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Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition
Heroes
of the
Dungeon Crawl
Basic Charts Edition Basic Charts Edition
Written by Don Martin II Edited by Don Martin II Basic Old School (BOS) Games Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl is copyright 2007, Don Martin II
Visit the Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl blog site at: http://hotdc.blogspot.com/
A Six Sided Dice System
A NOTE ABOUT THIS BOOK

The Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl (HotDC) Basic Charts book is NOT the full version of the game. The vital game mechanics used to play are included here, but full descriptions of everything are not. Be sure to read through the entire book before playing if you intend to be the Hero Guide of the game and only the parts covering Game Character creation and equipment to purchase if you are planning to be a Gamer. There is enough information within these pages to take the Game Characters from 0 to 4th Degree without too much difficulty. However, a resourceful Hero Guide can take it further than that by extrapolating the basic Creature statistics for higher Degree Creatures and adding Incantations for Mages and Priests at higher Degrees. Please be very careful when adding new Incantations as they can greatly effect game balance. Please note that the rules depicted within these pages can and will change between now and when the First edition of HotDC is released. The purpose of this book is to introduce players to a new game with an old school feel to it. With these rules, a pencil & paper (both regular and graph) and at least three six sided dice, your group can be at the table and gaming within minutes. With the HotDC Basic Charts, you will be able to: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Roll your Game Character statistics Pick a race and profession for your Game Character Assign Life Points and other ability statistics to your Game Character Pick Priest and Mage Incantations from a chart covering Degrees from 0 to 3 Purchase equipment from a full list of items Determine your new Game Character's Attack Strength and Defense Strength Master the easy to learn Attack-Defense Combat System Take on the role of the Hero Guide Stock a Dungeon of 0 to 3 Degree Creatures Stock various items and treasure throughout the dungeon Add many levels to the dungeon using the map and scenario included within this book to get started Play Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl and have fun
Note: These are merely the base mechanics of the game as they were as of the release of Version .91. They will take Game Characters from 0 to 4th Degree. Rules may change between now and the release of the Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl Basic Rule Book.
About Heroes Of The Dungeon Crawl

Basic Charts Edition It was about 25 Years ago when I first played a Role Playing Game (RPG). It was a basic game that allowed newcomers like myself to easily learn the ropes without a pile of books and rules to study. In a matter of minutes, I was rolling the dice and off on my first of many adventures. What I liked about that game was it was simple, while offering loads of content for hours and hours of game play. We would spend countless hours exploring multi leveled dungeons, revealed to us a little bit at a time on graph paper. I remember the anticipation and excitement as we approached a door, wondering what might be behind it. When I decided to revisit the world of RPG gaming after a few years away from the action, I felt bombarded by stacks of rule books and miniature figures. This was a turn off to me. I mean, if I wanted to sit at a table and study a pile of books, I'd go back to high school. What happened to that simple game that I loved? Don't misunderstand me. Those other games offer loads of fun and adventure, but the massive pile of books needed for some of them are a turn off to potential new players. They require more money and study time than some people are willing to spend. I couldn't help but think that a simpler game system could help introduce many newcomers to the wonderful world or RPG's. Where is that game that can have the players exploring a dungeons full of monsters and treasures in a matter of minutes? Well, look no further. Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl is here, and all you need to start playing is a pencil and some paper, at least one six sided dice (three minimum recommended) and this book. HotDC has been simplified and goes back to the roots of table top RPG's. We start with four major classes (Warrior, Rogue, Mage and Priest) and four races (Human, Elf, Dwarf and Halfling). We use a simple system for combat and Magic. We keep the game simple. If you seek a game with many charts for combat and magic, seek elsewhere. What's not inside are sets of charts for optional rules for fighting and spell casting. If you want rules for doing a back flip, decapitating your enemy, while blindfolded, followed by dancing a happy little jig over the corpse of your vanquished foe, you have the wrong game. So, don't be afraid. Create that Warrior or Rogue, get that spell book or holy symbol, grab your dice, and let's go. There's trouble in the dungeon. There's riches to be found. Only you can make a difference. Are you brave enough to get the job done?
Table Of Contents
Page 5 5 6 6 6 7 7-8 9 9-10 10 11 11-12 12 13 14 15 15 16 17 18 18 19-20 21-22 23 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 25 25 26 26 27 Contents How To Use This Book What's It All About? The Dice Winning To Hack Or To Roll Play Part 1: Introduction Understanding The Terminology Of The Game Part 2: Game Character Creation Rolling Up A New Game Character Rolling Up Your Game Character Ability Scores Might Cunning Agility Personality (Optional) Brief Race Descriptions, Race Ability Chart, Race Resistance Roll Adjustments Profession Descriptions, Profession Ability Chart Degree Advancement Chart, Character Life Dice Chart Priest Repel Living Dead Ability Chart, Rogue Ability Chart, Rolling For Starting Money Items Cost & Weight List, Movement Charts Part 3: Resistance Rolls & Magic Incantations Resistance Roll Rules, Creature Base Resistance Roll Numbers Mage Incantation Chart, Mage 0, Ist, 2nd and 3rd Degree Incantations Priest Incantation Chart, Priest 0, Ist, 2nd and 3rd Degree Incantations Game Character Sheet Part 4: The Adventure The Order Of Play Keeping Track Of The Game Time First Move & Alertness Rolls Looking For Hidden Doors Rules For Bandaging Resting To Heal Creature Reaction And Hired Help Reaction Resolve Part 5: Encounters & Combat Resolution Attack Strength Description & Chart, Defense Strength Description & Chart, Languages Learned Chart Weapon Damage/AS Adjustment Chart, Armor/DS Adjustment Chart, Game Character ADS Base Numbers, Suggested Creature Strength Base Numbers, Quest Completion AP Bonus Chart, Creature AP Awards & Bonuses, Missile Weapon Range Adjustment Chart Combat Procedure Chart, Combat Procedure Explained Part 6: Creature Charts Explaining The Terms Of The Creature Statistics 0, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Degree Creature Charts Roaming Creatures Check, Playing With Creature Strength And Degree, About Degree Draining, About NGC's, Demeanor (Optional) Part 7: Treasure Charts Treasure Charts Optional Rules (Special Skills, Attack Strength & Defense Strength Training and Armor Absorption) Things A Hero Guide Should Know, Demeanor (Optional) Part 8: The Basic Adventure The Basic Adventure Dungeon Maps (2 levels) Dont Let The Dice Rule You Part 9: HotDC Board Game Style Rules Board Game Style Rules
28 29 29 30-31 33 33 33-34 35 36-37 38 38 39-40 41 42 42
Inspiration drawn from Tom Moldvay, Frank Mentzer, Dave Cook, John Eric Holmes, Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, Steve Jackson, Ian Livingstone and the guys at the table back in the day. 4
How To Use This Book

The Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl Basic Charts Edition covers nine areas that will explain everything from how to run and create an Adventure to creating Gamer Characters to resolving combat situations. They area are: Introduction: This part introduces you to the concept behind the game and some of the terms that will be used to describe certain aspects of the game. Game Character Creation: This part introduces you to the different character Professions and races available for play and what abilities they have. It teaches you how to create your own Game Character. Magic Incantations: If you choose Mage or Priest as a Profession, you will be allowed Magic Incantations that will prove useful on adventures. This part briefly explains what those Incantations are and what they do. It also explains Resistance Rolls. The Adventure: This part explains what your players will need to know about getting their group together for an adventure, how to proceed in a Dungeon, hiring help (Non Gaming Characters), the rules of movement, the concept of game time and that sort of thing. The Hero Guide will find useful information, such as how to check for Roaming Creatures and how to handle awarding Adventure Points to the Game Characters. Encounters & Combat Resolution: Inevitably, an encounter will happen, possibly resulting in combat. This part will give guidelines on how to proceed through these situations. Creatures: This section introduces the Hero Guide to the foes the Game Characters will encounter. All of the statistics of these creatures are available here and should not be read by anybody but the Hero Guide. Treasure: This part deals with the loot at the end of the battle and offers up charts that allow the Hero Guide to roll to check for what treasure the various creatures may be guarding in the Dungeon. The art of awarding treasure is discussed as well. A Dungeon Sample: This part will offer a sample Dungeon the Hero Guide can take new players through. It is partially stocked, but the HG will have to stock the rest. Suggestions are offered for how to create your own Dungeon Quest Adventure. Board Game Options: You may wish to take a break from being HG and just play a little Hack N Slash HotDC. This section explains how you can do just that with some basic guidelines. Remember, the rules in this book are guidelines to get your game started and moving as quickly and easily as possible. In the beginning, you should follow them as closely as possible to get a feel for the game. As you become accustomed to the rules, you may wish to adjust them according to your taste. Be sure to make a note of any changes you make to the rules on a piece of paper to keep things consistent for your players. If things change too much without player input, it can have a negative effect on the game. If players understand that the rule adjustments are for all players involved and will be used consistently, there shouldn't be a problem.
What's It All About?

Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl (HotDC) is a "rules light" Role Playing Game (RPG) that needs just three six sided dice, some paper and two or more people with good imaginations to make it happen. The rules within these pages will serve to get you started, and as you learn, you may discover areas in the rule book where you can adjust things to fit your own Adventure Setting. What HotDC is really about is making easy to understand rules to encourage new players. We will discuss what the various terms mean further on in this section and throughout the book, but one player will act as Hero Guide (HG), or the person creating and describing the various aspects of the Adventure to the other players. The Hero Guide is responsible for the actions of any Creatures or Non Gamer Characters (NGC's) the players come across. The other players will create and control their own Gamer Characters (GC). Players will learn what dice need to be rolled to create a character, how to equip that character and what Magic Incantations they may cast. The players will then use the information given to them by the Hero Guide to choose their course of action. The exchange of information between the players and Hero Guide continues throughout the gaming session, and dice will be rolled several times to resolve combat and other situations as needed. 5
The Dice
In Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl, the only dice needed are six sided dice. You can play with one dice, but the recommended total is three. You can choose to spice up your game by buying several different colored dice for certain situations, such as three white dice for Combat Attacks and Resistance Rolls, red dice for damage rolls and blue dice for Alertness and First Move Rolls, but that is totally up to you. The Six Sided Dice (SSD) System was chosen to help make it easier for new players to start gaming, and chances are you have six sided dice at home among your other board games. Also, the SSD System is very easy to learn. For example, two six sided dice will be rolled in combat situations. The short hand term for that would be rd2, or roll dice 2. You may have a bonus of 2 based on your attribute or weapon being used. In that case, it would be rd2+2, or roll dice two +2. In other words, your total rolled was a 7, but with your +2 bonus, it's now 9. The terms for weapon damage or an Orbs of Fire Incantation will be similar. For instance, a standard sword would be rd1+2 (One six sided dice, adding 2 to the rolled total), while an Orbs of Fire Incantation might be rd5 (roll five six sided dice).
Winning
The fun of HotDC is that the game never truly ends. While a particular Dungeon Crawl or Adventure may end well or badly for the GC, it is not the end of the game. The real goal of the game is to have fun, while trying to build your GC up to a Heroic Degree. At 10th Degree, a GC has achieved Heroic Legend status and has earned a place of honor in the Hall of Heroes. You may retire the GC at that point, or that GC may go on to become the ruler of his own land. It is recommended that new GC's are created at that point, allowing the old ones to be retired or turned into major NGC's for the next Adventure Campaign. Now, you may look at earning the 10th Degree and retiring as "winning" at HotDC, but it really is only the end of one heroic chapter in an ongoing story. If the Adventure Campaign is run properly, getting to the 10th Degree won't be easy and will take several gaming sessions to achieve.
To Hack Or To Role Play

There are many schools of thought as to what it means to role play, and the players are encouraged to play in a manner that is most comfortable for them. The "right" way to do it is the way that is most fun for the group as a whole. You may choose to create a character called Sylvia The Mage, give her a back ground and immerse yourself in the role. Games such as this encourage all players to speak at the table only in character. Or, Sylvia The Mage may just serve the purpose of the one who uses magic, and that is the role the player uses her for. The great debate in the RPG community is whether it is better to play a Hack N Slash (Kill creature, loot treasure, gain a Degree) style of game, or one where you immerse yourself in the role of your game character. The simple answer is to do what is fun for you and your fellow gamers. The rules of HotDC work both ways. It is our hope that the set of rules within these pages are easy enough to understand that they encourage new players to give the world of Role Playing Games a shot. To many of us, a huge Dungeon Crawl was a big part of the fun factor of RPG'ing. It is not the only way to play, but it can lead to hours of fun in any gaming session. The new Hero Guide is strongly encouraged to read through this entire book, but don't worry. It's not too long, and you'll be glad you did. Then, the fun will really begin. Certain sections are also acceptable for players to read, but only those sections detailing Gamer Character creation.
Part 1: Introduction
Understanding The Terminology Of The Game
We will use several terms to describe certain actions in the game, and some of those may described elsewhere as well. These terms will come up often in this book, so let's have a look at them. Hero Guide (HG): The Hero Guide is responsible for running the Adventure for the Gamers. This means the HG will not only be responsible for running the game on game night, but also stocking the Dungeons and filling out the overall Adventure map that will include the towns, locations of Dungeons and other details. The new HG need not rush into filling out a big map in the beginning. Simply create a Dungeon and let the players purchase their equipment from the list. The town and more Adventure Campaign details can emerge in future sessions as the HG learns and gets more comfortable with HotDC. As HG, you are the referee of the game, and you will need to read the entire rulebook to gain an understanding of what is required of you. Gamer: Gamers are the regular players who create their Gamer Characters to go on Adventures. A game session generally requires an HG and at least one gamer (3-5 recommended). Part 2 will explain what is needed to create your Gamer Character. The Gamer will control the actions of their Gamer Character based on information given to them by the HG. Gamer Character (GC): Game or Gamer Characters are just that. Each gamer has at least one GC created using the rules in Part 2. The Gamer controls the actions of their GC. Non Gamer Character (NGC): During the course of an adventure, Gamer Characters will cross paths with various Non Gamer Characters. All NGC's actions are controlled by the Hero Guide. GC's may hire the services of certain NGC's, but in certain situations the HG may determine that the NGC's will act in manners not in line with Gamer Character's goals. Dungeon: The Dungeon in HotDC is a place generally underground with several rooms, filled with Creatures, treasures and traps. Gamer Characters will spend many nights clearing these places out and returning home with their rewards, if they survive. A Dungeon can have one or many levels. Adventure: Dungeons are included in the Adventure, but in HotDC, an Adventure represents the overall campaign that the Gamer Characters are exploring. The Adventure will include maps representing the realms explored and notes detailing what is there.. In addition to the locations of the Dungeons, maps will show locations of the various towns and villages, forests, deserts and other points of interest. Successful Gamer Characters will enter many Dungeons during the course of an Adventure. Leader: In the interest of keeping a gaming session moving, a Gamer may act as Leader of the group. In this case, the Leader isn't actually leading the group. The Leader will consult with the group on the next course of action and relay that information to the HG. Map Manager (MM): The Gamers will need a map detailing the Dungeons or areas they are in, or they could get lost. One Gamer in the group should act as Map Manager, using the details given by the HG to create a map for the group. Creature: In HotDC, Creature is generally the term used to describe the enemy the GC's encounter in a Dungeon or Adventure. This rule book will offer Charts for some of the various creatures available for GC's to encounter. A resourceful HG will likely add many more to the list. Combat: The GC's will go into battle against the various Creatures quite often, and the term Combat will be used to describe that phase of the encounter. You may also hear the term Ranged or Missile Combat for bow & arrows and those types of weapons, and Hand To Hand Combat for sword fights and weapons of that nature. Adventure Points (AP's): After victory in battle, the successful completion of a Quest, an act of bravery or good Role Playing, the Gamer Character will earn Adventure Points. When you earn enough AP's, you will gain a Degree. Degree: One of the goals in HotDC is to gain Degrees, which enable GC's to become more powerful. Creatures 7
Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition also have Degrees. The higher the Degree, the more powerful a GC or Creature can be. Incantations: Priest or Mage Game Characters are able to use magic Incantations, such as healing a party member or casting an Orb Of Fire at an enemy. The higher the degree of the GC, the more Incantations available. Some Creatures will also be able to use Incantations as well. Resistance Roll (RR): In certain situations, GC's will come face to face with special attacks, such as fire, poison, magic and other things. GC's will need to roll the dice for a Resistance Roll to lessen damage, keep from dying or whatever. Life Dice (LD): For every Degree a GC has earned, they earn a Life Dice, which determines how many Life Points they have. The various creatures encountered will also have Life Dice and will present a bigger challenge at higher Life Dice totals. Life Points (LP): Life Points determine how healthy a GC or Creature is. If that number drops to 0, the character will most likely die. It's always best to keep your LP total up as high as possible. Attack Strength (AS): In combat, the Attack Strength is one of the most important stat numbers in the game. A GC's AS number is factored against an opponent's DS or CS number in combat, and after the dice are rolled, a hit or miss is determined. Defense Strength (DS): In combat, the Defense Strength is one of the most important stat numbers in the game. When attacked, a GC's DS number is factored against an opponent's AS or CS number. After the dice are rolled, a hit or miss is determined. Creature Strength (CS): In combat, the Creature Strength is one of the most important stat numbers in the game. When attacked, a Creature's CS number is factored against an opponent's AS or DS number. After the dice are rolled, a hit or miss is determined.
Part 2: Game Character Creation

Rolling Up A New Game Character (The Character Sheet) Might: Might is a measure of a GC's Strength. Warriors base their Profession on their might. The higher a Warrior's Might, the better they will perform in battle. Cunning: Cunning is a combination of how wise and smart a GC is. Mages and Priests rely on their Cunning to use their Magic Incantations, and the higher the number, the better. Cunning also effects Resistance Rolls. Agility: Agility is a measure of how fast and accurate a GC is. A Rogue relies on Agility to perform certain tasks, and the skill also comes into play in combat with ranged weapons. The higher a Rogue's Agility, the better. Attack Strength: In combat, a GC's Attack Strength helps determine if they hit or miss their target. You will learn further down how to determine your AS, but it involves what weapon you use and your Might (sometimes Agility). Defense Strength: In combat, a GC's Defense Strength helps determine if they are hit or manage to avoid their opponent's attack. You will learn further down how to determine your DS, but it involves what armor you use and your Agility. Degree: Sometimes called level, your Degree refers to how accomplished your GC is on the battle field and adventuring in general. When you gain enough Adventure Points, you advance a Degree. It is recommended that all GC's start at 0 Degree, but you can start at 1st Degree if your Hero Guide approves. Adventure Points: When a GC slays an enemy, completes a quest or does something else that a Hero Guide deems noteworthy, he gains Adventure Points. Gain enough AP's and you gain a Degree. All GC's start at 0 AP's. Starting Money: You will start with a set amount of gold determined by rolling four six sided dice (or rd4). Resistance Rolls: You will be given a base number for each of your four Resistance Rolls categories, an rd1 will be added to each base number. When you need to make a Resistance Roll against something, such fire or poison, you must match or beat the RR total for that particular category to be successful. Those rolls will be made on an rd3 and will be explained elsewhere in this book. Magic Incantations: If your GC is a Mage or Priest, you will have Magic Incantations (also known as magic spells) that will prove useful in the Adventure. You can consult the list for available Incantations to memorize. Repelling The Living Dead: One of the most important functions of a Priest in the adventuring party is the ability to Repel Living Dead creatures, such as skeletons or zombies. If successful on an rd3 check, the Priest will turn away or kill a certain number or Living Dead foes. Rogue Abilities: The Rogue will prove useful to the group when challenged by locked doors, traps and other such obstacles that get in the way from time to time. An rd3 check on picking a lock, for instance, will determine if a Rogue has managed to open a door or locked treasure chest. But beware of traps. There are several areas where a Rogue's abilities can come into play. Equipment: All GC's start out with some equipment based on how much starting money they have. As they adventure, they will continue to add to that list. Movement Combat: After you have calculated the weight of all of the GC's equipment, you can determine how far they can move in a combat round. The lower total is for combat movement. Movement Normal: After you have calculated the weight of all of the GC's equipment, you can determine how far they can move in a turn. The higher total is for normal movement. Demeanor: Demeanor is the way the GC or Creature views the world, and you generally have good, moderate and bad Demeanors. This is an optional rule. 9
Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition Name: You can't go around adventuring without one of these. Otherwise, what will your fellow adventurers call you? Sex: Male or female. There are no advantages for either one in HotDC. Biography (Optional): Role Players may want to come up with a little background on their GC in order to add a little color to the game. Where is your GC from? What are his goals? Where did he train for his Profession? It's up to you to come up with this information.
Rolling Your Game Character Ability Scores

For rolling up your new Gaming Character, you will be using three six sided dice. You will roll all three dice (rd3) and subtract the lowest number from that total. For example, your totals are 5, 4 and 3. You would subtract the 3, giving you a total of 9 for that roll. You may use a piece of scratch paper to write your three totals down. Then, you can assign each of the three numbers to the category of your choosing, rather than simply rolling in the order of Might, Cunning and Agility. You may choose to roll up a Rogue, meaning you would want the highest total to be Agility. As an optional rule, your Hero Guide may allow you to swap points. That is, you may choose to take a point from a stat and move it to another stat. Lets say you have a 10 Might and want to raise a 5 Cunning. Simply drop your Might to 9 and raise your Cunning to 6. Another optional rule, explained on each statistic, is exceptional Might, Cunning or Agility. When rolling your GC, you only count the best two of the three dice. In the event that you roll three 6's, you may consider that statistic a 13. This will allow for an extra bonus for that statistic as explained on the next three pages.
Starting A Game Character At 0 Degree or 1st Degree The Chart Step 1: Roll your Ability Scores Step 2: Chose A Race & Class and set Resistance Roll numbers Step 3: Roll Life Points at 1st Degree or use half max LP's at 0 Degree Step 4: Roll for Starter Money, Purchase Equipment and determine movement rate Step 5: Find your Attack Strength and Defense Strength for hand to hand and ranged combat Step 6: List First Incantations, Rogue Abilities or Repel Living Dead Abilities Step 7: Name Your GC
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Might
In battle and other tests of strength, the GC relies on his Might or physical power. Might is the Main Requirement for Warriors. In hand to hand combat, you apply a bonus or a penalty depending on the GC's Might score to all attack and damage rolls. When figuring a GC's Attack Strength in hand to hand combat, might adjustments are factored in (This will be explained further down in the Attack Strength section). In missile combat, Might adjustments are made for damage. In the event of a low Might score penalty on damage, the penalty cannot reduce damage upon successful hit to lower than 1. Below, the Might Chart shows how to find your GC's Might adjustment.
Might Chart
No. 2-3 4-5 6-8 9-10 11-12 13 Description Extremely Weak Weak Average Strong Very Strong Exceptionally strong Adjustments -2 on Attack/Damage -1 on Attack/Damage No adjustment in combat +1 on Attack/Damage +2 on Attack/Damage +3 on Attack/Damage
Optional Might Rules

In HotDC, our goal is to have fun and allow Gamers to get right in there with their GC's and engage in battle. One obstacle to that is doors that won't open and don't happen to be locked. We just assume that if it's not locked or somehow enforced to keep intruders out, a door can be opened. However, the HG may determine that a test of Might may be needed to determine if all closed doors can be opened. In that event, you may set up a rule where the Gamer rolls a six sided dice (rd1) with a 1 or 2 determining success. You may also use high or low Might bonuses in the roll as well, but a 1 should always succeed. The HG may also choose to use the Might score as a factor in a GC's heath. In that event, you can use the Might Chart and use Might bonuses and penalties as part of the Life Point calculating process. Example; a GC with a Might of 9 would add one to his LP total at each Degree. If you choose to use this rule in your game, a GC with a low Might score can still have no less than 1 LP per Degree. These are optional rules, but you may choose to use them to enhance your game.
Cunning
On the adventure, GC's will be called on for their Intellect and to show how wise they are in the ways of the world. This is called Cunning in HotDC, and it is the Main Requirement for the Mage and Priest GC. Cunning effects the Mage's ability to remember Incantations and also effects Resistance Rolls, including those that test will power. A GC's ability to learn the languages of some of the creatures encountered in an Adventure is also effected by their Cunning score. A Mage can start out with additional Incantations for their Book Of Incantations based on a good Cunning score. If they have a real high score and start out at 0 Degree, they will be able to cast an additional 1st Degree Incantation. For all GC's in general, the Cunning score will affect how they interact with others. Lower scores, like a 2 or a 3 mean they have trouble speaking and can't read or write. At 6-8, the GC understands the Regional language (That is the regular language of the Adventure Campaign. If your Adventure Campaign was set in Mexico, it would be Spanish). GC's usually understand other languages as described elsewhere in this book. If your GC's Cunning is higher than 8, the chart below will instruct you on how many additional languages he will know. Your Hero Guide will let you know what languages are available, either by the chart listed elsewhere in this book, or by a chart created by the HG. Some HG's will have their Gamer roll to determine what language the GC will know, while others will simply let the Gamer choose. This is up to the Hero Guide. You must determine what languages the GC knows before he can begin adventuring. As mentioned above, Cunning also effects the GC's Resistance Rolls against Incantations, Elements and other things. A high Cunning score can bring a bonus to the roll, while a low Cunning score brings a penalty.
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Cunning Chart (For Speaking)

No. 2-3 4-5 6-8 9-10 11-12 13 Description Has trouble speaking, cannot read or write Cannot read or write Can write simple words Reads and writes Regional languages Reads and writes Regional languages Reads and writes Regional languages Adjustments No adjustment No adjustment No adjustment +1 additional language +2 additional languages +3 additional languages
Cunning Chart (For Book Of Incantations)

No. 2-3 4-5 6-8 9-10 11-12 13 Description Not Smart Enough For Incantations Not Smart Enough For Incantations Smart Enough For Incantations A Good Memory An Excellent Memory Photographic Memory Adjustments
+1 additional Incantation* +2 additional Incantations* +2 additional Incantations/ Can Memorize an extra Incantation**
*This 1st Degree Incantation applies only to beginning Game Characters book of Incantations **This 1st Degree Incantation applies only to beginning Game Characters who start at 0 Degree
Cunning Chart (For Resistance Rolls)

No. 2-3 4-5 6-8 9-10 11-12 13 Adjustments +2 Penalty +1 Penalty No Adjustment -1 Bonus -2 Bonus -3 Bonus
Optional Luck or Intuition Statistic

In HotDC, we only use the three GC statistics of Might, Cunning and Agility. This is in the interest of keeping it simple and easy to play. However, at the HG's discretion, a fourth trait, such as Luck or Intuition, can be created to use for Resistance Rolls. If you go this route, then that Luck or Intuition trait should be the Main Requirement for the Priest GC.
Agility
During the adventure, GC's will be called upon to test their speed, reflexes and coordination. In HotDC, this is ability is called Agility, and it is the Main Requirement of the Rogue GC. An Agility adjustment is applied to a GC's Defense Strength score as well as all missile combat rolls (This will be explained further down in the Attack Strength and Defense Strength sections). Below, the Agility Chart shows how to find your GC's Agility adjustment.
Agility Chart
No. 2-3 4-5 6-8 9-10 11-12 13 Description Clumsy, Slow & Poor Aim Slow & Poor Aim Average Quick & Good Aim Quick & Excellent Aim Very Fast & Accurate Aim Adjustments -2 on Missile Attack/Defense Strength -1 on Missile Attack/Defense Strength No adjustment +1 on Missile Attack/Defense Strength +2 on Missile Attack/Defense Strength +3 on Missile Attack/Defense Strength
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Personality (Optional)
This is an optional trait that the HG may want to add to the game. Personality is the ability to negotiate and persuade others to your cause. You can say that a GC's looks are a part of the Personality score. A GC with a high score on Personality tends to be liked and respected. In negotiations, the Personality score can come into play, and it might be in the best interest of the group to have GC's with higher scores do the talking for the group in certain situations. At times, GC's may wish to hire help for the adventure. This may happen for a variety of reasons, such as NGC's to give the group a little more fighting power, torch bearers for Dungeon Adventures, pack carriers and so forth. A GC's Personality will help determine how many people he can hire and how loyal they will be. This is an optional trait, and if used, your HG will tell you what sort of help is available to be hired. The higher the GC's Personality, the more hired help he can have and the more loyal they will be. An HG may further adjust loyalty for hired help depending on how well paid they are and how well treated they are. For instance, a hired Warrior who is paid well and isn't sent first into battle all the time is more likely to stay when things get tough. A mistreated torch bearer may turn and run at the worst possible time.
Personality Chart (optional)

No. 2-3 4-5 6-8 9-10 11-12 13 Description Somewhat Abrasive A Bit Of A Jerk Average Likeable Friendly And Outgoing A Natural Leader Adjustments -2 on Negotiations -1 on Negotiations No adjustment +1 on Negotiations +2 on Negotiations +3 on Negotiations Hired Help 1 2 3 5 6 7 HH Resolve 9 8 7 6 5 4
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Brief Race Descriptions

Human Humans come in all shapes and sizes, though they are generally a little taller and heavier than elves. Humans have colonized the lands and established kingdoms with castles, towns of all sizes and farms. Generally, elves, dwarves and halflings avoid human settlements as some have had conflicts with humans in the colonization process. Humans have established the system of law and the monetary system. Though the three other races have their own way of doing things, they generally obey the law in human run colonies. Most of the civilized population is human. Humans can choose any profession they want and have no minimum stats required. The Humans have established the regional dialect, and they also know the languages of orc and kobold. Dwarves Halflings About 4 to 4 1/2 feet tall and weigh 140 to 160 pounds. The men have long beards and usually red or brown hair. They usually live in mountains or caves cut into hillsides and are constantly mining those areas and building big halls within. They love gold and silver and can craft them into many things. Dwarves love meat and Dwarven Ale. Because of their stature and their toughness, Dwarves make good Warriors, but they can be any Profession they choose. You must have a minimum 8 Might to be a Dwarf. Because of their time spent in the dark mountains, they have Dark Vision and can see in unlit areas for up to 50 feet. They also have an above average ability to detect Hidden Doors. Dwarves speak the regional (common) dialect as well as orc and goblin. About 3 to 3 1/2 tall and weigh 55 to 75 pounds. They have curly hair and hairy feet. They live in places called shires in hillsides and grasslands. They are fond of good food and gardening. They make good Rogues due to their small size and ability to sneak around, but they can choose whatever Profession desired. You must have a minimum of 8 on Agility to be a Halfling. Their small stature precludes their use of weapons larger than short swords or short bows. They speak the regional (common) dialect as well as goblin and kobold. They get a +1 to AS when engaged in ranged combat and a +2 to DS when facing Creatures bigger than humanoid size. They have the ability to hide as a Rogue as long as the area is not magically lit. Elves About 5 to 5 1/2 feet tall and 110 to 130 pounds. They have pointed ears and are of slender build. Elves usually live in woodland areas in elaborate homes built high among the trees or near the water. They have a fondness for wine and music. Elves also have an interest in the workings of magic and make good Mages, though they can be any Profession they choose. You must have at least an 8 in Agility and Cunning to be an Elf. Elves love silver and excel in jewelry craft. They also craft fine Elven Chain Mail armor from silver. Elves are generally good swimmers and have good eyesight and hearing. They have Dark Vision and can see 50 feet in unlit areas. Elves speak the Regional (common) dialect as well as hobgoblin and orc.
Race Ability Chart

Ability Language Vision Detect Hide RR Adjust Min. Score Human Regional orc, kobold Normal Normal Normal Normal None Elf Regional hobgoblin, orc Dark Vision* 1-2 on rd1 Normal See Chart 8 Cun./8 Agil. Dwarf Regional orc, goblin Dark Vision* 1-2 on rd1 Normal See Chart 8 Might Halfling Regional goblin, kobold Normal Normal As Rogue** See Chart 8 Agility
* Ability to see in the dark for up to 50 feet ** When battling a Creature above humanoid size, Halflings get a bonus of 2 on their DS and a bonus of 1 on AS when using a ranged weapon. Also, if a magical Light Incantation is being used, Halflings are unable to hide. Race Resistance Roll Adjustments Resistance Roll Magic & Incantations Element Special Effect Dwarf 0 -2 -1 14 Elf -2 0 -2 Human Halfling 0 -2 0 0 0 0
Brief Profession Descriptions

Warrior Warriors are trained for combat. They are proficient in any weapon they choose and can wear any armor. They will generally find themselves at the front of the line in hand to hand combat, but they are also capable of engaging in ranged combat. Warriors can do the grunt work in the party, moving heavier objects, opening doors that are jammed and breaking locks through raw power, though they should have a Rogue check that lock for traps first. Mage Rogue Mages are trained in the art of magic and how it works. Through study and knowledge gained as they advance in Degree, Mages learn more powerful magic Incantations, and they are also able to use magic devices, such as wands. Mages are not skilled in the art of combat as they cannot arm themselves with anything stronger than a dagger, staff or sling & stones. They also cannot wear regular conventional armor as it impedes their Incantation process, though specialty items such as Mage Robes and Braces can help protect them if they can find them. Mages should avoid the front line in combat if at all possible. Rogues are trained in the art of thievery. Through adventuring and gaining the knowledge that comes with gaining Degrees, Rogues become more skilled in the art of lock picking, finding and removing traps, picking pockets and other deeds. Rogues can arm themselves with any weapon they choose, but their craft is such that they only wear armor crafted of leather and no shield. Though they are better equipped than a Mage, Rogues should not be on the front line of battle unless absolutely needed. They are better suited for picking their shots behind the front line with ranged weapons. Priest Priests follow the path laid out by their god. Through prayer, they are able to use magic Incantations, and those Incantations become stronger as they advance in Degree. They can also use some magic Devices, such as staffs, as long as the magic involved is of a Priestly nature. Priests can wear any armor, but their religion forbids any edged weapons. Priests are capable of being on the front line if needed, and their Incantations that heal and cure party members will be useful.
Profession Ability Chart

Ability Life Dice Weapons Armor Abilities Main Req. Warrior rd1+6* Any Any Fighting Might Mage rd1+2* Dagger/Sling Robes/Braces Incantation Cunning Priest rd1+4* Non Edged Any Incan./Repel Cunning Rogue rd1+2 Any Leather/No Shield Rogue Abilities Agility
* When starting at 0 Degree, GC's get half the maximum of 1st Degree, and they receive the other half upon earning 1st Degree
Character Life Dice Chart

Rogue/Mage Priest Warrior Deg. LD LD LD 0 4 LP 5 LP 6 LP 1 8 LP or 10 LP or 12 LP or rd1+2 rd1+4 rd1+6 2 rd1+2 rd1+4 rd1+6 3 rd1+2 rd1+4 rd1+6 4 rd1+2 rd1+4 rd1+6 5 rd1+2 rd1+4 rd1+6 6 rd1+2 rd1+4 rd1+6 7 rd1+2 rd1+4 rd1+6 8 rd1+2 rd1+4 rd1+6 9 rd1+2 rd1+4 rd1+6 10 rd1+2 rd1+4 rd1+6 If you start at 0 Degree, you start at half your maximum LP and get the other half when you earn 1st Degree At each Degree, check your profession and Degree and roll accordingly. 15
Degree Advancement Chart

Deg 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Title Applicant Initiate Novice Apprentice Journeyman Veteran Champion Hero Hero Elite Hero Elder Hero Legend AP's 0 1000 2000 4000 8000 16,000 32,000 64,000 128,000 256,000 512,000
Priest Repel Living Dead Ability

In addition to Incantations, Priests are also granted the ability, through their god, to Repell Living Dead Creatures. Through a ritual involving a holy symbol, the Priest can attempt to Repell (ward off) or destroy the Living Dead enemy, allowing the party to avoid potentially deadly situations. Cret. Deg. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 3 always fails 0 8 11 14 17 18 18 N N N N N 1 5 8 11 14 17 18 18 N N N N 2 3 5 8 11 14 17 18 18 N N N 3 3 3 5 8 11 14 17 18 18 N N Priest Degree 4 5 R R 3 R 3 3 5 3 8 5 11 8 14 11 17 14 18 17 18 18 N 18 6 K R R 3 3 5 8 11 14 17 18 7 K K R R 3 3 5 8 11 14 17 8 K K K R R 3 3 5 8 11 14 9 K K K K R R 3 3 5 8 11 10 K K K K K R K 3 3 5 8
18 success
R means repelled
K means destroyed
N means no chance
Roll 3 six sided dice (rd3) to see if any are repelled. Equal or higher roll than number listed means Priest has repelled rd1 Creatures. R means rd2 Creatures are repelled. K means rd2 creatures are killed. To use this chart, match up the Creature Degree with the Priest Degree on the chart to determine the roll needed. A 2nd Degree Priest needs an 11 to Repel a 3rd Degree Zombie. Remember a Priest cannot repel any living dead creature without a holy symbol.
Rogue Abilities
The Rogue is trained in the art of thievery and deception. In an adventuring party, the Rogue can use his ability to pick locks and disarm traps. He can also be useful in data gathering by sneaking around undetected or climbing high to get a better view. He can also use his ability to sneak around quietly and gain a sneak attack on a potential enemy. Successful sneak rolls on to an unsuspecting target result in a +4 on the attack and damage. Rogues must have Rogue's tools to accomplish some of these tasks.
Rogue Abilities Chart

Degree of Rogue, chances of success in each category 0 1 2 3 4 5 C-6, AM-14, RM-5, L-6 C-7, AM-15, RM-6, L-6 C-8, AM-16, RM-7, L-6 C-9, AM-17, RM-8, L-6 C-10, AM-18* RM-9, L-6 C-11, AM-18* RM-10, L-6 6 C-12, AM-18*, RM-11, L-9 7 C-13, AM-18*, RM-12, L-9 8 C-14, AM-18*, RM-13, L-9 9 C-15, AM-18*, RM-14, L-12 10 C-16, AM-18, RM-15, L-12
* If an 18 is rolled, you fail. C-Craft (stealing, picking locks, finding/removing traps) AM-Athletic Movement (wall climbing, jumping) RM-Rogue Movement (moving silently, hiding in shadows) L-Listening (listening at doors) On all checks, rd3 to check for success. If you roll the number listed or lower, you succeed.
Rolling For Starting Money

When a new Game Character gets ready to go adventuring for the first time, he needs to head to the local merchant for supplies. He has been training for his perspective profession and has saved his gold pieces for this day. Roll four six sided dice (rd4) and multiply that total by 100. This is what you have to spend. If you roll a 14, for instance, you have 140 gold pieces to spend. Don't worry if you can't buy all of the cool items on the list right off the bat. You will have a chance to get better equipment as you advance in experience and earn more money. Plus, this gives you something to look forward to. 16
Items List
Item Back Pack Small Sack Large Sack Garlic Grappling Hook Hammer 10 Iron Spikes * 5 units each Holy Symbol Holy Water 10' Pole Lantern Hand Mirror Quality Rations 1 wk. Stan. Rations 2 wks. 50' Rope Mallet/5 Stakes Rogue Tools Tinder Box/Flint Oil Flask 5 Torches * 20 units each Water Skin Wine Wolfs bane Bandage Pack (4 uses) Book of Incantations Optional Potion Healing 0 Degree Scroll Cost 4 1 2 4 20 2 1 22 22 1 8 4 12 5 1 2 22 2 2 1 1 1 10 25 3 Cost 100 100 Weight 15 1 3 1 75 5 50* 1 1 50 25 3 60 150 40 12 10 5 5 100* 5 25 1 60 15 Weight 3* 1* Weapons Cost Battle Axe # 15 Hand Axe 5 Sling/25 Stones 3 Cross Bow 25 Elite Cross Bow 600 25 Bolts 10 * factored in cross bow weight Standard Strong Bow 50 Elite Strong Bow 600 Standard Short Bow 25 Elite Short Bow 600 25 Arrows 10 10 Silver Arrows 15 Standard Dagger 7 Silver Dagger 25 Elite Dagger 400 Standard Short Sword 12 Silver Short Sword 50 Elite Short Sword 500 Standard Sword 20 Silver Sword 75 Elite Sword 600 Standard 2H Sword 25 Silver 2H Sword 90 Elite 2H Sword 700 Standard Mace 10 Elite Mace 500 Club 5 Spear 4 Battle Hammer 7 Elite Battle Hammer 500 Battle Axe 15 Silver Battle Axe 52 Elite Battle Axe 600 Weight Damage 50 rd1+2 5 1-3+1 25 1-3 40 55 * rd1 35 50 20 35 * 5 5 5 12 25 25 35 50 50 65 80 80 95 25 40 40 25 40 55 55 55 70
* HGs may decide what magic is available Movement Charts GC Movement Units Up to 500 501-1000 1001-1400 1401-1800 1801-2600 2601Mule Movement Units Up to 3500 3501-7000 7001-10000 1001 1 Unit = 1 Coin Containers Small Sack Back Pack Large Sack Mule Sack
rd1 rd1 1-3 1-3 rd1 rd1 rd1 rd1+4 rd1+2 rd1+2 rd2 rd3 rd3 rd3+4 rd1 rd1+4 rd1 rd1 rd1 rd1+4 rd1+2 rd1+2 rd2
All Elite Weapons are silver based. Normal 150' 120' 90' 60' 30' 0' Battle 50' 40' 30' 20' 10' 0'
Move 120' 60' 30' 0'
Armor Chain Mail Elven Chain Mail Leather Elite Leather Plate Mail Elite Plate Mail Shield Mage Robes* Arm Braces*
Cost 100 900 40 200 900 2000 10 750 750
Weight 350 250 200 200 450 450 80 150 150
* Can be used together, but CAN NOT be used with any other armor or shield.
250 Units 450 Units 700 Units 900 Units 17
Part 3 Resistance Rolls & Magic Incantations

Casting An Incantation When a Mage or Priest uses an Incantation to cause harm, the Incantation automatically happens at the targeted spot. The target, if living or Living Dead, gets a Resistance Roll. You must rd3 and equal or beat your RR number A successful RR means no harm is done, except in most cases when damage is inflicted to Life Points. A Successful RR in those cases results in half damage. When Resistance Rolls Come Into Play If a Game Character or Creature is threatened by something that effects their health or well being, such as poison, being turned to stone or being burned by the flame of a dragon's breath, they can make a Resistance Roll to avoid damage or lessen the impact of the damage as explained in the previous paragraph. Generally, in attacks of magic or special effects that cause damage, successful Resistance Rolls reduce damage. Sudden Impact and Stinging Mist offer no RR protection. Successful RR's for all other effects that cause Life Point Damage, such as fire and cold, reduce damage to half. Living Dead And Mind Control Living Dead Creatures in many cases have no mental ability and are not effected by Incantations that put Creatures to sleep or under the control of the caster of the Incantation. Skeletons, zombies, ghouls and wights are not considered intelligent and are not effected by these types of Incantation.
Resistance Roll Rules

You have four areas for Resistance Rolls, which are Magic & Incantations, Element, Special Effects and poison. 1 Start with a base of 10 for each of the four categories, rd1 for each one and add the total to 10. Example: A warrior of 0 Degree rolls a 2 for poi son. Add the 10 base to that, and his poison RR number is 12. You must equal or beat that number to make a Resistance Roll. A natural 3 always fails. At each new Degree, you may reroll to see if your RR numbers improve. At 6th Degree, your base number lowers from 10 to 5 and add rd1 to that. At each new Degree from there, you may reroll each category as you did before. The Four Categories Element: Attacks such as flame, cold and lightning are element based. A Resistance Roll is allowed. If it is made, only half damage is taken unless otherwise noted. Magic & Incantation: When hit with an Incantation or certain non element attack based wands or staffs, a Resistance Roll is allowed. If made, you resist the effect. Special Effect: Certain Creatures have a special attack that may petrify, paralyze or frighten the GC. A Resistance Roll is allowed. If made, the GC resists the effect. Poison: Certain Creatures, such as snakes and spiders, have bites that contain poison. Poison can also be delivered on needle traps, weapons and drinks, such as potions. A Resistance Roll is allowed. If made, the GC resists the effect.
Creature Base Resistance Roll Numbers Deg 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 RR Number 13 13 12 11 11 10 8 8 7 7 6
2 3 4
The Creatures RR number works for all four RR categories. However, some creatures will have better RR numbers in some categories as mentioned in their descriptions in the Creature section of the rule book. A natural 3 always fails.
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Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition Mage Incantation Chart Mage Degree and Incantation points per Degree 0-4 1-7 2-13 3-19 4-29 5-38 6-50 7-64 8-77 9-92 10-103 When Incantation Points (IPs) are used after Incantations, they can only be regained after resting for eight hours. The Gamer must choose what Incantations the GC will have based on how many IPs he has and inform the HG what is being memorized. Once enough IPs are available, the GC can use any Incantation. The HG may choose to make Mages earn Incantations above 0 or 1st Degree by research, scroll or paying their mentor for their Book of Incantations. Zero Degree (1 point per Incantation) Distraction Impact Zone: 150 feet Time Of Effect: 1 moment Victim & Symptoms: Causes a noise from opposite direction that may distract foes Fog of Confusion Impact Zone: 150 feet Time Of Effect: 1 turn Victim & Symptoms: Causes a heavy fog to appear in area, generally used to flee battle Stinging Mist Impact Zone: 150 feet Time Of Effect: 1 round Victim & Symptoms: Causes a mist that does 1-3 LP damage to all in the area, no Resistance Roll Short Nap Impact Zone: 150 feet Time Of Effect: 1 turn Victim & Symptoms: Only 0-2 Deg creatures effected, and rd2 creatures are put to sleep with no Resistance Roll Gray Hole Impact Zone: One wall or 10 foot floor area Time Of Effect: 1-3 days Victim & Symptoms: Creates a space in another dimension capable of storing 3000 units of stuff Befriend Animal Impact Zone: 100 feet Time Of Effect: 1 week for the average animal/1 RR per week Victim & Symptoms: 1 living creature is put under an Incantation of friendship by the caster Reveal Magic Impact Zone: Caster Time Of Effect: 3 turns Victim & Symptoms: Allows the caster to see all magic things within a 50 foot radius of him Decipher Magic Runes Impact Zone: Caster Time Of Effect: 1 turn Victim & Symptoms: Mage can read magic runes to decipher Incantations 19 First Degree (2 points per Incantation) Magic Slumber Impact Zone: 200 feet Time Of Effect: rd3 turns Victim & Symptoms: rd2 living creatures put to sleep Sudden Impact Impact Zone: 160 feet Time Of Effect: Instant Victim & Symptoms: One or more missiles of rd1+1 damage. Gain a second missile per Degree starting at 4th Degree Light Impact Zone: 140 feet Time Of Effect: 6 turns + 2 per degree of Mage Victim & Symptoms: A 40 foot in diameter light source around the Mage Seal of Closure Impact Zone: One Object Time Of Effect: Permanent Victim & Symptoms: Door, closet or chest. Creatures of lower Degree than caster cannot open object Persuade Impact Zone: 100 feet Time Of Effect: 24 hours average Cunning/I RR per day Victim & Symptoms: One living humanoid is put under an Incantation of friendship by the caster Protection Aura Impact Zone: 1 person Time Of Effect: 2 turns Victim & Symptoms: +2 DS adjustment for recipient in hand to hand combat/+3 DS adjustment for missile combat Air Square Impact Zone: 0 Time Of Effect: 8 turns Victim & Symptoms: Invisible floating platform can carry up to 6000 units Decipher Languages Impact Zone: Caster Time Of Effect: 3 turns Victim & Symptoms: Allows caster to read any language while effect lasts Identify Enchanted Item Impact Zone: One Object Time Of Effect: Permanent Victim & Symptoms: Identify the magic properties of the item it is cast upon Talk to Object Impact Zone: One Object Time Of Effect: 1 turn Victim & Symptoms: Allows an inanimate object to answer simple questions, but the object will not be very smart
Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition Second Degree (3 points per Incantation) Deactivate Magic Impact Zone: 100 feet Time Of Effect: 1 turn Victim & Symptoms: Dispels all magic in a 60' radius of the caster. Does not disarm magic effect, just deactivates it for duration of effect Throw Voice Impact Zone: 100 feet Time Of Effect: 1 turn Victim & Symptoms: The victim will hear voices coming from direction of Incantation Open Lock Impact Zone: 50 feet Time Of Effect: Instant Victim & Symptoms: Will open a non magical lock or a lock magically locked by a caster of equal or lesser Degree of Open Lock's caster Levitate Impact Zone: 1 person or object Time Of Effect: 1 turn Victim & Symptoms: Allows recipient to levitate up to 100 feet for duration. Can also be used on certain objects Hold Person Impact Zone: 60 feet Time Of Effect: 1-3 turns Victim & Symptoms: Holds victim in place for the duration Illusion Impact Zone: 100 feet Time Of Effect: Until touched Victim & Symptoms: Creates whatever illusion the caster desires. The illusion cannot harm anybody. Silken Entanglement Impact Zone: 150 feet Time Of Effect: rd2 rounds Victim & Symptoms: Creates a spider like web in which the victim must make a Resistance Roll vs. magic or be trapped in the web, unable to attack. Victim may attempt a Resistance Roll every round for duration of the Incantation ESP Impact Zone: 100 feet Time Of Effect: 1 turn Victim & Symptoms: Caster can read the mind of the victim Illusionary Copy Impact Zone: 50 feet Time Of Effect: 1-3 turns/until touched Victim & Symptoms: Creates 1-3 illusionary copies of the caster. Copies will be attacked in combat until they disappear Third Degree (4 points per Incantation) Frightening Image Impact Zone: 250 feet Time Of Effect: rd2 turns or contact Victim & Symptoms: Creates a frightening image of a Creature. If intended victim misses RR, he will assume it's real. Image will fight as Creature of no higher than 4th Degree, but it will disappear on contact. If a victim is reduced to 0 LP in combat, he will merely think he is dead for no more than 1-3 turns Orbs of Fire Impact Zone: 200 feet Time Of Effect: immediate Victim & Symptoms: Creates an orb of fire for rd1 damage for each Degree of the caster. Orbs will explode in a 10' radius around the target. A successful RR by the victim cuts the damage in half Dark Vision Impact Zone: touch Time Of Effect: 1-3 days Victim & Symptoms: Allows recipient to have Dark Vision as an Elf or Dwarf for the duration Air Travel Impact Zone: touch Time Of Effect: rd2 turns Victim & Symptoms: Recipient is able to fly through the air for the duration Disappearance Impact Zone: touch Time Of Effect: Until recipient engages in combat Victim & Symptoms: Recipient becomes invisible until they engage in combat, or a HG may set a certain amount of turns for the Incantation to last Bewilderment Impact Zone: 150 feet Time Of Effect: 1 turn Victim & Symptoms: All Creatures within the area must make an RR or be confused and unable to attack enemies. A 1 on an rd1 means the victims will attack each other Mage's Invisible Eye Impact Zone: 300 feet Time Of Effect: 5 turns Victim & Symptoms: Creates an invisible eye that enables the Mage to see within 250 feet of him. The eye cannot see through solid objects Bolt of Lightning Impact Zone: 150 feet Time Of Effect: immediate Victim & Symptoms: Creates a five foot long bolt of lightning that does rd1 damage per Degree of the Mage to the victim. A successful RR by the victim cuts the damage in half Create Myte Impact Zone: 100 feet Time Of Effect: rd2 turns Victim & Symptoms: Creates rd1 Mytes (creatures of element) that will obey the caster for the duration 20
Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition Priest Incantation Chart Priest Degree and Incantation points per Degree 0-2 1-5* 2-8 3-14** 4-20 5-29*** 6-38 7-50^ 8-58 9-77^^ 10-92 First Degree (2 points per Incantation) Healing Touch* Impact Zone: One person Time Of Effect: Instant Victim & Symptoms: Heals rd1+2 Life Points on recipient Detect Evil Intentions Impact Zone: 50 feet Time Of Effect: 1 turn Victim & Symptoms: Reveals if creatures within range have any evil intentions, but not the intentions Light* Impact Zone: 140 feet Time Of Effect: 6 turns + 2 per degree of Priest Victim & Symptoms: A 40 foot in diameter light source around the Priest Create Food Impact Zone: 10 feet Time Of Effect: Permanent Victim & Symptoms: Creates enough food for rd1+6 servings Shield From Evil Impact Zone: One person Time Of Effect: 10 turns Victim & Symptoms: Protects the recipient with a +2 to DS and -2 on Resistance Rolls from attacker Talk With Plants Impact Zone: One plant Time Of Effect: 1 turn Victim & Symptoms: Allows the caster to communicate with the plant, but plant will not be too smart Perceived Injury Impact Zone: One creature Time Of Effect: 1-3 rounds Victim & Symptoms: Causes one creature to believe he sustained an injury of rd1
When Incantation Points (IPs) are used after Incantations, they can only be regained after resting for eight hours. The Gamer must choose what Incantations the GC will have based on how many IPs he has and inform the HG what is being memorized. Once enough IPs are available, the GC can use any Degree of Incantation.
Zero Degree (1 point per Incantation) Life Boost* Impact Zone: One person Time Of Effect: 1 turn Victim & Symptoms: Gives recipient 5 more LP for duration of battle Moment of Truth Impact Zone: 50 feet Time Of Effect: 1 turn Victim & Symptoms: Reveals whether creature or person being spoken to is telling the truth Band Aid* Impact Zone: One person Time Of Effect: Instant Victim & Symptoms: Heals 1-3+2 LP on recipient Deflection Impact Zone: One person Time Of Effect: 1 round Victim & Symptoms: Cast before battle, this Incantation deflects one hit from recipient Temporary Sanctuary Impact Zone: One Person Time Of Effect: 1 Turn Victim & Symptoms: Teleports recipient from battle to random safe place for duration of battle Nourishment Impact Zone: 10 feet Time Of Effect: Permanent Victim & Symptoms: Cannot be done more than two meals in a row, but the entire group instantly feels fed Minor Resistance Roll Assist* Impact Zone: One person Time Of Effect: 1 Turn Victim & Symptoms: Gives recipient a -3 on Resistance Rolls
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Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition Second Degree (3 points per Incantation) Remove Fright* Impact Zone: Touch Time Of Effect: Instant Victim & Symptoms: Removes the effect of fright from the recipient. When cast as Fright, if victims miss RR, they will flee the battle and suffer the effects for rd2 turns Double Healing Touch* Impact Zone: Touch Time Of Effect: Instant Victim & Symptoms: Heals rd2+4 Life Points of damage from the recipient Remove Poison Impact Zone: Object or person Time Of Effect: Instant Victim & Symptoms: Removes effects of poison on the recipient if cast upon him immediately (1 turn) after being poisoned. It can also be used to remove poison effect from an item, but not a Creature Quickening Impact Zone: Touch Time Of Effect: 1 turn Victim & Symptoms: Allows the recipient to move at 2x normal speed for the duration Rest Impact Zone: 60 feet Time Of Effect: Instant Victim & Symptoms: Allows all recipients to feel rested and recover 1-3 Life Points of damage as if they had eight hours of sleep. Does not allow Mages or Priests to recover Incantations Remove Curse* Impact Zone: 1 person or object Time Of Effect: Instant Victim & Symptoms: Removes curse from the recipient Third Degree (4 points per Incantation) Smiting Impact Zone: 1 weapon Time Of Effect: 3 turns Victim & Symptoms: Adds rd1 more points of damage to a weapon when it scores a hit for the duration Cure Disease Impact Zone: touch Time Of Effect: immediate Victim & Symptoms: Cures the recipient of diseases that generally impede ability to attack or heal through rest Triple Healing Touch* Impact Zone: touch Time Of Effect: immediate Victim & Symptoms: Heals rd4 Life Points of damage for the recipient Restore Degree Impact Zone: touch Time Of Effect: immediate Victim & Symptoms: If cast on the victim of a Degree Drain within 1 week, they will regain that lost Degree Restore Flesh Impact Zone: touch Time Of Effect: immediate Victim & Symptoms: Reverses the effect of magic petrifaction on the target, restoring them to flesh Locate Trap Impact Zone: 100 feet Time Of Effect: 1 turn Victim & Symptoms: All traps in the area will glow and become visible to the caster Silence Impact Zone: 150 feet Time Of Effect: 10 turns Victim & Symptoms: The area effected becomes silent and no noises will be generated there. Any creature within the area must make a RR or be effected by the Incantation for the duration
Reversing Priest Incantations

Incantations with a * next to them can be reversed (opposite effect listed) by the Priest. The Incantation MUST be memorized that way before being used. If, for example, Light is memorized, it CANNOT be cast as Darkness.
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Character Name ________________________ Race ___________ Profession _____________ Sex _______ Demeanor __________________ Title _______________ Gold _____________ Degree _____ Adventure Points ____________ Vital Statistics Might ______ Adjust ______ Cunning _____ Adjust ______ Agility______ Adjust ______
Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl Character Sheet
Life Points __________ Attack Strength _________ _________ Defense Strength ________ _________ Languages
Resistance Rolls Special Effect _____ Element _____ Incantations & Magic Devices _____ Poison & Instant Death _____ Rogue & Priest Abilities
Equipment Movement Combat _______ Movement Normal _______ Weapon _____________ Dam __________ ASB ____ Weapon _____________ Dam __________ ASB ____ Weapon _____________ Dam __________ ASB ____ Armor ______________ DSB _______ Armor ______________ DSB _______
Incantations
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Part 4: The Adventure The Order Of Play

Be sure the GC's have calculated their weight for movement in battle and normal mode. The item weight information is on the Item List Page on page 17 and it lists how many units each item weighs. When all items are purchased, add the total units and consult the Movement Charts. You get two numbers, the first being how many feet you can move in normal mode, and the second being how many feet you can move in battle. Remember that any items picked up during the Adventure effect the movement rate. The normal course of action is the Hero Guide will describe what the Game Characters see. Generally, they will see about 50 feet of an area. The GC's will then update their maps and let the HG know what they do next. The HG describes the next area the GC's choose to investigate, and they decide what they do next. This is the way the game moves along. At some point, the GC's will encounter a Creature. Creature Reaction and Combat Procedure Charts are offered in the book. The Combat procedure works generally the same way, though there are rolls to see who goes first. The HG or GC will go first with the other getting their turn next until the battle is resolved. Then comes room investigation for possible treasure. Basically, the Hero Guide must describe what is seen by the Gamers so that the next course of action can be chosen. In this way, the game advances and the plot unfolds.
Keeping Track Of The In Game Time

Two terms you will need to know in the game of HotDC are turns and rounds. In the battle, time goes by faster. A round indicates 15 seconds per move. A turn indicates 15 minutes of time has gone by. When you calculate the weight your GC carries to come up with how fast he can move, you will get two numbers. The bigger number indicates how fast he can move in a turn, while the smaller number indicates movement in a round of battle.
First Move And Alertness Rolls

When an encounter occurs between the party and creatures, two rolls are generally needed to determine what happens next. The first is an Alertness Roll to see if either side is caught off guard. Both sides will rd2. If either side rolls matching numbers (two 5's or whatever), they are caught off guard and lose the right to move for the round. If both sides, or neither, are caught off guard, go to the First Move Roll. Both sides rd2, and the high roll goes first.
Looking For Hidden Doors or Listening At The Door

Certain races and professions of GC's have a better chance at success in both finding Hidden (secret) Doors and listening at the door. However, all GC's have at least a 1 in 6 chance on an rd1 of succeeding at listening at the door or looking for hidden doors.
Rules For Bandaging

A Bandage Pack has assorted bandages and herbs needed for treating wounds and stabilizing the victim. If a GC is reduced to 0 or less Life Points, bandaging can stabilize the character. A good days rest will restore the GC back to 1 Life Point. There is a 1 in 6 chance on an rd1 that the GC will still die unless immediately treated with a healing potion or Incantation. The Hero Guide may also rule that a 1 on a rd1 means death and a 2 on rd1 means death unless treated with a healing potion or Incantation. No training is required to use bandaging to stabilize badly wounded GC's.
Resting To Heal
During an adventure in a Dungeon, an 8 hour rest period will heal GC's of 1-3 Life Points as well as allow Priests and Mages to rememorize Incantations. If the party rests at an inn or a suitable location for a 24 hour period, they can regain rd1 Life Points. 24
Creature Reaction & Hired Help Reaction

Two areas where the HG may use the dice in the beginning as he gets comfortable with things are hired help negotiations and Creature reactions. Every encounter with a Creature need not end in blood shed if the GC's are the type who wish to talk before just grabbing their sword and swinging. In awarding Adventure Points, it is important to know that if a resolution is achieved in an encounter, AP's should be awarded. Everything need not be killed for AP's to be awarded. If the GC's get important information from an encounter, talk their way out of a hostile situation, help the Creatures in some way or whatever, they have earned AP's. Below are two charts for encounters that you will use as Hero Guide. Elsewhere, the possibility of just using instinct rather than dice in some situations is discussed. The Creature Reaction Chart is there to help a Hero Guide determine what the Creatures will do either upon site of the GC's or after negotiations have begun. Note that in some cases (such as with Living Dead) negotiations aren't going to work. The Hired Help Chart is also there to help determine reactions. If that part is role played well, you may wish to forgo the dice roll and reward good role play. On both charts, you roll two dice (rd2) and consult the charts. A Hired Help cost chart is also included to help determine what is available to the GC's and at what cost. All weapons will already be equipped as the HG determines for the fighting type of Hired Help, but Torch Bearers, Load Bearers and Medics must be furnished with their supplies by the GC's. All Hired Help must be furnished with basic supplies like food and drink.
Creature Encounter Reaction

Roll 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Reaction Nice (approachable friend) Nice (approachable friend) Nice (observing) Nice (observing) Not Sure (reroll -1) Indifferent (won't attack if left alone) Not Sure (reroll +1) Hostile (warns intruders/will defend) Hostile (warns intruders/will defend) Hostile (will fight) Hostile (will fight) Roll 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Hired Help Response Chart

Reaction Agreeable (impressed) Agreeable Agreeable Agreeable Considering Proposal (check back in an hour) Considering Proposal (keep talking) Considering Proposal (check back tomorrow) Decline Decline Decline Decline (offended)
The Hero Guide may factor in character's negotiating style as bonus or penalty to roll.
Hired Help Cost Chart

Profession Archer Bladesman Medic* Torch Bearer* Load Bearer* 0 Deg 7 10 5 5 5 1 Deg 15 20 NA NA NA 2 Deg 35 40 NA NA NA 3 Deg 70 80 NA NA NA
Resolve
When the battle is going poorly for certain Creatures, they may loose Resolve and choose to either flee or surrender. Poorly is defined by at least one Creature death or a third of the Creature's group down to less than half Life Points while the GC's Party is barely hurt. In these situations, check the Resolve number of the Creature and rd2. If the roll is higher than the number, the Creatures will either flee or surrender. Some Creatures, such a the Living Dead, will never flee a battle.
Generally human, but Hero Guides can allow other races and adjust cost accordingly. Any fighting Hirelings will receive AP's as a party member and should receive a half share of the treasure.. * Non fighting role. The Medic is mainly there to bandage the badly wounded and deliver any healing potions he is equipped with. Torch Bearers carry the torches to allow the fighting party members to use shields and weapons as needed. Load Bearers are hired to carry whatever is needed.
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Part 5 Encounters & Combat Resolution

Attack Strength (AS)
You will record two AS numbers for your GC. The first will be for hand to hand combat and the second will be for missile combat. At each Degree, your GC is assigned a base AS number. The number starts at 2 and rises by 2 per Degree. After you have rolled for your traits, you will roll for your starting money and purchase equipment. Depending on what weapon you buy, you will add a bonus number to your AS. For instance, Joe the 0 Degree Warrior has a Might of 9 and is starting off with a standard sword. The Might bonus is +1, and the sword bonus is +4. Adding that to his base score of 2 gets him an AS of 7. In missile combat, Joe has three daggers for throwing. A dagger is a +1, his Agility is 9 (+1 bonus), giving Joe a 4 for his missile AS. Elsewhere in this book, we will explain how that factors into combat and we will also explain what all of the weapon bonuses are for your AS.
Base Attack Strength Number

Deg. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AS 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Defense Strength (DS)

You will record two DS numbers for your GC. The first will be for hand to hand combat, and the second will be for missile combat. The only real difference will be that in missile combat, you won't be holding your shield for protection. At each Degree, your GC is assigned a base DS number. The number starts at 2 and rises by 2 per Degree. After you have rolled for your traits, you will roll for your starting money and purchase equipment. Depending on what armor you buy, you will add a bonus number to your DS. Joe starts out with an Agility of 9 and has purchased standard leather armor and a shield. He gets a bonus of +1 for his Agility, +2 for the leather armor and +1 for his shield. That makes his DS 6 for hand to hand. In missile combat, he will drop the shield, making his missile combat DS 5. Elsewhere in this book, we will explain how that factors into combat and we will also explain what all of the armor bonuses are for your DS. Languages Learned Chart rd4 Roll Creature 4 Medusa 5 Harpy 6 Ogre 7 Elf 8 Troll 9 Orc 10 Gremlin 11 Minotaur 12 Pixie 13 Dwarf 14 Gnome 15 Korblin 16 Dragon 17 Halfling 18 Kobold 19 Doppelganger 20 Goblin 21 Lizard Man 22 Troglodyte 23 Ratling 24 Hobgoblin 26
Base Defense Strength Number

Deg. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AS 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Weapon Damage/AS adjustment Chart

Weapon Damage AS Adj. 2 2 2 ** ** ** ** 3 3 3 4 3 4 3 4 4 4 5 4 4 5 5 5 6 3 4 4 5 4 5 3 **** 3 **** 2 ****
Game Character ADS Base Numbers

Deg 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Attack 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 Defense 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Suggested Creature Strength Base

Deg 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 CS 0 (0-5) 2 (2-7) 6 (6-11) 8 (8-13) 10 (10-15) 12 (12-17) 14 (14 (19) 16 (16-21) 18 (18-23) 20 (20-25) 22 (22-27)
Standard Dagger 1-3 Silver Dagger 1-3 Sling & Stone 1-3 Arrow rd1 Silver Arrow rd1+2 Bolt rd1 Silver Bolt rd1+2 Elite Dagger rd1 Short Sword rd1 Silver Short Sword rd1 Elite Short Sword rd1+4 Standard Mace rd1 Elite Mace rd1+4 Standard Battle Hammer rd1 Elite Battle Hammer rd1+4 Standard Sword rd1+2 Silver Sword rd1+2 Elite Sword rd2 Battle Axe* rd1+2 Silver Battle Axe* rd1+2 Elite Battle Axe* rd2 Standard 2H Sword* rd3 Silver 2H Sword* rd3 Elite 2H Sword* rd3+4 Standard Short Bow *** Elite Short Bow *** Standard Strong Bow *** Elite Strong Bow *** Standard Crossbow *** Elite Cross Bow *** Torch Fire Damage 1-3 Oil Flask Fire rd3 Holy Water rd2 #
Creature AP Awards & Bonuses

Deg 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AP 10 20 30 50 75 150 300 500 750 1000 1200 Bonus AP* 5 10 15 20 30 75 150 300 500 700 750
Quest Completion AP Bonus Chart

Deg 0-1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 AP Bonus 200 300 400 600 800 1000 1500 2000 3000
* For every special attack a Creature has, such as fire and poison, add the bonus AP score along with the regular AP total connected to the Degree of the Creature.
Missile Weapon Range Adjustment Chart

Weapon Cross Bow Strong Bow Short Bow Sling Spear Oil/Holy Water Hand Axe/Dagger +1 Short 70 80 60 50 30 20 20 0 Med. 140 160 120 100 60 40 40 -1 Long 210 240 180 150 90 60 60 -3 Longer 245 280 210 175 105 70 70
* Requires 2 hands ** AS Depends on the bow or cross bow used *** Damage depends on arrow or bolt used **** Certain cases may allow HG to rule automatic hit # Effects Living Dead Only
Armor DS Adjustment Chart

Armor Shield Arm Braces Mage Robes Standard Leather Elite Leather Chain Mail Elvin Chain Mail Plate Mail Elite Plate Mail DS 1 1 1 2 3 3 4 4 5
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Combat Procedure Chart

Step 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Procedure Make Alertness/First Move Rolls Determine the AS/DS of the GC's and the CS of the Creature. High number gets the bonus Player and HG both roll two six sided dice (rd2). Adjust according to #2 to determine hit Return Attack. Player and HG both roll two six sided dice (rd2). Adjust according to #2 to determine hit In the event of a tie, highest natural roll gets the win. A natural 9 beats a natural 8 even if roller of the 8 had a +1 bonus Natural 12 is automatic success for roller. If both sides roll natural 12's, the bonus breaks the tie. Creatures may get more than 1 attack as per description End of round. Repeat. Do Resolve Check as needed
Combat Procedure
So, it's come down to this. Weapons are drawn, and the battle is upon you. Somebody's going down, and it's time to start rolling the dice. The first thing you will need to do is make Alertness Rolls and First Move Rolls to determine who gets the first attack. Then you will determine if the GC's are armed for hand to hand (swords, daggers, maces), or ranged (bow, cross bow, throwing dagger) combat. The Attack Strength and Defense Strength of the GC will likely be a bit different depending on how they are fighting. Of course, circumstances may dictate that they switch from ranged to hand to hand tactics during the battle as well, which is why you keep two separate AS and DS numbers on your HotDC Character Sheet. Once you know your AS and DS numbers for the battle, the Hero Guide will determine the Creature Strength of the opponent faced. This is not a number the gamers should know until they have figured it out for themselves as it adds to the excitement of the battle. They will learn which Creatures are more challenging than others. The HG will take the numbers and determine who has the bonus modifiers in the battle. In this example, the GC's Warrior gets the first strike. He has an AS of 6, compared to the Creature's CS of 3. This gives him a bonus of +3. The gamer will roll 2 six sided dice (rd2), and the HG will do the same. High number after adding the modifier wins. In this case, either the gamer hits or misses. He rolls an 8, which becomes an 11 after the bonus of +3, while the HG rolls a ten for the Creature. This indicates a hit is scored by the gamers GC, and you move on to damage. The gamer will roll whatever the chart indicates for weapon damage. The battle will continue until death, surrender or escape occurs. Two Things to know: 1 2 If the HG had rolled an 11 for the Creature, it would have been a tie. Ties go to the highest natural roll. In this case, the gamer would have missed. If a natural 12 is rolled, it's an automatic hit or miss, depending on who rolled it. If both sides roll natural 12's, the bonus breaks the tie.
Now, the Creature gets to return the attack. Note that all Creatures have Resolve numbers, and if enough damage is inflicted on a Creature or it's group, they may lose resolve and flee or surrender. The HG can assess the situation and determine if a Resolve Check is needed. If so, he will rd2, and if the number is higher than the Creature's Resolve number, it will flee or surrender. Otherwise, the Creature attacks. The CS for the Creature has already been determined as 3, so determine the GC's DS number. In this case, it's 6. The Creature has a -3 penalty. The HG rolls an 11, which becomes an 8 after the penalty. The gamer rolls a 9, which indicates a miss. Creatures may get more than 1 attack as per their description, so more than one roll may be made to determine success. Remember the two things to know as they apply here. Note: If you find that the Creature Strength of certain Creatures is too high or too low and that the GCs are having too easy or too difficult a time, adjust them as needed. Certain Creatures, such as dragons and demi dragons, should be more challenging. Remember that Warriors and Priests will have an easier time in battle than others because of their ability to wear better armor. Rogues are the next strongest as they can still arm themselves well, though they are limited on armor. Mages are NOT designed for hand to hand combat and shouldn't be on the front line if it can be avoided. There always should be a chance that a Warrior will miss or get hit. A +6 or +7 advantage for a Warrior at or near 7th Degree is high, but acceptable. He likely won't get hit often, but he can and will get hit. If you somehow have a Warrior with a +12 advantage on Creatures of his Degree, he is overpowered. You don't have to tell the gamer to reroll another GC, but you should either make him fight Creatures a Degree or two higher or at the very least adjust the CS of the Creature he fight's to make it tougher.
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Part 6: Creature Charts

Explaining The Terms Of The Creature Statistics
Creatures Appearing (CA): This number is used to determine how many Creatures are encountered in a room. If it says rd1 to determine how many kobolds are there, roll the six sided dice once. You may choose to have a kobold's lair, in which case there will be more than 1-6 of them. It will be up to you to decide how many are in the lair. There will likely be leaders (perhaps a king and queen) of a higher degree, along with some higher degree leaders of the troops and so forth. Combat Moves (CM): This is how many moves of attack a Creature gets when combat begins and what type of attack they get. Most Creatures just get one CM, but some get two or more. Harm Caused (Harm): This is the damage inflicted by the combat moves of the Creature. Note that some Creatures have special effects to their HC, such as poison, or element damage, such as fire. Life Dice (LD): This is the number of dice you roll to determine how many Life Points (LP) a Creature has. If the LD listed is rd4, you will roll four six sided dice to determine how many LP's they have. Creature Strength (CS): The CS is put up against the Game Character's DS to determine of it hits the GC in combat. The GC's AS is put up against the Creature's CS to determine if the Creature gets hit. The higher the Creature's CS is, the more challenge it can present to the GC. Movement (Move): This tells you how many feet per turn or per round a Creature can move. The higher number is how many feet per turn and the lower number is how many feet per round a Creature can move. Resolve (Res): Resolve is a measure of the Creature's willingness to stay in battle when things get too tough. The lower that number is, the braver a Creature is in combat. Treasure (T): The number here tells you how many rolls you make on the Treasure Chart to determine if the Creatures have any treasure and what it is. If Ind. (Individual) is listed here, it indicates a roll on the Individual Treasure Chart. Resistance Roll (RR): This chart may not have an RR listed on it, but there will be an RR listing for each creature in their description in the HotDC First Edition Rulebook. To find the RR number for each Creature, consult the Creature RR Base Chart below. Demeanor (Dem): This is an optional rule at this time in HotDC. Creatures can have one of three types of Demeanor (good - moderate - bad) as explained elsewhere in this book. Animals will generally be moderate, and Living Dead will be bad in most cases. As the Hero Guide, you can assign Demeanor as you see fit. Adventure Points (AP): Each Creature overcome by the GC's yields AP's. Bonus AP's are also awarded as per each special ability (such as poison or Degree Drain) the Creature has. The Creature AP Chart is listed in Part 5 of this book to assist the Hero Guide in calculating AP's. Each Creature in the group is worth AP's, and total AP's for overcoming the Creatures are divided up equally between the surviving members of the group at the end of the adventure. Creature Base Resistance Roll Numbers Deg 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 RR Number 13 13 12 11 11 10 8 8 7 7 6 The Creatures RR number works for all four RR categories. However, some creatures will have better RR numbers in some categories as mentioned in their descriptions in the Creature section of the HotDC First Edition Rulebook. A natural 3 on an rd3 always fails.
29
Creature Charts 0 Degree (0-5 CS Base)

Roll 3 4 5 6 7 8 CM Harm LD CS Move Res. T Bite 1-3 rd1 2 120-40 2 1 Burn 1-3 rd1 3 90-30 2 1 1 1-3 rd1 3 90-30 2 1 1 1-3 rd1 2 90-30 2 1 1 1-3 rd1 2 90-30 2 1 Stan. Dag. or 1-3 or 1-6 rd1 2 120-30 7 Ind. Short Sword 9 grunt goblin rd1 Stan. Dag. or 1-3 or 1-6 rd1 3 90-30 7 Ind. Short Sword 10 grunt orc rd1 Stan. Dag. or 1-3 or 1-6 rd1 4 90-30 7 2 Short Sword 11 ratling rd2 Stan. Dag. 1-3 rd1 2 120-30 8 Ind. 12 ghost 1 Quest Special ^ ^ ^ 90-30 ^ ^ 13 NGC *^ rd1 Weapon *^ Weapon *^ *^ *^ 90-30 6 *^ 14 glass statue rd1 Stan. Dag. 1-3* rd1 2 90-30 7 None 15 giant bee rd1 Sting 1-3** rd1 2 120-40 5 1*** 16 rats rd2 Bite 1 Point 1-3 1 120-40 6 None 17 sprite rd2 Pixie Dag. 1-3 or Curse # rd1 3 90-30 6 Ind. or Curse 18 bat rd3 Bite or 1 Point 1-3 1 90-30 6 None Confusion * There is a 1 in 6 chance that a glass statue is filled with poison or other types of gas. Characters damaging a Glass Statue must make Resistance Roll vs. Poison Gas or suffer the effects. Such gas with spread in a 30 x 30 area, causing others in area to make Resistance Roll or be affected. HG may wish to use other effects of the gas, such as sleep or nausea. ** If stung, GC must make a Resistance Roll vs. poison or die. The stinger will fall off the bee, and it will die if successful in stinging. *** Bee hives have honey of Minor Healing (Priest Band Aid Incantation) value that can serve 1-3 people. HG may allow honey to save a GC from effects of poison from bee only. ^ In general, Ghosts are used to provide side quests for the GC, such as find and bury my body, get revenge for me or inform a loved one of my misfortune. They are not made for combat and have no combat statistics. A completed Ghost quest earns the GC a Quest Completion Bonus and any treasure reward the HG may provide. You can make a Ghost a higher Degree Ghost, but you should make those quests more challenging. ^^ Mytes are Creatures of Element (minor) created by Mages, generally to guard areas or sometimes treasures, determined by the HG. *^ The NGC can be of any race or profession determined by the HG. You may wish to stat them like a regular GC or simply assign them a CS. Be sure to include their class abilities (Incantations, Rogue, Priest), and equip them with weapons and armor. Generally, a Warrior CS should be 6, Priest 5, Rogue 4 and Mage 3. Adjust as you see fit. # Curses usually take the form of practical jokes, such as armor or weapon turning to dust and falling to floor or feet being glued to the floor, and victim can attempt a Resistance Roll. Name flying skulls fire myte ^^ earth myte ^^ water myte ^^ air myte ^^ grunt kobold CA. rd1 rd1 rd1 rd1 rd1 rd1
1st Degree (2-7 CS Base)

CM Harm LD CS Move Res. T 1 Bite 1-6 rd2 5 120-40 6 1 Stan. S. Sword 1-6 or 1-6+2 rd2 4 120-40 8 1 or Stan. Sword 6 goblin rd1 Stan. S. Sword 1-6 or 1-6+2 rd2 5 90-30 8 1 or Stan. Sword 7 skeleton rd1 Stan. Sword 1-6+2 rd2 6 90-30 2 2 8 orc rd1 Stan. Sword 1-6+2 rd2 6 90-30 8 3 9 grunt hobgoblin rd1 Stan. S. Sword 1-6 or 1-6+2 rd2 8 90-30 8 2 or Stan. Sword 10 snake (giant rattler) rd1 1 Bite 1-6* rd2 6 90-30 6 1 11 gnome rd1 Stan. S. Sword 1-6 or 1-6+2 rd2 6 90-30 7 3 or Stan. Sword 12 NGC *^ rd1 Weapon *^ Weapon *^ *^ *^ 90-30 6 *^ 13 giant rats rd1 1 Bite 1-3** rd2 6 90-30 7 1 14 giant spider rd1 1 Bite 1-3* rd2 5 90-30 7 1 15 blood sucker bird rd1 Bite 1-3*** rd2 5 90-20 5 1 16 mud golem rd1 1 1-6 rd2 6 90-30 2 1 17 giant wasp rd1 Sting 1-6 rd2 5 120-40 5 1 18 yel. demi dragon 1-3 Claw/Claw 1-3/1-3/1-6 rd2 8 150-50 4 7 Bite or Fire or 3-18 * Poison. Make Resistance Roll vs. poison or die. ** Disease. Make Resistance Roll vs. Special Effect or lose half Might until properly rested or cured. *** Once bitten, GC takes 1-3 points per round until creature or GC dies or creature is pulled off. *^ The NGC can be of any race or profession determined by the HG. You may wish to stat them like a regular GC or simply assign them a CS. Be sure to include their class abilities (Incantations, Rogue, Priest), and equip them with weapons and armor. Generally, a Warrior CS should be 8, Priest 7, Rogue 6 and Mage 5. Adjust as you see fit. Roll 3 4-5 Name giant ant kobold CA. rd2 rd1
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2nd Degree (4-9 CS Base)

CM Harm LD CS Move Res. T 1 rd1+2 rd4 8 90-30 2 2 1 rd1+2 rd4 8 60-20 2 None Stan. S. Sword 1-6 or 1-6+2 rd4 8 90-30 8 2 or Stan. Sword 7 wolf rd2 1 Bite rd1 rd4 7 150-50 7 2 8 lizard man rd1+2 1 rd1+2 rd4 8 90-30 7 2 9 gnoll rd1 1 rd1+2 rd4 9 90-30 6 3 10 yellow slime 1-3 1 Dissolve 1-3* rd4 7 30-10 2 None 11 NGC *^ rd1 Weapon *^ Weapon *^ *^ *^ 90-30 6 *^ 12-13 clinging spider rd1+2 1 Bite rd1** rd4 8 90-30 7 2 14 cobra rd1 Bite or Spit rd1** or *** rd4 8 90-30 7 2 15 gremlin rd2 Bite or Special rd1 or **** rd4 7 120-40 6 2 16 giant beetle rd2 1 Bite rd1 rd4 7 90-30 7 2 17 pixie rd2 Pixie Dag. 1-3 or rd4 7 90-30 6 2 or Incantation ^ Incantation ^ 18 purple demi dragon 1-3 Claw/Claw/Bite 1-3/1-3/1-6 rd4 10 150-50 4 7 or Cold or 3-18 * Once it hits its victim Yellow Slime dissolves all metal armor in 1-3 rounds before doing 1-3 points of damage to victim until victim is turned into a yellow slime. Only fire can damage Yellow Slime. If Yellow Slime has contacted a victim prior to being attacked with fire, fire damage will do half damage to each individual. ** If bit, victim must make Resistance Roll against poison or die. *** If the Cobra has an opportunity to spit in the victim's eyes and connects, it can blind the victim for 1-3 days unless a Resistance Roll against poison is made. **** If three or more Gremlins act as a group, they can cause mechanical failure on their victims pending a Resistance Roll against magic. This takes the form or annoyances such as a sword or shield breaking or other item malfunction. ^ Pixies know some Incantations and can defend themselves with Magic Slumber or Sudden Impact when needed. If treated respectfully, Pixies also know Healing Touch and will offer to use it on those in need. *^ The NGC can be of any race or profession determined by the HG. You may wish to stat them like a regular GC or simply assign them a CS. Be sure to include their class abilities (Incantations, Rogue, Priest), and equip them with weapons and armor. Generally, a Warrior CS should be 11, Priest 10, Rogue 9 and Mage 8. Adjust as you see fit. Roll 3 4 5-6 Name clay golem zombie hobgoblin CA. rd1 rd1 rd1
3rd Degree (6-11 CS Base)

Roll 3 Harm LD CS Move Res. T 1-3/1-3/rd1 rd6 12 75-25 2 4 + paralyze 4 wight ** rd1 1 touch Degree Loss rd6 11 75-25 2 4 5 harpy # rd1 claw/claw or 1-3/1-3 or rd6 11 60-20 6 4 special Persuade 6 doppelganger rd1 1 rd2+2 rd6 10 90-30 5 4 7-8 ogre rd1 1 rd2+4 rd6 11 75-25 4 5 9 mineral armadillo #* rd1 1 Disint. Metal rd6 10 90-30 6 None 10 giant gecko rd1+2 Bite rd1+2 rd6 10 135-35 7 3 11 troglodyte *** rd1+2 claw/claw/bite 1-3/1-3/rd1 rd6 10 90-30 4 4 12-13 bugbeast rd1 sword +2 Might rd1+4 rd6 11 75-25 4 4 14 tarantella rd1+2 bite rd1+4 + Poison rd6 10 90-30 5 3 15-16 korblin rd2 stan. sword rd1+2 rd6 9 90-30 7 3 17 shadow ^ rd1 1 rd1 + rd1 turns rd6 11 75-25 2 4 might point loss 18 pink demi dragon ^^ 1-3 claw/claw/bite 1-3/1-3/rd1 or rd6 13 150-50 4 8 or acid rd3 * Only hittable in combat with silver or magical weapons ** Only hittable in combat with magical weapons *** Has an ability to blend with it's environment. A special Alert Roll of 1-3 on rd1 will surprise GC's. The stench of a Troglodyte causes a temporary sickness while GC's are in the area. GC's must make an RR vs. poison or attack with a -2 penalty to Attack Strength *^ A successful hit drains one Degree from the GC. If drained below 0 Degree, the GC will become a Wight. # The song of a Harpy can Persuade any male GC to do the Harpy's bidding if they don't make an RR vs. Special Effect #* A successful hit allows the Mineral Armadillo to suck the minerals out of the metal item hit, causing it to disintegrate. A weapon or armor with a bonus will lose 1 point of it's bonus, and it will disintegrate once the bonuses are drained from it. ^ A Shadow can blend in with the shadows and surprise GC's if they don't get three matching numbers on an rd3. ^^ Pink Demi Dragons are extremely intelligent and have a chance of having the Incantation Points of a Mage of their Degree. If you get matching numbers on an rd2, it means they can use Incantations as a Mage of that Degree. Name ghoul * CA. rd1 CM claw/claw/bite
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Roaming Creatures Check

At any time during an Adventure, the party may encounter Roaming Creatures. These Creatures do not need to be in a room. They may be roaming outside the dungeon or in one of the many corridors. To determine if an encounter occurs, you should roll two dice (rd2) every 2 or 3 Game Turns. If the numbers match (two 5's or two of any number), an encounter occurs. The HG may wish to revoke an encounter or add one based on the health of the party or other factors.
Playing With Creature Strength And Degree

One of the advantages of the Attack-Defense System is the ability to adjust it to fit your campaign. You may wish to make a 0 Degree Creature Strength of 2 a little tougher. You may wish to have a 3rd Degree orc. With the CS Base Chart, you can adjust that. Simply consult the base chart for 3rd Degree Creature Strength and give your orc the CS you desire. Be sure to adjust the orc's Life Dice for 3rd Degree as well. You may wish to make a leader out of a group of Creatures a little tougher than the rest in certain situations by giving them a higher CS than the others. For instance, you have five grunt kobolds and decide to have a leader with a CS of 3 or 4. You may also wish to give it a slightly better weapon than the others in the group. This option may work better than simply making the leader a higher Degree than the others in the group.
About Degree Draining

GC's will come across Living Dead creatures who have the ability to drain a Degree from them. What a Degree drain means is the Creature's touch actually takes some of the essence from the GC, weakening them a little bit. Fortunately, if you have a Priest in the party or can get to a town with a Priest willing to heal you, you can regain that degree with a Restore Degree Incantation. However, you must be healed with this incantation within 7 days, or the effect is permanent. If a Degree is lost, the GC will have as many AP's over the lower Degree as he had over the previous Degree. A second Degree Warrior with 2200 AP's gets drained back to 1st Degree and will have 1200 AP's. If he had started at 3rd Degree with 4200 AP's, his 2nd Degree AP total would be 2200. If a 0 Degree GC gets drained, he will become a Living Dead Creature under the control of the Creature that killed him.
About NGC's
The NGC, or Non Game Character, will be encountered by the GC's throughout the Adventure Campaign. They can be whatever race or profession the Hero Guide chooses for them. The creature Charts mention 0 through 3rd Degree NGC's, but you can make one of any Degree you desire. The town the GC's are in will have a leader. There will be a king or a ruler in the area. There will be an evil NGC looking to take over. Generally, these NGC's will be of a higher Degree, so you will want to equip them accordingly. They will be more than capable of defending themselves and will have some special items from their time adventuring. Some of these NGC's can be mentors to the GC's, offering advice and rewarding success at times. Be sure you have AS and DS numbers set appropriately for their Degree and equipment worn. Be sure you have calculated their Life Points according to their Degree. Priests and Mages will have ample Incantations, and Rogues of higher Degree will be better trained in their various abilities.
Demeanor (optional)
Demeanor is the personal outlook of the Game Character or Creature. It is their attitude towards others and their view of the world around them. A good character will not go around killing everything he meets and will seek a peaceful resolution to situations whenever possible. A bad character will often let his blade do the talking, but not always. He may bide his time for the right moment. A moderate character will react differently in different situations, sometimes on the side of good and sometimes on the side of bad. If Demeanor is used in your game, the Hero Guide can use it as reputation in some situations and add a bonus or penalties to certain dice rolls when negotiating for hired help or other things. Good: Does the right thing. Heroic. Thinks of others. Obeys the law. Moderate: Considers both sides before choosing what to do. Contemplative. May help himself first or help others. Obeys some laws, disobeys others. Bad: Does what is in his best interest. Selfish. Thinks of himself before others. Disobeys the law. Note: The Hero Guide may also choose the Merit System. This is basically a point system where all GC's start with 10 out of 20 points and the Hero Guide keeps track of their actions. The HG adds or subtracts points based on the GC's actions. A score of 1-5 is bad, 6-15 is moderate and 16-20 is good. 32
Part 7: Treasure Charts

Treasure Chart 1 (Start Here) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 None Chart 2 None Chart 2 None Chart 2 None Chart 2 None Chart 2 None Individual Treasure Chart 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 None Gold rd1 Silver rd2 Copper rd3 Gem (rd1 of 10g per piece) None Copper rd4 Silver rd3 Gold rd2 Jewel (rd1 of 15 per piece) None Treasure Chart 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 None Jewels/Gems Magic Coin Coin None Coin Magic None Jewels/Gems None Coin Jewels/Gems Magic Coin None
The creatures battled will have a Roll 1 (rd1) or whatever for their Treasure statistic. Roll however many times you are instructed to and proceed from there. Jewels/Gems Chart 1 (type) 1 2 3 4 5 6 1-3 Gems rd2 Jewels rd2 Gems rd1 Jewels 1-3 Jewels rd1 Gems
Individual coins are not multiplied. If you roll a 5 on rd1 for gold, it is 5 gold pieces total per creature.
Suggested Gem types (from low to high value) Quartz Pearl Amethyst Emerald Diamond Ruby Suggested Jewel types (from low to high value) Fine China Fine Art Vase Necklace Ring/Broach Crown/Scepter If gem or jewel values are too high or low a reward for the party, do not be afraid to adjust in the interest of game balance.
Never award 2 of same type of coin or jewel/gem from an encounter. Reroll for a different coin or jewel/gem.
Coin Chart 1 (type) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Gold Copper Silver Copper Silver Gold Silver Gold Silver Copper Gold
Jewels/Gems Chart 2 (Value) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 10 50 25 500 100 250 50 100 25 1000 10
1 Gold piece = 10 Silver pieces = 100 Copper pieces Coin Chart 2 (total) 1 2 3 4 5 6 rd1 rd2 rd1 rd3 rd1 rd2
Coin Modifiers Maximum possible Creatures or no less than 2 of maximum, and the modifier to the roll is x1000. Example, there are 10 (of 12 possible) ratlings and you roll a 3 on rd1 for gold. That means there are 3000 gold coins. More than 2 under maximum Creatures, and the modifier is X100. Example, there are 9 (of 12 possible) ratlings and you roll a 3 on rd1 for gold. That means there are 300 gold coins. You may chose to adjust this if you deem the challenge sufficient enough. dragons and demi dragons are exempt from this rule. 33
Magic Treasure Chart

rd5 and consult list 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Sack of Storage^ Magic Ranged Weapon* Ring Of Heath Restoration^^** Scroll Of 1 Priest Incantation Potion Of Healing Touch Gloves Of Nimble Hands^^^ Staff Of Heath Restoration Crystal Ball Scroll Of 1 Mage Incantation Potion Of Disappearance^** Magic Hand To Hand Weapon* Cursed Item *^ Magic Armor*** 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Wand Of Sudden Impact Cloak Of Defense Strength*** Cloth Pit Trap (10' Pit blends with floor) Strong Magic Hand To Hand Weapon** Ring Of Defense Strength*** Gauntlets Of Giant Strength^^ Boots Of Stealth Strong Magic Armor*** Scroll Of 2 Mage Incantations Cursed Item *^ Strong Magic Ranged Weapon** Scroll Of 2 Priest Incantations Special Enchanted Item ^*^*
All wands and staffs have rd3 charges or uses to them and work as per the Incantation descriptions. Incantation scrolls can have any Incantation listed on Incantation lists. * These items can be standard or elite in nature as per the weapons chart, but they will generally offer a bonus of 1 to the GC's AS and damage rolls. ** These items can be standard or elite in nature as per the weapons chart, but they will generally offer a bonus of 2 to the GC's AS and damage rolls. *** Any of the items on the armor list can be made available, standard or elite. Magic armor will offer a bonus of 1 to DS, while strong magic armor will add bonus of 2. Also, a Cloak Of Defense Strength or a ring of the same name adds a 1 to the GC's DS number when worn. ^ The Sack Of Storage is the same size as a large sack, but it can hold up to 12,000 units of weight while weighing what a large sack weighs. GC's should be careful they don't have a Sack Of Destruction, which will destroy contents placed inside in rd2 turns. ^^ The wearer's Might total becomes 13 and all bonuses apply when worn. ^^^ When Rogues wear these gloves, they get a bonus of 1 (gloves with a 2 bonus can be made available) when making a Craft Roll on the Rogue Abilities Chart. ^* A cursed item can be anything that makes the user think he's getting an effect that he really isn't, such as thinking he's invisible (disappearance) when he's not. It can compel them to act a certain way, give them a quirk or change their appearance. Or, it can be any weapon or armor that takes 1 point from AS or DS. Note that some curses will need to be removed by a Priest Incantation. ^** Effect lasts until user engages in combat. You may assign a certain amount of turns (rd3) or engaging in combat, whichever comes first. ^*^* This can be anything you can imagine. A magic (intelligent) sword or weapon that has an AS bonus and ability to heal (3 times per day), armor that has a DS bonus and makes the wearer disappear (no more than three times a day) or whatever creative idea you can come up with. ^^** Heals 1 Life Point per turn when worn. A Few Notes On Magic Item Placement You do not need to roll to consult this chart for everything, and you do not need to use this list. This list is a guideline, and the only limit to what can be available is your imagination. You may find it easier when stocking your dungeon to decide ahead of time what will be available and place it in whatever rooms seem appropriate. You may want the treasure room to have certain items from this list, or you may decide on the fly that a magic sword being wielded by the enemy gives them a bonus of +1 to CS on attacks and damage. The chart is basically here to give you ideas and for when you need to make random choices. Some games offer charts with more specific treasure sections, such as weapons, potions, rings, wands, armor and so on. You can easily create these types of charts using the six sided dice system and add whatever items seem appropriate to you. You may want to use other potions, such as one of growth, shrinking or esp. You may want a ring that controls animals or one that makes the GC disappear. You may want to use a wand that creates fireballs or turns the enemy into a toad if the enemy misses a Resistance Roll. The only limit to what is available is your imagination, but be careful. Magic too powerful can shift the balance too far in your game.
34
Optional Rules
Special Skills (optional) At GC creation, you may wish to allow the Gamer to roll for one Special Skill. Have them rd3, and if all three numbers match, you can allow them to roll for one skill on the chart below. You may wish to allow them to roll a check for Special Skills at each Degree, but be advised a lucky roller could become very powerful. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Bandage To Heal: Bandaging heals rd1+2 Life Points with the recipient starting at 0 LP's, rather t h a n a negative number. Alertness: Never surprised and has a +1 on all First Move rolls. Identification: Can identify any magic item. Dual Weaponry: Can wield two 1 handed weapons at once. Second weapon adds no AS bonus and you must make a second roll to see if you hit, but damage is done as weapon's damage is listed. Meditation: Can meditate for two turns and rememorize all Incantations one time per day. Non Incantation users have a 1 in 6 chance of using any scroll or wand they find, but they can only check once per item found. Graceful Hands: Adds a +1 bonus to AS and a +1 to all Rogue Abilities. Absorption: Absorbs 2 points of damage from a hit in any non magical, element or special attack in combat. Sure Shot: Adds a +1 to AS in any ranged combat attack. Photographic Memory: Can memories all that is read and has a 1 in 6 chance of being able to duplicate any scroll once with only 1 try per scroll. Intimidate: Has a 1 in 6 chance of putting all living and non magical foes at a -1 CS disadvantage in combat. Persuade: Has +1 bonus to all negotiations. Attack Strength Or Defense Strength Training (optional) Train 1 2 3 Temp AS/DS 250 gp 1000 gp 3000 gp Perm AS/DS 750 gp 3000 gp 6000 gp
More than 1 training per Degree is not allowed. Only three training sessions are allowed. More than two of either AS or DS is not allowed. From time to time, there are Game Characters that may be a little lacking in the skill of combat. As a Hero Guide, you may wish to give them the option of training in attack or defense or both. This should be allowed only at the discretion of the Hero Guide. Training is only recommended for GC's that have less than a +4 advantage in AS or DS over Creatures of their Degree. Training can be allowed for GC's with +4 advantages, but is should cost 3x or more than the cost listed above, and only temporary training should be allowed. Temporary gains last only until a new Degree is earned. Example, a 2nd Degree Warrior has a base AS of 6 to start with and trains in AS. The base becomes a 7. When the Warrior goes up in Degree, the base becomes an 8 as listed on the chart. If training were permanent, that Warrior's base AS would become 9 when he became 3rd Degree, 11 at 4th Degree and so on. Generally, however, training should only be allowed for GC's trained in the art of combat who are at a severe disadvantage against Creatures of their Degree. If Mages are allowed to train and get too powerful, game balance can be effected. Armor Absorption (optional) Armor warn can be allowed to absorb some of the damage intended for the victim, but it should not be more than 1 or 2 points per hit. Every time armor absorbs points, it should effect the armor or shield, requiring repair to enable it to take damage again. Armor Leather Chain Plate Shield * not available A Hero Guide may wish to adjust the amount of damage absorbed, but it is recommended that adjustments only be minimal or game balance can be effected. Also, armor wearing Creatures should have the same absorption rates for their armor. 35 Absorb Per Hit 1 1 2 1 Total Hits Stan 10 12 15 10 Total Hits Elite 20 24 30 20 Repair Standard 100 200 300 100 Repair Elite 300 500 700 *
Things A Hero Guide Should Know

As the Hero Guide, you are responsible for setting the mood for the game. You will draw the maps (a two level dungeon map is included in this book), stock the dungeons, describe what the Gamers see, speak for and represent the Non Gaming Characters (NGC's) and Creatures encountered by the Gamers and more. It sounds like quite a bit, but don't worry. You can do it. Let's talk about a few of the things you should know as the Hero Guide. Adjusting The Creature Strengths Within these pages, you have Creature Charts with the statistics you will need to know for the various Creatures. Next to Life Dice (how many dice you roll to set Life Points) and damage (how much a Creature can hurt a GC if it hits), Creature Strength is the most important statistic for the Creature. It will determine the chances of a Creature hitting or getting hit. If the CS is too high, it can be too hard for the GC to score a hit. If it's too low, scoring a hit can be too easy. Don't be afraid to adjust it high or low as needed. You may also decide you want to move a Creature up or down in Degree. For instance, you may want to move a Zombie down from 2nd Degree to 1st Degree. Just check the Creature Base CS Chart in this book for an idea of where the CS needs to be. You may also wish to add new Creatures to the chart by assigning the new Creature vital statistics. Just follow the guidelines as listed on the Creature Charts and you will be fine. A Word About Treasure You may find that even though there are Treasure Charts in this book, rolling for it produces uneven results. If you get lucky, there may be too much treasure in the dungeon, and if you are unlucky, there may not be enough. It can be easier to just pick out the treasure you want and place it under the protection of certain key Creatures of the dungeon or adventure. Ask yourself what you want the GC's to have? You don't want to give out strong magic items too easily or soon, and some Creatures will be smart enough to use the stuff themselves. You want to give some rewards, but if it's too powerful too early in the campaign, game balance can be effected. Also, remember that GC's can't afford all of the good stuff at the start, so money found will be spent on better stuff as the GC's progress. So ask yourself some questions. How many GC's will be adventuring? How much do you want them to earn from that adventure? Make sure they earn something for a challenging adventure, but be careful that it's not too much. Awarding Adventure Points Adventure Points in HotDC are awarded for defeating Creatures by killing them, forcing them to surrender or flee or overcoming them through peaceful means. You will also earn AP rewards for completing quests. If you Hero Guide a Dungeon of more than 1 level, remember that the GC's receive a Quest Completion Bonus for each 15 room or more level of dungeon cleared. You may also wish to reward them for certain achievements during the quest, such as achieving a goal through peaceful means (role playing), obtaining key quest information or doing side quests. These types of rewards should not exceed the Quest Completion Bonus and are generally smaller. In some games, AP's are awarded for gold found during an adventure. This is NOT something generally done in HotDC. If you chose to do it, make sure the AP's awarded are only a fraction of the total gold, such as 1/3 or 1/4 the total gold. AP's are split equally among the entire party, though the special bonuses are earned by the individual GC. On Impartiality Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl is NOT Hero Guide vs. the Gamers. Beware of falling into that trap. You are the referee. Setting death quotas or getting upset at a Gamer because his GC walked through your prized bad guy is NOT a good idea. Learn from the game and adjust for the future. Your job is to keep the game running smoothly, let the Gamers know what their GC's see and have the Creatures and NGC's react to their actions. If a GC backs himself into a corner through careless actions, it is NOT your job to bail him out. However, it is not your job to try to kill a GC you don't like. You will find that when you run your game with impartiality, your players will respect you and want to play in your games. What To Tell The Gamers And What To Keep Secret As the Hero Guide, you need to let the Gamers know what they see or what is common knowledge. Future HotDC Adventure releases will have boxes of text in them to read to the Gamers. This will be mainly description text. What they should NOT know is the vital statistics of the Creatures or any treasure or other information that they can't see. In this book, you have the names of the Creatures, but the Basic HotDC Rulebook will have the descriptions of the Creatures. When possible, you will read Creature descriptions rather than the names. The Gamers will eventually learn by the descriptions what the Creatures are, rather than already knowing from the start. One of the nice things about HotDC is that you can tweak the CS of the Creature so that the GC's will not always know how tough the foe is even when they are familiar with that type of Creature. 36
Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition What Is The Point Of The Adventure In HotDC, Dungeon Crawling or exploring the depths of the dungeon, crypt or labyrinth is a big part of the game. However, mindlessly hacking through Creatures and earning loot can get old and boring for the Gamers at your table if there's not a point to it. Try to have a reason for the Dungeon Crawl, such as retrieving an item for an important citizen in the town, rescuing a prisoner, confronting a certain bad guy who has been causing trouble, mapping and cleaning out an old dungeon or whatever. These are just a few ideas, but there are many more ideas you can come up with. This will give the mission more meaning. In this book, we focus more on the dungeon aspect of the game, but there is a land above the dungeon filled with different types of terrain and all sorts of Creatures. There are also towns. To add another aspect to the game, you can create a starter town with stores and other buildings and NGC's for the GC's to interact with. It can merely be the place to equip the GC's at first and grow from there. The town can quickly grow into a very interesting place if you put just a little effort into it and encourage your Gamers to interact with that environment. HotDC will release a wilderness map with information on some towns in the future. What Is Available In Town The list provided in this book gives you a good idea of what the GC's can purchase in town. As the HG, you have the freedom to limit what the GC's have access to or expand as you see fit. In HotDC, the idea is to give the Gamers something to do with their money. At the start, they can only afford so much, and there will be weapons and armor they want but cannot afford. This is by design as it gives them something to work towards. As the GC's adventure, they will earn more money to buy better stuff. Eventually, all of the basic list items they want will be theirs. As Hero Guide, you have the option to make some magic items available, but it should NOT come cheap. Also, any magic weapon or armor available should only be a step above what the GC has. A Warrior owning an Elite Sword should only be able to purchase a +1 Elite Sword at best, and it should cost at least 5x the price of a regular Elite Sword. If the Warrior cannot afford it, he will make it a goal to earn the money to get it. Basic healing potions and 0 Degree Mage and Priest Incantation scrolls are listed on the item chart and should be made available. For one thing, the GC's will need healing in the dungeon, and this gives them another thing to do with their money. 0 Degree Incantation scrolls give starting Mages something to do with their money and give them a little more power. About Traps The GC's are sure to come across traps during an adventure down in the dungeon, but beware. The right trap can take out an entire party in an instant. Use good judgment when placing traps. If too many deaths occur due to traps, it may discourage Gamers from playing in your game. One of the more popular traps is the old 10 foot pit that is triggered when somebody steps on the mechanism. A 10 foot fall does 1-6 points (rd1) of damage, 20 feet does rd2 and so on. Add some iron spikes to that ten foot fall for another rd1 in damage. Tip the spikes with poison and it becomes even more lethal. Something could fall from the ceiling, a false door can pack a punch, both for rd1 in damage. The only limit to trap ideas is your imagination, but beware. The right trap can take out an entire party. The party Rogue brings along the ability to find and remove traps, but be advised that the Gamer should make it clear that his Rogue GC is doing that. Popular traps are the treasure chest with a poison needle or a mechanism that releases poison or sleeping gas when triggered. There could be wire string near the GC's feet that triggers darts to shoot at the unsuspecting GC. A Rogue can attempt to find and disarm a trap, which is one reason the Rogue is an important part of any party. Start Them Off Slow As the Hero Guide, you set the tempo of the game. That does not mean you have to baby the Gamers through the adventure, but you can give them less difficult Creatures to face in the beginning. This will help the new Gamer ease into the game. It also helps familiarize the Gamer with the combat mechanics of HotDC with a lesser chance of their GC getting killed at the start. It is generally best to have at least two GC's built for hand to hand combat in the party. Three can make it better. Having a Rogue in the party is also important, and a Mage can produce magic in especially difficult situations. You should be careful not to have the party face too many Creatures in one confrontation. If they are outnumbered too many times, bad things can happen, though they will face these situations on occasion. In the beginning, it can be better for the Gamers to have the party outnumber their enemy or at least have as many hand to hand combat trained GC's as there are Creatures. Easing the GC's into the game allows them to get comfortable with things and can make the game play more fun. As the game goes on and the Gamers get more comfortable with the game, it should get more challenging. 37
Part 8: The Basic Adventure

This is a two level dungeon of about 60 rooms. It has been located south of the town of Dragon Vale, but you can place it wherever you want. There have been some thefts in the town, and some valuable gems and other stuff has come up missing. Reports have led the town leaders to believe the culprits are here. A group of kobolds, orcs and goblins are said to be behind this, but why? Town leaders think the reason for these thefts is to raise money for some sort of campaign and that a renegade clergy may also be involved. Who are they, and why are they doing this? The mission for 6-8 GC's will be to retrieve the gems and other items and expose the plot. Three Possible Plot Points 1-The gems are worth 10,000 gold pieces with a 1,000 gp reward going to the GC's for recovering them. The Gamers don't need to know the value of the gems. 2-What's up? There are some low Degree Priests attempting to raise a Living Dead army for an attack on Dragon Vale. 3-During the adventure, it can be discovered that an important Dragon Vale citizen's son has been kidnapped by orcs for ransom. Suggested Encounters Place able where you want. Note that all kobolds, orcs and goblins won't be in the same room. 1-14 grunt kobolds and 1 kobold (1st Degree) leader 2-14 grunt goblins and 1 goblin (1st Degree) leader 3-14 grunt orcs and 1 orc (1st Degree) leader 4-some flying skulls 5-some skeletons 6-The ghost of a slain Warrior who wants the GC's to find his body and slay his murderer (this can lead to a Quest Completion Bonus for the GC's) 7-some ratlings & rats 8-some spiders 9-some 0 Degree Priests with a 1st Degree Priest leader (The group may have stolen some scrolls from the Dragon Vale clergy that enable them to create Living Dead in the form of flying skulls, skeletons and perhaps a zombie or two.) 10-yellow demi dragon guarding the gems and other treasure. (The dragon should be able to be negotiated with. You could place it in room #23 or #19 of Level 2 and make a Hidden (secret) Door in the south wall that leads to the surface). These are merely suggestions, but you can do what you want. Add different Creatures, stock some treasure in certain rooms and there you go. Happy Gaming!!! Tomb Of Fallen Heroes Game Character Death is sure to happen and happen often in HotDC. It is not the end of the game for the Gamer, and he should take the moment as a learning opportunity. Could he have done something differently? Was it merely a bad roll of the dice? All GCs who die in the field of battle earn a place of honor in the Tomb of Fallen Heroes. For a little extra fun, make a note of that. What finally killed the GC? How many APs did he have before death? What was his Degree? Keep the dead GC sheets in an old folder, and on occasion, your group can visit the Tomb of Fallen Heroes and recall the days when those old GCs fought so valiantly.
38
39
40
Don't Let The Dice Rule You

It's easy to fall into the trap of looking at all of the charts and just rolling for everything. Don't. The charts are there as a reference, particularly for the newcomer Hero Guide. Certainly in Combat, Rogue, Priest Repel and Resistance Roll situations, the dice will roll. Other times, they may not be needed. As an HG, you will instinctively learn when to use that judgment. HotDC rules have been intentionally crafted to allow an HG to make adjustments as he sees fit, but beware of getting too far away from the known rules and charts without discussing with your Gamers why you are doing it either before or after your gaming session. One instance when leaving the charts behind may be the right thing to do is rolling for treasure. Please bear in mind that the treasure charts are merely guidelines to let the HG know what might be available. Don't fall into the trap of using them as a crutch. For one thing, lucky or unlucky rolls will give the GC's too much or too little. As an HG, you will no doubt know what you want to have in your dungeons or various adventures. You may set up a certain amount of coins, gems/jewels and magic items available, based on the Degrees of the adventuring party involved. This will help ensure game balance. For instance, a Warrior with +1 plate mail armor, a +1 shield and a +2 elite sword at 1st Degree is NOT a good thing. The gamer may love it, but game play will be effected by it. Now, at 3rd or 4th Degree or so, those items make sense. The GC will have adventured quite a bit and will have earned it. On the other hand, you may need to throw your Gamers a bone now and then, or boredom and frustration will set in. At lower Degrees, GC's will get hurt, so healing potions and potions in general are a good reward. Like potions, scrolls are used up after one use and are a good low Degree GC reward. At 1st Degree, one +1 item or ring, wand or other special item should be possible. You also have to take into account that certain items will be available for purchase in town as per the item chart, allowing GC's to get stronger that way. A 0 Degree Warrior won't start out with the best stuff, but gold earned along the way will enable the purchase of better items. Reactions are another example. You don't have to roll for Creature reactions at every encounter. There will be times where a fight is going to happen or times when you are planning a talking encounter to advance the plot and encourage role play from the gamers. Other times, gamers actions will mandate a Creature reaction one way or another without a dice roll. Don't be afraid to fake a roll to add to the excitement, while going with your instinct. Some charts are there as a reference to give an idea of how to proceed. As you get more comfortable in your role as Hero Guide, you will be better prepared to wing it. This will serve to make the dice a part of the game, but not the only part.
41
Part 9: HotDC Board Game Style Rules

The Board should feature 20 rooms or more on either graph paper or game mats* using erasable ink pens. You should consider each square 5 feet rather than 10 feet as it allows for more room to maneuver, so hallways should be at lest 2 squares wide. If you use the game mat*, you can use miniatures or just write your location in erasable ink. If you use graph paper, use thumb tacks for your GC's and the Creature's locations and use a piece of cardboard for underneath the paper. These items are the less expensive alternative to game mats* and miniatures. Though there is no Hero Guide for Board Game style, somebody needs to draw up a dungeon map of at least 20 rooms. Be sure each hallway is at least 2 squares (5 feet per square) wide to allow room for placing tacks on the paper. You can either tear off pieces of paper in similar size or pick up a pack of index cards for random dungeon stocking. Per ten rooms, you can have (at least) 6 Creature cards, two empty room cards and 2 treasure room cards. Below illustrates what to write on the cards: 1-Creature cards should be generated randomly from the chart and equal to the Degree of the adventuring GC's. You will write all vital stats on the card for easy reference (Life Points, Creature Strength, Attacks, Damage, Any Treasure rolled). There will be one of the Creatures rolled per GC who enters that room. Two GC's mean two Creatures faced. 2-Empy Rooms are empty rooms, though you can make a Roaming Creature check, consider an empty room a healing and Incantation regaining room (1 time per empty room). 3-Treasure card has 1 roll on Treasure Charts and the outcome must be treasure or money of item value. In other words, ignore rolls that say no treasure for treasure rooms only. Be sure to determine all GC's movement rates as this will determine how much they can move per turn and round. Make Roaming Creature checks every 3 turns. You can create a Roaming Creature deck or just use the charts, but total encountered equals how many GC's are there. Combat procedure should be followed as per the rule book when an encounter is made, Alertness and First Move Rolls. As an optional rule, you may allow for negotiating out of a fight with any Creature capable of negotiating, otherwise, it's a fight until the Creature dies or you run or die. You must be quicker than the creature as per movement chart to run away successfully. If negotiating is attempted, roll as per Creature Reaction Chart and obey the outcome. Failure to negotiate means there will be a fight. When all 20 (or more) rooms have been entered and faced successfully, your GC earns his Quest Completion AP Bonus, plus AP's for every Creature defeated or successfully negotiated with. Remember to be honest when using these rules as you are only cheating yourself if you don't. You can play solo or with 2-6 players. Hero Guides may opt not to accept GC's played Board Game Style in their adventures. * HotDC recommends game mats and erasable pens by Chessex
42
Coming Soon
First Edition Rules Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl Basic Edition will have all the tools needed for the Hero Guide to take the Gamers through Degrees 0 to 10. Go from being an Applicant to a Hero Legend after adventuring across the land and through dangerous dungeons and crypts. Full descriptions of all of the rules, Creatures, Incantations and everything will be included, making this a must have for the gamer wanting to play an old school style role playing game. There will also be a map to an Adventure Setting of Three Kings Island, including brief descriptions of several of the key places and a brief history of the land. What you do with the land will be up to you. And the Great thing is that this will be the only rule book needed to play.
Explore the Secret City Of Modayvia

Beneath the outpost overlooking the recently formed town of Dragon Vale is a maze of dungeons hiding a secretive cult of Priests who are creating an army of Living Dead to overtake the land of Three Kings Island. Beneath the dungeons is an even bigger secret. Its the city of Modayvia, unknown to the inhabitants of Three Kings Island. They are decedents of the ancient city of Modayvia that stood roughly where Dragon Vale is now, many centuries ago. Why are they under ground? What secrets are they keeping? Who are the members of the mysterious group known only as The Order? What are they plotting? Uncover the secrets of the Secret City Of Moldayvia.
The Heroes Chronicle

The official magazine of Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl and a magazine for old school gamers. It will be available in pdf form for free or in print at cost. The Heroes Chronicle will take you through the creative process of HotDC, articles about various creatures, people, places and things in HotDC, campaign and dungeon ideas and looks at other companies bringing old school rpgs to the gamers.
Games of Old School Interest
Back to the basics of old-school fantasy gaming

http://www.goblinoidgames.com/labyrinthlord.htm
This is pretty neat & free. Just scroll down http://www.destinyrealms.com/griffon/free.html
Another free game & you can get it and an adventure at the Dungeon Squad Companion http://www.freewebs.com/skathrosds/dsadventures.htm 43
Heroes
of the
Dungeon Crawl
The Adventure Begins
Basic
You heard rumors of an enormous treasure in the caverns on the other side of the mountain. As a dwarven lad, your father told you stories when he'd come home from a long day mining silver for the clan to use for forging swords and chain mail armor for the dwarven army. It is a time of relative peace for your clan, but you crave adventure. You have completed your training, and you want to put it to use. You want to prove what a brave warrior you have become. You want a piece of that treasure. But, you know it will not be easy. You need companions. After riding into town to recruit anybody brave enough to join you in your quest, you have managed to convince a human warrior, a halfling rogue, an elven wizard and a dwarven cleric to join you. After three days, you arrive near the entrance of the cave. The rogue sneaks in for a closer look, and it's a good thing. He hears voices, kobold voices. There could be a half dozen or more in there. Suddenly, one of the kobolds emerges from the cave. The resourceful rogue manages to hide in a shadow and avoids detection. Drawing on his rogue training, he sneaks up behind the unsuspecting kobold and stabs him in the back. Unfortunately, the kobold lets out a loud scream, alerting his friends inside the entrance to the cave. The rogue climbs a tree, sounds a battle cry to alert his comrades and draws his bow, firing a shot that takes out the first kobold grunt that emerges from the cave to check on his fallen comrade. You and the other three party members arrive to find five kobolds ready for battle, short swords drawn and charging your comrade in the tree. There is no time to think. You have waited for this moment all your life, and now it's time to prove you are a great dwarven warrior like the ones sung about back home. You draw your sword and charge in to what you hope will be the first of many victorious battles in your life. You sound a battle cry as your sword slices into the first kobold you see. The adventure has begun.
Charts Edition
44

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Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition

A Six Sided Dice System

Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition

A NOTE ABOUT THIS BOOK

Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition

About Heroes Of The Dungeon Crawl

Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition

28 29 29 30-31 33 33 33-34 35 36-37 38 38 39-40 41 42 42

Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition

How To Use This Book

What's It All About?

Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition

To Hack Or To Role Play

Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition

Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition

Part 2: Game Character Creation

Rolling Your Game Character Ability Scores

Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition

Optional Might Rules

Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition

Cunning Chart (For Speaking)

Cunning Chart (For Book Of Incantations)

Cunning Chart (For Resistance Rolls)

Optional Luck or Intuition Statistic

Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition

Personality Chart (optional)

Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition

Brief Race Descriptions

Race Ability Chart

Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition

Brief Profession Descriptions

Profession Ability Chart

Character Life Dice Chart

Degree Advancement Chart

Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition

Priest Repel Living Dead Ability

Rogue Abilities Chart

Rolling For Starting Money

Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition

Move 120' 60' 30' 0'

Cost 100 900 40 200 900 2000 10 750 750

Weight 350 250 200 200 450 450 80 150 150

250 Units 450 Units 700 Units 900 Units 17

Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition

Part 3 Resistance Rolls & Magic Incantations

Resistance Roll Rules

Creature Base Resistance Roll Numbers Deg 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 RR Number 13 13 12 11 11 10 8 8 7 7 6

Reversing Priest Incantations

Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition

Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl Character Sheet

Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition

Part 4: The Adventure The Order Of Play

Keeping Track Of The In Game Time

First Move And Alertness Rolls

Looking For Hidden Doors or Listening At The Door

Rules For Bandaging

Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition

Creature Reaction & Hired Help Reaction

Creature Encounter Reaction

Hired Help Response Chart

Hired Help Cost Chart

Heroes of The Dungeon Crawl - Basic Charts Edition