
Refer to the Fantasy Skills table for a list of skills you can choose from when creating and advancing your character. Your choice of background skill, and possibly the extra skill you might get if you also choose a meaningful inability, also come from the same list of genre skills.
Nearly any of the (optional) fantasy species you can imagine are commonly part of a dungeon fantasy setting.
| Dragonfolk |
| Dwarf |
| Elf |
| Gnome |
| Halfling |
| Hellborn |
| Human |
| Orc |
Any focus that has at least some possibility of being something a mighty hero or magic user might accomplish could be appropriate for your character. Which means weird foci like Rides the Lightning and Blazes With Fire that might seem a perfect fit for the superhero genre are also perfectly suitable for a dungeon fantasy game. For your character, it's a kind of magic you pursue, a birthright of your extradimensional parentage, magic channeled from your god, or something similar.
| Abides in Stone | Blazes With Fire | Casts Spells | Commands Mental Powers |
| Consorts With the Dead | Controls Beasts | Crafts Illusions | Doesn't Do Much |
| Entertains | Explores | Fights Dirty | Fights Unarmed |
| Fights With Panache | Howls at the Moon | Hunts | Infiltrates |
| Leads | Masters Telekinesis | Masters Weaponry | Moves Like the Wind |
| Never Says Die | Performs Feats of Strength | Quells Evil | Reveres a Supernatural Force |
| Rides the Lightning | Sneaks Through the Shadows | Speaks for the Land | Strikes With Mystic Might |
| Tends to the Wounded | Wears a Sheen of Ice |
Refer to your type's suggested equipment bundle or the Fantasy Equipment table for equipment you can choose from when creating your character and for options that might be available to your character when you have more currency to spend.
These cyphers are usually in the form of potions, scrolls, runes, and charms.
Treatment to remove a wound in a dungeon fantasy setting takes one minute for a minor wound, ten minutes for a moderate wound, and one hour for a major wound.
The currency underlying price categories in a dungeon fantasy setting usually features several coinages minted from valuable metals, including copper, silver, gold, and platinum.
Each type includes suggestions for your character's background. Choose one or create your own.
At tier 3, your fantasy character gains a mid-tier ability from the list of Fantasy Genre Abilities. At tier 6, you gain a high-tier ability from the same list. In addition, at tier 6, you can replace one of your mid-tier genre abilities with a different mid-tier genre ability. See that section for additional stipulations that might affect your fantasy genre ability choice.
| Barbarian |
| Bard |
| Cleric |
| Druid |
| Fighter |
| Mage |
| Monk |
| Necromancer |
| Paladin |
| Ranger |
| Rogue |
Before choosing a type, create your core character, which (as a quick reminder) grants the following.
If you want more type options than those presented in one fantasy subgenre, you can choose a type from another fantasy subgenre with little to no change to the characters as written. Work with your GM if you want to play a Witch, Priest, or Sorcerer in a dungeon fantasy game—those characters' access to magic is slower than in a dungeon fantasy game and less powerful than in an epic fantasy game. Perhaps your GM will give you access to a version of A Bit of Magic (one that lets you pick only low-power manifest cypher effects) in addition to your regular abilities to make your character more on par with a Mage or Druid, for instance.
It might also be possible to choose types from other genres completely. As usual, you'll want to work with your GM, though you may have to adapt or reskin the type a bit more comprehensibly. For instance, a Scoundrel or Noble from a space opera game might make an interesting fantasy character, but their possessions, background, and general description would obviously require an update.
Most abilities that a Cleric, Mage, Sorcerer, Druid, Wizard, and similar types learn could be described as “spells” or “rituals.” In terms of game mechanics, these are identical to abilities from other types; however, calling them spells or rituals gives them a specific narrative feel appropriate to the fantasy genre. For instance, spellcasters might incant strange syllables and/or use accompanying hand gestures when using their spells. Alternatively, they could consult a grimoire; brandish a holy symbol; and/or rely on pack pouches or other containers filled with a variety of odd dusts, scales of strange beasts, or oils of suspicious origin.