IC: Dungeon Survival (Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox)
Once, a long time ago, the Dungeon was filled with monsters and treasure. At least that is what the bards claim. Then adventurers came and killed all the monsters. With the dangers and treasures stripped away the Dungeon was nothing but a dangerous maze of darkened corridors.
However Nature, and Politics, hate a vacuum.
Nearly fifty years ago King Alfred Eldarwise determined to put the abandoned structure to use. He decreed that all those guilty of high crimes would be banished into The Dungeon. If they managed to escape then the Gods and Goddesses must have blessed them and their crimes would be forgiven. Nearly a hundred men and women from across the nation were cast into The Dungeon.
None escaped.
King Alfred II decreed that all those guilty of murder, theft, or poaching were also to be send into The Dungeon. Then the list was widened to include political dissidents, prisoners of war, and heretics. By the time King Alfred III took the throne nearly every crime in the land was punishable by throwing the offender into The Dungeon.
And now its your turn...
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So, that is the basic concept. I'm fascinated by Dungeon Crawls. So I thought it would be fun to run a game where the Dungeon is the be-all and end-all of the game.
Humans Only.
No Starting Equipment.
Death at 0 hp.
We will track light, food, and water.
XP would be earned by overcoming obstacles, gathering or making equipment, and generally being clever.
The goal at first is to survive. Then to find a way to escape.
The obstacles would be the natural and magical environment, creatures who've fond their way into the dungeon from elsewhere, and your fellow prisoners whom are also desperate for food, supplies, and power.
The ruleset would be a modified version of the Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox rules.
First, all d20 rolls are replaced by 3d6 rolls. Bell-curves for the win.
Second, when a character gains a +1 to their BHB they also will do an additional d6 of damage with weapon attacks. All damage modifiers apply to the additional dice. So a 3rd Level Fighting Man with a Greatsword and a +1 Str Mod would deal 3d6+6 damage.
Third, Armor will consist of Light (+1), Medium (+2) and Heavy (+3) types. It is also broken up between Helms, Cuirasses, and Shields. So, a character dressed all in Heavy armor would have an AC of 19. Meaning that you'd have to be very good and very lucky to get through their defenses. Better try a different method of defeating them.