DIY Diggers

So you want to make a Digger? That's great! Here's some instructions to get you started, updated for Digger 1.1.1.

Deck Structure

A Digger deck consists of 16-20 cards. If the deck is intended for regular, public use, it should contain at least 12-16 Challenge cards; this adds variety to the dungeon, and ensures it won't run out of cards if players fail several Challenges. If the deck is a one-shot, it should contain at least 8-10 Challenges, but if you want to make more, you certainly can.

The deck's Challenge cards are further broken down by type. A deck needs at least one Entry Challenge--which presents the difficulty facing a group entering the dungeon--as well as at least one Final Challenge. If you want to set up a two-part finale for your dungeon, you can create a Climax card, which always displays once the party has accrued enough Exploration to reach the Final Challenge. Each deck can only contain one Climax card, but it can contain multiple Entry and Final Challenges. Every Challenge Card not marked as Entry, Final, or Climax is marked Exploration, and can be drawn from the deck whenever, in accordance with the whims of the RNG. When designing Challenges, it's best to have an even breakdown among the four dungeon attributes. If you're making a Digger that's heavily skewed towards a specific attribute, it should say so up front.

In addition to Challenge Cards, each deck needs 1-4 Discovery Cards, 1-2 Escape Cards, and 1-2 Landmark Cards. Discoveries are rare, valuable, and significant finds, and are drawn upon successful completion of a dungeon. Landmark Cards are typically drawn if the party fails the Final Challenge--or, more rarely, if they're forced to retreat before it. They represent interesting discoveries that are nevertheless less significant than full-blown Discovery Cards. Escape Cards are drawn in the event the party fails before the Final; they're prompts for how the party gets out of the dungeon.

Card Structure

Each card in a Digger deck should include a title, the Challenge Type, the associated Digger Ability, the Challenge Rating, a Condition imposed by the Challenge, and a description of the Challenge itself. Discovery, Escape, and Landmark cards use the Ability "Conclusion", instead of the four standard Abilities. For Chapter 1, most of your deck's cards should be CR 1 or 2--CR3 is reserved exclusively for exceptionally difficult Final Challenges. Likewise, each card needs a Condition appropriate to its Challenge Rating. If you want a card to represent a break or windfall, select a beneficial Condition from the list. The Challenge description should be a small paragraph outlining the situation that the Challenge presents.

Advice

• When putting together a Challenge description, clear and evocative writing is good! That said, you should also leave a little wiggle room for whomever's posing the card to improvise, or to connect it to previous Challenge cards if it's fitting.

• If a Discovery card includes something with significant repercussions for anyone who finds it, you should put an OOC note on the card itself. For example, if Discovery Card reveals bandit treasure, and you, the writer, want the bandits to track down people who steal from them, you should include a note elaborating on this, and telling the party that drew the card to get in touch with you. Obviously, you should give this party the option of just not doing something if it's not something they want to get involved with.