Daniel (@dungeondive) revisits Dark Venture with the second edition rules, putting it through its paces for consideration in his upcoming top 10 dungeon crawl and adventure games list. The verdict? It’s closer than ever to making the cut.
The second edition incorporates Daniel’s original house rules into the official game—players now get one free location and one free character card per turn instead of spending precious action points. This seemingly small change transforms the experience, populating the weird post-apocalyptic sandbox world with interesting encounters much faster. Combat remains elegantly simple: roll for initiative, then roll damage directly without attack rolls getting in the way.
Daniel demonstrates a full turn featuring his Orpal Arch Warlock on a dead horse mount, battling an Eggman Wizard for a spellbook quest, then delving into the Layer of the Rake Void—a mini-dungeon that exemplifies what makes this game special. The recommended expansions (Vile Invaders, Beasts and Monsters, The Alder King) add variety without complexity, while Crawl and Crag Pit Arena change the game more dramatically and may not suit everyone.
What’s your preferred approach to sandbox dungeon crawlers—quick setup with emergent narrative, or more structured scenarios?
A structured scenario gives much needed purpose so a solo session just doesn’t meander off a cliff. Most of my angst with solo rpg-like quests is my mercurial motivation. It takes a lot of energy to keep finding “the reason”. Having a more structured quest-line gives you a goal and a finish line to aim for.
That said, emergent narratives always seem the best. It’s great when something unexpected happens along the way. So give me an over arching quest line with a unique path between acts.
Dark Venture goes quite a ways with this concept by providing a fixed time frame, and random side-quests nudging you along the journey. It’s just a bit fiddly, forcing you to delve too often into the card decks.
I am a bit of a nut for Dark Venture, so Daniel’s review of 2E was a treat. (It is possible that I first found The Dungeon Dive through coverage of DV 1E, I am not sure; it’s all a blur.)
I would admit that Dark Venture 2E can still feel a little unbalanced in its narrative offerings from game to game (which I think was highlighted in Daniel’s assessment of 1E, and his thought that the games “seeding” was critical but unpredictable). But I just dig it. Even if I doom any attempt at victory after biting off more combat than I can chew 3 turns in, I always feel like it’s time well spent.
Khrag Pit’s rules are fiddly and slow things down but I like encountering them when I get the chance. I have not yet tried Crawl, but 2026 is young…
“…featuring his Orpal Arch Warlock on a dead horse mount, battling an Eggman Wizard…” What a quote! I don’t have this game, but it sounds great for emergent story building
Yes!! Thank you for circling back to this one. I have been meaning to get it back to the table since I played it last year. I love the world of Dark Venture - even if the games that take place there are a little fiddly
