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0 Dungeons and Dragons is a table-top board game that surged in popularity in the ’70s. The game has stayed forever in culture through the decades and has never been stronger than what it is now. The game has inspired shows such as Stranger Things with even a movie coming out soon. With the introduction of the internet, playing at a distance is now possible. The available programs and utilities have never really been up to scratch however. Enter Dungeon Alchemist! Game developer Briganti has created a program to make it all easier. Their aim is to aid fans to create the visuals and maps needed to fully immerse themselves in the game.
God-like Creation Powers at your Fingertips
In recent years I’ve been introduced to the Dungeons & Dragons universe and I’ve come to love it. I’m always asking myself “why didn’t I try this out sooner?!” Are you into Dungeons & Dragons or have ever been interested in it? Leave a comment below telling us what you love about it!
Gameplay
Dungeon Alchemist is a program created to generate maps that Dungeons & Dragons organisers can use for their campaigns. Briganti have set about making the task of creating these fantasy lands as easy as possible. They do this with AI where just choosing the theme and type of building will generate the complete room with interiors. These interiors can be customised from their furniture to their layout. Many items provided in the program can be added to create full buildings to your liking. You can draw additional boxes to add even more rooms full of pre-made random interiors.
When exploring the menus for my first design I went for a tavern in a forest. The scale of the land was easy to expand depending on the size of the project. It then generated the land powered by AI. The AI provided an area of land finished with trees and foliage. The type of room I then chose from the tavern sub-menu. The entrance seemed a good place to start. I then worked my way in from there. I drew the room plot square in a position where I wanted it to be. Within seconds it populated the area with random, but well-placed, furnishings. From there I added the main tavern hall. The AI then populated it with tables, open fire, food, and drink. Every room I made looked lived-in and what you’d expect from a fantasy tavern.
The program gives you a top-down view by default. At a touch of a button the view can be made 3D so that you can get a better look at the placement. If you have a model of a character in the scene, you can also take a first-person look at your creation, which I found very enjoyable. When it comes to models of characters, I found the selection a bit lacking. However, for those familiar with the site Hero Forge, where you can create your own models, you can import your custom characters directly into the scene.
Graphics & Audio
The user interface for the program is very intuitive to use. It’s an easy-to-navigate menu with many well-constructed options. Manipulating the rooms and furniture to your liking is just as simple and can be done with ease. You can also add effects to all surfaces in the game such as fire, smoke and mist. All of these look amazing and well-animated. As the audio goes, it is very sparse given that it is a program rather than an actual game. You hardly notice however as you are lost in creating these worlds rich with character and personality.
Longevity
I could have found myself tinkering and creating these worlds to no end. There are a number of options and styles available. With the aid of tutorials given online by the game developers, the size of your creations know no bounds. I, no doubt, will be revisiting this extremely powerful program. Mostly to see the extent of what I can make and what else there is to discover. The longevity of this program is so far as you have use for it. I, for one, find it extremely entertaining to create these fantasy scenes.
Final Thoughts
If you are planning to host Dungeons & Dragons nights and need the maps to give players, Dungeon Alchemist could prove essential. With the aid of sites such as Roll 20, and Foundry, to name a few, the creations from Dungeon Alchemist can be exported. From there you can have the option to use these maps as digital or printable dungeon map assets. For what it is, a tool to make visuals for D&D nights it’s as good as they come. I’d recommend it to anyone who is looking to host D&D nights in the future!
I award Dungeon Alchemist the Thumb Culture Gold Award!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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