Dungeon Alchemist Kickstarter Campaign

I am a gamer at heart.  I love all kinds, from board games to video games, to making my own stuff up with my son (we recently played snowball with various Funko Pop figures set up in the snow).  Of course, one of my bigger passions is Dungeons and Dragons.  Let’s face it, GameMasters.com doesn’t pay the bills so I have to have a daytime job.  In that capacity I am a Print Master.  I print posters, flyers, business cards, banners, sell sheets, you name it, I’ve printed it.

Trust me, I’ll tie my printing job into my gaming hobby in a moment (no, it’s not just a shameless plug for myself). I even have a site dedicated to printing RPG related materials (RPGPrints.com – okay THAT was a shameless plug). 

I recently came across a kick-ass Kickstarter campaign called Dungeon Alchemist.  At the time of this article they have 13 days left, but get this… They met their goal in THREE HOURS!

So what is Dungeon Alchemist?

It’s an AI-powered mapmaking software for tabletop RPGs.  Ahh now, you see where I’m going with this!

Here’s the thing.. They started the software out with print sizes in mind FIRST.  (See!  This is where I tie in my print job to my gaming passion!) I too have been victim of making a map only to have it’s output be at 72dpi (dots per inch).  72dpi looks okay when you look at it on your computer screen, but I like to print my maps out!  For that, you really need a minimum of 300dpi to get the best quality.

What that means is, when you start to create your map, you will choose the print size FIRST and build the map at a ratio that conforms to that specific paper size.  This is something that is quite exciting to me, being able to SEE a great quality map that I created on a tangible material!

Yes, there are other map making programs out there that allow you to choose overall size (Campaign Cartographer is probably the most popular) but I’ve got to be honest, I don’t exactly have the patience or skillset to use those kinds of programs.  I fully admit those that can use those make some fantastic looking maps, I’m just not one of them.

Back to Dungeon Alchemist..  Currently they support the following sizes A4 (8-1/4” x 11-3/4”), A3 (11-3/4” x 16-1/2”), A2 (16-1/2” x 23-3/8”), and A1 (23-3/8” x 33-1/8”), that’s a pretty good variety of printable sizes for maps.  The printable output will be as a .pdf.

How does Dungeon Alchemist work?

It’s a simple click and drag technique.  You select your print size, select a theme, then click and drag and the AI auto fills in the room.  Click and drag again to place a hallway or another room and the AI will automatically add the connecting doors. You can also toggle the items within the rooms (change the chair into a bed, resize the bed, make the table of food just a roll of bread or craft it to be a fancy buffet).

Talk about their Kickstarter.

That’s how they are funding this project.  As with any Kickstarter campaign, there will be risks involved.  I’ve been burned a couple of times but this project appears to me to have little risk.  Their videos show working software.  The graphics are awesome and the concept is sound. 

As with any Kickstarter, they have multiple pledge tiers with different rewards and I’m fairly certain that all of their stretch goals have been unlocked (that I am aware of – though they may add more before the campaign is complete).

With that, I encourage you to check em out!