Congratulations, Crawler.
You've acquired a book.
Not particularly exciting, is it?
Books don't explode. Usually.
They don't increase your Constitution. They don't make your attacks more powerful. And unless you've developed a particularly aggressive approach to literacy, they're not especially useful in combat.
This one is different.
The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook has passed from crawler to crawler, edition after edition, carrying something considerably more dangerous than recipes.
Knowledge.
The people who came before you learned things.
They learned how the dungeon works. They learned where it lies. They learned which rules bend, which rules break, and which mistakes only need to be made once if somebody bothers to leave a warning for the poor bastard who comes next.
Most importantly, they wrote it down.
Carl receives the 24th Edition.
Then he starts writing the 25th.
Now you can too.
The exterior is built from 3–4 oz. black leather, with the Cookbook's anarchist emblem prominently displayed in gold on a stitched circular leather medallion.
Below it, 24TH EDITION is permanently marked into the cover.
Black leather. Black stitching. Gold insignia.
No cheerful color choices.
It's the Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook, Crawler. Not a scrapbook.
Open the cover and you'll find a custom Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook insert, created specifically for this piece.
The insert identifies the book as the 24th Edition, but beneath that comes the important part:
COMPILED BY: __________**
With spaces for your Crawler, Crawler ID, and Entry No.
Because the Cookbook was never supposed to end with the person who handed it to you.
ITEM: Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook Field Notes Cover
EDITION: 24th
NEXT EDITION: That's your problem.
MATERIAL: 3–4 oz. black leather
COLOR: Black
INSIGNIA: Gold Cookbook emblem
STITCHING: Black
INSERT: Custom 25th Edition entry book
PEN STORAGE: Integrated leather pen loop
POCKETS: Interior storage for notes and assorted crawler nonsense
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Recording information
SECONDARY FUNCTION: Keeping said information away from people who would prefer you remain ignorant
KNOWLEDGE BONUS: Potentially enormous
SURVIVAL BONUS: Entirely dependent upon what you write in it
The Cookbook is one of the strangest and most important artifacts in Dungeon Crawler Carl.
It isn't merely Carl's notebook.
It is a conversation across crawls.
Earlier crawlers leave behind what they learned, sometimes mundane, sometimes extraordinarily valuable. The knowledge accumulates across editions, allowing someone who may have died years before to reach forward and help a crawler they will never meet. Carl takes that idea seriously, recording his own plans and experiences for whoever might eventually come after him.
That's why this cover says 24TH EDITION.
And that's why the book inside says 25TH EDITION ENTRIES.
You're not buying a replica of Carl's Cookbook.
You're carrying the 24th Edition and writing the next one.
Possession of this item does not grant the Escape Plan skill.
Writing down an idea does not make it a good idea.
Writing down an explosive recipe does not make you qualified to build it.
And repeatedly disappearing into the bathroom to make secret notes will eventually cause people to wonder why you spend so much goddamned time in there.
Use discretion.
Take notes.
Learn from the crawlers who came before you.
And if you discover something important?
Write it down.
Somebody might need it.
Congratulations, Crawler.
You've acquired a book.
Not particularly exciting, is it?
Books don't explode. Usually.
They don't increase your Constitution. They don't make your attacks more powerful. And unless you've developed a particularly aggressive approach to literacy, they're not especially useful in combat.
This one is different.
The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook has passed from crawler to crawler, edition after edition, carrying something considerably more dangerous than recipes.
Knowledge.
The people who came before you learned things.
They learned how the dungeon works. They learned where it lies. They learned which rules bend, which rules break, and which mistakes only need to be made once if somebody bothers to leave a warning for the poor bastard who comes next.
Most importantly, they wrote it down.
Carl receives the 24th Edition.
Then he starts writing the 25th.
Now you can too.
The exterior is built from 3–4 oz. black leather, with the Cookbook's anarchist emblem prominently displayed in gold on a stitched circular leather medallion.
Below it, 24TH EDITION is permanently marked into the cover.
Black leather. Black stitching. Gold insignia.
No cheerful color choices.
It's the Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook, Crawler. Not a scrapbook.
Open the cover and you'll find a custom Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook insert, created specifically for this piece.
The insert identifies the book as the 24th Edition, but beneath that comes the important part:
COMPILED BY: __________**
With spaces for your Crawler, Crawler ID, and Entry No.
Because the Cookbook was never supposed to end with the person who handed it to you.
ITEM: Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook Field Notes Cover
EDITION: 24th
NEXT EDITION: That's your problem.
MATERIAL: 3–4 oz. black leather
COLOR: Black
INSIGNIA: Gold Cookbook emblem
STITCHING: Black
INSERT: Custom 25th Edition entry book
PEN STORAGE: Integrated leather pen loop
POCKETS: Interior storage for notes and assorted crawler nonsense
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Recording information
SECONDARY FUNCTION: Keeping said information away from people who would prefer you remain ignorant
KNOWLEDGE BONUS: Potentially enormous
SURVIVAL BONUS: Entirely dependent upon what you write in it
The Cookbook is one of the strangest and most important artifacts in Dungeon Crawler Carl.
It isn't merely Carl's notebook.
It is a conversation across crawls.
Earlier crawlers leave behind what they learned, sometimes mundane, sometimes extraordinarily valuable. The knowledge accumulates across editions, allowing someone who may have died years before to reach forward and help a crawler they will never meet. Carl takes that idea seriously, recording his own plans and experiences for whoever might eventually come after him.
That's why this cover says 24TH EDITION.
And that's why the book inside says 25TH EDITION ENTRIES.
You're not buying a replica of Carl's Cookbook.
You're carrying the 24th Edition and writing the next one.
Possession of this item does not grant the Escape Plan skill.
Writing down an idea does not make it a good idea.
Writing down an explosive recipe does not make you qualified to build it.
And repeatedly disappearing into the bathroom to make secret notes will eventually cause people to wonder why you spend so much goddamned time in there.
Use discretion.
Take notes.
Learn from the crawlers who came before you.
And if you discover something important?
Write it down.
Somebody might need it.
