[Information] Basics

[Lukarnis]

DUNGEON CRAWL

Welcome, Keeper.

This game's concept is manyfold. Not twofold, not threefold. And not those because I don't know until I finish typing this howmanyfold it will be.

First, I wish to give EVERYONE a chance to be a DM in a supportive, competitive atmosphere.

Second, I wish to give EVERYONE a chance to form an ENTIRE TEAM, in a supportive, competitive atmosphere.

Third, I wish to give EVERYONE a chance to see how they stack up, or even how a particular party stacks up, against others.

Fourth, I wish to gain some perspective and experience with more members on this site.

Fifth, I wish for members on this site to gain more perspective and experience with each other.

Sixth, I wish to see an old idea given new life, and perhaps, if structured a bit differently, survive longer than a month or so.

To this end, I present the following game...which is not so much a game, or campaign, as it is a whole subset of the site...Dungeon Crawl, the penultimate Dungeon game.

The concept is simple. I recruit multiple members, both DMs, players, and groups of members, to form dungeons and teams of players, either with a single player forming the whole team, or multiple members playing anywhere from 1-3 members of a team while another member plays the remaining 1-3.

The details are as follows.

LOGISTICS Since I'm looking both for a competitive, even-footing atmosphere, I'll have the game separated into multiple forms: each having different rules. Sections will be separated based first on permitted materials, and second on Challenge Rating. Another thread will detail the win/loss ratio of groups, dungeons, and even (if there is interest) individual characters/players. This will be tracked very simply, with expanding statistics available should interest prove strong enough.

DESIGNATIONS The current concept separations are SRD vs Books (probably the latter will be split as well, based on array of permitted books, but only into two groups: PHB/DMG/PHBII/Completes vs ALL or somesuch), and within each, a Challenge Rating separation. For example, there may be (to start) SRD CR 4, SRD cR 6, and SRD CR 10; and Books CR 4, Books CR 5, and Books CR 8. Which Challenge Rating separations are present will depend primarily on expressed interest from the players and DM's. If a DM has in mind a particular setup for a CR 8 Dungeon, he can post in a thread that he has this available, and a player or group of players can band a lvl 8 group together. If a player has a group of lvl 5 characters, he can post that he has this group, and a DM could form a CR 5 dungeon.

DUNGEONS Dungeons will be made based on the Challenge Rating provided. However, contrary to what I remember of the original design, the dungeons will not have limits on construction/design costs, trap costs, or number of creatures. They will be free to use anything that a party of FOUR characters of a given level could feasibly manage (don't get all lawyer on me on this point: two CR 2 monsters armed with +6 Magic Weapons and +5 armor is probably NOT feasible for a party of lvl 4 characters). HOWEVER: to offset this freedom, the group will have the freedom to rest as often as desired, for healing/spell recovery/whatever purposes. Thus, one DM's dungeon could take a day or two (game time) to complete, while another DM's dungeon (or even another dungeon from the same DM) could take a week (game time). Since the players are allowed to rest as often as they wish, the party and the dungeon are still being tested. It just permits more strategy, and less mundane concern, for both the parties and the Dungeons. Dungeons must follow the designations just like the parties: a dungeon built in the SRD section could not contain an Entomber (Libris Mortis), for instance.

PARTIES All parties constructed will be comprised of FOUR characters. Period. There is absolutely NO debate or requests on this point. Calculating CR is hard enough when you're dealing with four party members...adding or subtracting just needlessly complicates things. All party members must be of the same ECL after considering LA/racial HD/whatever. For example, a lvl 2 drow is the same as a lvl 4 dwarf. Parties will be built using whatever resources are allowed by designation; parties built in the SRD section may not use Warmages or Dragon Shamans.

EDIT 1-14-2009

CHARACTER CREATION[/fieldset To keep things balanced and level, here are the character creation rules, to be used in ALL game types. 28 Point Buy system, as per DMG Starting gold for level, as per DMG HP: Max 1st level, then LG system following levels. Originally Posted by LG system Take the total hit die and divide by two, then add one. This comes just about to the same level as the average of rolled. Example: barbarians have a hit die of d12. So you'd take 1/2 of 12, 6, and add one for 7. Wizards have a hit die of d4. So you'd take 1/2 of 4, 2, and add one for 3. EDIT: 1-15-2009 If DM allows flaws and traits, limit 1/character. Sources: In the books section, be sure to run any choices by your DM (race, class, feats, spells, etc) to make sure that he has that source, or can at least see what it is. I know there are munchkins out there who would reach from every source and develop a character so ridiculously powerful that the DM would have to bend the CR rules in order to combat it. There are also munchkins out there that would use material from sources so obscure that only one tenth of the D&D populace actually KNOWS what they are. I'm not saying don't optimize. By all means, optimize. Just tell the DM what you're doing, and know that he is STILL god, and can still, even in the books section, turn things down.

The rules/details above are subject to change, but are intended to provide a consistent level for all members who wish to be involved.

Any other questions, I'll answer to the best of my ability. I haven't set the rules in stone, like I said above, and in many cases your question may simply be "we can make a game for you" by adjusting the rules of the particular thread you're given.

My hope for this game is that it will be going for a while, so recruiting may be continuous...it lives as long as the interest and dedication, and dies when people stop posting. I'd appreciate any help in recruiting that you could give me, even if it's just to bump the app thread in the DM's Seeking Players area.

[Lukarnis]

INVASION
The more perceptive among you may have noticed the INVASION folder, above. Here's the details on that.

Invasion is a concept I primarily attribute to Arucard, Malikane, and sort of myself by accident. The idea is that a regular group of characters will take on a ludicrous horde of enemies. Sort of a zombie survival game concept, without necessarily being zombies. They could be skeletons, orcs (naturally), kobolds, hydras (somewhat less likely)...any number of things.
The maps would be designed with various strategic implications and possibilities. In essence, it would be a small-scale war, something D&D could provide rather well if anyone wished to go through fifteen minutes of solid dice-rolling and results-tracking to keep tabs on all of the invading horde.
The party would be given a variable amount of time to set up their situation; ambushes, traps, choke points, etc. Presumably, they would start with a given object or building and be tasked to defend it.

History Now, I've done a game similar to this before, and it failed, mostly because I wasn't up to the task of tracking so much. Not to mention that I designed it as a PvP invasion game, where one player would form an invading team and the other a defending team, and whomever survived won. Then they'd switch sides and go again. Each side had a set amount of gold to purchase troops, and began with a group of four (I think) main PC's. Against my hopes, the players quickly realized that strength in numbers, even if said strength were ONLY in numbers, was best...so they each hired a mass of soldiers, armed them with slings and sent them in unarmored...all they paid for was the troops themselves, and pretty soon I had to put a cap on how many of those they could buy (or else they'd just swarm...which they did anyway). They bought a bunch of ladders to overcome the walls (instead of siege weapons like I suggested) and had the game progressed, I'm sure it would have been a complete massacre on both sides, with the PC's mopping up the remainders and then facing off. I'm hoping this goes better, if only because it will be more structured.

At the moment, this game style is undergoing playtesting, with first dibs being granted to Arucard and Malikane for helping to develop the idea. Everyone is free to look on, but any posts from other players that are attempts to join or influence the outcome...really, any posts at all (we DO have an OOC thread, people) will be quite quickly deleted.

[Efekjek]

I thought I'd post this here because it's something that should probably be standardized across everything. How are we doing HP?

I personally like the LG system because it's not random, it's simple, and it doesn't stray very far from average HP: Max the first hit die, then on all subsequent level ups, you divide the die number by 2 and add 1. Of course, you add your Con mod as normal.

Partial list:
Fighter, Paladin: 6
Barbarian: 7
Wizard, Sorcerer: 3
Rogue: 4
Druid, Monk, Ranger, Cleric: 5

[Lukarnis]

Good point, and perfect idea. Let's go with that.

[Adolfo]

May wanna fix that list. Clerics get d8 hp like Rangers and Druids.