Solo Dungeon Crawl

[bazookajoe]

I posted here a few months ago about my efforts to adapt D&D 5e rules into a solo or maybe cooperative dungeon crawl game with a randomly generated dungeon adventure.  After a break doing some other activities, I returned to the project recently and began tinkering with some new ideas.  For instance, each random dungeon now has three possible objectives for the party; 1. transit/escape the dungeon, 2. recover an object or rescue a prisoner, or 3. kill the dungeon boss.   In other words, the same party can go through the adventure several times with different missions.  Today I played through a transit adventure using a goblin lair dungeon.

The party consisted of a half-orc fighter, a half orc war cleric, a dwarf barbarian (a slayer with clothes) and a human rogue.  I like half-orcs and I made characters based on some of my favorite fantasy adventurer figures. 

Today, the transit objective was for the party to enter to dungeon on one table edge and then exit it via another table edge.  If the random dungeon, with a new portion placed as the party advanced, did not turn out like that then the mission would be failed.  One could imagine that this group of near-do-wells had misbehaved in a nearby town and was fleeing a posse of guards when they ducked into a dungeon entrance to avoid capture.  They stumbled right into the barrack of a goblin raiding party and waded into combat.  The dwarf flew into a rage and felled three goblins, including the leader.   As the party continued through the underground complex, they did battle with a rust monster in a refuse dump, simultaneously contended with a trap and a small goblin patrol, and accidentally rescued a local farmer being held prisoner by the goblins. Ultimately, the party found a way out of the dungeon and avoided the town guards who had been pursuing them.  In game terms, the dungeon transit was a success. 

[Elk101]

Nice set up. I like the idea of the random development of the dungeon.

[steders]

Looks great. You should look up 'Four against darkness'. It basically does what you have pulled together. random dungeon build, wandering monsters and a specific end point.
I bought it about a week ago just out of interest. £10 on amazon

[Tungdil]

I like your dungeon very much. Great paintjob for your miniatures. They are all from Otherworld?

[Daniel36]

Awesome! Though, with such wonderfully old school models, I'd say playing something like Labyrinth Lord would fit better, and the afore mentioned Four Against Darkness also sounds like a great fit.

[bazookajoe]

Thanks for the nice comments.  Most of the figures are Otherworld (Half-orc cleric, human rogue/assassin and all the goblins).  The Half-orc fighter with the big sword and the mask is from Dragon Bait Miniatures. The Dwarf barbarian/slayer is from Wizkids with a replacement axe from GW (his original axe was really underwhelming).   The Rust Monster, the doors and the table/stools are also Wizkids - their new line has great dungeon furnishings. Oh, the small pile of bones in the goblin barracks is from Toad King Castings.  I forget where I got the rubble piles as it was a few years back - each pack came with one large, one medium and one small pile.

I had heard about "Four Against Darkness" and read a little about it as I was developing this project though I have yet to get the actual rules.  Another inspiration was "Song of Gold and Darkness" and a few other homebrew rules and supplements found throughout the internet.  I am working on two other random dungeon adventures which gradually progress in difficulty; one is undead themed and the other involves orcs and ogres.

[Elbows]

Really good looking set-up!  I wince at the thought of even glancing in the direction of my now-fifteen-year old dungeon crawl project.  "Some day" (he whispers)

[bazookajoe]

Elbows, you have some fantastic looking dungeon dwellers on your website.  I think you are not that far off making it happen.  The terrain is easy to build.  You don't need the expensive pre-made stuff but some pink foam core, sharp knife, ruler, hot-glue gun and paint.  There is also some fantastic and not too costly dungeon decor available such as Mantic's Terrain Crate and Wizkids and these are very easy to paint.

[Tungdil]

Thanks for the answer Joe.

[Pendrake]

I am a big fan of this terrain. I really like the way the walls are done. I do have one question: are the walls permanently attached to the edges of each room or are they loose and freestanding?

[bazookajoe]

Each terrain piece consists of permanently attached walls and floor.   During a game, I decide which exit the party is using and then I randomly determine the new terrain piece that they move into.  Here is a picture of three individual terrain pieces:

[Pendrake]

If ever I build dungeon crawl terrain I will build it like this. Is the foam 3/4 inch thick or 1 inch thick?  Or is it two different thicknesses?

Do the squares on the floor match the D&D, WotC, Wizkidz* playmats? 1x1 inch or 25mm x 25mm. (5 foot squares in D&D™️ terms.)


(*I have forgotten which company markets Dungeons and Dragons...)

[Dentatus]

Did something similar with 1" foam and faux-stone floor tiles. Whole thing cost me $50 and a weekend's worth of elbow grease.

[Tungdil]

Stunning dungeon.  I'm jealous.

[bazookajoe]

Thanks Pendrake, I used 1 inch thick pink foam core sheets from "Home Depot."  I wanted something sturdy and that I could cut into.  The grid uses 1x1 inch squares so, yes, they are in line with the D&D grid.  A character with a 30 foot movement can move six of those "5x5" foot squares in a turn.

Dentatus, that dungeon is spectacular.  I saw pictures of it on another post.  I might have gone the same route had I seen your dungeon earlier.    I was influenced by the pictures here:

http://oldscratch.smackwell.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?num=1200894000