Quickstart to Those Under the Mountain

Devlog

• Quickstart 3.0 nearly here!!!
  May 01, 2026 by Ran#ttrpg, #quickstart, #colony, #sim, #dwarves, #TUM, #those under the mountain

  Just polishing, organizing, and doing layout. We've got new character sheets coming, a new printer-friendly version, a streamlined ruleset (sorry, feats are going byebye until full release), and a bun... Continue reading

  
• Alchemy, Runesmithing, and Arcana
  April 22, 2026 by Ran#magic, #ttrpg, #rpg, #TUM

  My original instinct for TUM was to leave 90% of the magic out of the initial release, then plan the first supplement to handle all the magic. Partially, this was to avoid scope creep, which I have tr... Continue reading
• The Feat Dilemma
  April 14, 2026 by Ran#design, #game design, #OSR, #dnd, #ttrpg, #rpg, #tabletop

  Hey there Delvers in the Deep, TUM at its core is built vaguely from 3 LEGO bins: Savage Worlds, OSR philosophy, and D&D. As such, there are some places where they don't line up perfectly. The big one... Continue reading
• Full game Mining Demo
  April 05, 2026 by Ran#devlog, #TUM, #simulation, #colony

  Hello delvers in places ought not be delved, I'm back in the swing of things and finally I'm almost done this iteration of the new mining rules. Notably, mining has been split between different "layer... Continue reading

  
• Swing and a miss! Full alpha delayed to June.
  March 16, 2026 by Ran

  1

  #sim, #dwarven, #fantasy, #ttrpg, #rpg, #roleplaying, #tabletop

  Hey there delvers in the deep, My self-set deadline has come steaming right past, and who am I to stop a locomotive? I'm definitely one to set for myself unreasonable goals, but it worked out this pas... Continue reading

  
• Playtest Log 1
  February 22, 2026 by Ran

  3

  #ttrpg, #rpg, #devlog, #tum, #playtest, #basebuilding, #sim

  I figured I'd write up reports for each playtest session, this being the most complete TUM has ever been. They might be instructive in how its run until the full rules are released. I have a dev updat... Continue reading

  
• Devlog 2/2/26: TUM Alpha full rules will launch March 15th!
  February 03, 2026 by Ran#devlog, #release, #alpha, #ttrpg, #rpg

  I've been pouring myself into the project, and can confidently set a date of March 15th for the Alpha full rules. This will include all rules, tables, appendicies, and everything else that makes the g... Continue reading

  
• A small clarification to workshops, and an update.
  January 14, 2026 by Ran#Update, #Rpg, #Ttrpg, #Tum, #Simulation, #Colony, #Base, #Building, #Crafting

  This latest and likely last substantive update to the alpha quickstart clarifies the language around workshops and how they're built. I'm now pivoting to working on the full rules primarily, as well a... Continue reading
• A couple of clarity and layout hotfixes, and we're off to the races!
  January 05, 2026 by Ran

  There was some confusion about how Upkeep functions from a couple of folks, so I made a clarity pass on it. The critique and suggestions are super helpful. Thanks so much. Here's a little 2.02 patch... Continue reading
• Deluxe Quickstart (A2.0) is Live!
  January 03, 2026 by Ran#ttrpg, #rpg, #free, #sim, #colony, #fantasy, #tabletop, #quickstart

  This update is more than a patch. There's so much content in this, I had to call it something more than just "quickstart." This is Deluxe . Changelog: added equipment tables added random event tables... Continue reading

  
• Patch 1.02 is live.
  December 25, 2025 by Ran#patch, #hotfix, #update, #fantasy, #simulation, #ttrpg, #rpg

  Changelog: Added Hill dwarf description text. Wild it somehow wasn't in the original doc. I guess I never ported it form my main dev doc. layout tweaks (nothing interesting)... Continue reading

  
• Holiday 1.01 Hotfix is live.
  December 25, 2025 by Ran

  1

  #hotfix, #patch, #ttrpg, #rpg, #base building, #simulation, #colony

  Happy holidays, y'all. This hotfix patches the biggest issues with the quickstart, and should alleviate some confusiuon. This is a must-have patch. Changelog: Reworked rolling tables and skills to inc... Continue reading

  
• Thank you
  December 21, 2025 by Ran#Tum, #Rpg, #Ttrpg, #Quickstart

  The launch was a huge success, with almost 500 downloads of the quickstart in 24 yours. More content to come, including a 1.1 hotfix for PDF quality of life improvements and a few tweaks. Thank you al... Continue reading
• Quickstart guide for TUM coming Dec 20th.
  December 14, 2025 by Ran#simulation, #ttrpg, #base-building, #fantasy, #rpg, #tabletop

  I've been working on Those Under the Mountain, my dwarven colony sim ttrpg for over 6 years. Finally, I'm nearly finished the quickstart for the newest iteration fo the game, the one I want to share w... Continue reading