Heartbreaker

Last updated: April 23rd, 2024

It seems that everyone in this corner of the internet has published their own house rules for the dungeon-based fantasy RPG. Here I shall do the same. These rules take inspiration from Into the Odd and the Goblin Laws of Gaming (GLOG).

WIP Title: Archaelogists and Dragons

Why this Heartbreaker?

Every hack of the most popular tabletop role-playing game of the 20th century always seems to focus on the first D in its name – the dungeons. In fact, I even called it the “dungeon-based fantasy RPG” in an earlier draft. To make this hack stand out, I will instead focus on the second D – the dragons.

Every player character (PC) has dragon-blood in them. Subconsciously this dragon-blood drives them toward acquiring gold. The Dragon-blood causes PCs to grow more powerful when they hoard gold. In terms of mechanics, this means “gold for XP”. There is no “carousing” requirement, because the treasure must be hoarded. If a PC’s hoard decreases below a level’s threshold, either by the PC spending it or it being stolen/destroyed, then the PC loses access to that level’s abilities until they rebuild their hoard.

PCs may choose to embrace the dragon abilities, becoming more and more dragon-like, or they may choose to remain mortal. Mechanically, this means “Race as class”. Beyond their racial abilities, each PC is a member of that legal “get rich quick if you don’t die” profession – archaelogist (read: tomb-raiding rogue).

As for the setting, the world is littered with tombs of treasure. The largest religion believes that gold is the foundation for a good afterlife, and one must be buried with it. They also believe in binding servants into service in the afterlife, burying them together with their masters and animating the corpses to protect the tombs. Gold is reserved for the dead, the living use the copper standard.

There are also dungeons to crawl because dragons and their descendants instinctively build them to protect their hoards. The DM (Dragon-Mother) is encouraged to sprinkle in as much dragon and undead motifs as possible, including making interesting NPCs into undead or a dragon-blood.

Starting from the mid-levels, PCs are encouraged to embrace domain play, in which they build their own dungeon to protect their hoard.

Core Gameplay Loop

One Player is the Dragon-Mother (DM). The other players control Archaelogists.

The game is played in turns. Turns usually go like this.

The Dragon-Mother (DM) presents the location and scenario that the Players’ characters (PCs) find themselves in due to their pursuit of their drives, usually gold.
The Players can ask for more details. The DM will answer honestly, but the answer may be that the PCs must investigate to find out.
When the Players’ questions are answered, they say what their PCs want to do in response. If there is risk involved in the Player’s choice, the DM will inform them of it and ask if the Player still wants to proceed.
If the outcome of the PC’s action is interesting and uncertain, a Roll is required to determine the outcome.
When the outcome of their action is certain, the DM declares it to the players. Either DM or players may narrate it.
Finally, the DM takes their turn, causing the location and/or the non-player characters (NPCs) to act, restarting the Gameplay loop.

the Roll

When a Roll is required, the DM will clarify the following with you and the table:

What are you trying to accomplish? And how well can you accomplish it?
What is at risk here? ie. What badly could it go wrong if you fail?

The DM then tell you which target number (TN) the roll must meet to succeed. The TN is usually on your or the opposing NPC’s character sheet. If you agree to take the risk, then roll a twenty-sided die (d20), adding your Skill bonus if appropriate.

If you are acting against another PC, all Players involved roll. Whichever Player has the highest roll among those who succeeded against their respective TN has their way.

Player Tips

Ask questions. Listen to details.
Work together. You are a team.
Be creative. The best plans guarantee success without relying on the Roll.
Play to your character’s drives
- Play to get gold
- Play to survive
- Play to [your own goal]
Embrace your character’s death when it comes

Elements of a Character

Hit Points and Wounds

Hit Points reflects a PC’s ability to avoid danger. Wounds are the amount of damage your body has taken. If you ever go over 10 Wounds, you die.

Your Wound TN is 10 + Wounds. You may have to Roll against your Wound TN when you do something that challenges your stamina or bodily endurance, like being poisoned.

When your HP is reduced to 0, any excess damage is taken as Wounds. You must then make a Roll to remain conscious, against your Wound TN. An unconscious PC regains consciousness when they recover HP.

Stress

Stress reflect’s the amount of toll your mind has taken from resisting magical effects or emotional compulsion. If you ever go over 10 Stress, you suffer a nervous breakdown. After the nervous breakdown takes you out of the action for a while, choose from the following two consequences:

You can no longer stomach this profession, retire this character and make a new one. OR
Your mind is no longer whole – you are now a goblin. Exchange your highest non-goblin species template for the lowest available goblin template.

Your Stress TN is 10 + Stress. You may have to Roll against your Stress TN when you resist the effects of a spell or face something emotionally distressing.

Healing

If you rest for 10 minutes, recover 1d6 HP.

If you rest for 30 minutes and eat an energy bar, recover all HP.

Wounds and Stress can only be healed at a safe haven. Each night you are safe and well-fed, remove 1 Wound and 1 Stress. A hired healer will speed up the process. Note: Undecided if stress will be removed this way.

Skill

Your skill is a bonus that applies to Rolls when your Rogue does something they are skilled at. These include, but are not limited to:

Acrobatic Movements
Stealth
Fleeing
Attacks
Combat Maneuvers

Inventory

PCs have different types of Inventory Slots.

3 On-hand Slots These represent items that you are carrying in hand or on an easily accessible part of your body, such as a lasso hanging from your belt, the quiver for your bow, or an arming sword in its sheath by your side. These can be accessed at any time.
6 Body Slots These represent items worn on your person, such as any armor or headwear. Regular clothes do not count towards these. Each piece of armor worn gives a +1 to your Armor bonus and to your Encumberance.
If you do not wear full armor, you may use these slots to store other objects if you can justify wearing them on your person. Getting these items ready for use requires at least one combat turn. Each slot used in this manner contributes 1 to your Encumberance.
9 Backpack Slots These represent items carried in a backpack. Getting these items out requires at least one combat turn.
6 slots fit well in the backpack. But you can overstuff the backpack with an extra three slots – using each of these slots contributes 1 to your Encumberance.

An Inventory Slot can contain

2 Light objects, such as rations, torches, flasks, daggers.
1 Medium object, such as a sword, a quiver of 20 arrows / bolts, a lantern.
0.5 Heavy (2-handed) Weapon, e.g. greatsword
1 Coin (see below)

Armor and Encumberance

Your Armor bonus is added to Rolls made to avoid damage from opposing Attacks and combat maneuvers when wearing armor.

Encumberance is a measure of the objects and conditions, such as fatigue, restricting your mobility. The PC with the highest Encumberance is the slowest moving member of your party. If your Encumberance goes over 10, you are no longer able to move.

Your Encumberance TN = 10 + Encumberance. You may have to Roll against your Encumberance TN when you are making movements in which your gear might weigh you down, such as leaping across a large chasm or sneaking up to a guard.

Alignment and Species

Your Alignment is the measure of how mortal or draconic you currently feel.

A Dragon is a solitary apex predator. It takes none but its own kind into opinion in pursuit of its carnal desire: gold. When you feel your characters actions are driven by goldlust above all other concerns, you may increase your Alignment by 1 (to a maximum of 6).

Mortals live in a society. It is their own hope against the great powers beyond. Whenever you feel your characters actions are self-sacrificial in the aid of others or the greater good, you may decrease your Alignment by 1 (to a minimum of 0).

Each species in the setting has a unique set of abilities. When you level up, check your alignment:

If your alignment is closer to 6, gain the next Dragon feature.
If your alignment is closer to 0, gain the next Mortal feature.
If your alignment is 3, you may choose your template.

Note: Goblins are Mortal too. They might not be willingly self-sacrificial, but a good goblin knows how to work together, take orders and put their life on the line for the tribe. When your gain Mortal features, you may always choose to the Goblin variant.

Your Rogue Talents

Each Rogue has their talents. When you level up, you gain another talent.

Your Hoard

As a dragon-blood, you hoard treasure just as much as gold. When your party come away with a valuable treasure, decide which of you will keep it. (You may need to negotiate and trade gold and treasure around to ensure fairness.) Whoever keeps the treasure writes it down on their sheet in this section, and they gain the its value in XP.

Traps mastered

Level 1 Character Creation

You start as a Level 1 Mortal. Mortals start with one Cooperation point, and get a +1 bonus on Rolls for Stealth.
1. Cooperation Points can be spent to alter an adjacent ally’s Roll or damage roll. For each Cooperation Point spent, increase the roll by one. You cannot influence natural 1s or 20s on a d20. You can spend Cooperation points after the dice have landed. Cooperation points replenish with a full night’s rest.
Your skill is 1. The rest of your stats (Wounds, Stress, Armor, Encumberance, Alignment) start at 0.
Roll a d20 for your former profession and note down its corresponding Talent and starting equipment.
Add the following to your inventory
- 2 days of rations (1 slot)
- 2 torches (1 slot)
- A d6 weapon (1 slot)
- 1 Coin
Finally, give your PC a name.

Former Professions

No.	Former Profession	Talent	Starting Equipment
1	Valet / Lady’s Maid	Bag of Tricks
2	Gambler	Extra Lucky	Gambling dice and cards;
3	Roadie	Prepwork	Hammer and Stakes; 10 foot pole
4	Thug	Thick as Thieves	Thick Truncheon
5	Mountaineer	Second Story Work	Grappling hook and rope
6	Stage Magician	Tricky Fingers	Lockpick and stage magician’s hat (rabbit not included)
7	False Prophet	Con Artist	3 Flasks of Snake Oil
8	Sailor	Cunning Linguist	Rope and a waterproof bag
9	Tailor	Fancy	Sewing Kit and a mirror
10	Courtesan	Seductive Wiles	A musical instrument of your choice and 3 flasks of perfume
11	Merchant’s apprentice	Appraisal	A merchant’s scale and a set of corresponding weights (1 slots)
12	Watchman	Danger Sense	Warning Horn, Spy glass
13	Academic	Historian	Quill and ink, thick reference book
14	Actor	The World’s Your Stage	Makeup kit
15	Courier	Connected
16	Circus Act	Escape Artist	Manacles. A set of 3 padlocks and their key.
17	Courtier	Social Magnet
18	Party Crasher	Act like you belong	3 sets of clothes for different types of parties.
19	Juggler	Fast Hands	A set of 3 juggling daggers,
20	Pro Dodgeball player	Dodge

Coin and Equipment

A Coin is a large purse of copper coins that fits in one inventory slot, and is the equivalent of a labourer’s wages for a week. In general,

One Coin pays for one inventory slot of adventuring equipment, such as a tool, a weapon or one piece of armor.
A Half-Coin pays for a light weapon, a day’s lodging and food, a day’s rations, a common item.
Two Coins pays for a heavy weapon or a specialised tool, such as Holy Water, lockpicks, a musical instrument, perfume, etc.

Hirelings

The daily wages of a hired adventurer is equal to their skill level. (e.g. A Level Two hireling costs Two Coin per day.) Adventurers start with Stress = 4 - their Level.

Skill-less peasants may be hired for mundane labor at a rate of One Coin per week in a safe place, or a Half-Coin per day in dangerous places like a dungeon. Skill-less peasants start in dangerous places with Stress 6.

Many GOBLINS template for hirelings.

In combat, hired adventurers have to Roll against Stress just like NPC monsters. On a failed Roll, the hirelings will flee for their lives. Roll against Stress when

a PC goes down
half of the hirelings numbers is defeated

Advancement

Your hoard determines your level, and hence your PC’s base power level.

Level	Hoard (gp)
1	1000
2	3000
3	7000
4	15000

When you level up, you gain the following:

Increase your HP by d4
Increase your Skill bonus by 1
Check your Alignment and gain the next appropriate species template.
Advance a Rogue Talent you have or Gain a new one at Rank one

After Level 4, every time you increase your hoard by 1000gp, you may check your Alignment again and make an appropriate species template swap.

Species

Each Species has 4 features, which are gained sequentially.

Mortals

Individually, mortals are weak. Their own hope of taking on a dragon is huddling together as a pack and striking from the shadows. Each level of Mortal gives you +1 Coorperation and +1 Stealth.

A – Cooperation

You can spend Cooperation Points to alter an adjacent ally’s Roll. For each Cooperation Point spent, increase the roll by one. You can influence any in-game d20 or damage roll. You cannot influence magic dice, or natural 1s or 20s on a d20. You cannot alter your own roll. You can spend Cooperation points after the dice have landed. Cooperation points replenish with a full night’s rest.

B – Opportunist

Whenever you have a stiuational advantage on an attack roll (surprise, high ground, etc.), you deal an additional +1d6 damage.

C – Selfish

When it truly comes down to it, all that matters is number one. You can spend Cooperation points to benefit yourself (instead of being forced to help others).

D – Pack Leader

Your Cooperation Points give a +2 bonus per point spent, instead of +1. Hirelings who fight under your command, gain +1 Skill and Armor, and they start with Hirelings now have a starting loyalty of +X (16% to flee).

Dragon-Blood

A Dragon is an unstoppable force of physical and magical might. The embodiment of an element and pure greed. As Dragon-Blood, you inherited some of your ancestor’s power, that is slowly manifesting despite your weak mortal flesh. Each level of Dragon Blood gives you +1 HP and +1 Mana Dice (MD). You never roll mishaps for your Dragon Magic.

The first time you gain a Dragon-Blood template, choose the element of your ancestral dragon: acid, fire, stone and storm. It will be used by features you gain, and you cannot change it later.

A – Dragonspeech

You understand and can use Dragonspeech in both written word and speech.

A – Dragon Breath

R: [dice]x20’ cone T: area D:0

Deal d6 damage to anything in the cone. Roll against their Encumberance for half damage. Storm breath extinguishes all fires smaller than a bonfire. Fire breath sets things on fire. Acid breath bleaches the colour from objects and irritates eyes. Stone breath covers things with a thin layer of sand.

B – Draconic Hide and Retractable Claws

Your claws are weapons that you can instantly extend to wield and retract to hide. If not wearing body armor, Armor +3.

B – Goldnose You can smell gold, jewels, gem, silver, minerals and crystals of value. If you stand at a crossroads and sniff, the DM will tell you which direction has the most treasure. If you sniff in an empty room, the DM will tell you if you smell the faint odor of potentially buried treasure.

If you choose not to move toward the treasure, Roll versus your Dragon TN. On a fail, you Stress rises by your [Dragon Level].

Your Dragon TN = 10 + Willpower + Dragon Level

C – Draconic Terror

R: hearing distance T: [Sum] HD of creatures D: 10 min / permanent

Targets fear you. A Roll against their Willpower TN + your Dragon Level to negate. If [sum] is at least 4 times the creature’s HD, the duration becomes permanent until they see you doing something that dispels the fear.

D – Dragon Flight

You gain the ability to sprout a pair of dragon wings from your back, gaining a flying speed equal to your current speed. It takes a full combat turn to unfurl or retract your wings.

You can’t manifest your wings while wearing armor unless the armor is made to accommodate them, and clothing not made to accommodate your wings might be destroyed when you manifest them.

Goblin

Each time Get Good, roll one time on list. Same thing, roll new. Get max four thing only.

1d20	Get Good
1	Good Guts	+2 HP, no poison eats
2	Good Brains	learn random little wizard spell
3	Good Face	+2 Save. Big big smile grin, ear to ear. Big eyes
4	Good Ears	+2 Luck. Not never sneaked up on.
5	Good Sneaks	+2 Move. So Sneaks
6	Good Punch	+2 Attack. Like to Fight. Fight you.
7	More TEEF	Mouth is daggers now. Can chew rocks, sticks
8	Not Dead	Adv Roll vs Woonds
9	Beetle Friend	Can ride it. If dead, is sad, find new beetle next day.
10	Sticky	Adv Climb Move. Easy Climb but fings get gummed up
11	Weird Goblan	Newtate one time
12	Ankle Bite	If fight thing bigger than you, 1 Attack a round
13	Goblin Friend	Is good. Mebe make more goblans
14	Bug Barf	One time in day, barf up big sack of spider, worms
15	Wut?	Never afraids. No thinks to read or control
16	Lucky Goblan	+2 Save. Also one time in day, reroll big round dice.
17	New Stuff	If lost arm or leg, grows back in some days
18	No Squish	If fall, no die. Bounce instead
19	Ooze Friend	Little squishy friend. No acid or guts or ooze hurt you.
20	Greasy	Can no be tied up or grabbled

Skills

Level up on 10, 20, 30?

Bag of Tricks
1. Takes up up to 2 inventory slots. At any time, you may fill in one of these slots with a mundane tool of value (1 Coin). When you return to town, you may clear these slots to refill the bag.
2. Bag now has up to 4 slots.
3. Bag no longer contributes to encumbrance.
Extra-Lucky
1. Whenever you would gain advantage to Attack, you roll damage with advantage as well.
2. Whenever you gain advantage on a Roll, you may reroll 1s.
3. Whenever you would gain advantage on a Roll, you may roll the d20 3 times instead of 2 and take the best.
Prepwork
1. On a 1 in 6, you may declare that you’ve set up a minor environment effect nearby in an area that you would’ve had access to within the recent past and trigger that effect.
2. One automatic success per day. Then 2 in 6 for each following attempt.
3. 3 in 6 for each following attempt, and you can have retroactively set up effects in any area you plausibly could have had access to at any time in the past.
Second Story Work
1. You can climb vertical surfaces as quickly as you can walk.
2. Double your move speed and jump distance.
3. You can climb upside down as quickly as you can walk. Halve fall damage.
Thick as thieves
1. You can recruit d4 thugs in town who are loyal so long as they get a cut of the loot and are sure they’ll make it out alive. They will flee, cheat or betray you and each other if either of those conditions become sufficiently murky.
2. d6 thugs or d4 thieves, each with 1 rank in a random skill (besides skills that give you hirelings).
3. 2d6 thugs or 2d4 thieves, each with 2 ranks in a random skill (besides skills that give you hirelings).
Tricky fingers
1. Whenever you try to perform sleight of hand (lockpicking, pickpocketing, etc.), failure won’t alert anyone who isn’t already paying attention to you.
2. You leave no trace of tampering, or specific traces of your choice, when you perform sleight of hand (whether you succeed or fail).
3. Whenever someone tries to retrieve or draw an item, you can (on a 2-in-6, with 1 guaranteed success per day) reveal that you actually burgled it from them at some point in the recent pass if you had access.
Con artist
1. So long as no one can verify what you’re saying is wrong, you can lie through your teeth and they’ll believe you for at least d6 minutes.
2. d6 hours
3. Even if they can verify, they’ll believe you over other people until the end of the duration.
Cunning Linguist
1. Three times, you may encounter a language that the party does not understand, and reveal that you speak that language. Add it to your character sheet, you are now fluent in it.
2. You can attempt to translate any language you don’t speak. The GM rolls a d6 secretly for the number of errors you make in translation.
3. You can crudely communicate with anything that has a language. Gain the ability to speak with (d6: 1. Birds, 2. Clothes, 3. Doors, 4. Gold, 5. Fire, 6. Weapons)
Fancy
1. Fancy clothes give you +2 Armor bonus
2. Can choose to ablate fancy clothing like a shield, reducing damage from one attack by d12 points but ruining your outfit in the process.
3. Given half an hour, you can make any outfit into a fancy outfit through sheer willpower and coordination.
Seductive Wiles
1. You can keep someone engaged in conversation with you, to the exclusion of all else, for an hour. This makes them less hostile, and on a 2-in-6 they let valuable information slip.
2. You don’t have to roll to impersonate someone in casual conversation, but gaps in your knowledge can still reveal you. 4-in-6 to let info slip.
3. You can choose which specific information they reveal, if any, and you can keep them talking for d6 hours.
Appraisal
1. You can tell the rough value (within an order of magnitude) and historical/geographic provenance of items, architecture, etc.
2. You can identify an object, effect or creature is magic on sight. Gain the ability to Speak with Art.
3. Gain the ability to Speak with Magic.
Danger Sense
1. 3-in-6 chance of acting in surprise round when ambushed, advantages on saves against effects you haven’t seen yet.
2. Always act in surprise rounds; always act first in initiative order.
3. Once, you may cheat death.
Historian
1. On a 1-in-6, you may declare a historical fact relevant to the current situation (negotiate it with the GM). Whether correct or not, it’s believed to be true in the current era.
2. One automatic success per day, then 2-in-6 for each following event.
3. 3-in-6, and the historical facts you declare can be outlandish - but your reputation will make them believed.
The World’s Your Stage
1. Accompanied by a plausible disguise for the situation, people will always assume you are who you appear to be, unless you give them a strong reason not to.
2. You are a master of disguise. With the aid of a disguise kit, you can spend 1 hour to disguise yourself as belonging to a gender, ethnicity, or similarly sized humanoid species other than your own. Your disguise won’t pass close inspection, but it will do the job in any casual encounter unless the people you meet already have reason to be very suspicious of you.
Connected
1. If you’ve spent at least a week in a town, you’ll have built a web of useful contacts. If you want something (items, information, invites to parties, etc) which could possibly be obtained in your location for the right price, then you know someone who can obtain it for you (whether you can afford it or not is another question). You also have contacts who can do favours for you that are no more than mildly illegal. You can call on one favour per day and the GM decides how far they’ll go for you.
2. Once per session, if it’s not entirely implausible, you meet someone you know who is willing to do modest favours for you. You can decide when and where you want to meet this person, but the GM decides who they are and what they can do for you.
Escape Artist
1. Once per day, if you could plausibly escape from a situation (tied up, awkward conversation), you may do so without needing to roll.
2. Once per scene, you can escape automatically from a situation you could plausibly escape.
Social Magnet
1. You can convince d6 people in close proximity that you are a close friend over the course of a few minutes, and they will treat you as if you were an old friend until you leave their presence.
2. 2d6 people in close proximity, and their positive feelings towards you last for d6 days.
Act like you belong
1. You can avoid notice by slipping into a group of 4 or more, provided you are similar in appearance to the group. You are treated as if part of the group, and given access to any resources or restricted areas that they would normally have access to, as long as you accompany them.
2. You can avoid notice by accompanying even a single individual, or can slip into a group even without the appropriate appearance. After you leave, you are difficult to describe, and your features can’t be recollected if you choose.
Fast Hands
1. Gain additional Quick-Draw Slots
2. When you roll a Natural 20 on an Attack Roll, you can deal double damage AND attempt a free combat maneuver. When you roll a 19 on an Attack Roll, you deal regular damage and attempt a free combat maneuver.
3. Your tricky ability expands to 18 and 19. Whenever you attempt a free combat maneuver after rolling 18, 19 or 20, you get advantage on your attempt.
Dodge
1. Once per day, you can declare that something doesn’t affect you. Works on anything that you could physically dodge.
2. Twice per day.
3. Redirect a missile?

Spellcasting

Spells are imprisoned spirits that are summoned forth for a specific purpose with mana, which are represented by d6 Mana Dice (MD). The more mana invested, the more powerful the spell’s manifestation.

Anyone can cast spells if they have (1) a Spell (usually in the form of a scroll or wand), and (2) Mana Dice to spare. Magical Species, like Dragons, gain innate Mana Dice as they level up. Everyone else has to find magical items that give them Mana Dice.

To cast a spell, PCs must hold the spell’s container in hand, then select its target and how many MD you want to invest. Then roll the invested MD. Dice showing 1, 2 or 3 are returned to its mana pool, and can be used to cast spells later. Dice that show 4, 5 or 6 are expended until recharged.

The effect of the spell depends on its description. [dice] refers to the number of rolled MD. [sum] refers to the sum of the rolled MD. Spells do not affect any target unless its [sum] is at least equal to the target’s level.

If doubles are rolled, the caster suffers a Mishap – roll on the Mishap table. If triples are rolled, the caster suffers the lowest level Doom on the list that they have yet to suffer.

Mishaps

Take 1d6 damage
Cannot cast the spell again until the next day
Invert spell effect on target
Randomize spell targets
Magic dice return on 1-2 until end of day
Inconvenience related to the spell’s effect for [sum] days.

When you discover a new spell, you must have the spell identified to understand its full effects. However, you may still cast an unidentified spell with a successful Roll against Stress. If you fail the Roll, you suffer a Mishap instead.

Magical Items

Spell spirits are contained in

Magical wood, like a staff or wand,
Magical paper, like a scroll or spellbook, or
A wizard’s brain.

Wands and Starves contain a single bonded spell and occupy one inventory slot. They may always be used as long as their wielder has MD to invest.

A scroll contains a single spell. Three scrolls can be bundled into one inventory slot. Scrolls are vulnerable to damage – whenever you take fire or acid damage, each scroll has a 50% chance of being destroyed. A spellbook occupies a single inventory slot and holds 10 spells. Spellbooks are protected by waterproof bags and metal covers.

If you cast a Spell from magical paper, the paper is destroyed. However, this destruction invests one free MD into the Spell. This free MD can contribute to Mishaps, and is always spent – it cannot be absorbed into the caster’s Mana pool.

When a wizard dies, their spells are trapped in their brain. Wizarding laboratories can perform rituals to extract these spells. A wizard’s brain occupies a single inventory slot, and like a scroll is vulnerable to fire and acid.

Magical clothing, like magical robes and pointy hats, are Mana containers. Magical clothing provide one MD per Body Inventory slot they occupy. These MD are replenish every morning, like innate MD.

Subsystems

Exploration

Holy Light

When exploring a tomb or dungeon, the darkness inside is the darkness of the grave. Without holy light, the PCs will attract ghosts, undead or other creatures of the night.

When PCs pray on a holy talisman, set up a d20 as the countdown clock for the duration of the light. Every dungeon turn, roll a d6 and subtract it from the clock. If the d6 lands on 6, roll again and subtract again.

When the clock lands on 3, PCs get an omen of a wandering encounter. On 0, the clock ticks back up to 3, also resulting in an omen. If the clock is negative, a wandering encounter occurs that turn, unless the PCs can set themselves up in a sheltered area.

Holy power cannot be reset. It must tick all the way down, then PCs can pray again to restart the clock.

A torch provides bright light in a 30 feet radius, and dim light for another 30 feet. When acting without light, all Rolls that rely on sight are made with disadvantage.

Reaction Roll

When you encounter strangers, the most visible party member makes a Luck Roll to determine their reaction to the party.

Luck Roll	Reaction
1-	Hostile
2-6	Aggressive
7-14	Uncertain
15-19	Indifferent
20+	Friendly

Food and Water

When your PC is deprived of food and water, they cannot recover HP. For each day without food or water, Encumberance +1.

Dungeons

A Dungeon Turn takes about 10 minutes. In that time, PCs may

Move cautiously through 120 feet, spotting traps along the way,
Move quickly through 360 feet, discovering traps by triggering them,
Search a small room
Force a door open, including by lockpicking
Take a break, to heal 1d6 HP.

Wilderness

PCs can travel at 3 miles per hour if the terrain and weather is good. At half that speed if the terrain is difficult.

PCs can safely travel for 8 hours per day. For each further hour of travel, PCs +1 Encumberance and then must make a Roll against their Encumberance TN. On a fail, that PC is no longer able to keep up and must rest.

Combat

Turn Order

If anyone attacks by surprise, they get an extra turn to act before regular turns begin.

To determine the turn order of the Combat round, make a Move roll against the enemies’ Move TN. PCs who succeed act before the enemies, PCs who fail act afterwards.

Your Turn

On their turn, a PC can move up to (25 + Move*5) feet. And they can do one of the following:

Make an Attack roll against a target
Dash, ie. move up to another (25 + Move*5) feet
Cast a spell
Retrieve an item from your backpack
Use an item
Make a combat maneuver against a target, like trip, shove, grapple, etc. Talking or dropping an item can be done freely, and possibly even on someone else’s turn.

Attack rolls are made against the enemy’s Armor TN. Ranged attacks are made at disadvantage if the enemy is far away. On a successful Attack roll, roll your weapon die and reduce the target’s HP by that amount. If you roll a 20 on the d20, the attack deals twice as much damage OR you gain a free combat maneuver. If you roll a 1 on the d20, the attack misses and the enemy gets a free counter-attack against you.

Weapon type	Weapon die
Unarmed	d2
Improvised weapons*	1d6
Regular weapons	1d6
2-handed weapons	1d8
Note: Improvised weapons make Attack rolls with a -2 penalty.

When you make a combat maneuver, such as tripping, shoving, etc., you make either an Attack or Move Roll versus the opponent’s Armor or Move TN. The DM decides which bonus is most applicable. On a success, you perform the maneuver.

Defending

When an enemy attacks you, make an Armor roll against their Attack TN. If you succeed, they miss. If you roll a 20 on the d20, you may make a free counter attack or combat maneuver. If you roll a 1 on the d20, the enemy does double damage to you.

Fleeing

If you decide to flee combat, on your turn, make a Move Roll versus the Move TN of the enemy you are engaged with.

Morale

When combat turns against the NPCs, such as

when their side takes their first death,
when half their side has been incapacitated or killed, or
if some particularly frightening or spectacular effect occurs, the most terrifying PC in that combat, DM’s choice, makes a Luck roll versus the enemies Save TN. If the roll succeeds, the NPCs try to run away or surrender

Dungeon Building

Running the Game

DM Principles

Give your players meaningful decisions and multiple viable options.
Giving more information rather than less allows for more meaningful decisions.

Rolls

If success or failure is inevitable, don’t call for a Roll. Only call for a Roll if both success and failure lead to interesting outcomes.

Don’t gatekeep information behind a Roll. If there’s a chance the Player sees it, tell them.

Failed Rolls have consequences. Sometimes, the most obvious one is a time penalty. Wasted time means more chances for bad things to happen to the PCs.

Monsters

HD
Attack
Armor
Damage
Move
Save (incl. Morale)

Rivals

Conversions

Saves

Fort, Reflex, Will; dex, con, wis

Monsters

Max Hit Points (HD * d6)
Attack TN = 10+HD
Armor TN = identical if ascending AC. If descending, subtract its AC from 19 if it is from OD&D or B/X D&D, or from 20 if from AD&D.
Move TN = 10 + X, where X is 0 for 25ft. Add 1 for every increase of 5 ft. e.g. Move of 40ft => Move TN = 13.
Save TN = 10+HD, includes Morale.

License

CC BY-NC-SA Arnold Kemp Goblin Punch - Lair of the Lamb, GLOG:Wizards Skerples - Many Rats on a Stick (Goblan) Rise Up Comus - Classic Fantasy Races for the GLoG May 21, 2020 (Humans)

5e SRD - (Dragon template) Crated Land - Thieves’ Guilds Feb 1, 2020 Make a New Cult Every Day - GLOG: A Bunch of Rogue Classes Feb 19, 2020

Knave