I was sent a preview copy of RipCrypt by Kýnan Antos.  No other compensation was made for my time. At time of writing, the Kickstarter campaign for this book is about to begin.

There is a fairly wide spectrum of tabletop roleplaying games out there.  Some are essentially combat simulators with their feet planted in miniature wargames, while others are essentially improv storytelling sessions.  RipCrypt falls on the former side of the spectrum.  Regular readers of this blog might think that would mean it isn’t for me, but remember, once upon a time I played a bunch of miniature games (and painted hundreds of figures).  It may not be my usual thing, but it doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy it.

Where D&D fails, in my opinion, is that it tries to be all things to all people, while still being firmly rooted in its wargame origins.  No matter how much you might want to do something else with the game, ultimately, the system is designed for you to kill monsters and take their stuff.  When you try to do something else, you have to fight against the rules.  RipCrypt doesn’t make this mistake.  This game isn’t trying to be all things to all people.  It is “opinionated,” and I respect that.

So, what is it?  It’s a dungeon crawler.  In fact, its subtitle is “A Dungeon Sprint RPG,” and I think the “sprint” in there sets the tone.  I know there’s such a thing as a “speedrun” in video games, where you try to finish a game as quickly as possible.  That’s what this game puts me in mind of.  Get in, get the loot, get out.  Live to loot another day.  Though there are no “clocks” as you have in some games, there is a sense of urgency to the game.  You’re venturing into dark and scary places.  Best not linger.  The roleplaying aspect of the game is more about choosing development paths and  improving your character & their equipment, rather than diving deep into their motivation or past trauma.  In that sense, it’s more like early D&D or a computer RPG.  That makes me think it might appeal to the OSR crowd.  But I think it would be fun for a wider audience, as well.

I think this would be a fantastic game to run at conventions or in game shops.  It feels like a good pick-up game, where the Keeper (the referee/GM/DM) sets the stage and the players can go nuts and try to survive.  It also feels like a game that has a lot of solo gaming potential.  There’s also provision made for multiple players without a Keeper, though personally I don’t think this would be ideal.  While not strictly necessary, I’d probably lean toward using miniatures and maps.  In fact, this feels like it would be the perfect game for using something like a Dwarven Forge set-up or all those Pathfinder map tiles.  One of the inspirations for the game was Space Hulk, and I think a more Fantasy-themed version of a Space Hulk map would be a perfect RipCrypt dungeon. 

RipCrypt’s system uses a dice pool of 8-sided dice.  There are different types of challenges (will, magic, dexterity, strength), and each Fate Path (class) is likely better suited to a different kind.  Combat is somewhat crunchy, and definitely meant for a grid.  This is why I think miniatures, including the cardboard/paper variety, would be helpful.  And there are charts for generating the crypts into which you descend.

The setting is a nasty, broken Fantasy world called the Undergrade, where folks are not doing well. Though the aesthetics are different, it reminded me a bit of the world of the Elden Ring video game. I could see the author coming back to the setting for other games. In that way, it reminded me a bit of Bill’s game Bangarang in the Gutterlands, which I reviewed a few months back. I know Bill Making Stuff will soon be revisiting that world, but with a different game, focusing on a different aspect. And I could see Kýnan Antos doing that with the Undergrade.

The copy I have is a preview, so not the final product.  That said, I really like the black & white interior art.  The sample delve in the back of the book does a really good job of setting up what a game might look like at your table.  

You can check out a free preview here.

And my first look/unboxing video is here.

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