Dungeon Mail!
In the spirit of the Year of the Beta, I want to publicly release the latest draft of my work-in-progress role-playing game, Dungeon Mail.
You can check it out here.
Players take on the roles of couriers - adventurers tasked with delivering mail to weird wizards, adventuring parties deep in their delves, and strange beings in the hidden places of the world. My aim is to make this package delivery system into a sort of knot-cutting slice to old school modules. No need for a rumor; we have a clear reason to get into the dungeon and make a beeline for the most interesting parts.
Another big feature here is letter writing as a mode of advancement. I toyed with having players literally write a letter about their adventures every session, but felt like that didn't line up with the practical reality of the games I play. Instead, you can write a letter to advance, synthesizing experiences anytime you return to town. This feels like the area with the biggest room for development at the moment.
This draft is stripped down, almost to the point of being a rules reference. The formatting is heavily inspired by SunderedWorldDM's work (as are several mechanics). I wanted something that I could mark up and tweak without the pressure of writing compelling prose. My goal for later drafts is to take seriously the idea that this could be someone's first role-playing game and write accordingly.
Long term, my goal is to release this as a limited physical edition, cased into an actual envelope. Whatever rules I write need to fit in a form factor that can be sent with a single stamp.
I'd love any feedback. If you are reading this, you probably know how to reach me, but if not, you send me a DM. I'm Vivanter on Discord.