In the Lannsvarri Mountains, in the West of the Shieldings, strange creatures have been raiding the villages. The regional lords and counts have traced the monsters to a system of caves under the vast mountain range, and now guard its entrance - but the hordes of monsters seem limitless.

Mystic scholars and diviners say that the caves lead to Nightmare Dimensions beyond the mortal realm - the Dungeon Dimensions, where evil labyrinths, wicked traps and fell creatures lurk.

Lady Yedheu of the Elves and Lord Dougal of Inverfief have sounded a call to arms to all brave adventurers willing to try the Dread Dungeon.
All the army can do is contain the creatures - small bands of specialists are needed to delve the depths of the Dread Dungeon. The rewards are great, but the danger is greater...

1. The scholars believe there is a huge dungeon. So big that it can’t be cleared out in one or two or even a dozen adventuring sessions. In fact, it’s so huge that the parts you’ve already cleared out will probably start repopulating with new monsters before you finish exploring the rest of it.
2. Nearby, the ramshackle town of Fort West has sprung up, serving the army and the keen adventurers who have flocked to the Lord and Lady's call. There you can form adventuring parties to explore the megadungeon.
3. At the end of each expedition, everybody heads back to town. At the start of the next expedition, a new adventuring party forms - with our without members of the previous adventuring group - and heads back to the dungeon.

(With acknowledgements to the Alexandrian for the Open Table Gaming concept)

This will be an open game - anyone can join, up to five players per session. Pre-made characters will be provided for those who want them.
The game system will be six20 RPG - similar to D&D and other d20 games. Anyone not familiar with the rules should get along fine: just tell me what you want to do, and I'll work out the rest.
A rule set will be provided on request by email - from which you can make your own characters. Characters should not be made on the night.

This is a role playing game, but don't expect politics and intrigue. Expect danger and death...

Sounds awesome!

Escaping the Dungeon

The Dungeon Dimensions are unstable and their connection to the Mortal Realm is tenuous. Every few hours, there is a mighty rumble and shake in the fabric of reality - your cue to escape if you can!

At the end of each game session, your characters will have to leave the dungeon. You can simply retrace your steps, if you're close enough to the surface - but there are always wandering monsters that may cut off your path home...

Here are your options for getting out:

1. The player group can, at any time of their choosing, make their way out of the dungeon and end the session for the evening, or rest their characters and return for more adventuring.
2. As the GM I can, at any time of my choosing, announce that we will stop playing in 1 hour (usually an hour before closing time). If, by the end of the hour, the PCs have made their way out of the dungeon, the session ends normally...
3. If the player party has not made their way out of the dungeon at the end of the session (for whatever reason), then the Escaping the Dungeon! tables will be used to determine their fate.

Escaping the Dungeon!
ESCAPE CHANCE
You don't know where you are: 25%
You know where you are: 50%
You have a clear and unhindered path of escape: 75%

FAILED ESCAPES
1d10 RESULT
1 You escape unharmed.
2 You escape but have been permanently altered (maimed, permanently polymorphed, replaced with a double, etc.).
3 You escape but have been injured. You suffer 1d6 x 1d6 points of damage. (If this kills you, see result #8.)
4 You have lost 1d6 pieces of equipment. Determine randomly between slots and bags. If a bag is lost, all of its contents are lost with it.
5 You have been captured, petrified, or otherwise trapped. Roll the escape percentile again to see if your comrades know where you are. If they do not, roll the escape percentile again to see if your comrades have a clue of some sort.
6 You have become lost.
7 You have been transformed into a monster (undead, lycanthrope, mind controlled, etc.).
8-9 You have died. Roll the escape percentile again to see if your comrades were able to retrieve your body. (Instead of retrieving your body, your comrades may choose to loot it and/or leave it.) If they did not, roll the escape percentile again to see if your comrades know where your body is. If they do not, there is a 50% chance that your body has been utterly destroyed.
10 Opportunity for betrayal. You can choose to either reroll on this table or betray a comrade who would otherwise escape. If you choose to betray a comrade roll 1d6 -- on a roll of 1-4, you escape and they must roll on this table; on a roll of 5-6, both you and your victim suffer the fate they roll.

(With acknowledgements to the Alexandrian for the Open Table Gaming concept)

The adventurers Turk, Mellthuen and Lorwyn went to brave the Dread Dungeon - venturing to the Chasm Caverns by way of the vast rent in the mountains that was recently discovered...
There they discovered goblins! Several of them, some preoccupied with breaking open a stolen strong box, and some lurking in wait in the darkness. A stone bridge spans the yawning chasm that gives the cavern its name.
The adventurers fought the goblins, who seemed unusually stong*. All the goblins were wounded, some rendered unconscious, but the remainder fled into the darkness. As the Nightmare Rift seemed about to close, the adventurers left with the recovered strong box - escaping the dungeon just in time.

No map of the Chasm Caverns was begun. The strongbox, when opened, contained 2400 silver shillings, three small red gem stones worth about 15 gold crowns each, and a Potion of Cure Light Wounds in a leather belt pouch of dwarvish design.

*Revision to goblins for future encounters - reduced WP.

Dibs.

Next session will NOT be 28th July.

I'll most likely open up the dungeon again on the 11th August.

Looking over my character sheet, I notice that there are "gems" listed in my inventory - most likely from the first session. When you've got a moment, could you let me know what they're worth (and sell them on)?

In case it matters:
Appraise = 2, Cha mod = 0

Now that we're all nouveau-riche, what is your stance on commissioning custom magic items? According to the custom creation rules, an item that can cast a 1st-level spell twice comes in at 720g ((1x1x1800/5)*2 as per the formula). An item like, for example...

Gloves of the Apprentice
Named for the artificers that craft them as much as the aspiring arcanists that wear them, these gloves are not a specific item so much as a series of items along a theme. Each pair of gloves imbues the wearer with the ability to cast a single 1st-level spell twice daily, with the spell varying according to the gloves.

This particular pair are of obvious quality and crafted from soft, thick leather that seems unusually resistant to scuffing. The index finger of each glove glows faintly in the darkness, though not brightly enough to provide useful light. When the command word is spoken, the light in one of the fingers dims as a glowing bolt of force streaks unerringly for the wearer's chosen enemy, striking the target for 1d4+1 damage. Each finger can produce one such bolt, which much be launched one at a time. The gloves take several hours to recover their charge, after which time the fingers once again begin to glow. CL 1st.
Slot Hands; Price 720gp; Weight -; Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, Magic Missile; Cost 360gp

It's less spammable than a wand, but a bit more convenient on the bookkeeping and item-holding fronts.

Yes, that'd be acceptable.

The six20 rules will be ready for public consumption soon, so everyone will be able to make up stuff like this.

At short notice - befitting a casual, drop-in game - I'll be running the Dread Dungeon on Thursday 13th!

Return to the Doomed Dungeons of Dread this Thursday 3rd November!