You came to the Kingdom Under the Mother
Mountain with hope in your heart. The great mountain realm was founded long ago
by your ancestors, a wonder of the age, its great halls, high galleries,
towering columns, and deeply delved mines, the subject of saga and song, and
then of legend as a great evil wormed its way up and brought an everlasting
darkness and killed out before it. The few Survivors fed with a great fear in
their heart. Then you returned as one member of a host of Dwarven warriors who
came to the lost halls of the ancestors, to retake it and drive out the blight
that has beset for generations, and rebuild it in the name of your ancestors.
To restore it to its former glory and give your fellow dwarves a home once
again. Yet you failed. In mapping out the endless ruins, your band reached as
far as your ancestors and committed the same folly. You unwittingly set free an
ancient evil that lay asleep for generations, and one-by-one, it has butchered
your companions in the most terrifying ways possible. You are the last Survivor.
This is the set-up for Lost in the Deep. Published by Old Skull Publishing. It is a solo journaling game based on the mechanics and structure of The Wretched, published by Loot the Room, but is a standalone title. The game requires an ordinary deck of playing cards without the Jokers, a six-sided die, a Jenga or similar tower block game, and a set of tokens. In addition, the player will require a means of recording the results of his playthrough. A journal, especially one finely bound, along with an ink pen, seems appropriate. As with other games that adhere to The Wretched template, there is little to no background in Lost in the Deep. This is because as with The Wretched, the inspiration for Lost in the Deep is obvious. For The Wretched, it was the film Alien, whereas for Lost in the Deep it is J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, specifically, Moria. Even more specifically, the attempt by Balin and his cohorts to retake Khazad-dûm. The inspiration is obvious from the blurb on the back cover and the author makes it clear in his introduction.
Each day, the Survivor will count his last few remaining torches and meals, wandering through the halls and galleries and mines of the Kingdom Under the Mother Mountain, hopefully working his way towards the exit, but always with the feeling that the Evil under the Shadows is breathing down his neck. All whilst recording the day’s events in his journal. Can the Survivor discover the exit to the Kingdom Under the Mother Mountain before the Evil under the Shadows or its minions catches up with him? Will a rescue party reach him before it is too late? Will his torches and food last long enough before it is too late?
The game is set up with the Jenga tower and the deck of playing cards—sans Jokers—shuffled. Each turn, or day, the player consults the Dwarven Runes or cards. To do this, he rolls the die and draws that number of cards and resolves them, following their instructions, including removing pieces from the Jenga tower as directed. Each card represents an event, a vision, or encounter. The Dwarven Runes corresponds to the four suits of the ordinary deck of playing cards. Thus, Hearts are ‘The Mines’ and represent events that occur as the Survivor explores the Kingdom Under the Mother Mountain; Diamonds are the Survivor’s ‘Strength & Resources’ and when drawn represent him running out of food, water, or torches and so becoming exhausted; Clubs are ‘Memories and Hope’ that the Survivor has of his fallen comrades, and perhaps can draw inspiration from them; and Spades are ‘The Evil in the Shadows’, signs that that either it or its minions have been here already, are drawing near, or worse, have found you and you must face them. A Spade card is not entirely without hope, for there are relics which can help the Survivor drive off the forces and influence of The Evil in the Shadows, if only temporarily.
The thirteen entries for each of the four suits all serve as prompts for the Survivor’s journal. They are roughly divided between two types. Some like the three of Diamond for ‘Strength & Resources’, which prompts the player with, “You have lost some blood in a battle against a couple of undead dwarves and feel very dizzy. What did you feel when you fought the remains of your ancestors? PULL A BLOCK FROM THE TOWER”. Others like the ten of Clubs, gives just a prompt like, “You remember a friend who warned you before you came on this expedition. They talked about a nightmare they had of a demon hidden in darkness. Why did you all forget about it?” A few are more positive, but not many… The King of each suit provides a simple prompt, but unlike other cards, they are not discarded and the prompt is ignored until the fourth King card is drawn. Only this last prompt is counted as it marks the end of the Survivor’s journey and failed escape attempt from the Kingdom Under the Mother Mountain. The nature of his death is determined by the suit of the King card.
The Ace card of each suit provides a benefit of some kind, but only one, the Ace of Hearts, presents the Survivor with a chance of freedom. Even then it is fraught with one last peril, one last pull of a block from the Jenga tower.
Physically, Lost in the Deep is cleanly and tidily presented. It is lightly illustrated, but the artwork is excellent.
Lost in the Deep is the story of an escape attempt and very rarely an actual escape attempt. This does not stop it from being from a hopeful game, but that hope is wrapped in darkness and claustrophobia, of a fear that the Survivor and player know is lurking in the darkness coming ever closer. Lost in the Deep is a journaling game about facing fear and overcoming horrors in the dark, about how the Survivor of a doomed expedition copes alone, knowing that almost everything is lost, and perhaps having his hope born out… It is about the journey of the Survivor’s emotions, not the end of the journey.
This is the set-up for Lost in the Deep. Published by Old Skull Publishing. It is a solo journaling game based on the mechanics and structure of The Wretched, published by Loot the Room, but is a standalone title. The game requires an ordinary deck of playing cards without the Jokers, a six-sided die, a Jenga or similar tower block game, and a set of tokens. In addition, the player will require a means of recording the results of his playthrough. A journal, especially one finely bound, along with an ink pen, seems appropriate. As with other games that adhere to The Wretched template, there is little to no background in Lost in the Deep. This is because as with The Wretched, the inspiration for Lost in the Deep is obvious. For The Wretched, it was the film Alien, whereas for Lost in the Deep it is J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, specifically, Moria. Even more specifically, the attempt by Balin and his cohorts to retake Khazad-dûm. The inspiration is obvious from the blurb on the back cover and the author makes it clear in his introduction.
Each day, the Survivor will count his last few remaining torches and meals, wandering through the halls and galleries and mines of the Kingdom Under the Mother Mountain, hopefully working his way towards the exit, but always with the feeling that the Evil under the Shadows is breathing down his neck. All whilst recording the day’s events in his journal. Can the Survivor discover the exit to the Kingdom Under the Mother Mountain before the Evil under the Shadows or its minions catches up with him? Will a rescue party reach him before it is too late? Will his torches and food last long enough before it is too late?
The game is set up with the Jenga tower and the deck of playing cards—sans Jokers—shuffled. Each turn, or day, the player consults the Dwarven Runes or cards. To do this, he rolls the die and draws that number of cards and resolves them, following their instructions, including removing pieces from the Jenga tower as directed. Each card represents an event, a vision, or encounter. The Dwarven Runes corresponds to the four suits of the ordinary deck of playing cards. Thus, Hearts are ‘The Mines’ and represent events that occur as the Survivor explores the Kingdom Under the Mother Mountain; Diamonds are the Survivor’s ‘Strength & Resources’ and when drawn represent him running out of food, water, or torches and so becoming exhausted; Clubs are ‘Memories and Hope’ that the Survivor has of his fallen comrades, and perhaps can draw inspiration from them; and Spades are ‘The Evil in the Shadows’, signs that that either it or its minions have been here already, are drawing near, or worse, have found you and you must face them. A Spade card is not entirely without hope, for there are relics which can help the Survivor drive off the forces and influence of The Evil in the Shadows, if only temporarily.
The thirteen entries for each of the four suits all serve as prompts for the Survivor’s journal. They are roughly divided between two types. Some like the three of Diamond for ‘Strength & Resources’, which prompts the player with, “You have lost some blood in a battle against a couple of undead dwarves and feel very dizzy. What did you feel when you fought the remains of your ancestors? PULL A BLOCK FROM THE TOWER”. Others like the ten of Clubs, gives just a prompt like, “You remember a friend who warned you before you came on this expedition. They talked about a nightmare they had of a demon hidden in darkness. Why did you all forget about it?” A few are more positive, but not many… The King of each suit provides a simple prompt, but unlike other cards, they are not discarded and the prompt is ignored until the fourth King card is drawn. Only this last prompt is counted as it marks the end of the Survivor’s journey and failed escape attempt from the Kingdom Under the Mother Mountain. The nature of his death is determined by the suit of the King card.
The Ace card of each suit provides a benefit of some kind, but only one, the Ace of Hearts, presents the Survivor with a chance of freedom. Even then it is fraught with one last peril, one last pull of a block from the Jenga tower.
Physically, Lost in the Deep is cleanly and tidily presented. It is lightly illustrated, but the artwork is excellent.
Lost in the Deep is the story of an escape attempt and very rarely an actual escape attempt. This does not stop it from being from a hopeful game, but that hope is wrapped in darkness and claustrophobia, of a fear that the Survivor and player know is lurking in the darkness coming ever closer. Lost in the Deep is a journaling game about facing fear and overcoming horrors in the dark, about how the Survivor of a doomed expedition copes alone, knowing that almost everything is lost, and perhaps having his hope born out… It is about the journey of the Survivor’s emotions, not the end of the journey.
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