Friday, March 21, 2014

Deep Dark Dungeons Dungeon Crawl Rules

For a while now, I've been playing dungeon crawls with Song of Blades & Heroes and Song of Gold & Darkness. I love both rulesets, but I've found SGD to be extremely focused on two players going head to head. This isn't a bad thing, but I prefer a more co-operative experience, especially one that can be played solo.

So slowly I began making small changes, adding random tables and generally fiddling around with each game until I think I am somewhere close to that goal. At the very least I'm having fun with it and I have been getting a lot of requests to see what I'm using, so I am ready to let people have a look-see at the rough draft.

I do want to stress that last part. These rules make sense to me and I'm not 100% sure I've articulated them properly. I've no doubt forgotten things I do and there may be holes I've missed entirely. I'll be happy to address any questions that pop up and there will most definitely be revisions in the future.

So, without further ado, here are the rules for Deep Dark Dungeons. Just click the link below to grab the PDF. You will definitely need copies of Song of Blades & Heroes and Song of Gold & Darkness. These rules do not stand alone and I may possibly have slipped a few other rules for other supplements that I've forgotten about as well.

Deep Dark Dungeons V1.2.1 (6/3/19)

And here's a Party Sheet to keep track of your adventurers and any damage, treasure, skills, equipment, etc. they may pick up along the way.

Party Sheet

I hope that everyone finds these fun and I'm sure that I'll get some good feedback on making the rules clearer. My hope is that maybe I will find the time and ambition to work this into a full SBH stand-alone game similar to Song of the Splintered Lands or Song of Arthur & Merlin. That might be a pipe dream because I am monumentally slow at this sort of thing, but one can always dream.

As always, if you like what I've done here and wish to support the cause, there is a lovely little donate button on the left hand of the page.

Happy gaming!

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Battle Report: Defend The Brew!

Lately I've been jonesing for a Song of Blades and Heroes skirmish, and in the name of expedience, decided to play a game with basic profiles from the book. This is something I rarely do outside of teaching games, since the warband calculator is so damn fun. The narrative I had chosen, though leant itself toward something basic.

You see, a dwarven community with a fantastic brewery had caught the attention of a band of hobgoblin raiders. A frosty dwarven brew would be just the thing to quench their thrist after a long day of pillaging and warfare! While the brewers and craftsmen locked themselves behind sturdy dwarf doors, a small band of dwarf heroes prepared to defend the town.

The Attackers:
Hobgoblin Heavy Infantry Leader and 2 Bugbear Warriors
3 Hobgoblin Warriors and 2 Hobgoblin Archers (Crossbowmen)
The Defenders:
Dwarf Orcslayer, Dwarf Commander, Dwarf Dragonslayer, Dwarf Elite Crossbowman and 2 Dwarf Warriors
The attackers were 3 points over the 300 point limit, and the defenders were from a previously made list, putting them at a slight disadvantage because the Orc and Dragon slayers would be paying for abilities they wouldn't be using. To that end, I chose to swap the Dragonslayer's Lethal to Big creatures for this game.

The two forces set up ready to do battle, the dwarves seeking to use buildings to anchor their line, while the hobgoblins seek to gain some high ground.


The hobgoblins gain the initiative, sending the bugbears out to soften up the dwarves as the archers take the hill. The dwarves react by sending the Dragonslayer out to meet the bugbears head on and taking cover behind a building, trusting her combat skills to wreak havoc while making the goblinoids come to them.


The tactic pays off, as the Dragonslayer fells a bugbear in a single blow. The Orcslayer rushes out to assist and gets smashed in the face for his troubles, stunning him.


Taking back the initiative, the bugbear smashes the stunned Orcslayer into the dirt while the hobgoblin line advances. The archers rain a few ineffectual arrows down on the dwarves, the sturdy dwarf mail easily turning their jagged points.


Screaming oaths of vengeance, the Dragonslayer launches herself at the last bugbear and severs its head cleanly in a single stroke. The horrific display breaks the hobgoblin line, punching a hole for the dwarf warriors to rush the leader. They quickly hack him to pieces, sending the hobgoblins literally running for the hills.

At last the dwarven brew was safe. Songs were sung of the Orcslayer's brave exploits and the heroes enjoyed copious amounts of the finest ale for leagues around. All on the house of course!