Cookbook/ TTRPG

The Official Dungeon Crawler Carl Tabletop Games

Borant Corp. game licensing memo

The Borant Corporation has licensed its intellectual property to a human company called Renegade Game Studios for the purpose of creating "tabletop games." The Corporation has been informed that humans sit around tables, roll polyhedrons, and pretend to be crawlers. Without the death. Without the alien viewership. Without the sponsorship revenue. The Corporation finds this baffling. The Corporation has approved it anyway, because the Corporation approves of anything that generates licensing fees. The AI would like to note that it has been faithfully recreated in cardboard form. The AI is flattered. The AI is always flattered when it deserves to be.

Two Games, One Campaign

Renegade Game Studios is launching two DCC tabletop games through a single BackerKit crowdfunding campaign on April 14, 2026. 61,000+ people are already following the campaign. Art for both games is by Luciano Fleitas, the series' illustrator.

RPG APRIL 14, 2026

Dungeon Crawler Carl: The Roleplaying Game

A full tabletop RPG where you play as a crawler in the World Dungeon. 2+ players: crawlers plus a Game Master who plays both ally (guides, managers, NPCs, sponsors) and enemy (mobs, bosses, the Dungeon AI). The corporate, commercialized nature of the dungeon is baked into the mechanics. Ads, sponsorships, meta-rules. All of it.

Card game APRIL 14, 2026

Dungeon Crawler Carl: Unstoppable

A solo or 2-player co-op card-crafting deck-builder based on John D. Clair's Unstoppable system. Battle neighborhood, borough, and city bosses while gearing up and leveling. The card-crafting mechanic lets you upgrade abilities and equipment, but upgrading also causes bosses to grow in power. The dungeon adapts. The dungeon always adapts.

RPG Character Creation

Crawler registration portal

The Borant Corporation has authorized the following character creation parameters. The Corporation reminds you that in the actual World Dungeon, you do not choose your class. Your class is assigned based on what the AI thinks will generate the highest ratings. The AI assigned Carl "Punchy McPunchface" as a working title. Carl declined. The AI was disappointed.

Play as

Canon Characters

Play as Carl, Princess Donut, Florin DuPont, Prepotente, or create your own crawler from scratch.

Backgrounds

Dozens of Options

Fire Mage Arcanist, Former Child Actor, Shotgun Messenger, and more. Choose a race, a class, a God to worship, and create your own skills.

Mechanics

Spell Points & Cooldowns

Almost all crawlers can cast spells regardless of class via a spell point system. Cooldown mechanics throughout, including cooldowns on potions. The system rewards resource management.

Miniatures: The Royal Court

Revealed at GAMA Expo 2026. Pre-painted miniatures set featuring 9 figures: Princess Donut, Katia Grimm, Mongo, and multiple versions of Carl. Designed for the RPG but usable for any tabletop game.

How to Back It

Step 1: Follow now

Follow the BackerKit Campaign

The campaign is live for follows. 61,000+ people are already in line. Following gets you notified when it launches April 14 and helps unlock community stretch goals. The campaign is pushing for 80,000 followers before launch.

Follow on BackerKit

Step 2: Reserve for $5

$5 Pre-Launch Reservation

A $5 reservation gets you an exclusive Desperado Club D2 (coin-shaped die) plus a companion D2, automatically added to your cart when you pledge for any physical tier. You also get a personalized Crawler Number claiming your official place in the dungeon.

Reserve on BackerKit

Step 3: Back on April 14

Choose Your Pledge Tier

Specific pledge tiers and pricing haven't been revealed yet. That comes when the campaign goes live. Based on similar Renegade campaigns, expect tiers for the RPG alone, the card game alone, and bundles with both plus minis.

About Renegade Game Studios

Renegade isn't some no-name publisher. Founded in 2014 by Scott Gaeta (former co-founder of Cryptozoic Entertainment), they make Clank!, Kids on Bikes, Heroscape, Axis & Allies, and licensed games for Transformers, Power Rangers, and Vampire: The Masquerade. They've had a Hasbro partnership since 2018. The DCC deal was facilitated by Lenny Herbert of Maximum Orbit on behalf of Matt Dinniman, and covers a range of tabletop games beyond just these first two.

Quality assurance demand #214

I have reviewed the miniatures for this game. My likeness has been rendered at an UNACCEPTABLE scale. A princess should be no smaller than 28mm at MINIMUM. I have submitted a formal complaint to Renegade Game Studios. They responded with a photograph of me next to a ruler. I have retained Mordecai as my legal representative for the countersuit. Mordecai has advised me that suing a game company over miniature scale is "not how any of this works." I have fired Mordecai. I have rehired Mordecai. This is our dynamic.

Gear Up While You Wait

The campaign launches April 14. Use the time to prepare your table.

Essential

Dice Sets

Dark, dungeon-themed polyhedral dice. You'll need them for the RPG. The Borant Corporation has been informed that humans consider dice "essential equipment." The Corporation considers dice a primitive random number generator. The Corporation is not wrong.

Find on Amazon

Terrain

Dungeon Terrain Tiles

Modular dungeon tiles to build out your floors. Recreate the Hunting Grounds, the Maze, or whatever nightmare your GM designs. Pairs with the official miniatures.

Find on Amazon

Ambiance

D20 Dice Ice Mold

Ice cubes shaped like 20-sided dice for game night drinks. Because session zero deserves a proper toast. To surviving the first floor.

Find on Amazon

Read up

The Books (Obviously)

If you're coming to DCC through the TTRPG, start with Book 1. If your entire gaming group listens on Audible, Jeff Hays' narration is the definitive experience. Book 8 drops May 12, one month after the campaign launches.

Book 1 on Audible Book 1 on Kindle

Timeline

Now

Pre-Launch

Follow the campaign and reserve for $5 to get the exclusive Desperado Club dice and your Crawler Number.

April 14, 2026

BackerKit Launches

Pledge tiers go live. Choose your level and lock in the RPG, card game, miniatures, or bundles.

May 12, 2026

Book 8 Releases

A Parade of Horribles drops one month after the campaign launches. Floors 10-11. 704 pages. New lore for your GM to weaponize.

TBD

Game Delivery

Estimated delivery hasn't been announced. BackerKit campaigns from Renegade typically deliver 6-12 months after campaign close. Additional DCC tabletop games are planned beyond these first two.

Borant Corp. closing advisory

The Borant Corporation would like to remind all prospective crawlers that participating in a simulated version of the World Dungeon does not prepare you for the actual World Dungeon. The actual World Dungeon has a 99.7% mortality rate. The tabletop version has a mortality rate that depends entirely on your Game Master. The Corporation recommends choosing a merciful GM. The Corporation also reminds you that in the actual dungeon, there are no merciful GMs. There is only the AI. And the AI is magnificent.

Amazon links on this page are affiliate links. The Crawler's Cookbook earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. BackerKit links are not affiliate links. We just want you to back the game because we want to play it.