Escape from Demon Castle Dracula
A downloadable game
CW: this game contains references to and descriptions of violence, gore, body horror, imprisonment, torture, enclosed spaces, loss of sanity, and loss of agency.
You Awake in Terror…
...your entire body is a bundle of sweat and nerves.
HOW DID YOU GET HERE?
You don’t remember. You can’t remember… anything. Not even your own name.
But you know you must GET OUT.
You must...
ESCAPE FROM DEMON CASTLE DRACULA
†
Escape from Demon Castle Dracula is a solo dungeon-crawling RPG designed for a dark and stormy night. You take on the role of Dracula’s latest mortal victim, kidnapped in the night and left in the dungeon for a future feeding. To escape, you must find your way out of his castle, a shifting labyrinth of haunted chambers and nightmare corridors.
This game uses a deck of cards to build out Dracula's castle as you try to escape.
To play, you’ll need:
- A printout of this book (you can use a digital tablet or computer if you want, but paper is better as it doesn’t give off extra light)
- Five candles to track your Life (you can use fake candles if open flames are an issue)
- One six-sided die
- A deck of playing cards with the Jokers included (one red, one black)
- A coin, figure, or other token to represent your character
- A piece of paper and writing implement
†
This game is the second entry in a trilogy of games unofficially based on the greatest vampire-themed horror-adventure video game franchise of all time. The first game, Demon Castle Dracula, is available at https://nerdypapergames.itch.io/demon-castle-dracula
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Really enjoyed playing this as a solo ttrpg and had a question for you: would you be interested in having this game made into a text game (using Twine)? I'm just learning to use Twine and thought it might be neat to actually make a game while I'm teaching myself how to do things. Would absolutely include credit with a link back to the original game! But also it's totally fine if you're not interested, just figured I would ask.
Hey, that’s awesome! Yes, you can adapt this game, just give proper attribution and link back to this page.
And please link to your game here!
Sure thing, and thank you! I really appreciate it :)
I've been making pretty good progress, but I also wanted to double check how you prefer to be credited? Like "The Nerdy Paper Games of Rob Hebert" or "Rob Hebert of Nerdy Paper Games"? And if you have another website you'd like me to link back to, as well as your Itch.
"Rob Hebert (nerdypapergames.itch.io)" is best. Thank you for checking!
Played for the first time today and loved it. Like some already said, easy to tweak into a more rogue like game. I'd add some "minimalist sheet", like traits to roll with advantage or a 2d6 curve, so it is a bit less full random tests.
But that's my taste. Playing it ignited an ideia for some brews, and for sure will play it more times.
Played the game several times, I want to commend you for a design with lots of interesting elements that just works, and the excellent writing. Really had fun.
I feel that if one would like to expand this neat rogue-like experience into more of a rogue-lite one with persisting bonuses, it should be easy to do: perhaps Dracula and his servants do not want you to perish (as you are, after all, a food resource), and bring you back to your cell again (where you can start anew). A denizen (someone met on an earlier venture into the castle, or one you have yet to meet) wants you to succeed and leaves an item with you in your cell. Just an idea; not that the game needs to be something else, it's complete and fine as it is. Thank you.
Thank you for the kind words! That’s a really cool idea for iterative play. Could even introduce some legacy-like elements to the castle itself :)
That sounds great. I like the idea of the ever-shifting castle layout and having the enjoyment of exploration every time. But perhaps monsters and bosses slain you would not encounter again (their rooms empty now), on backtracking you'd get a bonus of one room less to count for distance to roll against (as you feel a bit more familiar with the castle on subsequent runs), having tried to escape before could be one memory you already start with now. I believe there should be a ton of interesting things to introduce in an iterative play scenario. Thanks again for the elegant, inspiring game.
Played through this last night with my partner, and we had a great timel. Love the build-it-yourself card dungeon :)
I think this could easily be extended to multiplayer mode by just making the bosses a bit harder to vanquish - there's no clear instruction, so we figured bosses were meant to take 2 wounds to kill or vanquish since Dracua takes 3. For multiplayer, I'd just say the bosses take (number of players +1) wound to kill or vanquish and Dracula takes (number of players +2) wounds to drive off. We firgured 5 candles per person would be best as well, otherwise it's hard to keep track, sharing 'life-force'.
Cool notes! I'll have to noodle on them for a bit.
Hi Rob ! there is a french fan-made translation of your game.
Would you be interested in publishing it on this page?
Absolutely! Please post a link here and I’ll update the game page.
Hello. I am the translator of your game in French with angela-quidam for proofreading. Here is the link of the PDF and e-pub version. I loved translating your game. Thank you. https://littlefears.itch.io
just saw this game, any link with yours? https://arnivold.itch.io/castle-of-memories
Nope, not as far as I know
but it's very similar
It does seem similar from the outside, but I haven't read it yet. I'm doing a review series this month on Twitter, and I'll probably review Castle of Memories bc it was suggested in a Discord I'm on, so I'll see how close it is then. It's possible that Adrian was either inspired by my game or maybe it's a case of "multiple discovery." Will be interesting to break it open and see what makes it tick.
While the art and presentation of the game is gorgeous, I personally struggle to understand the core motivation for playing the game. Judging by the rules the player is completely at mercy of random chance and this chance is clearly very biased against survival of the player.
Thank you for the kind words on the art!
To answer your question: every playthrough will be different, depending on the roll of the dice, the shuffle of the deck, and how the player reacts to the prompts. The layout out of your castle and your escapee's memories will be unique. Mechanical player choice is mostly limited to what items you find and when you use them, but the goal is not necessarily to "beat" the castle so much as have a good time discovering its dangers and uncovering your escapee's history. Think of the cards (and the events on them) more as journaling, improv, or creative writing prompts than mechanical puzzles that you can solve with tactical play.
Such a great game that I NEED to see as part of a game jam soon. Please make an SRD!
Read our review here: https://podofblunders.com/2021/02/11/escape-from-demon-castle-dracula/
Thank you so much!
Regarding an SRD: SOON
I see it's been 3 years, but any word about an SRD for EfDCD?
To be totally honest with you, plague times + family medical stuff + having a kid put the SRD on the back burner, and I currently have a few paid gigs I'm churning through. But I do have *some* of an SRD for EfDCD, and I *will* return to it when time permits. I am a man of my word, just... an "eventual" man of my word.
I love that game so much. Even more than the first of your trilogy :D
That... I am drawn to heresia. Do you think... It could be played with a group? How could this work? :D
Thank you for the kind words!
Playing it with a group would be an interesting challenge. You could probably use the character playbooks and resolution mechanic from Demon Castle Dracula with the castle-building deck mechanic and prompts from Escape.
Hmmm... maybe I'll try that...
True, it would work like a charm :3
But I admit that I appreciate Escape's resolution mechanic even more.
So fast, so effective, so evocative!
What an absolutely killer game!! The mechanics are so fun and inventive and straightforward – totally accessible to anyone, and the book is absolutely beautiful to read through. The art is gorgeous and moody, the descriptions set such a creepy-yet-majestic tone, and I had a blast playing this. One of the most unique tabletops I've played, and now permanently one of my favorites.
Wow, thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Not played it yet however the art is I credible and the format is beautiful. Well done
Thank you! I hope you get a chance to play it!
THE ART! The Layout! This pdf bleeds style and tone right out of the device of your choice.
Can't think of a better escape during these isolating times. Really enjoy the work of this creator, and I think this setting is fantastic. Everything is very accessible to new players, in terms of gameplay and the lore. Worth checking out on a cold winter's night!
PS: It's worth it to play with the candles if you can!
Love love love this game. I've been wanting more solo play during the pandemic and this is perfect. Immersive and and the quality of writing (not to mention visual design) is amazing. Well done!
I've been following nerdypapergames for awhile and I've always been impressed with their refined game mechanics and amazing artwork. Looking forward to playing this for a long time to come!
DEFINITELY try and go candles only! It really sets the mood. This was fucking awesome.
I tried but I'm too blind! I could see it really making a difference though