Sometimes, the greatest stories are those of heroes who suddenly find themselves in danger. Left with no way out- or refusing to take it- they rise to the challenge, defeat all comers, and walk out even stronger than before, true champions worthy of song and story.
Unfortunately, you're not a hero.
Maybe you wanted to be. Maybe you even intended to be! But when those
things, cackling shadows with pointy claws and glowing orange eyes, dragged you off into the night, you apparently were not ready. You didn't rise to the challenge. In all likelihood, most of what you did was screaming.
But you're here now. It probably doesn't matter how ready you are, because you don't think you'll be getting out of here without a fight. Hopefully a rather meager, low-key fight, because you are not a monsterslaying hero of legend. You're a nobody hoping to not be a pile of bones.
The Tower is divided into rooms; successfully completing a room will allow you to advance to the next one. Rooms will generally be puzzle-oriented, but this varies. "Guardians" will be available to explain things, but they are not your allies.
Exits will usually seal when you advance, making retreat difficult. Splitting up will generally result in each team progressing through the Tower separately. Attempting to rest in the Tower is not advised.
Every fourth floor will be a safe spot to rest, recover, and perhaps gain other benefits.
Combat is resolved by opposed d6s, with the difference between an attacker and defender's rolls being the damage dealt. There is normally no penalty for failing an attack roll, though in extreme cases a bungled assault can leave you more vulnerable to counterattack.
In the event that you are reduced to exactly 0 HP, you fall unconscious. Any lower and you must roll against dying each round, with rather poor odds of stabilizing.
Most other actions are resolved through standard d6 rolls.
Being in life or death situations tends to be a fairly instructive experience. Alas, the path to becoming a mighty warrior is a slow and arduous one.
Every time you take damage, you gain HP xp. As might be expected, HP xp has no purpose except to increase your maximum HP, enabling you to take more damage without dying. The amount gained is equal to the HP lost, while the amount necessary is equal to your current max HP. This means being reduced to 0 HP or less is the only way to gain HP in one sitting, though obviously healing in between battles allows for a much more reasonable pace.
Normal xp, on the other hand, is gained through dealing damage and occasionally succeeding at other actions. XP is generally equal to damage dealt for attack xp (with a maximum equal to the target's remaining HP), and usually comes in one point increments for other actions.
Unlike HP xp, normal xp must be spent manually. The most obvious thing to spend it on is increasing your attack ability, but other options may present themselves. "Cheap" options are generally 5 xp, while costlier options are 10 or even 15.
There may be other ways to increase your strength in the Tower, but none without cost.
Weapons and armor, as well as several other types of equipment, have two stats: A bonus and a number of uses.
The bonus, as expected, applies a bonus on all efforts made with the equipment. The number of uses, described as a maximum and current number, is the number of times the equipment can be used before it breaks. Equipment can sometimes be maintained or repaired for free, but more often requires additional materials to keep going.
Equipment may be crafted or found. Crafting equipment requires rolls; the quality of the materials and rolls determine its bonuses, uses, and sometimes other important qualities.
To receive your chance to die horribly in a tower designed explicitly to kill you, fill out the following form:
Name: Can take a new one if you'd like, of course; it's not likely anyone around here is going to know the difference
Decription: A short physical description.
Profession: You start with a +1 bonus to something non-heroic and useless; essentially, your profession before being dragged off here. "Fearsome Gladiator" or "Heroic Soldier" are not valid professions.
Bio: If you'd like. Nobody here's likely to know about this either, though.
You will start with 5 hp and no noteworthy gear, though small mementos or unenchanted jewelry might have survived the trip. Yes, this means it's possible to be one-shot on an unlucky roll.
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Topic: Tower of Horrors RTD [Turn 21: Back Where You Started] (Read 28757 times)