Gaming Gift: Dungeon Crate for Your Favorite Dungeon Master

2 minute read

no alt text

Everyone loves getting something special in the mail every month. Dungeon Masters are no different. They’re also very deserving. After all, they dream up adventures, inhabit NPCs, roll up Big Bads, and run game sessions. The players get to be heroes, but the DM has to do everything else.

OK, back to the getting something special in the mail every month thing. When I was a kid my grandparents subscribed me to a service that sent a boxed science kit every month. It was great. I never knew what was coming, and it always varied. One month I received a thermometer and sheets of paper with various reflective coatings and levels of photosensitivity. The next month I received die-cut cardboard and several small plastic lenses so I could make my own telescope and microscope.

Dungeon Crate is the same thing, but totally different.

Instead of thermometers and lenses, your favorite Dungeon Master gets adventure fuel. The folks at Dungeon Crate sent me one of their monthly deliveries for examination, and here’s what it contained:

no alt text

  • A splendid set of Chessex marbled blue dice with white numbering
  • Two Reaper minis: one frightening, the other massive
  • Two robust laminated 8″x6″ encounter cards (3rd and 5th level respectively) written by Kevin Coffey, each with a map, descriptions, and info about the monsters within
  • Two solid 6″x4″ monster cards and two magic item cards, each featuring evocative art on one side and well laid-out stats on the other
  • A Sack O’ Snakes (three of ’em to be precise), which is not something I knew existed

That’s the material components of the box (I crack myself up). But here’s what your favorite Dungeon Master gets out of it:

  • Everything necessary to run two long encounters, each of which could easily be turned into a more expansive adventure and each of which could be inserted into practically any fantasy D20 setting, whether they’re running D&D, Pathfinder, 13th Age, or a retroclone.
  • A pair of minis unrelated to each other or to the adventure. But think about it: a sweet Frost Giant Bodyguard mini is a fine prompt to DM creativity. You never know when you’ll come across that big fella — maybe sooner than you’d like.
  • Elegant dice. And let’s face it, we all like dice. A Dungeon Master properly outfitted with dice is a happy Dungeon Master, and a happy Dungeon Master is good for players.

Remember that each month the box is filled with different goodies. Sometimes there are fantasy coins, sometimes tabletop terrain, or pins, cards, and other surprises. So it’s a grab bag. Your favorite DM also get access to a monthly digital crate, which includes other goodies.

Dungeon Crate costs $35.95 a month when you pay month-to-month. You can also buy three-month and six-month subscriptions at $105.99 and $210.99 respectively. That’s pricey, but if your entire player group wants to pitch in on a gift for your favorite Forever DM, it may be money well spent.

Note: Dungeon Crate sent me a box for free to evaluate, but I am not receiving any compensation for this post.

Ω

You may also enjoy