D6 Dungeons - nathanknaackdotcom.files.wordpress.com · What is D6 Dungeons? D6 Dungeons is intended to introduce new or younger players to fantasy role-playing games, though it can

D6 Dungeons

Nathan Knaack

Art by Adriaan Suy

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Copyright 2016-2018 Nathan Knaack

Contents What is D6 Dungeons? ................................................................................................................................................. 3

What You Need to Play................................................................................................................................................. 3

The Basics ........................................................................................................................................................................... 4

How to Play a Character ............................................................................................................................................... 5

How to Narrate a Story ................................................................................................................................................. 6

Rolling Dice ....................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Sample Gameplay ........................................................................................................................................................... 8

Character Creation ........................................................................................................................................................ 13

Classes ............................................................................................................................................................................... 14

Skills.................................................................................................................................................................................... 16

Sample Characters ........................................................................................................................................................ 19

Equipment and Wealth ............................................................................................................................................... 21

Combat ............................................................................................................................................................................. 24

Magic ................................................................................................................................................................................. 27

Enemies ............................................................................................................................................................................. 30

Rewards............................................................................................................................................................................. 33

The D6 Dungeon ........................................................................................................................................................... 34

Tutorial Adventure ........................................................................................................................................................ 38

Optional Rules ................................................................................................................................................................ 44

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What is D6 Dungeons? D6 Dungeons is intended to introduce new or younger players to fantasy role-playing games,

though it can be used by gamers of all ages and experience levels. Fundamentally, it is a shared

storytelling experience. By using a very simple system and verbal concepts, it avoids relying on

math and charts, freeing the players up to focus on the action, story, and character

development.

What You Need to Play First of all, you're going to need a small group of people, preferably between three and six. One

of them takes on the role of the narrator, the person who tells the story. Everyone else is a

player, each taking the role of one character. You're also going to need pencils, paper, and a

handful of six-sided dice. To make things easier, here's a character sheet you can use. To help

you understand how the game works, you can read a sample of gameplay to see how it all

comes together. Finally, you can use the tutorial adventure to get started right away.

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The Basics The following terms and concepts are used in D6 Dungeons.

Action

An action is a single thing a character does. It could be something they do in battle, like

attacking a goblin with a sword or outside of combat, like gathering information from a lively

tavern. In D6 Dungeons, the players roll dice determined by their skills to see if their characters

succeed on challenges.

Challenge

A challenge could be anything the characters face during a story, from a pack of snarling wolves

to a raging river in their path. What they choose to do is up to the players, but whether or not

their actions are successful is up to the dice.

Character

The players take the role of heroes, powerful and dynamic people at the center of every story.

Class

A class is a character's role or adventuring profession. It determines what the character is good

at with a selection of four class skills. It also sets the character's starting equipment.

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Dice

D6 Dungeons requires a handful of six-sided dice to play. A single die is sometimes called a d6,

while rolling three dice would be noted as 3d6. The dice are used to determine the success or

failure of most actions, or challenges, the characters take.

Narrator

The narrator is the storyteller and referee, responsible for not only telling the story but making

sure the rules are followed wherever appropriate. It is the narrator's job to make the game

interesting and challenging.

Scene

D6 Dungeons is broken up into scenes, which work a lot like they do in movies and television.

There's no set size or duration of a scene; they are as large and take as long as they need to

move the story along. A scene might be a thirty second barroom brawl, an hour-long audience

with the king, or even a two-week hike through a snowy mountain pass. Some of the actions a

player can take affect them or their surroundings for an entire scene. Casting a protection spell

could last for the entire barroom brawl, using diplomacy could get the king to look favorably on

them during their interaction, and one roll to see how effectively they navigate the mountains is

good enough for that entire scene. The narrator decides what goes into a scene, where it takes

place, how long it lasts, and what the specific challenges and potential rewards are, then it's up

to the players to figure out how they approach it.

Skill

Skills are usually very broad, covering a wide range of situations that are all somewhat related. A

class skill is one of the four standard skills provided by a character's class.

How to Play a Character Playing a character in D6 Dungeons is very simple. All you really need to know is what your

character can do (as represented by their skills), what they're carrying, and who they are. The

first part is easy; just review the four class skills and you're ready. The second part requires a

little record keeping if you want to keep track of a bunch of gear.

That last part, knowing who your character is, is both the hardest and funnest part of D6

Dungeons and role-playing in general. How your character looks, sounds, and acts is entirely up

to you, and can easily change as the game goes on. There are no rules for this part, so go nuts.

Does he speak with a specific voice? Does she always attack goblins on sight? Is he terrified of

heights? Does she have a family back home she's constantly talking about? What about a

nervous tic? A catchy laugh? An iconic battle cry? The more effort you put into defining your

character, the better the story around him or her will be.

One of the most important things you can do as a player in an RPG is to help make the game

fun. Don't just show up and expect to be entertained; get in there and advance the story. Do

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dramatic things, make epic speeches, and really engage with what's going on. Also, be sure to

give the other players an opportunity to shine, and when the scene calls for a bit of teamwork,

step up and do your part!

How to Narrate a Story Telling a good story is a skill you develop just like any other: with practice. A simple place to

begin is with a basic structure. Put the players in an interesting place, set a plot in motion, guide

it toward a confrontation, and give them an incentive to overcome any challenges they face.

Most importantly, allow room for input from the players. When they take the story in an

unexpected direction, you should do your best to see it as an opportunity, not a deviation. Roll

with what happens and think on your toes and you might just be surprised by where the story

goes.

Though your players might be tempted to oppose or even fight one another, player-versus-

player conflict really isn't supported by D6 Dungeons. To help keep them all on the same side of

the story, you might want to begin the game by explaining that they're all part of the same

organization, a peacekeeping force, adventurer's guild, or explorer's league.

D6 Dungeons has been designed in such a way as to make narrating as easy as possible so you

can focus more on the plot and arranging challenges instead of memorizing charts, looking up

complicated rules, and keeping track of every arrow and day of rations. Go ahead and dream up

a great story, throw your players into the middle of it, and let the dice do the rest!

To get a better idea of the pacing and kinds of actions that take place in D6 Dungeons, read the

sample of gameplay in the next section.

Rolling Dice Whenever you need to determine success or failure for a task, you roll one or more six-sided

dice. 1d6 means you roll one die, while 3d6 means you roll three. Whenever you roll multiple

dice, you compare the highest number rolled to the difficulty of the task. You succeed if your

result meets or exceeds the difficulty. Easy tasks are 3, moderate are 5, and hard are 7, though

they can go as high as 10.

Ones are Special

If you roll any 1s, you may do one of three things with them:

• Add them to your highest die

• Save them for later use during the scene

• Give them to a nearby ally

Note that only "natural" 1s are special, which means that the number 1 must appear on the die.

Rolling 1d6 with disadvantage (-1) and getting a 2 doesn't count as a 1 for the purpose of

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adding, saving, or giving a +1 bonus. Any 1s that you saved from earlier in the scene may only

be added to one of your rolls during the scene, not given to allies.

Skilled versus Unskilled

If the task relates to one of your class skills, you roll a number of dice equal to your skill value

and take the highest result. Otherwise, you roll 1d6 with disadvantage (-1). Any character may

attempt to roll any skill, though their chances of success are very small. This means that anyone

can attempt to roll reflexes to avoid an attack or awareness to notice a secret door.

Advantage and Disadvantage

If you have an advantage, add +1 to your roll. If you have a disadvantage, subtract -1 from you

roll. Advantages and disadvantages do not stack, though one of each will cancel out. The

narrator determines what qualifies as an advantage or disadvantage on any given roll. All

unskilled rolls are made with disadvantage. It would be unwise to attempt spellcasting,

especially arcane, without the proper skills, as there are much more significant consequences for

failing than with other actions.

Re-rolls

Most non-combat rolls determine your effectiveness for an entire scene, like rolling deception

for disguise or willpower to stay awake all night, others are rolled just once for each specific

application, like dexterity to walk along a narrow ledge or spellcraft for identifying an arcane

artifact. The narrator might allow you to re-roll on a task, but it might come with a consequence.

For example, you might be able to try to roll strength again on a door you'd previously failed to

break, but failing again would automatically cause a wound.

Teamwork Rolls

Sometimes your entire team needs to approach a task together. In situations like this, everyone

makes the same roll and adds any 1s on to whatever the highest number rolled was. Note that

teamwork rolls usually have a difficulty much higher than normal rolls.

Social Skills

The four social skills are deception, empathy, intimidation, and persuasion. Though they might

occasionally have applications in combat, they're most useful in social situations when the

heroes must interact with other people. The difficulty to succeed with some social skills could

rise and fall at any time. For example, winning over a few guards with persuasion might be much

easier before starting a fight with them, while intimidation could work the other way around.

The narrator determines the application and effectiveness in each scene, and depending on how

the heroes use their social skills, their favor with others might improve or get worse.

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Sample Gameplay In this example of play, a group of four heroes attacks an orc stronghold.

Narrator Nate: "After a few hours of walking in the forest, you come across a clearing where all

the trees have been cut down and used to build a walled fort. Even from a distance, you can

smell the orcs living inside. As night falls across the clearing, you see a bonfire come to life

within. What do you do?"

Wade Warrior: "What are we waiting for? Let's bash down the gate and charge right in!"

Mary Mage: "We don't know how many orcs are in there! There has to be a better way to do

this."

Rachel Rogue: "The darkness is our ally here; they won't be able to see us approach the outer

wall at night unless they've got lookouts."

Chad Cleric: "Good point, Mary. Nate, do they have a watch set? Are there any orcs up on the

walls?"

Narrator Nate: "You peer through the darkness, searching for shapes moving along the wall.

Roll awareness."

Chad Cleric: "Hmm, I don't have any ranks in that skill. Mary?"

Mary Mage: "I have two points, but I could use some help."

Narrator Nate: "Yes, this can be a teamwork roll. Mary, you roll awareness and everyone else

roll 1d6 with disadvantage, which is a -1 on your roll. Let's see who gets the highest number

and, remember, as always: any extra ones get added to that. Roll!"

[Everyone rolls: Mary gets a 2 and a 5, Chad gets a 3, Wade gets a 1, and Rachel gets a 6.]

Rachel Rogue: "I got a six! But, with disadvantage, that's only a five, so Mary and I tied. I guess

that's what we get."

Wade Warrior: "Hang on, you can add my one, so that brings us up to 6. Narrator, is that

enough? What do we see?"

Narrator Nate: "The orcs don't appear to have any sentries posted. You could easily get to the

wall without them seeing you."

Chad Cleric: "I'll bet a bunch of dumb orcs in a makeshift fortress left enough cracks for us to

look through. Let's get close and see if we can determine how many are in there."

Narrator Nate: "You pick your way across the field of tree stumps and get to the outer wall of

the stronghold. Sure enough, it's shoddy construction and there are places you could actually fit

your arm through if you wanted. Peering inside, you count about eight orcs."

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Wade Warrior: "No sweat! I'll break down the front door and you all follow me in!"

Mary Mage: "Slow down there, Wade. Eight orcs is a lot! Let's do this the right way. I promise

you there'll be a battle, we just need to stack the odds in our favor."

Rachel Rogue: "She's right. How about I climb the wall and get some high ground with my

crossbow?"

Mary Mage: "Sounds good. I'll cast a spell on their bonfire to make it blaze bright enough to

blind them for a while. That'll be our queue to attack!"

Chad Cleric: "I'm going to try to cast a defensive spell on Wade, then I'll follow him in the front

gate."

Narrator Nate: "Let's see how well you execute your plan. Everyone roll!"

Mary Mage: "Well, there's no rush, so I'll skip the intelligence roll to lower the casting time. My

spellcraft is 3; here goes!"

[Mary rolls a 1, a 3, and a 6.]

Mary Mage: "Yes, that's 7 total!"

Rachel Rogue: "While she's doing that, I'm climbing the wall using my climbing kit. I don't have

any points in strength, but the kit cancels out the disadvantage."

[Rachel rolls a 5.]

Rachel Rogue: "Hope that's enough!"

Chad Cleric: "I'll do what Mary did and skip my wisdom roll to shorten the casting time. Here

comes my religion roll."

[Chad rolls a 2, a 3, and a 4.]

Chad Cleric: "That's probably not high enough for a spell."

Narrator Nate: "Nope, roll willpower to avoid losing your next action and getting disfavor."

Chad Cleric: "I figured. Here goes."

[Chad rolls a 6, and a 6.]

Chad Cleric: "Well then, does a six do it?"

Narrator Nate: "Yes, a six is high enough to avoid the negative effects of failing your spell

casting roll."

Wade Warrior: "Since we've got all the time in the world, can I get a running start at the gate

for an advantage?"

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Narrator Nate: "Yeah, with all the trees cut down, there's more than enough room."

Wade Warrior: "Rrrraaaah! Strength roll incoming!"

[Wade rolls a a 2, a 5, and a 6.]

Wade Warrior: "Six with advantage is seven! Wade smash!"

Narrator Nate: "Okay, here's what happens: There's a brilliant flash of light as the bonfire in the

middle of the orc fort flares, temporarily blinding the orcs. A second later, the gate busts open

as Wade barrels in, followed closely by Chad. Seeing as you've caught them by surprise, we'll

skip initiative and just let you go first."

Chad Cleric: "I'm going to take the opportunity to smash a surprised, blinded orc while I've got

it. My weaponry skill isn't that high!"

[Chad rolls a 4.]

Narrator Nate: "With disadvantage, that's a 3, which would normally miss an orc, but since you

surprised them, you have advantage, so it's back up to a 4. You nail one of the orcs in the head

with your mace and he drops."

Wade Warrior: "Let's have some fun here. Can I use my strength to kick an orc into the

bonfire?"

Narrator Nate: "Sure, they're surprised and blinded."

[Wade rolls a 1, a 1, and a 6.]

Wade Warrior: "Tonight's my night! That's an eight, total!"

Rachel Rogue: "Hey Wade, I doubt you need a roll that high. How about sharing some of those

extra ones?"

Wade Warrior: "Yeah, good idea! I'll just take my six and give my ones to Rachel and Mary."

Narrator Nate: "A six is more than enough. You boot a hapless orc backwards into the fire and

he bursts into flames. You can forget about that one."

Rachel Rogue: "Do any of the orcs look like they're in charge? Bigger? Stronger? Maybe a fancy

hat?"

Narrator Nate: "Now that you mention it, yeah. There's an orc near the back of the fort wearing

a suit of armor with a helmet shaped like a skull."

Rachel Rogue: "I'm going to nail that one with my crossbow! Here's my dexterity roll."

[Rachel rolls a 3, a 4, and a 4.]

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Rachel Rogue: "Could have been better. Let's add in that plus one Wade gave me. That gives

me a five."

Narrator Nate: "You sink a crossbow bolt into his shoulder, but he doesn't go down."

Mary Mage: "Ooh, an elite! That must be their leader. I'm going to try to cast a spell to set him

on fire."

Narrator Nate: "It's hard to see him through the wall. You'll have to climb up or move over to

the doorway."

Mary Mage: "Okay, I'll go around to the doorway, but not inside. I don't want to get close

enough for the orcs to attack me."

Narrator Nate: "That's everyone, right? Now it's their turn. Two are down, so there are six left.

Only one of them sees Rachel up on the wall. The orc chieftain draws a spear and hurls it at

you."

Rachel Rogue: "Yikes! Here's my reflexes roll."

[Rachel rolls a 2, and a 3.]

Narrator Nate: "Not enough. His spear hits you."

Rachel Rogue: "Oh no, let's see if my leather armor is thick enough to stop it."

[Rachel rolls a 2.]

Rachel Rogue: "That's a failure, too. I guess I take a wound. I'll cross off deception because I

doubt I'll need to use that this scene."

Narrator Nate: "Okay. Meanwhile, the rest of the orcs rush around the bonfire to engage Wade

and Chad. Three of them attack Wade and the other two head for Chad."

Chad Cleric: "Here goes nothing! I raise my shield and hope for the best. Two reflexes rolls

coming up."

[Chad rolls a 5 on one roll and a 4 on the other.]

Chad Cleric: "Not bad! The advantage from my shield cancels out the disadvantage from not

having any points in reflexes, so five and four it is!"

Narrator Nate: "You fend off both attacks, their spiked clubs clanging uselessly against your

sturdy shield."

Wade Warrior: "Shields are for weaklings who can't lift real, two-handed weapons! Here are my

reflexes rolls."

[Wade rolls a 1 one the first roll, a 5 on the second, and a 4 on the third.]

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Wade Warrior: "That one is a failure, so I'll just apply it to the four I rolled. With disadvantage

from not having reflexes, that's two fours."

Narrator Nate: "You sidestep two of the attacks, but the last one connects."

Wade Warrior: "Come on, plate armor, don't let me down! Here's my fortitude roll with

advantage."

[Wade rolls a 5 and a 6.]

Narrator Nate: "The orc's club bounces harmlessly off of your breastplate. That's all the orcs. It's

your team's turn again."

And the battle continues back and forth until the heroes either win or lose. If they win, they can

search the fort for treasure and clues about what to do next on their adventure. If they lose,

they'll wake up in cages in the fort, waiting to be eaten for dinner the next night. Can they figure

out how to escape, get their gear back, and defeat the orcs? The adventure continues...

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Character Creation Creating a character is mechanically quick and easy. Your class is the most important choice you

will make, followed by which skill you raise from 2 to 3. This will represent what your character is

best at doing, though you can eventually raise all of your skills, even those belonging to other

classes.

1. Choose a class: cleric, mage, rogue, or warrior

• All class skills listed begin at 2

• Raise one class skill from 2 to 3

2. Choose equipment

• Your class will list your starting equipment

• You also begin with a wealth value of 2, which you can use to purchase any additional

equipment

3. Describe your character

• Pick a name

• Choose an appearance

• Create a personality

• Think of a background

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Classes Class is the role your character fills on an adventuring team, as represented by training in four

skills, called “class skills.” Skills are very broad and cover a lot of different situations, some even

overlap.

Cleric

Mixing divine rituals with arms and armor, clerics stand

firm against the forces of evil. Their class skills are

empathy, religion, willpower, and wisdom. They begin

with one weapon, a suit of light or heavy armor, a

shield, a divine implement, a religious book, and a

healing kit. Wearing heavy armor doesn't interfere with

their spellcasting, so they can fill a lot of different roles

depending on the situation. They're also great at

healing, with and without magic, so they can help keep

their team healthy in and out of combat. Clerics are also

sometimes called priests, paladins, druids, inquisitors,

templars, oracles, shamans, witchdoctors, or warpriests.

Mage

Mages are masters of the arcane arts and a wide variety

of academic pursuits. Their class skills are awareness,

intelligence, persuasion, and spellcraft. They begin with

a weapon, an arcane implement, a lore book, an

academic book, and a linguistics book. The versatility of

arcane magic allows them to do almost anything the

want, as long as they have the skills to pull it off. A

mage could throw fireballs one minute, fly the next, and

turn all of his allies into fish to swim across a river after

that. Mages are also sometimes called wizards,

sorcerers, witches, warlocks, enchanters, necromancers,

or magi.

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Rogue

Quick and clever, rogues rely on their wits and coordination

to overcome obstacles. Their class skills are deception,

dexterity, reflexes, and stealth. They begin with two

weapons, a suit of light armor, a lockpicking kit, and a

trapping kit. They have a lot to offer on and off the

battlefield, causing massive amounts of damage with sneaky

ambushes and a variety of larcenous skills to help their team

overcome obstacles. These crafty combatants are great with

ranged or thrown weapons and dual-wielding one-handed

melee weapons, while light armor gives them the ability to

stand toe-to-toe with most enemies. Rogues are also

sometimes called thieves, scouts, rangers, assassins, bards,

burglars, ninjas, swashbucklers, or scoundrels.

Warrior

Trained in the use of martial weapons and heavy armor,

warriors are fearsome combatants. Their class skills are

fortitude, intimidation, strength, and weaponry. They

begin with three weapons, a suit of light or heavy

armor, a shield, and a climbing kit. Since they excel with

any kind of weapon, most warriors prefer to keep an

assortment of them available, using whatever the

situation calls for. With a suit of heavy armor and a

shield, a warrior can shrug off or completely avoid even

the deadliest attacks. Warriors are also sometimes

called knights, barbarians, samurai, fighters, soldiers,

brawlers, berserkers, or cavaliers.

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Skills Awareness covers not only perception, but also magical senses, allowing characters to pierce

illusions, tricks, deception, confusion, and stealth. It's also useful for searching areas, discovering

hidden items, and finding secret doors. Lastly, it's used to resist the effects of failed arcane

spellcasting.

Deception is all about lying and misdirection. In social situations, it's used to get information or

favors from people who would normally not want to help, therefor it always lowers standing

with targets on failure. In combat, it can be used to trick opponents, giving the attacker an

advantage. Deception can also be used for disguise and impersonation.

Dexterity involves both agility and coordination. It's used for acrobatics, ranged weapons,

thrown weapons, picking locks, disarming traps, and combat maneuvers. Attacking with two

one-handed melee weapons allows you to re-roll one die per point of dexterity.

Empathy allows a character to determine how any two individuals or groups regard each other

in a social situation. When successful, it gives advantage when using other social skills against

the same targets, even in battle. It's also used to determine when others are lying or disguised.

Fortitude is the measure of a character's stamina, durability, and resistance to negative effects.

It's used to avoid nonlethal damage and, while wearing armor, lethal damage as well. It also

protects against poison, sickness, and fatigue, as well as the negative effects of hunger, thirst,

and hostile weather. Finally, it also determines how long a character can hold their breath.

Intelligence governs a wide variety of fields, including academics, alchemy, linguistics, and

monster lore, but also more focused topics like deduction, riddles, and memory. It's also used to

identify arcane artifacts and reduce the casting time of arcane spellcasting.

Intimidation involves getting someone to do what you want through browbeating and the

threat of force. In combat, it can be used to scare or taunt enemies. In social situations, it always

lowers a character's standing with the target.

Persuasion is the delicate art of convincing people to do what you want them to do. It's useful

in negotiation, diplomacy, haggling, and getting information out of people or getting them to

help you. In social situations, it can improve a character's standing with another individual or

group.

Reflexes determines how good a character is at avoiding traps, falling damage, and, most

importantly, physical attacks of all sorts.

Religion is the primary skill for casting divine spells, though it's also useful for divine

implements and artifacts. It can also be used for identifying deities, demigods, demons, undead,

and other such creatures. Attempting to cast a divine spell without a divine implement causes

disadvantage on the roll.

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Spellcraft, above all, is used for casting arcane spells, through it's also useful for using arcane

implements and artifacts. Attempting to cast an arcane spell without an arcane implement

causes disadvantage on the roll.

Stealth allows a character to move and act without being seen, such as when hiding, sneaking,

or camouflaged in the wilderness. It's also used for picking pockets and springing ambushes on

unsuspecting targets, causing significantly more damage. Once engaged in combat, it's usually

not possible to use stealth to hide again. Making an attack with a one-handed weapon while

you have advantage causes a number of wounds equal to your stealth.

Strength is the measure of a character's physical might and athleticism. It covers running,

climbing, jumping, lifting, and swimming. It's also used for combat maneuvers and unarmed

attacks like punching and wrestling. Attacking with a two-handed weapon causes a number of

wounds equal to your strength.

Weaponry determines how skilled a character is with all weapons, including one-handed, two-

handed, ranged, thrown, and improvised weapons. It's also used to identify, appraise, and

maintain weapons. It can also be used to operate siege and shipboard weapons.

Willpower is the measure of a character's mental toughness, allowing them to resist fear,

domination, intimidation, seduction, temptation, and sleep effects. It's also used to resist the

effects of failed divine spellcasting.

Wisdom is a character's deeper understanding of the world around them. Beyond its

importance for intuition, sixth sense, and good judgment, it's used to reduce the casting time of

divine spells and identifying divine artifacts. Finally, it can be used to heal wounds once per

scene.

Name

Class

Equipment Wealth Skills

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© 2016-2018 Nathan Knaack

Sample Characters Here are some sample characters to get you started if you're having trouble deciding on what to

play or just want to get the adventure going as fast as possible. The suggestions on how to play

and advance each character are just that: suggestions. Feel free to take them in any direction

you like!

Damilo

Class: Cleric

Skills: empathy 2, religion 3, willpower 2, wisdom 2

Equipment: mace, chainmail armor, kite shield, holy symbol, Book of Souls, and a satchel of

bandages.

Wealth: 2

How to Play Damilo: With spellcasting capabilities that are quite good for a young man, others

are often surprised when Damilo prefers to get into melee combat with the other front-line

fighters. Once the battle is over, he has enough time to heal everyone's wounds with his magic

or healing kit.

How to Advance Damilo: There are a few different directions you could take Damilo. The first is

to improve his religion, willpower, and wisdom skills to make him a better spellcaster. You could

also invest in weaponry, fortitude, and reflexes to increase his combat ability.

Effara

Class: Mage

Skills: awareness 3, intelligence 2, persuasion 2, spellcraft 2

Equipment: walking staff, magic wand, Almanac of Automatons, Alchemy for Apprentices, and

Literally Linguistics.

Wealth: 2

How to Play Effara: Though her spellcasting is still very basic, Effara is very perceptive and can

often avoid the negative effects of botched spells. Anything she doesn't immediately notice

about her surroundings, she's able to figure out by spending a few minutes with her nose

pressed into one of the many books she carries with her.

How to Advance Effara: The most effective way to advance Effara is to focus on her

spellcasting skills: awareness, intelligence, and spellcraft. However, it wouldn't hurt for her to

explore other options that increase her versatility, like reflexes, stealth, or weaponry.

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Ora

Class: Rogue

Skills: dexterity 2, reflexes 2, stealth 2, deception 3

Equipment: curved dagger, crossbow, leather armor, roll of lockpicks, and a snare trap kit.

Wealth: 2

How to Play Ora: Unlike other rogues, who prefer to sneak up and ambush their enemies, Ora is

a talker. Nothing pleases her more than chatting circles around her befuddled adversaries,

ending up with all their gold without having to spill any blood at all. She can fight when she

needs to, but would much rather do so with her crossbow from far away than up close with her

dagger.

How to Advance Ora: If she's allowed to be the face of the group, doing all the talking while

they handle the dirty work, Ora is going to need empathy, persuasion, and intimidation. On the

other hand, a dash of arcane magic could really give her an edge, which would require

awareness, intelligence, and spellcraft.

Umlau

Class: Warrior

Skills: fortitude 3, intimidation 2, strength 2, weaponry 2

Equipment: broadsword, longbow, throwing axe, half plate armor, tower shield, and a knotted

rope.

Wealth: 2

How to Play Umlau: Tougher than nails and strong as an ox, Umlau is most comfortable in his

heavy armor, wading through enemy ranks with his sword and shield at the ready. Though he's

still got a lot to learn about being a warrior, his natural talent for survival is impressive. Outside

of combat, he's a bit rough around the edges, but when he raises his voice, people tend to

either listen or get out of his way.

How to Advance Umlau: To become the legendary warrior he thinks he was meant to be,

Umlau should improve his fortitude, strength, and weaponry, though it wouldn't hurt to raise his

other defenses, like awareness, reflexes, and willpower.

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Equipment and Wealth

Wealth

Instead of keeping track of individual gold

pieces, your wealth is represented by a

number, indicating what you can and cannot

afford. Gaining or losing a few coins doesn't

affect your wealth, so don't worry about

things like buying drinks at the tavern or

searching dead goblins for coppers. Only big

purchases and finding treasure affect your

wealth.

You can readily afford anything below your

wealth value without affecting it, though bulk

purchases could lower it. You may purchase

something equal to your wealth, though this always drops your wealth by 1. Most shopkeepers

aren't interested in secondhand goods, so they usually won't buy weapons and armor looted

from enemies, though they might be interested in valuable artifacts.

In order to pool wealth between characters, every character involved rolls a number of dice

equal to their wealth, adding a single 1 to the buyer’s total wealth if they roll one. This can be

done once per scene, usually in a town.

Every character starts with a wealth of 2, but also with the starting class equipment at no cost.

The narrator is always free to decide if something will increase or decrease your wealth,

depending on the situation.

Encumbrance

For the most part, don’t worry about how much each character is carrying, as long as it’s a

normal amount of gear: a suit of armor, a few weapons, personal belongings, and some

treasure. Characters can carry larger things, but doing so prevents them from taking most other

actions, including combat. For example, a character could carry another unconscious character,

but they couldn’t do so while fighting, jumping over a pit, or climbing a wall.

Weapons

Most weapons cost 2, but two-handed and ranged weapons cost 3. Normal ammunition for

ranged or thrown weapons is not tracked; if a character has a throwing knife, they are

considered to have as many as they need for most battles.

One-handed weapons cause 1 wound for every point of stealth when attacking with advantage.

This is a very effective tactic for sneaky rogues.

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Two-handed melee weapons inflict 1 wound for every point of strength. This means that a

character with no points in that skill deals no damage; the weapon is too heavy or large for them

to wield properly! Two-handed weapons are great for warriors who favor damage over defense.

Attacking with two one-handed weapons allows you to re-roll one die per point of dexterity.

Combat-oriented rogues get the most out of this.

Ranged weapons can be used against targets near and far away, but require two hands (though

they gain no benefit from strength), and suffer disadvantage against close targets. Warriors and

rogues excel with ranged weapons, as they can be used with either weaponry or dexterity.

Thrown weapons can be used against nearby targets and only require one hand to use, though

they suffer disadvantage against close targets. Warriors and rogues excel with thrown weapons,

as they can be used with either weaponry or dexterity.

Unarmed attacks or those with improvised weapons have disadvantage. Though they prefer to

use weapons, warriors can hold their own even when unarmed using strength. Unarmed attacks

cause nonlethal damage, which can be resisted by fortitude, even while unarmored.

Drawing or sheathing a weapon doesn't require an action, though only one of each of those

actions may be completed per turn. Dropping anything in your hands doesn't cost an action,

either. For example, you could drop both your swords, draw a crossbow, and fire it all in one

turn. Picking something up off the ground does cost an action, though.

Armor

Light armor allows you to roll fortitude against lethal physical damage. Heavy armor allows you

to roll fortitude with advantage. Characters in heavy armor move slower than those in light or no

armor. Anyone can roll fortitude against nonlethal damage.

Wearing light armor casues disadvantage on spellcraft rolls, while wearing heavy armor causes

disadvantage on awareness, dexterity, reflexes, spellcraft, and stealth rolls. If you want to focus

on rogue skills, you should avoid wearing heavy armor and, if you prefer mage skills, not use any

armor at all. Light armor costs 2 and heavy armor costs 4.

Shields

A shield gives advantage when rolling reflexes to avoid an attack, however, using one causes

disadvantage on dexterity, stealth, and spellcraft rolls. You can use a shield as though it were a

weapon (or second weapon if you're using a weapon in your primary hand) to bash an enemy,

but doing so means you lose advantage on your reflexes rolls that turn. Shields cost 2.

Implements

Items meant to aid in magical spellcasting are called implements, either arcane or divine.

Without using one, all spellcraft and religion rolls to cast spells are made at a disadvantage.

Implements require at least one hand. Classic examples of implements are wands, holy symbols,

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totems, and crystal balls. Weapons and shields are not normally implements, though some

artifacts may count as both. Implements cost 4.

Other Equipment and Services

There are many other types of equipment and services, from provisions and animals to inn

rooms and tavern tabs. Your character lives a life according to what they can afford, with 1 being

lower class (food, water, clothing, shelter), 3 being middle class (horse, house), 5 being upper

class (ship, carriage, servants), and 7 being nobility (mansion, land), and 9 being royalty (castle,

army).

Kits, Tools, and Books

A kit, set of tools, or a book can give advantage when using a specific skill in certain situations,

such as using a linguistics book to gain advantage on intelligence rolls made to translate

something from another language, a climbing kit along with strength to scale a cliff wall, or a set

of thieves’ tools to pick a lock using dexterity. A character must have at least 1 rank in a skill to

gain the benefit of a kit. Kits always cost at least 2.

Artifacts

Magical items are called artifacts and can provide an array of benefits. To identify an artifact, you

must succeed on an intelligence or wisdom roll, depending whether it’s arcane or divine. Some

artifacts are always on, such as magical weapons and armor, while others must be activated

using spellcraft or religion, such as wands and holy symbols. Very simple artifacts be consumed

by anyone, like potions or enchanted food. Very rare and intelligent artifacts might try to control

whoever uses them, resisted by awareness or willpower.

Sample Artifacts

Potion of Invisibility: spellcraft 3, become invisible for one scene

Potion of Healing: religion 3, heals one wound

Elixir of Restoration: religion 4, heals one wound and restores consciousness

Holy Sword: religion 5, counts as a divine weapon and divine implement

Magic Bow: spellcraft 4, counts as a magic weapon

Staff of Wizardry: spellcraft 5, counts as an arcane weapon and arcane implement

Ironsilk Robes: spellcraft 6, allows fortitude rolls against lethal damage

Shield of Faith: religion 5, counts as a divine implement

Black Skull: religion 6, social skills affect undead

Control Rod: spellcraft 6, social skills affect constructs

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Combat Combat in D6 Dungeons is quick and cinematic, not tactical or mathematical. Actions are simple

and straightforward. Movement and ranges are symbolic. All the rolling is done by the players

and most enemies are represented by a single number. The goal is to keep it moving along

quickly, making it feel more like a free-for-all than a slow exchange of strategic moves.

Actions

Each participant in combat gets one action per round, which could be an attack, a spell, or

movement. The one exception is that a character can move and make a melee attack with one

action.

Initiative

To determine who goes first in combat, make a teamwork roll against the highest difficulty

enemy, plus any bonus for surprise. Highest roll’s side goes first, then alternate each round for

the rest of the battle.

Any skill could function as the initiative roll, depending on the situation. If the heroes are

ambushed, it could be reflexes. If they’re waiting to ambush someone, it could be stealth. If

they’re watching for something to happen, it might be awareness. If they’re staring down

enemies from across the tavern, it might be intimidation.

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During the first round of combat, all offensive rolls are made with advantage. If the enemies

won, all defensive rolls are made with disadvantage.

Movement and Ranges

Movement rates only matter during chases, when it's relevant to compare one character's speed

to another. Characters who move faster will always outrun those who move slower unless other

actions are taken to affect the chase, such as intervening obstacles, knowledge of shortcuts, or

using magic and equipment to affect the outcome.

There are only three categories: close, near, and far. It is helpful to think of these as ranges

between meaningful locations in the battle, not between individual characters. Melee attacks

can only be made against close enemies, short range attacks hit anyone nearby, and long range

attacks can hit someone far away. It takes one action to change your range to a target, such as

moving from near to close to make a melee attack.

Attacks

You must roll equal to or greater than an enemy's difficulty number to hit it with an attack, spell,

or maneuver. When an enemy attacks, you defend against it with reflexes; if you fail, you get hit.

Maneuvers

You can also use strength or dexterity to perform a maneuver. A maneuver foregoes direct

damage to otherwise affect the target in some way. This could mean disarming them or

knocking them down. Regardless of what the maneuver actually is, it should be handled by

granting advantage to your or one of your allies or disadvantage the enemy.

Maneuvers that affect enemies remain in effect until the target takes an action to cancel them,

such as getting back up if tripped or retrieving their weapon if disarmed. Maneuvers that give

allies advantage last for one round.

Wounds

Minor monsters only require one wound to defeat, while more challenging monsters require a

number of wounds equal to their difficulty. A goblin only takes 1 wound to defeat, but a goblin

king would require 3. Players may decide if enemies are killed or simply knocked out when

defeated.

If you are hit by an enemy, roll fortitude to avoid being wounded. If you take lethal damage and

you're not wearing armor, you automatically suffer a wound. If you suffer nonlethal damage, you

may roll fortitude even if you're not wearing armor.

Each wound temporarily cancels out one skill of your choice until you get healed. You roll that

skill with only one die and cannot benefit from having advantage. When three of your skills are

damaged, you are unconscious. If your entire party is unconscious, you are at the mercy of the

enemies or elements, though this should always end up in some situation that furthers the

adventure (put into goblin cages, tied up and ransomed by bandits, washed down the river a

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few miles, etc.) that has some other consequence (loss of wealth or equipment, more challenges,

etc.).

Healing

Once per scene, while not in combat, you or another player may attempt a wisdom 5 roll

(healing kits provide advantage) to heal one wound. Any players that were knocked unconscious

automatically heal one wound and become conscious again. Divine magic and artifacts can also

be used to heal wounds.

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Magic

Free-form Spellcasting

Magic in D6 Dungeons is entirely free-form; there are no spell lists. You

simply declare what you want to do and the narrator sets a difficulty for it.

Certain situations and conditions might increase or decrease the difficulty,

though. There are other things to consider when casting spells, too. Casting

spells quickly and safely requires three different skills, so it's a heavy

investment for those wishing to diversify.

Types of Magic

There are two types of magic: arcane and divine. Arcane magic is the volatile

and unpredictable energy flowing through the universe, which talented

mages are able to use it to produce wondrous and devastating effects. Divine

magic comes either directly from a deity or emerges spontaneously out of

mortals who exemplify certain ideals. Arcane magic can produce a wide

variety of useful effects, though it can never be used to heal. Divine magic, on

the other hand, can never be used to cause damage unless the target is

undead.

Casting a Spell

To cast a spell, you must attempt at least one roll, either spellcraft (for arcane) or religion (for

divine). To cast a spell as one action, you must succeed on intelligence (for arcane) or wisdom

(for divine), otherwise your must spend an entire round casting, finishing with your next action.

If you suffer a wound while casting, the spell is disrupted and doesn't work.

If you fail the roll to cast the spell or are disrupted by taking damage, you must roll awareness

(for arcane) or willpower (for divine); failure means you lose your next action and suffer backlash

(for arcane) or disfavor (for divine) for the rest of the scene. Failing a spellcraft roll to cast a spell

while suffering from backlash results in an automatic wound, which cannot be resisted with

fortitude. Failing a religion roll to cast a spell while suffering from disfavor gives you

disadvantage on all rolls and prevents any divine

casting for the rest of the scene.

It is usually not a good idea to try to cast spells while

being threatened by close enemies or you are

otherwise in immediate danger of being attacked.

Wearing heavy armor or using a shield gives you a

disadvantage on awareness and spellcraft rolls, and

wearing light armor causes a disadvantage on

spellcraft. Attempting to cast a spell without the proper

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implement causes disadvantage on spellcraft and religion.

In general, a spell with a difficulty of 3 (the lowest difficulty of spell) doesn’t really do anything

special, just a very minor effect like lifting a tiny object, creating just enough light to see what's

nearby, or making food taste better. Spells that deal damage must meet the difficulty of the

target enemy, while those that increase the duration, area of effect, or other factors must

achieve an even greater result. Spells that deal mental damage or get around normal defenses

(poison gas, etc) should always be higher difficulty. Spells that benefit from environmental

situations have lower difficulties, such as calling down lightning bolts out of thunderstorm or

summoning a swarm of bats while exploring an underground cavern.

Beyond causing or curing wounds, spells can have just about

any other effect, though more powerful effects should

require a higher difficulty. Some very powerful spells

(teleportation, raising the dead, causing an earthquake, etc.)

might require specific artifacts, time-consuming rituals,

and/or consumable materials like expensive gemstones.

Arcane

Roll intelligence to cast with one action (otherwise next

round), then spellcraft to cast the spell, then awareness on

failure to avoid losing your next action and suffering

backlash. Can never be used to heal.

Divine

Roll wisdom to cast with one action (otherwise next round),

then religion to cast the spell, then willpower on failure to

avoid losing your next action and suffering disfavor. Can only

cause damage to undead.

Guidelines and Examples

While a free-form spell system can be daunting at first, it's much more liberating as the game

progresses. To get you started, here are some sample spells to help establish guidelines for

what's possible at each difficulty. Note that these are merely suggestions and the actual

difficulty can change depending on many factors, from degree of preparation to environmental

circumstances.

Divine Judgment (divine) Enemy Difficulty, gives one nearby undead target disadvantage for

the scene

Smite Evil (divine) Enemy Difficulty+1, causes 3 wounds to a nearby undead enemy

Turn Undead (divine) Enemy Difficulty+2, causes 1 wound to all undead nearby of equal or

lesser difficulty

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Destroy Undead (divine) Enemy Difficulty+3, instantly destroys one close undead enemy

Electric Jolt (arcane) Enemy Difficulty, causes 1 wound to a nearby enemy

Icy Ray (arcane) Enemy Difficulty+1, causes 1 wound to a nearby enemy and gives them

disadvantage

Blinding Beam (arcane) Enemy Difficulty+2, causes 1 wound and disadvantage to an enemy far

away

Fire Ball (arcane) Enemy Difficulty+3, causes 1 wound to a target far away and all nearby it of

equal or lesser difficulty

Arcane Shield (arcane) 4, negates the next wound the caster suffers during the scene

Healing Hands (divine) 4, heals 1 wound to a touched ally

Lesser Teleport (arcane) 5, move twice instantly

Divine Protection (divine) 5, allows one touched target to roll fortitude to avoid damage

Force Blast (arcane) 6, moves all close targets away and gives them disadvantage

Turn Undead (divine) 6, no undead may move close to the caster

Feather Flight (arcane) 7, the caster can fly for one scene

Battle Prayer (divine) 7, all nearby allies gain advantage on attacks during the scene until

wounded

Greater Teleport (arcane) 8, transports the caster and all close allies anywhere previously visited

Restore Health (divine) 8, heals all wounds to a touched ally and restores consciousness

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Enemies Enemies are represented by a single number that determines

how challenging it is to defeat. Some enemies have other

abilities, too, such as a dragon’s breath weapon that affects

numerous targets. Elite enemies have one wound per point of

difficulty, meaning that a normal goblin only requires one wound

to defeat, but an elite goblin king requires three.

Challenge Rating

It's important to keep challenge rating in mind when designing

or generating encounters. A starting player (with starting class

skills and equipment) will find a single difficulty 3 enemy minion

easy to defeat. That means they only have to roll a 3 or higher on

one attack to defeat it. However, against several enemies of that

difficulty, they might suffer a wound or two. Here are some

general guidelines:

Simple: fewer enemies than heroes, with a difficulty below their average maximum skill

Easy: equal enemies to heroes, with a difficulty equal their average maximum skill, or a single

enemy of a higher difficulty

Moderate: more enemies than heroes, with a difficulty equal to their average maximum skill,

plus one of a higher difficulty

Hard: more enemies than heroes, with a difficulty higher than their average maximum skill, plus

one of a much higher difficulty

Challenging: many more enemies than heroes, with a difficulty above average maximum skill,

plus a few of a much higher difficulty

Here are some examples for each list; feel free to invent your own!

Animals

Dog: 3, 2 against empathy and intimidation, 5 against stealth

Wolf: 4, gains advantage when attacking wounded characters, 5 against stealth

Tiger: 5, can move and attack in one action, 6 against awareness

Bear: 6, 5 against deception, 7 against all other social skills

Dinosaur: 7, causes two wounds, can move and attack in one action

Brutes

Goblin: 3, 2 against all social skills, 4 against awareness

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Orc: 4, fights on for one round after knocked out

Troll: 5, heals one wound per round and gets back up unless burned

Minotaur: 6, 7 against magic, causes two wounds with normal attacks

Giant: 7, causes two wounds, can attack any target nearby

Constructs

Clockworker: 3, not affected by social skills, can repair other clockworkers

Gargoyle: 4, 6 against awareness, not affected by social skills

Golem: 5, not affected by social skills, immune to normal weapons

Juggernaut: 6, not affected by social skills, can move and attack in one action

Colossus: 7, not affected by social skills, can attack any target nearby

Monsters

Gremlin: 3, 5 against magic

Basilisk: 4, wounds also stun targets (willpower to resist)

Werewolf: 5, immune to normal weapons

Manticore: 6, poison causes wounds to wound again next round

Kraken: 7, attacks two targets each round, can attack any target nearby

People

Thug: 3, 4 during first round

Raider: 4, 5 against persuasion or deception

Barbarian: 5, 6 and immune to social skills while wounded

Assassin: 6, 7 against awareness, poison causes wounds to wound against next round

Necromancer: 7, can summon skeletons, fights on for three rounds after defeated

Undead

Skeleton: 3, not affected by social skills or ranged weapons

Zombie: 4, never gains advantage, not affected by social skills

Wraith: 5, not affected by normal weapons or social skills

Vampire: 6, 7 against awareness, heals one wound on causing damage

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Lich: 7, can cast spells, only affected by divine spells and artifacts, heals one wound after causing

a wound with normal attack

Dragons

These vicious creatures are special enemies that don't fit into any category. They are always elite

monsters with 8 wounds.

Dragon: 8, breath weapon hits all nearby targets, can move and attack in one action, immune to

normal weapons, causes two wounds with normal attacks

Traps

Traps are handled just like enemies, though only certain skills are effective at detecting,

disarming, or bypassing them. For example, awareness might allow a character to spot a pit trap,

dexterity could be used to disarm its trigger, and strength could be used to leap over and avoid

it altogether.

Snare: 3, immobilized until freed

Punji: 4, causes one wound and immobilizes for one round

Gas: 5, causes one wound to all nearby, fortitude to resist (no benefit from armor)

Dart: 6, fortitude each round for three rounds, causing a wound for each failure

Shock: 7, causes one wound to all nearby and stuns for one round

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Rewards Though just about anything can function as a reward in D6

Dungeons, the three things most characters will enjoy receiving most

are advancement for improving their skills, wealth for buying new

equipment, and artifacts for a variety of magical powers and effects.

Of course, these are only tangible rewards; players should also be

able to make friends, become famous, or even be granted titles.

Advancement

Characters advance when the narrator calls for it, usually at some

milestone in the adventure. When you advance, you may add 1 to

any skill (up to a maximum of 5), even those from other classes.

Wealth

Wealth is increased in one of two ways: Either the narrator will simply decide to add to a

character's wealth, or they will declare that a treasure has been found. Treasures allow a player

to roll a die; if the roll is higher than the character's current wealth, it increases by 1. Rolling a 6

always increases a character's wealth.

Artifacts

An artifact could be literally anything, from a healing potion to a tree that grows helmets. The

narrator should design artifacts to fit the story, but also be careful so as to not introduce

anything that upsets the balance of the game.

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The D6 Dungeon Using the following tables, it's easy to randomly generate a dungeon adventure. The narrator

can assemble the adventure beforehand, or, for an even greater challenge, have the players roll

during the game every time a feature of the adventure needs to be decided. Whenever 'X' is

shown, use the number of players; for example, Xd6 means you should roll 1d6 for each player.

Story

What’s the story? What’s the motivation to go into the dungeon?

1. Defense - you need to defend the dungeon against attackers

2. Enemy - there's a specific enemy or group of enemies in the dungeon you need to

defeat

3. Escape - you begin the adventure in the dungeon and must escape

4. Exploration - you've been sent to the dungeon to explore, map, and chronicle it

5. Rescue - someone in the dungeon is in need of rescue

6. Treasure - you're seeking a special item or hoard of treasure in the dungeon

Size

How big is the dungeon? How many rooms? How long should the adventure take?

1. Tiny - just a couple rooms, one game session at most

2. Small - a few rooms and passages, probably just one game session

3. Medium - several rooms and passages, maybe a second level, one or two game sessions

4. Large - a large complex of rooms over a few levels, two or three game sessions

5. Huge - a sprawling complex of rooms spanning several levels, several game sessions

6. Epic - a whole complex, including numerous rooms and levels, lots of game sessions

Theme

What’s the overall theme of the dungeon? What’s it look like?

1. Cavern - natural stone, underground rivers, cavernous chambers, stalagmites and

stalactites

2. Fortress - fortified installation with outer defenses, reinforced doors, and secure

chambers

3. Ruin - long-forgotten and abandoned with crumbling, deteriorated walls and furnishings

4. Settlement - inhabited area with housing, markets, and workplaces, citizens and guards

5. Temple - place of worship with religious significance, iconography, and lore

6. Wilderness - uninhabited terrain full of wild flora and fauna

Terrain

1. Arctic - cold temperatures, snowy weather, frozen lakes and rivers, permafrost

2. Desert - hot temperatures, sandy terrain, very little water, exposed bedrock

3. Forest - temperate or jungle with lots of trees, underbrush, and wildlife

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4. Mountains - steep terrain with cliffs, ledges, and caves, cold temperatures at high

elevations

5. Plains - vast, wide-open areas with herd animals, stormy weather

6. Swamp - wet and rotting terrain with bogged down travel conditions

Enemies

What is the predominate enemy type in the dungeon?

1. Animals

2. Brutes

3. Constructs

4. Monsters

5. People

6. Undead

Hazards

1. None - just the usual challenges

2. Darkness - nighttime or underground, light source required

3. Innocents - noncombatants in the area

4. Instability - the area is in danger of collapsing or otherwise falling apart

5. Traps - abundance of natural hazards or triggered dangers

6. Weather - bad weather reduces visibility, mobility, or otherwise increases danger

Conclusion

After a number of scenes equal to the size of the dungeon, and after every room thereafter, roll

1d6. On a 3+, the dungeon reaches its conclusion. A conclusion might be:

1. Escape hazard

2. Escape hazard, bonus treasure room

3. Boss fight

4. Boss fight, escape hazard

5. Boss fight, bonus treasure room, escape hazard

6. Boss fight, reinforcements, bonus treasure room, escape hazard

Mini Bosses

1. Group of predominate enemies

2. Group of predominate enemies, plus one elite

3. Group of predominate enemies, plus one elite from another list

4. A group from another list

5. One elite plus a group from another list

6. A small group of elites

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Bosses

1. One elite of higher difficulty

2. One elite of higher difficulty, plus a small group of lesser enemies

3. One elite of higher difficulty, plus a small group from another list

4. Two elites

5. Two elites, plus a small group of lesser enemies

6. Two elites, plus a small group from another list

Boss Complications

1. Double wound threshold

2. Heals 1 wound every round

3. Has Xd6 (highest) minions

4. One extra action each round

5. Magic resistant (+2 difficulty to resist spells)

6. Difficulty increased by +1

Room Layout

1. Small (all close)

2. Medium (all nearby)

3. Large (far to cross)

4. Maze (easy to hide, far to cross)

5. Multilevel (elevation changes, all nearby in different sections)

6. Split (divider of some sort, far to cross)

Room Enemies

1. None

2. Small group

3. Small group, one of another type

4. Large group

5. Large group, one of another type

6. Large group, small group of another type

Room Events

1. No event

2. No event

3. Event before scene

4. Event during scene

5. Event after scene

6. Roll twice

If so, what kind?

1. Ambush - hidden enemies attempt surprise attack

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2. Hazard - dungeon's hazard triggered or something new

3. Mini Boss - roll on mini boss chart

4. Reinforcements - more enemies arrive

5. Trap - it's a trap

6. Roll Twice

Rewards

Advancement (one rank in any skill) for size 1-2, two advancements for 3-4, and three

advancements for 5-6. Xd6 (take highest result) wealth and artifacts. Roll to increase wealth

against result.

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Tutorial Adventure

Monster Castle A Tutorial Adventure for D6 Dungeons

Overview

In this adventure, the heroes are hired to travel to a castle and help round up a bunch of

monsters that have broken free. Most of what’s written here is intended for the narrator, but

sections highlighted in gray can be read aloud to the players. Any time a skill roll is called for, it

will appear in bold text, sometimes along with the difficulty number, like this: dexterity 4. The

exact layout and obstacles in each scene are up to the narrator.

Introduction

One day, while stopping to have dinner in a small town in the countryside, the heroes are

approached by a young woman. She tells them that her father, the lord of a nearby castle, is in

trouble. He’s been locking up monsters to keep the town safe, but they’ve broken loose. She

needs the heroes to follow her back there and deal with the situation before the monsters attack

the town.

As you sit around the table enjoying your dinner, a young woman enters the tavern and looks

around nervously. She’s obviously in a hurry, but her eyes light up when she sees all of you.

“Hello,” she says, stepping closer, “you look like good people. I wonder if you’d be willing to

help me. My name is Mara and my father, Rodvick, is the lord of a nearby castle. Over the years,

he’s protected these lands my locking up any monsters so they don’t hurt anyone.”

She looks like she’s about to break down crying before continuing, “but something terrible

happened today: The monsters have gotten out! They’re running around and smashing

everything in the castle and it won’t be long until they get out and start causing trouble here in

town. Would you come back to the castle with me? Maybe together we can stop them before

it’s too late!

If the heroes need further convincing, she tells them that her father also keeps a lot of treasure

in the castle and, if they help her, they’ll get a huge reward. The heroes can try to get more

information out of Mara using their social skills. The difficulty to succeed is 5, but failing while

attempting to use deception or intimidation causes her to become angry and impatient with

them, refusing to answer any more questions. Success causes Mara to remember that she

narrowly avoided getting ambushed by bandits on her way to the village.

Though she insists on leaving right away, Mara will wait for the heroes to do any shopping they

need. Just about anything they want is available in the town, from weapons and armor to kits for

various skills.

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Act 1

On their way to the castle, which is only a day’s walk away, the heroes are ambushed by bandits.

They spring from forest on both sides of the path and demand the heroes give them everything

they have. There are a number of bandits equal to the heroes. Mara hides during the battle, but

afterward offers to help any wounded heroes (gives them advantage on their wisdom roll to

heal wounds). If the heroes talked Mara into mentioning the bandits while they were back in

town, they are prepared for the ambush and automatically win initiative.

Just a few hours into your journey to the castle, while walking along a path through the forest, a

bunch of filthy bandits leap out of the bushes, weapons drawn. “Your gold or your life,” one of

them snarls, but when the other bandits start shouting at him, he says, “never mind, these guys

haven’t had a good fight in a while. On second thought, we’ll just take your gold and your lives!”

The first thing that should happen when the battle begins is initiative. This is a teamwork roll,

which means all the heroes roll the same skill, in this case, empathy 3. This means that every

player rolls the empathy skill; take the highest number rolled, add any additional 1s, and if the

total is greater than 3, the heroes win. If the bandits win, they are all +1 difficulty during the first

round of battle.

From there, each combat round alternates between the heroes and bandits taking turns. When

the bandits attack, they’ll try to attack each hero one-on-one, with the initial range being

“nearby.” This means participants must spend their actions moving to get close to their targets.

Bandit: 3, 4 against intimidation

The heroes have two options after the battle: continue on their way to the castle or track the

bandits to their camp. If the bandits defeat them, they wake up at the bandit camp anyway, as

prisoners locked in iron cages. All of their belongings will have been removed, but Mara turns

out to be a skilled locksmith and opens the doors once they're all awake.

Scene: Bandit Camp

Just a short distance from the ambush site, the heroes find a small, walled encampment with

more bandits. They can attack outright or try to sneak in using stealth 4 or by climbing over the

walls with strength 4. Sneaking in gives them automatic success on initiative during the first

round of battle. There are a number of bandits equal to the heroes, plus the bandit leader and

his two attack dogs.

Bandit: 3, 4 against intimidation

Bandit Leader: (elite) 4, makes all nearby bandits 4 against all social skills

Dog: 3, 2 against empathy and intimidation, 4 against stealth

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Once the bandits are defeated, the heroes find a few imprisoned townsfolk they can release.

Also, in the bandit leader’s tent, they find a treasure chest (roll to increase wealth). There’s also a

wide variety of one-handed weapons if any of the heroes need them.

Act 2

Even from a distance, the heroes can tell the castle is in distress. Some of the walls have been

knocked down and there are at least a few fires burning inside. Only now does Mara admit that

there might be additional complications.

As you emerge from the forest, you see the castle atop a grassy hill. Thick plumes of black

smoke rise up from several places, indicating fires still burning, while a few parts of the outer

wall have collapsed, leaving big chunks of carved white blocks on the ground.

Upon seeing the castle, Mara stops and takes a deep breath. She turns to you and says, “Well, I

guess it’s time to come clean. Things are even worse than I told you they were back in town.

Sorry, but I needed you to come with me!”

“It’s been more than a few days since the monsters broke out, actually. At first, we thought our

guards could get them back in their cages, but the guards stopped working!” When she sees the

confusion on your faces, she goes on. “They’re constructs, mechanical men made of metal and

clockwork gears, built to watch over the monsters. About a week ago, they all shut down and no

one could figure out why. Then the monsters started getting out. That’s when my father sent me

to look for help; we’re desperate!”

“We’re going to have to split up. I’ll go find my father and see if we can fix the clockwork guards

with some parts I bought in town. I need you to go through the castle and take care of any

monsters you find. You might be able to get some of them back into their cages, but if you have

to fight them, be careful!

“You’ll have to clear out the courtyard to get to the tower, then go all the way up to get the keys

to the dungeon. Most of the monsters are down there, but if you down the back hallway, you

might be able to surprise them. Good luck!” With that, she dashes off through one of the holes

in the wall toward the keep.

Scene: Courtyard

Just inside one of the ruined walls of the castle, the courtyard is wide and full of debris like fallen

stone, overturned carts, and small fires. There are a few orcs wandering around, tossing things

into the fire. When they see the heroes, they begin shouting and goblins come running out to

join in the attack.

There’s one goblin for each hero, plus a few orcs who acts as taskmasters, shouting orders to the

goblins in their crude language.

Goblin: 3, 2 against social skills

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Orc: 4, fights on for one round after knocked out

When the brutes are defeated, the players will notice a large treasure chest off to the side of the

courtyard, under an arch of crumbling stone. While they might think it’s full of treasure, it’s easy

to figure out that it’s a trap; brutes aren’t very smart. The chest is tied to the arch in such a way

that if it’s moved or if the lid is opened, the rocks above will fall. A dexterity 4 roll allows a hero

to get whatever’s inside out of it without triggering the trap. If the trap is triggered, whoever did

it has to roll reflexes 4 or suffer a wound (fortitude 4 can also be rolled if the hero is wearing

armor). Inside the chest is a single healing potion.

If the heroes lose this fight, they wake up without their weapons (but with their armor) in a pile

of dead animals waiting to be cooked in a bonfire later that night. From there, they can either

flee the castle to find new equipment or ambush the orcs, who think they're all dead, and find

their gear in another pile nearby.

Scene: Tower

The tower is round on the outside and has a spiral staircase leading all the way to the top. Along

the way, they’re harassed by little flying monsters, vicious vampire bats, that try to bite them.

There are three of them.

Vampire Bat: 3, 5 against melee weapons

At the top of the tower, the heroes see two basilisks crawling around, chewing on the drapes

and generally making a mess of what would otherwise be a very nice girl’s bedroom. Any hero

who rolls awareness 5 spots a locket hanging on the dresser that looks very special. It’s got a

small picture of a bearded old man inside.

Basilisk: 4, wounds also stun targets

Once the battle is over, the heroes will easily notice a large iron key hanging from a hook on the

wall. Other than that and the locket, everything else in the room has been ruined by the

basilisks.

Losing either of these fights results in the heroes waking up in the room at the top of the tower,

in a pile of basilisk eggs. The intent is for their young to devour the hapless humans when they

hatch, but the heroes wake up first. They can either resume the fight against the basilisks or,

through clever use of social skills, threaten the eggs and be allowed to leave peacefully.

Scene: Dungeon

With the key in hand, the heroes can head back down the stairs and unlock the door to the

dungeon, which is located back out in the courtyard. Down a musty old stone staircase, the

dungeon is creepy and dark, with skeletons lying around on the ground. Before long, they begin

to move, stand up, and attack the heroes! There are twice as many of them as there are heroes

and they surround them in a small underground chamber.

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Skeleton: 3, not affected by social skills or ranged weapons

After the last skeleton is defeated, the heroes must succeed on awareness 6 or be surprised by a

tiger. They notice that it’s already wounded (only has 2 of its 5 wounds remaining), probably by

the skeletons. If they give it a chance to escape, or use any social skill against it, it will take the

opportunity and disappear up the main stairs out into the wilderness. Otherwise, if cornered and

engaged, it will fight to the death.

Tiger: (elite, only 2/5 wounds left) 5, can move and attack in one action, 6 against awareness

Now that the dungeons have been cleared, the castle seems safe, but Mara runs into the room,

out of breath and wounded. However, if the heroes lost either of the battles in the dungeon,

they wake up in one of the cells. Fortunately, Mara arrives and releases them, though they might

still have to deal with the tiger or any remaining skeletons first.

Mara appears at the entrance of the dungeon and shouts, “I’m glad you’re all still alive! I’ve got

some bad news. My father and I managed to get the clockwork guardians working again, but

something’s wrong with them. They’ve gone crazy! They’ve got my father trapped in his

chambers there. Please, come quick!”

She has a few healing potions, one for each hero, to help them recover before the final battle.

There’s nothing of value left in the dungeons, so the heroes are free to proceed to the throne

room.

Act 3

The throne room is huge, lined with thick stone columns and alcoves where it looks like statues

are supposed to stand. However, the statues are all walking around, sounding like huge clocks

as they stomp around, searching for enemies. When the heroes enter, they turn to face them.

Scene: Throne Room

The castle’s mechanical guards attack the heroes while Mara screams and hides behind one of

the columns. There are a number of guards equal to the heroes, plus a clockwork warden. Just

before the fight starts, Mara calls out a warning.

Just before the battle begins, with the mechanical guards approaching, Mara ducks behind a

column and warns you, “that big one, the warden, you won’t be able to hurt it with your

weapons. You need to use something magical, like an artifact.” She thinks for a second, then her

eyes light up as she points to a crest hanging on the back wall over the throne. “My father’s

sword! It just might work!”

Getting the sword down off the crest requires a bit of climbing using strength 4 or some other

clever way of getting the weapon down. The sword offers no other benefit other than being a

magical artifact, capable of harming certain monsters immune to normal weapons.

Clockwork Guards: 3, not affected by social skills

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Clockwork Warden: (elite) 5, not affected by social skills, immune to normal weapons

Once the guardians are defeated, King Rodvick emerges from his chambers behind the throne,

relieved and unharmed. “You have my eternal thanks, heroes,” King Rodvick says, shaking each

of your hands. “I don’t know what we would have done without you!” Smiling at his daughter,

Mara, he adds, “you’ve more than earned your reward.” He waves his hand to two servants, who

run back into the royal chambers and emerge a moment later with a small chest full of gold!

“You can also keep that magical sword if you want. Know that you are always welcome here in

my castle, and furthermore, I’ll pay you for any dangerous monsters you capture during your

adventures.”

If the players lose this final battle, they're woken up by King Rodvick and Mara some time later

and are informed that the rebuilt clockwork guards wandered out of the castle after the battle.

With all the monsters defeated, they've gone out into the wilderness in search of more, though

their programming is obviously flawed and they now pose a threat to the local town. They

should expect to encounter them in their future adventures.

Conclusion

And with that, the adventure is over. The heroes can stay in the castle as long as they like and

the king holds true to his word: He locks up any dangerous enemies they manage to capture

and pays the heroes a bounty for them.

Each player’s wealth increase by 1. They should also advance, adding 1 to any skill they want,

including those from other classes.

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Optional Rules

Alternate Wealth

In addition to or instead of using the basic wealth system, which assumes each character has a

worth or real amount of gold pieces, it's also possible to use other forms of currency. This could

be anything from regional coins, gemstones, works of art, or even more basic commodities like

livestock or food. Simply replace or supplement the wealth value with other values to represent

the other forms of currency. Here are some examples: artwork, blessings, boons, capital, cattle,

cheese, credits, land, lifedebt, gems, scrip, and souls.

Any Skills You Want

For a truly unique D6 Dungeons experience, just let players choose any four skills they want.

They could be things like fisticuffs, tumbling, or investigation, just make sure they aren't too

broad or too focused. It's generally a good idea to make sure every character has at least one

social skill, too, just to make sure they always have something to do in each scene, even if

there's no combat going on.

Backgrounds

Choose one of the following backgrounds during character creation:

Noble: Your starting wealth is 4.

Merchant: Your starting wealth is 3, add 1 point to persuasion.

Slave: Your starting wealth is 1, add 1 point to deception and empathy.

Traveler: Add 1 point to a skill from a class other than your own.

Classic Races

Choose one of the following races during character creation:

Human: Add 1 to any non-class skill

Elf: Advantage on all initiative rolls

Dwarf: Can suffer one extra wound before getting knocked out

Orc: Wounds do not affect skills (but still get knocked out after 3)

Gnome: Advantage on all rolls to resist magic

Halfling: Advantage on all rolls to detect and avoid traps

Critical Success

If you roll 2 or more higher than the difficulty of a task, you achieve critical success. When this

happens, you may immediately take another action. This can only occur once per round.

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Limb Wound System

For a more visceral and granular wound system, this optional rule replaces the standard

situation where suffering a wound cancels out a skill. Instead, whenever a character is wounded,

roll a die to determine what part of their body is affected.

1. Chest

2. Left Arm

3. Right Arm

4. Left Leg

5. Right Leg

6. Head

When a character takes a wound to a limb, they suffer disadvantage on all actions that require

its use. For example, having a wounded arm would cause disadvantage on weapon attacks using

that arm, while a wounded leg would cause disadvantage on anything related to movement. A

wounded chest causes disadvantage on all physical actions and a wounded head causes

disadvantage on all mental actions, including spellcasting. Suffering a second wound to a limb

disables it, preventing any use of that limb. A disabled head or chest knocks the character

unconscious.

Healing

Once per scene, the character or one of their allies may attempt a wisdom 5 roll to heal one

wounded limb or reduce one disabled limb to being only wounded. Minor divine healing spells

can achieve the same result, downgrading a wounded limb, while higher difficulty divine spells

can fully restore one or more limbs to perfect health.

New Classes

Using the simple concept of four skills to a class, it's easy to make custom classes. Here are a

few to use as examples.

Alchemist: alchemy, deception, intelligence, wisdom

Bard: deception, perform, persuasion, streetwise

Cavalier: animals, fortitude, persuasion, weaponry

Courtier: deception, empathy, persuasion, weaponry

Druid: animals, religion, survival, wisdom

Gunslinger: awareness, firearms, intimidation, reflexes

Monk: awareness, strength, reflexes, willpower

Necromancer: intelligence, intimidation, religion, spellcraft

Paladin: fortitude, persuasion, religion, willpower

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Ranger: animals, weaponry, stealth, survival

Spellsword: awareness, dexterity, spellcraft, weaponry

Tinker: craft, engineering, firearms, intelligence

New Races

When using these new, original races in D6 Dungeons, it is highly recommended to allow

players to be humans as well.

Arbori: (humanoid tree people) Advantage on attacks when not moving, heals one extra wound

per scene in sunlight, disadvantage against fire

Geodite: (rock people) Advantage when resisting damage, disadvantage on all movement rolls

Kanis: (dog/wolf people) Advantage on all perception rolls, no disadvantage with unarmed

attacks

Mnemon: (snake people) Advantage on all knowledge rolls and when avoiding ranged attacks

Sectid: (insect people) Advantage when avoiding attacks, can see in darkness

Tigron: (cat people) No disadvantage with unarmed attacks, advantage on attacks when moving

and attacking with one action

New Skills

Choose one of the following skills, which are not tied to any particular class, during character

creation. It begins at 1.

Alchemy: creating, identifying, and countering potions and poisons

Animals: training, riding, taming, commands

Perform: singing, dancing, instruments, oration (disadvantage with heavy armor or shields)

Craft: construction, appraisal, repair, efficiency

Streetwise: who’s who, socializing, gathering information, fencing stolen goods

Survival: nature, hunting, navigation, geography, foraging

Firearms: firing, unjamming, cleaning, reloading firearms (disadvantage with heavy armor or

shields)

Psionics: esp, precognition, telekinesis, mind reading (wisdom to cast in one action, willpower to

avoid consequences for failure, disadvantage with heavy armor or shields)

Engineering: creating, sabotaging, repairing, identifying, modifying (intelligence to cast in one

action, awareness to avoid consequences for failure)

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Open Social Skills

Instead of using the social skill assigned to your class, you may choose deception, empathy,

intimidation, or persuasion and treat it as a class skill for your class.

Talent Trees

Whenever a character advances, they may increase a skill or choose a talent from one of the

trees below. Each branch is three talents long and higher talents require all the lower talents in a

tree before they may be selected.

Defense

Hustle: move at normal speed in armor

Flex: no disadvantage on reflexes while wearing heavy armor

Endure: you gain one extra wound level

Recover: difficulty to heal you using wisdom is only 3

Resist: gain advantage on awareness/willpower to resist spell failure

Gesture: no disadvantage on spellcraft while wearing armor

Succor: shared 1s give +2 when given to close allies for reflex or fortitude rolls

against attacks

Cover: use shield to benefit close ally; if failed, you are hit

Intervene: use armor to benefit close ally; if failed, you are wounded

Mastery

Apprentice: re-roll one die with chosen skill

Expert: re-roll two dice with chosen skill (same skill as apprentice)

Master: re-roll three dice with chosen skill (same skill as expert)

Track: gain advantage on initiative rolls against enemies of chosen type

Study: gain advantage when defending against enemy type (same enemy type as track)

Kill: gain advantage when attacking enemy type (same enemy type as study)

Distribute: your allies benefit from any kits you use with a chosen skill on

teamwork rolls

Persevere: when using a kit for with chosen skill, you ignore all disadvantages

(same skill as distribute)

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Achieve: when using chosen skill with a kit and no threat or time limit, treat one

of your dice as a 6 (same skill as persevere)

Offense

Snap: no disadvantage for ranged/thrown weapon attacks against close enemies

Split: split ranged attacks between two close enemies (choose two highest dice and use each

one against a different enemy)

Snipe: when making a ranged/thrown attack with advantage, deal damage equal to stealth

Charge: gain advantage when moving and making a melee attack as one action

Cleave: split melee attacks between two enemies close to you (choose two highest dice

and use each one against a different enemy)

Overpower: make maneuver and a melee attack as one action

Quicken: gain advantage on intelligence and wisdom to shorten casting time

Devastate: all offensive spells cause 1 extra wound

Ravage: re-roll one die when casting offensive spells

Social

Execute: roll intimidation against a nearby target after defeating enemy

Coerce: all 1s gained from empathy give +2 on intimidation

Terrorize: defeat a nearby minion with intimidation

Charm: re-roll one die on all persuasion checks against people and brutes

Manipulate: empathy 1s shared with others give +2 when applied to persuasion

Haggle: persuasion raises wealth by 1 for scene (wealth value is the difficulty)

Misdirect: successful deception roll allows stealth when observed, even in

combat

Scrutinize: roll empathy and deception as one action in combat

Feint: deception to gain advantage on next melee attack against enemy

Versatility

Brawl: no disadvantage when using improvised weapons or unarmed attacks

Improvise: no disadvantage for unskilled rolls

Adapt: every morning, assign 1 floating bonus skill point (maximum of 5 in any one skill)

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Support: allow one ally to re-roll one die on a teamwork roll

Assist: if your teamwork roll isn’t the highest, it’s an automatic natural 1

Facilitate: all your shared 1s give +2 when applied to an ally’s teamwork roll

Channel: use any implement for any type of spellcasting

Forbear: may use awareness for divine and willpower for arcane when resisting

spell failure

Ascend: may use intelligence for divine and wisdom for arcane when shorting

casting time

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D6 Dungeons was created by Nathan Knaack as an easy to learn, simple to use RPG system for

newer and younger gamers. Come visit us on Facebook and please feel free to share any

thoughts or feedback on the subreddit at /r/d6dungeons. Thanks!

Special thanks to the /r/RPGDesign community!

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D6 Dungeons - nathanknaackdotcom.files.wordpress.com · What is D6 Dungeons? D6 Dungeons is intended to introduce new or younger players to fantasy role-playing games, though it can