Knights & Knaves Alehouse

Just thought this needed its own thread. Check out this game based on DMG Appendix A:

http://blogofholding.com/dungeonrobber/

No playing “Basic” like a pansy — “Advanced” only, guys! I’ve been addicted all week. It’s brutal but very rewarding. What’s neat is that as you retire more and more successful adventurers, you populate your town with more and more useful NPCs. I’ve gotten it to where I can now buy good weapons and armor, which is a huge advantage!

I spent way too much time playing this yesterday at work, but when I got home my attempt to import the settings from my work-computer didn't work (not sure why - presumably I did something incorrectly) and having to start back over from the beginning - basically unable to buy anything - diminished its appeal considerably. That plus the fact that at home I'm not still going to be stuck in front of the computer either way, whether playing this game or doing actual work (pshaw!).

But it's still probably the most fun I've had with a computer game in ~10 years

Fun game. I filled up the cemetery quickly (on Advanced of course.) Very "old school!"

Still having fun with this (at work - another attempt to import the settings at home failed; has anybody done this successfully and can you offer any hints what I might be doing wrong?). Now that I've retired enough adventurers to have access to a decent array of gear and the thief class it's become marginally less brutal: something like 3 in 4 would-be adventurers still die on that 1st expedition, but those who find anything (furniture, food, etc.) and get back to the surface alive are able to significantly improve their survival chance by buying gear. From there the main obstacle to survival (at least for thieves) seems to be traps - you can sneak past, parley with, run away from, or douse with oil most monsters, but sooner or later you'll inevitably hit a trap, fail the save (even when you only need a 2+), and die. A dungeon robber has enough hp to sometimes survive a trap; a thief doesn't - at least at low level.

I suspect I'll grow bored with this before I have anybody live long enough to retire at 5th+ level and open up more options, but for the time being this has taken over from Freecell and Spider Solitaire as my stress-break way to kill 10 or so minutes between tasks (enough time to make a quick delve and either die or return home with some loot - I suppose higher-level adventurers delving deeper into the dungeon take longer to play through, but I haven't gotten to that point yet - the deepest I've ever gone (by choice) is level 4 (though I did have a poor bastard once who got funneled all the way down to level 8 before being eaten by a su-monster ).

Accidently re-booted the game (would be wonderful if there was an account you could create that would allow you to keep all your info) and started from the bottom. My new thing is using the whip to train giant rats. If you can pull it off, it's a huge help at the beginning of the game.

And getting dropped down multiple levels and then becoming lost is a huge "oh fuck!" moment. This game - maybe more than most online forums I've encountered - illustrates the dynamic of the megadungeon experience and the importance of resource management. It also shows the major allure campaign play has over one-shots: it's not about the single adventure, but the cumulation of events and the growth of not only the character but also the dungeon and campaign world. It's all about improvement and pursuing goals.

- Wheggi

Guys, on the bottom left of the Dungeon Robber main page, there is something that is supposed to let you move progress from computer to computer and save your progress. It may be hard to see, but it says 'save settings' in black letters inside a gray box, that's underneath where you 'start game' or you see the white boxes that log you into an existing character. It brings up a big dialog box that explains the function or something, and in a white box is a buncha code jibber-jabber. Copy that onto a text file and e-mail to yourself (in T. Foster's case) or just save a copy on your desktop or something (in Wheggi's case). You both may have already tried it (I have a .txt file with my info saved, but haven't needed to test if it works yet) but if you haven't, it may help you out. It's not a log-in per se, but hopefully it works for you!

Have fun... -Tim

Wheggi wrote:Accidently re-booted the game (would be wonderful if there was an account you could create that would allow you to keep all your info) and started from the bottom. My new thing is using the whip to train giant rats. If you can pull it off, it's a huge help at the beginning of the game.

And getting dropped down multiple levels and then becoming lost is a huge "oh fuck!" moment. This game - maybe more than most online forums I've encountered - illustrates the dynamic of the megadungeon experience and the importance of resource management.

Yeah, there's a ton of hidden complexity and options in this game that it's fun to discover. Has anyone ever gone fishing with a +1 fishing pole? I'm curious what sort of easter eggs you might be able to uncover with that, but so far the ability to sell it for 1000 GP has always been too much temptation to resist...

Also, has anyone been able to discern if there's any actual advantage to going deeper into a level (i.e. increasing the "room" count) beyond just making you more likely to get lost when you backtrack? My recent policy has been to continually backtrack and (as much as possible) stay near the entrance but I feel kind of lame doing so and wonder if I'm missing out on anything (other than the opportunity to get lost).

It also shows the major allure campaign play has over one-shots: it's not about the single adventure, but the cumulation of events and the growth of not only the character but also the dungeon and campaign world. It's all about improvement and pursuing goals.

True, but that sense of growth is a lot easier to appreciate when you can achieve tangible results in a day or two of play in 10-minute increments rather than having to devote a couple of years (and hope that you can maintain the interest and regular availability of 4-5 adults for that long).

Merctime wrote:Guys, on the bottom left of the Dungeon Robber main page, there is something that is supposed to let you move progress from computer to computer and save your progress. It may be hard to see, but it says 'save settings' in black letters inside a gray box, that's underneath where you 'start game' or you see the white boxes that log you into an existing character. It brings up a big dialog box that explains the function or something, and in a white box is a buncha code jibber-jabber. Copy that onto a text file and e-mail to yourself (in T. Foster's case) or just save a copy on your desktop or something (in Wheggi's case). You both may have already tried it (I have a .txt file with my info saved, but haven't needed to test if it works yet) but if you haven't, it may help you out. It's not a log-in per se, but hopefully it works for you!

Have fun... -Tim

Yep, that's what I did. Copied that code, emailed it to myself, pasted it into the "import settings" box at home, but it didn't work. I even made sure to delete my settings before doing so, so it doesn't seem to be that. I dunno.

(But honestly, it's probably just as well not to have this at home, where I might waste hours and hours on it, rather than just 10-15 minutes at a time.)

T. Foster wrote:Also, has anyone been able to discern if there's any actual advantage to going deeper into a level (i.e. increasing the "room" count) beyond just making you more likely to get lost when you backtrack?

I think if you get far enough away, you automatically find stairs going down.

I kept playing a Dungeon Robber with high Con even after I unlocked the Thief class. There are many ways to reduce risk (well, more and more as the game progresses), and not having low HP is one of them!

I did not know that about using a whip to train rats. Cool!

Falconer wrote:I think if you get far enough away, you automatically find stairs going down.

Yup: get to room 10 and you can descend a level.

I made it to the fifth dungeon level with a level one character.

He did not come home.

I really should stop re-naming my hirelings "Bait."

joe b.

Contact poison on treasure.
d6 saving throw: need 4+
Rolled 3! Failed!
20 damage!
You are killed!

You died!
Sara, a level 4 Fighter. Descended to level 1 of the dungeon and won 862.02 GP. Defeated a Kobold. Killed by contact poison on a treasure on level 1! REST IN PEACE

Brutal.

joe b.

Jacqueline (2nd level thief, 2800 XP, who I've been playing all day) enters a room on dungeon level 1 with a monster & treasure: fire beetle (1 HP). First thought: I can take a 1 HP fire beetle! I've got a rapier & a half-dozen oil flasks. Second thought: No, that's a dumb risk and is how you end up dead. Just sneak past & steal the treasure. Odds are it's worth 200+ GP and I'm on level 1 so I can easily return home, level up & get that 7th hit point so I won't have to worry about getting killed by a single hit anymore. Of course I fail the sneak roll (despite having +3 on it) and the fire beetle attacks: roll 19 (Hit!), damage 6 = dead Jacqueline

Oh well. Here's hoping my next guys finds a whip so I can start training giant rats like Sly Pimp Wheggi!