Two Games, One Campaign
Renegade Game Studios crowdfunded two Dungeon Crawler Carl tabletop games through a single BackerKit campaign. It launched April 14, 2026 with 65,000+ followers pre-registered — the most-followed TTRPG campaign on record at launch — funded its full $250,000 goal in minutes, crossed $4.5M in the first 24 hours, and closed May 19, 2026 with over $13.29M from 55,972 backers. Art for both games is by Luciano Fleitas, the series' cover illustrator.
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. The core rulebook covers World Dungeon Floors 3-5, with a deep roster of playable races, extensive class options, and 24+ sessions of play (8+ neighborhoods per floor).
Dungeon Crawler Carl: Unstoppable
A solo or 2-player co-op card-crafting deck-builder based on John D. Clair's Unstoppable system. 280+ cards, played in Arcade mode (one floor) or Campaign mode (floor-to-floor, upgrades carry over), across four difficulty levels up to "Unbeatable." 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
Canon Characters
Play as Carl, Princess Donut, Florin DuPont, Prepotente, or create your own crawler from scratch.
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.
Mana & Cooldowns
Spells cost Mana, tracked on the official character sheet as Max Mana, and attacks can carry cooldowns, per Renegade's free rules primer. Spend carelessly and you run dry at the wrong moment.
How Is It Different from D&D?
D&D players will find the DCC RPG familiar to run. It plays to a very different beat. The big differences:
- It's a televised game show, and the mechanics know it. Sponsorships, ads, viewer ratings, achievements, and loot boxes are baked into the rules. Playing to the crowd is a strategy the rules reward. D&D has no equivalent.
- Spells aren't class-locked. Almost every crawler can cast spells regardless of class, via a spell-point system. Resource management is central, with cooldowns on abilities and even on potions.
- The GM plays both sides openly. The Game Master runs the helpful side of the dungeon (guides, managers, sponsors, NPCs) and the lethal side (mobs, bosses, the Dungeon AI). It leans into the show's adversarial-but-theatrical tone.
- Build-your-own everything. A deep roster of playable races, plus rules to invent your own races, classes, and skills, or play canon crawlers like Carl, Donut, Florin, and Prepotente.
- Setting. You're descending the World Dungeon floor by floor, on camera, for an audience of billions.
Short version: anyone who can run D&D can run this. It just plays like the galaxy's deadliest reality show instead of a sword-and-sorcery campaign.
Miniatures
Pre-painted miniatures designed for the RPG but usable for any tabletop game. Three sets, sold separately.
The Royal Court
Revealed at GAMA Expo 2026. 9 figures: Princess Donut, Katia Grim, Mongo, and multiple versions of Carl.
Enemies & Allies
The second miniatures set, expanding your table with more of the dungeon's cast.
Mobs & Mordecai
The third set, adding mobs and Mordecai to your dungeon runs.
Official Dice & Accessories
The GM screen and the Carl and Donut dice links go to their Amazon pages; the Smush dice link goes to BBTS. For plain polyhedral dice, trays, and terrain, the Amazon options are further down under "Gear Up."
Game Master's Screen
The official DCC RPG GM screen. Everything you need behind the screen while you run the dungeon.
Character Dice Sets
Character-themed dice: Carl's Enchanted BigBoi Boxers set, Princess Donut's Enchanted Crown set, and the Smush dice set.
All DCC Tabletop at BBTS
Every Dungeon Crawler Carl tabletop product in one place: games, expansions, minis, dice, and accessories.
How to Get the Games Now
The crowdfunding campaign has closed, but you didn't miss your shot. Renegade is taking pre-orders for both games and select accessories through its webstore, with backer orders shipping October to November 2026. Participating game stores get both games from November 23, 2026 (Renegade); Amazon lists December 1, 2026. The campaign pledge tiers below are kept here for reference, so you know what the bundles included.
Gold
The core RPG bundle. Core rulebook, starter set, dice, and campaign-exclusive add-ons. Over 4,300 backers at this tier. Best for first-time players, or tables that want DCC sessions without the card game.
Gold Plus+
RPG core bundle plus the Unstoppable card game core. Over 5,400 backers. For players who want both experiences: a full campaign RPG AND a solo/co-op deck-builder for shorter nights.
Celestial
Everything in the campaign. Every book, every expansion, every mini, every digital add-on. 6,400+ backers have gone in on this tier — the single most-backed pledge in the whole campaign. This is the whole thing.
Bronze and Silver
Bronze: starter set, physical and digital. Silver: core rulebook plus digital version. The lowest-cost ways into the physical RPG. There was also a digital-only "Tunnel Tuner" tier.
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.
Gear Up While You Wait for Delivery
Pre-ordered, or backed it during the campaign? Great. Renegade plans to ship backer orders from October into November 2026 (it expects 6 to 8 weeks to reach everyone), and game stores get it from November 23. Backers have had the PDFs since August 25. Use the time to read the source material and prepare your table.
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.
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.
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.
The Books (Obviously)
Coming to DCC through the TTRPG? Start with Book 1. On audio, Jeff Hays' narration is the definitive version. Book 8 is also out as of May 12, 2026.
Timeline
Campaign (Closed)
Funded its $250K goal in minutes, crossed $4.5M in 24 hours, and ran nearly four days into BackerKit overtime before closing May 19 with over $13.29M from 55,972 backers.
Book 8 Released
A Parade of Horribles released a week before the campaign closed. Floors 10 and 11. 704 pages. New lore for your GM to weaponize. Book 8 FAQ.
Backer Fulfillment
Backer orders ship from October into November 2026. Game stores get it from November 23, 2026, per Renegade; Amazon lists December 1, 2026. Missed the campaign? Pre-order through the Renegade webstore.
More DCC Games
The Renegade deal covers a range of DCC tabletop games beyond these first two. Additional titles are planned.
Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG and game questions
Is there an official Dungeon Crawler Carl character sheet?
Yes. Renegade Game Studios gives away an official, fillable Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG character sheet as a free PDF, plus a free four-page rules primer, in the downloads section of its Dungeon Crawler Carl games page.
The sheet tracks what a crawler tracks in the books: race, class, level, crawler number and floor, the five stats, Max Mana and AI Favor, attacks, skills, gear, inventory, a pet, a mount or vehicle, and three sponsor boxes. The Starter Set adds 12 blank sheets and pre-made characters.
When does the Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG come out?
The Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG reaches stores in late 2026, on different dates depending on where you buy it. Renegade says participating game stores get the RPG and the Unstoppable card game from November 23, 2026, its own webstore lists both for November 2026, and Amazon's listings say December 1, 2026.
Renegade's store locator finds a participating shop near you. Backers are on a separate schedule, below.
How does the Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG work?
The Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG is a skill-based tabletop game for two or more players: one or more crawlers and a Game Master who runs the dungeon. To pull off something risky, you roll a d20, add your stat modifier and your skill ranks, and try to meet or beat the difficulty.
Each crawler gets two actions a round and there is no initiative, so the party acts in any order. Spells cost Mana, and the System AI can hand out AI Favor, a re-roll or an extra action, for good television. Those rules come from Renegade's free rules primer; how it compares with D&D is our take above.
What races and classes can you play in the Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG?
More than 30 races and dozens of classes, according to Renegade, and the core rulebook includes rules for building your own races, classes and skills. As in the books, your crawler starts as an ordinary person with a background from life before the dungeon, and race and class open up once you survive to the third floor.
You can also play canon characters, Carl and Princess Donut among them. We do not list the books' races and classes here, because several of them are reveals from later books.
Is there a Dungeon Crawler Carl video game?
No official Dungeon Crawler Carl video game has been announced. At San Diego Comic-Con in 2026, Matt Dinniman told The Geekiary there have been discussions, but "the rights are a little tied up."
Two official games outside the tabletop line exist: a Dungeon Crawler Carl pinball machine from Multimorphic, with Jeff Hays voicing the characters, and a free Princess Donut browser game, Mama's Night Off. Dinniman announced both in July 2026.
Is there a Dungeon Crawler Carl board game or card game?
The card game exists: Dungeon Crawler Carl: Unstoppable, a solo or two-player cooperative deck-builder by John D. Clair, on the same release schedule as the RPG (see Two Games, One Campaign).
No Dungeon Crawler Carl board game has been announced. When Renegade took on the license in July 2025, it said board games would be developed alongside the RPG and the deck-builder.
When do BackerKit backers get the Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG?
Renegade's October 2, 2026 update puts backer shipping in an October to November 2026 window and expects it to take 6 to 8 weeks to reach everyone. Backers have had the PDFs since August 25, 2026.
If you are waiting on a box, Gear Up While You Wait has what to sort out first.
Amazon links on this page are affiliate links. The Crawler's Cookbook earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. Renegade, BackerKit, and BigBadToyStore links are not affiliate links; we include them so you can buy the DCC-exclusive items from a specialty retailer. We just want you to get the game because we want to play it.