My Dungeon Fantasy Rules: Combat, Magic, and Dungeon Procedures

     In this post, I will go over the rules for combat (which are few), the rules for magic (which are many), and rules for actually doing the "dungeon" part of "dungeon crawling". My dungeon crawling procedures are based on Charles Saeger's dungeon crawling procedures, found here. This post was suggested by a commenter on one of my posts; that could be you! If you have suggestions, let me know.

Combat

    There is really only one major combat rule, which is a simplification of critical hits. The effects of critical hits and misses are no longer a table you roll on, but are instead simplified:

• Critical hit a result of 3 is triple damage dice; meaning, roll damage three times and add up the result.)
• Any other critical hit result is double damage dice; same as above, but only roll two times.
• A critical miss result of 17 results in the character dropping their weapon. A cheap weapon, however, breaks instead.
• A critical miss result of 18 results in the character falling over. If they are already on the ground, treat it like above.

    We will be using All-Out Defense (Mental) and All-Out Concentrate, however, these are only available during combat, under the reasoning that your characters have increased adrenaline during combat which gives them access to these. You may not take a +1 to any spell because you are thinking really hard, nor can you take a +2 to any magical attack outside of combat just because you were expecting it to happen beforehand.

    We do not use Extra Effort in this game and we will not use Committed Attack or Defensive Attack. Extra Effort always provides cheesy results of "nuh-uh!" and the two maneuvers from Martial Arts that now appear in the Basic Set have been previously ruled as not being allowed to players. 

Magic

    There is a running gag at my tables that I hate Magic-Users. I don't hate them, per-say, I just think they can easily become a crutch to the party and can prevent the party from generating interesting ideas on their own. When Magic-Users do that, things go from "how can we solve this" to "how can Wiz the Wizard solve this?", which irritates me. Thusly, I have a few rules that differ from standard play on Magic-Users as well as Clerics. 

Limiting Magery

    In my games, Magery becomes more expensive. At Magery level 5 and 6, the cost increases mildly, to reflect Magery 5 and 6 representing your "7th - 9th" level Wizards in the games I like to emulate with my rules. You also have Mages' Guild Rank requirements, which are also listed below. This makes increasing your character to the absolute maximum Magery level quite hard, making them advance slower and have something to work towards for a good while.

 

Spellbooks

    To learn spells in my games, you also need to find spell books. Spell books can also be used to improve your casting skill in a spell, but they are primarily used for memorizing spells. Spells can be memorized over the course of a week, generally your downtime, and then they are learned and points can be put into them. You may memorize a spell and then wait to put points into it, as you will still know the spell, even if you haven't actually learned how to cast it yet.

Praying for Spells

    Magic-Users aren't the only ones with new procedures for learning spells. Clerics (and Holy Warriors) must pray to learn a new spell. Like Magic-Users, they may learn one new spell a week, however, they may learn any spell from their spell list that they meet the requirements for. However, their God must grant them a spell. They roll against 12- to see if they obtain that spell on a given week; on a success, they do. On a failure, they must try again next week. Critical successes and failures have no effect on this roll.

Dungeon Crawling Procedures

1. You can move a number of yards equal to twenty times your encumbered Move each turn. The party's Move is considered to be the character with the lowest encumbered Move. A turn is about 10 minutes long. Alternately, a party can move one room each turn.
2. Non-movement activities also take up a turn or some fraction of a turn. Searching a 10-foot section of wall takes 1 turn. Secret passages are found a Search roll, requiring further turns to figure out the passage's mechanism (Per-based Traps roll) and how to properly open it (DX-based Traps roll). Completing a puzzle usually takes a turn and resting usually takes one to two turns.
3. The party must rest every sixth turn. If a flight/pursuit has taken place, the party must rest for 2 turns on their sixth turn. If they do not rest, the characters lose 1 FP and an additional number of FP equal to their current Encumbrance level until resting.
4. Wandering Monsters: Wandering Monsters show up on a 1-in-6. Sometimes they will show up more often, sometimes they will show up less.
5. Monsters: When encountered, roll 3d-6 on Reaction Table. Neutral or worse is a negative reaction (fight); Good or better is a "positive" reaction (wary). Humanoids are more welcoming and roll on the reaction table as normal. Some monsters will always want to fight! Apply any appropriate modifiers to all rolls in any case presented.
• Monsters appear either 4d yards ahead of the party or at the edge of the room the party is in. A random die roll generally determines which door they enter from.
• Surprise Rules
• The Surprised Side must all make IQ checks, or be mentally stunned until they can recover. Combat Reflexes makes you immune to this. Every turn you fail your IQ check you gain a +1 to make the next IQ check.
• In Cases of Total Surprise, everybody gets to make an IQ roll! The rules work as above otherwise.
• Generally, the person at the front of the party will make a Perception check to warn the party of an attack, but if they fail, they will be surprised. The party cannot be surprised if they already know a monster is in a room.
• Fleeing Combat can only happen if the party can out-run the monsters, though, sometimes the monsters simply don't follow the party and they can run away from the monsters. Fleeing combat is sudden and will cause the party to sprint away! You might trigger traps, run into more combat, or even fall into pits repeatedly. (Looking at you, Floor 2 of Trebor's Proving Grounds.) The direction that the party runs in is either dictated by a series of die rolls or by the GM shouting "WHICH WAY DO YOU GO?!" and waiting for the first answer. Disorientation is the goal!
6. Other activities:
• Stuck doors must be forced open with Forced Entry at a penalty. Failure means that you get the door open, but the GM makes another wandering monster check. Up to three characters can force a door simultaneously (each trained helper grants +1 to Forced Entry), but forcing a door means you can’t immediately react to what’s on the other side.
• Some traps might be old and might have a random chance to spring! Generally, this ranges from a 1-in-6 to 3-in-6 chance to spring the trap. This is not all traps, however.
• Listening at doors (Hearing at -(DR+HP)/5, and at an additional -2 if you do not have a spy's horn) detects monsters behind closed doors. Wooden doors are at -6 to hear through, while most Ironbound doors are at -9 to hear through.