Dungeoneering
When exploring a dungeon, you’ll need to choose a marching order. This determines who is walking in front of who when you enter a door or trigger a trap. Not all traps will trigger on the first person to walk in, but they tend to be the most in danger. You can change marching order at any time but establish a default to be used in most situations.
Every 30 minutes in a dungeon you must roll a usage die on any lit torches.
Moving carefully through a room and giving it a basic observation takes about 10 minutes. You can move through rooms quickly, but you are more likely to miss potentially useful things, or trip traps you might have caught moving slower.
You can fully investigate a room, which usually takes 30 minutes. Fully investigating a room reveals any hidden information, traps, or secret rooms, but not their mechanisms.
Dungeons in revolver are about time management and risk vs reward. Think carefully about how you want to spend your time, and where you can afford to spend extra time searching. Clever thinking can often identify secret doors, hidden information, or traps without spending the time for a full investigation.
Types of Dungeons
There are three types of dungeons in Revolver. Minor, Major, and Calamitous dungeons. They are defined by their size and whether or not they contain a Calamity or random encounters. Smaller dungeons are safer, but larger dungeons reward more experience.
| Dungeon | Size | Features | Exp |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minor | <10 Rooms | None | 1 |
| Major | >10 Rooms | Random Encounters | 2 |
| Calamitous | >10 Rooms | Calamity | 5 |
Random Encounters
In major dungeons, the GM should roll a d6 to see if a random encounter for every 30 minutes the adventurers spend in a dungeon. At a normal pace, this means every 3 rooms, or every time the adventurers take a siesta. On a 1, a random encounter occurs. On a 2, the characters find an omen hinting at a random encounter that is placed in a nearby room.
The GM may also roll for a random encounter if the adventurers draw attention to themselves by making loud noises or destroying rooms frequently used by dungeon occupants.
Calamitous Dungeons
The most dangerous dungeons in Revolver are Calamitous Dungeons. Calamitous Dungeons are larger in size than typical dungeons and contain a Calamity for characters that spend too long in the dungeon. Calamities replace random encounters in Calamitous Dungeons.
For example: A dungeon set in an active volcano where the characters want to get in and out before the next eruption is a Calamitous Dungeon. A dungeon involving stopping a ritual or saving hostages could be a Calamitous Dungeon.
The Calamity Timer
When a dungeon's Calamity is triggered, the GM starts the Calamity Timer, a countdown that begins at 20. When the Calamity Timer hits 0, the Calamity occurs, complicating the adventure.
The Calamity Timer should be triggered whenever it is logical, depending on what the Calamity is. An erupting volcano's Calamity Timer might start as soon as the players enter the dungeon. A hostage situation's Calamity Timer might start only once the dungeon's occupants have become aware of the adventurer's presence.
The Calamity Timer ticks down by 1d6 as adventurers spend more time in the dungeon or do anything to exacerbate the dangerous situation.
The GM should always tick down the Calamity Timer for every 30 minutes the adventurers spend in a dungeon. At a normal pace, this means every 3 rooms, or every time the adventurers take a siesta.
Depending on the Calamity, the GM may also tick down the Calamity Timer if the adventurers draw attention to themselves by making loud noises or destroying rooms frequently used by dungeon occupants.
Each time the Calamity Timer ticks down, the GM should describe an omen of the coming Calamity. The omens should get gradually more severe as the timer approaches zero.
When the Calamity Timer hits zero, the Calamity occurs. Try to choose Calamities that add severe complications to a dungeon instead of Calamities that outright kill the characters. A volcanic eruption spewing magma into rooms and destroying pathways in the dungeon is more interesting than the eruption killing all characters in the dungeon.
The Calamity Timer is removed if the source of the Calamity is addressed.