Dungeon Nights dev diary

I've been working solidly on Dungeon Nights since I put the 'lite' version on the blog. I originally kind of just wanted to expand the lite rules slightly and make a nice pdf but things have changed. I've ended up expanding the game considerably because I've kind of fallen in love with it.

Avanor. That's the baked in setting that's referenced throughout. There's no setting section. Instead I've drizzled setting into the rules. You get an inkling of who the Shadow Seven are, and how powerful the three Great Mages might be. You know that different cultures have different mounts - Thorish tend to use giant moles as transportation, while Frigos use riding bears. It's kind of apparent that Vennans drink lots of wine. Gnomes are made of pure magic but nobody really knows why - it's up to the group.

Class specials have been expanded too. All classes have at least three of them. They can build strongholds, fortresses, guilds, temples and towers at higher level. Thieves actually do sneak damage. Clerics can turn undead.

Even more, mercenaries can be acquired, there's advanced combat rules, languages also have dialects (78 combinations of language and dialect - speaking glade dune means desert elf language. Gloam gob is night goblin), there's more magic, weapons do varied damage, there are proficiencies and journey tag rules have been introduced.

In other words, it's much fatter. It's a bit B/X with some OD&D but mostly new. Completely compatible with OSR adventures. The only reason I'm not writing an adventure with it is for this reason - there's a tonne already out there.

It's pretty much there now. I'm currently tackling spells - there's a tonne more than in the lite version but a bit fewer than Swords and Wizardry. Any add ons to it will probably be short, punchy pdfs.

Anyway, I'm excited to show you the new Dungeon Nights.

OSR monster: Shingran

The Shingran is unlike any creature you've faced before on your adventures. For starters it has no material form - it exists only when imagined. Once imagined, it will seep into the material world and hunt those who imagined it to the death. Just reading a description or seeing an image is enough to develop a Shingran in the mind. Once the seed is planted it takes 1d4 hours to 'gestate' before appearing within 3d6x10ft of the imaginer. Once someone has seen a Shingran, they must save vs spells or another Shingran appears. There can be up to 10 creatures appear at one time in this way. While I'm loathe to describe the creature to you I will begrudgingly give you some keywords to help: slavering, bone, eyes, cat-like, tendrils, jaws, carapace.

HD5
AC 14 (5)
MV: 30'
ATK: Tendrils (d8) or Bite (d6)
SAVE: As W6 (or 10)
SPECIAL: Mind Gestation

B/X is the favourite D&D edition among gamers

Earlier this week I ran a poll on Mewe asking people to vote on their favourite edition of Dungeons and Dragons. While I know the sample size is too low to be anything near representative (45 entries), the survey did indicate that B/X is the crowning jewel of D&D.

A majority (40%) of respondents were all about B/X by Tom Moldvay and David Cook, a revision released in 1981 as a standalone game that ran alongside the AD&D line at the time.

Coming in second, 20% said 5th edition was their most loved version - an intergenerational favourite from Wizards of the Coast that stripped back the 4e clutter and went back to basics.

AD&D 1e garnered 15% of the vote, making it the third most popular edition, followed by OD&D with 11%.

The editions recieving the fewest votes were 4th and 3rd edition, which both got 0%, whereas 3.5, BECMI and Holmes Basic were just 2%.

What's your favourite edition?

What did your character think of the session?

Art: Harry Quinn

Character development isn't something D&D is designed for outside of gaining experience points and acquiring new skills, nor should it do.

But it's called roleplaying for a reason and it's good every now and again to take part in some naval gazing to help understand your character. So here's an exercise to try.

At the end of the session, as a GM, ask your players "what did your characters think to that session?" Go around the table and ask each player to answer. Doesn't have to be long, but it should help develop character in bitesize chunks. It helps solidify a character in the player's mind. It reminds them that they're playing a role and has them engage a little more with the game.

Or don't. Whatever.

Dungeon Nights redux

Ok, so I accidentally created a new game earlier. I didn't mean to - it sort of just happened.

Since then I've been building on Dungeon Nights into something that can be a downloadable PDF with art and stuff. There are a few design decisions I've made to set it apart from other OSR games on the market:

- Journey Tag system makes travel interesting for the players
- Cultures and races form the backbone of a character
- A baked in setting so it's not just a set of rules

I've ironed out some specifics and expanded on the rules. I've made good head way so Dungeon Nights should be out soon.

Free OSR game: Dungeon Nights

Dungeon Nights is a fast and dirty old school adventure game, powered by fuzzy riffs and fizzy drinks. It's designed to scratch the traditional fantasy itch when you can't be arsed with anything else. It's a light mish-mash of old school and new school thinking, but probably not for beginners.

So grab some dice, paper and some mates and have at it.


Character creation

- roll your attributes
- choose a culture (gain culture bonuses)
- choose a race (gain race bonus)
- choose a class
- roll your hit die plus your Con bonus to figure your HP
- Your AC begins at 10 plus your Dex bonus
- Begin with 1d6x10 gold

Attributes:
Strength: Bashing doors, lifting heavy items, swimming, hitting with swords, climbing walls.
Dexterity: Sneaking, vaulting walls, disarming traps, dodging fireballs.
Wisdom: Religious insights, spotting hidden things, willpower, common sense.
Intelligence: Knowing facts, understanding mechanisms, recognising monsters, keeping lucid.
Constitution: Staving off damage, taking a beating, surviving without food.
Charisma: Entertaining, persuading, leading, lying.

Roll 3d6 for each. Less than 7 is a -1, 8-10 is ,+0, 11-14 is +1, 15-17 is +2, 18-20 is +3.

Tags: Cultures and classes have certain tags to help you get a flavour for the character you're creating. Use as many or as few of these tags as you like to help inspire your character.

Cultures

Stone Culture (Thorish)
Tags: Proud, Loyal, Traditional
Common races: Dwarf, Halfling, Orc
+1 to Str or Con/ -1 to Dex or Cha
You can see in the dark
You have a 1 in 3 chance of being able to tell the history of an underground structure.

Sea Culture (Venna)
Tags: Adventurous, Open minded, Talkative
Common races: Human, Elf, Gnome
+1 to Dex or Cha/ -1 to Con or Int
You can sail boats
1 in 4 chance of being able to circumnavigate waters

Desert Culture (Al Hadar)
Tags: Curious, Welcoming, Organised
Common races: Human, Dwarf, Gnome
+1 to Wis or Con/ -1 to Str or Dex
You can go 2 days without needing water
You have a 1 in 3 chance of recognising poison from the smell

Night Culture (Gloam)
Tags: Meticulous, Honourable, Quiet
Common races: Elf, Halfling, Orc
+1 to Dex or Cha/-1 to Wis or Con
Gain a +2 when attempting to use stealth
You can see in the dark

Forest Culture (Arboran)
Tags: Cautious, Theatrical, Empathic
Common races: Elf, Human, Gnome
+1 to Dex or Int/ -1 to Cha or Str
Gain +2 when attempting to climb
You have a 4 in 6 chance of circumnavigating a forest or wood

Frost Culture (Frigos)
Tags: Solemn, Resilient, Resourceful
Common races: Human, Dwarf, Orc
+1 to Con or Dex/ -1 to Cha or Wis
You do not need cold weather furs in extreme cold
Gain a +2 to Con saves

Races

Select one race.

Human:
Move 25/ +1 Int
Dwarf:
Move 20/ +1 Str
Elf:
Move 30/ +1 Wis
Halfling:
Move 20/+1 Dex
Gnome:
Move 20/ +1 Cha
Orc:
Move 25/ +1 Con

Classes

Warrior
Tags: Precise, Brave, Deadly, Grizzled
Hit Dice: d6+1 per level
Saving Throw target: 15 (reduces by 1 per level until level 9)
Special: +1 to attacks per level until level 6.

Barbarian
Tags: Savage, Tough, Traveller, Ostracized
Hit Dice: d8 per level
Saving Throw target: 14 (reduces by 1 per level until level 9)
Special: Rage - Once per combat, gain + 1d4 to damage rolls for 3 rounds.

Cleric
Tags: Holy, Vengeful, Patient, Courageous
Hit Dice: d6 per level
Saving throw target: 16 (reduces by 1 per level until level 8)
Special: Can use prayers. +1 prayer per level up to a max of 8 prayer slots. Start with 1 prayer slot.

Thief
Tags: Shady, Connected, Misunderstood, Careful
Hit Dice: d6 per level
Saving Throw target: 14 (reduces by 1 per level until level 9)
Special: Gain a +1 bonus to picking locks, picking pockets and disarming traps.

Magic user
Tags: Esoteric, Curious, Scatterbrained, Surprising
Hit Dice: d4+1 per level
Saving Throw target: 17 (reduces by 1 per level until level 10)
Special: Can cast Arcane spells. +1 spell slot per level up to a max of 10 spell slots. Start with 2 spell slots.

Levelling up:
-Roll your Hit Die and add the result to your HP.
-Reduce your saving throw target
-Roll d20 per attribute. If you roll under the attribute +1 to it.
- Level caps off at 20.

Weapons:
Melee or ranged weapon (d6 damage) - 10 gp
Superior melee or ranged weapon (+1 attack, d6 damage) - 100 gp
Ammo X10 - 3 gp

Armour
(Each armour has a max Dex. bonus. This is the most benefit a character would get from their Dex bonus to AC)

Cloth (+1 AC, max Dex NA) 10gp
Leather (+2 AC, max Dex bonus +3) 50gp
Chain (+3 AC, max Dex bonus +2) 120gp
Plate (+4 AC, max Dex bonus +1) 600gp
Mithril (+4 AC, max Dex bonus +2) 2000gp


Combat:

- all players roll 1d6 for initiative. 4+, they go before the opponent.
- combat is done in 6 second rounds. A round is over when everyone has had a turn.
- characters may move and attack or move and cast a spell on their turn. They can do any other action that takes 3 seconds in place of either moving or attacking.
- to attack: roll d20 + Str (melee) or Dex (ranged). If equal to or higher than opponent's AC, do weapon damage
- the DM should modify combat as she wishes (i.e. offering +2 AC to a character hiding behind a low wall).

Tests: Whenever you want to try something that could fail roll d20 + attribute. Targets: Easy 5, Medium 10, Hard 15, Ridiculous 20. If you are testing yourself against another creature, have a roll off. The highest roll succeeds. Example: Sneaking past a guard will be a roll off between the sneaker's Dex and the guard's Wis.

Saving throws: Saves are tied to attributes. Whenever you are in danger and need to make a save, roll d20 and add the relevent attribute bonus. If you roll equal to or higher than your class saving throw target, you have succeeded.

Spellcasting and Prayers

Magic users and clerics can use magic in the form of spells and prayers. Spells and prayers use up slots based on their level (i.e. a 1st level spell uses 1 slot, a 2nd level spell uses 2 slots etc). Magic users and clerics may only use spells or prayers of their level of below. For example, a magic user of level 5 could use a fireball and a magic missile.

Arcane spells must be memorised at the beginning of the day before they can be used. Prayers must be prayed for at the beginning of the day to be used.

Cleric prayers
Lv. 1. Heal: Restore +1d6 +1 per Wis bonus HP to you or another person
Lv. 2 Bless: Grant someone a +1 per Wis bonus to attacks until their next turn.
Lv. 3 Blast Undead: d4 undead creatures take 1d6 damage within 50ft.
Lv. 4 Stop Undead: d4 undead creatures cannot move for 18 seconds.
Lv. 4 Invigorate: d4 creatures within 50ft gain +1 per Wis bonus to saves for 30 seconds.
Lv 5 Raise Dead: Restore a dead creature to life. They return with HP equal to cleric Wis bonus. They cannot have been dead for longer than 3 days.

Arcane spells
Lv 1 Acid spray: Do damage equal to Intelligence bonus to a creature within 50ft
Lv 1 Light: Create a 30x30ft sphere of light
Lv 2 Magic missile: Do 1d6 damage to a creature within 50ft.
Lv 2 Barrier: Increase the AC of a creature within 30ft by 2 for 24 seconds.
Lv 3 Fireball: Do 2d6 damage to d4 creatures within 50ft. Creatures may not be more than 10ft away from each other. Dex save to halve damage based on Magic user's Int attribute as the target.
Lv 3 Teleport: Instantly appear 100ft away.
Lv 4 Illusion: Create a convincing illusion of a creature or structure. It can move and make sound.
Lv 4 Freeze: 1d4 creatures within 30ft are unable to act for 12 seconds unless they succeed a Str save with the magic user's Int attribute as the target.
Lv 5 Vorpal weapon: a weapon within 50ft gains a +1d6 bonus to damage for 24 seconds.
Lv 5 Fly: You or a creature within 30ft can fly for up to 1 minute.

Bestiary example

HD: The number of dice rolled to work out HP
Attack: includes their attack bonus and damage. X/X indicates more than one attack per turn.
Saving Throw target: the creature rolls d20+ HD whenever they need to save.
Move: Number of feet able to move per turn.
Special: an ability the creature has.

Goblin
HD: 1 (1d6 HP)
AC: 11
Attack: Sword +0 (d6 damage)
Saving Throw target: 17
Move: 25
Special: None

Orc
HD: 2 (2d6 HP)
AC: 13
Attack: Mace +2 (d6 damage)
Saving Throw target: 15
Move: 20
Special: Anyone trying to intimidate an orc takes a -2 to the roll.

Troll
HD: 4 (4d6 HP)
AC: 15
Attack: Club +4/+4 (d6 damage)
Saving Throw target: 14
Move: 20
Special: Trolls can camouflage as boulders. Other creatures must succeed a medium Wis test to spot that a boulder is a troll.

Dragon
HD: 10 (10d6)
AC: 18
Attack: Bite/Tail/Tail +7/+7/+7 (d6 damage) or Fire Breath (3d6 damage - see Special)
Move: 20 (fly 30)
Special: Breathe fire, affecting 1d4 creatures within 60ft. Dex save halves damage.