If you’re walking in on the middle of the advanced fantasy dungeon series, there’s an index here.

There’s a significant overlap between what we developed in timekeeping and journeying and what is here in underground travel – or perhaps we’ll call it dungeoneering.

Second edition all but ignores the dungeon procedure of earlier editions, but also appears to do this out of a desire to simplify the technical nature of the procedure. In doing so, it neuters the crawl, which in turn hobbles all the modes of play that extend out of it.

Necropraxis’ exploration die is the answer to balancing the book keeping here that didn’t exist in the 90s (although we know Marcia does not prefer it). With the exploration die, we can stop caring so deeply about the Dungeon Turn, and simply know that when the PCs spend time, something happens.

Most actions taken in a dungeon – movement, lockpicking, searching, bandaging, spell casting – take a turn. A turn procedes as follows:

1. Roll the exploration die and follow the instructions.

2. Spend time declaring and resolving actions

3. If you do not carry a light source, spend 1d6 HP.

The exploration die is a 1d6, +1 per turn with no result , interpreted as follows:

1-4, Nothing happens

5. Spoor or sign of a wandering monster

6. Wandering monster

7. The environment changes

8. Light sources exhaust

9. Spells expire

10+. Rest or spend 1d6 HP

If you are stranded in the dungeon at the end of a session, each PC rolls to return to the surface. Roll fortune or an appropriate proficiency, against a target equal to the number of turns traveled to escape the dungeon. For every point you fail by, choose either to spend that amount in HP or ten times that amount in GP.

Honestly, this is all neat and perfect, but I’m starting to think the 1d6 standard HP cost is too much; on the other hand, so long as it’s always a choice, it encourages caution. Next up, we revise timekeeping.

This has been a part of the Advanced Fantasy Dungeon Series! Let me know your thoughts on underground travel (dungeoneering? dungeon crawling?), if there are questions left unanswered, whether I’ve overlooked anything glaring, or anything of the sort!

Idle Cartulary

26th April 2022