Sunday, January 19, 2020

The Dungeoneer.


I love Class Systems and I love Race-As-Class.  But.....

For those of you out there that want a gritty, low-magic, Black Company style campaign, without having to switch to another system, try this.....

The Dungeoneer is a randomly rolled amalgamation of Fighter, Magic-User, Thief, and Cleric.  No two characters will be the same.  Some will be more fighter-like, some more thief-like.  Some will advance quicker, others will be tougher.  Each will be a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none.  All will feel like adventurers.

The Racial ability modifiers below are mere suggestions.  Feel free to differentiate the races however you like, or consider the Dungeoneer a human-only class.

The Dungeoneer

Choose or Roll 1d4 for Race, then determine your Stats...
1.  Human -- 3d6 down the line.
2.  Dwarf -- Con: 2d6+6, Randomly determine 1 other ability to be 2d6+1, the rest are 3d6.
3.  Elf -- Dex: 2d6+6, Randomly determine 1 other ability to be 2d6+1, the rest are 3d6.
4.  Halfling -- Str: 2d6+1, Randomly determine 1 other ability to be 2d6+6, the rest are 3d6.
  • For every +1 bonus you have from Intelligence, you get 1 free randomly rolled Thief skill every time you level up until your bonuses are used up.
  • For every +1 bonus from Wisdom, you get a bonus 1st-level spell any time you roll "Spell-Caster" until your bonuses are used up. 

You Make Saving Throws as a...Roll 1d4...
1.  Fighter
2.  Magic-User
3.  Cleric
4.  Thief

Your Hit Die is...Roll 1d6...(or you could just default to d6 for all Dungeoneers)
1-2.  d4
3-4.  d6
5-6.  d8

Class Abilities...Roll on this chart 4 times at 1st level and 2 times for every level gained there after (optional:  When you gain a level, you may forgo your 2 new class ability rolls to improve a class ability that you already have by 1 level)  ....Roll %
  1-25.  +1 To-Hit.
26-35.  Armor Training (everyone starts out trained in Leather armor.)  Every time you roll this you                      improve to better armor:  Scale, Chain, Banded, Plate, Full-Plate.  Anyone can use a                               shield.
36-50.  Weapon Training (everyone starts out trained in d4 & d6 weapons.)  The first time you roll                     this, you become trained in the use of d8 weapons.  The second time -- d10, the third and                       any subsequent time, you gain a +1 to damage rolls.
51-60.  Turn Undead as a 1st-level Cleric (turning level goes up by 1 every time you roll this.)
61-85.  Thief skills (Some Thief skills come in pairs.  They all start at 3rd level ability, increasing 2                      levels every time you roll them.....Roll 1d8...)
               1.  Open Locks
               2.  Find/Remove Traps
               3.  Climb Walls
               4.  Move Silently/Hide in Shadows
               5.  Pick Pockets
               6.  Hear Noise
               7.  Languages (you gain a new language, lucky you)
               8.  Back-Stab (standard Thief Back-Stab, +4 to-hit, damage of x2, multiplier or to-hit bonus                        increases by 1 every time you roll this ((multiplier can't go higher than x6.))

*For Lamentations of the Flame Princess style skills roll here.  The first time you roll a skill you have it at 2 in 6.  It increases by 1 every time you roll it....Roll 1d10...
               1.  Architecture
               2.  Bushcraft
               3.  Climb
               4.  Languages
               5.  Search
               6.  Sleight of Hand
               7.  Sneak Attack
               8.  Stealth
               9.  Tinker
             10.  Your Choice

86-95.  Spell-Caster. Use the Magic-User spell progression table.  You cast spells at 1st-level ability,                  your caster level goes up by 1 every time you roll this.  All spells must be determined                             randomly.  Roll 1d6 to see what kind of spells you gain each time you roll this, 1-3 you                             learn a Magic-User spell(s), 4-6 you learn a Cleric spell(s).  This is the only way that                               you can learn new spells.  You can also use scrolls.
96-00.  Find Secret Doors (starts as 2 in 6 when you roll this and goes up 1 every time it's rolled.)

Your XP Progression is like a...Roll 1d4...
1.  Fighter
2.  Magic-User
3.  Cleric
4.  Thief
  • If you don't like the idea of varied progression, a good default XP table for all Dungeoneers would be the Cleric. 

Starting Gold:  3d6

Thoughts and Forcasted Features of the Dungeoneer Class
  • Not all Dungeoneers are created equal.
  • Varying Hit Dice shows that Destiny has a different plan for us all.
  • Varying XP Progression shows that we don't all learn at the same rate.
  • More book-keeping -- you'll have a variety of abilities at different levels of competency. 
  • Mid-High level Undead will ALWAYS be a threat.
  • Eventually, everyone will be a minor spell-caster.
  • Mid-High level spells will be VERY RARE.
  • As written, a  group of Dungeoneers will be weaker than a normal group do to a lack of Spell Power and Armor Training.  To counter-act this, you can simply increase the number of ability rolls every level or increase the starting levels for thief skills and spell-casting. 
  • If you want "Spell-Caster" (or any other ability) to be rolled more often, simply tweak the % chances on the chart.
  • Using the Lamentations skills as opposed to the B/X skills will generally lead to more competent Dungeoneers (Climb is an obvious exception.) 
  • Don't use the Dungeoneer for NPCs, too much book-keeping.

Sample Dungeoneers
Gwyn, Human, 1st-level Dungeoneer
Str:  10
Dex:  12
Con:  10
Int:  13 (+1)
Wis:  11
Cha:  10

Hit Dice:  1d6
Hit Points:  5
Armor Class: 6 (14) Scale
Save as:  Thief
   D: 13
  W: 14
   P: 13
   B: 16
   S: 15

XP Progression as:  Cleric
Languages:  Common, Elven

Abilities
  • Weapon Training: d8
  • Armor Training: Scale
  • +0 to-hit
  • Spell-Caster (1st level) spell: Resist Cold
  • Open Locks (3rd-level): 25%  (LotFP, Tinker:2 in 6)
  • Pick Pockets (3rd-level): 30% (LotFP, Sleight of Hand: 2 in 6)

Starting Gold: 140 (remaining: 11)

Equipment
Scale Mail Armor
Short-Bow (+0 to-hit) 1d6, 20 arrows
Sword (+0 to-hit) 1d8
Dagger (+0 to-hit) 1d4
Backpack
Iron Rations, 1 week
50' Rope with Grappling Hook


Gwyn at 5th-level 
Str:  10
Dex:  12
Con:  10
Int:  13 (+1)
Wis:  11
Cha:  10

Hit Dice:  5d6
Hit Points:  18
Armor Class: 6 (14) Scale
Save as:  Thief
   D: 11
  W: 12
   P: 11
   B: 14
   S: 13

XP Progression as:  Cleric
XP: 12,000  (6th-level: 25,000)
Languages:  Common, Elven

Abilities
  • Weapon Training: d8
  • Armor Training: Scale
  • +3 to-hit
  • Spell-Caster (2nd level) spells: Resist Cold, Remove Fear
  • Open Locks (5th-level): 35%  (LotFP, Tinker:3 in 6) 
  • Pick Pockets (5th level): 40%  (LotFP, Sleight of Hand:3 in 6)
  • Back-Stab x2, +4 to-hit (total back-stab to-hit: +7)
  • Find/Remove Traps (3rd level):20%/20%  (LotFP, Tinker:2 in 6)

Starting Gold: N/A

Equipment
Scale Mail Armor
Short-Bow (+3 to-hit) 1d6, 20 arrows
Sword (+3 to-hit) 1d8
Dagger (+3 to-hit) 1d4
Backpack
Iron Rations, 1 week
50' Rope with Grappling Hook



Doro, Halfling, 1st-level Dungeoneer
Str:  8 (-1)
Dex:  13 (+1)
Con:  17 (+2)
Int:  13 (+1)
Wis:  14 (+1)
Cha:  13  (+1)

Hit Dice:  1d4+2
Hit Points:  4
Armor Class: 6 (14) Leather + Dex
Save as:  Fighter
   D: 12
  W: 13
   P: 14
   B: 15
   S: 16

XP Progression as:  Fighter
Languages:  Common, Goblin

Abilities
  • Weapon Training: d6
  • Armor Training: Leather
  • +2 to-hit
  • Find Secret Doors (2 in 6)
  • Open Locks (3rd level): 25%  (LotFP, Tinker:2 in 6)
  • Climb Walls (3rd-level): 89%  (LotFP, Climb:2 in 6)

Starting Gold: 150 (remaining: 58)

Equipment
Leather Armor
2 Daggers (+1 to-hit) 1d4-1
2 Slings (+3 to-hit) 1d4, 30 bullets
Short-Sword (+1 to-hit) 1d6-1
Backpack
Iron Rations, 1 week
50' Rope with Grappling Hook


Doro at 5th-level
Str:  8 (-1)
Dex:  13 (+1)
Con:  17 (+2)
Int:  13 (+1)
Wis:  14 (+1)
Cha:  13  (+1)

Hit Dice:  5d4+10
Hit Points:  19
Armor Class: 6 (14) Leather + Dex
Save as:  Fighter
   D: 10
  W: 11
   P: 12
   B: 13
   S: 14

XP Progression as:  Fighter
XP:  16,000  (6th-level: 32,000)
Languages:  Common, Goblin

Abilities
  • Weapon Training: d6
  • Armor Training: Leather
  • +6 to-hit
  • Find Secret Doors (2 in 6)
  • Open Locks (3rd level): 25%  (LotFP, Tinker:2 in 6)
  • Move Silently/Hide in Shadows (3rd-level): 30%/20%  (LotFP, Stealth:2 in 6)
  • Climb Walls (5th-level): 91%  (LotFP, Climb:3 in 6)
  • Back-Stab x2, +4 to-hit (total back-stab to-hit: +9)
  • Turn Undead (1st-level)
Starting Gold: N/A

Equipment
Leather Armor
2 Daggers (+5 to-hit) 1d4-1
2 Slings (+7 to-hit) 1d4, 30 bullets
Short-Sword (+5 to-hit) 1d6-1
Backpack
Iron Rations, 1 week
50' Rope with Grappling Hook
Holy Symbol




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