You Are the Dungeon 1

a solo game of expanding, growing, and luring adventurers to their doom

You are the dungeon. You exist on the margins of what they call civilization. You are
brooding, tempting, and insatiable. You call to those brave or foolhardy enough to
explore your blasphemous depths. They leave with your treasure, yes, but they also
leave with a hook buried inside of their souls. They will never forget you, never be free
of you, never be clean again.

The Necessaries
To be the dungeon, you will need the pages from this document, a deck of tarot cards,
a single 10-sided die, and something to scribe the happenings within your walls. You
can have this experience digitally, but it is preferable to print these pages so you have a
physical record of the broken souls who staggered from your depths.

The Procedure
To begin, you must know where you started. Turn to page 2 of this document. Print
the page or scribe upon it digitally. Answer the questions on the page then use the
grid below the questions to define your boundaries. This will not be the only such
definition. As years turn to centuries and centuries to eons, you will grow, change, and
become more.
Your existence is defined by times of foray and fallow. Forays are when people explore
your unhallowed depths, leaving with more than they ever planned. During fallow
times, your vile call attracts new inhabitants, expands your boundaries, and allows you
to bring into being new profanities.
After the story of your beginning, alternate between forays and fallows to tell your
story. Follow the instructions on each sheet, describing who ventures through your
blasphemies, what twisted abominations reside within and expand your walls, what
curses lurk and leave.
Your story is as long as you wish it to be. It can be explored one page after another, or
can fester and putrefy between sessions of scribing. Make known of yourself only what
you wish; nothing more and nothing less.
 The Beginning 2
What was your original form? (suggestions: warehouse, barracks, castle, temple, etc.)
______________________________________________________________________
Who was responsible for your creation? (suggestions: landowner, high priest, royal
consort, arch wizard, etc.) ________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
What evil took root in your heart? __________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
What foul being first heeded the call of your curse? _____________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Now, use the grid below to define your boundaries, corridors, and rooms. Make it not
complex. Remember that inchoate wickedness is often simple in its allure.
 Foray 3
Whispers of your existence, the treasures you hold, the foul corruption at your core, they
have incensed the local population. Those motivated by all manner of desires–faith,
greed, bravery, daring, valor, lust, treachery, to name a few–they have gathered together
and seek to discover the blasphemous secrets at your heart.
First, roll your die and add three. This is the size of the group venturing forth. Note the
size in the space indicated on this sheet. Number of Adventurers _______________
Next, draw a number of tarot cards from a shuffled deck equal to the number in the
group. Refer to the Adventurers Sheet on page 6 for descriptions–the dispositions and
occupations–of those foolish enough to delve into your infested self.
Then, give each person a name to go with their disposition and occupation. Note them
down in the space indicated on the sheet.
Now discover the fates of these pitiful souls. Choose an adventurer. Roll your die
and consult the Events beginning on page 6. This result is the category of event that
occurred. Then roll a second time for the specific event. Next to the entry for the
adventurer, note the event and detail it. It is at your discretion to provide as much or as
little detail as you like.
Repeat this process for each adventurer.
Last, roll your die a final time. Place this digit in the 10s place and put a zero in the 1s
place. This is the percentage of the original party that survived their excursion to your
doomed corridors. Decide as you will who lives and who dies. If there are any fractions,
that person lived, but is less some of their original limbs.
When you are ready, begin your time of fallow.
 Adventurer Information 4
These are those brave or foolish to venture into your depths. Use a copy of this sheet for
each Foray you do. Record here the names, dispositions, and fates of the adventurers
who have been forever changed by their time in your shadowed self.

Name Disposition Fate

1. __________________ ____________________ ______________________________________

2. __________________ ____________________ ______________________________________

3. __________________ ____________________ ______________________________________

4. __________________ ____________________ ______________________________________

5. __________________ ____________________ ______________________________________

6. __________________ ____________________ ______________________________________

7. __________________ ____________________ ______________________________________

8. __________________ ____________________ ______________________________________

9. __________________ ____________________ ______________________________________

10. _________________ ____________________ ______________________________________

11. _________________ ____________________ ______________________________________

12. _________________ ____________________ ______________________________________

13. _________________ ____________________ ______________________________________

14. _________________ ____________________ ______________________________________

 Fallow 5
They are gone, carrying with them the scars and signs of their time in your deceitful chambers. Even
death does not erase the marks left upon them. Answer the questions on this page then redefine your
boundaries. Based on your answers to the questions, add new rooms, hallways, or even levels. Should
your expansive blasphemies need additional space, utilize the grids from additional fallow pages.
What bright thing was left by the adventurers? __________________________________________
How have you turned its brightness into corrupting shadow?
_______________________________________________________________________________
In the years since the adventurers, who or what has taken up residence inside of your desperate
passages? _______________________________________________________________________
What did the new resident add to your structure? What price did you extract from them?
_______________________________________________________________________________
Now, redefine your boundaries according to your answers.
 Adventurers 6
Use these dispositions and professions with your tarot card draws to create the
adventuring parties that violate your impious passages, to their dismay and despair.
The Fool Judgment Five of Cups Page of Swords
Delighted Court Jester Introspective Peddler Grieving Laborer Curious Officiant
The Magician The World Six of Cups Knight of Swords
Haughty Wizard Contemplative Paladin Rejoicing Sailmaker Impulsive Forager
The High Priestess Ace of Wands Seven of Cups Queen of Swords
Kind Temple Mother Dedicated Crafter Seeking Pensioner Complicated Worshiper
The Empress Two of Wands Eight of Cups King of Swords
Haughty Ruler Punctilious Architect Disillusioned Fop Trustworthy Cooper
The Emperor Three of Wands Nine of Cups Ace of Pentacles
Desperate Ruler Careful Archer Satisfied Potter Prosperous Lumineer
The Hierophant Four of Wands Ten of Cups Two of Pentacles
Tenacious Magistrate Gracious Cowherd Content Fletcher Adept Apprentice
The Lovers Five of Wands Page of Cups Three of Pentacles
Amorous Poet Competitive Knight Sensitive Blacksmith Collaborative Thatcher
The Chariot Six of Wands Knight of Cups Four of Pentacles
Suspicious Scoundrel Verbose Wheelwright Idealistic Porter Conservative Kennel Worker
Strength Seven of Wands Queen of Cups Five of Pentacles
Doughty Warrior Defensive Drunkard Compassionate Chandler Needy Matriarch
The Hermit Eight of Wands King of Cups Six of Pentacles
Secretive Sorcerer Quick Assassin Unbalanced Mayor Generous Tavernkeeper
Wheel of Fortune Nine of Wands Ace of Swords Seven of Pentacles
Hapless Gambler Faithful Thresher Insipid Lecher Diligent Baron
Justice Ten of Wands Two of Swords Eight of Pentacles
Pious Judge Burdened Farmhand Indecisive Soldier Passionate Forger
The Hanged Man Page of Wands Three of Swords Nine of Pentacles
Desperate Parishioner Energetic Messenger Restless Cutpurse Luxurious Spinster
Death Knight of Wands Four of Swords Ten of Pentacles
Mournful Executioner Fearless Explorer Sneaky Oligarch Impoverished Guide
Temperance Queen of Wands Five of Swords Page of Pentacles
Drunken Priest Joyful Steward Suffering Hangman Hopeless Chorister
The Devil King of Wands Six of Swords Knight of Pentacles
Grasping Merchant Dauntless Herald Shadowy Hunter Responsible Weaver
The Tower Ace of Cups Seven of Swords Queen of Pentacles
Chaotic Swordsperson Prideful Vintner Deceptive Cobbler Predictable Accountant
The Star Two of Cups Eight of Swords King of Pentacles
Devout Beggar Stalwart Wanderer Self-aggrandizing Tailor Indulgent Boxer
The Moon Three of Cups Nine of Swords
Despised Practitioner Friendly Minstrel Anxious Barrister
The Sun Four of Cups Ten of Swords
Chipper Bard Apathetic Shepherd Defeated Lamplighter
 Events
1. Temptations from the Depths
1. Discovering a vase from a long-dead
civilization
2. Unearthing a chalice from a god of sorrow
3. Opening an urn to find a finger bone adorned
with their family’s ancestral ring
4. Learning the words to a forgotten language
5. Witnessing the dance of a strange fairy
6. Seeing a glint of gold at the bottom of a well
7. Hearing a snippet of whispered conversation
8. Forcing open a gate, long rusted shut
9. Looting the dusty tomb of a king
10. Stealing a treasured item from a companion
3. Horrible Beauties
1. A bright, silvered mirror
2. An ivory hair comb
3. A perfectly tuned harp
4. Intensely sharp cooking knives
5. A rich, leather-bound tome
6. Ink of the deepest black
7. A gem-encrusted chalice
8. A thick, warm pelt
9. A vibrant flower with delicate blooms
10. A fine crystal goblet
7
2. Delights from the Ruins
1. Drinking a rich mead
2. Sharing a feast with your fellows
3. Cracking open a cask of bog wine
4. A bite from a fresh, ripe apple
5. Dancing in a fae circle
6. The caress of a tempting beauty
7. A deep slumber
8. A cooling draught of water
9. A bolt of luxuriant cloth
10. The scent of a warm, Spring meadow
4. Baleful Curses
1. A flute that never stops playing
2. A quill that only pens the truth
3. Eyes in the back of their head
4. Never feeling hungry or thirsty again
5. A small flame that can never be extinguished
6. An animal companion that never leaves their
side
7. Their touch brings the dead back to life...
sometimes
8. Shoes that let them move twice as quickly
9. They now know the day they will die
10. They are forever the hero people around
them want
 Events, Continued
5. Whispers from the Shadows
1. The first lie their mother told them
2. The final breath of a dying child
3. A bit of song, strangely familiar
4. The voice of a forbidden love
5. The cackle of a witch’s familiar
6. A demonic laugh
7. The hidden thoughts of a trusted companion
8. Their own thoughts, echoed back to them
9. The distant baying of a pack of wolves
10. A secret that promises eternal bliss
7. Diminishing Returns
1. Climbing a ladder for hours, to have made no
progress
2. Spending hours opening a locked door to an
empty room
3. Swimming a vile moat to find themselves
where they started
4. Panniers filled with crumbs
5. Food that tastes well, but never satisfies
6. Water that increases thirst
7. A golden chest filled with rotting fruit
8. A maze of tunnels, all alike
9. The repeating chorus of a neverending song
10. A set of finely made lead coins
8
6. Torrents of Sorrow
1. Crossing a blood-filled fest hall
2. Battling a horde of animate corpses
3. A disembodied hand, grabbing their throat
4. Seeing their own dead body in the hall ahead
5. Leaping into a pit full of spiked reeds
6. The mangled corpse of a loved one, pinned to
the wall
7. An arcane symbol constructed out of
dismembered limbs
8. The sensation of their spine burning
9. A school of eyeless fish, dead and stinking on
the floor
10. A portal to another place and time
8. All That Glitters
1. A lodestone that points to damned souls
2. A crown of diamonds that glints and beckons
3. A silvered goblet, filled with black liuid
4. A gold-handled dagger
5. An open chest, gleaming with green light
6. A jade puzzle box
7. A nude figure, carved from ivory
8. A necklace of copper wolf teeth
9. A brilliantly shining serving tray
10. A harp with platinum strings
 Events, Concluded
9. Wonders Beyond Reckoning
1. A glorious tree with golden leaves
2. A fountain that runs with the waters of life
3. A scepter with the power to raise the dead
4. A pedestal that allows them to duplicate
themselves
5. A bed filled with rich silks and fine linens
6. A door that opens onto a bright, shining
meadow
7. An obsidian key that can open any lock
8. A golden statue of an otherworldly being
9. The ability to make anyone believe their
words
10. The object of their deepest, most secret
desires
9
10. The Stuff of Endless Nightmares
1. An ever-present shadow, filled with eyes
2. Their mouth fills with extra teeth
3. A dead face, crying tears of blood
4. Their arms being replaced by writhing
tentacles
5. Being buried alive
6. Having to walk through a chamber of endless
fire
7. Being trapped on the other side of a mirror
8. A pit that leads to the center of everything
9. Being trapped underwater, feet encased in
leaden boots
10. Leaving, unharmed, but unsure how or why
 Publication Details 10
You Are the Dungeon
© Tracy Barnett, 2020
created by Tracy Barnett
The text of You are the Dungeon is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
4.0 International License
All images courtesy of pixabay.com

This game was created with support from my Patreon. To help

me make more games like this (and to get every small game I
publish), support me at patreon.com/theothertracy

This Game is Dedicated to the One, the Only, Jeff Stormer.

Thank you, Jeff.