One of my favourite games is Dungeoneer by Thomas Denmark and published by Atlas Games, partly because of its carefully crafted ruleset, and partly because of its mysterious lore. Dungeoneer is sold as card decks, although it's actually also a board game, with some of the cards in the deck serving as board tiles. I own 5 Dungeoneer decks, and I'm reviewing them each. In this post, I'm looking at the setting of the Vault of the Fiends deck, released in 2005.
Dungeoneer does its worldbuilding and storytelling through flavour text, game mechanics, and card titles. The cards tell us that something or someone exists. A card may or may not explain why or how, but it gives us data, and with that data each player can draw conclusions. The notes in this blog post, like my posts about the setting and characters, are conclusions I've made about the game's world. I'm trying to be objective, but sometimes I do favour making some assertions and drawing some conclusions, because otherwise I'm not adding to the mystery that the cards themselves already provide. This is my attempt to piece together the puzzle that Dungeoneer presents to us.
From the back of the box, we know that the setting of Vault of Fiends is a proper dungeon, as you'd expect from the title of the game system (and which, to be fair, Realm of the Ice Witch does not strictly provide):
A twisted mage has built an impenetrable vault in which to pursue his heinous experiments.
You've decided to descend into this forboding place as an answer to a plea from the locals:
Horrendous fiends now plague the countryside, terrorizing helpless peasants and destroying vital crops. The people cry out for great heroes to confront this evil.
This is classic dungeon delving material. An evil wizard is up to no good, the locals are suffering for it, and so you've been called in to solve the problem. We don't know where this dungeon is located, but we know from the game system that it's underground in any given wilderness region that also has a Dungeoneer set. For example, this could be a dungeon you access while wandering the arctic wastes of Realm of the Ice Witch or the Haunted Woods of Malthorin.
The dungeon in this set belongs to Ramalith, a studious but seemingly unfocused magic user who apparently dabbles in biology or biomancy, diabolical traps, and planar travel. He is probably from the land of Yserion (more or that later.)
The locations of the dungeon, along with the monsters found within it, paint a vivid picture of the inner workings of Ramalith's mind. The Turning Chamber rotates each time an explorer enters it, which means that doorways that were unlocked before become suddenly locked, and locked doors become unlocked. The Dark Altar steals life from its visitors, and Fiend's Hollow steals items. There are pit traps and lava pits and transdimensional gates. Every room is something different, and the corridors between them are often just as deadly.
Monsters roam the dungeon, most designed (or spawned) by Ramalith, but some have been teleported in from other planes. It seems a convention to refer to Ramalith's creations as "fiends." That may be a way to differentiate them from monsters native to the world (such as yeti and dragons), or to indicate their origin (for example, maybe a product of biomancy is colloquially called a "fiend"), or a trade name Ramalith has applied to his own creations.
It's unclear what manner of ecosystem the dungeon is situated in. It's a manufactured environment, with tunnels carved out of rock, but seemingly infested with alien vines or tendrils (or at least made to look infested.) There's a lava room, but it's unclear whether that's manufactured lava or naturually occurring. Casually, though, I'd be comfortable supposing that the dungeon was built into a volcano.
We get a few mentions of regions or cultures of the game world in Vault of the Fiends.
The Bannus Soldier card states that "Bannuss Soldiers love money and battle." We don't know what makes a soldier a Bannus Soldier. It could be that a Bannus Soldier is someone from a specific region of the world, or someone who's adopted a certain mercenary ethos, or from the Bannus family, or the Bannus religion, or something else entirely.
The card Iron Helmet displays a stylish helmet and says "Knights of Dolmarathuz wear helmets like this one." We don't know what Dolmarathuz is, and it's equally as likely to be a kingdom, a king or queen, a knightly order, or a plane of existence.
I have to admit that the perspicaciousness of the observation makes me wonder whether there's a hidden insinuation. Could Ramalith have been (or is he now) a Knight of Dolmaranthuz? Or is it only telling us that this item has been recovered from a fallen adventurer who was, in life, a Knight of Dolmaranthuz?
The Haste card provides some insight into Vault of the Fiends and, suprisingly, Dungeoneer as a whole. It depicts a lizardperson running unusually fast, with this explanatory flavor text:
The gravity is lighter here on Tarnys than it was back on Gurtha.
This tells us that some of the "fiends" in Ramalith's dungeons aren't of his own creation. Some of the threats we're facing in this dungeon have been teleported here from other realms. In other words, Gurtha is an alien planet, or an alternate plane.
Superficially, because the card shows a humanoid lizard, it's fair to wonder whether Gurtha could be the origin of the Ancient One. After all, the Ancient One is reptilian, the creature on this card is reptilian. Then again, lots of creatures are reptilian, so this feels like a tenuous connection to make (and the Ancient One seems to be spoken of as a common myth or legend of Tarnys, rather than as an alien creature of dubious origin.)
Significantly, this is also the card that, for the sake of comparison, gives us the name of the Dungeoneer world. The gravity is lighter here, but where is here? It's Tarnys.
Because the flavour text is from the perspective of an alien, it could be argued that Tarnys is only the name an alien knows for here. It could be that an alien asked "Where am I?" and someone answered "Tarnys" meaning the kingdom of Tarnys or the land of Tarnys. If no further context was provided, then it wouldn't be surprising that the alien refers to Tarnys when speaking about its current location, believing that "Tarnys" was a planet when actually it was just the name of a small estate on a much larger planet. However, lacking astronomical maps, Tarnys is a serviceable name for the planet as a whole.
The Cloak of Protection says "This magical garment was sewn with the finest threads from Yserion, and enchanted by the wizards of Shaidan." This wording is of interest to me, especially the use of a comma. The comma is a notoriously fluid punctuation mark, but in this flavour text it does appear to intentionally separate Yserion from the process of Shaidan enchantment. It suggests a sequence, almost a timeline. First, threads were acquired from Yserion. Then the garment was sewn with those threads. Then the garment was enchanted by the wizards of Shaidan. It sounds like the only part of the process that happened in Yserion was the acquisition of material.
I don't think wizards of Shaidan is a wizardly order in Yserion. Instead, I think we're being told that there are some wizards in a place called Shadian, or else that there are wizards who invoke the name of Shaidan (which, to be fair, is a little evocative of "Satan"). Either way, I don't think they're necessarily associated with Yserion. There may be wizards of Shaidan in Yserion, but it's not where wizards of Shaidan originate.
The jury's still out on whether Shaidan is a region of the world, a discipline of magic, a source of magic, or just a cool name for a social club.
There are several mentions of a land or kingdom called Yserion. The way it's used in this set strongly implies that Yserion is external to the Vault of the Fiends dungeon itself. Items are said to be from Yserion or rare outside of Yserion, which isn't how you typically refer to something local.
Potion of Rage says that "Yserion merchants sell a nasty green elixir that makes heroes invincible." If the flavour text refers to the potion depicted on the card, that's not strictly true. The potion only restores 1 health and grants +1 melee for the duration of your turn. Still, it's a powerful potion and it's from Yserion.
Dampening Field says "It is foolish to trust in material riches the way greedy Yserion merchants do." This feels like a jab at Yserion, but it's an odd one because merchants by definition deal in material goods in exchange for wealth. It's not atrociously xenophobic, but it's just xenophobic enough to suggest that Yserion isn't here. It's somewhere else, and probably not the place we (the heroes) call home.
The Boots of Stability is a magic item that entirely resists Shift magic. The boots are from Yserion, and it's noted that they are "rarely found beyond the rich lands of Yserion."
Finally, the Belt Pouch card says "This pouch is a fashioned from the finest hand-tooled leather from Yserion," again implying that Yserion is a foreign location known for its quality craftsmanship.
I get the impression that Yserion is a far distance away, with that not uncommon mix of a reputation for quality goods sold at too high a price. Luxurious to some, indulgent to others, and exotic to all.
The question is why so many Yserion items are turning up here in the Vault of the Fiends. It could be that some previous adventuring party from Yserion perished here in a failed attempt to destroy Ramalith. Or maybe a Yserion merchant visited the dungeon in hopes of selling to Ramalith (although it seems odd to bring Boots of Stability to Ramalith, of all people.) For me, the more likely explanation is that Ramalith himself is a Yserion native. Possibly he was a successful cobbler who dabbled with magic enough to make Boots of Stability, and dabbling with the Ethereal Void enough to understand how to prevent its manipulation fostered an interest in it. I've never set up a death trap dungeon in real life, but I imagine that it's a fairly expensive endeavour. Who better to finance a dungeon for magic experimentation than a filthy rich merchant from Yserion?
We gain some insight into the cosmmology and history of Dungeoneer from several cards in Vault of the Fiends.
Omnisus is a major god in the world of Dungeoneer. In the Realm of the Ice Witch, he grants favour to those who serve him. Similarly, in Vault of the Fiends he grants healing with the Healing card.
His army of celestials isn't mentioned in this deck. Possibly he deploys his celestials only when facing a demonic incursion (as in Realm of the Ice Witch) or only in the north.
According to the Planar Rifts card, Oriella is the Queen of Dimensions and ruler of something called the Ethereal Void. If she's not a goddess, then she definitely has god-like powers. We don't know the structure of the cosmology of the Dungeoneer 'verse, but if there are gods (like Omnisus) for specific realms, then controlling the very planes themselves could suggest that Oriella is an over-god. Then again, maybe all gods apply to all realms, and Omnisus and Oriella are just 2 gods specialising in different domains. It's interesting that Oriella wasn't mentioned in Realm of the Ice Witch though, and Cholizar was definitely using magic to shift land and teleport people, but maybe Oriella has a threshold of tolerance that Cholizar never crossed the way Ramalith has.
Oriella is also mentioned on Dimensional Rift:
Oriella does not appreciate those who would tamper with the dimensions.
The Shift Resistance card reveals that Oriella has the power to prevent dimensional magic:
Oriella disapproves of your meddling with time and space.
Oriella may be a goddess, or just a powerful entity that's taken ownership of the dimensions. Invoking her name, at least, does reveal that Ramalith and the heroes battling him are using magics that interacts with time, space, and the constancy of the dimensions.
The card Son of Ramalith poses the question "Has Ramalith mated with the Ancient One?" The art for the fiend on the card suggests that the Ancient One may have been a reptilian creature, and presumably female (because Ramalith appears to be male.) What's odd is that the name "Ancient One" strongly implies antiquity, but I guess the Ancient One can give birth even in old age? Or did the presumed mating occur long ago? Is Ramalith even older than he looks? It's possible that he and his son are also ancient, but that he's kept age at bay using magic and alchemy. Then again, Ramalith is skilled in biomancy, so it's not hard to imagine him producing a spawn from the Ancient One's DNA or latent life force.
Believe it or not, it gets weirder. The quest card Find the Ancient One says that "The ancient one looks like Ramalith's mother." The term "ancient one" isn't capitalised as it is on the Son of Ramalith card, so there's a possibility that "ancient one" is actually a pluralised singular noun (for example, the race of the ancient one) and that the Ancient One (capitised) is a specific individual. But the card title strongly implies it's talking about a specific entity, so I assume the text contains a typo and that there is but one Ancient One.
Assuming the capitalisation was a typo, we're still left with the revelation that the Ancient One looks like Ramalith's mother. This flavour text does feel a little like a quip, so I believe it's a jab at Ramalith. The Ancient One looks like his mother, which in context of what little we know of the Ancient One would mean that his mother was so ugly (how ugly was she?) that she looked like a dinosaur plus the bonus insult implying that he mated with an entity that looked like his mother. Essentially, I'm hoping it's a joke because Ramalith is already bad enough without bringing in his Oedipus complex.
As in Realm of the Ice Witch, the Eldritch Lords (unlike Omnisus and Oriella, for example) are only referred to in the past tense. We know from Realm of the Ice Witch that their home, Kal-Anon, was destroyed at some point, and that they had to settle on the planet or realm of the Dungeoneer game world. There is much to suggest that they no longer exist, or have mostly been lost to time.
The Enchanted Golem card in this set asks Has Ramalith succeeded in enslaving the soul of an Eldritch Lord," which doesn't necessarily mean that all Eldritch Lords are gone, but confirms that at least one is. I believe Cholizar is the last of the Eldritch Lords, but I don't have conclusive evidence of that.
They're mentioned in 4 cards in the Vault of the Fiends set. The Gem of Arcana card says that they "made many strange and powerful baubles," which reinforces that they were a highly magical people. The Boots of Planting card says that "Warp spells were created by the mighty Eldritch Lords and are not easily confounded," which continues to associate the Eldritch Lords with teleportation and planar travel.
The Eldritch Mastery card bears the flavour text "The lore of the Eldritch Lords is within my grasp" along with an image of the player character Throngar. We have only a hazy moral compass in Dungeoneer. Omnisus heals and has an army of celestials he lends the barbarians of the north to fight demons, so that makes him opposed to the demonic forces of Hell. The Eldritch Lords are probably neutral. They have healing magic, and magic to create rifts in the planes, but much of their magical technology appears to be utilised for evil. Maybe Throngar feels comfortable wielding dark magic to displace the evil Ramalith, or maybe the magic of the Eldritch Lords is not considered evil in the game world.
Ramalith is pretty unfacused, dabbling with practically every kind of magic there is. However, the Ethereal Void is a recurring theme in his Dungeoneer set. We don't know what the Ethereal Void is exactly, but it seems to be a location or substance outside of time and space that some mages use to power their magic.
It could be a magical force exists everywhere all the time, available only to mages who understand how to access it. Or it could be a plane all its own, available only through the warp magic of the Eldritch Lords.
The Targeted Teleport card says "The Ethereal Void is difficult to navigate," which implies to me that it's possible the stuff between space, the mists you must pass through to cross from one place in reality to another place without moving.
Ethereal Rip has this quote along with an image of an adventurer floating in colourful mists:
I've seen a part of the Ethereal Void that would kill an ordinary hero.
Dimensional Snare says "Fragments of warp magic have escaped from the Ethereal Void," which confirms that either warp magic is powered by, or can utilise as a medium, the Ethereal Void.
As mere players, we don't know the full story behind the Vault of the Fiends card set. Maybe Ramalith is left undefeated. Maybe his dungeon gets the best of even the bravest heroes. Or maybe one of the heroes overcomes impossible odds and puts a stop to the dungeon's vile experiments and the abominations it has produced.
The possibilities are endless and, in my pretend-archeological reflection on the game's world, the "true" story is lost to time. Whatever happened, it's a rich story filled with possible origins and endings. You have to play the game to add your own story, so if you can find a Dungeoneer deck today, buy it!
Header and card image copyright by Thomas Denmark and Atlas Games, and used exclusively as reference.