DungeonLab

Comprehensive game rules

1. Idea of the game

The idea of the game is the following. One or several players land into a dungeon. The dungeon consists of cells, and each cell contains some encounter. The map of the dungeon does not change in the course of the game. Initially the players do not know the dungeon map; they explore it during the game.

The goal of the game consists of finding the treasure lying in one of the dungeon cells and leaving the dungeon through the exit - a specially marked wall on the dungeon border. If only one player plays the game, she has a certain number of attempts - landings - to achieve the goal. If multiple players are playing, the game goes on until one of them wins.

If multiple players are playing, they make their moves one after another. The sequence of moves is determined randomly before the game starts. When playing with a live gamemaster, it is usually allowed to listen to moves of other players and the gamemaster's responses, but not allowed to draw a map of another player's movement. In the computer implementation, display of other players' moves will be optional; on the other hand, it would hardly be possible to forbid a player to map other player's movements.

During the game, a player knows only what is in the cell where she is standing. The encounters on the adjacent cells can be visible to her in some way, or not visible at all. If a wall separates a cell from its adjacent cell, the player cannot see what is behind the wall.

2. Players

Each player has a certain amount of ammunition, money and equipment and can survive a certain amount of damage. The following ammunition types exist:

Players typically receive ammunition and money as a certain number of ammunition kits. Each ammunition kit contains 30 (or sometimes 50) bullets, 5 grenades, 10 blasters and 20 dollars. For small dungeons, players usually get 3 ammunition kits, for larger dungeons - 5 or more.

Different kinds of equipment are described further in the text. When a player dies, all his equipment (except for ammunition, money and the treasure) remains on the cell where she died. It can be later taken by another player or by the same player on her next landing. A player's ammunition disappears when the player dies.

Some gamemasters allow to pay with beast skins everywhere where money is needed. However, according to the classic rules, beast skins can be sold only in a store; in other places, only cash is accepted.

Players can get the following types of damage:

Besides that, a player dies from 5 bullets, one grenade or two blasters. In cases of severe necessity, a player can also commit a suicide by banging her head against a wall thoroughly enough.

After a player visits a special place called gourm, she becomes an exote. Exotes can survive twice the normal amount of damage (including bullet, grenade and blaster hits) and gain several special abilites described later in the text. A player remains an exote until she dies or comes across an antigourm.

3. The map. Cells and walls.

The map is a rectangular grid of cells surrounded by walls. The main part (base rectangle) of the grid has rectangular or square shape (usually 5x5, 7x7 or 10x10 cells). Besides the main part, the grid can also have branches - fragments lying outside the base rectangle. It is not allowed to land into branches. The branches can lie only to the right (east) or bottom (south) of the dungeon base rectangle.

Each cell can consist of several levels (in the classic variant - 2 levels, typical variations - 1 or 4 levels). A player can go up or down a level at any moment, but she can interact only with objects on the same level where she is standing.

Dungeon cells can be separated from each other by walls. A wall between cells spans all levels. Three types of walls exist:

A dungeon cannot be divided into several parts separated with a solid wall of monoliths. In other words, it must be possible to get from any dungeon cell to any other cell without using pits and going only through simple walls and barbed wires.

Exploded simple walls and blasted barbed wires regrow in two turns.

If a player is an exote, she can pass freely through simple walls and barbed wires. (She is told that she passes through a wall, but she needn't declare her intention to pass through a wall specifically.) Besides that, an exote can feel. This action takes one turn, and as a result of it, the player finds out what walls surround the cell where she is standing.

4. Flow of the game

In the beginning of the game, the players are told the size of the map and the count of levels. They draw an empty grid of that size on their maps. Then the players, one after another, land - tell the coordinates of the cell and the level where they want to land. After that, the players make their moves in turn.

Before each turn, the player looks - finds out what he sees on the adjacent cells and what affects him from the adjacent cells. After that, she can do one of the following actions:

(In the computer implementation, climbing trees and skinning beasts are done automatically and do not require a separate turn.)

If in a cell adjacent to a cell where the player stands there is an encounter that can affect adjacent cells, it affects the player only once for the time she stands in the cell. On the other hand, if a player destroys a wall separating her from an adjacent cell, the encounter in the adjacent cell affects her immediately.

After a player moves from one cell to another, she interacts with the encounter in the cell where she arrived. This usually happens during the same turn.

After a player dies, she has to wait for 5 turns before landing again.

5. Encounters – lights.

The following encounters are visible from adjacent cells as lights:

6. Encounters – beasts

The following encounters are visible from adjacent cells as green eyes:

Some gamemasters use exote beasts. An exote beast (a lion, tiger or panther) is altogether identical to its normal variant, but takes twice as many bullets or grenades to kill.

For "green eyes" beasts, there are two categories of death - normal and cruel. A beast dies a normal death if it is shot down with bullets. Firing more bullets than necessary (for example, if you fire 15 bullets at a tiger) doesn't cause any additional consequences. A beast that died a normal death can be skinned.

A beast dies a cruel death if a grenade is thrown at it or if it trampled by an ontifutlas. After such a death, the beast cannot be skinned. If a beast that died a normal death suffers an effect that would cause a cruel death (for example, if an ontifutlas tramples a dead lion), the death category of the beast is upgraded to cruel.

A player coming to the cell with a dead beast sees its death category and whether it was skinned.

Any damage dealt to beasts is regenerated within two turns. Thus, if a player fires 15 bullets at a crocodile and then changes his mind, another player will have to fire 35 bullets if she shoots in the same or in the following turn, or 50 bullets if she shoots at a later time. (In the computer implementation, only bullet damage is accumulated and regenerated. Thus, if a player throws a grenade at a crocodile, in the following turn she will still have to throw two grenades to destroy the crocodile.)

7. Encounters – other monsters

8. Encounters – equipment

Taking equipment lying in a cell does not require a separate turn. After a player takes the equipment, an empty cell remains in its place.

9. Encounters – trees

All trees are not visible in any way from adjacent cells. If a player comes to a cell with a tree, he is told that he sees a tree. To interact with the tree, the player has to climb it (he is not required to). Any tree can be killed with two blasters. Every tree can be used only once per landing.

10. Encounters – other