Lost in the Dark
What happens when you don't slide out beneath the closing dungeon door in time? What happens when torches go out and darkness rushes in like a hungry beast? What will remain once you return? Will your friends be waiting? Will they have died in noble perseverance? Will there be something else waiting in their stead, shadows lingering behind the eyes of people you thought you knew? The dark does not easily let its prey go free... some say no one truly escapes.
So this occurred to me after a conversation on the OSR Discord. The question was how do we deal with it in a West Marches game if there isn't an easy way back to home base once the session ends? Like what if there is a cave in? I also thought about what happens when torches go out? If you are like me, then you forbid dark vision and endless magical light because the dark should be scary. So torches going out is a big deal.
So I thought of a few rules and a table for that very purpose.
Torch Light as Session Timer
The session ends when torches go out. The pcs in this rule spend a set amount of gold on torches, say 1d4 gp/sp each (depending on your standard currency), then each pc has an Item Slot (Knave style) full of "Torches."
When the set allotted time for the session begins to reach its end, say 15 minutes before the end time for the session, torches begin to burn out. The Pcs then know exactly how much real-life time they have before they have to leave. They can try and test their Luck, pushing on or they can move to leave immediately.
All movement ought to be played out, leaving or staying and encounter checks rolled as normal. If you want to get intense, fading light could cause higher chances for monsters to appear.
If the pcs successfully reach the dungeon exit before time runs out or if they are within a reasonable distance to find their way to the exit, they escape.
If they fail to get out before the session is up, they are Lost in the Dark and you must roll on the Lost in the Dark table below.
If you are feeling charitable, you can roll a d6 or a Luck Check (ala DCC or Troika) for each player to see if they get out. On the d6 If they are on the same floor as/near the exit, they escape on a 4+. If they are one floor away from the exit/a far distance from the exit, they escape on a 5+. Any further and only a 6+ will save them.
This rule works well for West Marches style games where each session is delving down into a dungeon. This way, new characters can be rolled up to return to the dungeon and see what has befallen their Lost companions or guildmates.
Otherwise, the table below if for the kind of situations listed in the first paragraph.
Lost in the Dark (1d6):
So this occurred to me after a conversation on the OSR Discord. The question was how do we deal with it in a West Marches game if there isn't an easy way back to home base once the session ends? Like what if there is a cave in? I also thought about what happens when torches go out? If you are like me, then you forbid dark vision and endless magical light because the dark should be scary. So torches going out is a big deal.
So I thought of a few rules and a table for that very purpose.
From Darkest Dungeon
Torch Light as Session Timer
The session ends when torches go out. The pcs in this rule spend a set amount of gold on torches, say 1d4 gp/sp each (depending on your standard currency), then each pc has an Item Slot (Knave style) full of "Torches."
When the set allotted time for the session begins to reach its end, say 15 minutes before the end time for the session, torches begin to burn out. The Pcs then know exactly how much real-life time they have before they have to leave. They can try and test their Luck, pushing on or they can move to leave immediately.
All movement ought to be played out, leaving or staying and encounter checks rolled as normal. If you want to get intense, fading light could cause higher chances for monsters to appear.
If the pcs successfully reach the dungeon exit before time runs out or if they are within a reasonable distance to find their way to the exit, they escape.
If they fail to get out before the session is up, they are Lost in the Dark and you must roll on the Lost in the Dark table below.
If you are feeling charitable, you can roll a d6 or a Luck Check (ala DCC or Troika) for each player to see if they get out. On the d6 If they are on the same floor as/near the exit, they escape on a 4+. If they are one floor away from the exit/a far distance from the exit, they escape on a 5+. Any further and only a 6+ will save them.
This rule works well for West Marches style games where each session is delving down into a dungeon. This way, new characters can be rolled up to return to the dungeon and see what has befallen their Lost companions or guildmates.
Otherwise, the table below if for the kind of situations listed in the first paragraph.
Lost in the Dark (1d6):
- Consumed by the Shadows: Roll a Luck Save/Save against Death/Con Save. On a failure, you die and no one can even hear your desperate screams. Roll another Luck Save/d6 (4+). On a success, your loot is all still on your corpse when you are found, otherwise malicious monsters have stolen your loot.
- I am the Monster: Corruptive magic or disease has made you into a monster. Protection from Evil/ sanity restoring spells can give you back your mind but and a Remove Curse can restore your form, however, your companions will have to do this while you are attempting to kill them.
- It's a Trap!: You are caught in/made a part on one of the dungeon's traps. Roll 1d4: 1) A trap misfired, it didn't kill you but tampering with the trap could kill you. You take 2d4 Con dmg from hunger. 2) A monster is keeping you as bait for when your companions return. 3) You have been replaced by a doppelganger that will wait for the moment to strike before it betrays the party for their loot. You are being kept alive in a pod somewhere so the doppelganger can maintain your form and access your memories. A few other creatures are trapped here as well. 4) You are dead. Your loot is all on your corpse as bait/an undead minion for a trap/monster.
- Madness?: Your allies find you far worse for wear, but alive. However, your mind has been twisted. A random insanity will be with you forever (See my upcoming Into the Weird Blue Yonder for an appropriate table) but your allies will find you in a temporary state of madness Roll 1d4: 1) You refuse to leave as you are deathly convinced that your archnemesis is somewhere in the dungeon and you must hunt it down and kill it. You ascribe all misfortune to this nemesis and it is always one step beyond your reach. 2) You believe a curse will cause you to die upon leaving the dungeon. You will believe some mark upon you is proof of your ailment. 3) You believe that something worth more than all the world lies in the depths of the dungeon, you will not leave without it. 4) You believe all your friends are doppelgangers, come to trick and kill you.
- To Sleep Perchance to Dream: Your allies find you in an enchanted slumber. Your mind is trapped in the Eclipsed Kingdom and cannot return to your body unless freed from the clutches of an Unseelie Knight's castle. Your allies may follow you to this kingdom by sleeping beside you in the dungeon, but so far your sleeping form has been overlooked by monsters due to sheer chance. This luck will not hold forever.
- Please Don't Go! We'll Eat You Whole!: You have actually managed to make a reasonable situation for yourself in the dungeon. Roll 1d4: 1) You found a lover down here amongst the monsters. She/he/it may not be the best but you believe you have found true love. 50% Chance you are under an enchantment. 2) You have become the thing the monsters fear down here. You have leveled up in your allies absence and are addicted to the hunting, killing, and eating of monsters. You are draped in their skins and look badass. 3) You have become a leader of a monster faction! 25% chance that you are mad and want to use your new army to take vengeance on your allies who you perceive as having abandoned you. Otherwise, you would leave your new army but they desperately want you to stay and you are afraid of what they will do if you try to leave. 4) You have become a leader of other survivors trapped down here in the dungeon. They need you and will likely die without you.
A lot of these probably work best if the DM takes control of the Lost character, at least up until they are recovered from the dungeon, but that is up to the DM's discretion. This table also assumes that the dungeon is a vast, alien land where entire twisted ecosystems thrive and from which escape is not always easy. It might be used for a Veinscrawl or a megadungeon that is the central focus of the campaign.
Comments
Post a Comment