Barrow Looter

What is Barrow Looter?

WHAT IS BARROW LOOTER?

Take on the role of the Barrow Master or the Looter in this 2-player, asymmetric, dungeon-builder and loot-extraction RPG! A print and play game of great depth awaits you. Which role will you take on within this ancient world, brave players?

Will you Build, Delve, or Die?

Language of the Barrow...

LEARN THE LANGUAGE OF THE BARROW...

• Easy to learn. Tactical Depth. The more you play, the more you'll learn about the sounds and smells of the dungeon. What does that clacking of bones mean? Where is it coming from? Clever rolls and found tools will also help you to survive dangerous rooms, dark foes, and deadly spells.
• Push your luck! Delve deeper, collect loot, and escape before the Barrow Master drains your health by building deadly dungeon rooms and summoning many malicious Mound-Things!
• Adapt on the fly. Switch equipment quickly using a D4 tracker die; from sword to crossbow, mace to shield. Prepare by listening to the sounds emanating from the unexplored parts of the barrow, in order to gain an advantage.
• Gamble with your skills and spells. Use them to turn the tide of a run, while they double up as story beats that help shape a more personal adventure.
• Make every run your own. Modify your game with additional rules, a story deck, and alternate mound set-ups and goals for even greater challenges and variety.

Creep carefully, Looter, for foul things await ahead...

Can you reach the exit with enough loot in hand, or will your bones become one with the ancient barrow?

Barrow Looter blends the deep dungeon storytelling of fantasy tabletop roleplaying with old-school boardgame mechanics. Bringing forth the feeling of DungeonQuest and Battleships, alongside a DnD session, to your 2-player game nights, all overlaid with a dark fantasy lore, and deadly decisions! 

Table Setup

UNLOCKED! -

LOCKED... -

Inspirations

A NOTE FROM THE CREATOR...

‘I wanted Barrow Looter to feel like visiting a fantasy gaming arcade in the mid 90s, and playing Gauntlet or Golden Axe with your best friend. Afterwards, on the way to Blockbuster, you both tell tales of your failures, and try to think of some small tactic that might allow you to progress the next time you have a little pocket money. You rent battered VHS copies of Willow and Jumanji, and return Dragonheart. You’ve seen them all before, but that’s the point. Back-to-back movies, a sleep over with snacks, then a Sunday morning game of HeroQuest. Power Ranger pyjamas, a bowl of coco pops. Rolling dice and fudging rules. The Hero versus the Dungeon Master, all overlaid with a friendship’s laughter.’ - Jay Merritt, Shieldice Studio

What You'll Need...

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO PLAY:

• Digital or Printed ‘Barrow Looter’ Rules
• Printed Looter Play Sheet
• Printed Barrow Master Play Sheet
• Some sort of Table Divider / GM Screen
• Eleven D6 (Six Sided Dice) - Less if tracking with a pencil...
• Three D4 (Four Sided Dice)
• Two Pencils & Erasers
• Standard Deck of Playing Cards (Optional)

The Barrow Master

THE BARROW MASTER...

It is told that you, the Barrow Master, took the ensorcelled eyes of many giants, and use them to see, and to cast spells throughout the mounds of these lands. Yet, you recall not whence these lidless orbucula came. Your past life, one of much sorcery, is misremembered, parts lost to the churning of time, your vocation vague at best. Your purpose in death, however, runs deep. You shall toy with the living who deem themselves fit to enter your domain, for what else is there to do, in the unending dark?

As the Barrow Master, your goal is indeed to whittle down the health of the Looter, and send them to an early grave amidst your mound, but it is also to guide a narrative and flow throughout. Aid the Looter with rules, keep the barrow crawl exciting, and add flourishes of description throughout play if you're comfortable doing so. Think of yourself as a Game Master, with a slightly sinister edge! 

The Looter

THE LOOTER...

Death seems inevitable for a Looter, yet you feel a shifting in the timeline of this primal age. It is said those slain by the bony hands of the Master might live again, in undeath, in order to try once more to loot his lands. Whether this is for the Master’s own amusement, or due to some sordid sorcery buried in these barrows, you know not...

As the Looter, your goal is to find three out of four loot within the barrow, and leave via the exit, before your health runs out. Death and further runs are a part of this game, so expect to be slain, and then begin again keeping your found herbs and tools, and replenishing your health and torches. The Barrow Master will guide you on your journey, and tell you when to make 2D6 rolls, and give you descriptive outcomes.

Mound-Things!

DEADLY MOUND-THINGS!

As the Barrow Master, summon from a selection of mound-things, unholy monsters that fall under your command! As the Looter, battle against these beings, or avoid them by asking questions, such as 'What can I hear ahead?', or, 'What can I smell?'.

Combat is fast, using a simple 2D6 roll. Your currently equipped weapon, or some useful found tools, may give you a positive combat modifier within runs!

Additional Content

ADDITIONAL CONTENT...

Included in the game are new and exciting mound set-ups, to switch up your runs and add alternate mechanics and depth. There is also a Story Deck mode, where you can hide lore prompts within runs, so that both the Barrow Master and the Looter may expand on the narrative of their adventures.

Why PnP?

WHY PRINT AND PLAY / DIGITAL ONLY?

Are you wondering why Barrow Looter is a digital only project? As tabletop gamers and RPG hobbyists, we all love a high quality tome in hand. Barrow Looter, however, has been designed from the ground up to work as a digital 'Print & Screen' or 'PnP' product. At the most basic level, all you require is two printouts (A4 or US Letter), a handful of dice, and a pencil. With tariffs and postal regulations, and skyrocketing prices, Print and Play games are much more accessible for many people throughout the world.

> ZERO LOAD TIME... No print delays, no packaging problems, no postage costs, and most importantly, no waiting for months on end to receive your reward!

The 2-player asymmetric dungeon-building and loot-extraction tabletop game!

About Shieldice Studio

Hi, my name is Jay Merritt. Thank you so much for exploring the page for Barrow Looter! I'm a graphic designer from the UK, and I was raised on a diet of Fantasy and Science Fiction novels, movies and games. I decided to create Shieldice Studio, which was brought to life by all of you, through seven successful Kickstarter campaigns. This company's goal is to bring high quality TTRPG supplements and games to life. I am the sole designer and writer of Barrow Looter, and absolutely no AI has been used. I have made sure that the work is fully written and designed before beginning this campaign (though proof reading, tweaking, and testing continues).

Thank you for reading this far and for your interest in Barrow Looter. If you have any queries or questions at all, please feel free to drop them in the comment section, private message here on Kickstarter, or email me at: shieldicestudio@outlook.com