2.13.0 Dungeon Exploration
These rules are meant for tracking adventures in a dangerous site where perils could spring up at any moment. They’re not meant for casual exploration of some bosky glade or city street, and in such cases the PC actions can just be followed scene-by-scene as usual. It’s important that GMs understand the purpose of the Wandering Encounter checks in a site. They’re intended to put constant pressure on the party to get in, accomplish their purpose, and get out before they’re worn down by encounters. Not all Wandering Encounters are hostile, but each is a risk of pointless fighting or sudden alarm.
2.13.1 The Order of Play
At the start of each turn after the party enters the site:
- Roll a secret Wandering Encounter check if necessary. On a 1, the encounter will happen at some appropriate moment this turn.
- The PCs decide what they want to do this turn, be it move into a new room, carefully search their current location, fiddle with some object they’ve found, or something else that takes ten minutes.
- Tell them the result of their actions, whether that’s a first-glance description of a new room, notice of the hideous abomination that’s rearing up before them, or the explosive detonation of the crystal they just experimentally rapped.
- Start over from the top, assuming their actions have consumed a full turn, until they withdraw from the site or it becomes safe enough to stop counting turns.
2.13.2 Timekeeping in the Dungeon
Once the heroes intrude on a ruin, dungeon, corrupt noble’s mansion, or other dangerous site the GM starts tracking time in turns. Each turn counts as about ten minutes or one scene. Members of the party can generally do one significant thing per turn. Different party members can be doing different things in the same turn.
The point of tracking turns isn’t to have a minute-by-minute tally of PC activities, but to have a rough measure of how much activity they’re engaging in within the ruin. The more they do and the longer they stay, the more likely that they’ll run into Wandering Encounters or the natives will have time to realize that intruders are present. Eventually, the PCs need to either pull back or clear the site entirely of its dangerous inhabitants.
Example Time Costs in Turns
| Activity | Turns |
|---|---|
| Move from one room of interest to another | 1 |
| Pick a lock or disarm a trap | 1 |
| Get in a fight with something | 1 |
| Perform first aid and looting after a fight | 1 |
| Search a room carefully | 1 |
| Jury-rig something or work a device | 1 |
| Time a torch lasts until burning out | 6 |
| Time a filled lantern lasts before burning out | 24 |
2.13.3 Movement and Fleeing
In simple diagrammatic ruins consisting of points of interest, movement from one point to another takes one turn. Otherwise, travel is at the rate of 120’ per turn, reflecting the party sneaking, listening, mapping, and carefully examining their surroundings as they go.
If forced to flee, the party needs to decide how exactly they’re retreating and what measures they’re using to slow or dissuade pursuers. Some discouragements may be enough to work without a roll.
If their foes are determined, the party uses the chase rules given in the rules section of this document. When fleeing madly, the party should not be allowed to reference their maps; the GM just calls out intersections and doors until the party escapes, the foes give up, or the enemies catch them.
On a successful evasion, the PCs eventually outpace or lose their pursuers. On a failure, they’re caught somewhere along their escape route. A successful escape usually takes up one turn worth of time and leaves the PCs in whatever location they’re in when the pursuit stops.
2.13.4 Encounters and Surprise
Usually, PCs are sufficiently alert when exploring a site to avoid any chance of surprise, barring a set ambush. If they burst in on the natives suddenly, however, the locals might be too stunned to act for a round. If the GM thinks this is possible, give it X-out-of-6 odds. If the PCs run into a Wandering Encounter in a room, the creatures will enter through one of the available entrances. In the corridors outside, they’re usually 1d8 x 10 feet away when first spotted or heard, assuming there’s enough space for such a distance.
Remember to make a reaction roll when PCs encounter creatures. Not every group of dungeon denizens will immediately lunge for their weapons.
Usually, there’s a brief, tense moment of recognition when the PCs encounter creatures, just enough time for a reaction roll and a chance to size up the odds of diplomacy. The GM should always give the PCs a chance to parley or run when encountering creatures unless the situation makes that completely impractical.
2.13.5 Wandering Encounter Checks in the Dungeon
Every so many turns, a GM should roll 1d6 to check for a Wandering Encounter. On a 1, the PCs will run into one at some point during the turn. The frequency of the check will depend on how vigorously alert and organized the site’s inhabitants are.
The actual contents of the encounter are decided when the GM puts together the site. Not all encounters involve running into creatures. Some are mere events or situations that fit the site. In the same vein, not all encounters are necessarily hostile, either. Reaction rolls should be made for all groups of creatures.
When To Roll an Encounter Check
| Type of Location | Turns |
|---|---|
| Alerted site with organized defenders | Every 1 |
| Unalert site with organized defenders | Every 2 |
| Site with no organized or active defense | Every 3 |
| Site with very few mobile inhabitants | Every 4 |
| Abandoned or disused nook in a site | Every 6 |
| Hidden area or concealed chamber unknown to the natives of the site | No check |