ItDR — the Past and the Future
It came to my attention that it has been more than four years between the first release and the latest one of "Into the Dungeon: Revived". Thus, I decided to look back and see how it changed over the years and think about its future.
The Past
Everything starts somewhere. For ItDR it all began in 2018, when I became aware of "Into the Odd"1 system by Chris McDowall. Quite fascinated by its "no roll to hit" approach, I perused his blog archive until I found the link to Into the Dungeon: Playtest Edition 2,3 — an offshoot of early ItO rules in the style of classic dungeon delving games. Feeling the potential of this derelict document, I've started to create on its foundation a game that could satisfy my need of a streamlined and quick-to-learn fantasy role-playing.
Alpha & Beta
The end of 2018 was a race to a public beta release. Versions from v0.1 to v0.8 still had three classes from the "Playtest Edition" (Warrior, Disciple, Mystic) with basic ItO mechanics included. From v0.9 onward I've decided to replace them with Features and Backgrounds, allowing for a more flexible character builds. Finally, in December 2018, to my GitHub was uploaded the first (and the last) public beta — v0.9.4.
Releases
v1.0-v1.2.1 (2019)
2019 was the year of playtests, first releases, rules refinement, introduction of Appendix A with new optional rules, and Appendix B with lots of new monsters and beasts.
v2.0 (2020)
Soon it became apparent, that ItDR needs a major overhaul, thus v2.0 was born, introducing new Features, Backgrounds, Spells, and rules. Appendix C (three legacy classes) was removed entirely.
v2.1-v2.2 (2021-2022)
The next releases saw an introduction of some new rules and major improvement of already existing ones, while keeping the core unchanged for the most part.
The Future
So, that's where we are at the moment. I'm mostly satisfied with the book, but plan to support it as well as publish some brand new material to populate its ecosystem.
v2.3?
Most probably. There are always things to improve and clarify, when you playtest regularly. I'll see for sure at the end of this year.
Adventures
At least one starter module is in the works already, and, if all goes well, more to come.
Setting
During my playtests, a world was created where the adventures happened. I have a working document with all the info established so far and will release it as a Setting Primer.
Supplements
At least three game supplements are planned:
- "Items-book": treasure tables and magic items
- "Magic-book": magic rules, new Features, Spells and Gifts
- "Warfare-book": armies, mass-combat, weaponry and vehicles.
When? "When it's ready™". It's always hard to say with such things, and I'm in no rush. The quality is more important than promptness of delivery.
May you roll your Damage high, and Saves low!
Cheers and a Happy New Year!
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