Thread: Dungeon of Bad Ends (Homebrew System)

Overview This system is loosely based on Dungeons and Dragons, with various bits inspired by the third or fifth editions, and some things I came up with myself. It's comparatively simplified, though, and I've done my best to streamline it for forum-based play. Specifically, I'm doing my very best to minimize back-and-forth exchanges within a single turn of combat ideally, you should be able to decide what you want to do, roll any relevant dice, and write out your actions, without having to wait on a response from another player. This game is also designed with Bad Ends in mind, with the player characters being worn down from battle to battle, defeated one by one, and dragged off to some miserable fate. You're welcome to use it for other sorts of games, but that's the sort of game I want to play and the mechanics will tend to reflect that. Stats Each character, whether player or enemy, has three core stats Strength Strength represents your physical prowess, resilience, and stamina. Agility Agility represents your speed, coordination, and reflexes. Will Will represents your mental fortitude, concentration, and awareness. When you are trying to accomplish something that has a reasonable chance of failure, you will roll a twenty-sided die and add a relevant stat to the roll. The number you're trying to beat will usually be ten plus the defending character's relevant stat. On a tie, the person making the roll succeeds. Stats, for both players and enemies, will usually start between -4 and 4, but attacks made against the character will lower them. There is no HP a character is defeated when any of their core stats drops to -5. There is also a fourth stat, which functions somewhat differently from the other three Purity Purity represents your sexual resistance and tracks your arousal. By default, every character's starting Purity is 5. When a character's Purity drops to 0, they have reached their limit and will have an orgasm. They take 2 damage to Strength, Agility, and Will, and if they are in combat they may not take any actions on their next turn. Afterward, their Purity resets to its maximumi. Scenes A scene is basically just a block of time spent in a fixed location--a room in a dungeon, a clearing in the woods, etc. It might help to think of it as an out-of-combat turn. Certain recurring effects will trigger at the start of each scene, and certain abilities will have a limited number of uses per scene. By default, all characters have the following abilities and effects once per scene --At the beginning of each scene, you recover 2 Purity not to exceed your maximum. --Once per scene, you may roll Will to search the area for secrets--traps, hidden doors, treasure, etc. --You may interact with an obstacle--such as a locked door, a trap, a chest or a puzzle--once per scene per object. That is to say, if there is a locked chest and a trap in the area, you may attempt to disable the trap and unlock the chest in the same scene. This is pretty free-form describe what you're trying to do, and the DM will decide what roll--if any--is necessary. The DM may grant advantage or impose disadvantage based on circumstances. See below for more details. When the party has done all they can, or wish to do, in the current scene, they can start a new scene by either moving on to another location, or taking a rest in their current location. The latter might be useful if you want to re-use some of your limited abilities before moving on. However, there is a chance that new enemies will arrive at the location when you start the new scene there. Splitting the Party If you wish to split up into two or more groups traveling to different locations, first decide who is going where. Then begin a new scene, with each group in their chosen area. Each group will play out their own scene in that area independently you cannot reunite the group until both scenes are complete. Some characters may have abilities that allow them to separate from the rest of the group, to scout ahead or achieve some other task, without triggering a new scene. However their leaving the group is primarily a matter of roleplay, and they will have little to no ability to interact with the areas they visit. Combat During combat, rather than each character taking turns in a fixed order, all the player characters will take turns together in any order, depending on who has a chance to post first and all the NPCs will take turns together also in any order, depending on the DM's discretion. Which side takes the first turn will depend on the situation, but typically the PCs will go first unless they were surprised or ambushed. On each character's turn, they can perform up to two actions. These are the actions you can use by default --Reposition This game does not use detailed tactical maps unless there is a specific effect prohibiting you from doing so, you may move anywhere in the current area with a single action. --Basic Attack Each character has a basic melee attack which deals 1 Strength damage. The player decides at character creation what stat the character adds to their roll for this attack--Strength, Agility, or Will. --Tease This can only be used against an opponent who is helpless one of their core stats has been reduced to -5 or lower or willing typically a roleplaying distinction. This action is used at melee range and deals 1 Purity damage. The player decides at character creation what stat the character adds to their roll for this attack--Strength, Agility, or Will. --Search You can search the current area during combat, if you are so inclined however this takes two actions. --Interact You can interact with an obstacle during combat, if you are so inclined however this takes two actions. After taking damage from certain attacks, you may also also use the following action --Break Free Typically associated with grappling or hypnotic attack, Break Free lets you roll to undo 1 point of damage you have taken from that attack. The attack will specify what stat you use for this roll a hypnotic effect will usually require a Will roll, while a grappling attack may require a Strength or Mobility roll. If a player character is damaged by an attack that allows them to Break Free, the DM must inform them. Each character also has a number of special talents, which may give them special attacks or other abilities to be used in combat. More details on these below in the character creation section. Melee Groups Unless otherwise specified, no two combatants are in melee range of each other at the start of combat. If you want to engage an opponent in melee, you will have to use a Reposition action first. When you do this, you are forming a melee group with that enemy anyone else who uses a Reposition to get in melee range of you or your target has joined that same melee group. All combatants in a melee group are considered in melee range of each other. So, for example -Player A moves into melee range of Enemy B to attack them A and B are now a melee group now a melee group and may all target each other with melee-range abilities. -On their turn, Player C also moves to melee range of Enemy B to attack them A, B, and C are now a melee group and may all target each other with melee-range abilities. -On their turn, Enemy D moves to melee range of Player C to attack them A, B, C and D are now a melee group and may all target each other with melee-range abilities. Safe Haven Periodically throught the dungeon, there are checkpoints, which will purify the preceding area, making it safe to traverse. At that point, you will have the option to leave the dungeon and return to your safe haven--a base near the dungeon, but safe from its perils. When you return to your safe haven, ongoing negative effects--such as poison or curses--are ended. Each character recovers 3 Strength, 3 Agility, and 3 Will, not to exceed their maximum. Each character also resets their Purity to its maximum. A player whose character was defeated in the dungeon may introduce a new one at the safe haven. Advantage, Disadvantage, Inspiration Depending on circumstances, a character's roll may have a higher chance of success or failure than their stats alone would convey. Rather than adding or subtracting a fixed number from your roll, these situations will typically grant you advantage or disadvantage. These effects are fairly simple --Advantage When you have advantage on a roll, you'll roll two twenty-sided die instead of one, and use whichever result is higher. --Disadvantage When you have disadvantage on a roll, you'll roll two twenty-sided die instead of one, and use whichever result is lower. If mutiple effects would give you advantage or disadvantage on the same roll, they don't add up--you still only roll the two dice. However, if one or more effects would give you advantage on a roll, and one or more effects would give you disadvantage on that same roll, they cancel out and you only roll one die. Inspiration is a resource characters can acquire. If you have inspiration, you can expend it to gain advantage on a roll. Again, if you already had disadvantage on the roll, it cancels out. You can only have one inspiration at a time if you would gain inspiration when you already have it, it's wasted. --When you attempt to interact with an obstacle, the DM is free to grant you advantage or impose disadvantage on that roll, depending on your approach. --When you Tease a willing target but not a helpless one, you have advantage on the roll. --When you roll a 20 on a twenty-sided die, you gain inspiration. In addition, you may gain advantage, disadvantage, or inspiration as a result of a character's special talents or weaknesses. More details on these below in the character creation section. Building a character Character creation is more freeform than in DD there are no specific races or classes, but you can choose stats and abilities that reflect your character's race and profession. It's worth noting that your weapons and armor are not separate from these abilities instead your stats, talents, and weaknesses will often be used to represent your equipment and how you use it. First, determine your character's starting level, as this will decide how high your stats can be and how many special abilities you will have a character's level is the sum total of their stats and talents, minus their weaknesses. In the early game, characters will start at level 5, but as other characters continue to grow stronger, new characters may be introduced at higher levels as well. Typically, one level below the lowest level in the current party. Next, choose the character's stats--their Strength, Agility, and Will. Purity starts at 5 by default, although you may take talents to raise it or weaknesses to lower it. As a rule of thumb, investing about half of your level in your stats is probably a good balance, so a level 5 character might start with stats adding up to 3. You could make a well rounded 111, or a more specialized 021, or an even more specialized -113. But you aren't bound to any of these arrays whatever you want, as long as nothing is lower than -4 and you don't exceed your level. Once you have selected yoru stats, decide which stat or stats your character adds to their basic attack, your tease action, and your default defense. Your basic attack is at melee range and deals 1 damage to Strength. You may choose whatever stat you think suits the attack, but the attack will always be made against the target's default defense. Your default defense is ten plus whatever stat you chose a character who relies on heavy armor might use Strength, while a nimble character could use Agility, and someone who defends themselves with magic barriers might use Will. Your tease action can only be used against a helpless or willing target, and deals 1 damage to Purity. It will always be made against your target's Purity defense. Next, pick your character's Talents, and at least one Weakness. You may also take additional Weaknesses to gain additional Talents. Again, about half of your level in Talents is a pretty good rule of thumb, so a level 5 character might want to start with three Talents. Talents are divided into Special Attacks, Special Actions, and Passive Abilities. A Special Attack uses a stat of your choice for its attack roll, deals 1 damage to a stat of your choice, including Purity, and has one added effect of your choosing. You can make up your own effect, but here are some examples --Can attack from a range --Choose a stat. The opponent's defense is always based on that stat, rather than their default defense. --Instead of rolling to hit, always treat your attack roll as 10 plus your relevant stat. --Deals 1 additional damage under certain circumstances. --Deals 1 damage to a second stat. --Has advantage against a certain class of enemies. You can also put a limitation on the attack to gain another effect. You can make these up too, but here are some examples --Can only be used once per turn. --Has disadvantage in melee. --Has disadvantage against a certain class of enemies. --An opponent damaged by this attack may use a Break Free action to recover 1 damage. Choose one of your stats their target number is ten plus that stat. Special Actions aren't attacks, exactly, but they're things you can do on your turn in combat. Some of them may also be used out of combat, although typically they'll have a limited number of uses. I have less rulesstructure for these than for the special attacks, but here are some examples --Give an enemy in melee range disadvantage on its next attack roll. This does not require a roll, but you may only use it once per turn. You may not use this out of combat. --You or an ally in melee range recovers one Strength. You may use this in or out of combat, but using it in combat requires a Will roll in combat the target numbers is 10 plus the number of active enemies. You may only use this ability twice per scene. --Give an ally inspiration. You may use this in or out of comat, but in combat you may only use it once per turn. You may only use this ability twice per scene. Passive abilities don't take any action on your part they're either continuously on, or trigger automatically in certain situations. Here are some examples --You have advantage on rolls to search an area. --Your basic melee attack has an added effect, per the added effects on special attacks. --When you attempt to pick a lock or disarm a trap as part of interacting with an obstacle, you have advantage on your roll. --A certain class of attacks has disadvantage against you. --You gain 1 to Purity. You may take this multiple times. Weaknesses function like passive abilities, in that they don't require a specific action--they're either always on, or triggered by circumstances. Here are some examples --At the beginning of your turn, if you are being grappled, take 1 Purity damage. --Whenever you take Strength damage from a physical blow, take 1 Purity damage as well. --A certain class of attacks has advantage against you. --You have disadvantage on attack rolls against a certain class of enemy. --You gain -2 to Purity. You may take this up to twice. So here's a simple example character, sort of a paladin type Marissa Strength 2 Agility -1 Will 2 Basic Attack Sword-- Roll Strength to hit. Deals 1 Strength damage. Tease Tender Touch-- Roll Will to hit. Deals 1 Purity damage. Basic Defense Armor-- Ten Strength. Special Attack Holy Smite-- Roll Will to hit. Deals 1 Strength damage. This attack always uses the enemy's Agility to determine their defense. This attack has advantage against the undead. This attack may only be used once per turn. Special Action Lay on Hands-- You or an ally in melee range recovers one Strength. You may use this in or out of combat, but using it in combat requires a Will roll the target numbers is 10 plus the number of active enemies. You may only use this ability twice per scene. Passive Ability Divine Resolve Magic abilities used by demons and other infernal creatures have disadvantage against you. Weakness Secret Submission-- Whenever you take Will damage from a mental affect, take 1 Purity damage as well. Relics While exploring the dungeon, you may find relics--magic artifacts that can be used to grant a character an additional talent. However, most relics are corrupted and give the character a weakness as well. Pure relics are rare, and will grant a new talent with no weakness. You may equip a relic during the scene in which you acquired it. Otherwise, you may only change which relics you have equippedactive in your safe haven. In addition, some relics are also cursed , and you must roll Will to remove them target number will vary by relic. You may attempt this roll only once per safe haven scene. At the safe haven, characters are free to transfer relics to each other at their players' discretion. This does not include cursed relics that the character has failed to unequip. Bad Ends As I said, this RP is designed with bad ends in mind. Typically, once a character has been rendered helpless ie, one of their stats has been lowered to -5, that's game over for them. Usually they'll be separated from the rest of the party to meet some terrible fate. Depending on the exact circumstances this could involve corruption, mind break, mind control, etc. At this point, it is up to the player's preference whether they would like to continue using some game mechanics for the scene, or if they want to play it more freeform. Using mechanics doesn't mean the character has a chance to escape their fate, it's just a way of shaping how the scene plays out. At the DM's discretion, the rest of the party may still have a shot at rescuing their fallen ally. If, for example, the last enemy in the area is trying to drag away the helpless hero, the other characters may get one final turn to try and kill that enemy before it escapes with the captive. If the defeated character is being mind controlled, then killing their controller would logically free them. But this is never guaranteed. Even if the party goes looking for their lost ally, the DM is free to rule that they are never found, or that by the time they are found it's too late for them. If your character is defeated, you can design a new one, and introduce them whenever the rest of the party makes their way back to their safe haven. Additionally, depending on the nature of your previous character's bad end, then the DM may ask you to play them as a recurring villain. Last edited Jun 10, 2018