
Grim Dungeons and Ancient Lore
A downloadable game
Buy Now$7.50 USD or more
Grim Dungeons & Ancient Lore is a solo fantasy dungeon crawling game that takes you on an adventure through dark and dangerous dungeons. Create your hero, choose your class (Fighter, Archer, or Wizard), and explore a world of magic and monsters - all by yourself!
What's inside:
- Easy-to-learn rules that get you playing quickly.
- A simple dice-rolling system using only two six-sided dice.
- Randomly generated dungeons for endless replayability.
- Exciting challenges, including traps, events, and of course ... monsters.
- A unique character development system with talents, items, and artifacts.
- Old-school layout and design for a classic pen-and-paper RPG feel.
If you're looking for a fun and challenging solo RPG experience, Grim Dungeons & Ancient Lore is the perfect game for you!
To play you will need:
- 2 six-sided dice.
- A few sheets of graph paper.
- Pencil and eraser.
- The 56-page core rulebook with all game information.

> Watch the review by RPG Frequencies!
A game by Sasha Jarkaz - jarkaz.itch.io
Inspired by oldschool roleplaying games of the eighties and nineties.
Layout by Sasha Jarkaz
| Status | Released |
| Category | Physical game |
| Rating | Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars (3 total ratings) |
| Author | Sasha Jarkaz |
| Genre | Role Playing |
| Tags | Dice, Dungeon Crawler, Fantasy, Roguelike, rules-lite, Singleplayer, solitaire, solo, Solo RPG |
| Average session | About a half-hour |
| Languages | German, English |
| AI Disclosure | AI Assisted, Graphics, Text |
Purchase
Buy Now$7.50 USD or more
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $7.50 USD. You will get access to the following files:
GDAAL_Core_Rulebook_English_v06.pdf 7.1 MB
GDAAL_Core_Rulebook_English_Spreads_v06.pdf 7.1 MB
GDAAL_Grundregelwerk_Deutsch_Spreads_v06.pdf 9.7 MB
GDAAL_Grundregelwerk_Deutsch_v06.pdf 9.7 MB
Exclusive content
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Community Copies
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If you take a free copy, and you enjoy the game, please consider leaving a few nice words in a review.
- New community copies are added for each review left
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Download demo
Development log
- A gift for you: STATIC.137 is now free!50 days ago
- đ It's SPOOKY SEASON! 50% Off Everything! đŻïžOct 27, 2025
- My new game: The Summer of Secret PlacesSep 03, 2025
- A new adventure awaits the solitary explorer!Aug 15, 2025
- New Monster CardsAug 11, 2025
- New Rule Updates: Improved Gameplay FlowAug 07, 2025
- Character Sheet Update!Jul 21, 2025
- Jetzt wieder auf Deutsch verfĂŒgbar!Jul 19, 2025





Comments
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And here is a review I just recorded!
Sorry.... Few more typos and one question:
Pg. 8 - Under Point Distribution, first line. "ou have 10 points" should be "You have"....
Pg. 34 - Weapons, Equipment and Items, first para - This indicates you can find, buy or craft items. I didn't see a crafting section. Did I miss that or just a typo?
Pg. 35 - For Uncommon weapons, "Morgenstern" I think should be "Morningstar" and "Zweihander" should be "Greatsword".
Thanks!
My final board for dungeon #1! Really enjoyed using the 2d6 dugneon physical board I purchased on etsy.
One other FYI. the english version of the game (in the downloads) are both the exact same layout. It would be great if the english downloads were similar to the german which has both the individual pages in portrait format and the spread pages. I had a difficult time printing this. Still loving it!
Thanks for the feedback! I will fix the layout for the next version. The v07-version will be dedicated to you. :)
Hahaha! Thanks sooo much for the replies! I really think you have made an awesome game. I've played a lot of solo rpg's and truly enjoyed this one so far. Thanks for indulging all my questions/comments!
Had a blast. Defeated a demon cultist as the boss in my first dungeon. It was a really close fight. Loved it. I used a board for 2d6 dungeon that I purchased from the Tabletop Engineer and it worked really well.
Some additional typos in the rule book/questions clarifications:
Pg 6: in the reward table on the left 1-2 should be 1d6 gold + key
Pg 10: Event table result 9-10 is a locked chest. It says you can unlock with a successful dex check. However, on pg 52 it states you canât open a chest unless you have a key. I assumed for the specific event only I could do the dex test.
Pg. 30: Event table entry 12. I think the effect should be 3 soul shards instead of soul splinters.
Pg 52: In the stat block of the final boss I think âSchadenâ should be âDamageâ.
Questions:
Is the minimum damage for the player only? Based on pg 21 I assumed it was for the playerâs attack only as I know for monsters a critical hit is not double damage. When I met the final boss I had 4 clues and was first level. So, he got 1d6+1 damage. If he rolled a total of 4 or less I gave myself 0 damage. Is that right or should it have been a minimum of 1?
Thatâs it for now. Really had a fun time. When I have some time Iâll probably record a video for my RPG Frequencies yt channel.
Great idea with the game board! I didn't even have that on my radar. It fits GDAAL really well.
Pg 6: in the reward table on the left 1-2 should be 1d6 gold + key
Pg 10: Event table result 9-10 is a locked chest. It says you can unlock with a successful dex check. However, on pg 52 it states you canât open a chest unless you have a key. I assumed for the specific event only I could do the dex test.
Pg. 30: Event table entry 12. I think the effect should be 3 soul shards instead of soul splinters. Pg 52: In the stat block of the final boss I think âSchadenâ should be âDamageâ.
Is the minimum damage for the player only? Based on pg 21 I assumed it was for the playerâs attack only as I know for monsters a critical hit is not double damage. When I met the final boss I had 4 clues and was first level. So, he got 1d6+1 damage. If he rolled a total of 4 or less I gave myself 0 damage. Is that right or should it have been a minimum of 1?
Hey! Loving this so far. Just found it. Here is my current table. Couple questions that came up for me and I might have missed in the rules:
1 - Do I get xp if a bandit flees? I assume I do but no treasure
2 - Do I get xp for disarming a trap? I didnât find that.
3 - the bandit leader can use nimble escape if less than 1/2 hp. However, it says that i roll a d6 and he escapes on a 6+. Is there some modifier Iâm supposed to use?
Iâm sure Iâlook have more questions but enjoying so far.
Hey!
Thanks for playing GDAAL! Iâm happy to clear up those questions for you:
Bonjour.
Quelle a été la volonté à travers la création de ce systÚme. Notamment face à 4AD ou 2D6
Hello! I'm reading through the English rules and this sounds like a lot of fun! Did you base these rules off of any other game to start with?
One thing I did notice with the English translation, there are some missing bits? You have 1W6 instead of 1D6 in a some spots. Also, under the dungeon creation rules, for Passage Contents you have "Umherstreifendes Monster (Stufe des Monsters = Charakterstufe -1)". I haven't used google translate to look it up yet, but that would be something to look into if you do another draft.
Once again though, this looks like a lot of fun and I can't wait to give it a go!
Thanks for pointing out the translation errors. I'll be uploading an updated version in the coming days.
To answer your question: I've drawn inspiration from a wide variety of board game dungeon crawlers over the years. Specifically, the dungeon generation is based on the Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG) for Dungeons & Dragons as well as Paul Bimler's 5e Solo Gamebooks. I also played a lot of Four Against Darkness. As for the combat and character system, those are built upon drafts from a sci-fi role-playing game I developed many years ago.
Yeah, it's definitely a lot of fun! Hang in there during your first runs, sometimes they don't end so well. :)
wanna try u.u