Post by Light [Shearah] on Nov 26, 2018 18:20:56 GMT -5
Dungeoneering 101
But how are they played? Here is a player guide.
Entry-
Participation in a dungeon may be selective, meaning only members in certain tiers may participate, or scaled, in which all players are scaled up or down to the respective tier. This is to ensure the dungeon is not too difficult to too easy for any players and to keep it fair.
Rooms-
When the player(s) enter a new area or room, the GM running the dungeon will give a description of the room and its contents.
Combat-
Dungeons tend to be crawling with monsters and beasts who don’t approve of having their peace interrupted. If there are enemies in the room, the GM will specify whether they are aware of the player(s) or not, but if the players are unaware of the enemies, it is up to them whether they mention it or not.
If the enemies are unaware of the players, they may make a sneak attack. Only the first player’s attack made may qualify. In this attack, the enemy’s evasion bonuses are discounted, and the player’s stealth stat boosts their accuracy (example: Player A has 60% accuracy against Enemy B. A also has a 10% stealth stat – player A’s accuracy in a sneak attack would be 66%). If the attack misses, the enemies are made aware of the group and the chance to sneak is lost. However, if the attack hits, it is an automatic critical. The players may choose to perform a team sneak attack to boost their damage output. (Team attack rules remain unchanged, see here for details)
If the enemies are aware of the players, combat proceeds as normal without any chance for a sneak attack from either side.
If the players are unaware of the enemies, the enemies may perform a sneak attack. It is calculated the same way as a player sneak attack, however the player targets’ perception stat reduces the enemies accuracy – as they are more likely to notice the attack at the last moment.
The GM may choose to use regular or grid combat for their dungeon, but it must remain consistent.
Perception-
If a room is free of enemies, a player may choose to inspect the room as a whole or a certain aspect mentioned by the GM to possibly see or discover things the GM left out. This could be seeing enemies preparing for a sneak attack, a trap, a clue to a puzzle or some hidden loot.
How easy or difficult something is to spot is up to the GM. This will determine the base number the roll will need to reach to pass. They do not have to reveal the results of the roll, since if the player knows they failed, they may choose to continue looking. How the GM works perception checks is up to their discretion.
Example: A button to a hidden room is disguised as a brick in a wall. The room is dim, so it’s difficult to see. It has a 30% chance to be detected. Player A has a 20% perception stat – increasing the chance to 36%.
If player A decides to inspect the wall but fails, the GM could give a response such as:
“Through the dimness, Player A is able to see signs of engraved patterns on the stones. The wall, however, is far too worn and stained from constantly dripping water to make out if the markings convey anything useful.”
This response would also apply if Player A chose to inspect a wall with no hidden button.
However, if Player A inspects the wall and passes the perception check, the GM may respond something like:
“Player A notices one brick is a slightly different tone to the others. Upon closer inspection, they notice the markings are far more recent, too. Has this brick recently been replaced?”
What the players do with that information is up to them.
The GM may also choose to make passive perception checks, since the player characters will be looking around the room as they enter. If, say, a Ghoma like creature is hanging from a chandelier hidden in the shadows, they may automatically run a perception check for every character and play it like so:
“The room is small, with wooden floors and wainscots, stained plaster walls, tattered old furniture and an ancient chandelier on the high ceiling. There is no light aside from the lantern Player A carries, but it is bright enough to show cobwebs and dust clinging to every surface.
Player B and D notice something odd about the shape of the hanging light fixture… and then it opens its eye…”
Whether the players who have seen the creature mention it or not is up to them. If the Ghoma were to attack, it would be unable to sneak attack the players who had detected it, but still have the bonus for those who hadn’t.
Traps-
Dungeons are tricky places, and many aren’t intended to be raided by a rag-tag band of adventurers.
There are many kinds of traps – spike pits, trap doors, arrows, bombs. The type is up to the GM. Every trap has a trigger chance, which is rolled. Certain item or skill effects alter a player's chance of triggering traps, such as the Quicksand Ring which reduces the chance of sinking in quicksand or forced movement (such as conveyors or water rapids), or Airborne which makes a player immune to floor hazards.
How the trap affects the player is dependent on the trap, and thus, the GM. Some may harm, others may simply deposit you where you didn't want to go...
Loot-
Some rooms may have chests, or - more commonly – pots. Players may choose to open or break these for loot. Loot from pots is usually rupees, hearts, or low rarity items and is kept by the player who found them. Contents of the chest may be much larger, and the GM may determine that they will be split with the group. If not, the player may choose to keep them or share them.
Loot found like this is obtained immediately, unless stated otherwise. If the GM determines otherwise (such as if the players find weapons or armor), the loot will be distributed at the end of the dungeon.
As of the new Looting update, players may choose to loot enemies they have defeated to possibly find treasure or monster parts! (See here for more details on Looting)
Items and skill usage–
Players may make use of any items they have in their inventory in any way they see fit. They may also use any skills they have outside of combat EXCEPT for heals. For example, Player B may be a sorcerer – they could use skills like incinerate or fireball to light torches. So long as the player is able to roleplay it to work appropriately, the GM can let them do so.
Rewards-
All dungeons give rewards, including rupees, a piece of heart and some randomly rolled items. There may also be dungeon specific items. The recipient of rewards is determined by RNG – but the GM will try to keep it fair! If the RNG lands on player A for every single item, it will be rerolled until distribution is more even.
There is nothing to stop players from selling, trading or even upright giving their rewards to other players.
Resting -
A recent addition to dungeons, in the interest of making them more challenging or easier depending on how the players choose to play, groups can rest mid-dungeon. Provided the entire party agrees, the group may set up camp for a few hours to recuperate. This can provide a short break from puzzle solving and combat for a little roleplaying, too!
Resting isn't without its dangers, however. For every hour the group rests, while they do recover 5% HP, there is also a 10% chance of them being jumped by the monsters within the dungeon. Regardless of the player's collective perception - this sneak attack always passes. Players may rest for a maximum of 8 hours, and the duration must be decided before the rest period begins. How soon the group can rest again is entirely up to the GM's digression.
Resting also gives players access to a campfire which acts as a Cooking Pot, should they choose to use it.