TEXT:  
  D
  Duunnggeeoonnss  D
  Daarriinngg
  G
  ™
  ™ 
  Gaam
  mee  M
  Maasstteerrss  GGuuiiddee  
  VVeerrssiioonn  11..00  
  A
  A  FFaannttaassy
  y  R
  Roolleeppllaay
  yiinngg  GGaam
  mee  
  FFrreeee  ––  W
  Wiitthh  OOppeenn  GGaam
  mee  CCoonntteenntt  
  NOTE: 
  This volume is for game masters only! 
  Players should not read this book! 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 2 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Distribution of this book: 
   
  This version of the Dungeons Daring™ Players Guide contains a combination of Open Game Content and Product 
  Identity elements that are not Open Game Content.  If you wish to use, duplicate or distribute the basic content of 
  this book, you must either eliminate all Product Identity elements or use the Dungeons Daring Reference Document 
  rather than this version of the book. 
   
  You may not sell, distribute or otherwise offer this version of this book to third parties in any form.  You also may not 
  offer this version of this book for distribution via Internet downloading. 
   
  The following elements are product identity and may not be used in your products or creations without the specific 
  written permission of the Vintyri™ Project: 
   
  • 
  All graphics within this book that are denoted as Product Identity.  These graphics are not the property of the 
  Vintyri Project.  We are licensed to use them to illustrate this book, but we are not licensed to authorize their 
  distribution by other parties. 
   
  • 
  The trademark names Dungeons Daring™, Jörðgarð™, Joerdhgardh™, Vintyri™ and Steigerwald EDV™. 
   
  You may distribute all other material in this book without further restriction as Open Game Content under the terms 
  of the Open Game License Version 1.0a. 
   
  The Dungeons Daring Reference Document is available in editable form, and it contains the entire, uncut game 
  system as presented in this book. 
   
  For more information please go to: 
   
       http://www.dungeons-daring.org 
   
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 3 
   
   
   
  A Fantasy Role Playing Game 
   
   
  Book 2 – Game Masters Guide 
   
   
  Version 1.00 
   
  Authored by the Vintyri™ Project 
   
   
  All artwork and photographs not designated specifically as Open Game Content are Product Identity of Steigerwald 
  EDV™ Verlag.  The terms Dungeons Daring™, Vintyri™, Vintyri Project™, Jörðgard™, Jördgard™, Joerdgard™, 
  Joergardh™ and Steigerwald EDV™ and the graphical logos Dungeons Daring, Vintyri, Jörðgarð and Steigerwald 
  EDV™ are Trademarks and Product Identity of Steigerwald EDV Verlag.  All photographs identified as Product 
  Identity are not Open Game Content.  All maps and diagrams are Open Game Content unless they are specifically 
  identified as Product Identity or Releasable Product Identity.  All other elements of this publication are Open Game 
  Content. 
   
  Dungeons Daring™ is produced under the Open Game License.  The use and distribution of this product are 
  restricted by the conditions of this license. 
   
  Product Code: DD2-0001 
   
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  Dungeons Daring™, the Dungeons Daring™ graphical logo, Vintyri™, the Vintyri Project™, the Vintyri 
  graphical logo, Jörðgarð™, the Jörðgarð graphical logo, Steigerwald EDV™ Verlag and the Steigerwald EDV 
  graphical logo are trademarks owned by Steigerwald EDV™ Verlag. 
   
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  Wizards of the Coast® and Dungeons & Dragons® are registered trademarks of Wizards of the Coast®, Inc. 
   
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  Bastion Press® is a trademark owned by Bastion Press Inc. 
   
  Join the Dungeons Daring Mailing List at: 
   
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  The photos on the front and back covers are Product Identity 
   
  Front cover picture:  Karlsburg Ruin on the Main River in Bavarian Lower Franconia 
  Rear cover picture:  Hinge, Franconian Open Air Museum, Bad Windsheim in Bavarian Middle Franconia. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 4 
   
  TTaabbllee  ooff  CCoonntteennttss  
  IIm
  mpprreessssuum
  m ...........................................................................................................................................................6 
  DDeeddiiccaattiioonn ............................................................................................................................................................7 
  FFoorreew
  woorrdd ...............................................................................................................................................................8 
  1.  Game Master?  What am I Getting Myself into?......................................................................................8 
  2.  The Rules and the Vision Behind Dungeons Daring............................................................................10 
   
  II..    DDuunnggeeoonnss  DDaarriinngg  CChhaarraacctteerr  CCrreeaattiioonn .....................................................................................18 
  1.  Character Creation and the Game Master ..............................................................................................18 
  2.  The Character Sheet......................................................................................................................................18 
  3.  Equipping Your PCs.......................................................................................................................................21 
  4.  The Races .........................................................................................................................................................23 
   
  4.1  Light Elves .................................................................................................................................................24 
   
  4.2  Dark Elves .................................................................................................................................................26 
   
  4.3  Dwarves (Black Elves)...............................................................................................................................29 
  5.  The Abilities ......................................................................................................................................................32 
  6.  The Character Classes..................................................................................................................................34 
  7.  The Talents and the Skills ............................................................................................................................39 
  8.  The PCs' Equipment ......................................................................................................................................45 
   
  8.1  Of Iron and Middle Silver...........................................................................................................................45 
   
  8.2  Iron and Magic...........................................................................................................................................46 
   
  IIII..    AAddvveennttuurriinngg ...............................................................................................................................................47 
  1.  Life, Death and Healing.................................................................................................................................47 
   
  1.1  The Death of a Being with a Soul and the Road to Deep Hell ..................................................................47 
   
  1.2  The Death of a Being with a Spirit.............................................................................................................50 
   
  1.3  The Three Dimensions ..............................................................................................................................52 
   
  1.4  Injury, Sickness and Healing .....................................................................................................................54 
  2.  Magic.. ................................................................................................................................................................58 
   
  2.1  Human Magic – a Game Master's Playground..........................................................................................58 
   
  2.2  Conflicting Magical and Physical Energy Sources ....................................................................................60 
   
  2.3  Conflicting Conventional Magic and Runic Sources..................................................................................62 
   
  2.4  Iron, Lead, Magic, Elves and Undead, ......................................................................................................64 
   
  2.5  Ley Lines and Ley Stones .........................................................................................................................66 
   
  2.6  Works of Conventional Magic....................................................................................................................70 
   
   
  2.6.1  You and Works of Magic in Your Campaign ................................................................................70 
   
   
  2.6.2  Catalog of Ensorcelled Items .......................................................................................................73 
   
  2.7  Runic Magic...............................................................................................................................................86 
   
  2.8  Runic Radicals and Staves........................................................................................................................91 
   
   
  2.8.1  Runic Radicals .............................................................................................................................91 
   
   
  2.8.2  Runic Staves ................................................................................................................................96 
   
  2.9  Items of Runic Magic ...............................................................................................................................106 
   
   
  2.9.1  Runic Armor ...............................................................................................................................107 
   
   
  2.9.2  Runic Weapons..........................................................................................................................108 
   
   
  2.9.3  Other Runic Items ......................................................................................................................109 
   
  2.10  Game Master's Notes on Selected Spells, Songs, etc..........................................................................117 
   
  2.11  Game Master's Notes on Selected Clerical Rites .................................................................................127 
   
  2.12  Absolute Magic ......................................................................................................................................130 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 5 
   
  TTaabbllee  ooff  CCoonntteennttss (continued) 
   
  IIIIII..    PPllaayyiinngg  tthhee  G
  Gaam
  mee  M
  Maasstteerr''ss  RRoollee.............................................................................................133 
  1.  Is Dungeons Daring the Right Game for You?....................................................................................133 
  2.  OK!  So Where do I Start? .........................................................................................................................135 
  3.  Optional Computer Tools for the Game Master ..................................................................................136 
  4.  Other Tools for the Game Master............................................................................................................140 
   
  IIVV..    BBuuiillddiinngg  YYoouurr  AAddvveennttuurree .............................................................................................................142 
  1.  The First Steps ..............................................................................................................................................144 
   
  1.1  Formulating the Idea ...............................................................................................................................144 
   
  1.2  Location Elements...................................................................................................................................152 
   
  1.3  Overland Elements..................................................................................................................................161 
   
  1.4  Dungeon Elements..................................................................................................................................163 
   
  1.5  Statistical Blocks .....................................................................................................................................166 
  2.  Fleshing Out Your Adventure....................................................................................................................169 
   
  2.1  Encounters ..............................................................................................................................................169 
   
  2.2  Information ..............................................................................................................................................171 
   
  2.3  Poisons....................................................................................................................................................175 
   
  2.4  Traps .......................................................................................................................................................176 
   
  2.5  Overland Challenges...............................................................................................................................180 
   
   
  2.5.1  Streets, Roads, Trails and Paths...............................................................................................182 
   
   
  2.5.2  Forests .......................................................................................................................................184 
   
   
  2.5.3  Mountains and Hills....................................................................................................................191 
   
   
  2.5.4  Grasslands, Prairies and Steppes .............................................................................................194 
   
   
  2.5.5  Deserts.......................................................................................................................................196 
   
   
  2.5.6  Wetlands ....................................................................................................................................198 
   
   
  2.5.7  Heaths and Moors......................................................................................................................200 
   
   
  2.5.8  Waterways .................................................................................................................................201 
   
  2.6  NPCs.......................................................................................................................................................211 
   
  2.7  Treasure..................................................................................................................................................212 
   
  2.8  Other Planes, Planets, etc. .....................................................................................................................213 
   
  VV..    TThhee  LLaasstt  M
  Miillll  (Introductory Adventure) ...........................................................................................215 
  1.  Foreword for the Game Master ................................................................................................................216 
   
  1.1  The Player Characters ............................................................................................................................216 
   
  1.2  The Non-Player Characters ....................................................................................................................217 
   
  1.3  Background Information..........................................................................................................................218 
   
  1.4  Working with the Maps and Floor Plans .................................................................................................218 
   
  1.5  Advance Checks .....................................................................................................................................222 
  2.  Slovan City......................................................................................................................................................221 
   
  2.1  Information for the Game Master ............................................................................................................234 
   
  2.2  Meeting the Margrave .............................................................................................................................234 
   
  2.3  After the Meeting.....................................................................................................................................241 
   
  2.4  Meeting Bedrich ......................................................................................................................................241 
   
  2.5  Chasing Bedrich......................................................................................................................................247 
   
  2.6  Bedrich's Lair...........................................................................................................................................248 
   
  2.7  Bedrich's Dungeon..................................................................................................................................254 
  3.  Goldfields ........................................................................................................................................................259 
   
  3.1  Arriving in Town ......................................................................................................................................260 
   
  3.2  A Night in the Inn.....................................................................................................................................260 
  4.  On the Road Again.......................................................................................................................................267 
  5.  Lastmill.............................................................................................................................................................275 
   
  5.1  Arriving in Lastmill...................................................................................................................................283 
   
  5.2  Draugs in the Night .................................................................................................................................285 
   
  5.3  After the Battle.........................................................................................................................................287 
   
  5.4  The Way to the Lands of Ruin.................................................................................................................289 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 6 
   
  6.  Dark Valley......................................................................................................................................................290 
   
  6.1  Tingl's Mill ................................................................................................................................................294 
   
  6.2  Encounters in Dark Valley .......................................................................................................................300 
   
  6.3  Encounters in the Tunnels.......................................................................................................................305 
   
  6.4  Encountering the Baron...........................................................................................................................313 
   
  VVII..    LLeeggaall  aanndd  TTeecchhnniiccaall  DDaattaa ............................................................................................................325 
  1.  Photograph Index..........................................................................................................................................325 
  2.  Legal Information...........................................................................................................................................327 
   
  2.1  Open Game Content ...............................................................................................................................327 
   
  2.2  Open Game License................................................................................................................................327 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 7 
   
  PPhhoottooccooppyyiinngg::  
   
  The printing and photocopying pages of this book for use by the game master and players of this game are explicitly 
  permitted.  Printing and photocopying for other purposes without the express written consent of Steigerwald EDV™ 
  are prohibited. 
   
  IIm
  mpprreessssuum
  m::  
   
   
  Dungeons Daring™ is published in the Federal Republic of Germany.  The following information is required 
  under German law. 
   
  Herausgeber:  Oliva Steigerwald EDV™ Verlag 
  Inh. Gerdi Oliva 
  Am Hasenlöhle 12 
  Ortsteil Altershausen 
  91481 Münchsteinach 
  Deutschland/Germany/Allemagne 
  USt-ID-Nr.:  DE133935450 
  Gewerbe angemeldet bei der Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Diespeck 
  Telefon:  +49-9166-995410 
  Internet:  http://www.steigerwaldedv.de 
  E-Mail:  info@steigerwaldedv.de 
   
  Gesamtinhalt: 
  Copyright © 2007-08, Steigerwald EDV™ Verlag 
  Alle Rechte vorbehalten 
   
   
  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: 
   
  Special thanks for contributions and ideas to Adaen of Bridgewater, Dalton Calford, Brian D., Bill Dunn, 
  Randall Eicher, Bruce Gulke, Jim Laubacker, Jose Luis Martin, Keith Persons, Joseph Elric Smith, Keith 
  Theobald and Rob Vaughn.  Special thanks to Cecil Solomon's Gamemaster's Apprentice for the CSUAC 
  mapping library. 
   
  Thanks to all of the Dundjinni® artists who contributed their work to the CSUAC, especially Aegean, Alynnalizza, Ancalimothar, 
  Ardak2000, Benway, Bludragn, Bogie, CDenham, Cisticola, Constantin Malkov, Cyrogenes, DaraLynx, Darkness, Dark_Shadow, 
  Dblade, Deltrax, Dm142, Dorpond, Dracorat, Dragonlair, Dragonwolf, Dudyst, Englishkid, EvilEmpryss, Falcon, ForumLurker, 
  Futureboy, GreyTale, Gtech_1, Halebop, Heruca, Hurltim, JDale, JGovernale, JohnBS9999, Kazerath, Kepli, LancerX, Lingster, Lord 
  Callubonn, Lupha, MacLaird, McGarnagle, Mercutio, Metajock, Mike Blackney, Montagne, Nidae213, Oistene, Pedrov, Phergus, 
  PokerPhaze, Raven Starhawk, Rhenton, R-Kellegg, RobaA, Steel Rat, Supercaptain, Surfbored, Terraism, Tintagel, Tls:56, Torq, Ursus, 
  B. (Varl) Smith, Venger, Wayne Francis, Yog Sottoth, Xath. 
   
  For more information, go to: 
   
   
  http://www.gmsapprentice.com 
   
  Special thanks to GreyTale for the tavern outfitting graphics.  For more information, go to: 
   
  http://www.dundjinni.com/art/user_art.asp 
   
  Additional thanks to:  Steven K. Allen, Bernd Bartelt, April Bennett, Allyn Bowker, Jim Butler, Robert J. Defendi, Ed Diana, Gordon 
  Druzzil Gurray, Jens Heilmann, Stephan Horn, Linda Kekumu, Maya Deva Kniese, C.J. LeBlanc, Arne Lehmeyer, Matthias Lösch, Mike 
  Lüders, Matthew Lynn, Claus Mertenbacher, Peter Oliva, Mike Oliver, Thomas Raab, Eva Rosenbauer, Brad Samek, Ralf Schemmann, 
  Steven E. Schend, Shadowblade, Dr. Erin D. Smale, B. (Varl) Smith, Trinixx of Westmarch and Jens Wunder. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 8 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Dungeons Daring™ 
  is dedicated to the memory 
  of the Father of Gaming 
   
  E. Gary Gygax 
  1938-2008 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Photo:  Gary Gygax at GenCon 2007 
  Copyright © 2007, Alan De Smet, all rights reserved 
  This photo is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License and 3.0 Unported License 3.0. 
  In short: you are free to distribute and modify the file as long as you attribute its author(s) or licensor(s). 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 9 
   
  FFoorreew
  woorrdd  
   
   
  11..    G
  Gaam
  mee  M
  Maasstteerr??    W
  Whhaatt  aam
  m  II  G
  Geettttiinngg  M
  Myysseellff  iinnttoo??  
   
  Dungeons Daring is a so-called fantasy role-playing game, often simply abbreviated as Fantasy RPG.  A Fantasy 
  RPG is not a board game, a card game or anything of similar nature.  It is instead a game where players create 
  characters in a mythical world and a mythical time frame.  In the case of Dungeons Daring, that time frame probably 
  will have elements similar to the Dark and Middle Ages of our own real world, and the things to be found in that 
  world will have roots in mythologies similar to those found in various parts of our own world. 
   
  There’s a big difference between you and the rest of the members of your adventuring group.  All the other 
  members will be creating heroes who will be off on an adventure.  They’ll be doing the spellcasting, fighting, 
  drinking in the local taverns and perhaps a bit of wenching too. 
   
  While they’re doing that, you’ll be busy running the whole show.  It’s you who will pick the adventure they’re in.  You 
  may even be the one who writes that adventure.  You’ll be making the decisions that determine what the results of 
  the actions are that the Player Characters (PCs) and their foes take.  At least that’s how it looks to your players. 
   
  The truth is, if you like role-playing, play-acting or just plain hamming it up, there’s no better chair for you to sit in 
  that that of the game master.  You see, you get to play the role of everyone in the whole adventure except for your 
  players’ characters.  That means that you’re the king and the orc at the next table who wants to split some player 
  character’s skull as well as the beautiful princess they want to rescue and the dragon that’s prepared to roast them 
  and eat them alive before they succeed. 
   
  The truth also is, being a game master can be a lot of fun, but if you want to do it well, it also is a lot of work.  That 
  starts here.  Your players need to have a good starting idea of what’s in Book 1, the Players Guide, and that 
  knowledge should grow the longer they adventure. 
   
  You need to know what’s in the Players Guide too, and even better than the players do, because the Players Guide 
  defines the basic parameters of the game, which it’s your job to manage.  You also need to know the contents of 
  this book, the Game Masters Guide, fairly well too.  This book gives you the information you need on how to 
  manage what you’ve gotten out of the Player’s Guide, and it also clues you in on more things that the players 
  shouldn’t know, at least not at the start, and with some of them, never. 
   
  It's your job to tell your PC adventurers where they are, what they see and what's happening around them.  If they 
  have an encounter with other creatures of some sort (i.e. NPCs), you’re also responsible for taking the in-game 
  actions necessary to determine what these other creatures do in response to the PCs. 
   
  For instance, you may roll some dice and then tell your PCs that the NPCs they encountered are friendly and are 
  willing to give them some help.  In other cases, you may determine that the encountered creatures are withholding 
  judgment regarding the PCs and their fellow adventurers.  Depending upon what the PCs do, the other party could 
  react in either a friendly or hostile manner to them or continue to be neutral in their attitude toward the PC party. 
   
  In most adventures, however, the chances are greatest that the creatures that the PCs encounter are hostile and 
  they're ready to begin battling with the PCs and their companions.  The PCs will make their own decisions on how 
  to deal with these hostile beings, and they will make dice rolls to determine whether they succeed.  At the same 
  time, you will be making similar dice rolls to determine the outcome of their hostile foes' actions. 
   
  There isn't much hardware necessary to run this game.  All you really need is the three Dungeons Daring books and 
  a set of six dice, with four, six, eight, ten, twelve and 20 faces, respectively.  However, you may choose to add 
  some additional material to your campaign.  Here are some things that often are encountered: 
   
  • 
  Maps and/or dungeon plans. 
   
  • 
  A board of some sort that shows a dungeon plan or encounter layout.  Tokens or small miniature figures 
  representing you and your fellow adventures and also the creatures you encounter might stand on the board, 
  ready to be moved to show your PCs a bit better how the fantasy scene before their eyes looks. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 10 
   
  • 
  A digital projector with screen that shows the same thing as the board mentioned above, but that allows for 
  more flexible displays and quicker movement of figures than a board with miniatures. 
   
  • 
  A laptop computer network that shows the same thing as the digital projector, but even more efficiently.  The 
  game master feeds information from his or her laptop to the players' laptops. 
   
  These are merely tools, however.  The really critical element in an RPG campaign is you, the game master.  You 
  have many different jobs to do: 
   
  • 
  First of all, you need a group of people willing to play the roles of characters in your campaign. 
   
  • 
  Next, you need an adventure.  Many game masters write their own adventures, but usually, it’s best to do that 
  after you’ve had a little bit of experience with a commercial adventure or one written by someone else.  If 
  you’re a beginner, you might want to try running the starting adventure at the end of this book. 
   
  • 
  When you have a PC group and an adventure, you next need to consider what kind of party it needs.  There 
  aren’t many adventures available that are well-suited for a party of four Wizards, five Warriors or six Thieves.  
  An adventuring group – particularly one with beginning players – usually should have some of the most basic 
  character classes covered.  If they aren’t, it may be that your first-time PCs end up facing problems that they 
  can’t resolve, because they don’t have all of the talents and skills that they need.  Usually, a PC group should 
  have the following as a minimum: 
   
  � 
  A Warrior from the Fighter Classes or a Ranger from the Naturalist Classes to give the others some 
  protection in combat.  The Warrior or Ranger is their front battle line. 
   
  � 
  A Wizard or Sorcerer from the Magi Classes.  There are some problems that can’t be resolved by brain 
  and brawn alone.  There are things that only magic can resolve. 
   
  � 
  A Thief or Scout from the Specialist Classes.  At a minimum, someone needs to find and disable traps.  
  The Thief also will be able to give the Warrior some backup in combat. 
   
  � 
  A fourth character, usually a Warrior, Ranger or Skáld from the Bardic Classes who is willing with time 
  to take up Healer as a second class.  A Healer who takes that as his or her first class usually makes for 
  a weak PC, but with time, his or her secondary class talents are needed. 
   
  • 
  It's up to you to tell your players which combination of Character Classes is acceptable for the planned 
  adventure.  That may produce a bit of grumbling, but try to make it clear to your players that the combinations 
  suggested are necessary, that the group is likely to fail in its adventure if necessary talents are missing in the 
  group. 
   
  • 
  After you've done all of these things, you need to guide your players through character development, and 
  that's one of the places where this book comes in.  In the pages that follow, you'll find some things that you 
  need to know about the development of a new PC that aren't in the Players Guide. 
   
  • 
  From that point on, you'll be using this book together with the Players Guide to determine how to do your job 
  best.  As a Game Masters Guide, this book continually amplifies upon the content of the Players Guide, 
  giving you information that the players and their characters don't need to know and sometimes shouldn't 
  know. 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 11 
   
  22..    TThhee  RRuulleess  aanndd  tthhee  VViissiioonn  bbeehhiinndd  DDuunnggeeoonnss  DDaarriinngg  
   
  The secret we should never let the game masters know is that they don't need any rules. 
  - Quote popularly attributed to E. Gary Gygax 
   
  To a certain extent, you need to decide what the rules of the game are.  This book and the Dungeons Daring 
  Players Guide make up the Dungeons Daring game system.  Some game masters go 100% by these books.  Most, 
  however, use a set of so-called house rules that modify those found here.  Dungeons Daring has only one firm rule.  
  It is a rule common to many other RPG systems as well.  It's always called Rule Number One. 
   
  Rule Number One: 
   
  The game master always is right! 
   
  There are no other rules.  The rest of this book consists of guidelines. 
   
  That said, as game master YOU should turn one guideline into a rule for you:  Don't violate your PCs' free wills.  In 
  this game, the players should be telling you what their PCs are doing, and you should tell them what happens.  Any 
  time you disagree and say, No, that's not what the PC is doing, and then go on to take the decisions away from the 
  player, you're doing your campaign a disservice.  There are few things that sour a player quicker than a game 
  master who takes control of his character away from him or her. 
   
  There are some RPGs that have magic spells and items which force a PC to act in a certain manner, regardless of 
  whether his or her player wants the PC to act this way.  No such magic exists officially in Dungeons Daring.  The 
  Players Guide makes quite clear that the free will of humans, halflings and half-elves is inviolate in this game.  
  These races (and also light elves and dwarves) all officially have free will, and it is beyond the power of magic to 
  change that. 
   
  This does not mean that your NPCs cannot threaten coerce or even use torture to make a member of these races 
  do a certain deed.  In most cases, when the pain or the pressure and the stakes are high enough, a character 
  probably will end up doing something that is against his or her own wishes.  The key, however, is that the PC must 
  decide to yield and perform the act against his or her own will but as the result of his or her own decision. 
   
  Game masters and the players of PCs have varying reasons for getting involved in fantasy role-playing.  There are 
  a lot of groups that devote themselves to getting into battles with evil characters or monsters, slicing them up and 
  then taking off with the foes' treasure.  Such groups have relatively little interest in local history, current political 
  interests or the setting itself.  They live for encounters.  This often is called hack-and-slash gaming. 
   
  Others play because they like working out strategies.  Why they're fighting an enemy or what else there is to do in 
  the area where they are is of little interest.  Once an opponent has been identified, the important thing to such 
  groups is to work out and implement strategies to bring that foe to a fall.  This often is called strategic gaming. 
   
  Still another group views an RPG adventure something like the story of a fantasy novel or the screenplay of a 
  movie.  The important thing is to live out the story of the adventure being played, even it means burying several 
  dead PCs before the last chapter ends.  This sometimes is called story line gaming. 
   
  Finally, there are those who climb into their alter egos and live out the roles of their characters.  They want the 
  adventure world in which they're playing to be filled with virtual reality, and in the role they're playing, they expect to 
  learn whatever they wish about the virtual reality that's directly before their character's eyes.  They expect roads to 
  have forks in them, and they expect to be able to choose for themselves which fork of the road their characters will 
  follow.  This generally is called role playing gaming. 
   
  Most RPG campaigns end up being a mix of these four elements and more, but they usually concentrate upon one 
  of these elements.  There is no one of these approaches that is better than another.  People play RPGs for their 
  own enjoyment, and different folks enjoy different things.  A hack-and-slasher usually has just as much fun as a role 
  player, and vice versa. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 12 
   
  On the other hand, many RPGs try to be all things to all people.  Many rules systems hope to serve hack-and-
  slashers just as well as strategists and storyliners just as well as roleplayers.  They seldom succeed.  Things that 
  work well for one group often work poorly for another.  Compromises have to be made, and house rules (There's 
  that word again.) usually have to be drawn up and implemented to make such rules work well. 
   
  Dungeons Daring is not a system designed for all gaming types.  Dungeons Daring is targeted specifically for the 
  roleplaying variant.  Of the four groups mentioned above, hack-and-slash campaigns probably will be least satisfied 
  with Dungeons Daring.  For the sake of roleplaying credibility, the system intentionally eliminates the so-called min-
  max elements of an RPG that allow hack-and-slashers to build the power-packed mini-Supermen that are important 
  to their gaming style. 
   
  Let's take a look now at the matter of house rules, or to be more specific, what they are and why they are.  They're 
  nothing more or less than modified or extended rules that you develop yourself for your own campaign.  House 
  rules are almost inevitable when you use a one-for-all game system, but they usually shouldn't be avoided 
  completely when you use a targeted game like Dungeons Daring either. 
   
  Dungeons Daring is based on a vision of a world in which magic and the people who adventure there evolved.  
  Parts of this vision doubtless will not match the goals of some campaigns, and that's a good place for house rules to 
  be created and put into practice. 
   
  Before we continue, let's take a step backward and remember that Dungeons Daring basically is a system of 
  guidelines for a game and not a campaign world or setting.  That notwithstanding, in creating an RPG, one must 
  have a certain idea of the kind of environment for which these guidelines must apply.  As a result, the authors 
  gradually put together a not completely defined vision of the kind of world their guidelines should produce.  The full 
  realization of this vision is in the Jörðgarð World campaign setting that is being produced together with the 
  Dungeons Daring game guidelines. 
   
  The concepts behind the design of Dungeons Daring have their roots in the old Norse mythology of the Icelandic 
  Eddas, developed further through the elements of traditional fantasy literature of the 19th and 20th centuries.  Such 
  literature depicts elves as a mysterious and isolated folk living in its own dimension, often unable to withstand iron 
  and sometimes unable to tolerate the sun as well.  Dwarves are the black elves who went into the depths, to the 
  roots of the world.  In most of the old literature, dwarves are a dour and evil folk. 
   
  We envision a fantasy RPG world born under an ancient sun that represents the power of Light and life, a starless 
  night sky that represents the power of Darkness and entropy and a moon in the dark sky that reflects the Light of 
  the sun into the Darkness of the night, representing the neutrality of balance. 
   
  Into the primeval ooze of this young world came a primal creator race that formed a crude world out of the ooze.  
  Little is known of this race, but at least two of its members are believed to remain in the world today, the Earth 
  Mother and Hela, who reigns over Deep Hell, where the souls of mortals go to meet their fate after death. 
   
  After the creator race came the elves, Children of the Light, born of the sun rather than the Darkness.  Millions of 
  years ago already, these Light Elves (ljósálfar in old Icelandic) fashioned the life forms and beauties of the world.  
  However, some of these eventually were mutated and malformed by powers of the Darkness. 
   
  Even the elven folk became divided.  Some elves were drawn away from the sun into the bowels of the world, 
  where they became fascinated by the metal ores and jewels of the depths.  Eventually, they evolved into Black 
  Elves (Svartálfar in old Icelandic) and became known as dwarves (Dvergar in old Icelandic).  Other elves turned 
  from the Light to the Darkness and evil.  They became known as the Dark Elves (Dökkálfar in old Icelandic). 
   
  As Children of the Light, the Light Elves were destined to ascend to the heavens as stars when their work upon our 
  world was done.  In the time frame envisioned for Dungeons Daring, many elves already have ascended, and the 
  once black night sky is filled with the twinkling stars of elven spirits. 
   
  Other elves also turned from this destiny but not to the Darkness or evil.  Some of the early elves learned to love the 
  trees of their own creation more than the heavens, and they chose to remain in the world, at first evolving into the 
  bark-skinned tree herder elves.  When some of these tree herder elves grew old and tired, they evolved further into 
  sentient elven trees, mighty creatures that can spend ages sleeping but that can be terrible when awakened. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 13 
   
  These elven variants had not been a part of the Earth Mother's great plan.  That led to the world’s first great 
  conflicts.  After the elves, came the second born, the giants.  The depths of the world, the fields of ore and the work 
  of the smith were to have been the giants’ legacy, but it already had been usurped in part by the black elves, who 
  never were meant to be.  As a result, it came to strife during these times between the dwarves and the giants.  For 
  the first time, the world knew war. 
   
  With the coming of the giants, the Earth Mother withdrew the reproductive seed from the elves, and this affected all 
  variants of the firstborn race.  Thus, more than a million of years now have passed since the last elven birth took 
  place.  The elven race is, to a certain degree, immortal.  Elves can be slain, but they die no natural deaths.  Their 
  destiny is to remain until they ascend into the heavens to take their place among the stars. 
   
  However, that way has been closed to those who have veered from the path of the Light.  Dark elves live on until 
  they are slain.  At that point, their lightless spirits descend into Deep Hell, where Hela obliterates them and sends 
  their life energy back into the great pool of life, whence the souls of newborn humans come.  In assuming their 
  sylvan forms, tree herders and elven trees became mortal albeit long lived.  When their lives end, their spirits simply 
  merge into that of the world’s forests, enlarging it. 
   
  The black elves or dwarves usurped the legacy of the giants.  Thus, the Earth Mother deemed it fit that the spirits of 
  slain dwarves should share the fate she had reserved for the mortal second born, the giants.  Like the elves from 
  whom they evolved, dwarves die no natural deaths, but they can be slain.  The spirit of a dead dwarf, like that of a 
  dead giant, merges into the greater sprits of the world’s own bedrock. 
   
  When one considers that in this vision all elves and dwarves who still are alive were born more than a million years 
  ago, it may become understandable why elves and dwarves are not listed among the PC races in the Players 
  Guide.  However, it’s also clear that this game world vision is not necessarily the vision of every game master who 
  may choose to use the Dungeons Daring guidelines. 
   
  In most gaming groups that we’ve seen since Dungeons & Dragons® appeared on the market in 1974, we’ve 
  observed that PCs who play the part of elves or dwarves usually recreate little more than humans with pointed ears 
  or short humans with beards and axes. 
   
  Nonetheless, the dream of many players is to recreate Legolas or Gimle from Lord of the Rings.  It’s not our 
  intention, of course, to forbid that.  In fact, this is an excellent point to bring in some house rules.  If your campaign 
  wants or needs either of these races as PC races, you simply can make your own racial definitions and add them to 
  the rules for your campaign. 
   
  In the case of elves and dwarves, that isn’t necessary.  We know that many campaigns want elves and dwarves to 
  be available as PC races, and we do offer alternative rule suggestions that you can use in your campaign, if you 
  wish.  The difference between Dungeons Daring and many other RPGs is, that the elven and dwarven definitions 
  are in your book, the Game Masters Guide, and not in the Players Guide.  That gives you the chance to decide 
  yourself whether you wish to offer your players these races. 
   
   
  Another example that we could use is the gnome.  There are no official gnomes in Dungeons Daring.  But that 
  doesn’t mean that you can’t add them with house rules.  Let’s take a look at how that can be done: 
   
  • 
  Humans make up the base race in Dungeons Daring, the race against which others are measured. 
   
  • 
  You then need to ponder what characteristics gnomes will have in your campaign.  In what respects are they 
  different from humans?  Until you’ve answered this question, you’re not ready to define your version of the 
  gnome. 
   
   
  For our example, let’s assume that we see gnomes in the following light: 
   
  • 
  Gnomes are small. 
   
  • 
  They live a bit longer than humans, with a life expectancy of 100 to 120 years. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 14 
   
  • 
  Because they’re small, they’re a bit harder to hit in battle (base Reflex defense 11 instead of 10).  They’re 
  less tough than a human (base Armor defense 9 instead of 10).  They’re also a bit less consequent than 
  humans (Will defense 9 instead of 10).  For the same reason, gnomes have ability bonuses and penalties:  -1 
  Strength, -1 Stamina, +2 Dexterity, Maximum Strength 19, Maximum Stamina 19, Maximum Dexterity 22. 
   
  • 
  Because of their underground habitat, we also give gnomes the racial ability See in the Dark. 
   
  • 
  Gnomes can mate only with other gnomes. 
   
  We begin with the data for humans in the Players Guide: 
   
  Gaming Data: 
   
  Size:  Medium 
  Life expectancy:   Usually 80-100 years 
  Speed:  30ft/9m per round 
  Alignment inclination:  none 
  Resistances:  None 
  Base Defenses:  Armor 10, Endurance 10, Reflex 10, Will 10 
  Attacks:  Fists, Weapons, Spells 
  Skills:  no racial bonuses or penalties 
  Special racial abilities:  All humans are born with the Talent Religion.  Most humans believe in and worship 
  one or more deities. 
  Mating:  Humans can mate with other humans, elves, half-elves and halflings 
   
  And then we make the changes that we’ve decided upon:: 
   
  Gaming Data: 
   
  Size:  Small 
  Life expectancy:   Usually 100-120 years 
  Speed:  30/9m per round 
  Alignment inclination:  none 
  Resistances:  None 
  Base Defenses:  Armor 9, Endurance 11, Reflex 11, Will 9 
  Attacks:  Fists, Weapons, Spells 
  Racial bonuses and penalties:  -1 Strength, -1 Stamina, +2 Dexterity, Maximum Strength 19, Maximum 
  Stamina 19, Maximum Dexterity 22. 
  Special racial abilities:  See in the dark 
  Other racial bonuses and penalties:  none 
  Mating:  Gnomes mate only with other gnomes. 
   
  With that, we have a good start toward making a new PC race for gnomes.  There still are some things you need to 
  do: 
   
  • 
  Write up a racial description for gnomes, similar to those in the Players Guide for humans, halflings and half-
  elves.  What you write in that description is us to you.  After all, the gnome is your invention in your house 
  rules. 
   
  • 
  Write a definition of the special racial ability see in the dark.  It should tell how well a gnome sees in the dark, 
  how far he or she can see and whether or not there are hindrances to the gnome’s ability to see in the dark. 
   
  Once you’ve completed that, your campaign has a new PC race for gnomes, and you can offer it as an option to 
  your players. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 15 
   
  That’s one example of a house rule.  As your campaign continues, you doubtless will start implementing a number 
  of house rules to deal with things that the Dungeons Daring books handle in a manner that doesn’t work out well in 
  your campaign. 
   
  One thing of which you should beware, however, is the tendency of new game masters to create house rules with 
  inflationary effects.  A new game master who is running a campaign with first or second level players may tend to 
  think that his or her PCs are too weak.  To cure that problem, he or she may make a new house rule to beef the 
  PCs up a bit. 
   
  Here are some common approaches: 
   
  1. 
  The game master decides to raise the die used for determining injury points from, for example 1d6 to 1d8. 
   
  2. 
  The game master gives the 1st level PC a magic weapon with a bonus of +2. 
   
  3. 
  The game master gives everybody a bonus talent. 
   
  4. 
  The game master gives everybody a two-injury-point-bonus at levels 1 and 2. 
   
  The only one of these solutions that has a negligible inflationary effect is the last, No. 4.  Throughout his or her 
  career, the PC always will have those two extra injury points, but by level 5 or 6 already, the effect is minimal. 
   
  The worst option is the first, No. 1.  The bonus grows with every new level the PCs get, making overpowered 
  characters of them.  When these PCs reach level 10, they already have 10 injury points more than other average 
  characters of their level.  This is unhealthy for a campaign. 
   
  The second and third options aren’t as bad as the first, but they’re still too inflationary.  A PC with a +2 weapon at 
  Level 1 continues to have a two-point better chance than the average creature of his or her level, and when he or 
  she does hit, the weapon always causes two extra points of damage. 
   
  Items with a permanent magical bonus should be earned through experience and achievement, not merely given 
  away by a game master who wants to beef up his or her PCs a bit.  If you want to achieve the same goal as with the 
  +2 weapon but limit it to the early part of a PC’s career, give him or her a magical talisman with 50 or 100 charges.  
  As long as there are charges remaining, he or she gets a +2 bonus in combat, but once the 50 or 100 charges are 
  used, the talisman’s magic is gone and so is the bonus. 
   
  Non-permanent magic always is the best kind for a game master to make available until he or she has a good 
  sense for the intervals and circumstances that work well for passing out permanent magical items. 
   
  In example No. 3 above, the bonus talent gives everyone a bonus talent.  Each talent includes a number of skills, 
  and the ability to use each skill usually grows throughout the PC’s career.  The bonus you intended to give at 1st 
  level ends up being given again and again with each new level, as the PC begins adding bonus talent points to a 
  talent that he or she really shouldn’t have in the first place. 
   
  The temptation for a game master to give out such points can be quite strong.  Nonetheless, you should try to resist 
  it.  When your PCs are overpowered, one of two things tends to occur: 
   
  • 
  The PCs have too easy a time handling the opponents they encounter. 
   
  • 
  You end up inflating the abilities of the PCs’ foes to return balance between the two sides. 
   
  Both of these situations tend to make your campaign less fun for you and your players. 
   
  Finally, you need to remember that the three basic Dungeons Daring books contain guidelines, not rules.  These 
  guidelines play roles on two different stages: 
   
  • 
  The guidelines should be implemented as rules or augmented through house rules when it comes to 
  adjudicating what your PCs initiate and do and whether they succeed at it.  Your adventure usually will 
  succeed only if your PCs have a clear, understandable and reliable path to follow. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 16 
   
  • 
  In determining the doings of the NPCs in your world, you also should implement these guidelines or your own 
  house rules as rules, when elements of your adventure demand no alternative of a higher priority.  If, 
  however, certain events are of critical importance in your adventure, you simply need to make them happen 
  rather than leaving these issues up to a rule or a guideline and then a dice roll. 
   
  Once you understand that what generally are considered to be rules really only are a set of guidelines, it becomes 
  easy to give yourself a free hand in doing those things that your adventure requires.  It also is important to 
  understand that you usually shouldn't explain things to your players. 
   
  At the end of a gaming session, when you're yourself and your players are themselves again, they often will ask 
  questions like: 
   
  What spell was that, that Murgatoyd hit me with? 
   
  or 
   
  What rule did you use to conjure that magical cheese sandwich? 
   
  or 
   
  How could I possibly have missed old Elmo with such a good roll? 
   
  The real answers might be: 
   
  Pie in the Face, a spell I just invented on the spot for Murgatroyd. 
   
  and 
   
  I didn't use a rule.  I gave Addabas a spell I invented on the spot called Conjure Cheese Sandwich. 
   
  and 
   
  Because that was an illusion of Elmo, idiot!  He wasn't really there! 
   
  By no means should you give your players such answers or any others to these questions.  Such answers give 
  them knowledge that's none of their business.  Even worse, these answers give their PCs knowledge they couldn't 
  possibly have. 
   
  If your players really want to go after these answers, then tell them to have their PCs do it in game time with role-
  playing.  If a PC wants to know how an NPC did something, he or she, as a role-playing character, should 
  investigate the matter and try to discover the answer.  In the process, he or she might or might not learn that: 
   
  • 
  Murgatroyd knows a spell named Pie in the Face.  If the PC can develop spells and wants to do so, give him 
  or her an opportunity to do that. 
   
  • 
  Addabas knows a spell named Conjure Cheese Sandwich.  If the PC can develop spells and wants to do so, 
  give him or her an opportunity to do that. 
   
  • 
  Elmo is known for hiding and then using a spell to create an illusionary double and a Throw Your Voice spell 
  to deal with strangers without having to risk being attacked by them 
   
  However, behind these answers lies another key to performing well as a game master.  In dealing with your NPCs, 
  you aren't always bound to operate by the guidelines.  Instead, you sometimes need to put different things on the 
  two sides of your game master's scales and then make sure that they're in balance. 
   
  On the one side, you place whatever event or result is necessary to make your adventure stay on its track and 
  succeed, hoping the PCs will follow your lead.  On the other side of the scales is the question, Is this fair to the PCs.  
  If your scale is out of balance, you need to change what you're planning until that balance has been achieved. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 17 
   
  With that in mind, however, you should design some NPC events first and foremost as parts of the story of your 
  adventure rather than things that have to depend upon a rules system and dice rolls.  An example: 
   
  • 
  One of the key evil foes of your PCs is a Wizard with a powerful staff.  Your PCs will meet this Wizard head 
  on at a later point.  As a part of your campaign plot, it would behoove your PCs to get a hold of this staff 
  temporarily, just long enough to learn what its powers are, so that they can counter them. 
   
  • 
  A PC who is a Skáld discovers the whereabouts of the evil Wizard's former apprentice.  From him, the Skáld 
  learns that the apprentice has overheard the Wizard speaking the command word for this powerful staff, and 
  he tells the Skáld what it is.  He also reminds the Skáld that with the command word, another mage, might 
  succeed in dominating the opposing wizard's staff. 
   
  • 
  In the middle of the night, when the enemy Wizard is asleep, the PC Thief breaks into the Wizard's tower and 
  steals the staff.  You determine that he succeeds, regardless whether his checks succeed.  You ignore the 
  checks and simply rule that he has succeeded.  The Thief brings the staff to the PC Wizard, who attempts to 
  work the Dominate Staff spell upon it.  The PC Wizard makes his check and you roll a check for the enemy 
  Wizard, but you completely ignore the results.  You simply tell the PC Wizard that he has succeeded. 
   
  • 
  The PC Wizard then succeeds again in determining what magic has been ensorcelled into the staff.  The 
  party now can prepare its encounter with the Wizard better.  It's time for the staff to return to its owner. 
   
  • 
  The PC Wizard detects that the enemy Wizard is working a Call Staff spell.  The PC Wizard makes his check 
  and you roll the enemy Wizard's check but you again ignore the results and tell the PC that he's lost control.  
  In the next round, the staff vanishes.  The PC Wizard knows happened.  The enemy Wizard worked a Call 
  Staff spell and now has his staff back. 
   
  Is this fudging the guidelines or possibly even cheating?  Not in the Dungeons Daring system.  In this game such 
  operations on the game master's part not only are legal but are exactly right.  The reason for that is that the things 
  that took part in this sequence always are fair to the PCs: 
   
  • 
  First of all, you made the apprentice available to the PCs.  You saw to it that he had information that the PCs 
  could use, and you saw to it that the he gave the PC Skáld the command word for the staff.  Without the 
  command word, nothing more would have occurred.  These events were elements of your plot line, not 
  events that the PCs put in action. 
   
  • 
  Your plot line calls for the PCs to succeed in gaining the staff and learning its properties, therefore, there's 
  nothing wrong with you making ignored checks to give the staff to them and to make it possible for them to 
  learn its properties. 
   
  • 
  At no point, are the PCs forced to do anything.  All their actions are of their own free will.  They could have 
  decided at anytime not to take advantage of the knowledge they had and to make no attempt to gain the staff. 
   
  • 
  The PCs in no way earned the staff.  It was given to them by the plot.  What the plot giveth, the plot make 
  take away.  The PCs did nothing to earn a dice decision on the Call Staff spell. 
   
  This system is perfectly legitimate, as long as you use it correctly, but it is legitimate only as long as you use it as a 
  fair tool.  It is neither legitimate nor fair to prevent things that your PCs initiate on their own, simply to keep them on 
  your plot line.  If they veer from your plot and you want them back on your track, fudged dice rolls to force them 
  there are wrong and unfair.  You need to place things in the adventure that lure them back into the plot line rather 
  than hammering them there. 
   
  The players will see quickly that you're forcing them into actions that you want them to take.  Most players will 
  resent that, diminishing the value of your game and your campaign.  It will be difficult and take some time to rebuild 
  the confidence you wasted by being unfair.  Let's continue now with the example above: 
   
  • 
  After the enemy Wizard has succeeded in regaining his staff, your PC Wizard decides he's not going to put 
  up with that.  He intends to take it back.  He waits two fortnights, long enough for the enemy Wizard to have 
  lowered his guard. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 18 
   
  • 
  The PC Thief returns to the tower in the middle of another night.  This time, you make honest checks on both 
  sides for any traps or alarms that are along the way.  If the Thief succeeds, he succeeds, fair and square.  
  You have no business manipulating the game to foil the PCs in their own pursuits.  This is not a part of your 
  plot action.  It's a PC initiative.  If the PC Thief fails, he'll have to face the music, whatever that means in this 
  case. 
   
  • 
  Assuming that the Thief succeeds, the PC Wizard then is entitled to try to dominate the staff again.  This 
  time, all the checks are honest.  If the PC Wizard succeeds, he succeeds fair and square.  If he fails, the 
  enemy Wizard can recall his staff.  There's no place here for game master manipulations.  These are PC 
  initiatives, and they must be tested fairly.  That's what the game's about, the PC's vs. the opposing NPCs.  
  When the PCs decide on a course of action, you have no business manipulating the action to prevent their 
  success … or to assure it, for that matter. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  It takes a daring thief to break into the castle of an evil mage.   
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 19 
   
  II..    DDuunnggeeoonnss  DDaarriinngg™
  ™  CChhaarraacctteerr  CCrreeaattiioonn  
   
   
  11..    CChhaarraacctteerr  CCrreeaattiioonn  aanndd  tthhee  G
  Gaam
  mee  M
  Maasstteerr  
   
  To create a successful role-playing character, a player needs more than the simple statistics on a character sheet.  
  Before your player begins recording statistics in his or her PC’s character sheet, you and he or should have a 
  precise understanding of exactly who the PC is.  Both of you should know at least all of the following information: 
   
  • 
  * Where is the PC’s home? 
  • 
  * In what other areas of the gaming world has he or she been? 
  • 
  What is his or her family history? 
  • 
  From whom did the PC gain his or her training? 
  • 
  What conflicts have there been in the PC’s past life? 
  • 
  What is the PC’s motivation for going on adventures? 
   
  * For these two questions, you should provide the player with detailed information, maps, etc. of these locations.  If a PC has been somewhere to 
  where the PCs are going, he or she is a prime information source for the rest of the group.  The PC can play that role only if his or her player has 
  the necessary information. 
   
  In a Dungeons Daring campaign, the standards are somewhat like those of an actor in a play.  A player can play his 
  or her role well only if he or she is thoroughly familiar with the person of the character whom he or she is recreating. 
   
   
  22..    TThhee  CChhaarraacctteerr  SShheeeett  
   
  After a PC’s person has been defined, the rest of character creation involves the character sheet.  That’s a piece of 
  paper with all the statistical data that a player needs to run his or her character correctly.  In this section in the 
  Players Guide, we created a sample character, a 1st level Wizard named Lurga. 
   
  In case you wonder why a character sheet is important, let’s look at an example involving Lurga.  Lurga has the 
  talent Arcane Magic, and it, in turn, gives him the skill Arcane Knowledge.  Let us assume that in the course of an 
  adventure, Lurga’s group comes across some writings about a magical mystery that offers a clue to whatever the 
  group is seeking. 
   
  No one else in the group has any understanding for such things.  Lurga is the only Wizard in the group.  In his study 
  of magic, Lurga gained knowledge of some of the magical mysteries, and he thinks that this is one of them.  He 
  applies his skill to see what he can fathom out of the writings that his companions have found. 
   
  To make a skill check, you have to set the Difficulty Level (DL) for the task at hand, and Lurga's player needs to roll 
  the die for the check.  In our example, let’s say that you have assigned DL 20 to this task.  To check, Lurga must to 
  roll 1d20 and add whatever bonus he has to his roll. 
   
  Most PCs will learn quickly what bonuses they have for their weapons, and most spellcasters will learn the details 
  for the magic that they use frequently, but few PCs know what all of their check scores are.  The character sheet 
  gives them the ability to quickly look up what they need to know.  With that, let’s return to Lurga.  He picks up a d20 
  die and rolls 12.  Now he looks at his character sheet to see what his check for Arcane Knowledge is.  (Continued 
  on Page 21.) 
   
   
   
  Open Game Content 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 20 
   
   
  Character Sheet File CharacterSheet.xlsx in Excel 2007 with Windows Vista 
  Product Identity 
   
   
   
  Character Sheet File CharacterSheet.xls in Excel 2003 with Windows XP 
  Product Identity 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 21 
   
   
  Product Identity 
  Character Sheet File CharacterSheet.ods in OpenOffice.org Calc 3.0 with Windows XP, classic view 
   
  The character sheet (s. Page 19) lists his check as 1d20+11.  Lurga rolled a 12.  That plus 11 equals 23, higher 
  than the DL of 20.  That means he made the check and can solve the riddle of the papers found by his companions. 
   
  The Players Guide contains a paper character sheet that you can print and that your players can fill out with pencil 
  or pen, but we’d strongly urge you to use one of the electronic character sheets in your Dungeons Daring package 
  instead.  The electronic versions calculate all of the bonuses, checks, etc.  They make it quick and breeze to 
  accurately maintain the data for each of your PCs. 
   
  No expenses need be involved in using these electronic character sheets.  Originals are included in the Dungeons 
  Daring Player Characters tools package in formats for the programs OpenOffice.org Calc 3.0, Microsoft® Excel 
  2000 to 2003 and Excel 2007.  Excel is a commercial program.  One must buy a license for it.  However, 
  OpenOffice.org is a freeware program that you and your players can download at no cost from: 
   
  http://www.openoffice.org . 
   
  The complete instructions for using the electronic data sheet are in the Players Guide. 
   
  The downloads include standard spreadsheet (.ods, .xls, .xlsx) and template (.odt, .xlt, .xltx) versions of the 
  electronic character sheet.  You're best off if you copy the appropriate template version into your template folder.  
  This gives you the ability to open a new, empty character sheet anytime you need one. 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 22 
   
  33..    EEqquuiippppiinngg  YYoouurr  PPCCss  
   
  Usually, when a PC goes off on an adventure, he or she needs money, weapons and perhaps some armor and 
  equipment.  When a new PC enters a campaign, it's up to you to determine what money and possessions the new 
  PC has.  There are no guidelines that can govern the many situations that can arise in equipping new PCs. 
   
  Let's assume for a minute that you start your campaign off with an adventure you've purchased from a commercial 
  RPG publisher.  The adventure begins with a group of PCs who all are sons and daughters of wealthy royalty and 
  nobility.  Their parents are testing their mettle by sending them off on a noble quest.  Such a PC group might be 
  equipped by their rich parents in an admirable fashion.  These PCs could be carrying items that normally might be 
  found only in a party of adventurers of Level 5 and higher. 
   
  Of course, you also might buy an adventure that starts out with a band of destitute PCs who have no money or 
  equipment at all.  All they have is a treasure map that they've found.  If there is a treasure at the location the map 
  shows, the PCs at last will be able to buy weapons, armor and the other equipment they need.  Until then, they'll 
  have to deal with foes without the help of weapons. 
   
  These examples are extremes.  The startup status of most groups will be somewhere between them.  The important 
  point is, that only you as game master know what the status of the PCs is in your adventure.  Only you can decide 
  what level and wealth and equipment the startup PCs in your adventure are likely to have. 
   
  Even then, many variations on this theme are open to you.  Let's look again at the second example we cited above.  
  Let's assume you've purchased the adventure for destitute PCs that we described, but you doubt that your PCs will 
  be able to gain the treasure with their bare hands.  At this point, that's your business and no longer the business of 
  the adventure's authors.  They're not with you to help you make the adventure run well in your campaign. 
   
  In that case, you can ignore some of their advice on the equipping of the party.  You can have your PCs remain just 
  as destitute as the purchased adventure suggests, but give each of them a family heirloom.  The Warrior in the 
  party has a beautiful sword inherited from a grandfather who also was an adventurer.  It might even have a +1 or +2 
  magic bonus, although you're the only one who knows that at present. 
   
  It's easy for you to deal with a magic weapon when its bearer doesn't know that it's magical.  Encounters run as 
  usual.  The Warrior rolls 1d8 and reports a result of 10.  You know that he or she needs 11 to hit.  You secretly add 
  the +1 bonus to the 10 rolled, get 11 and tell the PC that he or she has hit.  The PC then rolls 1d8 for damage and 
  gets a 5.  You secretly add the +1 bonus and reduce the opponent's injury points by 6.  The PC assumes that he or 
  she caused only 5 points damage, but you know otherwise. 
   
  The Thief in your party has inherited a set of thieves' tools that once belonged to his or her thief father, a poor soul 
  who died locked in a dungeon after being caught in the act.  The PC doesn't know it, but they key in the toolbox is a 
  magical skeleton key.  It opens any lock if its user rolls more than a natural 1 on his or her check. 
   
  The Wizard in the group has learned a few spells and also has a spellbook and wand inherited from a deceased 
  uncle who also was a wizard.  The wand was ensorcelled with a special property:  It automatically attunes itself to 
  any member of the uncle's family who tries to use it. 
   
  With these changes, your PCs still are as destitute as the original adventure suggested, but they are a truly 
  powerful lot for a 1st Level adventuring band.  All these issues are in your hands.  It's your adventure and your 
  campaign. 
   
  There are quite a number of methods used by game masters to allot money and/or equipment to startup PCs.  Here 
  are the most frequent: 
   
  • 
  You might determine that each PC has a certain amount of money to spend.  It's up to the player in the 
  person of the PC to decide what he or she wants to buy. 
   
  • 
  Some game masters decide for their PCs what they do and don't have.  This isn't the friendliest method from 
  a PC's point of view, but it's within the game master's rights.  Sometimes, as in the example above involving 
  the destitute PC party, it's a good option. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 23 
   
  • 
  Other game masters tell the player to put together a list of desired possessions for the PC, and the player 
  and game master together then decide which of those things the PC actually will have. 
   
  Once that issue's settled, you need to tell your players what is or isn't available at the time and location where his or 
  her campaign is taking place.  You should assume that there's almost nowhere in your campaign world where a PC 
  can go into a store and buy full plate armor ensorcelled to a +5 bonus off the shelf. 
   
  A PC shouldn't be able to choose everything and anything in the property and possessions lists of the Players 
  Guide.  There are some things in those lists that should be almost impossible to obtain anywhere.  Objects made of 
  dwarven middle silver make excellent examples.  There is a 99.99% chance that your PCs never will find anything 
  made of middle silver for sale anywhere.  It's rare.  Dwarves don't sell their items of middle silver to others.  If your 
  PCs come into something made of middle silver, it was booty at one time, no doubt taken from a dead dwarf. 
   
   
  Bulk and Weight 
   
  Players have an incredible tendency to load their PCs and pack animals up with far more gear than either possibly 
  could carry.  In Section I.8.1 Taking it with You of the Players Guide, you'll find clear cut guidelines and tables that 
  determine exactly what and how much players and pack animals can bear.  There also are tables with penalties for 
  overloaded PCs and pack animals. 
   
  These restrictions are vital to the credibility of your roleplaying adventure.  Anytime you let your PCs do the 
  impossible, the believability of your adventure will suffer.  You should enforce bulk and weight restrictions strictly. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Sunrise over a world with adventures waiting 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 24 
   
  44..    TThhee  RRaacceess  
   
  In most Dungeons Daring adventures, the characters whose roles are being played usually are humans or halflings, 
  a subset of the human race.  In some cases, a player also might have a character who is a half-elf, although these 
  are encountered less frequently.  These three races are official PC races defined in the Players Guide. 
   
  If you haven’t offered your players any other options, they need to choose between the three base races in 
  Dungeons Daring: 
   
   
  • 
  Humans by and large are just like people in our own real world.  They define the average for PCs in all 
  respects. 
   
  • 
  Halflings are a mutated subset of the human race.  They usually range in height between 3 and 4 feet, in 
  other words, 91 to 122 cm.  In comparison to humans, halflings tend on the average to make somewhat 
  poorer targets for attackers, but they also tend to have a bit less strength than humans.  Most halflings tend 
  to be noticeably weaker than humans but that's often offset by their greater agility.  Halflings are good at 
  hiding, escaping from activity and being stealthy.  Because of their size, they make smaller targets than 
  humans. 
   
  The small folk came into being in lands bordering upon elven domains.  Lights elves believe that the humans 
  there who rather suddenly became halflings were reduced in size through a fluke contact between magic and 
  mechanical power.  That may be.  Neither the elves nor any other magi have found a way to reverse the 
  effect, and few halflings would want it reversed now.  They tend to be quite content with their lot. 
   
  There are some so-called renegade halflings who live in human settlements, but most who live outside of the 
  halfling homelands dwell in halfling communities not far but a bit removed from human settlements.  Although 
  they tend to live among their own, halflings are ready and willing to form trade relations and in some case 
  even personal relationships with humans.  However, most halflings are slightly reserved in their dealings with 
  the larger folk, believing that the human race is not quite able to focus itself upon the truly important things in 
  life, at least as halflings see them. 
   
  • 
  Half-elves share many of the characteristics of humans, but the force of the Light is stronger in half-elves 
  than in humans.  Half-elves live longer than humans.  They have a mix of elven and human characteristics.  
  The first class level of a half-elf always is as a Sorcerer.  This is a natural characteristic of a half-elf.  On the 
  average, half-elves tend to be a bit weaker than humans and they also have a much poorer aptitude for 
  mechanics than humans.  On the other hand, they're a bit more agile than humans and have a better capacity 
  for learning magic. 
   
  Half-elves came into being when light elves discovered that humans and elves could mate.  That was at a 
  time after the dwarves had introduced elfbane iron into the world.  They also discovered that natural mating 
  between elves and humans produced normal humans as offspring.  This also will be the case in the unlikely 
  event that an elf and a human simply meet and mate.  The offspring always will be purely human. 
   
  The hybrid half-elf race resulted from strong magical influences that the light elves exerted during the original 
  mating between humans and elves in ancient days.  Only the true blood descendants of the originally born 
  half-elves can give birth to true half-elves.  Half-elves also are immune to the effects of iron. 
   
  The human genes of half-elves are stronger than their elven genes.  Half-elves are longer-lived than humans, 
  but they are mortal.  Like humans, they have souls rather than elven spirits.  When a half-elf dies, it does not 
  ascend to become a star in the heavens, as elves do, but rather goes to Hela in Deep Hell for judgment, just 
  as humans and halflings do. 
   
  Half-elves seldom are found outside of their own societies.  Those who are elsewhere usually have 
  explanations for their journey into foreign lands.  However, most half-elves would balk at the idea of leaving 
  their homeland.  Those who have done so usually have had some tragic or perhaps evil motivation for leaving 
  departing. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 25 
   
  4.1  Light Elves 
   
  The Official Dungeons Daring Version 
   
  The elven race, as explained earlier, is an ancient folk.  No new elf has been born for more than a million years.  
  For this reason and because ever more claim their true place as stars in the heavens, the race continually 
  diminishes in number. 
   
  For long ages, elves had their domains among those of giants and humans.  That ended shortly after dwarves 
  discovered iron and began making it available to humans.  Iron is deadly to elves; they cannot withstand it.  In that 
  age, the great light elven Magi used their powers to create their own dimension – the Middle Dimension – between 
  the dimensions of life and death.  Those that are found in the gaming world continue to live in their own domains in 
  this dimension to this date. 
   
  Light elves do know how to cross the borders of the dimensions and enter the Dimension of Life where humans 
  dwell, and it is believed that they do so at times.  Few if any humans know how they cross the dimensional border.  
  The secret is, that many ages ago, the elves detected the ley lines of power where the magical energy of the world 
  is most concentrated.  Along these ley lines, the built ley stones that further magnify that power. 
   
  Light elven Magi know how to use this concentrated power to open the bridge across the dimensions.  To what 
  purpose they do so in your campaign is your decision as game master.  However, in human lands, there are rumors 
  at times that light elves have crossed the borders to steal human children and bring them into elven kingdom.  Other 
  human rumors have it that light elves at time cross the borders to seduce members of the opposite sex and bring 
  them into the misty realm of the Middle Dimension. 
   
  Herbal Witches in some remote areas claim that these tales are false, that light elves never cross the borders.  
  Rather, they say, these are dark elves disguised as light elves, who steal children and seduce would-be lovers to 
  use their victims for their own evil purposes? 
   
  What’s the truth?  You’re the only one who knows.  It’s your campaign.  As game master, that’s for you to 
  determine. 
   
  Light elves are quite a bit different than most beings.  After all, they’re all more than a million years old.  There are 
  no elves with a Character Level other than 30.  Light elves are ready to defend themselves, if necessary, although 
  that’s seldom the case since they slipped into the Middle Dimension.  The main weapons of the light elves are 
  blocking magic and their Warriors. 
   
  As is the case with humans, Level 30 represents the physical limits for a light elf.  At Level 30, his or her physical 
  system has reached a point of maximum achievement.  That notwithstanding, the average Level 30 light elven 
  Warrior is a bit weaker than the average Level 30 human Warrior.  On the whole, light elves never quite reach the 
  strength of the most fit humans.  On the other hand, no human ever has reached the levels of magical achievement 
  attained by the high elven magi. 
   
  Magic is a power of the Light, and elves are children of the Light.  Magic is an inherent part of each light elf.  Magic 
  is so strong within the light elves that all were born with the 1st level as a Sorcerer, although not all light elves chose 
  to develop their magical talents. 
   
  Because magic is an integral part of them, light elves have a respect for it and a relationship to it that is far different 
  from that of other races, even half-elves.  Light elves abhor the misuse of magic as they see it.  Misuse from the 
  light elven perspective includes any implementation of magic that causes death, harm or injury and also any magic 
  that is destructive. 
   
  Much of light elven magic is constructive.  It was used to transmute the primitive life forms of the primal era into the 
  more advanced forms that followed including the life forms of the modern world.  When elves use magic against 
  their foes or creatures of nature (and often of their own making) that might threaten them, their spells tend to create 
  protective barriers, convert things that are harmful into things that are harmless or transport dangers far away from 
  them.  Their making of their refuge in the Middle Dimension is a prime example. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 26 
   
  The main character classes of the light elves are Healers and Scholars of the Aristocratic and Burgher Class, Skáld 
  of the Bardic Class, Warrior of the Fighter Class, Wizard and Sorcerer of the Magi class, Ranger of the Naturalist 
  Class and the White, Blue and Green Druids. 
   
  Elven spellcasters, even Healers, have entirely different magical abilities than human spellcasters due to their long 
  ages of experience.  Elven magi have learned to completely control the magical arts in which they specialize.  They 
  use absolute magic, commanding its energy to do whatever they wish it to do.  If the task requires more magical 
  power than they command personally, they call upon the magical powers in communion, with two or more magi 
  working together.  As a result, their ability to produce any desired magical result is almost unlimited. 
   
  The true limits of light elven magic are in the elves’ refusal to use black necromancy or other magic aligned with the  
  Darkness as well as spells that produce harm or damage. 
   
   
   
   
  Gaming Data: 
  The values here are base Level 1 values.  You still need to increment them for the current Character Level. 
   
  Size:  Medium 
  Life expectancy:   Immortal 
  Speed:  40/12m per round 
  Alignment inclination:  No evil 
  Resistances:  3% Immunity to Magic/per Character Level 
  Base Defenses:  Armor 8, Endurance 8, Reflex 12, Will 12 
  Attacks:  Fists, Weapons 
  Special racial abilities:  Absolute Magic, Starvision, Elvensight, Alternate Form 
  Other racial bonuses and penalties:  Character Level 30, -2 Strength, -1 Stamina, +2 Dexterity, +7 Magical 
  Aptitude, -6 Mechanical Aptitude.  Maximum strength 18, Maximum Stamina 19, Maximum Dexterity 22, 
  Maximum Magical Aptitude 25, Maximum Mechanical Aptitude 14. 
  Mating:  Elves can mate with humans, half-elves and halflings 
   
  Absolute Magic:  Light elves use no spells.  They call upon magic to perform what they wish it to do within the 
  limits of their power. 
   
  Starvision:  Under moonshine and starlight elves can see just as they do in the daylight.  At the time of the New 
  Moon or when the stars but not the moon are visible, they can perceive nearer objects as by daylight but they lose 
  the abilities of Elvensight.  When the night sky is overcast and neither moon nor stars are visible their night sight is 
  limited to 300ft/180m. 
   
  Elvensight:  When not obscured by fog or similar obstacles, an elf can adjust his or her eyes somewhat like a 
  zoom camera lens to clearly make out larger objects and creatures at a distance of up to 3 miles/5 km. 
   
  Alternate Form:  Every elf has an alternate animal form that it can assume at will.  The elf does not choose this 
  form.  It should be decided at random by the game master. 
   
   
   
   
  The Alternative Player Character Version 
   
  You need to work the historical details of a PC light elven race out yourself in terms of the needs of your campaign.  
  For this alternative race, we suggest the following statistical base. 
   
  Gaming Data: 
   
  Size:  Medium 
  Life expectancy:   Immortal 
  Speed:  40/12m per round 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 27 
   
  Alignment inclination:  No evil 
  Resistances:  None 
  Base Defenses:  Armor 8, Endurance 8, Reflex 12, Will 12 
  Attacks:  Fists, Weapons, Spells 
  Special racial abilities:  Starvision, Elvensight, automatic 1st Level as Sorcerer 
  Other racial bonuses and penalties:  -2 Strength, -2 Stamina, +2 Dexterity, +6 Magical Aptitude, -4 Mechanical 
  Aptitude.  Maximum strength 18, Maximum Stamina 18, Maximum Dexterity 22, Maximum Magical Aptitude 
  24, Maximum Mechanical Aptitude 16. 
  Mating:  Elves can mate with humans, half-elves and halflings 
   
  Starvision:  Under moonshine and starlight elves can see just as they do in the daylight.  At the time of the New 
  Moon or when the stars but not the moon is visible, they can perceive nearer objects as by daylight but they lose 
  the abilities of Elvensight.  When the night sky is overcast and neither moon nor stars are visible their night sight is 
  limited to 300ft/180m. 
   
  Elvensight:  When not obscured by fog or similar obstacles, an elf can adjust his or her eyes somewhat like a 
  zoom camera lens to clearly make out larger objects and creatures at a distance of up to 3 miles/5 km. 
   
   
  4.2  Dark Elves 
   
  The Official Dungeons Daring Version 
   
  In most respects, light and dark elves are identical.  After all, dark elves are nothing other than light elves who left 
  the path of the Light to turn to evil.  In doing so, the Light passed from their spirits and doomed them to oblivion, 
  should they one day be slain.  Bitterness over the fate often is a motivating force of the dark elves. 
   
  Physically, there is nothing to distinguish a dark elf from a light elf, nonetheless, few humans who have had 
  experience with elves would be likely to mistake a dark elf for a light elf.  Clothing, gear and even the expressions 
  upon a dark elf's face betray him or her for what she or she is. 
   
  The greatest difference between light and dark elves is in their access to magic.  When these evil elves turned their 
  backs upon the Light in an age long past, the Light withdrew itself from their spirits.  It will not return again.  Dark 
  elves are beyond redemption.  Dark elves die no natural deaths, but if one of them is slain, the heavens are closed 
  to him or her.  The slain dark elf's spirit travels to Deep Hell where Hela mercilessly sunders it into small sparks of 
  life with no identity, and these sparks then are used to create the souls of newborn humans. 
   
  The question of the innocence of newborn dark elves does not pose itself.  More than a million years ago, the Earth 
  Mother withdrew the reproductive seed of life from all elves.  They are no dark elven newborn.  Each dark elf turned 
  from the Light of his or her own volition, and the Light has opened no door through which they can turn back. 
   
  For humans, halflings and half-elves, dark elves have the potential for being the most dangerous foes that can be 
  faced.  However, the many complexities of the dark elven spirit do much to lighten the threat within that danger.  
  Light elves yearn for their true home in the stars.  Dwarves view the merger of their spirits into the greater spirit of 
  the physical world itself as a spiritual elevation. 
   
  Many humans believe in an existence after death through the help of their deities if they worship faithfully.  Halflings 
  and half-elves believe that if they faithfully serve the quest for harmony in their lives, that they will be rewarded with 
  a reincarnation at a higher level of existence in their past lives.  Dark elves, on the other hand, have only a deep 
  fear of death and oblivion.  Since the dwarves discovered iron and made it available to humans, the fear of death 
  has been overwhelming for most dark elves. 
   
  Because direct access to the power of the Light is closed to them, dark elves are troubled by ley lines.  They are 
  unable to cross the invisible borders of the ley lines to seek refuge from iron in the Middle Dimension, as the light 
  elves did.  When iron approaches, dark elves must defend themselves against it as well as they can. 
   
  The complex dark elven spirit also has closed some doors to magic to the race.  Although dark elves turned to evil, 
  they never have been willing to be subservient to other powers and are, indeed, subservient only to the Earth 
  Mother and Hela.  This was not so much a matter of choice as one of having no choice. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 28 
   
   
   
  Dangerous paths into the domain of the dark elves 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 29 
   
  It is important to understand that in turning from the Light, the dark elves in no way allied themselves with the 
  Darkness.  However, they have no aversion to using harmful or damaging magic, as the light elves do.  White 
  necromancy is unavailable to the dark elves, but they have learned to employ black necromancy.  Dark elves can 
  employ magic in the same manner as their estranged light elven kin.  All dark elves reached the 30th Character 
  Level ages ago, and dark elven spellcasters command absolute magic, just as the light elves do. 
   
  Because oblivion is their destiny and because of the fear of death and deadly iron, most dark elves – who are 
  relatively few in number to begin with – tend to live together in their own isolated enclaves.  When these are near 
  human settlements or when humans settle near the dark elven enclaves, the dark elves usually subjugate and to a 
  certain extent enslave the human settlements. 
   
  However, when they do so, they do it carefully.  Cruelty, brutality and oppression for their own sake are not a factor 
  in the dark elven subjugation of humans.  The dark elves are wise enough to know that cruel repression leads to 
  hatred and rebellion, and these, in turn can lead to the loss of some dark elven lives, or even worse, the smuggling 
  of iron weapons into the hands of rebels. 
   
  With each death of a dark elf, the dark elven population is reduced by one, forever.  The fewer dark elves there are, 
  the weaker their power is.  Therefore, dark elves usually rule humans they dominate in a manner that is unlikely to 
  provoke retaliation.  However, the dark elves also will deal swiftly and decisively with so-called troublemakers. 
   
   
   
   
  Gaming Data: 
  The values here are base Level 1 values.  You still need to increment them for the current Character Level. 
   
  Size:  Medium 
  Life expectancy:   Immortal 
  Speed:  40/12m per round 
  Alignment inclination:  No good 
  Resistances:  3% Immunity to Magic/per Character Level 
  Base Defenses:  Armor 8, Endurance 8, Reflex 12, Will 12 
  Attacks:  Fists, Weapons, Spells 
  Special racial abilities:  Absolute Magic, Starvision, Elvensight, Alternate Form 
  Other racial bonuses and penalties:  -2 Strength, -2 Stamina, +2 Dexterity, +6 Magical Aptitude, -4 Mechanical 
  Aptitude.  Maximum strength 18, Maximum Stamina 18, Maximum Dexterity 22, Maximum Magical Aptitude 
  24, Maximum Mechanical Aptitude 16. 
  Mating:  Dark elves can mate with humans, half-elves and halflings 
   
  Absolute Magic:  Dark elves use no spells.  They call upon magic to perform what they wish it to do within the 
  limits of their power. 
   
  Starvision:  Under moonshine and starlight elves can see just as they do in the daylight.  At the time of the New 
  Moon or when the stars but not the moon is visible, they can perceive nearer objects as by daylight but they lose 
  the abilities of Elvensight.  When the night sky is overcast and neither moon nor stars are visible their night sight is 
  limited to 300ft/180m. 
   
  Elvensight:  When not obscured by fog or similar obstacles, an elf can adjust his or her eyes somewhat like a 
  zoom camera lens to clearly make out larger objects and creatures at a distance of up to 3 miles/5 km. 
   
  Alternate Form:  Every dark elf has an alternate animal form that it can assume at will.  The elf does not choose 
  this form.  It should be decided at random by the game master. 
   
   
   
   
  The Alternative Player Character Version 
   
  You need to work the historical details of a PC dark elven race out yourself in terms of the needs of your campaign.  
  For this alternative race, we suggest the following statistical base. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 30 
   
  Gaming Data: 
   
  Size:  Medium 
  Life expectancy:   Immortal 
  Speed:  40/12m per round 
  Alignment inclination:  No evil 
  Resistances:  None 
  Base Defenses:  Armor 8, Endurance 8, Reflex 12, Will 12 
  Attacks:  Fists, Weapons, Spells 
  Special racial abilities:  Starvision, Elvensight, automatic 1st Level as Sorcerer 
  Other racial bonuses and penalties:  -2 Strength, -2 Stamina, +2 Dexterity, +6 Magical Aptitude, -4 Mechanical 
  Aptitude.  Maximum strength 18, Maximum Stamina 18, Maximum Dexterity 22, Maximum Magical Aptitude 
  24, Maximum Mechanical Aptitude 16. 
  Mating:  Dark elves can mate with humans, half-elves and halflings 
   
  Starvision:  Under moonshine and starlight dark elves can see just as they do in the daylight.  At the time of the 
  New Moon or when the stars but not the moon is visible, they can perceive nearer objects as by daylight but they 
  lose the abilities of Elvensight.  When the night sky is overcast and neither moon nor stars are visible their night 
  sight is limited to 300ft/180m. 
   
  Elvensight:  When not obscured by fog or similar obstacles, a dark elf can adjust his or her eyes somewhat like a 
  zoom camera lens to clearly make out larger objects and creatures at a distance of up to 3 miles/5 km. 
   
   
   
  4.3  Dwarves (Black Elves) 
   
  The stout folk does not consider itself to be elven.  They call themselves dwarves, and they resent being called 
  black elves, a name that is more than a million years old, stemming from the time of their evolution.  That 
  notwithstanding, giants who hate both elves and dwarves, refuse to use any name other than black elf.  Some 
  human societies also still use the old name. 
   
  There no longer is anything elven about the dwarven race.  Even the pointed ears that once were a mark of the folk 
  have receded.  Where the difference between light and dark elves boils down to their relationships to the Light, the 
  dwarves are a folk that truly has evolved into a race in its own right. 
   
  Millions of years ago, the ancestors of modern dwarves were light elves who were allured more by the secrets 
  beneath the surface world than by its meadows and forests.  They explored caves and natural tunnels and then 
  began boring their own shafts into the earth, into the depths where they found gemstones and then metal ores, 
  which they learned to smelt and forge.  They became the world’s master smiths and remain that today. 
   
  Although the black elves had abandoned the sunlit meadows and forests for the dark depths, the Light still burned 
  long within their spirits, and their relationships with their light elven kindred on the surface were excellent.  Still, the 
  Earth Mother never had allotted the elves the subterranean reaches of the world, its ores or the smith’s craft.  She 
  had made clear to the elves that these were the legacy of the yet-to-come second born, the giants. 
   
  In their great subterranean halls and shafts, the black elves came to covet that which they had found and developed 
  where they had no right to be.  The evil of greed came into their hearts and the Light withdrew from the folk.  The 
  black elves began to mutate, evolving slowly into a tough, squat race.  With time, hair began to sprout from their 
  chins, and they thought of themselves ever more as dwarves and ever less as black elves, although they too were 
  afflicted with the Earth Mother’s withdrawal of the reproductive seed. 
   
  Like the dark elves, the dwarves lost their ties to the Light but did not turn to the Darkness either.  Instead, they 
  developed an affinity with the very substance of which our world is made.  Where the light elves viewed themselves 
  as Children of the Light, the dwarves considered themselves to be the Children of the Earth.  However, the Earth 
  Mother did not see things that way. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 31 
   
  In these days, the Light left the spirit of the black elves completely.  They lost all access to magic in those times, but 
  because they had not turned to utter evil and had not personally forsworn the Light, the Earth Mother opened the 
  way for them to become one with the rock of the earth they had come to covet and love.  Dwarves, who retain their 
  elven mortality, are not dispatched to Hela and oblivion if they fulfill their destinies.  Instead, their spirits merge into 
  the greater spirit of the earth, as is the case with giants. 
   
  However, as the subterranean dwarven empires reached their greatest glory, the second born, the giants, came, 
  and the dwarves, deeply entrenched in their deep halls and mining shafts, denied the large folk much of the 
  inheritance that the Earth Mother had designated for them.  It came to wars that neither side ever won, but the 
  dwarves could not reproduce.  With each of their fallen, the race was reduced by one, while new giants continued to 
  be born. 
   
  At last, the dwarves retreated into their deepest halls.  Their shafts were not made for large creatures like the 
  giants.  They were unable to reach the deep halls and made no attempts to perpetuate the warfare by trying to 
  tunnel their way into the dwarven halls.  The dwarves became an isolated folk in these times, seldom seen except 
  by one another in their deep halls.  The giants claimed the surfaces of the mountain ranges and the upper mines. 
   
  The wars between the giants and the dwarves also ended the relationship between the former black elves and their 
  light elven kindred.  The dwarves had expected the light elves to join them in their battles against the giants, but the 
  elves did not do so.  The light elves began to understand the wrong their kindred had done in usurping the legacy of 
  the giants.  They were unwilling to fight the second born in what they knew was their righteous claim to their legacy, 
  but they also will unwilling to stand on the side of the giants against their former kin.  The light elves remained 
  neutral and uninvolved. 
   
  The elven neutrality ended the kindred love between elf and dwarf, although they still had not become enemies as 
  they are today.  The giants with right knew the dwarves to be their mortal foes.  The large folk knew that the 
  dwarves were elven born, therefore, they also considered the light elves to be their foe, although the latter had done 
  nothing evil to the giants. 
   
  Despite war and stolen legacies, the dwarves or black elves cannot be compared to the dark elves.  They are not a 
  purely evil folk, nor do they covet what belongs to others except for the giants’ inheritance, which they stole in a 
  much earlier age. 
   
  The greatest geological discovery of the dwarves was the precious metal middle silver.  No other known metal 
  makes weapons and armor of an equal quality.  To this day, only dwarves produce middle silver or have learned the 
  secrets of smelting and forging it.  Middle silver ore is found only in the great depths where none but dwarves ever 
  have mined. 
   
  The greatest spiritual discovery of the dwarves was the latent magic of the earth itself.  It is a magic that makes no 
  spells, but one that slowly can be drawn from the earth through cut and stained runes.  Only the dwarves and giants 
  have the specialty affinity to the earth that one needs to master runic magic.  It is beyond the ken of elves, humans 
  or other creatures. 
   
  However, there are other deeds written in the legacy of the dwarves that are less glorious.  It was the dwarves who 
  burrowed too deeply and unleashed the first of the hidden demons of the Darkness upon the world, a horror that 
  was stopped only by the magic of the light elves, and then only after the demon had destroyed part of the elven 
  kingdom. 
   
  Worst of all, at least from an elven viewpoint, was the dwarves' discovery of iron and their reckless decision to bring 
  it into the surface world.  Ironically, the dwarves have no love for iron and do not use it themselves.  It is a cold 
  metal with only a reluctant trace of the living earth spirit within it.  The dwarves have only scorn for such a metal.  
  They smelt it and sell it as raw iron to human smiths of the surface world, who consider it to be the finest metal 
  available to them, due to the fact that it is harder and more durable than bronze. 
   
  However, iron was a curse for the light elves.  To them, it is a deadly poison.  They never have forgiven the dwarves 
  for unleashing the demon upon them or for bringing iron into the Dimension of the Living and forcing the elves to 
  flee into the Middle Dimension. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 32 
   
  In truth, there are no other races that like dwarves, and there are no races the dwarves like other than their own.  
  Where the light elves, dark elves and giants all see dwarves as enemies, humans look upon dwarves as dour and 
  gruff iron dealers who practice price gouging.  Dwarves recognize humans as the only folk willing to do business 
  with them, but they also believe all humans are out to cheat them. 
   
  Halflings have bit of pity for dwarves.  The stout folk has succeeded in only one thing, as far as halflings are con-
  cerned.  They have approximately the right size.  Beyond that, they consider dwarves to be fools for their dedication 
  to unpleasantness.  The dwarves, on the other hand, consider halflings to be fools in every respect.  Half-elves are 
  immune to iron poisoning, but they tend to hold the dwarves responsible for the threat iron has made to their 
  ancestor race.  Dwarves view half-elves as treacherous spies for the elves. 
   
  These dark relationships with other races have given the dwarves a schizophrenic alignment complex.  Most 
  dwarves tend to be overly ardent advocates of law and order, giving almost all of them a lawful alignment element.  
  Otherwise, the majority of dwarves must be considered to have a good alignment element among other dwarves 
  and a greedy and self-serving evil alignment element among other races.  In other words, they tend to have a lawful 
  good alignment among themselves and a lawful evil alignment in relationships with other races. 
   
  Because all dwarves living today are more than a million years old, they all are of the 30th character level. 
   
   
  Gaming Data: 
  The values here are base Level 1 values.  You still need to increment them for the current Character Level. 
   
  Size:  Small 
  Life expectancy:   Immortal 
  Speed:  30/9m per round 
  Alignment inclination:  Lawful, inclination good among dwarves, evil among other races 
  Resistances:  None 
  Base Defenses:  Armor 12, Endurance 8, Reflex 10, Will 10 
  Attacks:  Fists, Weapons, Runic stones and tables 
  Skills:  Escape Artist +2, Sneak +2, Jump -2, Sneak +2, Swim -2. 
  Other racial bonuses and penalties:  +1 Strength, -3 Dexterity, +2 Stamina, Maximum Strength 21, Maximum 
  Dexterity 17, Maximum Stamina 22. 
  Special racial abilities:  Deepsight, Deepsense, Sense Subterranean Directions, Learn Runic Magic, inability to 
  use spells or clerical rites. 
  Mating:  Dwarves can mate only with other dwarves 
  Religion:  None 
   
  Deepsight:  Dwarves can see in subterranean darkness just as clearly as humans can see about half an hour 
  before sunset. 
   
  Deepsense:  In subterranean areas dwarves automatically have the skill Sense Traps as far as constructed traps 
  involving buildings, bridges, geological formations, etc., are concerned.  If the dwarf already has this skill 
  through the Talent Perception or Skullduggery, the bonuses for Deepsense and Sense Traps stack.  Through 
  Deepsense alone, one gains a bonus of +1 per Character Level for all checks.  In other words, the check at 
  Level 1 is 1d20+1, at Level 2 1d20+2, etc. 
   
  Sense Subterranean Direction:  Underground dwarves automatically know which way is up, down, north, west, 
  east, south, etc. 
   
   
  The alternative Player Character version 
   
  You need to work the historical details of a PC dwarven race out yourself in terms of the needs of your campaign.  
  For this alternative race, we suggest the same statistical base as for official dwarves.  Character Levels should be 
  limited to 30. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 33 
   
  55..    TThhee  AAbbiilliittiieess  
   
  Once a player has picked his or her PC's race, he or she needs to determine the basic physical and mental abilities.  
  Each new PC starts out with a total of ability points available between 61 and 80.  Whether that total is 61, 80 or 
  something in between is a matter of chance.  A throw of the 20-sided die decides that.  During a PC's adventuring 
  career, he or she can gain more ability score points that can be assigned according to the player's wish. 
   
   
  The Definitions 
   
  Ability definitions are listed and explained in the Dungeons Daring Players Guide, Book 1. 
   
   
  Abilities in a System with Role-Playing Emphasis 
   
  The Dungeons Daring™ RPG guidelines system was designed to give much more emphasis intentionally to role 
  playing than to pure role-created and dice-roll-determined decision-making.  Many popular RPG rules systems just 
  as intentionally do the opposite. 
   
  Despite many heated arguments to the contrary in Internet forums and blogs and on mailing lists, we doubt that 
  either approach can be right or wrong.  The right approach is the one that makes the most enjoyment for you and 
  the members of your gaming group. 
   
  Some groups love role-playing and do their best to avoid the rules whenever possible.  Other groups make no effort 
  to play roles.  Their members do their best to know the rules and bend them to their best advantage.  Most gaming 
  groups can be found somewhere between these two extremes. 
   
  That notwithstanding, the Dungeons Daring™ RPG guidelines system is balanced much more in favor of the role-
  players than the dice rollers.  One must assume that you also are inclined toward the role-playing side of the scales 
  if you have chosen to run your campaign with these guidelines. 
   
  If this is the first time run an RPG campaign, this may not mean much to you.  If you have played other RPGs, a 
  number of familiar things may be missing in these guidelines: 
   
  • 
  There are no ability scores for such attributes as Comeliness, Charisma, Wisdom, Intelligence, etc.  Whether 
  a PC succeeds in attempting to use such abilities depends upon his or her player's ability in role-playing.  No 
  dice throws or statistics are available to help a PC whose player can't role-play such things well. 
   
  This system already is one that draws strong, divided reactions.  Many who prefer an emphasis on role-
  playing support this system.  Others argue that it makes it impossible for a dumb player to play the role of a 
  smart PC well.  Those who disagree argue that this is better than letting a smart NPC be swayed by a 
  player's dumb argument.  The only way to resolve such disputes is for the game master to choose the system 
  that best suits his or her group's needs. 
   
  • 
  For similar reasons, skills or other abilities that determine through dice rolls whether a PC or NPC succeeds 
  in fooling, intimidating, deceiving, etc., other PCs and NPCs are missing in Dungeons Daring™.  In this game 
  system such dealings are left to role-playing. 
   
  • 
  There has been an increasing tendency in recent years for commercial fantasy RPG settings and worlds to 
  be driven by deities and high level NPCs.  Priests and clerics who serve deities often are among the most 
  powerful characters in such realms.  Dungeons Daring™ doesn't eliminate such elements, but both have 
  been designed above all with the goal of adventures being PC-driven. 
   
  In this respect, Dungeons Daring™ substantially reduces the role played by deities and their clergy.  PCs are 
  likely to encounter high level NPCs only when the game master has a reason for them to do so. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 34 
   
  Other Abilities 
   
  A PC often also will have a number of other abilities.  Most of these need to be determined in consultation with you, 
  the game master. 
   
  Languages are an important issue.  Different people in the various parts of your campaign world have various native 
  tongues.  Your PCs probably speak the local tongue of their native lands and a common tongue as well, but that is 
  something you need to determine. 
   
  Literacy is another important issue.  In most campaign worlds, Commoners speak one or more languages, but they 
  have little talent for reading and writing.  The majority of Commoners is illiterate.  Player characters, on the other 
  hand, usually are literate in one or more languages.  That, too, is a matter for you to work out with your players. 
   
  Situations sometimes develop within the framework of an adventure or due to the actions of your players that 
  require abilities that are not foreseen within the guidelines.  When house rules, additional ability definitions, etc., are 
  necessary in your campaign, you should not hesitate to create them.  If you’re inexperienced, use the definitions in 
  this book as a model and starting point. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  With giants and trolls above and dwarves below, mountains are treacherous. 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 35 
   
  66..    TThhee  CChhaarraacctteerr  CCllaasssseess  
   
  In the Dungeons Daring world, the occupations of an adventurer or other character are defined in classes, and 
  these often are divided into subsets.  In that case, each class and subset can have its own basic requirements and 
  benefits.  The advancement of a character is measured in levels.  Player characters often advance from levels 1 
  through 30. 
   
  Some game masters and even more players wonder why a cap has been set at Level 30.  There is a certain real 
  world logic behind this.  Take former muscle man actor and later California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as an 
  example.  Even in his prime years, regardless of how many hours a day he lifted weights, Schwarzenegger wouldn’t 
  have been able to lift the Empire State Building.  We know that the only one who can do that in the real world is 
  Superman, and then only if the area has been cleared of Kryptonite. 
   
  The Dungeons Daring authors see things similarly within the virtual reality of an RPG.  Despite age and experience, 
  each PC body has its physical limits.  There is a point when one reaches the highest level of achievement possible.  
  In official Dungeons Daring, that’s Level 30. 
   
  • 
  Of course, some game masters may wish to run campaigns that require class levels higher than 30.  If you 
  have such a campaign, you should start with the table Character Progression Benefits on the next page and 
  then expand it according to your campaign’s needs with the help of the section Extended Character Levels. 
   
   
  Class Level vs. Character Level vs. Caster Level 
   
  These terms often are confusing to new game masters, because they sound similar: 
   
  • 
  Character Level:  This is the sum of all levels that a character has in all classes.  In the example of a PC 
  who is a 5th level Warrior and a 3rd level Sorcerer, he or she has a Character Level of 8 (5+3), a Class Level 
  as a Warrior of 5, and a Class Level as a Sorcerer of 3. 
   
  • 
  Class Level:  This is the level a character has reached in a certain class.  If he or she has only one class, the 
  Class Level and the Character Level are equal. 
   
  • 
  Caster Level:  This is the level a character has in a single spellcasting or other magic-using class. 
   
   
  Monitoring Additional Classes 
   
  Each time a PC gains a new Character Level, he or she has a basic right to gain a new level in an existing class or 
  to gain a 1st level in a new class.  When you help a player to create a new character, one assumes that the PC 
  already has all of the training and experience necessary to use the abilities of the starting class that the player has 
  chosen. 
   
  However, things are different when a PC gains additional Character Levels.  With each new level, a player can 
  claim either a new level for his or her PC or take a new, additional class that begins at the 1st level.  To keep your 
  game sensible and logical, you should allow the PC to make use of this new class only after he or she has the 
  necessary training and/or experience. 
   
  The best method is to tell a player with a new character at Level 1 that he or she should begin pondering how the 
  PC wants to develop over his or her career.  It's your job to advise the player what must be done to claim a new 
  secondary class when a new character level is attained.  In the case of the 1st Level Wizard Lurga, used as an 
  example in the Players Guide, weapon training would be needed during the Level 1 phase of his career if he wishes 
  to claim the 1st Level as a Warrior upon reaching the 2nd Character Level. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 36 
   
  Character Progression Benefits 
  Character 
  Level 
  Experience 
  Points 
  Campaign 
  Time 
  Primary Talent 
  Max Points* 
  Secondary talent 
  Max Points* 
  New 
  Talents 
  Ability Score 
  Increases 
  1 
  0 
  0 
  8 
  4 
  1st, 2nd 
  - 
  2 
  100 
  2 months 
  10 
  5 
  - 
  - 
  3 
  200 
  6 months 
  12 
  6 
  - 
  - 
  4 
  300 
  1 year 
  14 
  7 
  - 
  - 
  5 
  500 
  2 years 
  16 
  8 
  - 
  1st 
  6 
  800 
  3 years 
  18 
  9 
  3rd 
  - 
  7 
  1100 
  4 years 
  20 
  10 
  - 
  - 
  8 
  1400 
  5 years 
  22 
  11 
  - 
  - 
  9 
  1800 
  6 years 
  24 
  12 
  - 
  - 
  10 
  2200 
  7 years 
  26 
  13 
  - 
  2nd 
  11 
  2600 
  8 years 
  26 
  13 
  4th 
  - 
  12 
  3000 
  9 years 
  28 
  14 
  - 
  - 
  13 
  3400 
  10 years 
  28 
  14 
  - 
  - 
  14 
  3800 
  11 years 
  30 
  15 
  - 
  - 
  15 
  4200 
  12 years 
  30 
  15 
  - 
  3rd 
  16 
  4600 
  13 years 
  32 
  16 
  5th 
  - 
  17 
  5000 
  14 years 
  32 
  16 
  - 
  - 
  18 
  5400 
  15 years 
  34 
  17 
  - 
  - 
  19 
  5800 
  16 years 
  34 
  17 
  - 
  - 
  20 
  6200 
  17 years 
  36 
  18 
  - 
  4th 
  21 
  6600 
  18 years 
  36 
  18 
  6th 
  - 
  22 
  7000 
  19 years 
  38 
  19 
  - 
  - 
  23 
  7400 
  20 years 
  38 
  19 
  - 
  - 
  24 
  7800 
  21 years 
  40 
  20 
  - 
  - 
  25 
  8200 
  22 years 
  40 
  20 
  - 
  5th 
  26 
  8600 
  24 years 
  42 
  21 
  - 
  - 
  27 
  9000 
  27 years 
  42 
  21 
  - 
  - 
  28 
  9400 
  30 years 
  44 
  22 
  - 
  - 
  29 
  9800 
  33 years 
  44 
  22 
  - 
  - 
  30 
  10200 
  35 years 
  46 
  23 
  - 
  6th 
   
  • 
  Character Level:  This value represents the total value of all levels combined.  As an example, a player 
  character who has the 5th level as a Warrior and the 3rd level as a Sorcerer has character level 8 (5+3). 
   
  • 
  Experience Points:  Awarded by the game master according to the Game Master's Guide.  (See next page.) 
   
  • 
  Campaign Time :  Maximum game time experience recommended.  (See next page.) 
   
  • 
  Primary Talent Max Points*:  Each class definition on the following page also lists the official primary talents 
  for each class.  This shows the maximum number of talent points a character may have in a primary talent for 
  a particular class. 
   
  • 
  Secondary Talent Max Points*:  Any skill that not is a primary talent is a secondary talent.  This shows the 
  maximum number of talent points a character may have in a secondary talent for a particular class. 
   
  *  If a PC or NPC combines his or her Craft points with the Profession points or the Profession points with the Craft points, the maximum 
  doubles for the combined skill only. 
   
  • 
  New Talents:  At the levels indicated, all PCs and NPCs are entitled to choose a new talent. 
   
  • 
  Ability Score Increase:  At each level indicated, a PC or NPC may improve one of his or her ability scores 
  by 1 point. 
   
  Multi-Classing and Talent points:  It may occur at times that a multi-classed character is entitled to primary talent points in a 
  single skill for one class and in another secondary talent class points for the same skill.  In that case, the two skill point 
  entitlements are combined and he or she is entitled to full primary talent scores regardless of the Talent's root class. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 37 
   
  The Artisan:  the Master Examinations 
   
  Any PC or NPC who wishes to be a Master in an Artisan's craft must pass guild examinations to be elevated from 
  the journeyman's to the master's rank.  To take the master's examination, an Artisan must have at least 100 Talent 
  Points.  To pass the examination, a successful Craft check for the appropriate Craft skill must be made.  If a jour-
  neyman fails the test, he or she must wait six months before it can be repeated. 
   
   
  Extended Character Levels 
   
  As indicated in the Players Guide, the 30th Level is the highest standard level a character normally can reach.  
  Reality shows us two facets that affect the idea of a maximum level: 
   
  • 
  At some point, a being reaches his or her ultimate physical limits.  The body takes one no farther. 
   
  • 
  Until possible mental degeneration sets in at advanced age, a person continues to learn more with the years, 
  not less. 
   
  Dungeons Daring deals with these realities as follows: 
   
  • 
  No fixed system is defined to deal with possible mental degeneration setting in at an advanced age.  This is 
  an individual problem, and it may or may not occur.  To the extent that this becomes an issue in your cam-
  paign, it should be worked out between you as game master and the player or players involved. 
   
  • 
  Extended character progressions beyond the 30th level are possible.  The table Extended Class Levels below 
  shows the minor advancements for level 31 to 40.  If you need to go above level 40, simply apply the same 
  progression.  Aging and racial ability score limitations often will make it impossible for the additional ability 
  score increases in the last column to the right to be applied. 
   
  • 
  Creatures that experience physical deterioration through aging begin to lose ability points for Strength, 
  Dexterity and Stamina, and the move these lost points over to the abilities Magical Aptitude, Mechanical 
  Aptitude or Knowledge.  See the Section 1.5.2 Ability modifiers, Bonuses and Penalties in the Players Guide 
  for the details. 
   
   
  Extended Character Progression 
  Character 
  Level 
  Experience 
  Points 
  Campaign 
  Time 
  Primary Talent 
  Max Points* 
  Secondary talent 
  Max Points* 
  New 
  Talents 
  Ability Score 
  Increases 
  31 
  10600 
  38 years 
  46 
  23 
  - 
  - 
  32 
  11000 
  42 years 
  46 
  23 
  - 
  - 
  33 
  11400 
  45 years 
  46 
  23 
  - 
  - 
  34 
  11800 
  48 years 
  46 
  23 
  - 
  - 
  35 
  12200 
  52 years 
  46 
  23 
  - 
  6th 
  36 
  12600 
  56 years 
  46 
  23 
  - 
  - 
  37 
  12600 
  60 years 
  46 
  23 
  - 
  - 
  38 
  13000 
  64 years 
  46 
  23 
  - 
  - 
  39 
  13400 
  68 years 
  46 
  23 
  - 
  - 
  40 
  13800 
  72 years 
  46 
  23 
  - 
  7th 
   
   
  Experience Points & Campaign Time – the Game Master's Job 
   
  NPCs who have reached the high levels of 21-30 should be rare in your campaign world, and the same goes for 
  PCs.  If you're running a campaign where your heroes advance from Level 1 to Level 30 in less than two years of 
  gaming world time (as opposed to real time), your campaign has gotten out of control.  Your PCs should advance 
  gradually and as the result of experience, just as real people do in the real world. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 38 
   
  A human who reaches Level 30 is, at a minimum, getting old.  A human with this level should at least be nearing 
  age 60 and in most cases be older than that.  A 30th level character is someone who has done just about everything 
  that one can do in his or her field and with such success that he or she is a mighty legend in his or her own time. 
   
  If you've used other RPGs, you'll notice that the amount of Experience Points required for the 30th Level in 
  Dungeons Daring is about the same as is required for 3rd to 6th level in many other systems.  That should give you a 
  strong clue that the experience point system in Dungeons Daring probably is somewhat different from that to which 
  you're accustomed. 
   
  Most RPGs have their game masters award experience points on the basis of the number and power of monsters 
  killed, the amount of treasure gained or a combination of both.  Encountering opponents certainly can be helpful in 
  gaining experience points in Dungeons Daring, but treasure found is irrelevant.  In Dungeons Daring encounters, 
  whether the PCs win or lose is not particularly important for experience points. 
   
  The critical factor is whether the PCs learned things that will improve their ability to deal with issues in their further 
  adventures.  Experience points should be awarded when the PCs gained from an experience in a manner that 
  increases their abilities in the future, one that sharpens the use of the talents and skills that they have.  The 
  experience must have an ingredient of character growth in it to justify an experience point award.  In this respect, 
  Dungeons Daring is more demanding of you, the game master, than most systems. 
   
  Relatively new adventurers with Character Levels of 1 or 2 and to a certain extent even 3 gain points for most of the 
  significant experiences they have.  They're new to adventuring.  A great many of the situations in which they 
  become involved are very instructive.  This is a period when an adventurer either hones his or her abilities, talents 
  and skills quickly or he or she usually meets an unfortunate end. 
   
  Anytime your players have an encounter at these levels, an award of a few experience points probably is in order.  
  But even at these levels, you have to calculate the reduced value of repetition.  Look at it this way: 
   
  • 
  The first time your PCs encounter a band of four 1st Level Orc Warriors, the survivors probably will have 
  earned three or four experience points each. 
   
  • 
  The second, third and fourth times they have a similar encounter, they still have a lot to learn.  These 
  encounters may earn them two or three experience points each. 
   
  • 
  After that, the PCs probably are getting a pretty good idea what an encounter with four orc warriors is like.  
  They're still new to the trade, and these encounters are good on-the-job training that are improving the PCs' 
  abilities, talents and skills, but the experiential value of such encounters isn't what it used to be.  These 
  encounters probably are worth one experience point each.  By the time the PCs reach the second level, 
  these encounters no longer will earn experience points. 
   
  Similar standards need to be applied at all levels.  In deciding whether to award experience points, ask yourself first 
  these questions: 
   
  • 
  Did the PC or PCs learn something of value for their adventuring careers? 
   
  • 
  Are the PCs applying this knowledge in a manner that suggests growth in their abilities? 
   
  These answers should be combined with the pace of the PCs' learning.  A character can have many experiences, 
  but if they come too often and in aces, he or she may not have the time to ponder what lessons one can draw out of 
  such encounters.  In such a case, the PC may be defending him- or herself much more than learning.  The capacity 
  of a person to observe, absorb and then learn from an encounter is limited, particularly if a series of new encounters 
  comes along before the person has had time to thoroughly process the experience of an encounter. 
   
  The third column in the table Campaign Time on the following page gives you a recommended time frame for level 
  progression.  For PCs, we recommend this as the maximum time that should have passed before a PC gains the 
  named level, if he or she is gaining the experience needed to justify that level. 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 39 
   
   
  Campaign Time 
  Character Level 
  Experience Points 
  Campaign Time* 
  1 
  0 
  0 
  2 
  100 
  2 months 
  3 
  200 
  6 months 
  4 
  300 
  1 year 
  5 
  500 
  2 years 
  6 
  800 
  3 years 
  7 
  1100 
  4 years,  
  8 
  1400 
  5 years 
  9 
  1800 
  6 years 
  10 
  2200 
  7 years 
  11 
  2600 
  8 years 
  12 
  3000 
  9 years 
  13 
  3400 
  10 years 
  14 
  3800 
  11 years 
  15 
  4200 
  12 years 
  16 
  4600 
  13 years 
  17 
  5000 
  14 years 
  18 
  5400 
  15 years 
  19 
  5800 
  16 years 
  20 
  6200 
  17 years 
  21 
  6600 
  18 years 
  22 
  7000 
  19 years 
  23 
  7400 
  20 years 
  24 
  7800 
  21 years 
  25 
  8200 
  22 years 
  26 
  8600 
  24 years 
  27 
  9000 
  27 years 
  28 
  9400 
  30 years 
  29 
  9800 
  33 years 
  30 
  10200 
  35 years 
   
  *  Campaign Time refers to the virtual time in which the PCs live, not the amount of time 
  that the PC's player spends playing.  In a campaign, a month's virtual campaign time can 
  pass in minutes of real time at the gaming table. 
   
   
   
  That if is a huge factor, however.  Let's keep in mind that most highly competent and accomplished NPCs in your 
  campaign setting probably end their careers with Character Levels between 5 and 10.  To go beyond that requires 
  extraordinarily steady and concentrated devotion to one's Character Classes.  The following table provides some 
  rough guidelines for the awarding of experience points, either for a single encounter or a closely-linked series of 
  encounters where the time frame between levels is appropriate. 
   
   
   
  Experience Value 
  Experience Points 
  Worthwhile 
  1 
  Valuable 
  2-3 
  Very Valuable 
  4-5 
  Critical 
  6-8 
  Monumental 
  9-10 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 40 
   
  77..    TThhee  TTaalleennttss  aanndd  tthhee  SSkkiillllss  
   
  Class Group 
  Class 
  Primary Talents (Religion can be a Primary Talent for humans of all classes) 
  Artisan 
  Applied Knowledge, Perception 
  Healer 
  Applied Knowledge, Naturalism, Perception 
  Herbal Witch 
  Applied Knowledge, Naturalism, Perception 
  Merchant 
  Applied Knowledge, Perception, Skullduggery 
  Petty Noble 
  Applied Knowledge, Melee Combat, Skullduggery 
  Aristocrat/ 
  Burgher 
  Scholar 
  Applied Knowledge, Perception, One of Choice 
  Blue Druid 
  Applied Knowledge, Arcane Magic, Melee Combat, Perception 
  Bardic 
  Skáld 
  Applied Knowledge, Arcane Magic, Melee Combat, Perception 
  Cleric 
  Cleric 
  Applied Knowledge, Religion, One of Choice 
  Commoner 
  Commoner 
  Applied Knowledge, Athletics 
  Warrior 
  Athletics, Melee Combat, Mounted Combat, Ranged Combat 
  Born Knight 
  Athletics, Melee Combat, Mounted Combat, Ranged Combat 
  Fighters 
  Dubbed Knight 
  Athletics, Melee Combat, Mounted Combat, Ranged Combat 
  Runecutter 
  Applied Knowledge, Perception, Runic Magic 
  Sorcerer 
  Applied Knowledge, Arcane Magic, Perception 
  Wizard 
  Applied Knowledge, Arcane Magic, Perception 
  Magi 
  White Druid 
  Applied Knowledge, Arcane Magic, Perception 
  Green Druid 
  Applied Knowledge, Arcane Magic, Naturalism, Perception 
  Nature Druid 
  Applied Knowledge, Arcane Magic, Naturalism, Perception 
  Naturalist 
  Ranger 
  Melee Combat, Naturalism, Perception, Ranged Combat 
  Assassin 
  Athletics, Melee Combat, Perception, Skullduggery 
  Scout 
  Melee Combat, Perception, Ranged Combat, Skullduggery 
  Spy 
  Athletics, Melee Combat, Perception, Skullduggery 
  Specialist 
  Thief 
  Athletics, Melee Combat, Perception, Skullduggery 
   
   
  Gaining Talents and Skills 
   
  In Dungeons Daring, PCs and NPCs do not automatically gain new character classes, skills or talents as a result of 
  gaining new levels.  It is clear that a character's ability in a character class, skill or talent that he or she already 
  commands will grow through experience, and it also is clear that the experience of adventuring helps a character 
  develop untested talents and give him or her new skills. 
   
  Skills in Dungeons Daring develop from talents that a character has.  Talents are there from birth but they must be 
  developed before they result in skills.  Sometimes that occurs through experience; sometimes training is required.  
  There is no need for a PC who's had trail experience to go to a school to learn to use a rope.  That's true of most 
  untrained skills.  However, most skills that are available with training only as well as some that are untrained do 
  require that a Dungeons Daring PC take the time to develop a talent or learn a new skill before he or she can claim 
  it at a time after the character already has been created. 
   
  Some skills fit closely to the needs of certain Character Classes, indeed, some are really necessary for certain 
  classes.  A Warrior or Knight who lacks combat talents probably will have a short-lived career.  A Sorcerer or 
  Wizard without a talent for Arcane Magic already has one foot in the grave. 
   
  As a PC progresses through his or her adventuring career in a Dungeons Daring campaign, he or she develops 
  talents and gains their skills with experience.  At certain levels a PC is entitled to claim new talents, however, as 
  game master it's your job to require your PCs to take actions to train themselves before they can make full use of 
  the new talent and its attendant skills. 
   
  Shortly after a PC gains a new Character Level, you should remind his or her player to begin pondering how the PC 
  intends to develop him or herself on the way to the next class level and inform him or her what’s needed to achieve 
  those goals.  If the PC fails to meet these requirements before gaining a new Character Level, then he or she is 
  entitled to the Talent Points earned, but they can be implemented as usable skills only when the PC has gained the 
  needed training or experience. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 41 
   
  Checking Your PCs' Skill Usage 
   
  When your character uses a talent's skill, a skill check determines how well he or she does.  The higher the result of 
  the skill check, the better.  Based on the circumstances, the PC’s result must match or beat a particular number for 
  the check to be successful.  This is either a Difficulty Level or the result of an opposed skill check.  The harder the 
  task, the higher the number the player must roll to succeed. 
   
  Most skill checks work in that manner and certainly almost all of them do where the PC and his or her player are 
  aware that the check is being made.  Sometimes, however, a situation occurs in an adventure where a player fails 
  to notice, or, due to circumstances, it’s not possible for the player to know that a skill is being addressed. 
   
  As the game master, you must consider that a player’s skills almost always are there and usable.  There are, of 
  course, situations where that doesn’t apply or may apply only to a limited extent.  Examples are when a PC is 
  sleeping, unconscious or incapacitated by a magical effect. 
   
  Whatever the cause, if a PC’s skills play a role in an encounter and the player makes no skill check, then you 
  should make a secret check for him or her and apply the result to whatever the PC is doing during the encounter. 
   
  A skill check takes into account a character’s training (Talent Points), natural talent (ability modifier), and luck (the 
  die roll).  To make a skill check, roll 1d20 and add your character’s Talent Points for that skill and then add the 
  ability modifier for that skill’s key ability, plus any other miscellaneous modifiers that may apply. 
   
  Some checks are made against a Difficulty Level (DL) and others are opposed checks.  The DL is a number that is 
  set using the skill definition as a guideline.  A PC must score that number or higher in his or her skill check in order 
  to succeed.  If you’re running an adventure written by someone else, DL scores for various actions usually are 
  provided. 
   
  If the encounter is a work of your own invention, you need to determine the DL yourself.  This may prove to be one 
  of your most difficult tasks as a game master!  The starting DL is 10.  If a DL would be lower than 10, the task is so 
  simple that a PC should be able to do it without a check.  After that, the PC or NPC checks with 1d20 + the Talent 
  Points that he or she has assigned to a particular Talent Skill. 
   
  The range of possible checks is much, much greater than other DL-check situations.  You must understand the 
  range of check possibilities before you can define a sensible Difficulty Level to a skill check for a certain task.  
  Here's one way of looking at those possibilities: 
   
  • 
  A Commoner with 5 Talent Points in the Talent Applied Knowledge and no bonuses for abilities makes his or 
  her checks with 1d20+5.  A check will produce a result between 6 and 25. 
   
  • 
  A Sorcerer of Level 1 with 8 points in the Talent Arcane Magic and a Magical Aptitude score of 18 checks for 
  Arcane Magic skills with 1d20+14. A check will produce a result between 15 and 34. 
   
  • 
  A Specialist of Level 10 with 26 points in the Talent Skullduggery and a Mechanical Aptitude score of 20 
  checks for Skullduggery skills with 1d20+36.  A check will produce a result between 47 and 56. 
   
  • 
  A Fighter of Level 15 with 30 Points in the Talent Melee Combat and a Strength score of 21 checks for Melee 
  Combat skills with 1d20+36.  A check will produce a result between 37 and 56. 
   
  • 
  A Master Artisan of Level 6 who concentrates his or her 27 Applied Knowledge points upon his or her Craft 
  and who has an Ability Score of 19 in Mechanical Aptitude checks for his or her Craft skill with 1d20+54.  A 
  check will produce a result between 55 and 74.  (This assumes that the Artisan has added his 27 points for 
  the Skill Profession into the Skill Craft.) 
   
  • 
  A Wizard of Level 25 with 40 points in the Talent Arcane Knowledge and a Magical Aptitude score of 25 
  checks for Arcane Knowledge skills with 1d20+55.  A check will produce a result between 56 and 75. 
   
  • 
  A Scholar of Level 30 with 46 points in the Talent Applied Knowledge and a Knowledge score of 25 checks 
  for Applied Knowledge skills with 1d20+61.  A check will produce a result between 62 and 81. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 42 
   
   The following table will give you some rough guidelines. 
   
  Difficulty 
  Difficulty Level (DL) 
  Normal or average 
  10 
  Slight 
  12 
  Medium 
  15 
  Straining 
  20 
  Difficult 
  25 
  Challenging 
  30 
  Very difficult 
  35 
  Extremely difficult 
  45+ 
  Nearly impossible 
  70+ 
   
  The success or failure of an opposed check is determined by comparing the PC’s check result with the opposing 
  NPC’s check result.  In an opposed check, the higher result succeeds, while the lower result fails.  In case of a tie, 
  the higher skill modifier wins.  If these scores are the same, roll again to break the tie. 
   
  In general, a PC or NPC can try a skill check again if he or she fails, and he or she can keep trying indefinitely. 
  Some skills, however, have consequences of failure that must be taken into account. A few skills are virtually 
  useless once a check has failed on an attempt to accomplish a particular task.  For most skills, when a character 
  has succeeded once at a given task, additional successes are meaningless. 
   
  A skill check represents an attempt to accomplish some goal, usually while under some sort of time pressure or 
  distraction.  Sometimes, though, a character can use a skill under more favorable conditions and eliminate the luck 
  factor. 
   
  • 
  Taking 10:  When a character is not being threatened or distracted, her or she may choose to take 10. 
  Instead of rolling 1d20 for the skill check, one calculates the result as if one had rolled a 10.  For many 
  routine tasks, taking 10 makes them automatically successful.  Distractions or threats (such as combat) make 
  it impossible for a character to take 10.  In most cases, taking 10 is purely a safety measure —one knows (or 
  expects) that an average roll will succeed but fears that a poor roll might fail, so one elects to settle for the 
  average roll (a 10).  Taking 10 is especially useful in situations where a particularly high roll wouldn’t help. 
   
  • 
  Taking 20:  When a PC or NPC has plenty of time (generally 100 seconds for a skill that can normally be 
  checked in 1 round or 5 seconds), he or she is faced with no threats or distractions, and the skill being 
  attempted carries no penalties for failure, he or she can take 20.  In other words, eventually one will get a 20 
  on 1d20 if one rolls enough times.  Instead of rolling 1d20 for the skill check, one calculates the result as if 
  one had rolled a 20.  Taking 20 means you are trying until you get it right, and it assumes that you fail many 
  times before succeeding.  It consumes 20 five-second rounds, or 100 seconds of time. 
   
   
  Duplicate Skills 
   
  Some skills develop from various talents.  These duplicate skills do not stack.  However, the PC or NPC can choose 
  from which talent he or she uses a duplicated skill.  It's usually the one that will give him or her the highest score 
  when he or she has to make a skill check. 
   
  If we look at the Character Sheet of the example character Lurga in the Players Guide, we can see that he gains the 
  skill Use Magical Device through the Talents Applied Knowledge, Arcane Magic and Religion.  The bonuses are 11, 
  11, and 7, respectively.  As mentioned, these skills do not stack.  Lurga does not gain a combined bonus of 29 
  (11+11+7). 
   
  Use Magical Device (App. Knowl.) 
  Yes
  1d20+11 
  Use Magical Device (Arcane Magic) 
  Yes
  1d20+11 
  Use Magical Device (Religion) 
  Yes
  1d20+7 
   
  Instead, when Lurga applies the Use Magical Device skill, he needs to decide from which Talent he draws the skill.  
  Applied Knowledge and Arcane Magic are the best choices.  Each gives him a bonus of 11, where Religion gives 
  him a bonus of only 7. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 43 
   
  In initial testing, some players believed it unfair that such skills do not stack.  That isn’t correct, however.  In 
  designing this Talents and Skills system, the authors took into account that Skills from various Talents often would 
  overlap and also calculated the average overlap frequency.  This was balanced in deciding the number of Talent 
  points PCs and NPCs become at new levels. 
   
   
  Elevating Talents 
   
  It may be that a player has chosen a Secondary Talent for his or her PC because it was not available to the PC's 
  Character Class as a Primary Talent.  However, with time, the PC might acquire a second Character Class for 
  which this Talent is a Primary Talent.  In that case, the PC may reclaim any extra Talent points that he or she spent 
  on the basis of their belonging to a Secondary Talent.  These points then are free to distribute among the PC's 
  talents as the player wishes, as long as the maximum points are not exceeded. 
   
   
   
  Certain Skills:  What You Should Know 
   
   
   
  Key Ability 
   
  Please note that the Key Ability for determining checks is the Key Ability for the Talent from which the Skill 
  developed.  Skills do not have their own Key Ability categories. 
   
   
   
  Craft Skills 
   
  Craft skills all come from the Talent Applied Knowledge.  They include a number of separate artisan's skills.  A PC 
  or NPC can have several Craft skills, and with these skills alone, he or she can reach a high journeyman level.  
  However, only members of the Artisan class can become masters of a trade.  If that's the case, he or she must 
  divide his or her total Talent Points for Applied Knowledge among the various Crafts.  Thus, a PC with 8 Talent 
  Points in Applied Knowledge could claim 4 points as a carpenter and 4 points as a sawyer.  If a PC with the Talent 
  Applied Knowledge decides to do completely without Profession skills, he or she can assign the available 
  Profession points to Craft skills.  In other words, a PC with 8 Talent Points in Applied Knowledge could do without 
  Profession skills and assign 16 points to Crafts. 
   
   
  Knowledge Skills 
   
  The skills in this class should be viewed by you and your players as a group.  Some talents include a large number 
  of Knowledge skills, but not every Knowledge skill arising from a talent is immediately available to a PC with the 
  talent.  A PC can claim one Knowledge skill out of all those that are available for a particular talent for every three 
  Character Levels.  Thus, a character with Applied Knowledge as a primary talent has at 1st level the choice among 
  he following Knowledge skills: 
   
  • 
  Arcane Knowledge 
  • 
  Herbalistic Knowledge 
  • 
  Knowledge of Architecture and Engineering 
  • 
  Knowledge of Dungeons 
  • 
  Knowledge of Geography 
  • 
  Knowledge of History 
  • 
  Knowledge of Local Customs, Events and Occurrences 
  • 
  Knowledge of Nobility and Royalty 
  • 
  Religious Knowledge 
  • 
  Runic Knowledge 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 44 
   
  With the Talent Applied Knowledge, a PC could claim Arcane Knowledge at Level 1, Herbalistic Knowledge at 
  Level 4, etc.  However, if a PC gains Knowledge skills from more than one talent, he or she can pick one 
  Knowledge skill per Talent with Knowledge skills for every three Character Levels.  As an example, a new 1st Level 
  PC with the Talents Applied Knowledge and Arcane Magic could choose Herbalistic Knowledge from Applied 
  Knowledge and Arcane Knowledge from Arcane Magic. 
   
   
  Perform Skills 
   
  The skills in this class also should be viewed by you and your players as a group.  A PC can claim one Perform skill 
  out of all those that are available for every three Character Levels.  Thus, a character with Applied Knowledge as a 
  primary talent has the choice of any one of the available Perform skills. 
   
   
  Profession Skills 
   
  Profession skills all come from the Talent Applied Knowledge.  They include a number of professional skills.  A PC 
  or NPC can have several Profession skills.  If that's the case, he or she must divide his or her total Talent Points for 
  Applied Knowledge among the various Professions.  Thus, a PC with 8 Talent Points in Applied Knowledge could 
  claim 4 points as an Advocate and 4 points as a Diplomat.  If a PC with the Talent Applied Knowledge decides to do 
  completely without Craft skills, he or she can assign the available Craft points to Profession skills.  In other words, a 
  PC with 8 Talent Points in Applied Knowledge could do without Craft skills and assign 16 points to Professions. 
   
   
  Proficiency Skills 
   
  For every Talent Point in a Talent that grants a Weapon or Armor Proficiency, the PC can claim a proficiency in one 
  type of weapon or one type of armor.   Thus, a Fighter with 8 Talent Points each in Melee Combat and Ranged 
  Combat could claim 16 proficiencies out of the following: 
   
  • 
  Proficiency in up to 8 melee weapons. 
  • 
  Proficiency in up to 8 ranged weapons. 
  • 
  Proficiency in up to 16 kinds of armor. 
   
   
  Field camp 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 45 
   
  88..    TThhee  PPCCss''  EEqquuiippm
  meenntt  
   
   
  Some adventures may take place in the city or village where the PCs live or are staying, but for most part, your 
  adventurers will be heading down that road that goes ever on.  Before they depart, they need to determine what 
  they wish to take with them and how to carry or transport it.  The full list of official Dungeons Daring equipment can 
  be found in Section I.8 Possessions and Packing Up of the Players Guide. 
   
  As we mentioned when we looked at character creation, the game master has only a few responsibilities as far as 
  equipment is concerned, but these are important: 
   
  • 
  You need to determine what's available in the area where the PCs are.  Not everything in the Players Guide 
  lists are available anywhere. 
   
  • 
  You need to determine the prices in the area where the PCs are shopping.  These are dependent largely on 
  the distance to the area where the items the PCs are seeking are produced.  In a remote regional market 
  town a few hundred miles/kilometers from the nearest mine, a bronze sword could cost twice as much as in a 
  larger regional town near mines and foundries, where weaponsmiths compete with each other. 
   
  • 
  Always keep a close watch on weight and bulk limitations and penalties.  It's important to make sure that it's 
  really possible for the PCs to carry what they buy.  If they overload themselves, they might need to buy a 
  pack animal or leave some things behind. 
   
   
   
  8.1  Of Iron and Middle Silver 
   
  The Dungeon Daring era still is a bronze age for the most part.  Therefore, these two metals are very special cases.  
  Adventurers are dependent upon dwarves for both. 
   
  • 
  Iron is a cold, nearly lifeless metal that resists magic.  Its ore is found in deeper regions beneath the 
  mountains that only dwarves have mined to date.  The spirit of the earth that is within the bedrock and ore of 
  the world is very weak within iron.  For that reason, the dwarves eschew it.  They use no iron for themselves 
  but some clans smelt it and sell raw iron to humans, whose smiths forge it into weapons and tools.  Iron 
  resists magic and is deadly dangerous to elves.  It is impossible to ensorcel an iron weapon or iron armor and 
  make them magical.  Iron is harder and more durable than bronze, but it has the disadvantage that it rusts.  
  Steel and other more stable iron alloys have not yet been developed. 
   
  • 
  Middle Silver is an extremely rare and expensive metal but also the hardest available and the easiest to 
  ensorcel with magic.  Middle Silver ore is found only at the deepest roots of some mountain ranges.  To date, 
  only dwarves know enough about the great depths of the world to mine there.  The dwarves covet middle 
  silver and keep it for themselves.  On only a few rare occasions have dwarves given items of middle silver to 
  members of other races.  When an item of middle silver becomes available to a PC, it usually is booty from a 
  dwarf who fell in an ancient battle, however, it is a rare day indeed when a PC has the chance to obtain an 
  item of middle silver. 
   
   
  Almost all metal items available in your campaign world are made of copper or bronze, basically an alloy of copper 
  and lead.  Furnaces that burn bituminous coal (lignite) are adequate to forge it.  Iron comes only from dwarven 
  mines.  Only the dwarves know where iron ore deposits are or where in the depths to seek the hard anthracite coal 
  necessary to forge it.  Dwarves sell the cold, lifeless metal and forge weapons and armor of it that they sell to other 
  races, but they do not love iron and do not use it themselves.  Iron still is infrequent.  One cannot buy wares made 
  of iron everywhere. 
   
  Middle silver is the finest of all metals for weapons, but it is extremely rare.  Only the dwarves know the secrets of 
  smelting, forging and smithing this difficult metal.  It is said that at one time the dwarves made gifts of middle silver 
  items to the elven royalty, but it is not known whether this is true.  With this exception, the dwarves are not known 
  ever to have parted willingly with middle silver. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 46 
   
  Because dwarves forge items of middle silver only for themselves, only a limited number of members of other races 
  are able to use middle silver armor that might be found or offered.  Generally, such armor will fit only halflings 
  (usually loosely) and stout but very short humans and half-elves.  There are no such limitations with weapons.  All 
  races can use dwarven middle silver weapons, although some are shorter than the user might consider ideal. 
   
   
   
  8.2  Iron and Magic 
   
  Two restrictions regarding iron and magic are known to your players, because they are described in the Players 
  Guide: 
   
  • 
  Iron Armor and Shields have a weak ability to repel magic.  If the wearer of iron armor or bearer of an iron 
  shield is attacked by a spell or magical weapon, the iron armor automatically gains a +4 Reflex defense 
  bonus.  If the magical attack succeeds despite that bonus, there is a 5% chance (1 on 1d20) that the armor or 
  shield will shatter and become useless. 
   
  • 
  Iron Weapons have a weak ability to penetrate magic bonuses upon armor.  The bonus of magical armor is 
  countered by a +2 attack bonus against magical armor.  It also has a 5% chance of penetrating other magical 
  protections that were created with magic of 5 spell points or less, such as protective rings.  When attacking 
  the wearer of such magical protection, the bearer of the iron weapon rolls 1d20.  A result of 20 indicates that 
  the magical protection has failed.  However, a result of 1 on 1d20 indicates that the magic has overwhelmed 
  the iron, causing the iron weapon or object to shatter. 
   
  Another restriction is not in the Players Guide.  Your PCs should learn it through experience: 
   
  • 
  Magic Corruption can take place when iron is within 20ft/6m of a magic user casting spells, a member of a 
  Bardic class performing magical song or diction or a Cleric performing a rite.  See the table below. 
   
  In the following table, the two measuring sticks are the weight of the iron present and the distance between the iron 
  and the magic user 
   
  Magic Corruption Results 
  1d20 Result 
  To 30 lbs/15kg, 
  to 10ft/3m 
  To 30 lbs/15kg 
  to 10ft/3m 
  +30 lbs/15kg 
  to 20ft/6m 
  +30 lbs/15kg, 
  to 20ft/6m 
  1-40 
  1 
  2 
  None 
  1 
  41-80 
  2 
  3 
  1 
  2 
  81-100 
  3 
  4 
  2 
  3 
   
   
  Results: 
   
  • 
  None:  The magic functions normally. 
   
  • 
  1.  The game master secretly rolls 1d20.  A result of 1-10 means that the spell or magic points are lost but the 
  spell does not work.  A result of 11-20 means that the magic functions normally. 
   
  • 
  2.  The game master secretly rolls 1d20.  A result of 1-10 means that the magic's effect is reduced by 10%.  A 
  result of 11-20 means that the effect is increased by 10%.  With magic where such a result is impossible, use 
  the results for No. 1 instead. 
   
  • 
  3.  The game master secretly rolls 1d20.  A result of 1-10 means that the magic affects the caster instead of 
  the target or area designated.  A result of 11-20 means that the magic functions normally. 
   
  • 
  4.  The magic misfires.  Another spell, song, diction or rite that the magic user can use or perform is 
  unleashed instead.  Which magic that is, is the game master's choice. 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 47 
   
  IIII..    AAddvveennttuurriinngg  
   
  11..    LLiiffee,,  DDeeaatthh  aanndd  HHeeaalliinngg  
   
  Life in the Dungeons Daring world is represented by two types of beings: 
   
  • 
  Humans, Halflings, Half-Elves and Draugs are souls who inhabit physical bodies. 
   
  • 
  Elves, Dwarves, Giants and all other creatures are spirits who inhabit physical bodies. 
   
  Furthermore, the Earth Mother has withdrawn the reproductive seed from the elves, dwarves and giants.  They are 
  long-lived but slowly dwindling races that no longer have children. 
   
   
  1.1  The Death of a Being with a Soul and the Road to Deep Hell 
   
  When a human, halfling or half-elf dies, death applies at first only to the physical body of the person.  His or her soul 
  hovers in an incorporeal form near the body until it has decomposed to the point that all spiritual ties to the body 
  have ended.  That takes 6 to 16 days, decided by a dice roll with the formula 1d10 + 6. 
   
  During this time, it is possible to work magical rites that first will heal the dead body and make it fit again for life and 
  then call the hovering soul back into the body.  No creature is powerful enough to involuntarily force a soul back into 
  its body.  If a soul wishes to remain dead, it remains dead.  Period. 
   
  Once the 6 to 16 days have passed and the last of a soul's spiritual ties to its former body have ended, it regains a 
  likeness of its living body, a likeness that exists upon what the sages call the Dimension of Death.  A spirit 
  subservient to the Mother of Death in Deep Hell who lives on the Dimension of Death comes to bring the soul to its 
  destination.  That is an underground route that goes deep into the bowels of the world, through Hell to Deep Hell. 
   
  A powerful and insane member of the mysterious creator race called Hela rules the souls of the dead in Deep Hell.  
  Hela, Mothguth, Garm, the Earth Mother and the three Norns are the only members of the creator race who still are 
  known to exist although others well may be among us.  They are described in Book 3, the Dungeons Daring 
  Creature Guide.  Just where Deep Hell is located may depend upon the campaign setting that you're using.  If the 
  setting describes such a location, you should use it. 
   
  If your setting provides no help, you might want to take a clue from Nordic and Icelandic mythology.  There, the gate 
  to Hell is described as being in mist-shrouded lands on the border of Álfheim (the elven kingdom).  If your campaign 
  has an equivalent of such an elven land, it's an ideal location for placing the gates of Hel.  In most settings, this land 
  has names like Álfheim, Elfhome, Færie or the Elven Kingdom. 
   
  It's possible that your PC group may attempt a journey to Deep Hell to regain a fallen comrade after it reaches 
  advanced levels.  It's not easy, but it isn't impossible either.  There are myths and legends of adventurers who have 
  traveled through Hell to Deep Hell, where they successfully have bargained with Hela for the soul of a fallen 
  comrade.  If Hela agrees to such a bargain, she also has the power to restore the soul's mortal body and bring its 
  life back into it. 
   
  Before reaching Hela in Deep Hell, however, a PC party must make its way through Hell, which is the domain of two 
  other members of the creator race, Mothguth and Garm.  The first of these that they will encounter is male, Garm.  
  He seldom wears the form of a human but rather takes the shape of a large and vicious fire-breathing dog or wolf.  
  Garm serves Mothguth.  He has been charged with keeping living intruders from reaching her on the banks of the 
  underground Gjöll River, where she blocks the road to Deep Hell. 
   
  To succeed on such a mission one somehow must get past Garm.  This is no easy task.  The slaying or serious 
  injury of members of the creator race is far beyond the ability of any worldly creature.  Magic also will not work upon 
  them.  Even human deities are unable to harm or influence them. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 48 
   
  That means the Garm must be tricked, bribed or otherwise be convinced to allow the PCs to go on to Mothguth.  On 
  the other hand, the Earth Mother has forbidden members of the creator race from slaying living humans, halflings, 
  half-elves, elves, giants and dwarves, so Garm's options are limited too. 
   
  If they reach the river, the PCs probably will see Mothguth at first in the form of a swan.  They will not necessarily 
  recognize her as being anything but a swan.  She will take her human form and communicate with them only if they 
  pique her curiosity somehow. 
   
  The most the PCs will be able to see before them are the swan and a bit of the river.  Thick, nearly freezing mists 
  swirl at all times through the air of this domain.  No mortal magic can dispel them.  Mothguth has a magical bridge 
  with which the PCs can cross the river safely, and she needs to summon it before it can be used.  It is the only way 
  that the PCs can cross the river. 
   
  The creator race magic bars any other means of transportation.  Attempts to cross the Gjöll magically simply will 
  fail.  A PC who goes into the Gjöll in an attempt to swim it will reach Deep Hell much sooner and in a much different 
  manner than he or she would wish.  Powerful undercurrents in the Gjöll, again creator race magic beyond the 
  defiance of anyone, will draw a PC underwater immediately drowning him or her and depositing the body on the 
  shore of the Gjöll when it bubbles back to the world's surface far downstream. 
   
  The soul or spirit of a PC slain by the Gjöll will not hover in the Dimension of Life for 6 to 16 days.  Instead, it will go 
  immediately to Hela in Deep Hell for judgment. 
   
  If the PCs do pique Mothguth's curiosity, she might be convinced by them to allow them to travel into Deep Hell to 
  barter with Hela.  However, the PCs will have to rely solely upon their own wits to convince her.  None of their magic 
  can affect a member of the creator race. 
   
  If the PCs do reach Hela, they again need to use their wits to convince her to yield whatever souls or spirits they 
  seek.  Hela too is beyond the abilities of their magicks or weapons.  There are two factors that either can help or 
  hinder the PCs in their dealings with Hela: 
   
  She is totally insane.  What she will do is absolutely unpredictable.  Her words and deeds can work either for or 
  against the PCs, with absolutely no good reason for either option being the case. 
   
  Hela is subject to the Earth Mother and her edicts, which ban Hela from having living beings in Deep Hell or harm-
  ing any who get there against her will.  But she does have the magical power to expel the PCs from Deep Hell at 
  will, and they have no ability to resist expulsion.  She also can ban any living creature who has entered Deep Hell 
  from returning there again. 
   
  This means that the PCs will have to awaken Hela's curiosity quickly and talk even faster if they hope to strike any 
  bargains with her.  If they're too slow, they may find themselves on the bank of the Gjöll again, unable to go back 
  into Deep Hell. 
   
  Whether they succeed or not, the PCs will find that the way out of Deep Hell and Hell is much easier than the way 
  in.  Both Mothguth and Garm have orders from Hela to dispatch living creatures that come out of Deep Hell back to 
  the surface as expeditiously as possible.  This means that when the PCs reach the bank of the Gjöll, regardless of 
  the circumstances, Mothguth and her bridge will be there to allow them to cross back into Hell.  On the opposite 
  bank, Garm will be waiting, snapping at the PCs' heels and doing his best to drive the living back to the surface in 
  double time. 
   
  In Deep Hell, Hela has something of a free hand with the dead souls that come to her.  She can keep a soul there, 
  fully conscious, for as long as she wishes.  She sometimes subjects the souls of those who led evil lives or worked 
  against harmony to horrible mental tortures in Hel.  She also forces the souls of those who were not evil but who 
  also did no good in their lives to long ages of mental contemplation of their worthless existences as living beings. 
   
  For all souls, however, there comes a time when Hela lets them pass from her realm.  In most cases, the souls in 
  Deep Hell lose awareness of their previous existence and are divided into many parts which are merged together 
  with parts of other dead souls to become the souls of new humans, halflings and half-elves in the dimension of the 
  living. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 49 
   
  Hela divides the souls of those who led good lives and who worked for the gaining of harmony to a lesser degree 
  and in some cases not at all.  Such souls also are returned to the Dimension of Life as the souls of the newborn, but 
  because large parts of the previous soul remain, such newborn often have fragments of memories from their 
  previous identities, and they may even retain some of their previous abilities. 
   
  Souls who live in the interim in their likeness bodies in Deep Hell, remain conscious of their identities as living 
  persons and can communicate with one another, should they wish to do so.  Those souls who reach Deep Hell will 
  find that they have spirits as well as other souls as their neighbors.  The spirits of elves, giants and dwarves who led 
  their lives poorly, failing to fulfill their personal destinies as members of those races, also are brought to Hela.  Their 
  fates are less kind, however. 
   
  Hela will judge them.  If she finds redeeming things in the tales of their lives, she may allow their spirits to evolve 
  into souls that will, in part, become the souls of newborn humans, halfling and half-elves.  Those elves, dwarves 
  and giants who fail Hela's tests, however, will find that their spirits are shattered into oblivion.  Only their spiritual 
  energy will survive, in tiny fragments that Hela makes available to new souls and spirits. 
   
  However, none of these things always work out in this manner.  Sometimes, Hela makes very unusual judgments, 
  because she is, after all, insane.  She also is corrupt, although her corruption may result from her insanity.  There 
  are cases where living beings have succeeded in traveling through Hell and Deep Hell to Hela, in an attempt to 
  strike strange deals with her to win the release of a dead soul.  Some brave souls actually have succeeded in such 
  bargaining. 
   
  In the Players Guide, sages are quoted as saying that this is only the first step in returning the dead to life.  If the 
  deceased's body still exists, the sage's claim, powerful magic needs to be used to restore it to a level where it can 
  play host to a soul and life again.  After that, powerful white necromantic spells must be used to bring the soul into 
  the body. 
   
  Another method, the sages say, is to find another body that can be restored so that it can live and play host to the 
  soul.  This, too, however, requires powerful white necromancy. 
   
  This is true, as far as it goes.  But if a living intruder bargains well enough with Hela, she also might be convinced to 
  restore the dead completely, in body and soul.  Of course, all of these options are of value only if the soul still exists 
  as such.  If the soul has been dissolved for recycling into the pool of life, not even Hela can reverse that. 
   
   
  The Gjöll leads to the Gates of Hell.   
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 50 
   
  1.2  The Death of a Being with a Spirit 
   
  The matter of a spirit's fate after the death of its body is not so clear cut as that of a soul.  Different races share 
  different fates: 
   
  • 
  Elven spirits ascend to their true home in the heavens, where they become stars.  In this form, they can 
  communicate telepathically with their living kin below.  However, elves who fail to fulfill their destinies or who 
  turn from the Light lose the ability to ascend.  This applies above all to the dark elves.  Their spirits go to 
  Hela, where she shatters most of them into oblivion and divides their life energy among the souls of newborn 
  humans, halflings and half-elves and the spirits of new animals and plants.  However, if Hela finds redeeming 
  elements in their lives, she may allow their spirits to evolve into souls that will, in part, become the souls of 
  newborn humans, halflings and half-elves. 
   
  • 
  Dwarven spirits belong to the stone and soil of our world, and they merge into the spirit of the earth, 
  becoming not only a part of it but also enlarging it.  Dwarven spirits actually return to the Earth Mother herself 
  and become a part of her growing spirit.  As with elves, those dwarves who fail to fulfill their destinies or who 
  turn from service to the earth also go to Hela, where she shatters most of them into oblivion and divides their 
  life energy among the souls of newborn humans, halflings and half-elves.  However, if she finds redeeming 
  elements in their lives, she may allow their spirits to evolve into souls that will, in part, become the souls of 
  newborn humans, halflings and half-elves. 
   
  • 
  Giant spirits belong to the stone and the soil, just like the spirits of the dwarves, who stole the giants' legacy.  
  Giant spirits share the same fate as dwarven spirits. 
   
  • 
  Mutation, animal and plant spirits go to their own regions of Deep Hell.  If the mutations are of a race that 
  can reproduce, such as orcs, their spirits are shattered into oblivion and the individual elements of their spirits 
  make spirits of the newborn.  If the mutations are of a race that cannot reproduce, Hela shatters their spirits 
  into oblivion and send the elements of those spirits back as parts of the spirits of newborn animals.  Animal 
  and plant spirits always are shattered and their elements return in the spirits of newborn animals and newly 
  germinated plants. 
   
  • 
  Spirits of the slain undead are sent to the Darkness, which may do with them what it will.  Such spirits are 
  beyond Hela's jurisdiction. 
   
  It is almost impossible to restore a dead elf, dwarf, giant, mutation, animal or plant to life.  These beings do not 
  hover near their bodies or forms upon the Dimension of Life after dying.  Elven spirits ascend directly to the 
  heavens, while dwarven and giant spirits merge immediately into the earth spirit.  Mutation, animal and plant spirits 
  appear directly in their region of Deep Hell on the Plane of Death, and undead spirits go to the Darkness. 
   
  Only the spirits of mutations, animals and plants as well as those of elves, dwarves and giants who did not fulfill 
  their destinies stand any chance of being restored to life.  All of these appear in Deep Hell to await the judgment of 
  the Mother of Death.  During this interim time when they are in the Dimension of Death, it would be possible for one 
  of the living to attempt to travel to Deep Hell to bargain with Hela for such a creature's spirit. 
   
  A being dies when he, she or it drops to a level of 0 (zero) life points and remains at that level for more than a 
  gaming minute (12 five-second rounds).  After the 13th round begins, only magic can help bring back a human, 
  halfling or half-elf who is dead.  The matter is much more difficult if the deceased is a creature with a spirit rather 
  than a soul. 
   
  Because undead are not alive to begin with, they also cannot die in the mortal sense.  They are slain by being 
  destroyed, which moves their souls from undeath to death.  The souls of the undead are bound to their unliving 
  bodies.  When the body is destroyed, the undead is destroyed too for most practical purposes. 
   
  Avatars, skeletons and zombies are soulless, spiritless animations.  They stop being active when their bodies reach 
  a level of destruction that makes it impossible for them to keep acting.  At that point, the Black Necromancer usually 
  abandons his or her control, and the avatar, zombie or skeleton once again is nothing more than normal body 
  remnants of the dead. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 51 
   
  Other undead can have their physical bodies restored through magic, or they can be given another body.  If that is 
  done, the Darkness can send the undead's soul back into the body and reanimate it.  All undead can be destroyed 
  immediately by severing the head from the shoulders.  The souls of such undead (soulless zombies and skeletons 
  excluded) are dispatched immediately to the Darkness, which can restore them, but only in another body. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Into the fog and on to the gates of Hell  
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 52 
   
  1.3  The Three Dimensions 
   
  Two dimensions are natural to our world; the third was created long ago by master magi of the light elves.  All three 
  dimensions are varying phases of the world.  The dimensions exist like layers in the same place at the same time, 
  and yet, each of them also is a place and time of its own.  The two dimensions that have existed since life first 
  appeared in our world are: 
   
  • 
  The Dimension of Life. 
   
  • 
  The Dimension of Death. 
   
  The third dimension, created by the elves after dwarves brought iron to the surface and men began spreading it, is: 
   
  • 
  The Middle Dimension. 
   
  The latter dimension got its name from the elves who created it.  It lies somewhere between the Dimensions of Life 
  and Death. 
   
  Some things are consistent on all three dimensions.  The mountains, seas and landscapes are identical, but 
  changes made in one dimension do not occur in another. 
   
   
   
  The Dimension of Life 
   
  This dimension probably needs little in the way of explanation.  It's the dimension where we all live, mostly oblivious 
  to the two other dimensions. 
   
   
  The Dimension of Death 
   
  This is the dimension that is the doom of all humans, halflings, half-elves, mutations, plants and animals as well as 
  errant elves, dwarves and giants.  The dimension is devoid of all life.  Only the non-living physical elements of the 
  world – mountains, barren land and lifeless water – exist along with the likenesses of dead souls and spirits in this 
  dimension.  This is the dimension where the Darkness reigns.  Its lifeless landscapes are as they were when the 
  first elves were born.  They do not change and never will. 
   
  There is one exception to the lifelessness of this dimension, however.  Hell and Deep Hell also are in this 
  dimension.  There are adventurers who have succeeded in going from the Dimension of Life to the Dimension of 
  Death to bargain with Hela for the soul or spirit of someone who died, thus, it appears that life can exist, at least for 
  a time, in the Dimension of Death. 
   
   
  The Middle Dimension 
   
  Most but not all elven enclaves exist in this dimension now where they find refuge from iron.  When the dwarves 
  discovered elfbane iron ore, they began smelting it to sell it to giants, but it soon came into the hands of humans 
  too, who spread it through much of the world. 
   
  Iron not only is resistant to magic, which is the reason that rune-loving dwarves sell it rather than using it 
  themselves, but it also is deadly to elves (although not half-elves).  Elves have mighty Wizards and Sorcerers with 
  abilities far beyond those of human Magi who created the Middle Dimension to escape the threat of iron, which has 
  not entered the surface world of this dimension. 
   
  There are humans who have entered the Middle Dimension without iron.  There are times when elves have lured 
  humans without iron into their dimension, to do services for them.  There also are humans, halflings and half-elves 
  who claim that they somehow unintentionally stumbled into the Middle Dimension. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 53 
   
  No human, halfling or half-elf who has entered the Middle Dimension ever has returned in his or her own time.  All 
  return at a much later time in their own dimension, unaged, remaining as old or as young as they were on the day 
  when they entered the elven dimension. 
   
  Some who have crossed the dimension boundary into the elven kingdom claim that they spent but a single day 
  there, and yet, they discover that the calendar of the Dimension of Life has advanced 20 years during that day. 
   
  The borders of that land are protected with powerful magic that confuses humans, halflings and half-elves who try to 
  enter.  They simply go in circles, often finding the edge of the border forests, where they can leave freely, but the 
  way to the interior always eludes them. 
   
  However, those who have entered the elven enclaves upon the Middle Dimension talk of lands of peace and 
  bounty, freed from orcs, trolls, ogres and other mutations that plague our times upon the Dimension of Life.  Most 
  who have crossed into the Middle Dimension either were taken there by elves or they crossed unknowingly.  They 
  usually did not even know when or where they crossed the dimensional border.  They realized where they were only 
  when they noticed that familiar settlements had vanished and elven dwellings began to appear. 
   
  The secret lies in the ley lines of power that cage the world and in the ley stones that ancient elves built along those 
  lines.  When all of the circumstances are right, one can cross the borders in the vicinity of the ley stones.  However, 
  the necessary secrets to completing that cross are known only to the light elves of the Middle Dimension.  Humans 
  who cross unwittingly apparently trigger the circumstances through coincidence. 
   
  The landscapes of the Middle Dimension are exactly as they were on the Dimension of Life on the day when the 
  Middle Dimension was opened, except that only animal and plant life were duplicated.  The elves moved to the 
  Middle Dimension, but it is free of human, half-elven, dwarven, giant and mutated life that was not taken into the 
  dimension by the light elves.  There also are no demons, devils, undead or other spawn of the Darkness in the 
  Middle Dimension. 
   
  Such elven mutations as good dragons and unicorns are so rare upon the Dimension of Life in our time because 
  most such creatures moved with the elves to the Middle Dimension.  The rest of this dimension remains as it was 
  on the day it was opened.  It will not change unless invaders from the Dimensions of Life or Death learn to gain 
  entrance to it and begin to take control of parts of it. 
   
   
   
  One merely crosses the river to enter the Elven Kingdom … maybe. 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 54 
   
  1.4  Injury, Sickness and Healing 
   
   
  The Game Master, Exhaustion, Injury, Sickness and Death 
   
  In many RPGs, a PC or NPC remains at full health and capacity until the fatal blow is dealt.  Then he or she 
  suddenly is dead.  Dungeons Daring tries to emulate reality a bit more.  The more severely injured or ill a character 
  is, the weaker its abilities become.  A Warrior who is critically injured can’t fight as well as a fresh fighter who just 
  has entered the battle.  A wounded Wizard also is weakened and has less mental strength to muster for spell-
  casting than he or she does when in full health. 
   
  After a creature is so injured or so ill that he or she has lost more than 25% of his or her injury points, he or she also 
  begins to take penalties.  The thresholds are calculated as followed, with all calculations rounded down: 
   
  • 
  Fully capable:  76-100% of original injury points remain. 
   
  • 
  Injured:  51-75% of original injury points remain.  The character has a penalty of -1 on attack, damage and 
  skill check rolls and on the Endurance and Reflex defense scores.  Spellcasters lose a number of spell points 
  equal to 5% of their full spell points. 
   
  • 
  Seriously injured:  26-50% of original injury points remain.  The character has a penalty of -2 on attack, 
  damage and skill check rolls and on the Endurance and Reflex defense scores.  Spellcasters lose a number 
  of spell points equal to 10% of their full spell points. 
   
  • 
  Critically injured:  1-25% of original injury points remain.  The character has a penalty of -3 on attack, 
  damage and skill check rolls and on the Endurance and Reflex defense scores.  Spellcasters lose a number 
  of spell points equal to 15% of their full spell points. 
   
  • 
  In mortal danger:  No injury points remain.  Life point loss begins.  The character has a penalty of -4 on 
  attack, damage and skill check rolls and on the Endurance and Reflex defense scores.  Spellcasters lose a 
  number of spell points equal to 20% of their full spell points. 
   
   
  Injury Point Table 
  Injury Point Threshold 
  Spell Point Loss 
  (non-cumulative) 
  Attack, Damage, Skill 
  and Defense Penalty 
  Fully capable 
  None 
  None 
  Injured 
  5%, rounded down 
  -1 
  Seriously injured 
  10%, rounded down 
  -2 
  Critically injured 
  15%, rounded down 
  -3 
  In mortal danger 
  20%, rounded down 
  -4 
   
  • 
  Spell Point Loss:  This figure represents the number of spell or magic points lost due to illness or injury.  
  The loss is the percentage of the original total spell or magic points that the character had when in full health, 
  not of the remaining spell or magic points.  If the character drops below zero spell or magic points, he or she 
  no longer can cast spells, sing songs, perform diction or rites, etc. 
   
  • 
  Attack, Damage, Skill and Defense Penalty:  This penalty is deducted from attack, damage and skill check 
  rolls and on the Endurance and Reflex defense scores etc. 
   
  The game master is responsible for monitoring the hit- and injury points, spell point loss and penalties for each PC 
  and NPC in the game.  It is important that neither side claim more abilities than it is entitled to have after some 
  creatures are injured or ill.  It's also the game master's job to maintain the tally on exhaustion points and to keep the 
  PCs informed of the state of their exhaustion. 
   
  In an intense adventure, your PCs may have many battle encounters or physically draining tasks during the course 
  of the day.  As in real life, such activities tend to drain one of strength.  Tiredness and eventually exhaustion set in.  
  These effects are simulated through exhaustion points in Dungeons Daring. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 55 
   
  It's up to you, the game master, to determine when the PCs' activities begin to cause degrees of exhaustion, but we 
  can give you some general guidelines.  You should determine the exhaustion threshold for the party as a whole, but 
  then levy exhaustion points individually, based upon how much each PC actually did. 
   
  Consider your party's abilities and skills in each situation and compare them to the difficulty of the situation.  You 
  should make this decision after the exhausting task has been completed, based upon how difficult it really was for 
  the PCs.  Then classify the encounter in one of the five following difficulty levels.  As a measuring stick, consider 
  Balanced to be a situation where the chances for success are about 50-50 for success and failure. 
   
   
  Exhaustion 
  Difficulty 
  Exhaustion Level 
  Exhaustion Points 
  Very easy 
  1 
  1 
  Easy 
  2 
  1 
  Balanced 
  3 
  2 
  Difficult 
  4 
  2 
  Very difficult 
  5 
  3 
   
  We generally recommend that you start levying exhaustion points after the PCs' activities have given them a total of 
  12 exhaustion levels.  Assess that on a group level, even if some of the PCs have been inactive is some things.  
  The point where you start levying exhaustion points always will be reached based upon what's difficult for the 
  specific group at hand, not on a general basis for all groups, therefore, the value 12 should serve equally well for 
  groups of all average character levels. 
   
  Once you've passed the point where you start levying exhaustion points, levy them only on those party members 
  who actually took part in the exhausting action.  If, for example, a part of four 1st level PCs encounter four 1st level 
  orcs in combat, that's a balanced encounter.  You can levy 2 exhaustion points per PC, and, if they've had previous 
  exhausting activities on that day, also 2 points per orc. 
   
  On the other hand, if only the two Warriors in the PC party fight the orcs while wizard and thief take cover to protect 
  themselves, that could be viewed as a very difficult encounter for the two PC Warriors.  In that case, you might levy 
  3 exhaustion points per Warrior.  You also need to consider whether the orcs have earned exhaustion points. 
   
  Classifying encounters can be rather easy.  Other situations that can cause exhaustion need to be calculated in 
  another matter.  In addition to other damage they may cause, the effects of poisons, even if neutralized, can be 
  exhausting.  The same is true for a thief's work in disabling traps.  Both poisons and traps have Encounter Levels 
  (defined in their own sections of this book) that should be used in determining how exhausting they are.  If the entire 
  party is poisoned or falls victim to a trap, proceed as follows: 
   
  1. 
  Calculate the average level of your party:  Add the Character Levels of all of the PCs and divide by the 
  number of the PCs in the party. 
   
  2. 
  Determine the Difficulty Factor by subtracting the average level of the party from the Encounter Level of 
  the poison or trap.  The Difficulty Factor might end up being a negative number. 
   
  If only individual party members are affected, calculate separately for each member: 
   
  1. 
  Note the Character Level of the PC. 
   
  2. 
  Determine the Difficulty Factor by the Character Level of the PC from the Encounter Level of the poison or 
  trap.  The Difficulty Factor might end up being a negative number. 
   
  After you've determined the Difficulty Factor, you can asses the Difficulty (see table above) as follows: 
   
   
  Difficulty for Poisons & Traps 
  Difficulty Factor 
  Difficulty 
  -3 or less 
  Very easy 
  -1 or -2 
  Easy 
  0 
  Balanced 
  1 or 2 
  Difficult 
  3 or more 
  Very difficult 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 56 
   
  There are, of course, other factors that need to be assessed in determining exhaustion.  The following table is a 
  beginning guideline.  As your campaign continues, you'll doubtless come up with some more entries of your own. 
   
  Difficulty for Exhausting Situations 
  Cause 
  Difficulty 
  Per first 24 hours without rest or sleep 
  Difficult1 
  Additional consecutive 24 hours without rest or sleep 
  Very difficult1 
  First noontime or evening without meal 
  Very easy2 
  Second noontime or evening without meal 
  Easy2 
  Additional consecutive noontime or evening without meal 
  Additional level2 
  Travel through difficult terrain, first four hours 
  Easy3 
  Travel through difficult terrain, each additional four hours on same day 
  Balanced2 
  Travel through very difficult terrain, first four hours 
  Balanced3 
  Travel through very difficult terrain, each additional four hours on same day 
  Difficult3 
  Travel in inclement weather, first four hours 
  Easy3 
  Travel through inclement weather, each additional four hours on same day 
  Balanced3 
  Travel through severe weather, first four hours 
  Balanced3 
  Travel through severe weather, each additional four hours on same day 
  Difficult3 
  Travel in extremely hot or cold weather, first four hours 
  Difficult3 
  Travel in extremely hot or cold weather, each additional hours 
  Very Difficult3 
  Travel between eight and 12 hours in one day 
  Very easy4 
  Travel between 12 and 16 hours in one day 
  Easy4 
  Travel between 16 and 20 hours in one day 
  Balanced4 
  Travel between 20 and 24 hours in one day 
  Difficult4 
  1 Periods without sleep stack or are cumulative. 
  2 Periods without food stack or are cumulative. 
  3 All terrain and weather factors stack or are cumulative. 
  4 Periods of travel stack or are cumulative. 
   
   
  When one of more PCs becomes exhausted, there are several methods to lift or recover from that exhaustion: 
   
  • 
  Rest:  A full night's sleep (at least 7 hours) lifts all exhaustion points.  Every 2 hours of rest (sleep not 
  necessary) lift 25% of the total exhaustion points. 
   
  • 
  Herbal Medicine:  There are herbal teas and the like (defined in the Players Guide) that will lift varying 
  degrees of exhaustion.  Such cures are not cumulative.  One herbal restorative will be effective every 20 
  hours.  An herbal restorative becomes effective 2d4 + 10 minutes after being consumed.  It is effective only if 
  consumed slowly, at a rate no faster than 4 oz./125ml per minute (12 five-second rounds). 
   
  • 
  Magic:  Spells that heal wounds can be used to lift exhaustion.  Such spells will lift twice as many exhaustion 
  points as they will injury points. 
   
  First and foremost, it's your job to keep accurate track of the condition of both the PCs in your campaign and of 
  those NPCs they are likely to encounter more than once.  To this end, you can print the empty table on the following 
  page use it to keep your tracking record.  If you use a computer at the gaming table, electronic versions in formats 
  for OpenOffice.org 3.0 and Microsoft Excel in the version 2000-2003 and 2007 also are available, each in standard 
  spreadsheet and template versions. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 57 
   
  Injury/Exhaustion Tracking Table 
   
  PC/NPC 
  Name 
  Full Injury 
  Points 
  Lost Injury 
  Points 
  Exhaustion 
  Points 
  Remaining 
  Injury 
  Points 
  Remaining 
  Life Points 
  Full Life 
  Points 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 58 
   
  22..    M
  Maaggiicc  
   
  2.1  Human Magic – a Game Master's Playground 
   
  In Dungeons Daring, humans (including halflings and half-elves), or perhaps more accurately, creatures with souls 
  rather than spirits, have crossed the threshold of what hopefully will be a long history.  That they are different from 
  the First- and Secondborn, the races of elves, dwarves and giants, is becoming clear to all folk.  Some of these 
  differences already are becoming quite clear: 
   
  • 
  Humans have become the shortest-lived of all folk. 
   
  • 
  Humans have the ability to bring their own deities into existence, and they are doing so. 
   
  The latter is a significant point.  In the age in which Dungeons Daring is set, no one has done significant research 
  yet into the question of why humans have created gods for themselves or, more important, why they have the ability 
  to give their gods great magical powers. 
   
  It may be that human sages have yet to advance to the point where they are prepared to examine such 
  monumental issues.  It also may be that none has posed the necessary questions to him- or herself yet.  One must 
  look in vain toward elves, dwarves or giants for the answers. 
   
  Elves consider the Thirdborn to be a puzzlement.  They understand the inheriting race little.  They see humans as a 
  comical and inconsequential folk that, like a bee, rushes from flower to flower, takes nectar and then dies before it 
  barely has begun to live.  That humans have found a means to create immortal regional deities neither surprises nor 
  interests the elves.  Such deities are powerless in the elven domain and are of little consequence to the Firstborn. 
   
  Philosophers are rare among the dwarves und non-existent among giants.  Neither folk is like to ponder the whys 
  and wherefores of humans and their ways.  One could pose some additional questions regarding halflings and half-
  elves.  Both races, like humans, have souls, but neither has called deities into existence.  However, there is little 
  reason to think they could not do so if they wished to.  Perhaps they will some day, in your campaign.  That decision 
  lies in your hands. 
   
  As of today, however, halflings tend to look amused upon their larger kin.  They see humans as a temperamental, 
  driven folk that drives on relentlessly toward its individual endings at death without ever stopping to enjoy the finer 
  things of life.  Halflings, on the other hand, are a rather hedonistic folk.  They live for the pleasure of things.  It's diffi-
  cult to imagine how deities might enrich the lives of halflings. 
   
  Half-elves also tend to maintain distance from both of their half-kin.  They consider their elven ancestors, even 
  those who still live in the world, to be venerable beings but also creatures of a fading past.  They consider their 
  human half-kin to be rushed and unfocused creatures who, by and large, mean well, but who do little to make what 
  they must of their inheritance. 
   
  Half-elves see themselves as the protectors of that inheritance, those who guard it until humans awaken and under-
  stand the legacy that has been left to them.  The creation of deities by humans alarms the half-elves.  They believe 
  that deities lead to division and strife among the folk when it should be striving for unity and harmony.  In that light, it 
  is perhaps not so difficult to understand why half-elves have created no deities of their own. 
   
  That all may be well and good, but the fact remains that none among the living or undead understand exactly how 
  humans have given their deities the power that they wield or what the source of that power is.  Yet, it can be useful 
  to you as a game master to know that which your PCs cannot learn immediately. 
   
  In the beginning, the light elves were born of the Sun and the Earth Mother.  For that reason, they are called the 
  Firstborn and the Children of the Light.  Their nature is more of the Light than of the neutral Earth.  It is their destiny 
  to ascend to the heavens as stars, becoming in the end Creatures of the Light.  The light elves draw the magical 
  power of the sun directly and reflected from the moon into the Earth, where it wraps around the world's surface in 
  invisible ley lines of energy.  This power enhances but also conflicts with the natural energies of the Earth.  Both the 
  enhancement and the conflict are the work of the greatest member of the creator race, the Earth Mother. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 59 
   
  One must remember that our world is her domain and not that of the sun.  Her goal is neither Light nor Darkness 
  but rather harmony.  The Earth Mother is the spirit of our world.  The power of the sun drawn into our world by the 
  elves can exist here only through the will of the Earth Mother, and it must bend to her rules.  The sun itself cannot 
  decide how the power it gives will behave in our world.  It only can accept the Earth Mother's decision or withdraw 
  its power from the world. 
   
  The elves brought magic into the world as a power of the Light, but the Earth Mother channeled it in her own 
  manner, making it available to the forces of the balance and the Darkness as well.  She respected the magic of life 
  as being inherent to the sun and denied its power to the Darkness.  Thus, spellcasters and Clerics who serve the 
  Darkness cannot use the magic of White Necromancy.  But she also opened the power of magic to the Darkness, to 
  make death magic of it.  She denied this Black Necromancy to the servants of the Light. 
   
  Spellcasters and sages have learned much of the magic of the Light and that of the Darkness, but only the dwarves 
  and giants have come to know the great body of magic between the two, the magic of the Earth, the Balance and 
  harmony, which the Earth Mother has made available to all, and even they recognizes only facets of it.  It is in this 
  magic that the secret of godhood can be found. 
   
  Elves, as Children of the Light, can access the surface of the Earth Magic that they channel into their spells, songs 
  and diction by drawing upon its relationship to Light Magic and their own intellectual understanding of such things.  
  Dwarves and giants have a natural affinity for Earth Magic, but both folk are more physically than intellectually 
  talented.  They have learned to access Earth Magic only through runes. 
   
  Humans, on the other hand, are Children of the Earth.  Each of them is free to turn to the Light or the Darkness, or 
  they can choose the neutral path between the two toward balance and harmony, which is what the Earth Mother 
  hopes of them. 
   
  Within humans – and that includes halflings and half-elves – is a latent affinity for Earth Magic akin to the light elves' 
  affinity for Light Magic.  This affinity still is asleep within the human race.  It has manifested itself until now only in 
  the empowerment of human deities, although neither humans nor their deities understand the power that humans 
  have tapped to create their gods.  It was an act of belief, not an act of knowledge.  Yet in most and perhaps all 
  cases, the worshippers' gift of Earth Magic is the true source of the deities' powers. 
   
  The deities who are servants of the Darkness are the only exception, if such deities exist in your campaign.  They 
  may gain their power directly from the Darkness, in which case, White Necromantic magic is barred to them, but 
  they can employ Black Necromancy. 
   
  Because this power still sleeps in humans, halflings and half-elves, it gives you an opportunity to do interesting 
  things in your campaign.  The hidden power of Earth Magic that makes gods of worship and belief might start to be 
  tapped in other manners by humans, halflings and half-elves in your world.  Perhaps some of them may uncover the 
  first few secrets of this latent magic. 
   
  But remember that whatever happens, it is a power that slowly is passing from the world.  It may not be gone until 
  your PCs have been 1000 years in their graves, but it diminishes constantly.  All magic is dependent upon the Light 
  Magic drawn into the world from the sun by the light elves.  The fair folk are fading from the world, gradually 
  ascending to their place in the heavens as stars.  No new elves are being born.  With each elf that passes, the 
  power of magical energy grows less. 
   
  Wizards, wands and deities are not the long range destiny of humans.  Mankind is slowly headed toward a future 
  without magic, one that is dominated by the power of waterwheels, smokestacks and steam kettles.  Perhaps your 
  PCs can delay the coming of that time to a certain degree. 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 60 
   
  2.2  Conflicting Magical and Physical Energy Sources 
   
  Two different types of energy are at the core of the Dungeons Daring environment.  On one level, we find the purely 
  physical or mechanical energy that we know from the real world.  Such energy is inherent to the world itself.  It is 
  neither good nor bad; it simply is there for any and all to use. 
   
  On another level, there also is the foreign type of energy that men call magic.  It is not native to the world.  Its roots 
  are in the sun, the Spirit of Light.  This energy is drawn into the Dungeons Daring world by the first Children of the 
  Sun, the light elves.  It is not a part of the world.  Rather, it has been brought into it, and to a limited extent, the 
  world has embraced it.  In doing so, the world has opened channels to magic for all, good, bad, and even the worst 
  foes of the Light, whence magic comes. 
   
  As long as the elves continue to draw the force of the Light into the world, magic will remain for those with the skill 
  to grasp and use it.  But our world is not the destiny of the fair folk.  Their true home is in the stellar constellations of 
  the heavens.  Once the last of the elves has ascended, magic will vanish from the world forever.  Fortunately, for 
  those who live in our age, it appears that the last days of the elves are in a distant future. 
   
  The two types of energy sometimes conflict with one another.  They seem to tolerate one another as long as no 
  physical energy is converted from one mechanical form to another.  There are spellcasters who have attempted to 
  work magic near a mill, where the power of running water is converted by a waterwheel into that force the turns a 
  grindstone.  Sometimes the wizard's spell goes awry.  Sometimes the mill breaks down in one way or another.  
  Sometimes both go wrong.  This is the classic magic vs. science conflict found in many great works of fantasy 
  literature. 
   
  The conflict between types of energy and magic in Dungeons Daring is a point that requires considerable attention 
  from you, the game master.  If you design your own adventures and you have mills that run on water power or other 
  businesses that convert heat into other forms of energy, you should make conflict checks when magic comes into 
  the area of effect of these operations. 
   
  Before you can perform such a check, you need to establish an effective spell point level for the physical energy-
  converting operation.  The best way to do that is to consider what work the operation that converts physical energy 
  is doing and then compare that with spells that would consume approximately the same level of energy. 
   
  A simple village mill’s waterwheel, for instance, probably would consume energy equivalent to a spell that uses 2 
  spell points.  For the purposes of our check, then, we would give the mill an equivalent spell point level of 2. Then 
  proceed as follows: 
   
  • 
  The magic user rolls 1d20 and adds the spell point cost of his or her spell plus his or her bonus for Magical 
  Aptitude. 
   
  • 
  You roll for the mill with 1d20, add the equivalent spell point cost that you’ve set and the miller’s Mechanical 
  Aptitude bonus. 
   
  • 
  You compare the two results. 
   
  • 
  If both are the same, nothing happens. 
   
  • 
  If the magic user has the higher check, the magic works but some problem occurs at the mill. 
   
  • 
  If your check for the miller is higher, the spell goes awry but the mill grinds on as ever. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 61 
   
   
  Mills and magic – a source of conflict 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 62 
   
  2.3  Conflicting Conventional Magical and Runic Sources 
   
  When adventurers have attempted to trade magical items to dwarves in return for dwarven wares, they've been 
  quickly rebuffed. The stout folk claims that its runic magic is the only reliable kind.  After years away from the sun in 
  the depths of our world, dwarves lost their ability to use the Magic of the Light.  They now look almost 
  superstitiously upon such magic, calling it fey elven work. 
   
  This may seem strange, because the dwarves that survive today either once were light elves or they descended 
  from first generation dwarves who had evolved from their original light elven nature into the race that came to be 
  known as black elves and later as dwarves. 
   
  Nonetheless, the stout folk did have numerous dubious experiences with the magic of the Light before developing 
  its current negative views of it.  In the last section, we read about the conflicts between conventional magic and 
  machines that convert one kind of physical energy into another.  Here, we come upon another conflict. 
   
  Dwarves use fire as one of their main tools, smelting ore and forging metal with it.  This triggers no conflict with 
  items of conventional elven magic, because the fires of the furnaces produce natural heat that does its work directly 
  in the foundries and forges.  With time, however, the dwarves also came up with another idea for channeling fire's 
  energy.  They began making large, enclosed kettles that they filled with water. 
   
  The dwarves heated the water and then channeled the pressure of steam released from the kettle into metal pistons 
  that could be used to turn their machinery.  In doing so, the stout folk had managed to convert the heat of fire into 
  the potential energy of steam pressure and that energy into mechanical energy. 
   
  However, they also discovered a secondary effect that was most unpleasant.  Whenever they were near their steam 
  machines and attempted to use items of conventional magic that had been made by the elves, either the magic 
  would go awry or the steam systems would malfunction.  In less serious cases, pipes that were under steam 
  pressure would explode.  In the worst cases, the steam boilers themselves would explode, leading to death and 
  destruction. 
   
  This phenomenon and research by dwarven scholars in the age that had run parallel to the harnessing of steam led 
  the dwarves gradually to abandon their objects of elven magic.  During this time, dwarven sages in the depths of 
  their halls already had been studying the characteristics of the basic elements of which the world is made:  Earth, 
  Fire, Water and Air. 
   
  They came to understand the form of primal life that was within these elements and the power that such life can 
  exert.  They also learned that these powers can be addressed through the creation of symbols that represent the 
  patterns of the elemental powers.  Thousands of years passed, and the dwarves eventually developed an entire 
  system of symbols that could draw upon the four elements and then other substances that were subsets of the 
  elements. 
   
  It was in this time that the Darkness began corrupting some elves and mutating them into the ancestors of today's 
  orc tribes.  The evil orcs sought refuge in the mountains and came into inevitable contact and conflict with the 
  dwarves.  The blood of both folk flowed.  The dwarves then discovered that if they cut the elemental symbols that 
  they had created into stone or tables of beechwood and stained these symbols with the blood of their orc enemy, 
  that they could make keys to the concentrated natural power of the elements, a power that was similar in many 
  ways to conventional magic, but one that came from the earth rather than the sun. 
   
  Thus came runic magic into our world.  The dwarves also quickly discovered that there is no conflict between runic 
  magic and natural energy forms that are converted or transmitted.  Runic magic can be employed without difficulty 
  in the vicinity of steam machines, waterwheel-powered mills and the like.  However, runic magic has the same 
  conflicts with conventional magic that converted energy does.  The two do not mix. 
   
  The dwarves first discovered the secrets of runic magic, but they are not the only folk to use it.  The dwarves were 
  born as elves.  Although they evolved into Children of the Earth, they needed to learn the secrets of the earth rather 
  than gaining them instinctively.  The opposite was true with one of the dwarves' enemies, the giants.  They were 
  born as Children of the Earth, and they have a natural understanding of its resources. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 63 
   
  Quite instinctively, some giants began to understand the secrets of the elemental powers and of the methods that 
  could be used to call those powers into runic symbols.  However, the giants also were fashioned as creatures of 
  physical rather than mental prowess.  The smith’s and miner’s crafts were their intended destinies, not conventional 
  or runic magic. 
   
  As a result, giants are somewhat limited in their ability to cut and stain runic staves.  The large folk works only with 
  runic tables in beechwood.  Unlike the dwarves, they do not cut and stain runes in stone tablets.  In addition, no 
  runestainer of the giants ever has succeeded in cutting and staining a stave that expends more than 10 magic 
  points. 
   
  However, the issue of magic is less straightforward among giants than it is with dwarves.  Most giants use no magic 
  at all, but among those who do, some cut and stain runes while the few intellectual elite among giants are sorcerers.  
  They are subject to the same problems as dwarves when conventional magic and runic magic meet.  Suffice it to 
  say that most giant tribes tolerate either runestainers or sorcerers but not both.  In those rare cases when a tribe 
  has both, they usually are kept distant from one another. 
   
  Although it happens only rarely, PCs sometimes come into possession of items of dwarven or giant runic magic.  
  Most humans will know little about runes and nothing about the conflict between runic and conventional magic.  
  Sometimes a PC group will find itself in deep trouble with magic going awry, when one member of the party uses 
  conventional magic item and another has a magical runic object.  Problems also can occur when hostile groups 
  meet in melee combat, and each group has magical items of an opposing type. 
   
  These conflicts require attention from you, the game master.  You need to make conflict checks whenever 
  conventional and runic magic near each other or are used against one another.  You make a check whenever two 
  opposing objects come within 20ft/6m of one another or when two opposing objects are used against one another, 
  regardless of distance. 
   
  Magical items all have an effective spell or magic point level.  You must compare the two and then proceed as 
  follows: 
   
  • 
  The user of conventional magic rolls 1d20 and adds to the result the spell point cost of his or her spell or 
  magical item. 
   
  • 
  The user of runic magic rolls 1d20 and adds to the result the magic point cost at creation of his or her runic 
  item. 
   
  • 
  You compare the two results. 
   
  • 
  If both are the same, nothing happens.  All items function normally. 
   
  • 
  If the conventional magical item has the higher check, the magic works but some problem occurs with the 
  runic item. 
   
  • 
  If the runic item has the higher check, the runic stave works but some problem occurs with the item of 
  conventional magic. 
   
  When items of conflicting magic are within 10ft/3m of each other, you can use the following additional optional 
  results: 
   
  • 
  The winning item has a doubled effect, if that is possible. 
   
  • 
  The magic is banned from the losing item. 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 64 
   
  2.4  Iron, Lead, Magic, Elves and Undead,  
   
   
  In making the world, the creator race sought to achieve balance.  As a part of its attempt, two different subsets of 
  the earth element were created that repelled or resisted conventional magic, iron and lead.  Each has a different 
  effect and a different cause for it. 
   
  Iron and lead, like all other natural substances, have the life spirit of the earth in them.  This is a primordial and 
  largely latent spirit, but it results from a form of life.  Life also is the force that transmits the energy of magic, 
  regardless of type. 
   
   
   
   
  Iron 
   
  There are few substances in which the life of the earth spirit is as weak as in iron.  On the other hand, iron has 
  electromagnetic properties that are alien to other minerals.  The dwarves call iron a cold and lifeless metal and they 
  dislike it.  They do not use it for themselves, but they do mine and smelt it and sell raw iron to humans.  Some 
  halflings also use it.  Most half-elves will have nothing to do with iron, although it has no known adverse effects 
  upon them. 
   
  Iron has many strange effects beyond its magnetic properties.  It strongly hinders the healing effects of many herbs.  
  The same properties that give iron its magnetic facet also cause chaos when iron and conventional magic meet one 
  another.  Those conflicting properties tend to cancel one another.  Sometimes they do that.  Sometimes they 
  balance and do nothing to each other.  But in most cases, iron overwhelms magic or magic overwhelms iron. 
   
  This also will the case with alloys of iron, such as steel, if they have been invented in your campaign.  Iron alloys 
  should be treated for magical purposes just as if they were pure iron.  However, chemical compounds of iron are not 
  affected.  Blood contains iron in compound form, and it is an excellent vessel for and conductor of magic. 
   
  Iron is deadly to light elves, dark elves and most draugs.  With elves, iron is poisonous.  Draugs are slain by iron 
  because of its anti-magical properties.  Undead are magical creatures.  Necromantic magic rather than life powers 
  the lifeless bodies of draugs.  When a draug's body is wounded by iron, this magical binding is broken.  The body 
  falls in its true lifelessness to the ground, and the draug's soul hovers helpless and without physical form in the 
  Dimension of Death, perhaps forever, but at least until new necromantic magic is used to bind the soul anew with a 
  lifeless body. 
   
  However, it is difficult under many circumstances to bring iron into use in battle against draugs or elves.  Armies can 
  do it, because they can keep distance between iron-bearing Warriors and spellcasters.  However, a band of 
  adventurers traveling together may have difficulty doing the same.  Anytime an iron-bearer comes within 20ft/6m of 
  a magic user, the latter's magic can be corrupted. 
   
  Magic Corruption can take place anytime iron is within 20ft/6m of a magic user casting spells, a member of a 
  Bardic class performing magical song or diction, a Cleric performing a rite or an item of conventional magic.  
  However, iron does not interfere with runic magic.  In the following table, the two measuring sticks are the weight of 
  the iron present and the distance between the iron and the magic user 
   
   
   
  Magic Corruption Results 
  1d20 Result 
  To 30 lbs/15kg, 
  to 10ft/3m 
  To 30 lbs/15kg 
  to 10ft/3m 
  +30 lbs/15kg 
  to 20ft/6m 
  +30 lbs/15kg, 
  to 20ft/6m 
  1-40 
  1 
  2 
  None 
  1 
  41-80 
  2 
  3 
  1 
  2 
  81-100 
  3 
  4 
  2 
  3 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 65 
   
  Results: 
   
  • 
  None:  The magic functions normally. 
   
  • 
  1.  The game master secretly rolls 1d20.  A result of 1-10 means that the spell or magic points are lost if a 
  spell is being cast but the spell or magic does not work.  In the case of a magical item with one use, that use 
  is expended.  In the case of a magical item with charges, the intended number of charges is used.  A result of 
  11-20 means that the magic functions normally. 
   
  • 
  2.  The game master secretly rolls 1d20.  A result of 1-10 means that the magic's effect is reduced by 10%.  A 
  result of 11-20 means that the effect is increased by 10%.  With magic where such a result is impossible, use 
  the results for No. 1 instead. 
   
  • 
  3.  The game master secretly rolls 1d20.  A result of 1-10 means that the magic affects the caster or user of 
  the magical item instead of the target or area designated.  A result of 11-20 means that the magic functions 
  normally. 
   
  • 
  4.  The magic misfires.  Another spell, song, diction or rite that the magic user can use or perform is 
  unleashed instead, in the case of a spell.  In the case of a magical item, a random magical effect is 
  unleashed.  Which magic that is, is the game master's choice. 
   
  Special Situations for the Game Master 
   
  Sometimes there are special circumstances that may further affect conflicts between conventional magic and iron.  
  It may be that a prisoner in an iron cage attempts to use magic or that someone else attempts to use magic upon 
  him or her.  First of all, use these guidelines: 
   
  • 
  Once the magical effect comes within 10ft/3m of the cage bars, make the indicated check.  If it indicates 
  magical failure, the issue is resolved. 
   
  • 
  If the check indicates that the magic functions normally, then calculate what the open area to iron ratio is at 
  the point where the magic would enter or leave the cage.  If you have 10% iron and 90% air or some other 
  substance that transmits magic, the spell has an additional 10% chance of malfunctioning.  Roll 1d%.  1 to 
  10% fails.  If you have 90% iron and 10% open area, the failure chance is 90%.  Magic cannot penetrate an 
  enclosure that is 100% iron without openings. 
   
  There well may be other situations that are not completely covered here that will involve the conflict between magic 
  and iron.  If you see such situations in your campaign, use the guidelines on this page and the previous page to 
  establish base points for calculating your own chances for failure and success. 
   
   
  Lead 
   
  Lead is a soft metal.  It does not resist magic; it simply absorbs it, much as a sponge absorbs water.  It never 
  reflects magic back upon its user.  It never causes magic to go awry.  It never causes random effects.  Anytime any 
  part of a magical effect comes within 1ft/30cm of lead, the lead will absorb it entirely.  This effect occurs only with 
  lead in its elemental form.  Neither chemical compounds with lead not lead alloys have this effect.  Bronze is a lead 
  alloy, and it is an excellent conductor of and vessel for magic. 
   
   
  Special Situations for the Game Master 
   
  Magic cannot penetrate a container of solid lead or with openings where the outer edge of the magical effect, when 
  passing through the opening, would be within 1ft/30cm of the lead.  If the magic could go through the opening 
  without coming within 1ft/30cm of the lead but it still would come within 2ft/60cm of the lead, there is a 50% chance 
  (1-10 on 1d20) that the magic will be absorbed. 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 66 
   
  2.5  Ley Lines and Ley Stones 
   
  Picture how a globe of the real world is caged in equally 
  spaced horizontal latitudinal lines and in longitudinal 
  lines that converge at the North and South Poles and 
  spread farther apart as they approach the equator.  The 
  ley lines of the power of Light Magic that also are the 
  source of earth and Dark magic envisioned for 
  Dungeons Daring are similar, except the vertical lines 
  also are equally spaced, ending at East and West 
  Magical Poles. 
  Ancient elven ley stone 
  Product Identity
   
  The world envisioned for Dungeons Daring is divided 
  into eastern and western hemispheres with large 
  continental land masses in each hemisphere.  The East 
  and West Magical Poles are upon the equator in the 
  oceans between the two hemispheres.  Light magic has 
  its strongest concentration at each of these four poles.  
  In fact, it is so strong at the poles that draugs, demons 
  and devils that come within 50 miles/80km of a pole are 
  destroyed immediately and permanently.  Their spirits, or 
  souls in the case of draugs, are dissolved and revert 
  directly into the pool of life, beyond the grasp of the 
  Darkness. 
   
  These lines of magic are known as ley lines, taken from 
  leynstígur in the old tongue, which means secret paths.  
  Ley lines are not a natural consequence of the drawing 
  of Light magic from the sun to the earth.  They are the 
  work of the first light elves, who channeled the magic 
  they drew into the world along these lines. 
   
  These ancient elves discovered that life exists not only in 
  elves, animals and plants, but also that there is more 
  latent form or life or something akin to it in the soil, sand 
  and stone that are the foundation of the world.  They 
  also found that there can be bindings made between 
  earth, sand, stone and the force of Light magic.  Such 
  bindings make a great conduit of the magical force and 
  are indeed the ingredient that draws a part of the magic 
  into the earth to become independent earth magic. 
   
  The light elves laid the ley lines in a time when they first became aware of the power of the Darkness and the threat 
  it posed to them and to the Light.  With the great knowledge they had gained, the early elves began laying standing 
  stones to fortify the ley lines and to fix their paths.  If the worst come to the worst, the elven magi determined, an elf 
  fleeing servants of the Darkness would find that the ley lines would provide him or her with a safe path, one that 
  could blast a pursuer from the Darkness into oblivion. 
   
  The ley lines were laid in the earliest days after the elves drew the sun's magic into the world.  However, the later 
  ley stones were a project that the fair folk never completed.  It was in the time of the stones' laying that the discord 
  began among the elven folk that eventually led to the departure of the Dark Elves from the kin and the Light.  These 
  events overshadowed efforts to complete the setting of ley stones, a work that never was completed.  As a result, 
  there are many parts of the world where there are no ley stones and never have been any. 
   
  Ley lines and ley stones have a number of effects: 
   
  • 
  Draugs, devils, demons and even dragons that have allied with the Darkness will come only reluctantly within 
  100ft/30m of a ley line or 500ft/150m of a ley stone.  Within that range, they lose all of their magical powers 
  and all use of magic.  Even their magical items become temporarily non-magical.  A dragon within that range 
  also is unable to use its breath weapon. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 67 
   
  • 
  A vampire cannot of its own power come within 100ft/30m of a ley line or 500ft/150m of a ley stone.  It can 
  come within this range or cross a ley line only if it is in its own coffin resting upon its native soil and it is being 
  transported by some other creature or force.  If a vampire is forced outside of its coffin to enter this zone 
  against his or her will, it will be destroyed as if it had entered sunlight. 
   
  • 
  Trolls that come within 100ft/30m of a ley line are blinded until they pass out of range again.  If they come 
  within 500ft/150m of a ley stone, they are turned to stone immediately, just as if they had come into daylight.  
  Their spirits are immediately dissolved to enter the pool of life, beyond the grasp of the Darkness.  Ley lines 
  and stones are among the main reasons that trolls began early on to burrow and to maintain networks of 
  tunnels which run beneath ley lines. 
   
  • 
  Orcs, ogres, worgs and other servants of the Darkness (but not all evil creatures) that come within 100ft/30m 
  of a ley line or 500ft/150m of a ley stone suffer immediate penalties of -4 to Strength and Stamina, and this 
  loss continues until they leave that area. 
   
  • 
  Dark elves who come within 100ft/30m of a ley line or 500ft/150m of a ley stone suffer discomfort and 
  unease, destroying their initiative bonuses and giving them a Dexterity penalty of -1. 
   
  • 
  Other draugs, devils, demons and even dragons that have allied with the Darkness, and orcs, ogres, worgs 
  and other servants of the Darkness that touch a ley stone are destroyed immediately and permanently.  Their 
  spirits, or souls in the case of draugs, are dissolved and revert directly into the pool of life, beyond the grasp 
  of the Darkness. 
   
  • 
  The field of force of a ley line is cylindrical.  It also extends 100ft/30m to both sides of the line and above and 
  below the earth's surface.  The field or force of a ley stone is spherical.  It extends 500ft/150m outward from 
  the stone in all directions including above and below the earth's surface. 
   
  • 
  The strength of the field of force at a ley line junction, where east-west and north-south ley lines cross, 
  doubles cylindrically.  From the junction point, the effects extend out 200ft/60m in all directions. 
   
  • 
  The strength of the field of force at a ley line junction where a ley stone has been set quadruples.  From the 
  junction point, the effects extend out 2,000ft/600m in all directions.  You should note that in areas where ley 
  stones are to be found, the elves did set most ley stones at junctions. 
   
  • 
  All surviving ley stones retain their effects, although not all of them are visible.  Many ley stones now are 
  buried beneath the earth's surface.  In some cases, this was caused by landslides, mud washed over them by 
  floods or other natural shifts in the earth as well as unnatural events that changed the landscape.  In some 
  cases, where ley stones were set in light soils, the stones simply sank beneath the surface with time.  The 
  stone itself continues to be the center of its own area of effect.  Thus, a ley stone that now is beneath 10ft/3m 
  of soil has an area of effect extending 490ft/147m above the surface and 510ft/153m below the surface. 
   
  Magic-using servants of the Darkness have attempted to develop objects which will deface ley stones and negate 
  their power.  They are unable to employ such devices themselves, but they do at times seek evildoers who are not 
  directly servants of the Darkness to do this work for them.  In a few cases, they have succeeded, but in most cases, 
  their agents have been destroyed by the magical power in the stones. 
   
  Beyond their channeling of magical power and their negative impact upon the servants of the Darkness, ley lines 
  and ley stones form the dimensional bridge that light elves use to cross from the Dimension of Life into the Middle 
  Dimension and back. 
   
  Up until this time, only light elves have succeeded in making such crossings unaided.  However, some light elves 
  fear that the dark elves might one day learn the secret of using the ley lines as a bridge.  Other elves disagree, 
  saying that the dark elves are unable to use the magic of the Light and therefore are barred from using the ley lines 
  to cross dimensional barriers. 
   
  From the North Pole to the South Pole there are 1,250 horizontal ley lines, with another 1,250 vertical ley lines from 
  the East to the West Magical pole.  All ley lines are 10 miles/16km apart from one another. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 68 
   
  Ley Lines and Ley Stones in Gaming 
   
  Ley lines and ley stones offer you as a game master the opportunity to bring some interesting and mysterious 
  elements into your adventure.  The root of these possibilities is in the fact that your PCs will know nothing about ley 
  lines or their existence, and they will know nothing about ley stones that they may see, other than that they probably 
  are ancient works of the elves. 
   
  There are no human, halfling or half-elven sages who know any lore of the ley lines and stones.  This knowledge 
  also is beyond the scope of members of Bardic classes in today's world.  The only opportunity that a PC might have 
  to learn anything at all about ley lines and ley stones is in the elven domain in the Middle Dimension. 
   
  To get there, light elves would need some reason to take the PC across the border into the Middle Dimension.  
  However, once a PC arrives in the elven dimension, it remains extremely unlikely that he or she will learn anything 
  about ley lines or ley stones. 
   
  As a game master, you need to remember that the leynstígur are more secret paths than ever these days.  They 
  are the key to the elven kingdom's security from iron.  Even if your PCs are taken into the Middle Dimension, and 
  even if they succeed in forming close relations and bonds with the light elves there (which is unlikely), it is very 
  doubtful that the elves will reveal anything about ley lines or ley stones to them. 
   
  The secret of the ley lines is the key to the elves' survival in a world where iron is spreading, and they will see no 
  need for the PCs to have knowledge of them.  The only clue that the PCs might gain to the existence of ley lines 
  could be a magical Dimensional Talisman that the light elves might give to the PCs to enable them to return of their 
  own will to the Middle Dimension.  However, the elves only rarely part with such talismans. 
   
  NOTE:  Statistics for Ley Stones and Dimensional Talismans as magical items can be found below in 
  Section II.2.6.3 Catalog of Special Ensorcelled Items. 
   
  Here are several adventure ideas and hooks involving ley lines and ley stones that can play an interesting role in 
  your campaign: 
   
  • 
  Mysterious Locations:  This facet of ley lines probably will come to the attention of any PC group sooner or 
  later.  An intelligent group of PCs adventuring in troll country should notice with a bit of experience that there 
  simply are places where trolls will not go.  The PCs may be the desperate objects of a night hunt by hundreds 
  of trolls, only to see that the trolls suddenly stop dead in their tracks.  The trolls will continue to fire range 
  weapons at the PCs, but they will not proceed.  Slowly, some of the trolls will vanish into the earth and then a 
  bit later appear on the other side of the PCs.  From there, they may continue firing range weapons at the 
  PCs, but the trolls will not come within 100ft/30m of them.  If ancient elven stones are near the PCs, the trolls 
  will remain 500ft/150m distant from the PCs.  If the PCs can protect themselves from the trolls' range 
  weapons, they simply can wait out the trolls through the night.  Shortly before the first hint of dawn in the 
  eastern sky, the trolls will slink into the ground, and the PCs can proceed on their way until the trolls return 
  after sunset.  If your PCs go into troll country regularly, they probably will begin to note safe points and seek 
  these out before the sun sets.  Smart PCs, with time, will deduce that the ancient elven stones all are safe 
  points.  Other adventurers experienced in troll country also can advise the PCs to seek out the elven stones 
  as points of sanctuary.  However, no one ever will be able to explain to the PCs why things function in this 
  manner, although some NPCs doubtless will manufacture explanations that are false. 
   
  • 
  Unsated Blood Thirst:  If the PCs are being pursued by a vampire, it will react in much the same manner as 
  a troll when it comes near a ley stone or a ley line.  Vampires will not cross a ley line except, perhaps, by 
  flying over it.  Even then, the PCs are safe from the vampire, as long as they remain where they are.  Like the 
  trolls, the vampire will have to flee back to its coffin before sunrise.  However, if there are wolves that already 
  are under its influence or worgs that it commands can reach, the vampire can call them to attack the PCs.  
  The ley lines and stones will not hold back wolves or worgs, but worgs will have the same penalties in a ley 
  zone as orcs or ogres, and they will enter a ley field only reluctantly, except to cross it quickly.  Wolves are 
  unaffected. 
   
  • 
  Restless Foes:  This situation may come to your PCs' notice a bit more slowly than the effects of ley lines 
  upon trolls.  With time, the PCs should notice that many (but not all) types of creatures that they consider to 
  be evil seem to suddenly become uncomfortable fighting the PCs at certain places.  When this occurs, they 
  often attempt to force the PCs into other positions, sometimes at added risk to themselves. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 69 
   
  The PCs will not be able to see any strategic sense in these actions.  However, if they're observant, the PCs 
  may note that certain foes that are in this situation also are weakened in their combat abilities and suddenly 
  stop using magic.  Draugs, devils, demons, orcs, ogres, worgs and other servants of the Darkness all fall into 
  this category.  Dragons are in this category too.  The PCs might gradually come to the conclusion that there 
  are places where dragons, for no apparent reason, cease using their breath weapons. 
   
  • 
  Across the Border:  Light elves rarely ever enter into the Dimension of Life these days.  Few humans, 
  halflings or half-elves see an elf at anytime during their own lives.  In the unusual event that they do 
  encounter an elf, it is more likely it will be a dark elf rather than a light elf.  On those rare occasions when a 
  light elf crosses the invisible dimensional border, it arrives well warded against the effects of iron, seeking out 
  one or more humans to do things that the elven kingdom wants to be done.  Afterward, such an elf will return 
  as quickly as possible to its own dimension.  If an elf appears in a human's life and bids it to do deeds that the 
  fair folk wishes to be done, a human always should be aware that the elves do things solely to the benefit of 
  their own desires and goals.  Human values are a fleeting thing of little value to the light elves.  Nonetheless, 
  a human who serves the elves usually can expect to be well rewarded, but he or she also must be aware that 
  his or her deeds are in the service of the elven kingdom.  Furthermore, a human who fulfills the wishes of the 
  light elves probably never will know the true purpose of his or her deeds. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Even in the darkest depths of night, the light elves draw sun magic from the moon. 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 70 
   
  2.6  Works of Conventional Magic 
   
  2.6.1  You and Works of Magic in Your Campaign 
   
  The full information on creating magical spells, songs, diction, rites and items can be found in the Players Guide.  
  Your job as game master is to see to it that all the conditions are fulfilled.  Players often have an understandable 
  tendency to underestimate costs and caster levels and, when developing new spells, to underestimate spell or 
  magic point costs.  Some also have a tendency to develop spells beyond the limits of a PC's casting abilities. 
   
  A hypothetical example would be a Destroy the World spell.  Such a spell is far greater in power than any spell, 
  song, diction or rite that expends 15 spell or magic points.  It simply exceeds the abilities of any PC.  Not even the 
  great elven archwizards who have lived for more than a million years could work such a spell, although they can do 
  things with their absolute magic that are beyond the abilities of mortal magic users.  If anyone at all could destroy 
  the world in a single blow, it would be the Earth Mother alone. 
   
  One of your prime responsibilities as game master is to maintain perspective and proportion in your campaign.  You 
  need to do this within your group and within the relationship your group has to the part of the world in which you're 
  gaming.  Nothing brings a PC group so quickly out of synchronization internally or externally as an overloading of 
  your PCs with magic.  Too much magic can quickly turn a 1st level character into a de facto 5th level character. 
   
  If only one member of your PC group is overloaded in such a manner, it will diminish the ability of your other players 
  to enjoy the game.  If all or most of the group is overloaded, foes will be defeated too easily, which gradually will 
  make your campaign boring.  It's entirely up to you to prevent this.  If you're inexperienced as a game master, here 
  are some ideas: 
   
  • 
  In a sense, you have given and will continue to give your PCs everything that they have. 
   
  • 
  Your PCs can acquire only those magical items that you make available to them.  If a 1st level party finds a 
  treasure that includes a +5 sword, a powerful magical ring and a magical skeleton key that opens all locks 
  without trouble, you no longer have a genuine 1st level party.  Instead, you have a group of PCs that are 
  completely out of synchronization with the rest of your adventure. 
   
  • 
  PCs who acquire too much magic or other valuables have too much money.  It's expensive to buy things and 
  very expensive to make works of magic.  If your PCs have too much of either, you've put too much money 
  into their pockets. 
   
  • 
  Anytime you place a treasure somewhere, think carefully about what you put into it.  If the PCs have earned 
  the treasure fair and square, they're entitled to have it without any manipulations on your part to take it away 
  again.  You can avoid learning that you've given your PCs too much by mentally weighing every item you 
  include in the treasure and ask what immediate, long-term and secondary effects their possession of the item 
  in question might have.  If the answer is that an item makes the PCs too powerful for too long a time, don't 
  put the item into the treasure.  Put only those things into treasures that are unlikely to become lasting 
  burdens upon your campaign. 
   
  Sometimes the demands of your campaign make it necessary for you to place magical items into a treasure so that 
  the PCs can successfully make their way through an episode of your campaign.  However, you usually need to do 
  this in a manner that gives your PCs the magic at the point that is crucial without their continuing to have it later, 
  when it would make them overly powerful. 
   
  A wise game master usually places items of temporary magic into a treasure rather than those with permanent 
  ensorcellments.  This not only is a limiting factor, but it also has logic to it.  Permanently ensorcelled items are diffi-
  cult and expensive to create.  They generally are in short supply.  The owner of a permanent magical item usually is 
  bearing it. 
   
  Temporary items are created for use at need.  When the owner has no immediate use for the item, he or she stores 
  it until he or she does need it.  These storage places are the stashes where adventurers often find treasure, 
  including not only items of temporary magic but also reserve items of monetary value.  Items of permanent magic 
  also might be in a treasure, but these usually are special items that no one, including the owner, would use on a 
  regular basis. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 71 
   
  Here are some tips for putting items into a treasure: 
   
  • 
  If it's possible, put the needed magic into the treasure in the form of a potion.  Once the potion is consumed, 
  the magic is free to do the needed job, and both the magic and potion are gone. 
   
  • 
  If the needed magic is a spell that can't be ensorcelled into a potion, put one or two charges (but not all 10) 
  into a rod.  If possible, pick a spell that does the job but that is above the ability of your magic users to cast.  
  That way, they're unable to recharge the staff.  When they reach the level where they can recharge it, the 
  day-to-day demands of adventuring will keep them from doing so often, and their need for the rod is 
  diminished, if they can cast the spell themselves. 
   
  • 
  If you need to beef up the ability of a PC in a Fighter class for a certain encounter or series of encounters, 
  don't put a permanent magical weapon into the treasure.  Place a weapon ensorcelled with temporary magic 
  into the treasure, one with just enough charges to do the necessary job. 
   
   
  Materials Suitable for Ensorcellment 
   
  As already discussed, lead and iron cannot be ensorcelled, although their reactions to magic are different: 
   
  • 
  Lead simply doesn't accept magic.  It doesn't resist it or damage it.  But lead objects cannot be ensorcelled, 
  and magic cannot pass through lead.  This effect does not occur with chemical compounds that contain lead, 
  nor does it apply to lead alloys, such as bronze, which is an excellent vessel for magic. 
   
  • 
  Iron resists magic and can neutralize it.  Iron objects cannot be ensorcelled, nor can other metals that are 
  alloys of iron.  However, this effect does not apply to chemical compounds of iron.  Blood contains iron in a 
  compound form, and it is an excellent vessel for magic. 
   
  The following materials all are good recipients and conductors of magic.  In most cases, they can be ensorcelled 
  immediately: 
   
  • 
  Wood and other parts of the rowan, beech and yew trees, of the elderberry, hazel and holly bushes and of 
  the mistletoe parasite, if they are an essential part of the object being ensorcelled.  Unnecessarily staining an 
  item with elderberry juice will not make it more receptive to magic, however. 
   
  • 
  Bronze, copper, gold, silver and the blood of elves, dwarves, giants, humans, halflings, half-elves, beasts and 
  mutations. 
   
  • 
  Body parts of unicorns, demons, dragons and some other magical mutations. 
   
  Ensorcelling items made of other materials takes 11-30 (1d20+10) days time for the magic to be absorbed.  If the 
  period extends that long, an absorption check for Magical Aptitude (1d20 + Magical Aptitude Bonus) must be made 
  on the 20th and 30th days against a DL equal to: 
   
  10 + combined Caster Level of the spell(s) being ensorcelled to a maximum of 15. 
   
  If either of these checks fails, the ensorcellment fails and must begin anew. 
   
   
   
  Creating Miscellaneous Magical Items 
   
  Given the right set of spells, abilities, skills and talents, one conceivably could create almost any magical item one 
  could imagine.  To ensorcel a miscellaneous magic item, the caster must have the talent Create Magical Item and 
  know the spell or spells that he or she wishes to cast into the item to achieve the desired end. 
   
  That often is the problem many spellcasters face.  They know what they want to do, but finding the right 
  combination of things to do it can be difficult.  This is a task that the player of spellcasting characters needs to work 
  out with you, the game master. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 72 
   
  The biggest problem of all is finding the right spells to reach the PC's goal.  It's a good idea to start a search for 
  unknown but needed spells in a city and with a good bankroll at hand.  Some of the better NPC spellcasters in your 
  campaign may work for the ruling nobility and be uninterested in a PC's business.  But usually one will find 
  independent wizards in a city who never can get their hands on enough money to pay for all of the research they 
  want to do. 
   
  Such wizards often bolster their income by having their apprentices copy scrolls containing spells, which they, in 
  turn, are willing to sell at a handsome price.  If they can't sell a PC the spells that he or she is seeking, they may be 
  willing to settle for a little less money in return for information on where one can go to get what one is seeking. 
   
  If that fails, the PC may be looking for a spell that no one ever has developed yet.  In that case, he or she may have 
  to research the new spell and create it.  The only other alternative is to commission another spellcaster to develop 
  it, if one has the money needed to pay for such services. 
   
   
   
   
   
  Magically Enhanced Weapons 
   
  Many RPGs see weapons and to a certain extent armor as a means to extend magic beyond sorcerers, wizards 
  and other spellcasters to make every character a magic user to a certain extent.  The Dungeons Daring approach 
  prefers the idea that fighters fight, thieves steal, spell users work magic, etc.  If you disagree with this viewpoint, 
  you'll be glad to know that there's nothing whatsoever in the Dungeons Daring guidelines to bind you to this system. 
   
  Your players learn only how to use the spell Ensorcel Arms and Armor to give weapons and armor plus points.  The 
  spell can do more, but your spellcasters will learn that only when and if you wish them to do so.  In truth, a spell 
  user who has access to this spell also can use it to ensorcel spell powers into weapons and armor.  To do so, use 
  the following formula to determine the number of spell points needed to ensorcel spells into a weapon or into armor: 
   
   
  1 + spell or magic points of the spell being ensorcelled into the weapon + number of plus points 
   
   
  If you want to charge the weapon or armor, you can create up to 50 charges by casting the spell into the weapon or 
  armor up to 50 times. 
   
  If you want the magic to be permanent in the weapon or armor, you must cast Ensorcel Arms and Armor a second 
  time after the spell or spells have been cast into it, with an expenditure of 10 spell points. 
   
  The process follows this sequence: 
   
  • 
  Ensorcel Arms and Armor is used upon the target weapon or armor. 
   
  • 
  The spell or spells intended for the weapon or armor are casted into it.  Ensorcel Arms and Armor prepares 
  the weapon or armor to receive this spell or these spells, preventing their being triggered. 
   
  • 
  Cast Ensorcel Arms and Armor a second time at a cost of 10 spell points, if the ensorcellment is to be 
  permanent. 
   
  That said, we encourage you to limit almost all of the special powers you give to weapons and armors to a bare 
  minimum.  Think of the great fantasy literature and how rare such weapons are.  Great swords like Mímung or 
  Dáinsleif (Dáin's Heirloom) are powerful weapons that were forged for monumental figures of the old myths, sagas 
  and legends. 
   
  If you place such weapons in your adventure where your PCs can find them, remember that these weapons and all 
  of their powers will be omnipresent in your campaign, perhaps to the very end.  Sometimes, special weapons and 
  armor will be exactly what the story of your adventure needs.  If it is, be sure to add them.  If not, leave the non-
  plus-point magic up to your magic user. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 73 
   
  2.6.2  Catalog of Ensorcelled Items 
   
  The following catalog gives you samples of known magical items.  It should help as a guideline in making decisions 
  on your players' proposal for ensorcelling objects, and it also can help you put together magic items for NPCs or for 
  treasures.  You shouldn't feel bound by any of the definitions in this catalog, but instead consider these definitions to 
  be guidelines. 
   
   
  Ball of Fireballs 
  Minimum Caster Level:  3 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  3 
  Aura:  Evocation 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Charges or Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Red ruby worth 1,000 GP, Spell Fireball 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  1,500 GP 
  Minimum Price:  3,000 GP 
  Weight:  4 ounces/115 grams 
  Bulk:  Small 
   
  The small ruby is thrown toward the intended target.  As soon as it leaves the user's hand, it turns into a rolling 
  fireball, 5ft/150m in diameter, which functions just as if it were created directly by the Fireball spell.  It returns 
  automatically to the user.  The charged version can hold up to 10 charges.  The permanent version can be used 
  three times daily. 
   
   
  Ball of Iceballs 
  Minimum Caster Level:  3 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  3 
  Aura:  Evocation 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Charges or Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Diamond worth 1,000 GP, Spell Iceball 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  1,500 GP 
  Minimum Price:  3,000 GP 
  Weight:  4 ounces/115 grams 
  Bulk:  Small 
   
  The small diamond is thrown toward the intended target.  As soon as it leaves the user's hand, it turns into a rolling 
  iceball, 5ft/150m in diameter, which functions just as if it were created directly by the Iceball spell.  It returns 
  automatically to the user.  The charged version can hold up to 10 charges.  The permanent version can be used 
  three times daily. 
   
   
  Candle in the Darkness 
  Minimum Caster Level:  1 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  1 
  Aura:  Evocation 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Charges 
  Prerequisites:  Small candle, Spell Light 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  25 GP 
  Minimum Price:  50 GP 
  Weight:  2 ounces/60 grams 
  Bulk:  Small 
   
  The candle can be as small as 3 inches/7.5cm and as thin as ½ inch/12.5mm can glow like a torch, shedding bright 
  light in a 20ft/6m radius and dim light for an additional 20ft/6m from the candle.  Light taken into an area of magical 
  darkness does not function, but lighting a second candle can ban magical darkness.  Per charge, the candle burns 
  10 minutes per Caster Level of the creator.  It can hold up to 10 charges. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 74 
   
  Chime of Sleep 
  Minimum Caster Level:  1 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  1 
  Aura:  Enchantment 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Small hand chime, Spell Sleep 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  10 GP 
  Minimum Price:  20 GP 
  Weight:  8 ounces/225 grams 
  Bulk:  Small 
   
  Tapping the chime and making it sound causes a magical slumber to come upon a number of living creatures that 
  equals the Caster Level of its creator.  Each target can escape the effect with a successful Stamina check against 
  the Caster Level + 10.  Creatures with the lowest Character Levels are affected first.  Among creatures with equal 
  Character Levels, those who are closest to the chime at the time it is struck are affected first.  Sleeping creatures 
  are helpless.  Slapping or wounding awakens an affected creature, but normal noise does not.  Awakening a 
  creature is a one-round action.  Sleep does not target unconscious or undead creatures.  The chime can be used 
  three times daily. 
   
   
  Cloak of the Spider Bat 
  Minimum Caster Level:  7 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  4 
  Aura:  Transmutation 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  High quality cloak, Spells: Invisibility, Spider Climb 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  750 GP 
  Minimum Price:  1,500 GP 
  Weight:  1 lbs/500 grams 
  Bulk:  Medium 
   
  The wearer is half invisible:  In dark shadow, he or she is fully invisible.  In middle strong shadow, he or she is partly 
  transparent and difficult to notice.  Only with a specific and successful Notice Objects & Movement check against 
  DL 20 will the wearer be perceived.  However, in normal light, the half invisibility becomes fully ineffective.  The 
  wearer also can climb and travel on vertical surfaces or even traverse ceilings as well as a spider does.  The wearer 
  must have its hands free to climb in this manner.  He or she gains a climb speed of 20ft/6m.  Furthermore, the 
  wearer need not make checks to traverse a vertical or horizontal surface (even upside down).  Motionless, it can 
  hang upside down without a check, much in the style of a bat.  A spider climbing creature retains its Dexterity bonus 
  to its Reflex defense if any while climbing, and opponents get no special bonus to their attacks against it.  It cannot, 
  however, use the run action while climbing.  The half invisibility facet of the cloak always is active.  The climbing 
  function last 10 minutes per Caster Level of the person who ensorcelled the cloak. 
   
   
  Counter-Magnetic Cloak 
  Minimum Caster Level:  14 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  7 
  Aura:  Abjuration 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Fine cloak of silver silk, Spell Repel iron 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  900 GP 
  Minimum Price:  1,800 GP 
  Weight:  3 lbs/1.5kg 
  Bulk:  Medium 
   
  The cloak is an invention of the light elves that functions constantly.  Half-elves learned this magic from their light 
  elven kin.  The cloak magically draws strong, non-magical magnetic energy from the earth and applies it to all iron 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 75 
   
  within range.  A counter-magnetic field covers the entire range, a 400ft/120m radius from the cloak.  This field 
  strongly repels all iron and any alloy of iron.  A bearer of iron must make a Strength check against DL 30 to 
  overcome the field in order bring iron into it.  A failed attempt can be repeated, but each attempt is a full, one-round 
  action.  However, once the iron is within the field, it becomes highly magnetic and will draw itself to heavier items of 
  iron or iron alloys and draw lighter items of iron or iron alloys to it.  As an example, a warrior with iron full plate 
  armor, an iron helmet, an iron shield and an iron sword would find that the helmet, shield and sword are bound 
  magnetically to the full plate armor.  With a successful check for Strength check against DL 30 the bearer again can 
  overcome the field and separate these items, but as soon as he or she releases, the magnetism will draw them 
  back together.  A failed attempt can be repeated, but each attempt is a full, one-round action.  If the bearer has only 
  one iron item and his or her companions have none, he or she can wield or use it normally.  However, as soon as 
  two or more such items are in the magnetic field, they will begin to draw each other.  Under these conditions, there 
  is an appropriate penalty of -10 for the use of separated items.  A sword wielder, for instance, will have an attack 
  penalty and a Dexterity penalty of -10.  A wearer of armor and/or bearer of a shield will have penalties of -10 on the 
  Armor and Reflex defenses.  Because the magnetism itself is natural and non-magical in nature, iron's resistance to 
  magic is ineffective. 
   
   
  Crystal Ball 
  Minimum Caster Level:  7 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  4 
  Aura:  Divination 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Glass Crystal Ball, Spell Divining 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  600 GP 
  Minimum Price:  1,200 GP 
  Weight:  4 lbs/2kg 
  Bulk:  Small 
   
  The user can see and hear the sounds of some creature or at a certain location.  If any living or undead creatures at 
  the location being divined become aware or even suspicious of the divination, they can block the divination with a 
  successful Stamina check against DL 10 + the Caster Level of the crystal ball's creator.  The user loses sight of 
  each creature, its words, its deeds, etc., when it makes its check.  If all divining targets succeed in their check, the 
  effect ends abruptly.  In that case, the user may not repeat a divining attempt for another 24 hours with any creature 
  at any scene where the attempt has failed.  The crystal ball can be used up to three times daily. 
   
   
  Crystal Ball, Greater 
  Minimum Caster Level:  13 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  7 
  Aura:  Divination 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Glass Crystal Ball and Spell Divining, Extended 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  1,000 GP 
  Minimum Price:  2,000 GP 
  Weight:  4 lbs/2kg 
  Bulk:  Small 
   
  The user can see and hear the sounds of some creature or at a certain location.  One also can apply the Skills 
  Detect Magic, Read and Write Magic, Sense Magic, Sense Mechanics and Sense Motive and can use all Detect 
  and Sense spells at the divined location.  If any living or undead creatures at the location being divined become 
  aware or even suspicious of the divination, they can block the divination with a successful Stamina check against 
  DL 10 + the Caster Level of the crystal ball's creator.  The game master checks automatically for the target is a 
  Detect or Sense spell is used.  The user loses sight of each creature, its words, its deeds, etc., when it makes its 
  check.  If all divining targets succeed in their check, the effect ends abruptly.  In that case, the user may not repeat 
  a divining attempt for another 24 hours with any creature at any scene where the attempt has failed.  The crystal 
  ball can be used up to three times daily. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 76 
   
  Dimensional Talisman 
  Minimum Caster Level:  Cast Absolute Magic 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  Absolute Magic 
  Aura:  Universal 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Unknown 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  Unknown 
  Minimum Price:  Unknown 
  Weight:  2 ounces/30 grams 
  Bulk:  Small 
   
  Dimensional Talismans are the product of elven absolute magic.  They require magic beyond the normal 15-point 
  system.  With such a talisman, one can cross the border between the Middle Dimension and the Dimension of Life.  
  A Dimensional Talisman functions only by moonlight and then only when the talisman is within 20ft/6m of a ley 
  stone.  When these conditions are fulfilled, the talisman will transport all who are willing to go and within 20ft/6m of 
  the talisman into the other dimension.  A Dimensional Talisman can remain at the most for 3d4 hours in the 
  Dimension of Life.  After that it vanishes and returns to its place of storage in the Middle Dimension.  Such 
  talismans are immune to all magic of the normal 15-point system.  A Dimensional Talisman is a figure of a rowan 
  tree made of black ebony 3 inches/7.5 cm tall with a weight of 2 ounces/30 grams. 
   
   
  Elven Rope 
  Minimum Caster Level:  3 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  3 
  Aura:  Transmutation 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  High quality silk rope, Spells Spider Climb and Animate Objects 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  400 GP 
  Minimum Price:  800 GP 
  Weight:  3 lns/1.5 kg 
  Bulk:  Medium 
   
  The lore of ensorcelling such ropes is believed to have come from the ancient light elves, although any caster can 
  ensorcel them today.  The 60ft/18m length of thin silk rope can support up to 500 lbs/250 grams.  Upon command, 
  the rope snakes forward, upward, downward, or in any other direction at 10ft/3m per round, attaching itself securely 
  wherever its owner desires.  It can unfasten itself and return in the same manner.  The user must hold one end of 
  the rope when its magic is invoked.  An Elven Rope can be used as often as one wishes. 
   
   
  Fire Buccina 
  Minimum Caster Level:  11 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  6 
  Aura:  Evocation 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Charges or Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Buccina of masterwork quality, salamander powder, Spell Firebolt 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  300 GP 
  Minimum Price:  600 GP 
  Weight:  2 lbs/1 kg 
  Bulk:  Medium 
   
  The buccina gives any user the ability to issue a blast of fire similar to dragon breath that causes 1d8 points of fire 
  damage per every two caster levels at which the horn was ensorcelled.  All of the guidelines for dragon breath 
  apply.  The range is 80ft/24m.  The fire spreads out from the buccina to a maximum width of 30ft/9m at the end of 
  the range.  The buccina is an antique rounded brass horn similar to a hunting horn. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 77 
   
  Flame of Confusion 
  Minimum Caster Level:  7 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  4 
  Aura:  Illusion 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  One use 
  Prerequisites:  One fire, Spell Confusion 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  0 GP 
  Minimum Price:  0 GP 
  Weight:  none 
  Bulk:  Large 
   
  One can ensorcel a fire just like any other object and then cast the spell Confusion into it.  Any living or undead 
  creature of intelligence who looks into the flames will experience the effect of a Confusion spell.  The effect lasts 
  until the fire burns out. 
   
   
  Fork of Silence 
  Minimum Caster Level:  1 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  2 
  Aura:  Abjuration 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Quality tuning fork, Spell Silence 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  30 GP 
  Minimum Price:  60 GP 
  Weight:  8 ounces/225 grams 
  Bulk:  Small 
   
  Tapping the tuning fork with its hammer causes complete silence within a radius of 400ft/120m rather than 
  producing a tone.  All sound is stopped.  Conversation is impossible, spells with verbal components cannot be cast, 
  and no noise whatsoever issues from, enters or passes through the area.  The effect can be ended only by using 
  Ban Magic upon the point where the tuning fork was when it was struck.  Its magic can be called three times a day. 
   
   
  Hypnotic Spectacles 
  Minimum Caster Level:  1 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  1 
  Aura:  Enchantment 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Masterworks Spectacles, Spell Hypnosis 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  100 GP 
  Minimum Price:  200 GP 
  Weight:  4 ounces/115 grams 
  Bulk:  Small 
   
  The spectacles allow you to gain the effects of an Hypnosis spell but without having to make the gestures or 
  droning incantation required for the spell.  The magic functions as long as you wear the spectacles.  The wearer can 
  draw this magical effect from the glasses three times daily. 
   
   
  Key of Liberation 
  Minimum Caster Level:  19 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  10 
  Aura:  Abjuration 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Charges or Permanent 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 78 
   
  Prerequisites:  Golden Key, Spell Liberate 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  4,500 GP 
  Minimum Price:  9,000 GP 
  Weight:  4 ounces/115 grams 
  Bulk:  Small 
   
  A creature who possesses a Key of Liberation can free him- or herself or a target from spells and effects that restrict 
  movement, including binding, entangle, grappling, imprisonment, mazes, paralysis, petrification, pinning, sleep, 
  slowing, stunning, stasis and webs.  To free a creature, the possessor of the key must know its name and must 
  direct the effect toward the spot where it was entombed or banished into the maze.  The charged version can hold 
  up to 10 charges.  The permanent version can be used three times daily.  One use lasts 10 minutes per level at 
  which it was cast. 
   
   
  Ley Stone 
  Minimum Caster Level:  Cast Absolute Magic 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  Absolute Magic 
  Aura:  Transmutation 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Unknown 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  Unknown 
  Minimum Price:  Unknown 
  Weight:  600 lbs/300 kg 
  Bulk:  Large 
   
  Ley stones are the product of elven absolute magic.  They require magic beyond the normal 15-point system.  In 
  ancient times, the light elves set the ley lines of the world and placed the ley stones within them.  They were 
  intended to strengthen the power of the Light against the Darkness, and to a certain extent, they do that yet today.  
  They also serve as the doorway between the Dimension of the Life and the Middle Dimension.  Ley stones 
  concentrate the light magic of the ley lines of the world.  Draugs, devils, demons and even dragons that have allied 
  with the Darkness will come only reluctantly within 500ft/150m of a ley stone.  Within that range, they lose all of their 
  magical powers and all use of magic.  Even their magical items become temporarily non-magical.  A dragon within 
  that range also is unable to use its breath weapon.  A vampire cannot of its own power come within 500ft/150m of a 
  ley stone.  It can come within this range only if it is in its own coffin resting upon its native soil and it is being trans-
  ported by some other creature or force.  If a vampire is forced outside of its coffin to enter this zone against his or 
  her will, it is destroyed as if it had entered sunlight.  Trolls that come within 500ft/150m of a ley stone are turned to 
  stone immediately, just as if they had come into daylight.  Orcs, ogres, worgs and other servants of the Darkness 
  (but not all evil creatures) that come within 500ft/150m of a ley stone suffer immediate penalties of -4 to Strength 
  and Stamina, and this loss continues until they leave that area.  Dark elves who come within 500ft/150m of a ley 
  stone suffer discomfort and unease, destroying their initiative bonuses and giving them a Dexterity penalty of -1.  
  Draugs, devils, demons and even dragons that have allied with the Darkness, and orcs, ogres, worgs and other 
  servants of the Darkness that touch a ley stone are destroyed immediately and permanently.  Anyone who attempts 
  to damage or deface a ley stone will find his or her ability points all temporarily reduced to 2.  This ability loss 
  continues until the creature removes itself to a distance at least 1,000ft/300m from the stone.  Ley stones are similar 
  to gravestones in appearance, standing about 3ft/90cm high.  They usually bear elven inscriptions and the symbol 
  of the elven princedom in which they one stood. 
   
   
  Magic Carpet 
  Minimum Caster Level:  7 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  4 
  Aura:  Transmutation 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Hand-woven carpet of high quality, Spell Fly 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  1,200 GP 
  Minimum Price:  2,400 GP 
  Weight:  20 lbs/10 kg 
  Bulk:  Large 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 79 
   
  One of the reasons for the high cost is the need to use a carpet of truly luxurious quality.  A standard magic carpet 
  can fly up to three times daily for 1 minute per caster level at which it was ensorcelled.  With the expenditure of 12 
  spell or magic points and a minimum caster level of 23, the carpet can be commanded to fly at will for any amount 
  of time. 
   
   
  Magic Mirror 
  Minimum Caster Level:  13 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  7 
  Aura:  Universal 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Masterwork hand mirror in gold frame, Spell Turn Magic 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  1,000 GP 
  Minimum Price:  2,000 GP 
  Weight:  8 ounces/225 grams 
  Bulk:  Small 
   
  When the mirror's owner holds it in the direction of a foe, it can turn spells and spell-like effects that are targeted on 
  him or her are back upon the enemy caster three times daily.  The mirror turns only spells that have the mirror's 
  owner as a target.  Effect and area spells are not affected.  Spell turning also fails to stop touch spells.  The mirror 
  can turn 1d4+6 spell points of magic per use.  The exact number is rolled secretly by the game master.  If the user 
  and a spellcasting attacker both are warded by spell turning effects in operation, a resonating field is created.  A roll 
  of 1d100 is necessary to determine the result. 
   
  d100 
  Effect 
  01-70 
  Spell drains away without effect. 
  71-80 
  Spell affects both of you equally at full effect. 
  81-97 
  Both turning effects are rendered nonfunctional for 1d4 
  minutes. 
  98-100 
  Both of you are teleported to a random location. 
   
   
  Magic Padlock 
  Minimum Caster Level:  1 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  2 
  Aura:  Abjuration 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  One masterwork padlock, Spell Magical Lock 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  100 GP 
  Minimum Price:  200 GP 
  Weight:  6 ounces/170 grams 
  Bulk:  Small 
   
  Ensorcellment of the lock removes its keyhole.  Normally, it can be opened only with a command word defined by 
  the caster who ensorcelled it.  An object secured with a Magic Padlock can be opened only by breaking in or with a 
  successful Ban Magic or Open Magical Lock spell.  Add 10 to the normal DL to break open a door or portal affected 
  by this spell.  An Open Magical Lock spell does not damage a Magic Padlock; it only opens it. 
   
   
  Magical Instrument 
  Minimum Caster Level:  5 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  3 
  Aura:  Enchantment 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Bardic song, fire medium, in some cases song to be ensorcelled 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  250 GP 
  Minimum Price:  500 GP 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 80 
   
  Weight:  varies 
  Bulk:  Medium 
   
  Magical instruments function only for users with the talents of the Bardic classes.  They can be made of various 
  musical instruments.  Most common are lutes and small, handheld Bardic harps.  Their abilities vary.  Most simply 
  increase the success chances of a Skáld or Blue Druid in the use of his or her Bardic abilities.  However, the 
  greatest magical instruments also are enchanted with their own magical songs.  When an instrument is ensorcelled, 
  dried holly leaves and elderberry twigs must be burned. 
   
   
  Orb of Domination 
  Minimum Caster Level:  9 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  5 
  Aura:  Enchantment 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Charges 
  Prerequisites:  Diamond worth 4,000 GP, Ivory handle worth 500 GP, Dominate spells 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  5,500 GP 
  Minimum Price:  11,000 GP 
  Weight:  2 lbs/1 kg 
  Bulk:  Medium 
   
  An Orb of Domination is made by seating a diamond worth at least 4,000 GP into a claw-like holder at the end of an 
  ivory handle worth at least 500 GP.  The diamond can be ensorcelled with up to 10 charges.  Each charge can hold 
  any of the following spells that the caster is able to use:  Dominate Beast, Dominate Dragon, Dominate Mutation or 
  Dominate Undead. 
   
   
  Orb of Fiery Rain 
  Minimum Caster Level:  25 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  13 
  Aura:  Evocation 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Charges 
  Prerequisites:  Red Sapphire worth 4,000 GP, Ivory handle worth 500 GP, Spell Fiery Rain 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  5,500 GP 
  Minimum Price:  11,000 GP 
  Weight:  2 lbs/1 kg 
  Bulk:  Medium 
   
  An Orb of Fiery Rain is made by seating a red sapphire worth at least 4,000 GP into a claw-like holder at the end of 
  an ivory handle worth at least 500 GP.  The sapphire can be ensorcelled with up to 10 charges of the spell Fiery 
  Rain. 
   
   
  Parachute Cloak 
  Minimum Caster Level:  1 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  2 
  Aura:  Transmutation 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Cloak worth at least 50 GP, Spell Gentle Fall 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  300 GP 
  Minimum Price:  600 GP 
  Weight:  1 lbs/500 grams 
  Bulk:  Medium 
   
  If the person wearing a Parachute Cloak begins to fall, the cloak automatically activates a Gentle Fall spell that last 
  for 1 round per Caster Level of the ensorcellment.  The cloak will function up to 3 times daily. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 81 
   
  Scepter of Bronze Transmutation 
  Minimum Caster Level:  29 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  15 
  Aura:  Transmutation 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Charges or Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Bronze scepter with copper head; Spell Mass Iron to Bronze 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  3,500 GP 
  Minimum Price:  7,000 GP 
  Weight:  2 lbs/1 kg 
  Bulk:  Medium 
   
  The scepter turns all iron items within 25ft/7,5m  into bronze.  These items are very rare in the Dimension of Life.  
  They usually are used when light elven guests are expected to prevent their being slain by the lethal effects of iron.  
  However, it also can reverse the effects of a Bronze to Iron spell, which will restore a transmuted object's lost 
  magical properties.  The charged version can hold up to 10 charges.  The permanent version can be used three 
  times daily. 
   
   
   
  Scepter of Winter 
  Minimum Caster Level:  29 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  15 
  Aura:  Evocation 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Silver scepter, Spell Little Fimbul Winter 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  10,000 GP 
  Minimum Price:  20,000 GP 
  Weight:  1 lbs/500 grams 
  Bulk:  Medium 
   
  The scepter creates a deeply cold area that damages anyone within it without magical protection from cold.  The 
  emanated cold deals 2d6 points of damage per minute to living creatures protected with normal winter clothing and 
  6d6 points per minute to persons without winter clothing.  The intense cold freezes water out of the air, causing 
  constant snowfall and wind.  The snow and wind produce a blizzard effect within the area.  Temperatures average  
  -50°F/-51°C.  Druids will not use this scepter when it could damage flora and fauna, but they will use it in the winter 
  season in areas where the temperature could drop to -20°F/-29°C or lower.  The scepter can be used only once 
  weekly. 
   
   
   
  Sconce of Light 
  Minimum Caster Level:  7 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  4 
  Aura:  Divination 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Small mountable sconce, diamond worth at least 2,000 GP, magic staff, Spell Caster's Lasting Light 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  3,000 GP 
  Minimum Price:  6,000 GP 
  Weight:  3 ounces/85 grams 
  Bulk:  Small 
   
  The special mini-sconce works only if it is mounted on a staff that is attuned to the caster who creates the Sconce of 
  Light.  The diamond must be fastened to the sconce.  At the staff possessor's wish, the staff creates a brilliant light 
  with illumination that only its bearer can perceive.  The light lasts as long as the bearer wishes.  For the staff 
  bearer's eyes only, the light illuminates everything within 50ft/15m of the staff. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 82 
   
  Seeing Spectacles 
  Minimum Caster Level:  7 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  4 
  Aura:  Divination 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Masterworks Spectacles, Spell See in the Dark 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  100 GP 
  Minimum Price:  200 GP 
  Weight:  4 ounces/115 grams 
  Bulk:  Small 
   
  The wearer has the ability to see over a radius of 120ft/36m in the darkness.  The spectacles are constantly 
  effective as long as they are worn.  They do not enable sight in magical darkness. 
   
   
  Skeleton Key 
  Minimum Caster Level:  9 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  5 
  Aura:  Divination 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Air, Spell Divining 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  500 GP 
  Minimum Price:  1,000 GP 
  Weight:  none 
  Bulk:  Small 
   
  The substance of a Skeleton Key is nothing more than a translucent block of air that forms into the shape of any key 
  within the user's thoughts.  If the key is inserted into a mechanical lock, it will not set off traps because it is so 
  insubstantial.  Instead, it will give the user a clear mental picture of all of the internal elements of the lock.  This in 
  turn gives the user a bonus of +10 an all Open Locks and Enable/Disable Device checks for the lock that is 
  examined. 
   
   
  Spectacles of Spying 
  Minimum Caster Level:  11 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  6 
  Aura:  Divination 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Masterwork Spectacle, Spell Spying Eyes 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  500 GP 
  Minimum Price:  1,000 GP 
  Weight:  4 ounces/115 grams 
  Bulk:  Small 
   
  The spectacles create a number of invisible magical eyes equal to the Caster Level of their creator.  These eyes 
  move out, scout around, and return as the wearer mentally directs them to do.  Each eye can see over a range of 
  120ft/36m (normal vision only) in all directions.  The individual eyes are quite fragile, but they’re not visible.  Each 
  eye is a about the size of a small apple, that has 1 hit point, and Armor, Endurance, Reflex and Stamina scores of 
  14.  They fly at a speed of 30ft/9m with perfect maneuverability, and have a +16 Sneak modifier and a Notice 
  Objects & Movement modifier equal to the Caster Level of their creator.  They are subject to illusions, darkness, fog, 
  and any other factors that would affect your ability to receive visual information about your surroundings.  An eye 
  traveling through darkness must find its way by touch.  When the spectacles create the eyes, the wearer specifies 
  instructions he or she wants them to follow in a command of no more than 25 words.  Any knowledge he or she 
  possesses is known by the eyes as well.  In order to report their findings, the eyes must return to the spectacles.  
  Each eye replays in the wearer's mind all it has seen during its existence.  It takes an eye 1 round to replay 1 hour 
  of recorded images.  After relaying its findings, an eye disappears.  If an eye ever gets more than 1 mile/1.5km 
  away from the wearer of the spectacles, it instantly ceases to exist.  The wearer's link with the eye is such that he or 
  she will not know if the eye was destroyed because it wandered out of range or because of some other event.  The 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 83 
   
  eyes exist for up to 1 hour per Caster Level of the spectacles' creator or until they return to the wearer.  Ban Magic 
  can destroy the eyes.  Roll separately for each eye caught in an area Ban Magic.  The spell is effective only when 
  the user wears the spectacles.  They can be used up to three times daily. 
   
   
  Stash Sack 
  Minimum Caster Level:  11 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  6 
  Aura:  Conjuration 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Sag, leather bag, etc., stash room, Spell Teleport 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  300 GP 
  Minimum Price:  600 GP 
  Weight:  varies 
  Bulk:  Medium 
   
  The Stash Sack can be anything from a small leather pouch to a large burlap sack.  One requirement is that it is 
  empty at the time it is being ensorcelled.  Anything one places in a Stash Sack, Bag or Pouch immediately is 
  teleported to whatever location is defined as a stash site by the caster who ensorcelled it.  If one gains possession 
  of another person's sack, one can cast Ensorcel Magic Item a second time to redefine the stash location. 
   
   
  Tarnhelmet 
  Minimum Caster Level:  9 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  5 
  Aura:  Illusion 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Charges or Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Bronze helmet, Spell Extended Invisibility 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  100 GP 
  Minimum Price:  200 GP 
  Weight:  2 lbs/1 kg 
  Bulk:  Small 
   
  The Tarnhelmet is a human facsimile of a dwarven Tarnhelm, but it is less powerful than a Tarnhelm.  It is a normal 
  bronze helmet ensorcelled to make its wearer invisible.  The lesser Tarnhelmet with charges makes the wearer 
  invisible for 10 minutes per caster level at the level at which it was charged.  The permanent version lasts until the 
  wearer removes the helmet.  The permanent version can be used once a day for every five caster levels at which it 
  was ensorcelled. 
   
   
  Telepathic Headband 
  Minimum Caster Level:  20 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  4 
  Aura:  Divination 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Headband with gold or silver lining, Spell Telepathic Network 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  900 GP 
  Minimum Price:  1,800 GP 
  Weight:  6 ounces/170 grams 
  Bulk:  Small 
   
  The wearer of the headband can open a Telepathic Network at will up top three times daily.  The network links the 
  wearer with one willing, intelligent creature per Caster Level of the creator.  Each creature included in the network is 
  linked to all the others.  The creatures can communicate telepathically through the network regardless of language.  
  No special power or influence is established as a result of this link.  Once the network is formed, it works over any 
  distance.  If desired, the wearer of the headband may leave him- or herself out of the network.  This decision must 
  be made at the network is forged.  The network functions for 10 minutes per Caster Level of the headband's creator. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 84 
   
  Teleportation Dust 
  Minimum Caster Level:  11 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  6 
  Aura:  Conjuration 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  One use 
  Prerequisites:  Phosphorous dust in a vial, Spell Teleport or Teleport Perfectly 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  300 GP 
  Minimum Price:  600 GP 
  Weight:  4 oz/115 grams 
  Bulk:  Small 
   
  The version with Teleport Perfectly requires at least 8 spell points and has a minimum caster level of 15.  With both 
  versions, the user of the dust throws the powder to the ground, which causes it to flare up briefly in flame.  As soon 
  as that happens, the user vanishes and arrives immediately at his or her destination, using the definition of the 
  Teleport or Teleport Perfectly spells. 
   
   
  Veiling Band 
  Minimum Caster Level:  15 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  8 
  Aura:  Abjuration 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Charges or Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  Leather headband, Spell Divination Shield 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  500 GP 
  Minimum Price:  1,000 GP 
  Weight:  4 ounces/115 grams 
  Bulk:  Small 
   
  The headband gives the wearer the benefit of the spell Divination Shield.  The version with charges is effective for 1 
  hour per caster level.  The permanent version is effective whenever the veil is worn. 
   
   
  Veiling Veil 
  Minimum Caster Level:  7 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  4 
  Aura:  Abjuration 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Charges or Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  High quality silk veil, Spell Divination Veil 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  200 GP 
  Minimum Price:  400 GP 
  Weight:  8 ounces/225 grams 
  Bulk:  Small 
   
  The veil gives the wearer the benefit of the spell Divination Veil.  The version with charges is effective for 1 hour per 
  caster level.  The permanent version is effective whenever the veil is worn. 
   
   
  Witch's Broom 
  Minimum Caster Level:  7 
  Minimum Effective Magic Points:  4 
  Aura:  Transmutation 
  Alignment:  All 
  Type:  Charges or Permanent 
  Prerequisites:  High quality broom, Spell Flying 
  Minimum Cost to Create:  900 GP 
  Minimum Price:  1,800 GP 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 85 
   
  Weight:  1 lbs/500 grams 
  Bulk:  Medium 
   
  A Witch's Broom can fly for 1 minute per caster level at which it was ensorcelled.  The version with charges can 
  hold up to 10 charges.  The permanently ensorcelled version can be used up to 5 times daily. 
   
   
   
  A wizard's tower – where magic begins. 
  Product identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 86 
   
  2.7  Runic Magic 
   
  Conventional magic derives from the magic of the Light that has been drawn into the world by elves, where much of 
  it has been neutralized and some of it even turned evil by the Darkness.  Runic magic is substantially different from 
  conventional magic.  Runecutters, also known as Runestainers, work with the planet's own internal energy.  Theirs 
  is a neutral type of energy that is drawn from the bedrock of the earth and the fires that burn within it. 
   
  Of all the folk who inhabit the world, only the dwarves and giants have the necessary affinity with these elements to 
  allow them to draw upon this energy.  However, this natural magic is relatively latent rather than dynamic, in 
  comparison to the magic of the Light.  It can be drawn from the earth in large and powerful quantities, but only 
  slowly, in small amounts at a time. 
   
  For that reason, it is impossible to employ this magic for spells.  A single, simple attacking bolt of magical energy 
  probably would take the better part of a day to cast, if indeed it could be cast at all as a spell.  To our knowledge, no 
  one ever has tried to do so, at least with success. 
   
  Despite that, the dwarves and the giants, who understand such energy, each learned in their own time how to draw 
  upon this power, contain it and then unleash it at a later time.  What the two races learned is that each various 
  element of natural magic has its own true name, and that these names can be written in symbols.  Once that is 
  done, a giant or dwarf can call the magic into it and define how and when it can be unleashed. 
   
  Those who learn runic magic can cut and stain runestones, rune tablets or runesticks.  Only dwarves make 
  runestones.  They also make rune tablets on thin sheets of stone and rune sticks of beechwood.  Giants make rune 
  tablets and runesticks of beechwood. 
   
  Runestones are cut into standing rock.  They usually are staves intended to serve a permanent protective purpose.  
  Rune tablets are cut into tablets made of thin rock or beechwood.  They may contain permanent magic or charges.  
  Runesticks are round pieces of beechwood, perfectly turned and polished, with a length of 8 iches/20cm and a 
  diameter of ½ inch/1.25cm.  Runestainers cut and stain their staves into the runesticks.  Their magic can be 
  unleashed once; then they are useless. 
   
  Dwarven and giant runecutters also can cut and stain runic staves in the blades of bronze weapons, and, in the 
  case of dwarves, middle silver weapons, but not in those made or iron or iron alloys.  Ensorcelling weapons with 
  runes requires that a master smith and a Runestainer work together to cut the runes into the weapon.  Once the 
  runes have been finished, the Runestainer must complete his or her work alone, staining the freshly cut stave. 
   
  It should be noted that the giants have no deep mines from which they can win the ore of middle silver, nor have 
  they ever learned to smelt this rare ore and forge metal products of it.  Only dwarves know how to ensorcel middle 
  silver weapons with runes. 
   
  Dwarves also have an unlimited ability to learn and command the earth magic that powers runestones, rune tablets 
  and staves in weapons.  Giants, by their very nature, are attuned more to physical labor than to intellectual pursuits, 
  which also limits the level of runic staves they are able to cut and stain.  However, it should be noted that the more 
  intellectual members of the giants' race tend to be sorcerers of low to middle level rather than Runestainers. 
   
  Runic magic is written in staves that contain one or more symbols, which, in turn, are called runic radicals.  Staves 
  must be cut precisely into stone, beechwood or weapon.  Afterwards, they must be stained with potions brewed by 
  the Runestainer.  Staining takes place in various stages.  Part of it must be done in the darkness of the world's 
  depths.  Part of it must be done in the Light of the sun.  The final phase of staining must take place in moonshine. 
   
  The potion that the Runecutter uses to stain his or her staves is a different formula for each Runestainer.  The call 
  of earth magic into the stave is an act that is performed individually by each Runecutter.  Likewise, he or she brews 
  his or her own secret staining potion.  Only one ingredient is common to the more powerful staining potions:  They 
  include the blood of the enemy.  For the dwarves, this usually is the blood of mountain orcs.  For the giants, it's the 
  blood of dwarves or humans. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 87 
   
  There are three basic classes of runestones and tables: 
   
  • 
  Lesser:  A runestone or tablet with one stave that can be used only once, like a runestick, expending its 
  magic. 
   
  • 
  Higher:  A runestone or tablet with a limited number of charges.  Such runestones and tablets cannot be 
  recharged.  Only the most powerful runestones and tablets may hold more than one stave. 
   
  • 
  Greater:  A runestone or tablet that always retains its magic permanently and needs no charges.  Such 
  staves also are those used to ensorcel weapons. 
   
  Stave Points: 
   
  • 
  Staves have stave points established by the game master (and the Runecutter's player, if the Runecutter is 
  a PC) at the time the stave is defined.  Stave points are similar to spell and magic points. 
   
   
  Runestone Limitations: 
   
  Regardless of level, the ability of a Runecutter to stain runes is limited by his Magical Aptitude according to the 
  following table: 
   
  Runestone Limitations 
  Magical 
  Aptitude 
  Lesser Runestone Higher Runestone 
  Great Runestone 
  Radicals Staves per Radical 
  12 
  Yes 
  No 
  No 
  1 
  1 
  13-15 
  Yes 
  Yes 
  No 
  2 
  2 
  16-18 
  Yes 
  Yes 
  Yes 
  3 
  3 
  19 and above 
  Yes 
  Yes 
  Yes 
  4 
  4 
   
   
  Defining Staves:  The development of runic staves is a work apart from the cutting of new runestones that employ 
  staves already defined by the Runecutter.  A Runecutter can cut only the staves that he or she has defined 
  personally.  The definition of a stave is somewhat similar to the development of a new spell.  Each stave is a 
  personal creation of the Runecutter.  He or she begins with radicals that he or she already has learned.  This list of 
  radicals usually is chosen by a PC Runecutter. 
   
  The Runecutter must draft a definition of the stave, its properties and abilities and present the draft to the game 
  master, to be worked out so that it is acceptable for both.  After agreement is reached, the Runestainer can begin 
  attempting to master his or her new stave. 
   
  As a guideline for defining new staves, both the player and the game master can use the arcane spells for Magi in 
  the Players Guide.  The base level of a stave depends in most cases upon the level of its highest radical.  The 
  ultimate level is determined as follows: 
   
  Composition 
  Level 
  Time 
  Two radicals, lesser stave 
  Base Level 
  1 day 
  Higher stave 
  +2 levels 
  4 days 
  Greater stave 
  +4 levels 
  7 days 
  Third radical 
  +1 level 
  +3 days 
  Each additional radical 
  +3 levels 
  +4 days 
   
  The definition of a new stave usually but not always incurs material costs.  To define and master a new stave, the 
  Runecutter must cut and stain it in a manner similar to that used to produce a runestone.  However, during the 
  cutting and staining of the new stave, the powers and forces being bound must be present, and the Runecutter 
  must sing his or her own elementary chant to bind the forces called by the radicals into the stave. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 88 
   
  The chant lasts 10 minutes for each day of cutting time, as listed in the table above.  At the end of this time, the 
  required materials, if any, are sacrificed and consumed by the called forces or powers, binding the magic of the 
  earth into the new stave. 
   
  Most staves are powered by a power radical, and these usually must be cut and stained in the presence of the 
  element represented by the power radicals.  A stave powered by the fire radical Eldr, for instance, must be cut in 
  the presence of fire, which will consume whatever materials might be required. 
   
  The decision which radical will be a stave's prime radical is determined in the agreement reached between the 
  Runecutter and the game master.  Most staves will require a power radical, but some known staves are driven 
  instead by the honor radical Senda or the necromantic radicals Líf (life) and Dauði (death), etc. 
   
  Attempts to define new staves are not automatic.  A newly cut and stained stave requires a success check.  If the 
  Runecutter fails that check, he or she may repeat the check after 1d4 + 10 days and after a new expenditure of 10% 
  of the original material costs. 
   
  The success check is a d20 check against a Difficulty Level calculated as follows: 
   
  10 + Stave level - Magical Aptitude modifier – applicable skill bonuses = DL 
   
  Most staves should be similar to so-called growing spells.  In other words, instead of defining damage as a fixed 
  2d8 points damage, 1d4 or 1d6 points per Runecutter level would be more appropriate.  And it is better to define 
  range, duration, etc., in a similar fashion. 
   
  Runic staves use the same schools of magic as spells in the Players Guide.  However, the choice of a school is 
  dependent upon the Runecutter's definition of how his spell works, and that often has to do above all with the 
  radical that powers it.  Each Runecutter must determine the correct sequence of importance of the radicals in 
  binding a stave.  The first radical is the most important. 
   
  It should be noted that radicals of the school of illusion do not appear to exist, perhaps because radicals are the true 
  names of realities and illusion is unreality.  There is no record anywhere of dwarves or giants ever having created 
  runic illusions.  Runic radicals belong to the schools of Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, 
  Necromancy and Transmutation.  Unlike in conventional magic, runic magic does not differentiate between White 
  and Black Necromancy, nor is it aligned with Light or Darkness. 
   
  Most dwarven Runecutters are limited to learning radicals and making staves of them that combine up to three 
  radicals.  The greatest Runecutters have the ability to create staves with as many as five radicals.  They also have 
  the ability to research radicals.  This does not mean that they can create new radicals, but rather that they could 
  conduct research that would regain knowledge of forgotten radicals or perhaps radicals that have not yet been 
  discovered. 
   
  NOTE:  The abilities of a Runecutter also are limited by the information to which he or she has access.  A 
  Runecutter well may have the statistical ability to learn more radicals, for instance, than there is information at hand 
  to actually learn.  A runecaster who has spent his or her life in deep dwarven halls, for instance, never will be able 
  to learn the sun Sól or the tree radical Tré, regardless of talent or level. 
   
   
  The Runecutter or Runestainer 
   
  This character class is defined in the Players Guide. 
   
  There is and can be no such thing as a complete catalog of runes.  The dwarven and giant masters who cut and 
  stained the ancient runes learned to understand the powers represented by the runes.  They learned the true 
  names of these powers and the shape of these names, cutting these shapes into stone, ore, metal and wood, 
  staining these staves and calling into them the secrets they knew to awaken the powers whose names the runes 
  represented. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 89 
   
  The runic system works somewhat like the written Chinese language of our own world, Earth.  Runecutters and 
  master smiths began by learning the basic powers, their true names and the staves that fit those names.  The basic 
  runes represented sources of power rather than the powers themselves, constituting runic radicals. 
   
  Useful runes combined radicals to bring varying powers together, to achieve very specific goals.  This building of 
  powerful, composite runic staves out of individual runic radicals is the most difficult part of the Runecutter's art.  
  There are many old tales of adventuresome Runecutters who combined radicals they did not understand fully, 
  unintentionally wreaking devastation upon themselves as well as or even rather than their foes. 
   
  How many radicals actually exist is an open question.  Most sages who are aware of runic magic speak of ancient 
  texts that mention the "runic radicals, four times nine in number," suggesting that the ancient Runecutters had 36 
  radicals or base runes with which to work.   
   
  However, adventurers once found a non-magical runestone in the ruins of a fallen dwarven hall in which was 
  written, "Four times nine in number, are the runes from which the master smiths shape their staves, but nine times 
  nine number the runes, that the master stainer can call into his art," suggesting that the overwhelming number of 81 
  radicals may have been known to runecutters at one time, with only the 36 "lesser" radicals known to the master 
  smiths.  Then again, it may be that all 81 still are known in the depths of some dwarven halls. 
   
  The number of staves that can be fashioned from these radicals is a quite different question.  It is sometimes said 
  that there once were as many composite staves as there were Runecutters.  While this certainly is an exaggeration, 
  there doubtless is a grain of truth within it. 
   
  Radicals seldom were used alone.  Composite staves are a Runecutter's or master smith's descriptions of the 
  names of basic powers.  To combine these runic radicals into staves, each Runestainer or smith must understand 
  the power behind each radical and also how these powers work together and how they conflict with one another.  
  With the smith, that process is intuitive.  With a Runecutter, it is both academic and intuitive. 
   
  To make radicals work together within a runic stave, the lines of each cut and stained radical must turn in a manner 
  so that its forces flow together and cooperate.  For this reason, it is not possible here to make an extensive list of 
  known staves that every Runecutter or master smith has a chance to learn, as is the case with magicians' spells in 
  the Player's Guide.  
   
  Instead, we can list only better known runic radicals and some of the composite combinations that have been 
  known to be used successfully in days of yore.  These are the staves your PCs are most likely to encounter in 
  exploring dwarven ruins, and they are the staves one is most likely to find upon magical dwarven weapons and 
  armor, if they were inscribed with runes. 
   
  Many of the runic radicals and staves listed below are marked with an asterisk (*).  Magic marked in this manner 
  can be learned only by the rarest of Runecutters or smiths, because the runes require a deep and encompassing 
  understanding of things above the world’s surface.  Runecutters and smiths, by their very nature, only seldom leave 
  their dwarven halls and ascend to the surface, except to cut runes by the light of the moon, stars and sun.  
  Therefore, they never are privy to such knowledge. 
   
  Only Runecutters and smiths who spend time before learning their art on the surface, and who have concentrated 
  themselves deeply upon knowledge of their environment, will be able to learn such runes and staves.  You may not 
  have to explain to your PCs how this knowledge was gained, but you should be able to explain it to yourself, if you 
  want to run a credible campaign. 
   
  Interestingly, the magical power behind the sun and tree radicals - while inaccessible to most Runecutters - belongs 
  to the natural talent of a dwarven master smith.  He or she gains this understanding through the knowledge of the 
  materials with which he or she works. 
   
  Runic Point Designations of Radicals:  These designations correspond to the spell and magic point levels for 
  users of conventional magic.  To create a stave, a Runestainer or smith must understand the chosen radical and be 
  able to use staves of that point level. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 90 
   
  Runic Point Designations of Staves:  A composite stave usually has the runic point level of its highest radical, 
  unless it consists of more than two radicals. 
   
  Reading the Stave Definitions: 
   
  • 
  Runic Points:  The number of runic points that the runecutter must expend. 
   
  • 
  Runic Level:  Describes how the stave can be powered – as a lesser, higher or greater stave or as a greater 
  stave that can be sent only to a receiver stave. 
   
  • 
  Creation Time:  This is a Runecutter's creation time for a lesser stave.  For a higher stave, the time doubles.  
  For a greater stave, it triples.  If it can be sent, it quadruples, in addition to the extra costs for including the 
  radical of sending Senda. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Winter, trolls and rune-cutting giants in the mountains and dwarven halls beneath them 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 91 
   
  2.8  Runic Radicals and Staves 
   
   
  Gamer Master’s Note 
   
  You’ll find detailed information on spells and cleric rites in the Players Guide.  That’s because the spells are 
  necessary for both the PCs who roles the players play and for the NPCs that you as game master have to play.  
  The situation is different with runic magic. 
   
  PCs who play Runecutters are rare.  There is very little that a Runestainer can contribute to day-to-day adventuring.  
  They are not trained to fight, steal or cast spells.  The magic they create must be made over a relatively long period 
  of time and stored in runic staves before it can be unleashed upon a foe. 
   
  Runecutters do their work mostly alone, although they sometimes work together with a smith.  Once they’re finished 
  with their work, they pass their ensorcelled weapons, rune tablets and runesticks on to the Warriors and Specialists 
  of their dwarven clan or giant tribe, and these, not the Runestainer, use the magic that the Runecutters have stored 
  in their creations. 
   
  To the extent that runes play a role in your campaign, they usually will be introduced by you, the game master, as 
  the creations of NPCs.  If your PCs have no experience themselves as Runestainers, which usually will be the case, 
  they have no idea what the runic radicals or staves mean.  For that reason, their players should have no access to 
  the lists on the pages that follow.  In almost all campaigns, these lists are strictly game master tools. 
   
  If your PCs start exploring the ruins of fallen dwarven halls (or have the misfortune of wandering into those that still 
  are inhabited), they’re certain to encounter many runic staves that contain traps in waiting.  In this section, you’ll find 
  a listing of frequent runic staves, but don’t hesitate to invent your own as well. 
   
  To use the runes in your own texts, you need to install the TrueType fonts Germanic Runes (RUNE_G.TTF) and 
  Rune English 2 (RUNENG2.TTF), created by Daniel Smith, and the Public Domain font Common Tongue 
  (COMMON.TTF).  Daniel Smith's fonts are available on his Internet site, which is devoted to runic lore:  
  http://www.acondia.com/fonts/index.html .  All three fonts also are included in the Dungeons Daring download file 
  for game masters. 
   
   
   
   
  2.8.1  Runic Radicals 
   
   
  Known Unique Runic Radicals 
   
  k - Samein.  The melding radical (Transmutation – 15 runic points) 
  Samein is a very difficult radical for a Runecutter to understand and extremely difficult to cut successfully, for it goes 
  to the very root of nature, as Dwarves understand it.  Only epic level Runecutters with the skill Master Senda and 
  Samein have access to it.  In nature, it is impossible for two objects to occupy the same space at the same time.  
  Samein, which is a revelation one gains only after learning to deeply understand Steinn, is the secret of having two 
  objects occupy the same space at the same time. 
   
   
  T - Senda.  The radical of sending (Conjuration – 15 runic points) 
  Senda is the most difficult of all known radicals to learn.  Only epic level Runecutters with the skill Master Senda 
  and Samein have access to it.  It is the radical that a Runecutter must use to create a rune that he personally can 
  read to send the magical effect of the rune to another location.  Only the greatest master Runecutters ever learn 
  Senda well enough to use it effectively.  And only the few greatest of these masters ever learn it well enough to cut 
  and stain a stave that someone else can use to send a rune's magic.  To do so, the Runecutter must cut Senda 
  twice in the stave, once at the beginning and once at the end. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 92 
   
  The Prime Elemental Radicals 
   
  l - Eldr.  The fire radical (universal – 1 runic point, automatic) 
  Eldr is a power source rune.  Runecutters use it to draw the power of fire into their staves, causing not only fiery 
  magic but also the magic of light beneath the surface of earth. 
   
  o - Jörð.  The earth radical (universal – 1 runic point, automatic) 
  Jörð is a power source rune.  Runecutters use it to draw the physical power of the earth itself into their staves.  Jörð 
  refers to the world. 
   
  3 - Vindr.  The air and wind radical (universal – 1 runic point, automatic) 
  Vindr is a power source rune.  Runecutters use it to draw power of the air and the wind into their staves. 
   
  w - Vatn.  The water radical (universal – 1 runic point, automatic) 
  Vatn is a power source rune.  Runecutters use it to draw the power of water into their staves. 
   
   
  Other Prime Runic Radicals 
   
  n - Bannfæra.  The dismissal radical (Abjuration – 4 runic points) 
  Bannfæra is the prime radical used in staves that ban magic, banish outsiders, defeat magical effects, etc. 
   
  K – Dvergr or Jötunn.  The folk radical (Necromancy – 4 runic points) 
  The dwarves call this rune Dvergr (dwarf) and the giants call it Jötunn (giant).  It really is the folk radical.  It is the 
  prime radical used in staves that deal with the very essence of dwarves or giants.  There are no known radicals for 
  humans, elves, halflings, etc., although there may be a lost alien radical known as Ókunnung, which represents the 
  non-dwarven and non-giant races. 
   
  e - Stjarna.  The star radical (Conjuration – 3 runic points) 
  Stjarna is a power source rune.  Runecutters use it to draw power of the elven stars into their staves. 
   
  f - Líf.  The life radical (Necromancy –6 runic points) 
  Líf is a key rune in necromantic staves, and it is believed that some master Runecutters could use it in staves to 
  rescue dead dwarves who had not succeeded in merging into the earthstone from the clutches of Hela in Deep Hell.  
  Líf refers to the force of all life upon earth, not just dwarven or giant life. 
   
  h - Dauði.  The death radical (Necromancy –6 runic points) 
  Dauði is a key rune in necromantic staves.  Dauði refers to the force of all death upon earth, not just dwarven or 
  giant death. 
   
  p - Tungl.  The moon radical (Conjuration –4 runic points) 
  Tungl is a power source rune.  Runecutters and smiths use it to draw power of the moon into their staves. 
   
  S - þróttur.  The energy radical (Transmutation – 8 runic points) 
  þróttur is a power source rune.  It is the essence of all non-living energy upon the earth.  Only accomplished 
  Runecutters and smiths can work directly with þróttur.  It draws the non-living energy of the world into their staves.  
  Some sages dispute whether þróttur is a prime radical.  They contend that it is a subset radical of a lost nature 
  radical known as Náttúra. 
   
  g - Sól *.  The sun radical (Conjuration – 4 runic points) 
  Sól is a power source rune.  Runecutters and smiths use it to draw power of the sun into their staves.  Dwarves also 
  interpret Sól to mean blind or blinding, and it often is used with this meaning in battle runes. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 93 
   
  Known Runic Subset Radicals 
   
  z- Breyta.  The transmutation radical (Transmutation - Subset of Bannfæra – 7 runic points) 
  Breyta requires a deep knowledge of the physical nature of the item or being to be transmuted. 
   
  b - Tilfinning.  The motion or movement radical (Conjuration - Subset of þróttur – level 8) 
  Tilfinning represents movement, but to be effective, it usual requires inclusion in a compound rune that defines what 
  motion will be magically created.  As an example, to pass through stone, a Runecutter combines Steinn, Tilfinning 
  and Samein - stone, motion and melding (the latter a very difficult rune to master). 
   
  d - Stormr.  The storm radical (Conjuration - Subset of Vindr – 4 runic points) 
  Stormr is a power source rune.  Runecutters use it to draw the power of storms into their staves.  Stormr also can 
  evoke the fury of nature in general. 
   
  I - Djúp.  The fall radical (Transmutation - Subset of þróttur – 10 runic points) 
  Djúp is used for most staves that involve falling or the lowering of objects. 
   
  n - Málmgrýti.  The metal (ore) radical (Conjuration - Subset of Jörð – 4 runic points) 
  Málmgrýti represents the power of metal, although it relates to this power from an understanding of metal in its 
  natural state as ore. 
   
  J - Elding.  The lightning radical (Conjuration - Subset of Vindr – 4 runic points) 
  Elding is a power source rune.  Runecutters use it to draw the power of lightning into their staves.  Elding works 
  only above ground, where natural lightning can occur.  In the depths, dwarves use the composite stave edr, 
  eldrstormglötun, which produces an electrical blast in the depths.  On the other side of the coin eldrstormglötun can 
  produce only erratic, chaotic storms with uncontrollable lightning in the surface world. 
   
  a - Heill.  The good fortune radical (Evocation - Subset of Dvergr/Jötunn – 5 runic points) 
  Heill is used in composite staves intended to improve the fortunes of friends and allies.  In the old tongue, heill also 
  means good luck, good fortune, favorable chances. 
   
  J- Heimför.  The reversal radical (Transmutation - Subset of Bannfæra – 10 runic points) 
  Heimför requires a deep knowledge of the nature of the condition that is being reversed and also an equally deep 
  understanding of the nature of the condition's opposite. 
   
  i  Sæmd.  The honor radical (Enchantment - Subset of Dvergr/Jötunn – 5 runic points) 
  Sæmd usually refers to honor in dealings, negotiations, treaties, etc. 
   
  N - Ís.  The ice radical (Conjuration - Subset of Vatn – 3 runic points) 
  Ís is a power source rune.  Runecutters use it to draw the power of ice into their staves. 
   
  O - Klifra.  The flight radical (Transmutation - Subset of þróttur – 10 runic points) 
  Klifra is used for most staves that involve climbing, flying or the lifting or elevating of objects. 
   
  r - Glötun.  The radical of dissolution (Transmutation - Subset of Bannfæra – 7 runic points.) 
  Glötun usually causes destruction, decomposition, etc. 
   
  s - Steinn.  The stone radical (Conjuration - Subset of Jörð – 1 runic point) 
  Steinn is a power source rune.  Runecutters use it to draw the power of stone into their staves.  In runic magic 
  steinn tends to relate to fundamentals of the dwarven or giant spirit.  Among dwarves, it often is used to represent 
  good faith, truth and other dwarven values of lawfulness. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 94 
   
  Y - Töfra.  The merging radical (Transmutation - Subset of Dvergr/Jötunn – 6 runic points) 
  Töfra draws upon the dwarf's or giant's own essence to merge powers into an object.  Töfra is an essential radical 
  for the creation of many magical objects and weapons. 
   
  t - Ógæfa.  The ill fortune radical (Evocation - Subset of Dvergr/Jötunn – 6 runic points) 
  Ógæfa is used in composite staves to effect curses.  In the old tongue, ógæfa means ill fate, doom, ill luck, etc.. 
   
  M - Vernd.  The protection radical (Abjuration - Subset of Bannfæra –1 runic point) 
  Vernd is used for most staves that provide shelter or protection against specific threats. 
   
  v - Tré *.  The tree radical (Conjuration - Subset of Líf – 8 runic points)  
  Tré is a power source rune.  Runecutters use it to draw the power of wood into their staves, but it is accessible 
  mostly only to giant Runecutters, because most dwarves have no relationship to forests or trees.  Tré evokes the 
  life power of trees, forests and wood. 
   
  j - þekking.  The knowledge radical (Divination - Subset of Dvergr or Jötunn –6 runic points) 
  þekking is used in a wide variety of staves, most in the area of divining, but some also intended to communicate by 
  telepathic and similar means.  In the old tongue, þekking means knowledge, lore, etc. 
   
   
  The Forgotten Radicals 
   
  These are among the radicals have become lost to the runestainers of the era in which Dungeons Daring 
  adventures take place, as far as is known.  Of course, they could be found again, and their finding could be a part of 
  an adventure.  They are provided here for your use as game master. 
   
  Y - Galdra.  The greater magic radical (Universal – 13 runic points) 
  Only the most accomplished Runecutters, those who have a deep understanding of the relationship between runic 
  forms and earth magic, could create metamagical staves with this radical.  Galdra also is the word in the old tongue 
  for the type of wizardry practiced by humans and elves. 
   
  W - Gannda.  The lesser magic radical (Universal – 4 runic points) 
  Gannda was used for common metamagical staves, usually those that expended no more than 6 runic points.  
  Gannda also is the dwarven word for the type of wizardry practiced by human, elven and giant sorcerers. 
   
  A – Náttúra.  The nature radical (Necromancy – 5 runic points) 
  This radical is similar to Dvergr/Jötunn, but it deals with the essence of plant and animal life rather than that of 
  dwarven or giant life.  Its use by dwarves in connection with animal and plant life upon the surface was limited to 
  those dwarves who have spent considerable time upon the surface. 
   
  U - Ókunnung.  The outsider radical (Necromancy – 7 runic points) 
  This radical is similar to Dvergr/Jötunn, but it deals with the essence of alien life rather than that of dwarven or giant 
  life.  Alien life includes humans, elves, halflings and non-magical mutations.  The life of magically created beings 
  can be addressed with Galdra or Gannda. 
   
   
  Prime, Subset and Unique Radicals 
   
  The term prime radicals encompasses an entire great element, such as Eldr in the case of fire or Dvergr/Jötunn in 
  the case of the folk radical.  The elements described by these radicals often have many facets, and the radicals that 
  describe the great element sometimes have within them so-called subset radicals that describe these facets. 
   
  A good example is the prime element water radical Vatn.  Ice is a facet of water, but ice is much more specific than 
  water in general, which could manifest itself as steam as well, the opposite of ice.  As a result, Vatn, as a prime 
  radical, has within it the subset ice radical Ís. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 95 
   
  It well may be that Vatn also has within it a subset steam radical which would be called Gufa.  However, if the 
  subset radical Gufa (steam in the old tongue) does exist, either the giants and the dwarves have yet to discover it or 
  it may be a forgotten radical. 
   
  Almost any effect that can be achieved with a stave that contains Ís, the ice radical, also can be achieved by 
  substituting Vatn, the water radical, for Ís.  However, the stave with Vatn would be weaker than the stave with Ís, 
  because the stave with Vatn must deal with all facets and forms of water and then single out ice, while Ís focuses all 
  of its power upon ice. 
   
  An interesting area of speculation is the subset metal or ore radical Málmgrýti.  It comes from within the prime 
  radical Jörð.  However, Málmgrýti not only is a subset radical of Jörð, but some sages speculate that Málmgrýti in 
  turn also has its own subsets.  These would be such second-level subset radicals such as Gull (Gold), Silfur 
  (Silver), Miðsilfur (Middle Silver), Kopar (copper), Blý (lead) and perhaps even Járn (iron). 
   
  However, these theories have not been proven.  They are matters of pure speculation.  If such second level subsets 
  exist, one easily can picture that the 81 radicals mentioned in the ancient runestone discovered by adventurers 
  being a reality.  If that is indeed the case, there still are a number of forgotten radicals waiting to be found! 
   
  Speculation also is the only answer available regarding unique runes.  Senda and Samein are the only unique 
  radicals known to exist.  They are not known to be subsets of any other radicals, nor do they have "children" of their 
  own.  Dwarven longbeards do not believe that these powerful unique radicals can be subsets themselves or have 
  subsets of their own.  For that very reason that are defined as unique. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Deep under the high mountains are the treacherous halls of the dwarven thanes. 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 96 
   
  2.8.2  Runic Staves 
   
  Earth Staves 
   
  odr - Jörðstormglötun (Evocation) 
  Runic Points:  8 
  Runic level:  All 
  Creation time:  21 days 
  Range:  Long (400ft/120m + 40ft/12m per level) 
  Area:  80ft/24m Radius 
  Defense:  see the description of the magic spell Cause Earthquake 
   
  This stave creates an earthquake.  The mass and depth of the quake are dependent upon the Runecutter's abilities.  
  When you cast an earthquake, an intense but highly localized tremor rips the ground. The shock knocks creatures 
  down, collapses structures, opens cracks in the ground, and more.  The effect lasts for 1 round, during which time 
  creatures on the ground can’t move or attack. The specific effect of an earthquake depends on the nature of the 
  terrain where it is cast.  For details, see the description of the spell Cause Earthquake in the Players Guide. 
   
   
  okw - Jörðsameinvatn (Evocation) 
  Runic Points:  9 
  Runic level:  All 
  Creation time:  30 days 
  Range:  Long (400ft/120m + 40ft/12m per 2 levels) 
  Area:  100ft/30m Radius per level 
  Defense:  None 
   
  The stave is similar to the Players Guide magic spell Transmute Elements regarding earth and stone, but it 
  functions on a larger scale.  It brings the element of water into the soil, making wet mud of it.  The rune must be 
  stained with clear, pure water. 
   
   
  wdo - Vatnstormjörð (Abjuration) 
  Runic Points:  9 
  Runic level:  All 
  Creation time:  12 days 
  Range:  Close (25ft/7.5m + 5ft/150cm per 2 levels) 
  Area:  10ft/3m Radius per level 
  Defense:  None 
   
  The stave is a reverse version of Jörðsameinvatn.  It drives water from mud, making normal soil of it.  The rune 
  must be stained with a pigment made from loam. 
   
   
  Fire Staves 
   
  lok - Eldrjörðsamein (Conjuration)(Epic only) 
  Runic Points:  15 
  Runic level:  Lesser only 
  Creation time:  30 days 
  Range:  10 miles/16km 
  Area:  One volcano 
  Defense:  None 
   
  This stave is reserved for the greatest dwarven Runecutters.  It will cause a dormant (but not extinct) volcano to 
  erupt.  This rune must be cut in sunlight and stained under moon- and starshine with blood of the enemy.  The stain 
  must be burnt with fire. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 97 
   
  lhr - Eldrdauðiglötun (Evocation) 
  Runic points:  8 
  Runic level:  All 
  Creation time:  21 days 
  Range:  Long (400ft/120m + 40ft/12m per level) 
  Area:  50ft/15m radius area 
  Defense:  Reflex 
   
  The effect is similar to a Balls of Fire spell, but it usually covers a wider area than the spell.  Damage is calculated 
  at 1d6 per runecaster level.  The rune must be stained in sunlight with powdered sulfur that is burnt under moon- 
  and starshine with the flame of burning phosphorous. 
   
   
  ln - Eldrmálmgrýti (Transmutation) 
  Runic Points:  4 
  Runic level:  All, no sending 
  Creation time:  12 days 
  Range:  Close (25ft/7.5m + 5ft/150cm per 2 levels) 
  Target:  Same as spell Metal Temperature 
  Duration:  7 rounds + 1 round per stainer level, minimum 20 rounds 
  Defense:  None 
   
  The stave is a slightly more powerful version of the heating element of the spell Metal Temperature, but, when 
  stained by a powerful enough Runecutter, it also can be used to heat metal to temper it.  The rune must be stained 
  with nitric acid.  For more information, see the description of the spell Metal Temperature in the Players Guide. 
   
   
  lf - Eldrlíf (Evocation) 
  Runic points:  6 
  Runic level:  All, no sending 
  Components:  VSM 
  Creation time:  15 days 
  Area:  10ft/3m square per stainer level 
  Duration:  10 days per stainer level or until dispelled 
  Defense:  None 
   
  The stave makes a cold space warm and livable.  It establishes a continual temperature of 72°F/22°C.  The rune 
  must be stained with a potion made of 1oz./2.5ml of the stainer's own blood in one pint/500ml of pure water.  The 
  rune must be cut in sunshine and stained under moon- and starshine. 
   
   
  Water and Ice Staves 
   
  Nhr - Ísdauðiglötun (Evocation) 
  Runic points:  10 
  Runic level:  All 
  Creation time:  21 days 
  Range:  Long (400ft/120m + 40ft/12m per level) 
  Duration:  1 round per stainer level or until dispelled 
  Defense:  None 
   
  This stave create a freezing cloud of icy mist shot through with sharp, freezing darts of ice.  The cloud obscures all 
  sight as a fog cloud does.  In addition, the freezing ice darts within the cloud deal 4d6 points of cold damage to 
  everything within the cloud per round.  The cloud moves away from the rune’s location.  Calculate the cloud’s new 
  spread each round based on its new point of origin, which is 10ft/3m farther away from the rune’s location.  By 
  concentrating, you can make the cloud's center point move as much as 60ft/18m each round.  Any portion of the 
  cloud that would extend beyond the maximum range dissipates harmlessly, reducing the remainder’s spread 
  thereafter.  Wind disperses the cloud.  The rune is ineffective underwater. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 98 
   
  Nn - Ísrmálmgrýti (Transmutation) 
  Runic Points:  4 
  Runic level:  All, no sending 
  Creation time:  9 days 
  Range:  Close (25ft/7.5m + 5ft/150cm per 2 levels) 
  Target:  Same as spell Metal Temperature 
  Duration:  7 rounds + 1 round per stainer level, minimum 20 rounds 
  Defense:  None 
   
  The stave is a slightly more powerful version of the freezing element of the spell Metal Temperature.  The rune must 
  be stained with nitric acid.  For more information, see the description of the spell Metal Temperature in the Players 
  Guide. 
   
   
  Nf - Ísrlíf (Evocation) 
  Runic Points:  6 
  Runic level:  All, no sending 
  Creation time:  15 days 
  Range:  10ft/3m square per stainer level 
  Duration:  10 days per stainer level or until dispelled 
  Defense:  None 
   
  The stave usually is used to make a warm space cold and uninhabitable.  It establishes a continual temperature of  
  -30°F/-34°C.  The rune must be stained with the melted blood of a corpse of the enemy after it has stood frozen 
  through one winter. 
   
   
  Noz - Ísrjörðbreyta (Evocation) 
  Runic Points:  8 
  Runic level:  Lesser and Higher only 
  Creation time:  21 days 
  Range:  100ft/30m per stainer level 
  Area:  100ft/30m square per stainer level 
  Duration:  1 day per stainer level or until dispelled 
  Defense:  None 
   
  The temperature drops immediate in the affected area to -50°F/-46°C.  The rune must be stained with the melted 
  blood of a corpse of the enemy after it has stood frozen through one winter. 
   
   
   
  Air Staves 
   
  3d - Vindrstorm (Evocation) 
  Runic points:  4 
  Runic level:  All 
  Creation time:  9 days 
  Area:  100ft/30m high and 1 mile/1.6km square per stainer level 
  Duration:  1 hour per stainer level or until dispelled 
  Defense:  None 
   
  This stave creates a windstorm with a velocity of 10mph/16kmh per Stainer Level.  The person who uses the stave 
  determines the direction of the wind and its velocity, up to the stave's maximum.  The rune must be cut and stained 
  with a brew of oak bark and burnt with fire under open skies and then stained anew with icy water under moon- and 
  starshine. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 99 
   
  3f - Vindrlíf (Evocation) 
  Level:  Stainer 5 
  Runic level:  Lesser and Higher only 
  Components:  VS 
  Creation time:  15 days 
  Area:  10ft/3m cube per stainer level 
  Duration:  1 hour per stainer level or until dispelled 
  Saving throw:  None 
  SR:  No 
   
  Vindrlíf can create a pocket of fresh air in water or in a vacuum, it can replace polluted or poisoned air with fresh air 
  and it even can resuscitate a living being who has stopped breathing.  The rune must be cut and stained with a 
  brew of oak bark and burnt with fire under open skies and then stained anew with icy water under moon- and 
  starshine. 
   
   
  3h - Vindrdauði (Evocation) 
  Runic points:  7 
  Runic level:  Lesser and Higher only 
  Creation time:  18 days 
  Area:  10ft/3m cube per stainer level 
  Duration:  1 hour per stainer level or until dispelled 
  Defense:  None, see text 
   
  Vinddauði can create a pocket of deadly poisonous air in water or in a vacuum, it can replace fresh air with polluted 
  or poisoned air, and it even can stop a living being from breathing.  Poisoned air causes 1d6 points damage per 
  round.  To stop a living being from breathing, you must make a successful spell attack against the victim's 
  Endurance defense.  The rune must be cut and stained with a brew of oak bark and burnt with fire under open skies 
  and then stained anew with icy water under moon- and starshine. 
   
   
  Stone Staves 
   
  sjl - Steinþekkingeldr (Transmutation) 
  Runic points:  7 
  Runic level:  All, no sending 
  Creation time:  18 days 
  Area:  Square 1ft/30cm on a side per stainer level 
  Duration:  1 year per stainer level or until dispelled 
  Defense:  None 
   
  Steinþekkingeldr alters the appearance of underground stone, to hide seams, traps, runes, doors, etc.  The rune 
  must be cut and stained underground.  It is stained with a potion made from black humus of decayed mushrooms. 
   
   
  sgl - Steinsóleldr (Conjuration) 
  Runic points:  5 
  Runic level:  All, no sending 
  Creation time:  18 days 
  Area:  Square 1ft/30cm on a side per stainer level 
  Duration:  1 year per stainer level or until dispelled 
  Defense:  None, see tent 
   
  Steinsóleldr alters the appearance of above-ground stone, to hide seams, traps, runes, doors, etc.  The rune must 
  be cut in sunlight and stained under moon- and starshine.  It is stained with a potion made from black forest humus. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 100 
   
  sI - Steindjúp (Conjuration) 
  Runic points:  5 
  Runic level:  All, no sending 
  Creation time:  12 days 
  Area:  3 cubic yards/meter per stainer level or create one stone 
  Duration:  1 round 
  Saving throw:  See text 
   
  Steindjúp can cause anything from a rockslide to a mountain avalanche of rock.  The rune must be cut in sunlight 
  and stained under moon- and starshine.  It is stained with oil. 
   
   
  sl - Steineldr (Transmutation) 
  Runic points:  2 
  Runic level:  All, no sending 
  :  VSM 
  Creation time:  12 days 
  Area:  Cube with 1ft/30cm sides per stainer level 
  Duration:  1 round/level 
  Defense:  None 
   
  Steineldr causes stone to begin flaming, causing 1d8 points of damage to all within 10ft/3m and 1d4 points to all 
  within 20ft/6m.  Victims make a Constitution Check vs. DL 16 to avoid collapsing unconscious from pain.  The rune 
  must be cut in sunlight and stained under moon- and starshine.  It is stained with oil. 
   
   
  swz - Steinvatnbreyta (Conjuration) 
  Runic points:  8 
  Runic level:  All, no sending 
  Creation time:  21 days 
  Range:  30 ft/9m 
  Area:  30 cubic feet/9 cubic meter per stainer level 
  Duration:  1 round/level 
  Defense:  Reflex 
   
  Steinvatnbreyta causes stone to liquefy and flow but without heat.  The runebearer cannot direct the path down 
  which the liquid flows.  It is steered entirely by gravity.  The rune must be cut in sunlight and stained under moon- 
  and starshine.  It is stained with pure water.  If the victim has a chance to dodge the flow, the Runestainer must 
  make a successful spell attack against the victim's Reflex defense. 
   
   
  szb - Steinbretyrtilfinning (Evocation) 
  Runic points:  10 
  Runic level:  All, no sending 
  Creation time:  36 days 
  Range:  100ft/30m per stainer level 
  Area:  1 cube with sides 100ft/30m long per stainer level 
  Duration:  Instantaneous 
  Defense:  See text 
   
  Steinbretyrtilfinning causes a boulder or even small mountain to explode.  The shrapnel endangers all persons 
  within 300ft/90m of the outer perimeter of the exploded stone.  The damage is 1d6 for each cube of area exploded.  
  Beings within 100ft/30m check for Dexterity for half damage.  Beings between 101 and 300ft/31 and 90m check for 
  Dexterity for no damage.  The DL is 19 + Magical Aptitude bonus of the stainer.  The stave must be cut in sunlight 
  and stained under moon- and starshine.  It is stained with oil, which must be burned.  The material component is the 
  affected stone. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 101 
   
  sJz - Steinheimförbretya (Evocation) 
  Runic points:  10 
  Runic level:  All, no sending 
  Creation time:  36 days 
  Range:  100ft/30m per stainer level 
  Area:  10 minutes per stainer level 
  Duration:  Instantaneous 
  Defense:  None 
   
  Steinheimförbretya uses at least three sizeable rocks or boulders as poles of a defensive triangle or circle that foes 
  cannot enter.  Those within the circle gain a bonus on all defenses of +5 within the shielded area.  Those within it 
  can be hit by runic magic unleashed outside of the shield only on a roll of 1-3 on 1d20.  All other rolls affect the 
  attacker, reflecting the runic magic back upon him or her.  Steinheimförbretya turns all conventional magic 
  automatically back upon the caster.  Spell users and stave bearers inside of the shielded area can continue to work 
  spells and use runestones, but magic that sends attacks outside the shield are ineffective.  The rune must be cut in 
  sunlight and stained under moon- and starshine.  It is stained with molten lead. 
   
   
   
  slz - Steineldrbreyta (Transmutation) 
  Runic points:  8 
  Runic level:  All, no sending 
  Creation time:  21 days 
  Range:  Immediate 
  Area:  1 runestone 
  Duration:  See text 
  Defense:  See text 
   
  Steineldrbreyta is ineffective on the surface.  It functions only underground.  It can be carried dormant by a 
  runebearer on an enchanted runestone.  If the runebearer touches another stone - regardless of size - with the 
  enchanted runestone, Steineldrbreyta will etch itself unstained into the stone with which it came in contact.  1d4+6 
  rounds will pass before the stave has been completely cut.  After that time, it will stain itself with blinding light the 
  first time a creature comes within 10 feet/3 m of the etched stone, and then dissolve itself again and vanish.  All who 
  look upon this rune will be blind for 1d4 days and have impaired vision for another 1d6 days.  Victims can check for 
  Stamina against DL 25 to reduce the duration by 50%.  The runebearer must take special care with Steineldrbreyta.  
  The stave also will do its work if the runestone comes accidentally and unnoticed into contact with another stone.  
  Neither the runebearer nor members of his party are immune to the blinding effects of the etched rune!  The rune 
  must be cut in sunlight and stained under moon- and starshine with phosphorous, which must be burned. 
   
   
   
  sgz - Steinsólbreyta (Transmutation) 
  Level:  Stainer 7 
  Runic level:  All, no sending 
  Components:  VSM 
  Creation time:  21 days 
  Range:  Immediate 
  Area:  1 runestone 
  Duration:  See tent 
  Saving throw:  See tent 
  SR:  Yes 
   
  Steinsólbreyta works exactly like Steineldrbreyta, except that it functions on the surface of earth and not in the 
  depths.  The stave must be cut under moon- and starshine and stained in sunlight.  It is stained with phosphorous, 
  which must be burned.  The material component is the stone upon which the active rune will be etched. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 102 
   
  sbk - Steintilfinningsamein (Transmutation) 
  Runic points:  12 
  Runic level:  All, no sending 
  Creation time:  30 days 
  Range:  Immediate 
  Area:  1 segment of stone with dimensions of 5ft n 3ft n 10ft/150cm n 90cm n 3m per stainer level 
  Duration:  1 round per stainer level or until dismissed 
  Defense:  None 
   
  Steintilfinningsamein allows the affected being(s) to pass through stone.  The stave must be stained with salt water.  
  Some Runestainers have created more powerful versions that will transport persons and objects through stone to a 
  specified destination.  In such versions, a successful Stamina check against the DL of the Runecutter's stave will 
  negate the effect. 
   
   
  snk - Steinbannfaerasamein (Transmutation) 
  Runic points:  11 
  Runic level:  All, no sending 
  Creation time:  30 days 
  Range:  Immediate 
  Area:  1 segment of stone with dimensions of 5ft n 3ft n 10ft/150cm n 90cm n 3m per stainer level 
  Duration:  1 round per stainer level or until dismissed 
  Defense:  None 
   
  The stave prevents passage by any means, physical or magical, through the target area of stone.  The Runecutter 
  can, however, stain this stave in such a manner that it will make an exception for a spoken password. 
   
   
  slJOI - Steineldrheimförklifradjúp (Transmutation). 
  Runic points:  12 
  Runic level:  All 
  Creation time:  30 days 
  Range:  100ft/30m per stainer level 
  Area:  1 cube of stone with sides of 1ft/30cm per stainer level 
  Duration:  Until discharged 
  Saving throw:  Reflex 
   
  Steineldrheimförklifradjúp is an extremely difficult stave, because it binds five radicals.  It is one of relatively few 
  known staves ever successfully cut and stained that has bound so many radicals.  Few Runecutters can bind more 
  than three radicals into a stave.  Steineldrheimförklifradjúp allows the runebearer to place an invisible stone in the 
  air that falls upon a creature walking beneath it.  Those hit by the falling stone sustain 1d6 damage per cubic foot 
  volume of stone.  If the victim somehow becomes aware of the stone’s threat and has room to dodge it, the 
  Runecutter must make a spell attack against the victim’s Reflex defense, or the stone misses its target.  The DL is 
  30 + the Magical Aptitude bonus of the stainer.  The stave must be cut under moon- and starshine and stained in 
  sunlight.  It is stained with the blood of the enemy. 
   
   
  Necromantic Staves 
   
  fzh - Lífbreytdauði (Necromancy) 
  Runic points:  13 
  Runic level:  All 
  Creation time:  21 days 
  Range:  Within 30ft/9m of visible stave 
  Duration:  Until discharged 
  Defense:  None 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 103 
   
  Lífbreytdauði slays a group of living creatures.  If only a single creature sees the stave, it dies if it has 200 or fewer 
  injury points remaining.  If Lífbreytdauði affects a group, it kills all creatures within a 20-foot/6-meter radius of the 
  stave that have 50 or fewer injury points remaining.  It slays up to a total of 200 injury points of such creatures.  The 
  spell affects creatures with the lowest injury point totals first until the next creature would put the total over the limit 
  of 200.  The stave must be cut in sunlight and stained under moon- and starshine.  It is stained with the blood of the 
  enemy. 
   
   
   
  hzf - Dauðibreytalíf (Necromancy) 
  Runic points:  13 
  Runic level:  All 
  Creation time:  21 days 
  Range:  Within 30ft/9m of visible stave 
  Duration:  Until discharged 
  Defense:  None 
   
  Dauðibreytalíf can return a dead dwarven or giant corpse to life if the creature’s spirit has not already merged into 
  stone or been dissolved in Deep Hell.  The stave will trigger itself automatically in the presence of a dwarven or 
  giant body.  The stave must be cut under moon- and starshine and stained in sunlight.  It is stained with the blood of 
  the enemy. 
   
   
   
  fOz - Lífklifrabreyta (Necromancy) 
  Runic points:  10 
  Runic level:  All, no sending 
  Creation time:  27 days 
  Range:  Touch 
  Target:  One being 
  Duration:  Instantaneous 
  Defense:  None 
   
  A creature exposed to Lífklifrabreyta will be totally healed of all physical and psychological maladies and have full 
  hit points and in many cases ability scores restored.  The healing includes wounds, diseases, effects of poison, 
  energy drain, feebleminding, etc.  The stave cannot end a curse, but it can ban all physical and psychological 
  effects of a curse.  It will not restore ability score losses that are defined as being permanent, but it will restore other 
  lost ability points.  The stave must be cut under moon- and starshine and stained in sunlight.  It is stained with the 
  blood of the enemy. 
   
   
   
  Staves of Other Base Radicals 
   
  Jl - Eldingeldr (Transmutation) 
  Runic points:  5 
  Runic level:  All, no sending 
  Creation time:  12 days 
  Range:  Close (25ft/7.5m + 5ft/150cm per stainer level) 
  Target:  One creature 
  Duration:  Until negated 
  Defense:  None 
   
  When this stave is read, it makes the reader invisible.  It works only upon the surface world.  The effect ceases 
  when an invisible creature attacks.    The stave does not conceal sounds made by the recipient or trails it leaves 
  such as footprints, and it does not conceal anything that lands upon the recipient after the stave has done its work.  
  The stave must be cut under moon- and starshine and stained in sunlight.  It is stained with mercury. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 104 
   
  e l - Stjarneldr (Transmutation) 
  Runic points:  5 
  Runic level:  All, no sending 
  Creation time:  12 days 
  Range:  Close (25ft/7.5m + 5ft/150cm per stainer level) 
  Target:  One creature 
  Duration:  Until negated 
  Defense:  None 
   
  This stave is identical to Eldingeldr except that it functions underground rather than upon the surface. 
   
   
   
  JeJ - Eldingstjarnheimför (Transmutation) 
  Runic points:  10 
  Runic level:  All 
  Creation time:  27 days 
  Range:  Long (400ft/120m + 40ft/12m per stainer level) 
  Target:  Any number of creatures within range 
  Duration:  1 Round per stainer level 
  Defense:  None 
   
  Eldingstjarnheimför grants invisibility, but the effect does not end when the invisible creature attacks.  If the stave 
  bearer takes no other measures, the stave will make all creatures within range invisible, regardless of whether they 
  are friend or foe.  Through concentration the stave bearer can designate only specific creatures within range as 
  targets.  However, this requires 1 round of full concentration per 10 recipients.  The stave must be cut under moon- 
  and starshine and stained in sunlight.  It is stained with mercury. 
   
   
   
  Jhr - Eldingdauðiglötun (Evocation) 
  Runic points:  8 
  Runic level:  All 
  Creation time:  21 days 
  Range:  Long (400ft/120m + 40ft/12m per stainer level) 
  Area:  Line up to 400ft/120m long 
  Duration:  Instantaneous 
  Defense:  Reflex 
   
  The stave calls a Lightning Bolt upon the world’s surface that causes 1d6 damage per stainer level.  To be effective, 
  weather conditions must be conducive to produce lightning.  If the target attempts to dodge the bolt and has room to 
  do so, you must make a successful spell attack against the target’s Reflex defense or your bolt misses.  The stave 
  must be cut and stained under sunlight.  It is stained with mercury. 
   
   
   
  ehr - Eldauðiglötun (Evocation) 
  Runic points:  8 
  Runic level:  All 
  Creation time:  15 days 
  Range:  Long (400ft/120m + 40ft/12m per stainer level) 
  Area:  Line up to 400ft/120m long 
  Duration:  Instantaneous 
  Defense:  Reflex 
   
  This stave is identical to Eldingdauðiglötun except that it works underground and not upon the surface.  It is not 
  dependent upon weather conditions.  The electricity is drawn from the charges of various underground elements. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 105 
   
  il - Sæmdeldr (Enchantment). 
  Runic Points:  6 
  Runic level:  All, no sending 
  Creation time:  15 days 
  Target:  Group of willing recipients 
  Duration:  Duration of agreement 
  Defense:  None 
   
  Sæmdeldr binds parties to a contract, treaty or other agreement to hold honorably to that agreement.  Failing to 
  uphold a bound agreement can result in a curse, death, etc., based upon the will and power of the Runecutter.  The 
  stave must be cut under moon- and starshine and stained in sunlight.  It is stained with a potion made of 1oz./2.5ml 
  of the stainer's own blood in one pint/500ml of pure water. 
   
   
  ils - Sæmdeldrsteinn (Enchantment). 
  Runic points:  5 or 8 (see text) 
  Runic level:  All, no sending 
  Creation time:  15 days or 24 days 
  Target:  Group of willing recipients 
  Duration:  1 minute per stainer level (level 5), 1 hour per stainer level (level 8) 
  Defense:  Will (5-point version only) 
   
  Sæmdeldrsteinn prevents the targets from lying.  It works only upon recipients who agree to accept the effect.  In 
  the 5-point version, deceptive recipients can attempt to resist its compulsion with a successful Stamina check 
  against a DL equal to 10 + Runestainer level + the Runestainer’s bonus for Magical Aptitude.  The 8-point version 
  cannot be resisted.  If a recipient agrees to accept the spell and then attempts to resist the stave, it will reveal 
  telepathically to all that this recipient lied when he or she agreed to accept the stave.  Sæmdeldrsteinn must be cut 
  under moon- and starshine and stained in sunlight.  It is stained with a potion made of 1oz./2.5ml of the stainer's 
  own blood in one pint/500ml of pure water. 
   
   
  ihY - Sæmddauðitöfra (Necromancy). 
  Runic points:  7 
  Runic level:  All, no sending 
  Creation time:  18 days 
  Target:  One object 
  Duration:  Instantaneous 
  Defense:  None 
   
  Sæmddauðitöfra is the infamous stave used to produce the feared dwarven death geas torques.  This magic is 
  beyond the ability of giant runestainers.  Under the supervision of a master runestainer, a dwarven master smith 
  can cut Sæmddauðitöfra into jeweled metal neck torques.  Afterward, the Runecutter stains the stave.  When the 
  torque is placed around the neck of a creature and a mission is laid upon the torque wearer, the torque will begin 
  reducing its size and strangle the wearer if he or she has not fulfilled the mission by the deadline that was set.  Any 
  magical or physical attempt to remove the torque also will start the shrinking process. 
   
   
  Underground rivers supply the power of water for runic staves.   
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 106 
   
  2.9  Items of Runic Magic 
   
  Both the dwarves and the giants have learned to create items of runic magic, although they things they ensorcel 
  through cutting and staining differ somewhat.  To that comes the fact that the giants are somewhat limited in the use 
  of runic magic, where the talents of ancient dwarven runestainers seem to know few bounds. 
   
  Runestones and runic tables, which to a certain extent are the counterpart of spells, song, diction and rites in the 
  runic arts, already have been covered in the previous section.  In this section, we deal instead with magical 
  weapons, armor and other rune-ensorcelled objects.  We also should note at the start that runecutters produce no 
  counterparts for potions, staffs, wands and similar objects of conventional magic.  Dwarven runestainers and smiths 
  have worked together to create magical rings, but most works of runic magic fall into the categories of weapons, 
  armor and miscellaneous items. 
   
  Dwarves cut their greatest runes into objects made of precious middle silver.  With few exceptions, they keep such 
  items for themselves, although in ancient times, they did make a few gifts of middle silver.  A human, halfling or half-
  elf in possession of runic ensorcelled items of middle silver are owners of priceless rarities.  They are few and far 
  between.  Some items, above all chain mail and shirts and the like, can be used only by halflings, whom they fit 
  loosely. 
   
  In most trade with these races, dwarves sell raw iron, which they refuse to use themselves, and wares made of 
  bronze.  Some dwarven clans have made rune-ensorcelled bronze weapons or armor for humans, but this is very 
  much the exception rather than the rule.   Dwarves tend to keep their middle silver and their runes to themselves. 
   
  Giants are more chaotically organized than the dwarves.  In their early days, the large folk were collected in one 
  huge giant kingdom, but it fell together with the royal house in the ancient wars with the dwarves.  Today, most 
  giants live in scattered tribes that have little interest in one another in most cases and that are hostile to one another 
  in some cases. 
   
   
   
  Trolls in the low swamp, giants below the tree line and dwarves in the mountains 
  Product identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 107 
   
  Thus, there is no general line of trade that can be defined between giants and humans.  Many tribes have little or no 
  contact with humans.  Others, in border areas, deal frequently with humans trading wares with them.  There is no 
  friendship between giants and humans, but the lure of trade sometimes brings them to tolerate one another. 
   
  Unlike the dwarves, the giants usually have neither middle silver nor iron to trade with humans.  What little they 
  have of either is booty gained in ancient battles with dwarves.  Bronze is their chief item, although they do sell some 
  bituminous coal to humans too.  Giant smiths und runestainers happily accept well-paid contracts from humans to 
  produce runic ensorcelled weapons of bronze. 
   
  Humans, on the other hand, have become wary of such goods.  Although there is no history of warfare between 
  humans and giants, the large folk have no love for other races and view all of them, in the best light, as creatures 
  who are dedicated to cheating the giants.  As a result, magical items that humans have commissioned giants to 
  make for them sometimes have included extra staves that cause unpleasant results for the human users. 
   
  Nonetheless, the dwarves are unmastered in the making of runic ensorcelled weapons that contain deadly staves.  
  The most famous of all such weapons is Dáinsleif (Dáin's Heirloom).  It was forged cut and stained in ancient times 
  by a dwarven thane's son named Dáin who had been captured by a giant tribe. 
   
  The giant chieftain promised Dáin that he would release the dwarf if Dáin would take captured dwarven middle 
  silver and reforge it into a mighty giant's sword ensorcelled to the chieftain's specifications.  Dáin did this deed, and 
  after presenting the blade to his captor, he was slain with it by the giant chieftain. 
   
  However, giants cannot read the more powerful staves that dwarves can cut and stain, nor do they understand 
  some of the more powerful runic radicals known to the stout folk.  Therefore, the chieftain did not know that Dáin not 
  only had given the sword the powers he had demanded but also that he had cut powerful curses into it. 
   
  Whenever a possessor of Dáinsleif draws the sword, he or she cannot sheath it again until it has slain someone.  
  Furthermore, anyone who slays another with Dáinsleif is doomed to be slain himself one day by the sword.  To 
  date, the sword has fulfilled Dáin's runic curse with every owner it has had. 
   
  Nonetheless, not all runic magic of dwarves and giants is suspect or evil.  If legends tell the truth, the greatest blade 
  ever forged is the runic ensorcelled Mímung, which the dwarves of yore gave to the king of the light elves in ancient 
  times when dwarves and elves still were kin and bound in friendship. 
   
  Although it would be theoretically possible to make runic ensorcelled items of iron, which does not resist runic 
  magic, the dwarves refuse to work with the metal.  They do mine iron ore, and they do smelt it, but they sell all of 
  the raw iron they make, most of it to humans.  They have no love for iron and do not work with it.  The giants lack 
  both the knowledge and the anthracite coal necessary to forge iron.  Therefore, one will seek only in vain after iron 
  items that are ensorcelled with runes. 
   
  The lists that follows give examples of some of the legendary or better known magic wares produced by dwarves 
  and giants. 
   
   
  2.9.1  Runic Armor 
   
  Halflings can make use of dwarven armor, although it usually will fit loosely.  Giant armor is too large for humans 
  and half-elves to use, unless, of course, it has been tailor made for them.  In most cases, if a PC group gains 
  dwarven or giant armor, with or without runic staves, it will be useless to them. 
   
  The only known types of runic ensorcelled armor are made of bronze and, in the case of dwarven works, middle 
  silver as well.  There are no runic ensorcellments known beyond plus enhancements.  All but a few such items are 
  within the range of +1 to +5.  However, it is possible for giants to ensorcel armor up to +10 and for dwarves to 
  create magical armor as high as +15.  Dwarven middle silver armor has a natural enhancement of +3 without runic 
  ensorcellment.  The table lists the types of runic ensorcelled armor that are known.  The usual stave is … 
   
  nMY – Bannfæraverndtöfra  (Minimum 6 magic points, maximum 21 points in two stainings) 
   
  … for a +1 ensorcellment.  For each additional plus point, another magic point is expended.  The maximum number 
  of plus points is the maximum number of magic points the runestainer can expend.  The staining can take place in 
  two sessions when the runecutter has too few magic points to complete the stave in one session. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 108 
   
  Dwarven Armor 
  Description 
  Magic 
  Enhancement 
  Middle 
  Silver 
  Total 
  Enhancement 
  *Price
  Dwarven runic chain shirt, bronze 
  +1 to +15 
  0 
  +1 to +15 
  7+100 GP/point
  Dwarven runic chain shirt, middle silver 
  +1 to +15 
  +3 
  +4 to +18 
  500+100 GP/point
  Dwarven runic chain mail, bronze 
  +1 to +15 
  0 
  +1 to +15 
  25+100 GP/point
  Dwarven runic chain mail, middle silver 
  +1 to +15 
  +3 
  +4 to +18 
  3,500+100 GP/point
  Dwarven runic full plate, bronze 
  +1 to +15 
  0 
  +1 to +15 
  500+100 GP/point
  Dwarven runic shield, bronze 
  +1 to +5 
  0 
  +1 to +5 
  500+100 GP/point
  NOTE:  These items are available only in dwarven sizes! 
   
  Giant Armor 
  Description 
  Magic Enhancement 
  *Price
  Giant runic chain shirt, bronze 
  +1 to +10 
  7+80 GP/point
  Giant runic chain mail, bronze 
  +1 to +10 
  25+80 GP/point
  Giant runic full plate, bronze 
  +1 to +10 
  500+80 GP/point
  Giant runic shield, bronze 
  +1 to +5 
  500+80 GP/point
   
  *  Price:  The first figure is the base price.  Add the total GP price for the points to this. 
   
   
  2.9.2  Runic Weapons 
   
  Although such weapons are rare, both dwarves and giants do forge battleaxes, war hammers and swords with 
  special powers.  These are described in the next Section 2.9.3 Other Runic Items.  The great majority of the 
  weapons produced by dwarves and giants fall in a few standard categories, regardless of whether they have been 
  ensorcelled with runic staves.  They are ensorcelled only with plus points: 
   
  • 
  Dwarves make only three kinds of weapons for their own use:  Battleaxes, war hammers and crossbows.  
  Dwarves make battleaxes and war hammers of middle silver and bronze.  They fashion crossbows of rowan 
  wood and the shafts of crossbow bolts of hazelwood.  When dwarves have made magic swords, it has been 
  for non-dwarven users.  These invariably are forged of bronze.  Only a few dwarven swords of middle silver 
  are known to exist. 
   
  • 
  Giants fight with spears, large swords, clubs and thrown stones.  The only weapons they enchant for their 
  own use are large swords and spears.  Such swords are made of bronze and usually are 6ft/180cm and more 
  long.  Spears are made of rowan wood with bronze points.  The usually have a length of 7ft/210cm and more.  
  Giants cut and stain their runes into the blades of swords and the wooden shafts of their spears.  However, 
  they also make smaller swords and spears for human customers.  The prices in the table below are valid for 
  all giant-made weapons, regardless of their size. 
   
  When dwarves and giants ensorcel weapons with plus points, the stave usually is … 
   
  htY - Dauðógæftöfra  (Minimum 6 magic points, maximum 21 points in two stainings) 
   
  … for a +1 ensorcellment.  For each additional plus point, another magic point is expended.  The maximum number 
  of plus points is the maximum number of magic points the runestainer can expend.  The staining can take place in 
  two sessions when the runecutter has too few magic points to complete the stave in one session. 
   
  Standard Dwarven Runic Weapons 
  Description 
  Magic 
  Enhancement 
  Middle 
  Silver 
  Total 
  Enhancement 
  *Price
  Dwarven runic battle axe, bronze 
  +1 to +15 
  0 
  +1 to +15 
  5 + 100 GP/point
  Dwarven runic battle axe, middle silver 
  +1 to +15 
  +3 
  +4 to +18 
  300 + 100 GP/point
  Dwarven runic war hammer, bronze 
  +1 to +15 
  0 
  +1 to +15 
  8 + 100 GP/point
  Dwarven runic war hammer, middle silver 
  +1 to +15 
  +3 
  +4 to +18 
  500 + 100 GP/point
  Dwarven runic crossbow, rowan 
  +1 to +15 
  0 
  +1 to +15 
  25 + 100 GP/point
  Dwarven runic shaft, hazelwood 
  +1 to +5 
  0 
  +1 to +5 
  1 + 25 GP/point
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 109 
   
  Standard Giant Runic Weapons 
  Description 
  Magic Enhancement 
  *Price
  Giant runic spear, rowan and bronze 
  +1 to +10 
  1 + 80 GP/point
  Giant runic sword, bronze 
  +1 to +10 
  15+80 GP/point
   
   
   
  Bronze Dragon of the giant runestainers 
  Product Identity 
   
  2.9.3  Other Runic Items 
   
  The following is a catalog of other known runic items.  However, it is by no means a complete listing.  We suggest 
  that you use these descriptions as examples to generate your own runic items for use as needed in your campaign. 
   
   
  Bronze Dragon 
  Number:  Multiple 
  Creating Folk:  Giants 
  Magic Points:  6 
  Price:  4,000 GP 
  Weight:  750 lbs/375kg 
  Bulk:  Large 
  Stave:  Eldjötunógæfa 
  lKt 
   
  The Bronze Dragon is a powerful runic warding object that hangs over the entrances to the strongholds of some 
  giant tribes.  The object is a large, bronze metal sculpture of the head and neck of a dragon.  The warding stave 
  detects whether approaching creatures are giants.  If not, and if the proper password is not spoken from the watch 
  tower above the sculpture, it will unleash a breath weapon attack upon the road to the entrance below.  The breath 
  attack covers a circular area 60ft/18m in diameter and does 1d8 points of magic fire damage per magic point 
  expended in staining the rune, always a minimum of 6d8. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 110 
   
  Dáinsleif Sword 
  Number:  Unique 
  Creating Folk:  Dwarves 
  Magic Points:  15 
  Price:  14,000 GP 
  Weight:  10 lbs/5kg 
  Bulk:  Medium 
  Stave:  Galdrglötundauðógæftöfra 
  YrhtY 
   
  The name from the old tongue means Dáin's Heirloom.  The long sword in giant's size, 6ft/180cm long and with a 
  +18 bonus (+15 runic, +3 middle silver), was forged cut and stained in ancient times by a dwarven thane's son 
  named Dáin who had been captured by a giant tribe.  Not even modern runestainers can completely understand the 
  five-radical stave used to ensorcel Dáinsleif, because it uses the lost radical Galdr, which has passed from 
  knowledge.  The giant chieftain for whom the sword was made promised Dáin that he would release the dwarf if 
  Dáin would take captured dwarven middle silver and reforge it into a mighty giant's sword ensorcelled to the 
  chieftain's specifications.  Dáin did this deed, and after presenting the blade to his captor, he was slain with it by the 
  giant chieftain.  However, the chieftain did not know that Dáin not only had given the sword the powers he had 
  demanded but also that he had cut powerful curses into it.  Whenever a possessor of Dáinsleif draws the sword, he 
  or she cannot sheath it again until it has slain someone.  Furthermore, anyone who slays another with Dáinsleif is 
  doomed to be slain one day himself by the sword.  To date, the sword has fulfilled Dáin's runic curse with every 
  owner it has had.  There is no known way to free a person of the sword's magic except perhaps to throw it into a 
  volcanic fire or melt it in a dwarven furnace.  The current whereabouts of Dáinsleif are unknown. 
   
   
   
   
  Death Geas Torque 
  Number:  Multiple 
  Creating Folk:  Dwarves 
  Magic Points:  7 
  Price:  1,500 GP 
  Weight:  1 lbs/500g 
  Bulk:  Light 
  Stave:  Sæmddauðitöfra 
  ihY 
   
  These infamous bronze neck collars embossed with the stave Sæmddauðitöfra are devious traps for outsiders 
  whom dwarves wish to perform an agreed-upon quest.  Many of these torques have been created over the ages.  
  Dwarves use these torques, when they can, to enforce the honor aspects of contracts with outsiders, which are 
  nearly holy to them.  After an agreement is sealed, the dwarves strongly will urge their outsider partner to wear the 
  torque, at least until their dealings with the dwarves are done.  The dwarves will tell the outsider truthfully that the 
  torque is ensorcelled to make it impossible to decapitate the wearer.  If the situation fits and it is necessary, the 
  dwarves may even invent an imaginary foe that decapitates victims and try to convince the outsider that he or she is 
  threatened by this foe.  However, the victim, whether deceived or for some other reason, must accept the torque of 
  his or her own free will.  If it is placed forcibly upon the victim's neck, its magic is ineffective.  Once the victim is 
  wearing the torque, the dwarves will tell the wearer of its remaining abilities.  They will give the wearer a certain 
  number of days, months or even years to fulfill the contract that he or she has made with the dwarves.  When the 
  contract is fulfilled, the dwarves will remove the torque.  If the contract is not fulfilled by the deadline, the torque will 
  begin tightening 1d10 days later, choking the wearer to death.  The dwarves will tell the wearer truthfully that any 
  attempt to remove the torque by force will animate the magic immediately.  They also will claim, not quite so 
  truthfully, that any attempt to remove the torque with magic will have the same effect.  In truth, there is only a 50% 
  chance (1-10 on 1d20) that conventional magic will trigger the torque's magic instead of banning it.  The torque also 
  can be removed by being touched with a rune tablet or rune stick inscribed with the stave Sæmdbannfæra: 
   
  in. 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 111 
   
  Dvergrdrepur Spear 
  Dvergrdrepur Sword 
  Number:  Multiple 
  Creating Folk:  Giants 
  Magic Points:  6 or more (dependent upon plus enchantment), maximum 10 
  Price:  1,000 GP and higher 
  Weight:  4 lbs/2kg (spear), 8 lbs/4kg sword 
  Bulk:  Medium 
  Stave:  Lífdauðitöfra 
  fhY  
   
  The name Dvergrrepur means Dwarf's Bane in the old tongue.  Except for the weapon form, these items are 
  identical in ensorcellment.  Such weapons are common among the higher ranking members of giant tribes.  They 
  are master rowan wood spears with bronze points and bronze giant long swords with bonuses of at least +1.  
  Special staining with dwarven blood gives them an additional bonus of +3 when battling dwarves.  The finest of 
  these weapons can have a bonus as high as +10.  However, because of the slowly diminishing number of giant 
  master smiths and runestainers, one seldom finds such weapons with a bonus higher than +5.  The spears are 
  10ft/3m long.  The swords are 8ft/240cm long. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Endalaus Dauði Metamorphic Weapon 
  Number:  Unique 
  Creating Folk:  Dwarves 
  Magic Points:  15 
  Price:  18,000 
  Weight:  varies with form 
  Bulk:  varies with form 
  Stave:  Sameineldjörðvindvatntunglsóldauði 
  klo3wpgh 
   
  Endalaus Dauði is the most powerful item of runic magic ever made.  Its stave is the only stave ever successfully 
  cut with eight radicals, and it also is the only stave ever successfully cut with both the mighty rune of melding, 
  Samein, and the four basic elemental radicals.  The weapon is the creation of the greatest of all master smiths, 
  Völundr, from the first dwarven generation.  In some cultures, he is referred to as Wayland.  Although only a few 
  surviving greybeards ever have seen this weapon, it still is a legend among dwarves.  Endalaus Dauði is a 
  metamorphic weapon that automatically takes the shape of its bearer's preferred melee weapon with a damaging 
  metal part.  In other words, it would be of no use to a giant proficient only with a wooden club, but it would serve a 
  spear wielder, because a spear's point can be of metal.  When assuming a new form, all metallic parts of Endalaus 
  Dauði are of middle silver.  In most respects, Endalaus Dauði is a +18 (+15 runic, +3 middle silver) version of 
  whatever weapon form it has assumed.  However, its special powers come into play above all against draugs.  
  When Endalaus Dauði hits a draug below dark draug level with a natural roll of 20, the draug automatically is 
  destroyed and dissolved into nothingness.  Its soul is shattered into oblivion, returning to Hela's pool of life.  If a dark 
  draug is destroyed by Endalaus Dauði in ordinary round-to-round combat, it shares the same fate.  Any living 
  creature slain by Endalaus Dauði is irreversibly dead.  The soul or spirit reaches its final destination in Hela's 
  domain (or in the stars, in the case of some elves), and there is no means by which that soul or spirit can be 
  restored to life.  The greatest mystery regarding Endalaus Dauði is what became of it.  Völundr forged and stained 
  it, but there is no record of it ever having been seen since.  Even in the great wars, where draugs were among the 
  strongest foes, Endalaus Dauði was not seen. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 112 
   
  Gram Sword 
  Number:  Unique 
  Creating Folk:  Dwarves 
  Magic Points:  10 
  Price:  12,000 GP 
  Weight:  8 lbs/4kg 
  Bulk:  Medium 
  Stave:  þróttulífmálmgrýtógæftöfra 
  SfntY 
   
  Dwarves of the earliest generations are said to have forged this mighty blade.  However, modern dwarves dismiss 
  this myth as a jötnarsaga (giants' tale) in the old tongue.  The weapon was in fact ensorcelled secretly by ancient, 
  first generation dwarves at the bequest of a member of the creator race named Smiðaföð (father of smiths).  He, in 
  turn, told the dwarves only that he needed it for the elves.  Because Smiðaföð swore the dwarves who took part in 
  its forging and ensorcellment to secrecy, there is no dwarven lore regarding the sword, other than the recognition of 
  an unbelieved myth.  After Smiðaföð departed the dwarven halls with the sword, nothing more ever has been heard 
  of this weapon.  It is a +13 (+10 runic, +3 middle silver) two-handed sword that can sunder any substance.  It is a 
  deadly weapon when used against draugs.  Any injury points that a draug loses to Gram are forever lost to its 
  undead body.  A draug wounded by Gram can return to its full measure of injury points only by acquiring a new 
  body.  The blade is 6ft/180cm long and made of middle silver.  It has the disadvantage that it loses its magical 
  properties when it becomes dull, and it can be sharpened only upon a grindstone known in the old tongue as the 
  Trollhverfisteinn (troll grindstone).  Dwarves also laugh at the tale of the grindstone.  The meaning behind the name 
  Gram is lost in time. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Great Gauntlet 
  Number:  Unique 
  Creating Folk: Giants 
  Magic Points:  10 
  Price:  8,000 GP 
  Weight:  1 lbs/500 grams 
  Bulk:  Small 
  Stave:  Jötunmálmgrýtheimförógæfa 
  KnJt 
   
  The Great Gauntlet is a masterful runic trap created by a giant chieftain who also is a master runestainer and wise 
  in the ways of dwarves and humans, both of whom are unwelcome in the giants' lands.  The gauntlet in question is 
  a normal bronze gauntlet in a suitable size to fit a giant.  It usually is left in the open at a location where intruders 
  are likely to go.  The gauntlet has the ability to sense when elves, dwarves, humans, halflings, half-elves, draugs or 
  mutations come within 3 miles/5 km of it.  Whenever they do, the gauntlet begins enlarging itself until it reaches a 
  length of 50ft/15m with a wrist opening 10ft/3m high and 25ft/7.5m wide..  This process takes 10 minutes.  Once the 
  gauntlet reaches its full magical size, it magically draws valuable gemstones and captured weapons and armor from 
  the chieftain's horde into the fingers of the gauntlet.  When this process is completed, the inside walls of the glove 
  begin to glow weakly but sufficiently so that someone standing outside of the gauntlet's wrist opening can see 
  clearly what is in the fingers.  If living or undead creatures enter the gauntlet and come within 5ft/150cm of any of 
  the treasures in the fingers, the wrist opening of the gauntlet will snap shut, the treasures will return back to the 
  chieftain and the gauntlet will begin reverting to its normal size.  This process also takes 10 minutes.  After 6 
  minutes, all medium-sized creatures in the gauntlet will be crushed to death.  After 5 minutes, halflings, dwarves 
  and all other small-sized creatures in the gauntlet will be crushed to death.  The crushing process can be stopped 
  by using runic abjuration magic or by physically breaking through the gauntlet.  In its magic form, it has an Armor 
  defense of 20 and 50 effective injury points.  When it reaches 0 effective injury points, one may assume that one 
  has broken through the gauntlet to freedom. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 113 
   
  Jötundrepur Battleaxe 
  Jötundrepur War Hammer 
  Number:  Multiple 
  Creating Folk:  Dwarves 
  Magic Points:  6 or more (dependent upon plus enchantment), usually at least 9 
  Price:  3,000 GP and higher 
  Weight:  5 lbs/2.5kg (battleaxe), 4 lbs/2kg war hammer 
  Bulk:  Medium 
  Stave:  Lífdauðitöfra 
  fhY  
   
  The name Jötundrepur means Giant's Bane in the old tongue.  Except for the weapon form, both of these items are 
  identical.  Such weapons are widespread in dwarven clans.  Usually as many have been forged, cut and stained as 
  the supply of middle silver and the number of master smiths and runecutters allows.  All are master battleaxes and 
  war hammers with bonuses of at least +4 (+1 runic, +1 middle silver).  Special staining with giant blood gives them 
  an additional bonus of +3 when battling giants.  The finest of these weapons can have a bonus as high as +18 (+15 
  runic, +3 middle silver).  However, because of the slowly diminishing number of dwarven master smiths and rune-
  stainers, one seldom finds such weapons with a bonus higher than +10 (+7 runic, +3 middle silver).  The hammers 
  are 2ft/60cm long.  The axes are 30 inches/75cm long. 
   
   
   
   
  Jötundrepur Sword 
  Number:  Multiple 
  Creating Folk:  Dwarves 
  Magic Points:  15 
  Price:  3,000 GP 
  Weight:  2 lbs/1kg 
  Bulk:  Medium 
  Stave:  Lífdauðheimförtöfra 
  fhJY  
   
  Dwarven lore claims that the master runestainers during the ancient wars between dwarves and giants created 22 
  of these deviously evil and nefarious short swords of middle silver named Jötundrepur (Giant's Bane) in the old 
  tongue.  The swords are of the finest dwarven quality.  Giant runestainers cannot unravel the four-radical stave cut 
  into the blades, because the Heimför radical of reversal is beyond the knowledge of most giant runecutters.  
  Instead, guessing only at the role the unknown Heimför radical played in the stave, they concluded erroneously that 
  the swords perhaps had great powers of resurrection.  The dwarves intentionally left these swords upon battlefields 
  where great giant chieftains had been engaged, making it look like they had been lost by fallen dwarven warriors.  
  In truth, they are magical traps.  As the dwarves assumed, when such blades were found, they were turned over to 
  the chieftains, who drew them, used them and fell victim to the swords' evil magic.  Upon first use, the giant 
  chieftains discovered that they had mighty blades indeed, albeit small for a giant to use.  All 22 swords were 
  enchanted with a bonus of +18 (+15 runic, +3 middle silver).  However, once a giant chieftain began using the 
  sword, he or she also began developing a nearly uncontrollable urge to slay his or her own kind, an urge to which 
  he or she sooner or later fell victim.  These chieftains began turning upon their own until they at last were slain.  
  Where the 22 blades are today is uncertain.  It is unlikely that they were destroyed.  Instead, some of them probably 
  still are being held by giant tribes and others are waiting to be found wherever they were lost or hidden in ancient 
  times.  If your PCs come upon such a trapped weapon, they may be in grave danger.  The staves are just as 
  effective as they were in ancient times.  If a PC begins to use a Jötundrepur, he or she will feel a strong urge once 
  daily to slay as many of his or her own kind as possible.  He or she can overcome this urge with a successful 
  Stamina check against DL 20 the first time, but on each succeeding day, the DL increases by 1.  The only way to 
  break the sword's hold on a person who has been overcome by it is to destroy the weapon.  The first (and last) time 
  the affected character loses the Stamina check, he or she will become unswervingly determined to regain the 
  weapon and will be able to sense where it is, regardless of how it is hidden.  Because it is of middle silver, such a 
  weapon probably can be destroyed only by throwing it into a volcanic fire or asking dwarves to melt it down in an 
  anthracite furnace.  For purposes of the stave and the affected person's perception of his or her own kind, humans, 
  halflings and half-elves all would be a single kind. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 114 
   
  Mímung Sword 
  Number:  Unique 
  Creating Folk:  Dwarves 
  Magic Points:  15 
  Price:  20,000 GP 
  Weight:  3 lbs/1.5kg 
  Bulk:  Medium 
  Stave:  Galdrþekkingdauðtilfinningógæftöfra 
  YjhbtY 
   
  Mímung is the second most powerful item of runic magic ever created, after Endalaus Dauði, according to old 
  dwarven lore.  The sword was forged in ancient days when dwarves and light elves still considered one another to 
  be close kin and friends.  The long sword, has a 5ft/150cm blade and a +18 (+15 runic, +3 middle silver) bonus to 
  attack and damage and a +15 bonus (runic) for initiative.  It can cut through any substance.  The dwarves who 
  forged it tested it by sundering the anvil upon which it was shaped.  Mímung was forged as a gift of honor for the 
  king of the light elves.  It is assumed that it still is in his possession in the elven lands of the Middle Dimension.  
  Mímung not only is a powerful +15 sword, but it also has the power to divine a potential opponent, determine its true 
  intentions and establish telepathic communications with it, if the bearer desires.  The equivalent of 10 minutes of 
  speech by each party can be exchanged in an instant as a free action with the help of Mímung.  The dwarven 
  smiths and runestainers created this ensorcellment to ease the elven king's worries that he would have to slay 
  creatures in future conflicts who had no real reason to be an enemy but who rather were acting on the basis of 
  misunderstandings.  The blade also transmits to a foe a true picture of the weapon's power and speed, to convey 
  that defense against it is nearly hopeless.  Not even modern runestainers can completely understand the rare six-
  radical stave used to ensorcel Dáinsleif, because it uses the lost radical Galdr, which has passed from knowledge. 
   
   
  Mistilteinn Sword 
  Number:  Unique 
  Creating Folk:  Giants 
  Magic Points:  10 
  Price:  2,500 GP 
  Weight:  3 lbs/1.5kg 
  Bulk:  Medium 
  Stave:  Málmgrýtógæftöfra 
  ntY 
   
  Mistilteinn is one of the more feared weapons created by the giants.  Before the great wars, it was made by the 
  giants on commission from a powerful nobleman who later became a dark draug and servant of the Darkness.  
  Mistilteinn is a powerful +10 long sword that never goes dull.  The sword is 5ft/150cm long and is made of bronze.  
  Its current whereabouts are unknown. 
   
   
  Trollhverfisteinn Grindstone 
  Number:  Unique 
  Creating Folk:  Creator Race 
  Magic Points:  15 
  Price:  6,000 GP 
  Weight:  300 lbs/150kg 
  Bulk:  Large 
  Stave:  Sameineldjörðvindvatn 
  klo3w  
   
  The true name of this object is, in the old tongue, Smiðaföðshjól, which means Smith Father's Grindstone, although 
  modern myths that tell of the mysterious grindstone call it by the old tongue name Trollhverfisteinn, which means 
  Troll Grindstone.  The myths say that the grindstone appears and disappears as at will, and when it appears, no 
  one can operate it or do anything else with it.  It only becomes functional when an ancient, grizzled troll sits at it at 
  night and begins pumping the foot pedal, which brings the grindstone at last to turn.  When the troll works the 
  grindstone, myth claims, it can sharpen any blade, regardless of its condition.  Further, it will restore corroded or 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 115 
   
  tarnished metal to its original condition and even reverse all rusting of iron.  Although dwarves laugh at this myth 
  and call it a jötnarsaga (giants' tale in the old tongue), it is for the most part true.  It was created by an ancient 
  member of the creator race named Smiðaföð (father of smiths), and only he can operate it.  That he appeared in the 
  form of a troll may have been a test of the mettle of those who sought to have him sharpen something, or perhaps it 
  was mere strange humor.  Whatever the case may be, there is no living memory of the grindstone or the troll ever 
  having been seen.  It also is unknown whether Smiðaföð is among the members of the creator race who still are 
  among us or whether the grindstone still exists. 
   
   
   
   
  Runic Tools 
  Number:  Unique 
  Creating Folk:  Dwarves and Giants 
  Magic Points:  1 or more 
  Price:  varies 
  Weight:  varies 
  Bulk:  usually medium 
  Stave:  usually Jörðsteinn 
  os 
   
  Neither dwarven nor giant smiths and runestainers limit their ensorcellments to weapons of combat.  Both, but 
  above all, dwarves, also use these arts to make more efficient tools, especially tools for mining, foundry and the 
  smithy.  A wide variety of tools have been made, most with bonuses between +1 and +3.  Apprentice smiths and 
  runestainers often made such tools as a key part of their training. 
   
   
   
   
  Tyrfing Sword 
  Number:  Unique 
  Creating Folk:  Dwarves 
  Magic Points:  12 
  Price:  10,000 GP 
  Weight:  3 lbs/1.5 kg 
  Bulk:  Medium 
  Stave:  þrótturmálmgrýtsteintöfra, originally þrótturmálmgrýtsteinógæftöfra 
  SnsY, originally SntsY 
   
  Tyrfing is one of the more interesting swords produced by dwarves for others.  Its history is not unlike that of the 
  great Dáinsleif sword, except that its runic curse already has been fulfilled and no longer is active.  Tyrfing was 
  forged and then cut and stained with runes in the first days when humans began invading the giants' domains in the 
  mountains.  However, this is a dwarven tale, not a giant tale.  As the story goes, a commander of a human incursion 
  came upon two dwarves who are said to have been brothers.  They were a runestainer and a smith who were in a 
  hidden mountain area, preparing to ensorcel a fine sword made of middle silver.  No tale tells for whom this sword 
  was intended.  The human took the dwarves captive and gave them the choice between ensorcelling the sword for 
  his use and according to his desires or being slain.  The dwarves begrudgingly chose life and began doing the 
  human's bidding, but they gave the sword even more than had been demanded of them.  They cursed the sword so 
  that, upon being drawn, it would slay the first living creature seen by its bearer.  They also added a second curse 
  that would cause three great tragedies to their captor and his descendants.  Only when these three curses were 
  fulfilled would the evil banish from its blade.  The three curses have been fulfilled; the blade ended up destroying 
  the dwarves' captor and two of his innocent descendants.  After the third tragedy, the ill fortune radical, Ógæfa, 
  vanished from the runic stave in the sword's blade.  Today, Tyrfing is a majestic long sword, 5ft/150cm long, with a 
  bonus of +15 (+12 runic, +3 middle silver).  Anytime it hits on a natural 20, it automatically slays its target.  The 
  blade is unbreakable.  It can cut through metal or stone with ease.  It probably can be destroyed only by melting it in 
  an anthracite-burning dwarven furnace or by throwing it into volcanic fire.  The name Tyrfing is believed to come 
  from an ancient human tribe known as the Tyrfingar, of which the dwarves' captor was a chieftain.  The tribe, in turn, 
  is believed to have taken its name from its first chieftain, Tyrfing.  Little more is known about the human history of 
  the sword.  Tyrfing has not been seen for more than 500 years.  Its current whereabouts are known. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 116 
   
  Waiting Door 
  Waiting Gate 
  Number:  Multiple 
  Creating Folk:  Dwarves 
  Magic Points:  4 
  Price:  300 GP 
  Weight:  varies 
  Bulk:  Large 
  Stave:  Verndbannfæra 
  Mn 
   
  The stave is cut into doors and gates that have no means for opening them on the entry side.  Such doors and 
  gates open automatically when a password is spoken.  Without the password, one can pass only by breaking down 
  or through the gate or door. 
   
   
   
  Product Identity 
  Exit of a one-way Waiting Door.  The opposite side has neither lock nor handle. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 117 
   
  2.10  Game Master's Notes on Selected Spells, Songs, etc. 
   
  Full descriptions of all spells can be found in the Players Guide.  This section contains special information that a 
  game master needs for certain spells. 
   
   
   
  Animate Dead Bodies and Bones 
  School:  Necromancy, Black 
  Spell/Magic Points:  Magi Class: 5   
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  Partial concentration 
  Range:  Medium 
  Target:  1 or more corpses, skeletons 
  Alignment:  Darkness 
   
  The necromancer creates animated skeletons and zombie draugs without souls out of human, halfling or half-elf 
  corpses and bones.  He or she can create a total number of draugs equal to 5 times his or her caster level per use 
  of the spell.  The draugs fulfill his or her commands until they are destroyed or until the necromancer loses 
  concentration.  He or she must fully concentrate for 1 round per minute to keep the undead under your control and 
  animate. 
   
  Zombie and skeleton draugs do not communicate in any manner but they can fight in armed melee combat the 
  same as a Level 1 Warrior. 
   
  Life Points:  None (not alive) 
  Injury Points:  2d4+2 
  Abilities:  Strength 12, Dexterity 8, Stamina 12, Magical Aptitude 1, Mechanical Aptitude 1, Knowledge 1. 
  Base Attack Bonus:  +2 
  Defenses:  AC 9*, Endurance +11, Reflex 9, Will +11. 
  Attacks:  Fists 1d6, Weapons (standard damage) 
  Magical Attacks:  None 
  Magic Items Useable:  None without the skill Use Magic Device. 
  Armor inclination:  *Whatever armor was worn at time of death 
  Resistances:  None 
  Alignment inclination:  None 
  Key ability:  Strength 
   
  Zombies and skeletons can continue to fight on until their flesh and/or bones are so damaged that they no longer 
  are animate.  As game master, you may wish to start charging penalties to the zombies as they take damage, 
  representing limbs and the like that the necromancer no longer can steer. 
   
  The necromancer must concentrate completely upon his or her control of the draugs or they simply slump to the 
  ground.  He or she can do nothing in self defense without losing control of the pseudo-draugs.  Lost control can be 
  regained only through a new use of the spell.  Because they are animations rather than true draugs or undead, 
  zombies and skeletons have no animating spirit of their own.  Only the magic and control of the necromancer 
  animates what otherwise is dead flesh and/or bones. 
   
   
  Attune Wand or Staff 
  School:  Universal 
  Spell/Magic Points:  Magi Class: 1 
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  No 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  Yes 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 118 
   
  Casting time:  1 minute 
  Duration:  Permanent 
  Range:  Touch 
  Target:  1 Wand or Staff 
  Alignment:  All 
   
  This spell must be used to attune a staff or wand to its owner.  A fire must be made by the spellcaster in which 
  components he or she chooses are burned while the magical words are spoken.  These components must have a 
  value of at least 50 GP for a wand and 500 GP for a staff.  After attunement, the wand or staff recognizes the caster 
  as its sole owner.  An heir also may be designated.  The wand will begin doing its work as a spell conduit, and the 
  staff will begin serving its master.  It is impossible for a spellcaster to take control of another caster's wand.  A 
  spellcaster can gain control of another caster's staff only through use of the Dominate Staff spell.  Note:  A wand or 
  staff will recognize a designated heir only if the original owner is truly dead. 
   
   
  Ban Magic 
  School:  Universal 
  Spell/Magic Points:  Bardic Class: 3, Magi Class: 3, Green/Nature Druids: 4 
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  No 
  Words?  No 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  Instantaneous 
  Range:  100ft/30m +30ft/3m per level 
  Target:  1 caster, creature or object 
  Area of Effect:  20ft/6m 
  Alignment:  All 
   
  Note:  This spell has no effect upon artifacts or runic magic.  
   
  Bronze to Iron 
  School:  Transmutation 
  Spell/Magic Points:  Bardic Class: 15  Magi Class: 12   
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  Permanent 
  Range:  Close 
  Target:  One bronze item 
  Alignment:  All 
   
   
  Iron to Bronze 
  School:  Transmutation 
  Spell/Magic Points:  Bardic Class: 15  Magi Class: 12  
  Green/Nature Druids: 12 
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  Permanent 
  Range:  Close 
  Target:  One iron item within range 
  Alignment:  Light 
   
  NOTE:  These spells make unusual calls upon magic.  With both, the conventional magic of the Light calls upon the 
  magic of the earth that usually is available only to runic magic, and the actual transmutation is done by the earth 
  magic.  For that reason alone is iron affected by these spells.  If your PCs take interest in the inner workings of 
  these spells, they well might find other ways to use this indirect call upon earth magic. 
   
   
  Cause Insanity 
  School:  Enchantment 
  Spell/Magic Points:  Bardic Class: 4, Magi Class: 6, Green/Nature Druids: 8 
  Attack Throw?  Will 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 119 
   
  Duration:  Permanent 
  Range:  Medium 
  Target:  One creature, living or undead 
  Alignment:  All 
   
  The spellcaster can make a creature, living or undead, insanely feebleminded.  To succeed, he or she must make a 
  successful spell attack against the target's Will defense.  The spell reduces the target's intelligence to idiot level and 
  makes his or her actions chaotic and unpredictable.  The affected creature is unable to cast spells, understand 
  spoken or written words or communicate coherently.  Still, it knows who its friends are and can follow them and 
  even protect them.  The subject remains in this state until a Restore Sanity spell or rite cancels the effect. 
   
  NOTE:  When a PC is reduced to idiocy by this spell, the game master makes the overriding decision on what the 
  PC does in any situation.  However, you should explain the situation clearly to the PC’s player.  It’s also a good idea 
  to get advice from the player on how he or she thinks the PC, as an idiot, might react in certain situations. 
   
   
  Charm Person 
  School:  Enchantment 
  Spell/Magic Points:  Bardic Class: 1, Magi Class: 2, Green/Nature Druids: 3 
  Attack Throw?  Will 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  1 Minute/Level 
  Range:  Medium 
  Target:  1 Undead 
  Alignment:  All 
   
  You delude a human, halfling, half-elf, elf, dwarf or giant into regarding you as its trusted friend your attitude as 
  friendly.  To succeed, you must make a successful spell attack against the person's Will defense.  If the person is 
  being threatened or attacked simultaneously by you or your allies, the spell is ineffective.  The spell does not enable 
  you to control the person, but it perceives your words and actions in the most favorable way.  An affected person 
  never obeys suggestions that would cause it to harm itself, but it might be convinced that something very dangerous 
  is worth doing. 
   
  NOTE:  It must remain clear to your players that the PC is deluded in his or her perceptions, not robbed of his or her 
  free will.  If a PC argues credibly that his or her character wouldn’t react in a certain manner even if the delusion 
  were true, you should accept this argument. 
   
   
  Conduit 
  School:  Conjuration 
  Spell/Magic Points:  Bardic Class: 9, Magi Class: 6   
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  Permanent 
  Area of Effect:  Up to 125 cubic yards/100 cubic meters 
  Alignment:  All 
   
  NOTE:  The guidelines in the Players Guide state that the size of a conduit can be increased by creating two or 
  more conduits that are in direct contact with one another.  Such adjacent conduits automatically merge into a larger 
  conduit, which cannot be divided back into lesser conduits.  If such a double conduit is created unintentionally, look 
  carefully at the sequence in which it will release spells.  Unintentionally created conduits usually are created without 
  anyone being aware of it.  Depending upon the sequence in which they release spells, they can unleash chaos and 
  wreak havoc, disaster and even cause catastrophes. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 120 
   
  Curse 
  School:  Necromancy, Black 
  Spell/Magic Points:  Magi Class: 5, Green/Nature Druids: 4 
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  Yes 
  Casting time:  1 Minute 
  Duration:  Until removed 
  Range:  Touch (spell), Unlimited (rite) 
  Target:  Target creature 
  Alignment:  Darkness 
   
  A curse normally works one of the following three effects: 
   
  -6 decrease to an ability score (minimum 1). 
   
  -4 penalty on attack rolls, defenses, ability checks, and skill checks. 
   
  Each turn, the target has a 50% chance to act normally; otherwise, it takes no action. 
   
  With this spell, the spell user also may invent his or her own curse, but it should be no more powerful than those 
  described above.  The magic user must touch the target creature well enough to smear ashes of his or her own 
  burnt hair and blood upon the target’s skin.  This requires a successful spell attack against the target’s Armor 
  defense. 
   
  NOTE:  If a PC invents his or her own curse, ponder not only its main effects but also possible secondary effects.  If 
  you don’t do that adequately, you may unwittingly allow curses that, in the long run, have far wider reaching effects 
  than should be possible for 4- and 5-point spells. 
   
   
  Death Wail 
  School:  Necromancy, Black 
  Spell/Magic Points:  Magi Class: 10, Green/Nature Druids: 12 
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  Instantaneous 
  Range:  Close 
  Target:  1 living creature/Caster Level 
  Area of Effect:  4ft/12m radius from caster 
  Alignment:  Darkness 
   
  You call upon the Darkness to enable you to utter a powerful, deadly scream that slays all living targets up to the 
  limit within range who clearly hear the wail.  The victims may not be of a higher Character Level than the caster. 
   
   
  Deep Dungeon 
  School:  Abjuration 
  Spell/Magic Points:  Bardic Class: 14, Magi Class: 10   
  Attack Throw?  Will 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  Instantaneous 
  Range:  Touch 
  Target:  Creature touched 
  Alignment:  All 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 121 
   
  You can touch a creature and entomb it in a state of suspended animation within a small sphere far beneath the 
  surface of the earth.  The subject remains there until a Liberation spell is cast at the locale where the imprisonment 
  took place.  Magical search by divination does not reveal the fact that a creature is imprisoned, only where it is 
  entombed. To succeed in imprisoning the target, you must make a successful spell attack against its Will defense. 
   
  NOTE:  An entombed target is alive but in stasis.  It does not age or deteriorate naturally. 
   
   
  Detect Thoughts 
  School:  Divination 
  Spell/Magic Points:  Bardic Class: 3, Magi Class: 3, Green/Nature Druids: 5 
  Attack Throw?  Will 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  Concentration - 1 minute/level 
  Range:  30ft/9m 
  Area of Effect:  30ft/9m radius from you 
  Alignment:  All 
   
  You can detect surface thoughts. The amount of information revealed depends on how long you study a particular 
  area or subject. 
   
  1st Round:  Presence or absence of thoughts from conscious creatures. 
   
  2nd Round:  Number of thinking minds. This spell does not let you determine the location of the thinking minds if 
  you can’t see the creatures whose thoughts you are detecting. 
   
  3rd Round:  Surface thoughts of any mind in the area.  This requires a successful spell attack against the target's 
  Will defense.  If you fail, the spell ends. 
   
  The spell can penetrate barriers, but 1ft/30cm of stone, 1 inch/2.5cm of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 
  3ft/90cm of wood or dirt blocks it. 
   
  NOTE:  The limitation of surface thoughts should be enforced strictly.  Complex and weighty issues that are in the 
  mind of the target will not be revealed. 
   
   
  Elemental Wall 
  School:  Evocation 
  Spell/Magic Points:  Bardic Class: 5  Magi Class: 5  Green/Nature Druids: 4 
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  1 Minute/Caster Level 
  Range:  Medium 
  Area of Effect:  1ft/3m square per Caster Level 
  Alignment:  All 
   
  The spellcaster creates a wall out of a raw substance of one of the four elements:  Fire, Air, Water or Earth.  The 
  wall must consist of a raw material of these elements.  One could, for instance, make a wall of copper ore but not a 
  wall of bronze.  Watery walls as a sheet of water suspended in the air usually would serve little purpose.  However, 
  one could include a damaging whirlpool in the wall's center.  An ice wall would serve a defensive purpose.  The 
  same would apply to walls of hard mud or stone.  A wall of air could have a devastating tornado funnel at its center 
  and draw those within 20ft/6m of it into the funnel if the spellcaster makes a spell attack against the victims' Reflex 
  defense.  A wall of fire would do 2d4 points of fire damage to creatures within 10ft/3m of it and 1d4 points of fire 
  damage to those between 10 and 20ft/3 and 6m of it.  Lead, iron and iron ore resist magic and will not produce 
  magical walls. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 122 
   
  NOTE:  You need to monitor application of this spell to be certain that elements are in their raw form and that the 
  effects generated are possible with these elements in their raw form. 
   
   
  Erase Time's Pages 
  School:  Enchantment 
  Spell/Magic Points:  Bardic Class: 13, Magi Class: 15   
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  No 
  Words?  No 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Minute 
  Duration:  20 Minutes 
  Range:  120ft/36m 
  Target:  One page of time 
  Alignment:  All 
   
  All traces of events recorded on the one-year page of time for the area within range of the caster are erased from 
  the pages of time. 
   
  NOTE:  The effect of this spell is temporary.  The erased material will be restored with time.  When that happens is 
  for you to decide. 
   
   
   
  Gaseous Form 
  School:  Transmutation 
  Spell/Magic Points:  Bardic Class: 4, Magi Class: 4, Green/Nature Druids: 4 
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  2 minutes/Caster Level 
  Range:  Touch 
  Target:  Willing creature touched 
  Alignment:  All 
   
  Your or subject and all of your or its gear become insubstantial, misty, and translucent.  Material armor (including 
  natural armor) becomes worthless, though its size, Dexterity, deflection bonuses, and armor bonuses still apply. 
  The target is immune to poison and critical hits.  It can’t attack or cast spells with verbal, somatic, material, or focus 
  components while in gaseous form.  The target also loses supernatural abilities while in gaseous form.  If it has a 
  touch spell ready to use, that spell is discharged harmlessly when the gaseous form spell takes effect.  A gaseous 
  creature can’t run, but it can fly at a speed of 10ft/3m.  It can pass through small holes or narrow openings, even 
  mere cracks, with all it was wearing or holding in its hands, as long as the spell persists.  The creature is subject to 
  the effects of wind, and it can’t enter water or other liquid.  It also can’t manipulate objects or activate items, even 
  those carried along with its gaseous form.  Continuously active items remain active, though in some cases their 
  effects may be moot. 
   
  NOTE:  Always consider whether a PC in gaseous form has included items in the gaseous form that might make it 
  flammable or subject to explosion! 
   
   
  Heal 
  Heal Blindness 
  Heal Critical Wounds and Injuries 
  Heal Deafness 
  Heal Light Wounds and Injuries 
  Heal Minor Wounds and Injuries 
  Heal Moderate Wounds and Injuries 
  Heal Serious Wounds and Injuries 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 123 
   
  NOTE:  Always keep in mind that a single creature can benefit from only two spells in the Heal Wounds and Injuries 
  group daily.  After the second spell, the body is unable to react to additional magical healing except from Clerics.  A 
  single creature can benefit from the greater Heal spell only once daily. 
   
   
  Illusion 
  and most spells of the school Illusion 
   
  NOTE:  Always remember that a player must give an acceptable reason for disbelieving an illusion before his or her 
  PC is entitled to a spell attack against the Will defense.  If you believe that the reason is unacceptable, make a die 
  roll anyway and then rule against the PC.  After all, he or she has no way of knowing whether his or her belief is 
  correct.  On the other hand, if you say, No, that reason isn’t good enough, you’ve suspended roleplaying and 
  started rules lawyering. 
   
   
  Invisibility 
  and extended Invisibility spells 
   
  NOTE:  In many RPG systems, Invisibility type spells are classed as illusions.  Dungeons Daring invisibility spells 
  are transmutations.  The magic actually changes the physical substance of creatures and their equipment to make 
  them truly invisible.  For this reason, spells that end illusions or that offer some kind of true sight will not reveal 
  things that are invisible. 
   
   
  Living to Zombie 
  School:  Necromancy, Black 
  Spell/Magic Points:  Magi Class: 12   
  Attack Throw?  Endurance 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  Instantaneous 
  Range:  Medium 
  Target:  Humans, Halflings, Half-Elves 
  Area of Effect:  40ft/12m radius from target point 
  Alignment:  Darkness 
   
  The spellcaster can slay a group of humans, halflings and/or half-elves and turn their bodies into soulless zombies 
  that are under his or her control.  The caster must make a single spell attack against the Endurance defense of the 
  targets.  The spell slay can 1d4 Character Levels of living creatures per caster level.  The zombies then remain 
  under his or her control.  The souls of the slain continue to hover for the normal period of time after death in the 
  vicinity of their bodies, but they cannot reclaim their bodies, even after the zombies that inhabited their bodies have 
  become have been destroyed.  Only a Cleric using the rite Cleanse, Purify & Restore can restore a zombie body to 
  a condition where it again can be a host to its soul. 
   
  Zombies do not communicate in any manner but they can fight in armed melee combat the same as a Level 1 
  Warrior. 
   
  Life Points:  None (not alive) 
  Injury Points:  2d4+2 
  Abilities:  Strength 12, Dexterity 8, Stamina 12, Magical Aptitude 1, Mechanical Aptitude 1, Knowledge 1. 
  Base Attack Bonus:  +2 
  Defenses:  AC 9*, Endurance +11, Reflex 9, Will +11. 
  Attacks:  Fists 1d6, Weapons (standard damage) 
  Magical Attacks:  None 
  Magic Items Useable:  None without the skill Use Magic Device. 
  Armor inclination:  *Whatever armor was worn at time of death 
  Resistances:  None 
  Alignment inclination:  None 
  Key ability:  Strength 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 124 
   
  Zombies can continue to fight on until their flesh and bones are so damaged that they no longer are animate.  As 
  game master, you may wish to start charging penalties to the zombies as they take damage, representing limbs and 
  the like that the necromancer no longer can steer. 
   
  The necromancer must concentrate completely upon his or her control of the zombies or they simply slump to the 
  ground.  He or she can do nothing in self defense without losing control of them.  Lost control can be regained only 
  through a new use of the spell.  Because they are animations rather than true draugs or undead, zombies and 
  skeletons have no animating spirit of their own.  Only the magic and control of the necromancer animates what 
  otherwise is dead flesh and/or bones. 
   
   
  Metal Temperature 
  School:  Transmutation 
  Spell/Magic Points:  Healer/Herbal Witch: 2, Bardic Class: 4, Magi Class: 5   
  Green/Nature Druids: 2 
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  Yes 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  7 Rounds 
  Range:  Close 
  Target:  One metal object per 2 caster levels 
  Alignment:  All 
   
  You can make the metal weapon or other metal object of a creature either freezing cold or burning hot.  You need to 
  state in advance whether you choose heat or cold.  The spell does not affect iron.  The spell's affects accrue over 7 
  rounds: 
   
  Round 
  Metal Temperature 
  Damage 
  1 
  Cold or Warm 
  None 
  2 
  Icy or Hot 
  1d4 points 
  3-5 
  Freezing or Burning 
  2d4 points 
  6 
  Icy or Hot 
  1d4 points 
  7 
  Cold or Warm 
  None 
   
  NOTE:  If the object is being held in bare hands, the character should make a check for Stamina in rounds 3-5 or 
  drop the object.  The DL is 18. 
   
   
  Observe Companions 
  School:  Divination 
  Spell/Magic Points:  Healer/Herbal Witch: 2, Bardic Class: 2, Magi Class: 3, Green/Nature Druids: 3 
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  1 Hour/Caster Level 
  Range:  Touch 
  Target:  One creature/3 Caster Levels 
  Alignment:  All 
   
  You can mentally monitor the relative positions and general conditions of your companions when they are 
  separated.  You are aware of direction and distance to them and any conditions affecting them: unharmed, 
  wounded, disabled, staggered, unconscious, dying, nauseated, panicked, stunned, poisoned, diseased, confused, 
  etc.  Once the spell has been cast upon the subjects, the distance between them and the caster does not affect the 
  spell. 
   
  NOTE:  This spell cannot overcome the barriers that lead or iron make, if applicable. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 125 
   
  Preserve Corpse 
  School:  Necromancy, White 
  Spell/Magic Points:  Healer/Herbal Witch: 2, Magi Class: 4, Green/Nature Druids: 4 
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  1 day/Caster Level 
  Range:  Touch 
  Target:  Corpse touched 
  Alignment:  Light 
   
  You can preserve the remains of a dead creature so that they do not decay or otherwise degenerate.  Doing so 
  effectively extends the time limit that the body is capable of regaining its soul or spirit without being restored 
  magically.   Days spent under the influence of this spell don’t count against the time limit.  Additionally, this spell 
  makes transporting a fallen comrade more pleasant.  The spell also works on severed body parts and the like.  The 
  spell does not, however, extend the time before the soul or spirit departs for Deep Hell or its next destination. 
   
  NOTE:  This spell does not extend the period of 6 to 16 days before a soul reaches Deep Hell. 
   
   
  Telepathic Network 
  School:  Divination 
  Spell/Magic Points:  Bardic Class: 4, Magi Class: 6, Green/Nature Druids: 7 
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  10 Minutes/Caster Level 
  Range:  Close 
  Target:  Target creatures 
  Area of Effect:  Within 30ft/9m of caster 
  Alignment:  All 
   
  You forge a telepathic network among yourself and a number of willing, intelligent creatures.  Each creature 
  included in the network is linked to all the others.  The creatures can communicate telepathically through the 
  network regardless of language.  No special power or influence is established as a result of this link.  Once the 
  network is formed, it works over any distance.  If desired, you may leave yourself out of the network.  This decision 
  must be made at the time of casting. 
   
  NOTE:  Iron and lead can block magical telepathic communications. 
   
   
  Teleport 
  Teleport Perfectly 
  Teleport Trace 
   
  NOTE:  Iron and lead can block a Teleport Path. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 126 
   
   
  Clerical rites are an important income source for most temples. 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 127 
   
  2.11  Game Master's Notes on Selected Clerical Rites 
   
  IMPORTANT NOTE:  Clerics may perform either rites of the Light or rites of the Darkness but not both.  Which type 
  they perform is based upon the thinking of the deity or deities that they serve.  In addition to the rites listed in the 
  Players Guide, Clerics also are entitled to additional rites specific to the purpose of the deity's faith.  Because there 
  are no specific deities for the Dungeons Daring guidelines system, you should create the rites needed for your 
  campaign based upon the definitions of the deities in the campaign world you are using.  In most cases, you should 
  select spells from the Players Guide and convert these to rites.  There is no official number of special rites for an 
  individual deity, but we suggest two rites for each Magic Point level from 1 to 10. 
   
   
   
  Atonement 
  School:  Necromancy, White 
  Magic Points:  5 
  Rite duration:  5 hours 
  Range:  Touch 
  Target:  Living creature 
  Area of Effect:   
  Alignment:  Light 
   
  This rite removes the burden of evil acts or misdeeds from the subject.  The creature seeking atonement must be 
  truly repentant and desirous of setting right its misdeeds. If the atoning creature committed the evil act under some 
  form of coercion, atonement operates normally at no cost to you.  However, in the case of a creature atoning for 
  deliberate misdeeds and acts of a knowing and willful nature, the Cleric must intercede with his or her deity in order 
  to expunge the subject’s burden. This involves the burning of 100 GP worth of mixed incenses hourly for the 
  duration of the rite,  Many clerics first assign a target of this sort a quest or similar penance to determine whether 
  the creature is truly contrite before conducting the atonement rite on its behalf. 
   
  NOTE:  If a person is atoning for deliberate misdeeds, a deity usually will insist to his or her Cleric that the seeker 
  perform a quest.  What is more, the deity may give his or her Cleric the power to impose magical punishments that 
  are not usually within the Cleric's power but that automatically will take effect if the atoner fails to fulfill the conditions 
  of the quest. 
   
   
   
  Cure Diseases 
  School:  Necromancy, White 
  Magic Points:  4 
  Rite duration:  4 Hours 
  Range:  Touch 
  Target:  1 Living Creature 
  Special:  This rite cannot be ensorcelled into objects. 
  Alignment:  Light 
   
  A Cleric can cure any disease of a living creature except for plants.  Certain diseases may require a special check 
  to succeed.  After the rite is completed, the target gradually regains his or her sight over a period of 1d4 hours.  
  During the four-hour rite, you must burn mixed incense with a value of 100 GP per hour. 
   
  NOTE:  There is no official list of diseases that may require a special check.  This is left to your discretion. 
   
   
   
  Curse 
  School:  Necromancy, Black 
  Magic Points:  3 
  Rite duration:  3 hours 
  Range:  Touch (spell), Unlimited (rite) 
  Target:  Target creature 
  Alignment:  Darkness 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 128 
   
  The cleric place's a curse on the target creature. Choose one of the following three effects: 
   
  • 
  -6 decrease to an ability score (minimum 1). 
   
  • 
  -4 penalty on attack rolls, defenses, ability checks, and skill checks. 
   
  • 
  Each turn, the target has a 50% chance to act normally; otherwise, it takes no action. 
   
  You may also invent your own curse, but it should be no more powerful than those described above.  The curse 
  bestowed by this spell cannot be dispelled, but it can be removed with the Remove Curse spell or rite.  Once during 
  each hour of the rite you must burn 1 ounce/30 grams of your own hair and your own dried blood. 
   
  NOTE:  You should scrutinize invented curses carefully.  They often have hidden side effects that make the curse 
  more powerful than the standard effects listed above.  This should be avoided. 
   
   
  Ensorcel Magical Items 
  School:  Universal 
  Magic Points:  1 
  Rite duration:  1 hours per magic point 
  Target:  Item to be ensorcelled 
  Area of Effect:  Item 
  Alignment:  All 
   
  With this rite you can: 
   
  • Brew Magical Potions 
   
  • Ensorcel Magical Rings 
   
  • Create and Ensorcel Other Magical Items 
   
   
  The Cleric has the ability to brew magical potions and to create magical rings and many other types of magical 
  items.  The possible items correspond to those rites that he or she can use.  The number of magic points actually 
  expended is dependent upon the number of magic points required for the magic being cast into the item.  For every 
  magic point being cast into non-permanent items, the Cleric must expend two magic points.  That means that for 
  objects that require high magic point expenditures or that incorporate more than one rite, the Cleric may have to 
  perform the Ensorcel Magic Items rite more than once to complete the item. 
   
  NOTE:  A Cleric can ensorcel only the magic of rites that he or she can perform into magical objects.  Also 
  remember that certain designated rites cannot be ensorcelled into objects. 
   
   
  Heal 
  Heal Blindness 
  Heal Critical Wounds and Injuries 
  Heal Deafness 
  Heal Light Wounds and Injuries 
  Heal Minor Wounds and Injuries 
  Heal Moderate Wounds and Injuries 
  Heal Serious Wounds and Injuries 
   
  NOTE:  Always keep in mind that a single creature can benefit from only two rites in the Heal Wounds and Injuries 
  group daily.  After the second rite, the body is unable to react to additional magical healing from Clerics although it 
  still can respond to healing from spellcasters.  A single creature can benefit from the greater Heal rite only once 
  daily. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 129 
   
  Locate Soul or Spirit 
  School:  Divination 
  Magic Points:  3 
  Rite duration:  3 Hours 
  Range:  Unlimited 
  Target:  1 Soul or Spirit 
  Alignment:  All 
   
  You can determine whether the soul or spirit of a dead creature still wanders the world of the living or whether it has 
  gone to Deep Hell or elsewhere.  The rite will reveal where the soul currently is but it will give no other information.  
  This rite works upon the soul of a destroyed draug, but it will give no information about the soul of an undead.  One 
  necessary material component is either a piece of the target's body or one of its personal possessions.  Another is 
  mixed incense in the value of 100 GP, with this amount being burned in each of the three hours. 
   
  NOTE:  Lead and iron can block information from this rite. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  The path to the Light 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 130 
   
  2.12  Absolute Magic 
   
  Player Characters seldom, if ever, will reach levels higher than the 30th.  If they do so in Character Classes that use 
  magical spells, song or diction, they gain no new spell points or other conventional magical abilities, but they do 
  begin to be able to use absolute magic in the same manner that the light and dark elves to do. 
   
  Until now, no human, halfling or half-elf ever has gained the ability to use absolute magic.  However, there is 
  nothing to prevent one of your PCs from being the first to do so, if you decide to take your campaign into such lofty 
  epic levels. 
   
  Users of absolute magic have many benefits not available to beings with Character Levels of 30 or lower: 
   
  • 
  Beginning with the 31st level, a magic user other than Cleric or Runestainer can begin using magic that 
  expends one or two magic or spell points as absolute magic.  This is further explained below.  The number of 
  spell points that can be expended grows with additional levels. 
   
  • 
  The command of absolute magic brings aging to a partial stop.  Humans, halflings and half-elves can reach 
  the threshold of immortality.  For each Caster Level beginning with the 31st, the power of magic will bring all 
  natural aging to a stop for five years.  If a character reaches a new Caster Level before the five years are up, 
  he or she still gains the full, cumulative 10-year benefit of both levels. 
   
  • 
  As of the 31st level, the magic user also can begin using communal magic.  This ability also grows with 
  additional levels.  This concept also is explained in more detail below. 
   
  Magic and Age Progression 
  Caster Level 
  Absolute Magic Point Levels 
  Cumulative Aging Stop 
  Communal Group Size 
  31 
  1-2 
  5 years 
  2 
  32 
  3-4 
  10 years 
  2 
  33 
  5-6 
  15 years 
  3 
  34 
  7-8 
  20 years 
  3 
  35 
  9-10 
  25 years 
  4 
  36 
  11 
  30 years 
  4 
  37 
  12 
  35 years 
  5 
  38 
  13 
  40 years 
  5 
  39 
  14 
  45 years 
  6 
  40 
  15 
  50 years 
  6 
   
  It should be noted that that progression is not limited to the 40th level.  It continues at the same rate upward.  The 
  cumulative aging stop and the communal group size also continue to grow after the 40th Caster Level, using the 
  same progression as shown in the table above.  Once the caster reaches the 41st level, he or she can employ 
  instantly conceived spells that had not been heretofore developed. 
   
   
  Absolute Casting 
   
  The table above shows us that the caster has learned magic so thoroughly that he or she can simply call upon 
  magic to perform any task that could be done within the scope of spells, songs and diction that expend one or two 
  magic points.  No advance preparation is necessary.  No spell must be developed.  The caster simply calls upon 
  magic to do a job. 
   
  When the character reaches the 40th Caster Level, he or she can cast such simultaneous magic to gain any magical 
  effect that could be achieved with the expenditure of 15 magic points.  However, the caster remains limited to those 
  types of spell activity that are available to his or her Character Class and to the schools of magic which are open to 
  his Character Class. 
   
  Commanding absolute magic also gives a character the ability to call upon magic to perform any deed that a Cleric 
  Rite can achieve, provided that the rite is of a school that the caster can use.  Absolute magic is, after all, the tool 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 131 
   
  that deities use to give their Clerics such magic.  When a caster uses this ability, the magic point expenditure is 5 
  points higher than it is for the identical Cleric Rite. 
   
  There are limitations on absolute casting, however.  When working magic where a result is based in part upon the 
  Caster Level, 30 is the maximum that is calculated in absolute magic, regardless of the true Caster Level, 
   
   
  Communal Magic 
   
  Communal magic is the level at which absolute casters can begin achieving magical results beyond the limits of 
  defined spells.  Communal magic is joint casting by two or more casters who join minds to cast the same magic 
  simultaneously.  This is a very strenuous process.  The number of magic casting minds with which a caster can 
  communicate is limited.  The limits for casters of Levels 31-40 is shown in the column Communal Group Size of the 
  table Magic and Age Progression on the previous page. 
   
  There are two ways in which casters can work magically communally: 
   
  • 
  They can share the magic or spell point expense. 
   
  • 
  They can strengthen defined magic in certain respects. 
   
  Sharing the point expense is a relatively simple matter.  If two casters use absolute magic communally, each 
  could expend 5 points, as an example.  However, few casters of Level 31 and higher have much use or need for 
  this ability.  They usually have the magic or spell points they need to cast what they wish to. 
   
  Strengthening defined magic can be a very complex matter for you, the game master.  Communal magic cannot 
  increase the power of magic, but it can take the accumulated accomplishments of single casters and combine them 
  to broaden the scope of magic.  Here are examples to help you make the judgments that a game master must 
  make.  We'll start with samples of things that communal magic can do: 
   
  • 
  It can add the maximum number of targets for each communal caster and make the magic effect the sum of 
  targets. 
   
  • 
  It can add the individual casters' areas of effect and combine then into one larger area of effect. 
   
  • 
  It can add the duration values for the individual casters and extend the duration to the sum of those values. 
   
  • 
  It can add the maximum range of the individual casters and extend the range to the sum. 
   
  • 
  It can add the effects of the individual casters and extend the effect to the sum. 
   
  There also are many things that communal magic cannot do: 
   
  • 
  It cannot increase the damage done.  If a spell can do 1d8 points damage per Caster Level, the total damage 
  is 1d8 for the sum of all caster levels (maximum 30 per caster), but the damage roll can't be increased to 
  1d10, as an example. 
   
  • 
  It cannot eliminate the need to make a spell attack where it is required. 
   
  • 
  It cannot raise the DL against a spell attack.  Where Caster Level determines the DL to a certain extent, only 
  the Caster Level 30 is calculated. 
   
  • 
  It cannot increase the maximum level of affected targets.  If magic affects only targets up to Level 20, 
  communal magic cannot extend it to targets above Level 20. 
   
  • 
  It cannot perform tasks that are above the abilities of defined spells that expend 15 magic or spell points. 
   
  • 
  It cannot combine absolute and conventional casting.  All casters in communal magic must cast the same 
  magic and it must be absolute magic. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 132 
   
  Elven Absolute Magic 
   
  All living light and dark elves are more than a million years old.  If one were to attempt to calculate the Caster Levels 
  of elven magic users, the results would be in five or six figures.  There are no light or dark elven casters who are not 
  absolute casters or who cannot cast absolute magic that expends 15 points. 
   
  If necessary, elves can bring thousands of casters together to perform communal magic.  Almost all elven casters 
  have Magical Aptitude scores of 25.  Humans and halflings cannot have a Magical Aptitude score higher than 20 
  and half-elves cannot have a higher Magical Aptitude score higher than 23.  This also makes human, halfling and 
  half-elf casters weaker in magic than elven casters. 
   
   
   
  In the land of the giants – a tunnel into the unknown 
   Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 133 
   
  IIIIII..    PPllaayyiinngg  tthhee  G
  Gaam
  mee  M
  Maasstteerr''ss  RRoollee  
   
  11..    IIss  DDuunnggeeoonnss  DDaarriinngg  tthhee  RRiigghhtt  G
  Gaam
  mee  ffoorr  YYoouu??  
   
  If you've reached this point, and if you have experience with other RPGs, you probably have come to the conclusion 
  that there are some substantial differences between Dungeons Daring and many other games.  Before starting a 
  Dungeons Daring campaign, it's a good idea to ponder what kind of campaign and game you want to run and then 
  ask yourself whether Dungeons Daring really is the best system to help you reach these goals. 
   
  The RPG scene includes a wide variety of gaming and campaigning styles.  The big commercial RPGs on the 
  market try to include a large spectrum of different elements that attempt to make their product useful to many if not 
  all of these RPG variations.  Dungeons Daring, on the other hand, was designed for a specific segment of the RPG 
  market.  It is anything but the right solution for all gamers. 
   
  The following describes our target user: 
   
  • 
  Our user likes an RPG that strongly emphasizes role-playing and story telling and that de-emphasizes rules 
  issues. 
   
  • 
  He or she sees the world in which one adventures as a variation upon the real Planet Earth rather than as a 
  totally strange planet in an alien galaxy. 
   
  • 
  Our user enjoys reading classical fantasy literature and mythologies.  He or she would like to have elements 
  of both within the adventure being played. 
   
  • 
  Using one's own fantasy and imagination are important elements of the RPG experience of our user. 
   
  Fulfilling those desires were the authors' goals in developing Dungeons Daring.  You, the potential users of the 
  game, will decide whether we have succeeded. 
   
  In pondering whether Dungeons Daring is the right game for you, you probably should consider the following points 
  which make Dungeons Daring somewhat different from many other RPGs. 
   
  • 
  The Dungeons Daring books contain no artist renditions of people or places.  Instead, you see numerous 
  photos of real world items and locations that resemble places in a fictitious parallel Dungeons Daring world. 
   
  We opted for photos rather than drawings for two reasons.  The photos are intended to create an image of a parallel 
  world to our own, where the events of real Earth mythology might have taken place. 
   
  • 
  Dungeons Daring tends to concentrate magic in the character classes that have learned to use it.  Most 
  magical effects in a Dungeons Daring game should come from spells, bardic song and diction or Cleric rites 
  rather than from a plethora of objects that work magic and that can be used by anyone. 
   
  This is an element of Dungeons Daring that warrants consideration on your part in deciding whether to use 
  Dungeons Daring or another RPG.  High and widespread magic, with some of it in everyone's hands, are what 
  make many RPGs or campaign settings very popular with some gamers and very boring to others.  As a game 
  master, you can shift this focus within Dungeons Daring by creating magic objects on your own.  But if you prefer a 
  campaign where every PC has three or four or more magical objects, there probably better choices for you than 
  Dungeons Daring. 
   
  • 
  Magical weapons and armor in Dungeons Daring have been made superior to conventional armor and 
  weapons through the assignment of bonus plus points.  There are very few weapons with special 
  characteristics, and most of those that do exist were created long ago with runic magic of dwarves or giants. 
   
  This really is a continuation of our last theme.  We see spellcasters as people who concentrate upon using their 
  own magic, learning new magic and developing their own arcane skills.  We do not see spellcasters as people who 
  run magic weapon factories.  In the Dungeons Daring concept, if one needs the benefit of a spell, one should get 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 134 
   
  the services of a spellcaster rather than drawing a sword that has been ensorcelled to do a Wizard's work.  
  However, there are some types of specially ensorcelled weapons in the mythologies and fantasy literature that can 
  add interesting elements to an RPG adventure.  In literature, most of these are rune-powered works of dwarven or 
  giant smiths, and that is the case in Dungeons Daring too.  The sections on runic magic in this book give you all the 
  necessary tools to create such legendary weapons, if they are needed in your campaign. 
   
  • 
  Healing and the resurrection of the dead are much more limited in Dungeons Daring than in many other 
  RPGs. 
   
  That's correct.  The authors have taken part in many campaigns with other RPG systems where injury and death 
  had all but ceased to exist for PCs.  Once the adventure groups reached higher levels, every damaging round of 
  combat ended up with a round of nearly complete healing, and every dead companion was brought back to life with 
  various types of magical resurrection.  It's been our observation that this situation not only takes a lot of the 
  adventure out of an adventure, but it also diminishes the credibility of the campaign and tends to make what should 
  be exciting into a routine and boring situation.  We've tried to contain healing at a credible level.  Resurrections are 
  expensive, can be performed only in major temples and can be performed only for a limited time after death.  In 
  Dungeons Daring, many more dead PCs will remain dead than in a large share of the other RPGs on the market. 
   
  • 
  All things that have to do with comeliness, intelligence, charisma, wisdom, etc. are related strictly to 
  roleplaying.  There are no ability scores for these attributes. 
   
  This is probably the most controversial departure from conventional RPG theory that you'll find in Dungeons Daring.  
  It already was the subject of considerable online debate even before the first alpha release of the Dungeons Daring 
  Players Guide.  Most RPGs have ability scores for these character attributes.  Where any of these attributes come 
  into question in a PC's or an NPC's dealing with others, dice rolls based upon the scores for these abilities decide 
  the issue, not the actions and words created by the player for his or her PC.  The main argument against eliminating 
  scores for these attributes is that without them, a dumb player cannot successful play a smart PC.  Exactly that was 
  the goal of the authors is eliminating scores for these abilities.  Dungeons Daring strives to place the focus of as 
  much of the game as possible upon role playing.  It's difficult to role play many of the tasks that are decided by 
  Strength, Dexterity or Stamina in a tabletop RPG session.  That's not the case with comeliness, intelligence, 
  charisma or wisdom.  These abilities are perfectly suited for role playing.  But the Dungeons Daring system in this 
  respect does make it difficult for a dumb player to play a smart PC.  That factor isn't everyone's cup of tea. 
   
  • 
  There are a lot of potential situations that aren't covered by specific rules and guidelines in Dungeons Daring.  
  Other game systems seem to be more comprehensive, with a table and a dice roll to handle just about 
  everything. 
   
  That's correct.  Dungeons Daring tries to be a relatively rules-light system that's more dependent upon common 
  sense and logic than upon repeated dice rolls and extensive rules. 
   
  • 
  This situation gives the game master too much power. 
   
  Among alpha and beta testers and others who commented online about Dungeons Daring in its development 
  stages, this theme was the second most controversial.  There are a number of ways to look at this issue.  First one 
  must ask, How much is too much?  It's a key question that leads back to the key answer:  Dungeons Daring is not 
  the right system for every game master.  The Dungeons Daring system works only when the game master is both 
  competent and essentially fair.  There are many game masters who see themselves foremost as the actors who 
  play the PCs' opponents and the adventure as something of a contest between the game master and the PCs.  
  We've seen quite a number of groups that really enjoy such a system.  However, the Dungeons Daring system is 
  not at all well suited to such a playing style.  Dungeons Daring can succeed only if the game master views him- or 
  herself as a neutral narrator and referee who is wiling to look at all sides of a situation and then render a judgment 
  that is fair to all sides. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 135 
   
  22..    O
  OKK!!    SSoo  W
  Whheerree  ddoo  II  SSttaarrtt??  
   
  What came first?  The chicken or the egg? 
   
  Unfortunately, that's the dilemma most game masters face when they start a campaign.  There are two essential 
  things you need to get going: 
   
  • 
  A group of players.  You'll need at least three for things to run well. 
   
  • 
  An adventure. 
   
  What comes first?  That's often the difficult question. 
   
  Sometimes you'll need an adventure to sell your friends on starting a game.  Sometimes you'll need to learn what 
  kind of adventure will lure your friends into joining your group.  We can't solve this dilemma for you specifically, but 
  we can give you some tips that usually help to get the show on the road. 
   
  • 
  Before you start recruiting a group, decide where you'll get your adventure. 
   
  • 
  If this is your first experience with an RPG, you might want to start with the introductory adventure at the end 
  of this book.  It contains a lot of helpful information that isn't a part of most adventures. 
   
  • 
  If you plan on writing the adventure yourself, make a good and thorough outline of it so that you can describe 
  it in detail when you're trying to recruit players. 
   
  • 
  If you plan to use a commercial adventure or an adventure from another source, take a look at several of 
  them.  Pick a few that you think are best and use these ideas to hook your players.  Get their preferences 
  while you're at it.  That will help you to pick an adventure that's likely to get your campaign off to a good and 
  successful start. 
   
  What comes next?  After you have a group and an adventure, you'll need supplies: 
   
  • 
  Every player needs a copy of either the PDF or paper version of the Dungeons Daring Players Guide.  Since 
  it's free and you can pass it out legally, that should be no problem. 
   
   
  At the gaming table 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 136 
   
  You and each player need either a complete RPG dice set or a computerized dice roller.  A complete set includes 
  the following dice:  d4, d6, d8, d10, d12 and d20.  A d100 die also can be used, but it's optional.  The freeware Die 
  Roller program can be downloaded from the Dungeons Daring website:  http://www.dungeons-daring.org. 
   
  • 
  Next you need a firm set of play dates.  Always try to schedule your next two or three dates in advance, and 
  get firm commitments from your players that they'll be there.  Nothing kills a good adventure as quickly as 
  missing players. 
   
  • 
  Determine who will be the host of the gaming sessions.  Some groups always play in the game master's 
  home or some other fixed location.  Others rotate from apartment to apartment.  If you do the latter, make 
  sure that the host's schedule is clear to everyone. 
   
  • 
  See to it that there's a good supply of beer, soft drinks, snacks, etc. on hand. 
   
   
  33..    O
  Oppttiioonnaall  CCoom
  mppuutteerr  TToooollss  ffoorr  tthhee  G
  Gaam
  mee  M
  Maasstteerr  
   
  Using a computer at the gaming table?  That's another issue that's controversial among tabletop RPG gamers.  
  Some game masters and players wouldn't think about starting a gaming session without having a laptop before 
  them on the table.  Others think that the idea of having computers at the gaming table is more evil than the worst 
  villains in the adventure. 
   
  Fortunately, we don't have to pick sides on that one.  Dungeons Daring is designed to offer a number of advantages 
  to those who want to work with computers, but it's also designed in a way that makes them completely optional and 
  unnecessary.  We'll say a little more on this theme farther below. 
   
  However, the gaming table isn't the only place where a computer can be of help.  One example is the electronic 
  character sheet that comes with Dungeons Daring.  It's not at all necessary in a Dungeons Daring campaign to use 
  the electronic character sheet.  In fact, if you print the three PDF books, you don't need a computer at all for a 
  Dungeons Daring campaign. 
   
  Now, if that's as far as your interest in computers and RPGs working together goes, you can skip the rest of this 
  material and jump ahead to Section 4.  You won't miss a thing that's vital or of value to you. 
   
  For those who still are with us, let's take a look at next at some of the ways you can use a computer to ease and/or 
  improve your game master's chores between gaming sessions.  The most important computer 
  tool for a game master is a good word processing program.  If you're using a PC running under 
  Microsoft® Windows® or if you are using an Apple® computer, the chances are pretty good that 
  you have Microsoft Word or maybe even the entire Microsoft Office package on your machine. 
   
  Word is the market leader in word processing.  But if you don't have Word and don't want to pay the price it takes to 
  get it, don't be concerned.  If you have an Internet connection, simply download and install the free open source 
  package OpenOffice.org.  The address is: 
   
  http://www.openoffice.org . 
   
  There are OpenOffice.org versions for the following operating systems:  Windows, Linux®, Linux PPC, Sun® 
  Solaris® SPARC, Solaris x86, Apple Mac OS X and Free BSD.  Within OpenOffice.org, you'll 
  find the programs OpenOffice.org Writer and OpenOffice.org Calc.  OpenOffice.org Writer is an 
  excellent word processing program that is quite similar to Word and does just about everything 
  that Word does, except that it's free. 
   
  Why is a word processing program such a boon to a game master?  If you already use one, the answer probably is 
  obvious.  If you start writing your own adventures, you'll find that a word processing program is worth gold to you.  
  One of the things that you do frequently when you write an RPG adventure is make modifications.  If you work with 
  a pencil and paper, you'll be erasing and rewriting frequently.  If you use a word processor, you simply do quick 
  edits, and you can make better use of the time you would have spent erasing and rewriting. 
   
  It's also a game master's lot to have to make calculations frequently.  That can involve calculating treasure values, 
  experience points and much more.  The best time saver for this work is a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel 
  in the Microsoft Office package or OpenOffice.org Calc in the free OpenOffice.org package.  You'll also need either 
  Excel or OpenOffice.org Calc to use the electronic character sheet provided with Dungeons Daring. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 137 
   
  If you write your own adventures, another area where you can get tremendous help is in making maps.  There are 
  several good map-making programs on the market.  Our recommendation goes to Fractal Mapper™ 8 from NBOS 
  Software, the official Dungeons Daring mapping program.  There are other programs that can 
  make maps that are just as good as those produced by FM8, but we've found no other mapping 
  program that is both as easy to learn and as well documented as FM8. 
   
  Fractal Mapper is not a free program.  At the time of this writing, it costs US $34.95 for the download version and 
  US $39.95 for the CD version.  You can get more information on FM8 or download the free trial version at: 
   
  http://www.nbos.com . 
   
  You can find out how to purchase the program at the following address: 
   
  http://www.nbos.com/order.htm . 
   
  One last computer tool is the collection of TrueType® runic fonts included in the download file.  If you use dwarven 
  or giant runic magic in your campaign, these fonts will let you quickly type in any runic staves that your PCs may 
  see rather than having to draw them by hand. 
   
   
   
  A runic font 
  Open Game Content 
   
   
   
  So, now let's go back to the theme of a laptop at the 
  gaming table.  If you're among those who are totally 
  opposed to this idea, you can skip the rest of this 
  material and jump ahead to Section 4.  You won't miss 
  a thing that's vital or of value to you. 
   
  Open Game Content
  Laptop at the gaming table – curse or blessing? 
   
  As you gain experience as a game master, you'll start 
  to see that one of the things you'll experience at the 
  gaming table is the need to constantly look up 
  information.  You'll need to check on things in the 
  Dungeons Daring guidelines.  You need to look regu-
  larly at your dungeon plans.  You need to roll dice, often 
  hundreds of times in one gaming session. 
   
  The problem with all of these game master activities is 
  that each of them interrupts the game in a time-
  consuming manner.  While you're looking things up, 
  your players are sitting there and – if things are going 
  well – they're doing nothing.  More often than not, how-
  ever, they'll revert to their real world personalities and 
  start chatting with one another.  That's not a crime, of 
  course, but it does break the pace of your adventure, 
  and it tends to derail good role playing somewhat. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 138 
   
  The Dungeons Daring package was developed to help 
  lessen these problems, for those game masters who 
  are willing to use a laptop at the gaming table.  This 
  begins with the three books of guidelines.  Each is in 
  PDF format and is heavily bookmarked. 
   
  Open Game Content
  Guidelines with bookmarks in Acrobat Reader. 
   
  The PDF format has the advantage that it can be used 
  together with the free program Adobe Acrobat® 
  Reader, which is available for most popular operating 
  systems.  If you haven't installed Acrobat Reader on 
  your computer, you can download it free from: 
   
      http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/ 
  readstep2.html?ogn=EN_US-gntray_dl_get_reader 
   
  If you copy this address, be sure to paste it back 
  together again. 
   
   
  Modern operating systems all are multi-tasking systems.  This means that you can open the PDF files for all three 
  Dungeons Daring before your gaming sessions begin.  When you need information, simply switch to the needed 
  book and then click the bookmark for the necessary theme.  The text passage you're seeing will be right before your 
  eyes.  It will save you a lot of time-consuming paging through paper books. 
   
  Another point where the game master frequently needs to put the brakes on the game is 
  with dice rolls.  Let's look at an example.  Let's assume that you have a group of four PCs 
  that encounters a band of six orcs.  It comes to combat.  Each of your players can make his 
  or her PC's at attack rolls at the same time, a relatively quick procedure. 
   
   
  Open Game Content 
  Die Roller 
   
  But there you are.  You have to make six attack rolls, each individually, and for each orc 
  that succeeds in hitting a PC, you have to make individual damage rolls.  The result?  The 
  hasty pace of melee combat is lost completely.  Your players sit and wait patiently (one 
  hopes) while you make all of your dice rolls,  When you're done at last, both sides can pick 
  up their swords and swing again. 
   
  This is another area where your computer can be of a lot of help.  There are many pro-
  grams on the market that will make rapid dice rolls for you.  Not even Speedy Gonzales 
  could keep up with them throwing regular dice.  One of our favorites is a small freeware 
  program for Windows called Die Roller.  We've included this program among the free 
  Dungeons Daring download files at http://www.dungeons-daring-org. 
   
   
  There is no installation routine for Die Roller.  When you unzip the download file, one of the files it yields is 
  DieRoller.exe.  You can copy it into any folder you wish.  After that, you simply need to open the file to run the 
  program.  Once you start it, leave it running in the background.  You then can use it anytime you need it. 
   
  If you have a mapping program like Fractal Mapper 8, then you're really well set up for using your PC at the gaming 
  table.  With it, you not only can have all of your pertinent overland and settlement maps and dungeon plans 
  immediately at hand, but you also can zoom into and out of any area on those maps and plans. 
   
  One element of a mapping program that's of particular value is layering.  With Fractal Mapper and similar programs, 
  you can place various map elements onto individual layers, which you can make visible or invisible, as you wish.  
  The great benefit is that you can make a single map or dungeon plan for you and for your players.  When you print 
  your own map, you make all layers visible.  When you print copies for your players, you hide all of layers with the 
  information and locations that still are unknown to the PCs. 
   
  As the players go deeper into the details of a mapped region or settlement or into new corners of a dungeon, you 
  can keep uncovering the additional things they have seen and print new versions of the dungeon plan for them.  
  These kinds of visual aids keep the focus on the meat and potatoes of your adventure, rather than spending a lot of 
  time waiting out debates among your players over what each thinks he or she remembers his player having seen. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 139 
   
   
  Floor plan in Fractal Mapper™ 8 
  Open Game Content 
   
  However, that's only the beginning of what a good cartographic program can do for you.  As we'll discuss in the next 
  section, most campaign groups sooner or later put together a playing board with a 1 inch/2,54 cm grid drawn onto it.  
  Some use a background sheet with a colored backdrop behind the grid.  You'll find an example on the next page.  
  The backdrop shown there is a commercial product made by the company Wizards of the Coast® Inc. 
   
  These measurements were chosen to represent an area 5ft/150cm square at the scale used by most companies 
  that make tin figures or miniatures, in the current parlance.  Some gaming groups buy miniature figures to represent 
  the PCs and others to represent the foes they encounter most often.  Other groups use paper or cardboard markers 
  or pegs from other board games. 
   
  They idea is to give everyone a visual example of what's happening at any particular point in time, to show the 
  positions of creatures in an encounter in relation to one another and to make distances between parties in an en-
  counter absolutely clear. 
   
  The use of miniatures is very popular and widespread in RPG circles today, but we predict that it will begin 
  declining.  As more and more people acquire digital projectors or large screen home entertainment systems that 
  accept computer input, the more such systems will replace gridded boards and tin figures. 
   
  One needs only one gaming evening's experience to see the great advantages of having a large screen that shows 
  the map or plan of everything the PCs see.  Character symbols are used to represent the individual characters and 
  their foes.  With the Windows drag-and-drop ability facilitated in Fractal Mapper, the game master easily can use 
  the mouse to move all creatures to their new locations. 
   
  After our own first experiences with such systems, we were astonished at the immediately increased compre-
  hension the players had of the situation in which their PCs were. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 140 
   
  44..    O
  Otthheerr  TToooollss  ffoorr  tthhee  G
  Gaam
  mee  M
  Maasstteerr  
   
   
  Tin figures, a 1 inch/2,54cm grid and a set of RPG dice 
  Open Game Content 
   
  One of the good aspects of Dungeons Daring and many other RPG systems is that they require very little 
  investment.  Now, you may know someone who has invested a few thousand dollars in role playing.  That's possible 
  too.  There are some commercial RPG systems for which the manufacturer has been putting out various 
  accessories for more than 30 years. 
   
  If you're really addicted to such a system, you can invest the price of a car or a solid down payment on a new house 
  in your game.  However, if you talk to people who've spent their money in that manner, you'll find that they've never 
  used much of what they've purchased.  At the most they've read some of it, but after that it makes up part of a 
  collection for the bookshelf. 
   
  It's not possible to spend your money like that with Dungeons Daring.  The game's core products all are free.  That 
  won't keep you from buying accessories for other games and adapting them, of course, but if you do that, it's a 
  matter of choice; it's never necessary. 
   
  That notwithstanding, there are some costs you'll probably need to incur before your campaign is up and running.  
  The first cost to calculate is the fee you paid to your Internet service provider, if any, for downloading the Dungeons 
  Daring books.  If you and your players all plan to use laptops at the gaming table, that may be sufficient.  If not, you 
  might use the printer of your computer to print the books.  That adds the cost of paper and printer toner or ink to the 
  initial download costs. 
   
  What that will cost depends upon the printer you're using, the number of copies you need to print and how much of 
  each book you need to print.  You can, for instance, leave all the pages with spell descriptions out of copies of the 
  Players Guide that go to non-spellcasters.  To save even more, compare the per-page costs of your printer with the 
  per-page costs of your local copy shop.  Usually the copy shop will be cheaper.  If that's the case, print a master 
  copy of the Players Guide and make the additional copies at your copy shop.  That's 100% legal. 
   
  After that, you or your players need to go to a hobby or gaming shop and buy a set of RPG dice.  There are six dice 
  in a set:  d4, d6, d8, d10, d12 and d20.  Some sets will have a seventh die, either a special 100-sided die or a 
  second d10 die number in steps of 10 from 10 to 100.  You can see such a die in the upper right of the picture 
  above.  Such a die is useful but not necessary.  You can roll d100 or d% by rolling d10 twice.  Use the first result as 
  the left digit and the second result as the right digit of the final result. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 141 
   
  Once you have the books in the desired form and the dice, you have everything you need.  All you have to do is put 
  your adventure on the plate.  Anything else you buy is gravy. 
   
  However, as we mentioned in the last section, there are a few other useful tools that most gaming groups end up 
  acquiring.  If you don't use a PC at the gaming table, the one that's really worthwhile is a gaming board with 
  miniature figures.  Let's look at a minute out of a new game master's campaign at the gaming table: 
   
  Game Master:  You turn round the bend and suddenly see four armed creatures 30ft/9m away from 
  you.  All are bearing long swords.  There's a dirty smell about them.  They have black hair, dark grey 
  skin and look like corrupted elves.  They see you and grin, revealing fangs.  They draw their long 
  swords and begin to move in your direction. 
   
  At this point, the only thing that your players can see is a vision in their own minds.  To each of them, the creatures 
  that you've described will look somewhat different.  Each player will translate your description into the vision of his 
  or her own imagination.  Each player also will draw a mental picture of the distance of 30 feet or 9 meters.  There 
  will be some differences in the mental picture different players have of this distance. 
   
  There isn't necessarily anything wrong with that.  RPGs have worked like that since the original Dungeons & 
  Dragons® by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson was published by the former TSR® Inc. in 1974.  However, many 
  game masters and players have concluded that situations are better understood and that the game flows better 
  when a grid board and miniature figures or markers are used to represent the creatures in the encounter. 
   
  The picture on the previous page shows you a typical encounter as it's portrayed by miniature figures on a grid.  
  Here we see a giant encountering a band of five adventurers.  The scene uses a commercial grid produced by the 
  company Wizards of the Coast® Inc., but you by no means need to spend money on a grid. 
   
  You can make a quick and totally adequate grid board yourself with a piece of wood or heavy cardboard.  Simply 
  take a felt tip marker and draw the grid yourself.  The squares should have sides 1 inch or 2.54 cm long to represent 
  scale 5-foot squares. 
   
  You don't need to buy miniature figures.  You can just as easily use pegs from some board game or chess or 
  checkers pieces, or you can cut markers out of a thin sheet of cardboard and write the names of the PCs or 
  creatures that they represent upon them. 
   
  Miniature figures on a grid board are unnecessary, but they do give you an advantage:  Your players not only can 
  see distances clearly, but they also can see how the other creatures in the encounter look, rather than leaving this 
  visual image up to their imaginations. 
   
  The miniatures on the previous page were made by the company Ral Partha® in the 1990s and sold as unpainted 
  tin figures.  They were painted by an RPG gamer who had a large collection of such figures and made a hobby of 
  painting them.  Today, not only Ral Partha but several other companies offer miniature figures.  The higher quality 
  figures usually are poured with pewter or lead, but lower quality plastic figures also are available. 
   
  If you and your gaming group have a set of printed books, sets of dice, a grid board and markers or figures, you're 
  already equipped at luxury level and at a total cost for the entire group of less than US $100.  Buying a single set of 
  books can cost that much and more with commercial RPGs. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 142 
   
  IIVV..    BBuuiillddiinngg  YYoouurr  AAddvveennttuurree  
   
  This section is intended to help all game masters, but above all, it's important to those who want to create their own 
  adventures.  If you're experienced as a game master and have written your own successful adventures already, you 
  may just wish to scan this chapter to see if there's anything new for you.  On the other hand, if you're new to the 
  game master's role, we hope you'll stick with us for some tips out of our own experience. 
   
  Some of the authors have been gaming since the introduction of the original Dungeons & Dragons RPG in 1974.  
  We certainly haven't learned everything in that time, but we have seen quite a number of things that do and don't 
  work, and, just as important, things that can make your campaign run better. 
   
  The first thing one usually must do is determine the story line of the adventure.  Where do you want your PCs to 
  go?  What is there for them to do there?  And first and foremost, what will motivate them to go where you want them 
  to go?  That question's important, because campaigns in which the game master leads the player around by the 
  nose tend to flop.  The PCs should decide themselves where they are going.  You need to supply them with what 
  motivates them to go your adventure's way. 
   
  Let's dwell on the last point first.  There are certain phenomena that come up in an RPG session that really frustrate 
  a game master.  We've seen them pop up most frequently in sessions where the game master is new and still 
  getting his or her feet on the ground, but we've also seen them happen in adventures done by experienced game 
  master, and that includes in the authors' own campaigns. 
   
  We'll assume that you've just put together what you think will be an exciting adventure, one that your players and 
  their PCs won't want to miss.  The new adventure starts out in a village tavern or other location you've picked.  Your 
  PCs are there, probably short on cash and looking for an adventure to put some coin into their pouches.  Or 
  perhaps they're politically motivated, and they're waiting to help bring down the evil baron whose border is only a 
  few miles or kilometers away. 
   
  You bring about whatever plotline you've developed to open the door to your new adventure, and the PCs aren't 
  interested.  Even worse, perhaps, they decide to go somewhere else! 
   
  The second of those situations usually is the easiest to handle.  When the PCs decide to go somewhere else, it's 
  because you've opened too many paths to them, and you've misjudged which of them would be more interesting to 
  the group.  If you're starting an adventure, and the adventure path goes from, say, the village of Middlethorpe 
  northwards into Black Valley, then it's a bad idea at that point to tell your players about anything else that might 
  interest them in another direction. 
   
  However, if that's not the case and the NPCs in your tavern give the PCs all of the right hints and nudges, and the 
  PCs still say that they're not interested, that they'll wait until something better comes along, then things have gone 
  wrong.  Let's look at some ways to avoid getting off to such a disastrous start. 
   
  Building a successful first adventure starts at the time that you and your players are developing the player 
  characters.  When we discussed character creation, we emphasized the need to develop a good background 
  history and personality for each PC.  We'd like to stress that again. 
   
  If you've done your part of the job well at character creation time, you'll have the knowledge you need to put 
  together a successful adventure.  You'll have a good general picture of your characters' history and experiences 
  before the adventure begins and – because you insisted that they give you that information during character 
  creation – you also know what will motivate the PCs to move forward.  Some ideas: 
   
   
   
  A Mage 
   
  If one of your PCs is a Wizard, Sorcerer, etc. you should know why he or she turned to magic, where he or she was 
  trained (if at all, in the case of the sorcerer), why the mage decided to make a career of his or her magical talents 
  and what he or she wants to achieve.  These answers tell you what will motivate the PC.  You need to put what he 
  or she wants on the path of your adventure. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 143 
   
  A Fighter or Ranger 
   
  PCs of both of these categories have decided to devote their lives, to a certain extent, to the sword.  A Fighter can 
  have a wide variety of reasons for choosing such a life.  A Ranger usually serves as a defender of general druidic 
  principles in nature.  Why did the PC choose this path through life?  Where and from whom did he or she receive 
  his or her training?  What does he or she hope to achieve?  The answers are the key to motivation. 
   
   
  A Thief or Other Specialist 
   
  Here we have a PC who has learned some of the tools of the seamier side of life, regardless of his or her own 
  alignment inclinations.  Why?  What put the PC on his or her path?  From whom did he or she learn these things?  
  Under what circumstances?  The PC has decided to use these abilities as an adventurer.  Why as an adventurer?  
  What does he or she hope to achieve?  Again, the answers are the key to motivation. 
   
   
   
  The Road Goes Ever On – J.R.R. Tolkien 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 144 
   
  11..    TThhee  FFiirrsstt  SStteeppss  
   
  Once you have these answers, you know what's necessary to put together the right adventure, if that's possible.  
  We italicize that, because the information you have at this stage could reveal some other things instead.  You might 
  see, for instance, that the desires of the players within your group are totally incompatible with each other.  You 
  might also determine that you and your potential players are on totally different wavelengths. 
   
  As an example, it might be that what you really want to do is run a campaign based upon vampire hunters.  Swords 
  and sorcery adventures in Tolkienesque style aren't your cup of tea.  During character creation, you've determined 
  that your players want to do nothing but fight evil wizards and orcs.  In both cases, you've discovered that you have 
  probably irreconcilable differences. 
   
  What should you do?  Forge ahead anyway?  We'd recommend against that.  It is possible that you would discover 
  after your adventure starts that you like sword and sorcery after all.  It's less likely that your entire PC group would 
  discover that it likes vampire hunting after all.  If you forge ahead, either with your own goals or theirs, your 
  campaign stands a good chance of being a flop.  In the process of failing, you might turn off a few of your players 
  and yourself as well to the idea of fantasy role playing, before any of you even have given the game a fair chance. 
   
  When you start an RPG campaign, you should do your best to see than it has loads of ingredients that will make it 
  enjoyable for both you and all of your players.  If there are irreconcilable differences between you and your potential 
  player group or irreconcilable differences within the group, it's best to put on the brakes immediately and to try anew 
  to assemble a group of players that are on the same basic wavelength as you are.  When you do that, you've found 
  the road to success.  It's up to you now to follow it. 
   
   
  1.1  Formulating the Idea 
   
  Once you've settled upon an adventure idea that fulfills your desires and those of your players, you need to start 
  outlining how that adventure will work and in which classes or classifications it should fall.  There are three general 
  adventure categories.  However, most adventures fall in one of more categories because they have various ele-
  ments.  Still, one needs to understand each of the categories, because they are developed somewhat differently: 
   
  • 
  Location Adventure:  Such adventures take place within a village, town, city or other relatively small and 
  defined geographical area.  Most or all of the adventure takes place above ground. 
   
  • 
  Overland Adventure:  These adventures take place in a larger geographic region.  They make stops in 
  several villages, towns or cities and also at geographical sites, ruins and the like.  Most or all of the adventure 
  takes place above ground. 
   
  • 
  Dungeon Adventure:  Such adventures take place in a relatively large series of rooms, chambers and/or 
  caves that are connected.  Most or all of the adventure can take place underground, but it also is possible to 
  have a dungeon adventure that, for the most part, takes place above ground.  A huge fortress castle complex 
  could be the site of an above ground dungeon adventure. 
   
  It often works best to design an adventure backwards, that is, to start out defining the adventure's end goal and 
  then, from end to beginning, define all of the things on the way to that goal.  Sometimes, in developing your end 
  destination, you will discover that your adventure goal would be helped by having some things happen or be found 
  earlier.  After doing that, you then can make an outline of the adventure from beginning to end, identifying each 
  element by its type, Location, Overland or Dungeon, so that you know how these elements need to be defined.  
  Going from beginning to end, here's an example of how such an outline could work: 
   
  • 
  Location:  The PCs are in their home town, Slovan City, looking for a way to earn money.  A commission or 
  an idea for a profitable adventure would be preferable to hiring on at the local sawmill. 
   
  • 
  Location:  The PCs are spending an evening in their favorite pub when a few bureaucrats from the local 
  margrave's palace come in and take seats at a table.  The PCs learn that the margrave is getting very upset 
  over the kidnapping of peasants in the north of his march by undead servants of the draug Baron Nundlung in 
  the war-ruined lands north of his border.  The margrave is willing to pay 1,000 GP for the undead head of the 
  draug baron. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 145 
   
  • 
  Location:  The PCs visit the margrave's castle and accept a commission to destroy the draug baron.  The 
  margrave gives them a 10% advance (100 GP) to buy additional equipment and says they'll receive the 
  remaining 900 GP if they return with the undead baron's severed head. 
   
  • 
  Location:  As the PCs are on the way back to their lodgings, a pickpocket swipes the pouch with the 100 GP 
  from the margrave.  The PCs chase the pickpocket to a rundown house. 
   
  • 
  Dungeon:  The PCs follow the thief into the house but find no trace of him or anyone else.  Only rats scuttle 
  about now and then.  The PCs see a rat run into a dark corner and investigate.  They discover that the rat 
  has vanished through a trap door that remained ajar after being closed. 
   
  • 
  Dungeon:  A PC Thief says she wants to check the door before the PCs do anything with it.  She discovers a 
  spring trap that would have ejected a hidden knife blade into the first PC to go through the trap door.  She 
  disarms the trap. 
   
  • 
  Dungeon:  The PCs descend the ladder at the top of the trap door and find that it leads into an abandoned 
  mining tunnel.  They turn right, but discover that this leg of the tunnel leads only to a cave-in.  They back 
  track and find the pickpocket just starting to climb the ladder upward again.  It comes to combat and they slay 
  the pickpocket, leaving his body in the old mineshaft. 
   
  • 
  Dungeon:  The PCs investigate the mineshaft in the second section.  It too leads to a cave-in, but at the point 
  where the tunnel ends there is a small supply room to the left.  It's obvious that the thief used this room as his 
  hideout.  In it, they find not only the pouch with the 100 GP from the margrave but also a small chest with 
  another 6 GP and a piece of parchment. 
   
  • 
  Dungeon:  The parchment is a pre-war floor plan for the draug Baron Nundlung's castle in the town of Tingl's 
  Mill.  The town now is in the war-ruined area north of the march.  Today, people call it Dark Valley.  That's 
  where Baron Nundlung is, so this must be an old floor plan for his castle, the PCs' goal.  They take the plan 
  and the 106 GP with them and climb back out of the mineshaft, leaving the thief's dead body for the rats. 
   
  • 
  Location:  The PCs are back in town now.  They buy the supplies they're seeking and head northward on the 
  two-day ride to Dark Valley. 
   
  • 
  Overland:  Nothing occurs during the PCs' first day on the road.  They reach the farming settlement of 
  Goldfields without difficulty.  All the rooms in the Golden Scythe Inn are free.  They have no trouble booking 
  one.  They go down to the public room for a meal and a few rounds of drinks. 
   
  • 
  Overland:  While they are there, the PCs observe the locals, who have a few concerns on their mind.  First of 
  all, a band of 15 to 20 brigands appears to have settled into the hills northwest of town.  They've been raiding 
  farmers around the village of Lastmill and the few travelers still on the northern road.  Their biggest concern, 
  however, are the reports of draug warriors coming down from the war-ruined barony to the north.  They 
  reportedly have abducted several villagers in Lastmill.  Will these draugs eventually trouble Goldfields as 
  well?  Will the brigands start troubling the village too?  What is the margrave in Slovan City doing about it? 
   
  • 
  Overland:  The PCs leave Goldfields the next day and head north toward Lastmill.  At mid-morning, as they 
  come to the edge of the forest, they see that the road heads slightly upward into a group of hills that would be 
  a perfect place for an ambush.  The Thief in the group is no Scout, but she has acquired a number of Scout's 
  talent skills.  The group sends her in to spy out the hills. 
   
  • 
  Overland:  The Thief returns and says she has spotted three brigands in the hills waiting to ambush travelers.  
  She knows a way for the PCs to leave the forest, enter the hills from behind and ambush the ambushers.  
  They do just that and are gaining the upper hand when arrows start flying against them from the hills on the 
  other side of the road.  The PCs' Wizard sends an Aural Illusion spell creating a raging giant against the 
  archers.  They shout and vanish.  The PCs slay the three ambushers, find the ambushers' horses, which they 
  take, and go down to the road, heading on to Lastmill. 
   
  • 
  Overland:  As they ride out of the hills, the PCs see two riders in the distance in the West, heading into a 
  forest.  They assume that these are the two archers whom they scared off.  The also assume that the brigand 
  leader might seek revenge.  Therefore, they should try to reach Lastmill as quickly as they can. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 146 
   
   
  Draug Baron Nundlung's tower in Dark Valley 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 147 
   
  • 
  Overland:  The sun has been down nearly an hour when pinpricks of light from the lamps of Lastmill can be 
  seen a few miles in the distance.  But as the PCs look ahead toward the border village, they see the dark 
  forms of three persons taking shape in the road before them.  All three draw steel.  One of the three urges the 
  PCs to surrender.  The male voice says the he and his companions do not want to slay the PCs, they wish to 
  take them to Baron Nundlung in Tingl's Mills. 
   
  • 
  Overland:  The PCs recognize the name.  Nundlung is the draug baron in Dark Valley, the one whom they've 
  been sent to destroy.  They draw their weapons and narrowly succeed in slaying the three undead Warriors.  
  They sever the draugs' heads, throw them into a sack and ride on into Lastmill, where they heads are 
  smashed and burned to prevent the draugs' bodies from being animated. 
   
  • 
  Overland:  The village of Lastmill has a small inn, where the PCs find lodgings.  Most of the villagers show up 
  in the common room.  The PCs hear how the villagers have been living in fear lately, and how they were hit 
  with a new, severe blow the previous night.  A farmer discovered in the morning that the Last Mill, the 
  village's grain mill, had been attacked and slightly damaged during the night.  The mill still can operate, but 
  the miller and his wife have disappeared.  No doubt, draugs have taken them to Dark Valley.  The villagers 
  are desperate.  No one in the village knows how to run the mill properly, and yet, without it, they are likely to 
  starve. 
   
  • 
  Overland:  The PCs explain their intentions to the villagers and that they are there on commission from the 
  margrave.  The people of Lastmill are happy for the help, but they are worried for the PCs and urge them to 
  turn back despite their own troubles.  When the PCs stand firm, the villagers say they can offer them little 
  help, but they send two Herbal Witches who live in Lastmill to help heal the PCs' wounds from their battle with 
  the draugs.  The PCs spend the night in the River Inn. 
   
  • 
  Overland:  From their rooms during the night, the PCs hear a commotion.  They see three draug Warriors 
  banging their swords on a house door, demanding that the occupants come out and go with them to the 
  baron.  The PCs fight and destroy the draugs, decapitating the corpses and destroying the draugs' heads. 
   
  • 
  Overland:  On the following day, the Herbal Witches return to offer more healing.  They also give the PCs 
  several healing potions and herbal remedies to use while in the draug lands.  The villagers tell the PCs that 
  they can reach Dark Valley in less than a day's time, but to attempt to do their business In Dark Valley, they 
  will have to spend at least one night there in the domain of the undead. 
   
  • 
  Overland:  The villagers of Lastmill say that the draugs are inactive by day.  As far as the villagers know, 
  undead do not like or may not even be able to stand daylight.  However, they become quite active after the 
  sun sets.  They also are dangerous by day inside buildings and dungeons where no daylight enters.  The 
  villagers warn them about the land itself, too.  Since the wars, not only are many of the buildings north of the 
  border in ruin, but parts of the landscape also tend to be dead and ill.  Wiry, thorny bushes that bear 
  poisonous berries and a few noxious weeds are the only plant life that tends to survive in those areas. 
   
  • 
  Overland:  People who enter the draug lands tend become infected, the Herbal Witches warn.  They say that 
  the spores of a dangerous mould are in the air of the draug lands.  This mould can infect and slowly destroy 
  the lungs.  They give the PCs herbal potions that will counter the mould.  They also warn the PCs that the 
  Baron of Tingl's Mill was a smalltime mage, and his draug doubtless still is.  With that, the PCs depart Lastmill 
  and follow the traces of the old road that once went northward from Lastmill into what now is no living man's 
  land. 
   
  • 
  Overland:  As the PCs cross the border into the war-ruined lands, they conclude that the villagers' 
  descriptions were correct.  Many areas are as desolate as the villagers described.  Only a bit of coarse brush 
  survives.  But then there are other areas where grass and small trees, some up to 20 years old, are growing 
  again.  Perhaps the draug lands at last are recuperating from the war. 
   
  • 
  Location:  In the early afternoon, the PCs at last reach the ruins of Dark Valley, known in its time as the town 
  of Tingl's Mill, taking the name of the mill there.  They're surprised by what they see.  Only a stone tower and 
  one ramshackle building still stand, the latter direct on the river shore.  Everything else in sight is in ruin.  
  Rows of broken stone walls dot the town site.  Some have gaping empty widows.  Inside of some of the walls 
  are the closed openings to what seem to be cellars of some kind. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 148 
   
  • 
  Location:  The PCs circle the tower and examine it closely.  It stands about 80ft/25m high, has a stair and a 
  door at the base and a window bricked shut about 50ft/15m high.  The defensive wall at the tower's base is 
  crumbling, but the tower itself seems to be perfectly intact.  They draw the conclusion that going through this 
  door won't be simple. 
   
  • 
  Location:  The PCs decide to closely examine the ramshackle building.  Enclosing it on three sides (with the 
  river on the fourth) is a strip of flourishing ramson (wild garlic) 10ft/3m across.  Beyond the ramson, lush 
  spring grass is up, flowering with dandelions and wild English daisies.  The PCs examine the building closely 
  and notice a waterwheel shaft on the rear side, above the riverbank.  They conclude that this building had 
  been Tingl's Mill.  Because of the unblocked windows, the dandelions and the strip of ramson, they also 
  conclude that the building might offer them a degree of sanctuary.  Sunset is only hours away. 
   
  • 
  Location:  The PCs enter the unlocked building and check it out.  A part of it is a dusty grain mill that hasn't 
  produced flour or oil in years.  The rest is a small living quarters.  The PCs find a small dining table, where 
  two partly clothed inanimate skeletons droop from chairs.  The clothing suggests that one was a woman and 
  the other a man.  The miller and his wife?  They also find a box of small candles that seem to have an aura 
  about them.  Magical Candles in the Darkness? 
   
  • 
  Dungeon:  Before the sun sets, the PCs decide to investigate several of the underground entrances.  The 
  doors of all are closed and locked, but the PC Thief manages to open them.  However, she is not willing to go 
  deeper into the tunnels below than the daylight reaches.  She senses danger beyond the sunlight. 
   
  • 
  Location:  Before the sun disappears beneath the horizon, the PCs return to the mill building, where they bar 
  the doors and block the window openings as well as they can.  They make a watch plan and set up defensive 
  positions.  Then they wait. 
   
  • 
  Dungeon:  It's not a long wait.  The PCs are uncertain whether the full moon is a curse or a blessing, but it 
  does light up the land beyond what had been the now dead town of Tingl's Mill.  About an hour after sunset, 
  human-like creatures and skeletons bearing swords begin emerging from the various cellar doors and 
  approaching the mill.  The draugs hang back but the skeletons press forward, trampling the ramson and 
  marching to the building, where they begin battering the window barriers and blocked doors with old dull 
  swords. 
   
  • 
  Dungeon:  Rather than allowing the skeletons to batter down all of the barriers blocking the mill building's 
  openings, the PCs attempt a tactic.  Although it's heavy, the PCs manage to shove an old millstone to within 
  a few inches of the main door and then they open the door.  The unthinking skeletons, carrying out magical 
  orders, crowd to the door and try to push through it. 
   
  • 
  Dungeon:  The tactic works.  The skeletons keep trying to press through the door, with little room to swing 
  their swords, and the PCs succeed in lopping off their skulls, bringing and end to their mockery of life.  When 
  the last of the skeletons has lost its animation, the PCs are weary, but there is no trouble.  Some of the draug 
  warriors begin crossing reluctantly into the ramson, as though an external force is pushing them onward.  
  They continue the attack on the door but also begin battering the blocked windows. 
   
  • 
  Dungeon:  The battle goes on.  The draugs seemed to be somewhat disoriented after they cross the ramson 
  and unable to battle at their full capacity, but they are not so weakened that they are unable to wound the 
  PCs.  The attack begins taking its toll upon them. 
   
  • 
  Dungeon:  Before the PCs fall in defeat, the first traces of light begin appearing on the eastern horizon.  The 
  draugs suddenly break off battle and return to their cellars.  The PCs leave the mill building when it seems 
  safe and decapitate the draug bodies.  They smash the heads and skeleton skulls and make a huge bonfire 
  to burn them, to prevent their being restored or animated. 
   
  • 
  Dungeon:  After destroying the slain undead and skeleton skulls, the PCs rethink their strategy.  They decide 
  that they are better off fighting the draugs underground by day than defending themselves at night.  They 
  hope this strategy will limit hostile contact to those draugs in one cellar complex rather than having to face all 
  the draugs from all of the cellars.  Before they begin, however, they use healing potions from the Herbal 
  Witches of Lastmill and they get a few hours of sleep. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 149 
   
  • 
  Dungeon:  After awakening, the PCs study the layout of the cellar openings around the tower.  They decide to 
  begin with the opening nearest to the tower in the hope that it will have a tunnel that leads directly to the 
  tower.  They take the candles found in the mill with them, in the hope that they are Candles in the Darkness.  
  They enter the cellar passage.  The doorway is not locked.  As they reach the point where the last rays of 
  daylight fade, they light the first of their candles, and their hopes are fulfilled.  It is indeed a magical Candle in 
  the Darkness.  The PC Wizard carries the candle, holding up the rear, while the others move carefully 
  forward, battle ready. 
   
  • 
  Dungeon:  Within minutes, it comes to a first battle with draugs.  The PCs are successful.  They decapitate 
  the draug corpses and smash the skulls.  They then come to a fork in the tunnel and go in the direction that 
  they have calculated to be the way to the tower.  After a few minutes, they hear voices and send the Thief 
  ahead to check the matter out.  She returns, reporting that the tunnel opens upon what appears to be the 
  tower's cellar.  In the chamber she has seen are two draug Warrior guards and a series of cells in the stone 
  walls with barred doors.  Three are occupied.  Each of the first two cells houses a male adult.  In the third are 
  a man and a woman.  The PCs decide to sneak forward and have their Warrior attempt to hit the two draugs 
  with arrows.  He succeeds, slaying one and wounding another. 
   
  • 
  Dungeon:  The PCs run into the chamber and attack the remaining draug, slaying it.  The Warrior then 
  decapitates both draugs and smashes the heads.  He'll burn them later.  One of the draug corpses has the 
  keys to the cells.  The prisoners are freed.  They identify themselves as the miller, his wife and two farmers 
  who were abducted from Lastmill.  They tell the PCs that Baron Nundlung had appeared before them and told 
  them that the duke's Necromancer was en route to Tingl's Mill (the town name still used by the draug baron 
  and his undead).  When the Wizard arrives, the baron told them, he would demand that they submit to 
  transfiguration into draugs or be tortured until they submitted to transfiguration.  The Warrior and Thief 
  backtrack to get the swords of the two slain draugs behind them.  These and the swords of the two draug 
  guards are given to the freed prisoners. 
   
  • 
  Dungeon:  The PCs decide to press on while there still is daylight outside.  The freed prisoners point out a 
  door through which the baron went after trying to intimidate them.  The PCs decide to go that way.  The Thief 
  is in the lead, with the PCs and the freed prisoners following her.  They come into a new chamber with a 
  spiral staircase.  The Thief is sent ahead to see what's in the tower above. 
   
  • 
  Dungeon:  The Thief reports that the staircase is lit with torches.  Most of the lower rooms are empty and are 
  filled with dust and furniture that appear not to have been used since the last life left the tower.  However, at a 
  level of some 50ft/15m, she finds the room with the blocked window.  In it are two draugs, one of whom 
  wears a Wizard's robe.  The other is a somewhat better outfitted Warrior than those they had encountered.  
  She assumes that the Wizard is the draug baron.  She says he was angry but perhaps also worried by the 
  PCs' survival during the night, and he wants them to be slain or be taken prisoner during the coming night, 
  regardless of the cost.  The room also had a bookshelf with parchment books and a Wizard's workbench. 
   
  • 
  Dungeon:  The PCs and the freed prisoners, all prepared to fight, ascend the stairs as quietly as they can.  
  They encounter no resistance along the way.  Finally they can hear the voice of the ranting Baron Nundlung 
  above them.  He apparently still is having a tantrum with the draug Warrior in his chamber.  The PCs decide 
  to stop for a bit and listen.  The baron is shouting that the duke's Wizard will be arriving within days, and that 
  the situation must be resolved well before his arrival.  The baron wants at least 10 Warriors guarding the 
  prisoners at all times.  Nothing can go wrong, the baron shouts.  The duke is demanding more draugs, the 
  baron shouts, and both of us will pay dearly if he is dissatisfied with us. 
   
  • 
  Dungeon:  Of a duke, the PC's know nothing, but they know that what they've heard probably will be valuable 
  to the margrave in Slovan City.  They decide to sneak up the stairs to the chamber entry and make a surprise 
  attack on the baron and his draug Warrior captain.  They are a tough match for the PCs and the freed 
  prisoners, but through their greater numbers, the PCs and the former prisoners win the battle.  The PCs 
  decapitate both draug corpses and destroy the Warrior's head.  They throw the heads into a sack. 
   
  • 
  Dungeon:  The PCs and the freed prisoners make their way back through the tunnels to daylight.  Along the 
  way, they encounter more draug warriors, but they succeed in slaying and decapitating them, and they collect 
  their heads.  When they're back in daylight, they smash all of the heads except the baron's and then build a 
  bonfire to destroy the remnants of the heads.  They will take the baron's head back to the margrave.  They 
  gather their belongings from the mill house, and the entire group heads southwards and out of the draug 
  lands before sunset. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 150 
   
  • 
  Overland:  The rest consists of post-adventure events in Lastmill and Goldfields.  Between Goldfields and 
  Slovan City, the PCs might encounter brigands again.  After that, the PCs return to the margrave in Slovan 
  City, ending this adventure and going onto the threshold of the next. 
   
  This is a rather proven method for developing an adventure, but it's not the only method that works.  If you have one 
  that you prefer, go ahead and stick with it.  The main thing is that it brings you to the desired goal.  The idea 
  summary above is, by the way, the plot line for the introductory adventure at the end of this book. 
   
  We suggested earlier that an adventure outline comes quickest to the desired result when it's designed backwards, 
  that is from the end to the beginning.  Let's take a look at how this idea was used in the outline above.  Remember 
  that it was done from the end to the beginning and then, in a manner of speech, turned around in the right order in 
  the outline above. 
   
  The first important point is that this adventure was designed for a group of 1st level PCs.  That means that their 
  opponents had to be of similar total levels or be disadvantaged for the PCs to have a fair chance of success.  You'll 
  find that many players drop out of the game when their game master regularly throws challenges at them that are 
  beyond their ability (although some players do, indeed, thrive on such challenges). 
   
  We started designing with the key encounter of the adventure, that with the undead Baron Nundlung and his draug 
  Warrior officer.  By the time the PCs attacked, they had all of the things they needed for the encounter.  A spiral 
  staircase was there to give them a path to the baron.  At their levels, no Mage would available to fly, teleport or 
  otherwise magically transport themselves to the baron's chamber. 
   
  The draug baron was shouting at his officer, making it easier for the enlarged but still weak group of PCs to sneak 
  up to his chamber.  Although the group had four new combatants, two farmers, a miller and a miller's wife add little 
  firepower to the party.  The baron draug and the officer were planned as 3rd level PCs.  Therefore, we had the baron 
  have a tantrum to keep his focus and hearing away from the PCs.  This brought some balance into the encounter, in 
  which the baron, with initiative in the first round, could have used spells too powerful for the PCs.  Because they 
  could surprise the draugs, they automatically gained the initiative in the first combat round and could do damage 
  before they sustained any. 
   
  Before the PCs encounter the baron, they hear him ranting about the demands of a duke for more draugs.  This is 
  the first that the PCs have heard of a duke, but the news makes clear to them that the draug baron is just the first 
  chapter of a much bigger story.  This is called an adventure hook.  You can build further adventures upon it, or you 
  can ignore it. 
   
  We could have placed the four prisoners in their cells without their having any idea what was intended.  Instead, the 
  draug baron already has taunted them.  This has several effects.  It tells the PCs what happened to the other 
  villagers of Lastmill who were abducted.  When they return to Lastmill, the villagers there will hope that they have 
  this news, even though it is ill news. 
   
  Of more immediate importance, the prisoners noticed which way the baron went after taunting them.  This put the 
  PCs on the right path immediately.  That was necessary to keep the adventure in balance.  With a more advanced 
  group, a game master might leave out anything that would guide the PCs in a certain direction. 
   
  If the 1st level players in our adventure had wandered through various tunnels before finding the way to Nundlung, 
  they might have been so badly wounded by the draug Warriors there that they would have had little or no chance of 
  defeating the baron when they finally found him.  In this type of 1st level adventure, it's necessary for the game 
  master to give the PCs a somewhat visible path to get in, do their work and get out again while they still have a 
  chance to survive.  The PCs can, of course, choose to do something else, but then that's their decision. 
   
  We could have placed only the miller and his wife in the cells, but we thought the balance required a little more 
  firepower to back the PCs up in their encounter with the draug baron.  The miller would be the toughest of the 
  prisoners.  A miller in a village like Lastmill probably would be a 3rd level Artisan.  That means a +1 attack bonus 
  with a draug's sword, 3 life points and 3-24 damage points … not all that threatening for the baron and his draug 
  officer, but a little extra punch.  The miller's wife and the two farmers would be 1st level Commoners with 1 life point, 
  1-4 hit points and an attack roll with a penalty of -3.  At the most they would be a diversion for opponents.  They well 
  might die after being hitting once or twice.  But their presence and possession of draug swords complicate things a 
  bit for Baron Nundlung and his officer, Thund. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 151 
   
  Going the next step backward, we come to the old mill in Dark Valley.  Magic and mills don't mix well, but either the 
  miller or his wife … probably the wife … must have had a bit of craft with spells.  The magic Candles in the 
  Darkness suggest that she might have been a born sorcerer.  However, they could have been given to her in 
  exchange for a service, perhaps healing. 
   
  There is a bit stronger indication that she might have been an Herbal Witch.  The knowledge required to grow the 
  ramson strip along with the fertility in the mill yard suggest that kind of knowledge.  The ransom strip, dandelions, 
  English daisies and the fact that the mill house still is intact, in turn, give inexperienced players and their PCs a hint 
  that the building might offer a certain degree of sanctuary in the land of the undead. 
   
  Probably no one ever will solve that riddle, but it's unimportant.  The PCs found the Candle of Darkness, which 
  made it possible for them to see in the tunnels of the baron's dungeon.  Without them, they could have been subject 
  to ambush attacks by draug Warriors in the tunnels who literally know their way around in the dark there.  We also 
  placed an old millstone in the mill house to give the PCs a tool with which they could fashion a barrier against 
  skeletons and draugs. 
   
  The events in Lastmill give the PCs vital knowledge and introductory experience with the kind of foe they'll 
  encounter in Dark Valley.  It also is the last bit of training offered to the inexperienced players before the bigger 
  encounters in the draug domain.  Such preparatory encounters are important for inexperienced players.  They need 
  to get something of a feel for combat in an RPG before the going gets rough. 
   
  With the draug and skeleton encounters that we had planned for Dark Valley, we also needed to give the PCs a 
  means for healing themselves.  It's always best to do without magical healing as much as possible in your 
  adventures, but we put too much enemy firepower in Dark Valley for the PCs to have a fair chance of coming out 
  alive without magical healing. 
   
  In our backward design, we can solve the problem we made by adding the Herbal Witches and the potions that they 
  give the PCs.  Note that we haven't given the PCs any powerful, permanent magic that might make them too power-
  ful in future adventures.  The potions can be used once and they're gone from the campaign. 
   
  Continuing backwards, we come to the encounter with draugs south of Lastmill.  Just as with the encounter in 
  Lastmill, this gives the PCs some introductory experience in combat with a few draugs, in order that they 
  understand what combat with draugs is like before they encounter larger numbers of them in Dark Valley.  They 
  also learn what happens to people who are abducted.  As the PCs probably expected, the prisoners are taken to 
  draug Baron Nundlung in Dark Valley. 
   
  The draugs are their second encounter the PCs have after leaving Goldfields.  By daylight, they also came into 
  combat with brigands, and we used this scenario to give the PC an opportunity to use her spying skills before they 
  have their first acid test in Dark Valley. 
   
  Before that, the PCs were in Goldfields.  Just like real people, your PCs can travel only so far in a day's time.  
  Goldfields gives them a safe place to rest on their first night out.  The hours spent in the public room also give the 
  PCs the first real detail of the adventure that's ahead of them.  Goldfields is a typical overland element in an RPG 
  adventure.  The town and its details outside of the inn aren't particularly important to the adventure.  What is 
  important is that the PCs have places to spend the night and sources of information. 
   
  The place where the adventure begins, Slovan City, sets the adventure's foundation.  Here the elements come 
  together that put the PCs on their path.  The episode with the thief also serves as training for the new adventurers, 
  above all for the Thief, whose talents are in demand later in Dark Valley.  In this episode, we also introduce another 
  tool that we decided was necessary when we started out by designing Baron Nundlung's tower. 
   
  Keeping in mind that the PCs all are 1st level characters and their need to get in and out of danger quickly, the old 
  pre-war plan that was found gives the PCs some valuable advance knowledge of the physical layout of the tower. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 152 
   
  1.2  Location Elements 
   
  Now that we've put our ideas together, we'll take a look at the location elements that are necessary for this 
  adventure.  Location elements usually are cities, villages or settlements where your PCs have several options open 
  to them.  However, lumberjack camps, military encampments and the like also can be location elements. 
   
  When your PCs move across your adventure or campaign setting, there are some places where they will stop and 
  spend some time.  They'll find a place where they'll stay and they'll seek out locations there where they can buy 
  supplies, seek information and, when they have enough money, get to temples for healing and even resurrections. 
   
  Neither you nor your players will know ahead of time exactly where they will go once they're in a place that ranks as 
  a location element, but it's up to you to prepare considerable information in advance.  You'll need to do a lot of good 
  guesswork on what the PCs will do when a location element is the stage for their actions.  Once you've done that, 
  you need to sketch out the details on those places: 
   
  • 
  Determine in advance whether the PCs might have hostile encounters or encounters that require skill or 
  ability checks with PCs at the location.  Develop the necessary statistics for all of them in advance, and also 
  ponder what personalities these NPCs will have when you have to play their roles. 
   
  • 
  You'll need a floor plan for the ground floor, the public room and the PCs' own guest rooms of the inn where 
  your PCs are staying.  PCs have a strong tendency to want to know who and what is where in the areas of 
  the inn where they go. 
   
  • 
  You will have to play the role of the innkeeper and waitresses at your PCs' inn.  Develop names and 
  personalities for the in advance. 
   
  • 
  If the PCs will be buying supplies, you need to determine in advance who has those supplies and what they 
  will cost.  The Players Guide gives you base price guidelines.  Before setting local prices, ponder what the 
  origin of the products is.  Products that come from far away might be twice as expensive as the Players 
  Guide price.  Products that are produced locally might cost only ⅔ of the Players Guide price. 
   
  • 
  If the PCs might visit a temple, you need to know who the Clerics are and you might need to know the 
  temple's layout and.  You need basic statistics for those Clerics with whom the PCs might deal, you need to 
  know which rites they can perform and you need to know what they charge.  You also should set a 
  personality for those Clerics with whom the PCs might have to deal. 
   
  That's only the surface of it, however.  Developing a location element can require a fair amount of work on your part, 
  if it's to fulfill the role it needs to play.  There are many additional questions that need to be answered to build a 
  credible location element: 
   
  • 
  Why does this location exist?  What drew people there and why do they remain. 
   
  • 
  Who rules or runs the location?  How did he or she get into that position?  Does he or she have the support of 
  the locals, or are they under his or her thumb? 
   
  • 
  Who enforces the law?  Are they corrupt?  Are they lawful and law-abiding in the enforcement of the law or 
  chaotic and arbitrary? 
   
  • 
  What is the population?  Who are the key NPCs and what are their base statistics?  What is the base 
  alignment of the population? 
   
  • 
  How much money does the location have?  What's the source of this money?  How does the local population 
  earn a living? 
   
  • 
  What is the attitude of the location in regard to outsiders and the outside world?  Keep in mind that this 
  attitude is shaped to a great extent by the attitude of the outside world and outsiders toward the location.  If – 
  like Slovan City – the location is threatened by a nearby hostile land or location, people at this location will 
  have a tendency to be suspicious and defensive.  If, on the other hand, the location is in a secure area, 
  money and business, including that of the PCs might be more important.  If the location is severely 
  threatened, the locals could view the PCs as either saviors or a dangerous threat. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 153 
   
   
  Product Identity 
  Only a wide river separates this small city from the threat of the dungeon in the ruins above. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 154 
   
  • 
  How does the location manage to survive?  What protects it from whatever threatens it, so that it hasn't been 
  overrun and destroyed by its enemies?  If it's a small settlement, what keeps evil or chaotic bands of 
  adventurers from running amok and destroying the place?  Why do people stay there despite the threats? 
   
  Now that we've placed all of these questions on the table, let's look at how we can come up with some answers. 
   
  The best place to start is with the location's origins.  If this location is a small village near a larger town or a city, its 
  origins probably have a lot to do with that dominant city or village.  However, regardless of how small it might be, if 
  the location is the dominant location in its area, then it needs a reason in its own right to be there. 
   
  Such a location usually should be on a river or creek that has enough water flow to provide water power.  At a 
  minimum, a village should be able to mill its own grain.  In most cases, that requires a water flow that can turn a 
  waterwheel reliably throughout the year.  In a larger location, you also might need a water-powered sawmill and/or 
  smithy. 
   
  There are rare exceptions.  If the natural resources are alluring enough, an area might draw settlers without a river 
  or an adequate creek.  One can grind grain and hammer oil with treadmill power.  But one also needs a place to 
  grow the grain. 
   
  Perhaps a picture is beginning to form in your mind.  People move to a new area when they have good reason to 
  believe that they can live better there than where they are at present.  To draw people, the area must have potable 
  water, a source of food and resources that can be used to make a living.  Unless an area offers a chance to 
  become truly rich and then get out, it will draw few people if it is in constant danger of war. 
   
  However, the question of how a location came to be is quite different from the question of why it continues to exist.  
  Once people settle an area, build homes and work its soil, the location becomes a part of the person.  After people 
  come to view a location as home, most folks will defend it as long as possible, often fighting to the death.  But such 
  a defense has its limits.  If the enemy is overwhelming, the surviving defenders one day will have to choose 
  between fleeing or fighting until they're dead.  Either way, the location ceases to be what it was, and it may cease to 
  be a location at all. 
   
  Many RPG designers don't take such things into account.  There is a once highly popular commercial campaign 
  setting that places little villages out in the wilderness, villages populated with nothing more than Commoners and 
  Fighters of the lowest levels.  The next settlements are said to be more than 50 miles/80km away. 
   
  According to the official descriptions, hundreds of thousands and maybe millions of hungry, human-hating orcs are 
  within a day's time of these settlements.  However, they never do anything, and the settlements continue on day to 
  day and month to month, with the settlers constantly worried that the orcs are about to attack. 
   
  When questioned online about this strange situation, the designers responded that the reason the orcs don't attack 
  is a mystery.  That's not a reason.  It's a bad excuse for worse design.  If you commit this kind of illogical nonsense 
  in your design, don't be surprised if your players snicker and fail to take your design as seriously as you wish. 
   
  Extend these thoughts to the supposed threat too.  If there are hundreds of thousands or even millions of orcs in the 
  mountains a day's ride from your settlement, why are they there?  What keeps them there?  What do they eat?  
  You'll need a better answer than that given by the game designers mentioned.  When asked online, the questioner 
  reminded them that such a huge concentration of orcs would have hunted the mountains clean of game years 
  earlier.  The official answer was that the orcs live off of mushrooms grown in their farms in subterranean caverns.  
  Say what? 
   
  Before you give your players an answer like that, look at things from their viewpoint.  Some of your players may 
  have read J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books, but even more will have seen the film version of the trilogy by 
  Peter Jackson.  Their impression of an orc probably was shaped by during Part 2 of the trilogy, The Two Towers, 
  when a mixed group of orcs from Isengard and Mordor are rushing captive Merry and Pippin off to Saruman. 
   
  The orcs are hungry and want to eat Merry and Pippin.  They're hungry for man flesh.  Pippin and Merry may be 
  Hobbits rather than humans, bit the orcs are hungry enough to settle for that.  The Mordor orcs are so hungry that 
  they're willing to begin a fight among each other and risk Saruman's wrath just to eat Merry and Pippin. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 155 
   
  Now, the game designers in questions are trying to convince us that these same creatures are willing to eat 
  mushrooms rather than make raids on a number of defenseless settlements populated by man flesh and their edible 
  farm animals.  We urge you not to make the same mistake with your players.  There are many reasons why people 
  join RPG groups, but we have yet to find a single player who does it because of an overwhelming desire to be 
  treated like an idiot. 
   
  The best rule of thumb when defining locations is to know why the population or occupants are there and how they 
  sustain life, regardless of whether they're cities, villages, settlements or huge orc encampments.  If you do that, your 
  players will have the feeling that they're in a sensible place when they go there.  They also will be able to make a 
  relatively accurate assessment of what might motivate those whom they encounter, which is necessary when the 
  PCs have to deal with people or other creatures. 
   
  The following tables are guidelines to help you develop an infrastructure for locations: 
   
  Municipal Levels 
  Population 
  Level 
  Top Price 
  Minimum Wealth 
  Maximum Wealth 
  up to 100 
  Encampment 
  500 GP 
  1,000 GP 
  5,000 GP 
  101-200 
  Settlement or Hamlet 
  700 GP 
  5.000 GP 
  10,000 GP 
  201-500 
  Village or Thorpe 
  1,200 GP 
  10,000 GP 
  50,000 GP 
  501-2,000 
  Town 
  5,000 GP 
  25,000 GP 
  200,000 GP 
  2,100-10,000 
  Small City 
  50,000 GP 
  100,000 GP 
  1,000,000 GP 
  10,001 & upwards 
  City 
  unlimited 
  500,000 GP 
  unlimited 
   
  Population:  Population of the location element. 
   
  Level:  Classification based upon population. 
   
  Top Price:  The highest price that's likely to be paid for anything. 
   
  Minimum Wealth:  The total value of the location element is at least this high. 
   
  Maximum Wealth:  The total value of the location element wouldn't exceed this level. 
   
   
  The following table shows the highest levels of NPCs likely to be found in the average listed location elements.  
  However, you need to keep in mind the certain NPCs, particularly members of the Magi and Naturalist classes, tend 
  to locate in smaller areas, either to isolate themselves or because of the purposes of their classes. 
   
  Highest NPC Levels 
  Level 
  Highest Official 
  Highest Enforcer 
  Highest Mage 
  Highest Other NPC 
  Encampment 
  3 
  3 
  2 
  2 
  Settlement or Hamlet 
  4 
  3 
  2 
  2 
  Village or Thorpe 
  5 
  5 
  3 
  3 
  Town 
  7 
  6 
  4 
  4 
  Small City 
  9 
  8 
  6 
  6 
  City 
  Unlimited 
  Unlimited 
  Unlimited 
  Unlimited 
   
  Highest Official:  The highest level likely for the person who governs the location.  If the location is governed by a 
  group, this would represent the level of the highest group member. 
   
  Highest Enforcer:  The highest level likely for the person who heads enforcement of the law and of government 
  edicts. 
   
  Highest Mage:  The highest level likely for the most powerful mage at the location (excluding a mage who might be 
  the highest official or the highest enforcer). 
   
  Highest Other NPC:  The highest level likely for the most powerful NPC at the location who is not a mage and is 
  not affiliated with the government. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 156 
   
  Political Systems 
  Nature 
  Description 
  Forms 
  Alignments 
  Benevolent 
  The government views its main purpose as 
  serving its citizens.  It taxes as little as 
  possible, protects its borders or boundaries 
  as well as possible and attempts to produce 
  prosperity. 
  Royal or noble rule, 
  guild rule, merchants 
  rule, leading citizens' 
  rule 
  All lawful and 
  neutral, good and 
  neutral 
  Special interest 
  The government tries to maintain peace and 
  protect its citizens, but special interests have 
  a strong ear in governing circles and influ-
  ence many decisions. 
  Royal or noble rule, 
  guild rule, merchants 
  rule, leading citizens' 
  rule, benevolent 
  dictators 
  All non-chaotic 
  Political machine 
  The government tries to maintain peace and 
  protect its domain for its own sake.  Citizen 
  interests concern the government only to the 
  extent that people's contentment make the 
  government function smoothly. 
  Royal or noble rule, 
  guild rule, merchants 
  rule, dictators 
  All non-chaotic 
  Evil 
  The government chooses between peace 
  and war to suit its own needs.  Citizens are 
  for most intents and purposes slaves of the 
  government. 
  Royal or noble rule, 
  dictators 
  All non-chaotic 
  Chaotic 
  The government is run by people incompe-
  tent to govern.  Regardless of its intentions, it 
  works in an arbitrary manner.  Decisions and 
  actions often have no proper follow-up. 
  Any 
  All chaotic 
   
   
   
   
  Typical Taxes 
  Government 
  Visitor Gate Tax 
  Inn Tax 
  Crop Tax 
  Product Tax 
  Sales Tax 
  Benevolent 
  0-1 CP 
  2% 
  5% 
  2% 
  5% 
  Special interest 
  0 CP-1 BP 
  5% 
  5%-10% 
  5% 
  5% 
  Political Machine 
  1 BP-1 SP 
  5% 
  10% 
  5% 
  5% 
  Evil 
  1 SP upwards 
  5% upwards 
  10% upwards 
  5-10% 
  10% upwards 
  Chaotic 
  1 CP upwards 
  2% upwards 
  5% upwards 
  2% upwards 
  5% upwards 
   
   
   
  Visitor Gate Tax:  The tax people have to pay to pass a gate into the location.  Such taxes usually are collected 
  only in towns and cities. 
   
  Inn Tax:  The tax paid by overnight guests upon room, food and drink fees at an inn. 
   
  Crop Tithe:  The percent of the harvest that must be turned over to the government.  Theoretically, this tithe is 
  stored in siege cellars to feed the people in times of emergency.  However, unscrupulous governments often sell all 
  or a part of these crops. 
   
  Product Tax:  The tax charged on the price of sold manufactured products or resold wholesale goods. 
   
  Sales Tax:  The tax charged on goods sold in retail trade. 
   
  How these taxes are determined and collected varies from location to location.  Some locations accept the 
  statements of those who pay as long as there is no reason to doubt their truthfulness.  Some send out assessors 
  who carefully examine books and determine the taxes.  Still others send out assessors who arbitrarily set taxes, 
  often based on the connections the taxed person may or may not have to the ruling authority.  Enforcement of tax 
  levies varies as well.  Benevolent governments usually have an appeals system.  The worst governments often 
  collect unpaid taxes with violence. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 157 
   
  Average Business and Economic Density 
  Business 
  Encampment 1 
  Village 
  Town 
  Small City 
  City 
  Armor-/Weaponsmith 
  0 
  0-1 
  1-2 
  2-4 
  4-12 
  Assayer 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  1-2 
  2-4 
  Bakery 
  0 
  1-2 
  1-3 
  2-4 
  4-15 
  Barrelmaker 
  0 
  0-1 
  1-2 
  2-4 
  3-8 
  Boat Builder 
  0 
  0-1 
  0-2 
  0-8 
  0-15 
  Bookbinder 
  0 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  0-4 
  Bookkeeper 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  1-4 
  4-15 
  Brewery 2 
  0 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  0-2 
  Butcher 
  0 
  1-2 
  1-3 
  2-4 
  4-15 
  Candlemaker 
  0 
  0 
  1 
  1-3 
  2-8 
  Carpenter 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  1-2 
  2-6 
  4 upwards 
  Cartographer 
  0 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  2-4 
  Coachman 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  0-4 
  1-8 
  Coal Dealer 
  0 
  0-1 
  1-2 
  2-4 
  4-10 
  Cobbler 
  0-1 
  1 
  1-3 
  2-5 
  5-15 
  Consulting Mage 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  1-4 
  2 upwards 
  Dairy 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  0-2 
  0-3 
  1-6 
  Distillery 3 
  0 
  0-1 
  0-10 
  1-25 
  5-50 
  Docks 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  0-4 
  0-10 
  Feed dealer 
  0 
  0-1 
  1-2 
  1-3 
  2-4 
  Firewood Dealer 4 
  0 
  0-1 
  1-6 
  2-10 
  6 upwards 
  Foundry 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  1-2 
  General Store 
  0-1 
  1 
  1-3 
  2-5 
  5-15 
  Glazier 
  0 
  0-1 
  0-2 
  1-4 
  4-8 
  Goldsmith 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  0-2 
  1-4 
  Grain Mill 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  1 
  1 
  1-3 
  Harbor 
  0 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  Herbal Apothecary 
  0 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  1-4 
  Herbal Witch 
  1 
  1 
  1-4 
  2-6 
  6-15 
  Horse Trader 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  1-2 
  1-3 
  2-6 
  Inn 
  0 
  1-2 
  2-4 
  3-6 
  6-20 
  Jeweler 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  1-2 
  2-6 
  Kiln 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  0-2 
  0-4 
  Library (Private) 
  0 
  0-1 
  0-4 
  0-6 
  1-20 
  Mason 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  1-2 
  3-8 
  Mercenary Company 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  0-2 
  0 upwards 
  Money Changer 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  1-4 
  5 upwards 
  Painter 
  0 
  0-1 
  0-2 
  1-4 
  4 upwards 
  Parchment Maker 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  0-2 
  1-4 
  Professional Healer 
  0 
  0 
  0-2 
  2-4 
  4-10 
  Professionals 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  2-8 
  4 upwards 
  Public house with rooms 5 
  0-1 
  2-3 
  3-6 
  4-10 
  8-40 
  Public house 5 
  0-1 
  2-4 
  3-8 
  5-12 
  10-50 
  Raftsman 
  0-6 
  0-6 
  0-10 
  0-10 
  0-10 
  Rendering (Tallow) 
  0 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  1-2 
  Sage 
  0 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  0-2 
  1-6 
  Sawmill 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  1 
  1-4 
  School 
  0 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  1-10 
  Scribe 
  0 
  0 
  0-4 
  1-8 
  6-20 
  Shipbuilder 
  0 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  0-6 
  Slaughterhouse 6 
  0 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  1-2 
  Smithy 
  0-1 
  0-2 
  1-3 
  2-5 
  4-10 
  Spinning Mill 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  1-2 
  2-6 
  Stone Quarry 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  1-2 
  1-4 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 158 
   
   
  Business 
  Encampment 1 
  Village 
  Town 
  Small City 
  City 
  Tailor/Seamstress 
  0 
  1 
  1-3 
  2-5 
  5-15 
  Tannery 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  0-2 
  1-4 
  Temple with Services 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  1-4 
  2 upwards 
  Timber Operation 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  0-2 
  0 
  0 
  Tinker 
  0-1 
  1-3 
  2-4 
  4-8 
  6-20 
  Tinsmith 
  0 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  1-4 
  Toolmaker 
  0 
  0 
  0-1 
  0-2 
  1-4 
  Trading Coster 
  0-1 
  0-1 
  0-3 
  0-6 
  4-12 
  Village, Town or City Hall 
  0 
  1 
  1 
  1 
  1 
  Vintner 
  0-2 
  0-25 
  0-50 
  0-16 
  0-16 
  Wainwright 
  0 
  0-1 
  1-2 
  1-3 
  2-6 
  Warehouse 
  0 
  0 
  0-2 
  1-6 
  3-12 
  1 
  Encampments often have at the most a small camp store.  If another business exists, it is an exception rather than a rule. 
  2 
  Beer and ale usually are brewed by public houses and inns.  Locals who want beer or ale at home go to public houses and inns with large 
  tankards which they have filled.  In small cities there may be a communal brewery with shared usage by several public houses and inns.  
  Cities might even have a private or court brewery that sells its brew to one or more public houses and inns. 
  3 
  Spirits usually are distilled by the farmers who harvest the fruit.  Larger distilleries that make whisky usually are found only in towns and 
  cities. 
  4 
  Farmers fell firewood in winter, stack it to dry and sell two-year-old firewood direct and to dealers. 
  5 
  Public houses with rooms have 1-4 guest rooms.  For every pubic house with guest rooms, subtract one from the total of public houses 
  without guest rooms. 
  6 
  Farmers and butchers usually do their own slaughtering.  A central slaughterhouse usually is found only in cities. 
   
  By no means should you take the suggestions in the table above as being rules of any sort.  Location elements 
  define themselves; their reason for existing also decides what is there.  A mining town, a farming town and a center 
  for making lumber out of timber each will have entirely different balances of trade and facilities.  The table 
  represents nothing more than suggested averages. 
   
  Once you've identified a certain site as a location element, you also should decide what the location needs and 
  would have, using the table above as a guideline.  When you start your campaign, we strongly urge you not to put 
  more into your first location elements than you really need, because much of what you place in a location element 
  needs to be fleshed out and detailed, often with a floor plan or map. 
   
  Now that we seen the basic guidelines for developing the location elements of an adventure, let's look back again at 
  the adventure outline we made a few pages back.  This time we'll start at the beginning of the adventure and go 
  forward, just as they the PCs will do. 
   
  If we look at the purpose of Slovan City, we probably can see quickly why we need to know a lot about it and 
  develop it thoroughly.  Slovan City is a special kind of location element.  It's the PC's base point.  That's a kind of 
  site you'll need for most of your adventures.  Consider: 
   
  Your adventure is likely to get off to a shaky start if you begin by putting your PCs just beyond the enemy camp or 
  at the entrance to the dungeon that you want them to explore.  Your players will have the same ideas for the PCs 
  that real folks would before going off on a dangerous adventure.  They'll want to get the supplies that they think they 
  need, not the supplies that you think they should have, and they probably will want to check around and see what 
  information they can get about the creatures or locations that will be the targets of their adventure. 
   
  The starting location often is the hometown of a starting group of PCs.  If it isn't, it's at least their temporary base of 
  operations.  But if you plan or hope to run a long-term campaign with this group of PCs, it's a wise idea to set up a 
  hometown for them in about the middle of the area in which you set your adventures and make it their current 
  hometown.  This not only gives the PCs a home to which they can return, but it also can save you a lot of time.  If 
  your PCs always are landing at a new base of operations, you are going to be spending a lot of time detailing 
  location elements that otherwise would be easier to create as overland elements. 
   
  Wherever your PCs make their current base, they're going to expect a lot of information from you.  They want to 
  know – at a minimum - where they can buy weapons and armor, trail supplies and probably horses and pack 
  animals.  They'll usually want to know where they can go to get reliable information about their goal and where they 
  can go to get whatever scuttlebutt there is.  Expert information often comes from paid sages or bureaucrats who 
  work for the local government.  Scuttlebutt is best found in taverns, in other words, public houses and the public 
  rooms of inns. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 159 
   
  If you give the table Average Business and Economic Density above a glance, you'll find a number of people and 
  places your PCs might wish to visit before departing on their adventure: 
   
   
  • 
  Armor-/Weaponsmith 
  • 
  Cartographer 
  • 
  Cobbler 
  • 
  Consulting Mage 
  • 
  General Store 
  • 
  Herbal Apothecary 
  • 
  Herbal Witch 
  • 
  Horse Trader 
  • 
  Inn 
  • 
  Professional Healer 
  • 
  Public House 
  • 
  Sage 
  • 
  Smithy 
  • 
  Tailor/Seamstress 
  • 
  Temple with Services 
  • 
  Village, City or Town Hall 
  • 
  Wainwright 
   
   
  Let's take a look now at some of these sites and see how your PCs might use them.  For each of the following 
  locations, you need to create at least barebones statistics and names for the key NPCs. 
   
  • 
  Armor-/Weaponsmith:  Before your PCs go to buy weapons and armor, you need to determine what is 
  available and what the items cost.  In an average location, you simply can use the guideline prices in the 
  Players Guide.  If you're right near a foundry, prices will be slightly lower.  On the other hand, if metal needs 
  to be shipped over a long distance, items might cost twice as much as the Players Guide price.  There is no 
  ready-to-wear full plate mail.  It needs to be commissioned.  It will take about a month to be finished.  The 
  PCs may wish to commission other custom forged items as well.  A sword will take about 10 days and a 
  metal shield 4 or 5 days.  You can use these as time guidelines for other items.  Ordinarily there is no need to 
  make a floor plan of a smithy. 
   
  • 
  Cartographer:  Your campaign generally will run smoother if your PCs have maps of the areas they plan to 
  visit.  At a site location, like Slovan City, it's often a good idea to simply give them a city map with a key that 
  lists the easily identifiable locations by name.  Why?  It represents nothing more than what the PCs can see 
  when they walk the local streets.  However, the PCs should have to come up with their own regional maps or 
  maps of distant locations with which they are unfamiliar.  After all, maps don't fall like pennies from heaven.  
  They shouldn't be gifts from the game master.  The PCs should buy their maps.  Cartography still is a young 
  art in the Dungeons Daring environment, but many cities have cartographers, and they even can be found in 
  towns that are the embarkation point for numerous travelers and adventurers.  If your PCs are at a location 
  that is too small to support a cartographer, it should be possible for the PCs to buy used maps from a retired 
  adventurer or the like.  Ordinarily there is no need to make a floor plan of a cartographer's business. 
   
  • 
  Cobbler:  Most PCs heading out on their first adventure will need to buy a set of boots (or two) that are up to 
  the journey they're facing.  Ordinarily there is no need to make a floor plan of a cobbler's shop. 
   
  • 
  Consulting Mage or Sage:  We've lumped these two professions together because they provide the same 
  basic services in most cases, knowledge.  However, it might also be possible to buy some minor magic items 
  or scrolls with spells from NPCs of the Mage class.  Ordinarily there is no need to make a floor plan of their 
  studios or towers. 
   
  • 
  General Store:  The store offers a wide variety of goods, but not weapons or armor.  If there is a local 
  tannery, leather items usually are available there rather than in the general store.  In most cases, there is no 
  need to make a floor plan of a general store.  However, it could become necessary if a PC thief decides to 
  steal wares rather than buying them. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 160 
   
  • 
  Herbal Apothecary, Herbal Witch, Professional Healer or Temple with Services:  Again, we've lumped 
  several locations together.  All four are places that PCs go for healing, healing potions and (temples usually 
  excepted) herbal medicines.  Ordinarily there is no need to make a floor plan of an Herbal Apothecary, the 
  hut of an Herbal Witch or the rooms of a Professional Healer.  Under some circumstances, you might need a 
  floor plan for a temple. 
   
  • 
  Horse Trader:  There may be some local farmers who raise better quality horses at lower prices, but the 
  horse trader is the usual source of riding mounts, pack animals and draught horses to pull wagons.    
  Ordinarily there is no need to make a plan of an animal lot. 
   
  • 
  Inns and Public Houses:  Be prepared to make detailed plans of every inn and public house that you place 
  upon your settlement, village, town or city map!  In addition, you'll have to detail thoroughly the inn or public 
  house(s) where the PCs have their rooms.  There are few sites within a location element where your PCs will 
  want to know so precisely what they see.  In public rooms, your PCs not only will want to know where the 
  other guest tables are but also what the descriptions of the customers are who are sitting at them.  At the site 
  where your PCs have their rooms, they will want to know exactly what's in every corner.  They may wish to 
  set traps in certain areas.  They also will want to know all about the stairway leading to their rooms, the 
  hallway and how many other guest doors open onto the hallway.  In some cases, they even will eavesdrop at 
  other doors or watch to see who goes into which rooms.  You need to prepare all of this information in 
  advance.  For inns and public houses where the PCs do not have rooms, they still will want at a minimum to 
  know the exact details of the public room.  They also will want to know what drinks are available, what food's 
  on the menu and what it all costs.  Consider this carefully when deciding how many inns and public houses 
  you place on the map of any location site.  For each one you put there, you have a detailing job to do! 
   
  • 
  Smithy:  This is the local blacksmith, not a maker of weapons or armor.  Ordinarily there is no need to make 
  a floor plan of a smithy. 
   
  • 
  Tailor or Seamstress:  If your PCs decide to buy clothing, this is where they'll head, unless they're in a larger 
  location with a spinning mill.  You should set prices ahead of time.  A floor plan usually is unnecessary. 
   
  • 
  Village, City or Town Hall:  This is where the PCs can get information, buy permits and pay taxes and fines.  
  Under some circumstances, your campaign might demand a partial or even full floor plan.  In some locations, 
  a castle may have the function of a town hall. 
   
  • 
  Wainwright:  This is where your PCs have to head if they want to take a wagon or sleigh along on their 
  adventure.  Set prices ahead of time.  Ordinarily there is no need to make a floor plan of such a business. 
   
  The first location element in our adventure outline above, Slovan City, also includes a dungeon element.  We'll 
  discuss that in the pages to come. 
   
  Once your PCs have done all they need to do at their base location, they're off on their adventure.  However, 
  depending upon the size and scope of the adventure, you probably will have at least one more location element to 
  define, at the adventure's goal, and it's possible that you'll have to define many more location elements along the 
  way.  This is particularly true if your PCs need to make temporary operating bases along their way. 
   
  In the adventure outline farther above, the PCs make overnight stops in the villages of Goldfields and Lastmill.  
  While one could consider these to serve briefly as temporary operating bases, the PCs' stay is so short in both that 
  it probably would serve no purpose to treat either location as a location element.  It's sufficient to make them a part 
  of the overland element between the starting point and the goal. 
   
  The only other location element in our outline is the draug settlement of Dark Valley, which was known as Tingl's 
  Mill in the days when the living still populated it.  Dark Valley needs to be detailed just as thoroughly as Slovan City.  
  This is where the PCs have the decisive encounters of the adventure.  They need to know exactly what they see 
  there, what the distances are between important points, etc. 
   
  This is one case where you often need provide the PCs with a detailed map of the encounter location, in our 
  adventure the settlement of the undead, albeit one that betrays no secrets.  You not only need to map the surface of 
  the location, but you also have to detail the old millhouse of Tingl's Mill and you have a dungeon with which you 
  must deal (more on that soon).  The map they gain from the thief's lair serves this purpose. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 161 
   
  1.3  Overland Elements 
   
  Overland elements of an adventure usually are the easiest to define.  They include roads, hills, mountains, valleys, 
  rivers, forests, brush, swamps and also settlements where your PCs are likely to spend little time, too little to make 
  the detailing of a location element worthwhile. 
   
  Even if your PCs don't buy a map of the overland area they'll be crossing, you'll need one yourself to show the 
  various geographical areas you'll be crossing with your PCs.  If potential encounters can occur within an overland 
  area, you need to show on your map where they can take place.  In addition, you may need to make a scene plan 
  of the potential encounter sites. 
   
  Overland elements often include settlements, villages, towns and cities where the PCs spend only a small bit of 
  time.  You probably will need to make a map of these sites, but often the only building that has to be detailed is the 
  public house or inn where the PCs stay.  You'll also need statistics for the NPCs that they'll encounter there.  If you 
  plan encounters in these locations, you may have to do a bit more detailing for them and their sites too. 
   
  Going back to our adventure outline above and starting at the beginning, we find a series of overland elements.  
  The first thing that we need is a map of the entire stretch that the PCs will travel, from Slovan City to Dark Valley.  
  There are some basic things this map will need:  The four sites Slovan City, Goldfields, Lastmill and Dark Valley, 
  the road from Slovan City to Dark Valley and one or more rivers or creeks to flow through these locations, to turn 
  the mill waterwheels in them. 
   
  The next steps in planning the map require some deliberation.  What kinds of landscape fill the rest of the map?  
  What's the highest area and what's the lowest?  This latter question is very important, because it decides where 
  your rivers and creeks flow and in which direction.  We also need to place hills and/or forests in certain areas to 
  hide the enemies we've placed for encounters, and we need a map or other graphical scheme of the areas where 
  the PCs will encounter the bandits and the draugs.  Finally, we need NPC statistics for these foes. 
   
  In our adventure outline, there is nothing to detail between Slovan City and Goldfields; no encounters are planned 
  along this stretch.  The same is true to a certain extent of Goldfields.  No hostile encounters are planned there.  
  However, there are encounters.  The PCs spend the night at the Golden Scythe Inn.  We aren't going to designate 
  any other inns or public houses in Goldfields, mostly because we want to save ourselves the work of having to 
  detail them.  Instead, we'll make all of the information available in the Golden Scythe that otherwise would be 
  available to the PCs only if they went bar-hopping. 
   
  That gives us only one building to detail in Goldfields, the Golden Scythe Inn.  We'll need a floor plan of the public 
  room and one of the floor upon which the PCs will have their rooms with detailed plans only for their own rooms.  
  You need only base statistics for the NPCs to be encountered in Goldfields.  We'll say more yet about the content of 
  base statistic blocks.  The village has nothing that should trigger a hostile encounter that would lead to combat. 
   
  The overland element of the adventure continues in the hills north of Goldfields where brigands lay in wait to 
  ambush the PCs.  When we place hills at a certain map location, we have to ask whether we face a watershed 
  question.  For instance, if we decide to have a single river flow through Slovan City, Goldfields, Lastmill and Dark 
  Valley, we need to decide what happens when the river meets the hills. 
   
  This is an interesting question, one that actually can give you some adventure design tools.  When a stream comes 
  up against hills, it usually does one of two things:  It either makes a bend and goes around the hills, or it has cut a 
  pass in an earlier age through the hills.  Both options are open to us here. 
   
  We need a road that goes through the hills, dividing them into eastern and western parts.  Nothing makes a more 
  natural path for a road to follow through hills than a river valley, and that's the option that we're choosing.  However, 
  because we want to place brigands in the hills on both sides of the road, one needs a means for crossing the river.  
  That can be either a bridge or a ford.  We're choosing the latter. 
   
  Even that choice needs to be pondered in some situations.  Except in flood situations, a ford always can be 
  crossed.  A bridge, on the other hand, can be crossed only when it's there.  However, it's quite possible that either 
  the PCs or the NPC opponents that they're facing might destroy the bridge. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 162 
   
  At the point where the PCs encounter the brigands, we need a close-up plan of the terrain and encounter statistics 
  for the NPC brigands.  Such statistics are more detailed than the base statistics given for the NPCs in Goldfields, 
  but they have less content than a full character sheet.  We'll say more yet about the content of encounter statistic 
  blocks. 
   
  We're designing our encounter to have the road follow the east bank of the river through the hills.  That means that 
  the encounter with the brigands will take place in the eastern part of the hills.  We have two more NPC brigands in 
  the hills across the river on the west side of the road, brigands who will flee into a forest west of the hills rather than 
  engaging the PCs seriously in combat.  Because our outline includes no possibility for a direct encounter with these 
  NPCs, we need no statistic blocks for them, but we do need to remember to place the forest in the west on our map. 
   
  Our adventure needs to make a time and moon note for the stretch between the hills and the village of Lastmill.  
  According to our plan, the brigand encounter in the hills should delay the PCs sufficiently to make it impossible for 
  them to reach Lastmill by daylight.  As a result, you need to describe the setting of the sun while the PCs still are en 
  route and how the full moon provides sufficient light for the PCs to make out the road well enough to ride onward. 
   
  It's under these circumstances that the PCs encounter the three draug warriors on the road, as they finally see the 
  lights of Lastmill in the distance.  This encounter is something of an exception.  You really can do without preparing 
  a site map.  We simply can describe the width of the road and that it's open to either side.  But we do need en-
  counter statistics for the three draug warriors. 
   
  The next point in our overland element is the village of Lastmill.  Like Goldfields, it's a one-night stop for the PCs.  It 
  doesn't merit the full location element treatment.  But we do need a basic village map.  We also need floor plans for 
  the common room of the River Inn and the PCs' rooms there.  The encounter with the three draug warriors takes 
  place on the open road; therefore no detailed encounter map should be necessary.  The location on the village map 
  should give the PCs all of the graphic information that they need.  However, we do need a set of encounter statistics 
  for the three draug warriors. 
   
  The last segments of our overland element are the stretch between Lastmill and Dark Valley and the return trip of 
  the PCs, if they survive. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Sunset approaches.  Soon the draugs will come. 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 163 
   
  1.4  Dungeon Elements 
   
  Dungeons often are the most difficult adventure elements to design, and the mapping of a dungeon plan easily can 
  be more demanding of a game master than even a well detailed city as a location element. 
   
  Most facets of location and overland elements relate directly to historical precedents out of our real life world.  We 
  all have experience with villages, towns and cities, and most of us have traveled across a variety of natural 
  landscapes.  We've watched rivers and creeks flow, and we've climbed and descended hills and perhaps mountains 
  too.  Most of us have walked in a forest as well. 
   
  However, most of us never have been in a real dungeon.  Gamers who've lived in or visited Europe may have seen 
  real models for certain kinds of dungeons, but those who've never left North or South America are short on genuine 
  historical examples. 
   
  That makes for frequent problems in dungeon design.  Many game masters who design their first dungeon come up 
  with silly combinations of subterranean nonsense that really would have had no reason to be built whatsoever.  
  However, we don't want to write off that type of dungeon completely.  One of the most popular and successful 
  dungeon adventures ever written falls into this category: 
   
  S1 Tomb of Horrors, for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons® (1st Edition), by E. Gary Gygax, TSR® Inc. (now 
  Wizards of the Coast Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro® Inc.), 1978. 
   
  Not even the maddest monster would design and build such a complex, illogical and pointless dungeon.  In the text, 
  it was built by a wizard named Acererak who had become an undead of a variety known as lich in AD&D®.  In truth, 
  the only person who would create such a dungeon is a game designer like the late Gary Gygax, and its sole 
  purpose was to entertain people who were playing AD&D back in 1978. 
   
  In that respect, it was quite successful.  And it's a tribute to Gygax' skills that this short module still is popular with 
  gamers today.  However, those who play it today recognize it as the highly unrealistic bit of nonsense that it is but 
  also that more than 30 years later, it's one of the most entertaining gaming dungeons you can enter.  Entertainment 
  is the key idea here. 
   
  Whether a modern author creating a dungeon today with so much illogic and nonsense would be anywhere near as 
  successful is doubtful.  Today, we have 34 years of RPG history, development and advancement behind us.  We've 
  witnessed the introduction of computer gaming.  And we have the experience of computer-enhanced fantasy films 
  like Peter Jackson's cinematic adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.  Today, most gamers expect their 
  dungeons to have reasons, substance and logic. 
   
  Perhaps for that reason Wizards of the Coast took a second look at Gygax' old Tomb of Horrors 20 years later and 
  had staffer Bruce R. Cordell bring the original into a more modern follow-up context with a boxed mega-adventure 
  that also includes the original: 
   
  Return to the Tomb of Horrors, for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons® (2nd Edition), by Bruce R. Cordell, TSR 
  subsidiary of Wizards of the Coast Inc., 1998. 
   
  Even with 10 years under its belt, this remains among the best dungeon adventures we've ever seen.  The best of 
  them all, though, in our opinion, comes from the same house: 
   
  Axe of the Dwarvish Lords, for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons® (2nd Edition), by Skip Williams, TSR 
  subsidiary of Wizards of the Coast Inc., 1999. 
   
  Axe of the Dwarvish Lords is the perfect model of credible, logical but nonetheless superlative dungeon design, 
  even today, with nine more years of dungeon design experience in the gaming industry as a whole.  If you're 
  interested in gaining inspiration from any or all of these three products before doing your own first dungeon design, 
  they're available as downloads in PDF format for U.S. $4.95 each at: 
   
  http://www.rpgnow.com . 
   
  That's a total investment of less than U.S. $10.00 (Tomb of Horrors is included with Return to the Tomb of Horrors.). 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 164 
   
  With that said, if you wish to create a dungeon that meets the expectations of modern day gamers, start out by 
  asking yourself what the "reality" of your planned dungeon is, and then, as you're designing, repeat that question for 
  all of the individual locations that you design within that dungeon. 
   
  The ruins of the dwarven Mines of Moria are the greatest dungeon in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.  It's a perfect 
  example of a logical and sensible dungeon.  As you follow Frodo and his fellowship through the mines, you never 
  have to ask yourself why in the world this or that is there.  The dungeon consists of the ancient dwarven mines, and 
  it's quite clear why the dwarves put everything where they did.  At the same time, the dungeon design in no way 
  interferes with the adventure, which involves deadly battle against hordes of orcs and a balrog. 
   
  Your first dungeons probably will be smaller than the Mines of Moria, as is our dungeon complex in Dark Valley.  
  But don't let that keep you from trying to design a dungeon that is just as logical as Tolkien's creation.  During your 
  design contemplations, ask yourself these questions: 
   
  • 
  Why is this dungeon where it is? 
   
  • 
  If it's a subterranean dungeon, why was it built underground? 
   
  • 
  Who built it (or developed it from a natural cave complex)? 
   
  • 
  How did it serve its purpose? 
   
  Most dungeons consist of individual chambers and halls that are linked by connecting passages.  As you lay out 
  your dungeon, ask yourself two questions: 
   
  • 
  Why was this room or area originally built? 
   
  • 
  With what did it have to be furnished to serve its purpose? 
   
  • 
  How did the builder get these furnishings there? 
   
  • 
  If the furnishings no longer are there, why were they removed and by whom? 
   
  • 
  Does the removal of furnishings make sense?  (Removal of a huge subterranean foundry furnace from deep 
  dwarven halls hardly would be possible, much less be sensible.) 
   
  • 
  If you're using a passage, why weren't the areas simply created next to one another rather than being 
  connected by passages? 
   
  Dungeons often have a number of treasures, secret passages, secret doors and traps.  Here are some more 
  questions to pose: 
   
  • 
  Why was the treasure brought into the dungeon? 
   
  • 
  Why is it still there? 
   
  • 
  For what reason were secret doors and/or passages desirable? 
   
  • 
  For whom were the traps intended? 
   
  • 
  How did the rightful occupants get past the traps? 
   
  Once you've answered these questions, you can plan the detail work that's awaiting you: 
   
  • 
  Determine in advance which encounters the PCs might have that are hostile or that require skill or ability 
  checks.  Develop the necessary statistics for all of them in advance.  Also ponder what personalities the 
  NPCs that they might encounter will have.  You'll have to play their roles. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 165 
   
  • 
  You'll need to make detailed floor plans for all critical encounter locations.  PCs have a strong tendency to 
  want to know who and what is where in the areas of a dungeon where they go. 
   
  In line with these questions, keep in mind that a good dungeon should tell its own story as the PCs go through it.  
  The tale of the complex and its purposes should unfold as the PCs traverse it.  It could be a horrible tale, a 
  magnificent tale or both, as in the case of the Mines of Moria.  A well-designed large dungeon should have the PCs 
  feel a bit of awe.  Any well-designed dungeon should keep them in a state of suspense. 
   
  Our adventure outline has two dungeon elements: 
   
  • 
  The small sewer lair of the thief who robs them in Slovan City. 
   
  • 
  The complex of draug Baron Nundlung in Dark Valley. 
   
  Let's look at each separately: 
   
  • 
  The dungeon beneath Slovan City is the remnant of an old mining shaft from a time when humans mined 
  bituminous coal there.  The room described as a small supply room has broken shelves and a few mining 
  tools in it, to give the PCs an idea why it is there.  Most of the supplies (furnishings) were removed when the 
  mines were abandoned.  The only connecting passages are mining shafts.  The only treasure is the stash of 
  the thief who laired there.  The trap was set by the thief to stop pursuers like the PCs.  It can be disarmed and 
  reset.  Presumably the thief disarmed it before going through the trap door and then reset it again. 
   
  To understand the dungeon design in Dark Valley, we have to know more about its occupants than we've explained 
  so far.  The full details can be found in Book 3, the Creature Guide.  We know in the larger campaign world where 
  this small adventure takes place that there was a great war in the North, sometime in the past. 
   
  A large part of the northern territory remains in ruins, 
  and death still ravages even patches of its landscape.  
  The defeated foe was a realm ruled by Necromancers.  
  The survivors of that realm are draugs, a class of 
  undead beings in the Dungeons Daring definitions.  
  Low-level draugs shun daylight.  During the day, they 
  remain underground or in tightly shuttered buildings. 
  Dungeon entrance 
  Product Identity
   
  Slovan City, Goldfields and Lastmill lie just south of the 
  war-ruined area.  The southernmost district of the 
  necromantic realm was the Barony of Tingl's Mill.  The 
  ruler was a low-level Necromancer, Baron Nundlung.  
  Many 
  of 
  his 
  subjects 
  also 
  had 
  submitted 
  to 
  transfiguration into draugs, and in the last days before 
  the barony's fall in the great wars, Nundlung tried to 
  force all of his subjects to accept transfiguration. 
   
  Two holdouts were the miller and his wife in the 
  millhouse of Tingl's Mill.  They had planted a thick strip of ramson around the millhouse, which not only spared and 
  still spares their garden from the curse of death upon the land but also repels lower level draugs who approach it.  It 
  appears that the couple died natural deaths within the millhouse, but the ramson prospered and continued to hold 
  the draugs back over the years.  In truth, they probably lost interest in the millhouse after the death of the miller and 
  his wife. 
   
  • 
  The rest of the buildings either were destroyed in the war, or they crumbled in ruin with time.  Only the tower 
  of draug Baron Nundlung's castle complex still stands.  The draugs, who shun daylight, live underground.  
  The dungeon complex consists of the buried cellars of old buildings, where the draugs lair, and the cellar and 
  tower of the castle, where the draug baron lairs.  The dungeon of Dark Valley was built as individual cellars of 
  buildings once used by living people.  The passages were made by the draugs, to allow them to pass back 
  and forth without going into daylight.  Those furnishings that still are of use to the draugs are in their cellars.  
  The cells in the cellar of the castle served as the barony's jail.  What treasure there is belongs to the draugs 
  who still lair there.  The traps were set by the draug baron to hold off intruders.  He knows how to disarm the 
  traps, to pass personally. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 166 
   
  1.5  Statistical Blocks 
   
  Published material for Dungeons Daring uses information blocks to describe the main statistics for each location, 
  overland and dungeon element in an adventure.  Above all, these blocks are intended to give you, the game 
  master, quick information over the element. 
   
  Encounters also have similar but smaller statistical blocks on three different levels:  Base Statistical Blocks for 
  encounters that are unlikely to produce combat, Encounter Statistical Blocks for simple encounters that may 
  provoke combat and Full Statistical Blocks for encounters with key NPCs.  Full Statistical Blocks are completed 
  character sheets, like those that your players filled out for your PCs.  The only Full Statistical Block that might be 
  necessary for the adventure in Dark Valley is that of the draug Baron Nundlung. 
   
  You may wish to adopt this system for adventures of your own creation.  The following are templates for element 
  statistical blocks: 
   
  Location Element Blocks 
   
  The template is: 
   
  Name 
  Municipal Level: Encampment, Settlement, Hamlet, Village, Thorpe, Town, Small City, City, Other 
  Ruler:  Name and Title 
  Enforcement:  System for enforcing the law, such as constabulary, watch, etc. 
  Population: 
  Alignment inclination:  General average alignment of the population 
  Wealth:  Total value of the location site 
  Political System:  Benevolent, Special Interest, Political Machine, Evil or Chaotic 
  Taxation:  Visitor Gate Tax, Inn Tax. Crop Tax, Product Tax, Sales Tax 
  Extraordinary laws:  (if any) 
  Key Locations and Map Numbers:  Locations (and names, when applicable) of government, enforcement unit, 
  temples, inns, public houses, healers and businesses 
   
  Key NPCs 
  • 
  Highest official, highest enforcer, highest mage, highest other NPC, other important NPCs with Name, 
  Position, Race, Gender, Age, Character Level, Class(es), Class Level(s), Additional Pertinent Data. 
  • 
  Watch:  Number, levels, classes. 
   
   
   
  Overland Element Blocks 
   
  The template is: 
   
  Name or Description 
  Political Entity:  Ungoverned, Contested, Barony, County, Duchy, Princedom, Kingdom, Empire, etc. 
  Ruler or Main Contestants:  Name and Title 
  Enforcement:  System for enforcing the law, such as constabulary, watch, etc. 
  Alignment inclination:  General average alignment of the population 
  Political System:  Benevolent, Special Interest, Political Machine, Evil or Chaotic 
  Extraordinary laws:  (if any) 
  Key Locations and Map Numbers:  Settlements, Dungeons, etc. 
   
  Key NPCs 
  • 
  When applicable:  Highest official, highest enforcer, highest mage, highest other NPC, other important NPCs 
  with Name, Position, Race, Gender, Age, Character Level, Class(es), Class Level(s), Additional Pertinent 
  Data. 
  • 
  Patrols (if any):  Number, levels, classes. 
  • 
  Enemy patrols (if any):  Number, levels, classes. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 167 
   
  Dungeon Element Blocks 
   
  The template is: 
   
  Name or Description 
  Ruler:  Name and Title 
  Enforcement:  System for enforcing the law, such as constabulary, watch, etc. 
  Population:  Various occupant groups and numbers 
  Alignment inclination:  General average alignment of the occupants 
  Wealth:  Total value of the location site 
  Key Locations and Dungeon Plan Numbers:  Encounter sites and chambers, etc. 
  Special Circumstances:  If any, with dungeon plan numbers. 
   
  Key NPCs 
  • 
  Where applicable:  Highest ruler, highest enforcer, highest mage, highest other NPC, other important NPCs 
  with Name, Position, Race or Beast or Mutation Type, Gender, Age (where applicable), Character Level, 
  Class(es), Class Level(s), Additional Pertinent Data. 
  • 
  Enforcement Units:  Number, Race or Beast or Mutation Type, levels, classes. 
  • 
  Wandering occupant bands:  Number, Race or Beast or Mutation Type, levels, classes. 
   
  The statistical blocks for encounters are a bit different:  Base Statistical Blocks for encounters that are unlikely to 
  produce combat are in paragraph form.  Encounter Statistical Blocks for simple encounters that may provoke 
  combat are itemized.  Full Statistical Blocks for encounters with key NPCs are completed character sheets, like 
  those that your players filled out for your PCs.  Here are the templates for Base and Encounter Statistical Blocks: 
   
   
  Base Statistical Blocks 
   
  • 
  Name of NPC, Position, Race or Beast or Mutation Type, Gender, Age (where applicable), Character Level, 
  Class(es), Class Level(s), initiative bonus, weapons with attack roll and damage for each, special attacks 
  (where applicable), the four defenses, special defenses (where applicable), injury points, life points, Talent 
  Skill bonuses, prepared spells, songs, diction etc. (where applicable), available Spell/Magic points (where 
  applicable), additional pertinent data. 
   
   
  Encounter Statistical Blocks 
   
  Name of NPC 
  Position:  (if any) 
  Race/Beast Type/Mutation Type: 
  Size and Physical Description: 
  Gender:  (where applicable) 
  Age:  (where applicable) 
  Character Level: 
  Class(es): 
  Class Level(s): 
  Initiative Bonus: 
  Weapon(s):  With attack roll and damage for each.  Natural attacks by beasts and mutations are included here. 
  Special Attacks:  (where applicable) 
  Armor Defense: 
  Endurance Defense: 
  Reflex Defense: 
  Will Defense: 
  Special Defenses:  (where applicable) 
  Ability Scores:  Strength Score + Modifier, Dexterity Score + Modifier, Stamina Score + Modifier. Knowledge Score 
  + Modifier, Magical Aptitude Score + Modifier, Mechanical Aptitude Score + Modifier 
  Spell/Magic Points Available:  (where applicable) 
  Prepared Spells, Songs and Diction:  (where applicable) Name of each with Spell/Magic points expended. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 168 
   
  Descriptive Paragraph:  Contains background information on the NPC with particular emphasis on information that 
  helps the game master play the NPC's role.  The paragraph also includes pertinent information that is not listed 
  above. 
   
   
  Full Statistical Blocks 
   
  The complete character sheets of the NPCs are used.  To this add a list of prepared spells, songs and diction 
  (where applicable) with the name of each, the Spell/Magic points expended and detail information that you as game 
  master need to work the spell on behalf of the NPC. 
   
   
   
   
  Any trail can lead to adventure. 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 169 
   
  22..    FFlleesshhiinngg  O
  Ouutt  YYoouurr  AAddvveennttuurree  
   
  In this section we'll look at some of the secondary elements we can use in adventures to make them more credible, 
  realistic, interesting, challenging and/or enjoyable. 
   
   
  2.1  Encounters 
   
  In Dungeons Daring we use the term encounter in a broader sense than is the case with many other RPGs.  A 
  Dungeons Daring encounter occurs whenever the PCs come across something that challenges them in some 
  manner, even if only to require a minor decision.  A broken directional sign with a divided path that goes in more 
  than one direction is an encounter.  Coming upon a trap is an encounter.  Meeting NPCs is an encounter.  Finding a 
  magical or poisoned object is an encounter. 
   
  Not all encounters are hostile.  An encounter can just as easily be friendly, in that it has the potential for helping the 
  PCs rather than injuring or hindering them.  Most mundane encounters are neutral.  They have no effect upon the 
  PCs.  They occur simply because they're there on the PCs' path or because they happen for reasons that have 
  nothing to do with the PCs. 
   
  Encounters that can have an effect upon the PCs should be given an Encounter Level rating.  In determining which 
  encounters you place in your adventure, you need to consider the Effective Character Level of your PC party and 
  then design an encounter or chose an already prepared encounter with an Encounter Level that corresponds to 
  your PC party's Effective Character Level. 
   
  In most Dungeons Daring adventures, you need a PC party with at least three members to be able to get through all 
  of an adventure's challenges.  The following PCs usually are necessary: 
   
  • 
  A fighter of some sort.  This might be a member of the Fighter Class or a Ranger of the Naturalist Class.  In 
  all cases, the PC is proficient in melee and ranged combat. 
   
  • 
  A magic user.  Your frontline PC in this respect should be a Wizard or Sorcerer. 
   
  • 
  A thief of some type.  This PC doesn't necessarily have to choose the Thief Class, but he or she should be a 
  member of the greater Specialist Class. 
   
  In addition, there needs to be a good spread of Talent Skills within the group.  The key points for determining proper 
  Encounter Levels, however, is the number of PCs or NPCs in a party and their modified Class Levels.  The 
  modifiers are determined by you and are based upon your appraisal of the power of the magical objects in the party 
  members' possession. 
   
  It is assumed that each member of a party has 0 to 1 magical objects; therefore there is no modifier for the first 
  magical object that a character possesses.  If a spellcaster is required to use a wand or staff to cast spells, the 
  wand or staff also does not count as a magical object for this calculation.  Here are some guidelines for determining 
  modifiers: 
   
   
  Magical Item Modifiers 
  Type of Additional Magical Objects 
  Recommended Modifier 
  Potion 
  +0.25 
  Weak item, single usage 
  +0.25 
  Weak item with charges 
  +0.5 
  Weak item, permanent usage 
  +0.75 
  Average item, single usage 
  +0.5 
  Average item with charges 
  +0.75 
  Average item, permanent usage 
  +1 
  Powerful item, single usage 
  +0.75 
  Powerful item with charges 
  +1 
  Powerful item, permanent usage 
  +2 
  Weapon or armor, per plus point 
  +0.5 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 170 
   
  Here's how the Effective Character Level of a PC or NPC party is determined.  The parentheses are mathematically 
  necessary! 
   
  The Effective Character Level = 
   
  ♦ 
  (The sum of all party members' Character Levels + Modifiers for additional magical items) 
   
  ♦ 
  divided by three. 
   
   
  As mentioned, an encounter not only can have other creatures of some sort on the opposing side.  It might also 
  have challenges from traps, poisons, etc. on the opposing side.  Farther below, we'll see how the Encounter Levels 
  for traps, poisons and the like are determined.  Here we see how Effective Character Levels of creatures and the 
  Encounter Levels of objects and occurrences determine the full Encounter Level of an encounter: 
   
  • 
  The Encounter Level of an NPC-only encounter equals the Effective Character Level of the opposing NPC 
  party. 
   
  • 
  The Encounter Level of an encounter without NPCs is the sum of the individual Encounter Levels of the 
  objects or events that constitute the encounter. 
   
  • 
  The Encounter Level of a mixed encounter with both NPCs and non-NPC elements is the sum of the 
  individual Encounter Levels of the objects or events that constitute the encounter plus the Effective Character 
  Level of the NPCs. 
   
  An adventure isn't interesting if all encounters are balanced equally.  A campaign is fun for your PCs when they can 
  take hostile beings out of action with little difficulty at times.  Surviving is fun, even when the foe or endangering 
  circumstance isn't all that threatening.  On the other hand, an adventure tends to become dull if the PCs never are 
  severely challenged. 
   
  There are game masters who enjoy creating killer adventures that are nearly impossible for their PCs to master.  
  Some players enjoy killer adventures, but most will lose interest in your campaign if you offer their PCs little other 
  than chances to commit suicide.  The majority of the encounters in a good campaign are balanced, with some of the 
  remaining encounters being more difficult and others being easier.  Encounters can be analyzed according to their 
  Difficulty Rating as in the following table.  The second table gives you guideline recommendations (and by no 
  means rules) on how to divide up encounters with various Difficulty Ratings. 
   
   
  Difficulty Ratings 
  Effective Character Level 
  Rating 
  +3 or more higher than opposing Encounter Level 
  Simple 
  +2 higher than opposing Encounter Level 
  Easy 
  +1 higher than opposing Encounter Level 
  Advantaged 
  Same as opposing Encounter Level 
  Balanced 
  -1 lower than opposing Encounter Level 
  Disadvantaged 
  -2 lower than opposing Encounter Level 
  Difficult 
  -3 or more lower than opposing Encounter Level 
  Lethal 
   
   
  Encounter Frequency 
  Difficulty Rating 
  Percentage of Encounters
  Simple* 
  0%* 
  Easy 
  5% 
  Advantaged 
  10% 
  Balanced 
  70% 
  Disadvantaged 
  10% 
  Difficult 
  5% 
  Lethal* 
  0%* 
   
  *  Simple and Lethal encounters should be placed in an adventure only when they directly serve an important 
  purpose of the adventure. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 171 
   
  Rule of the Thumb:  Anytime you place an encounter with a Difficulty Rating of Difficult or Lethal in an adventure, 
  ask yourself what two ways are to survive the encounter.  If you can't find an adequate answer, ask yourself what 
  warns the PCs how dangerous the encounter can be, and how can they avoid it?  If you can't answer that 
  satisfactorily, you probably have designed a bad encounter; you should go back to work upon it. 
   
   
  2.2  Information 
   
  Information is a great bit of adventure dressing that is underused by many game masters.  In a good game master's 
  hands, information is like a two-edged blade being wielded by a master swordsman.  On the one hand, information 
  can give PCs invaluable help in reaching their goals.  On the other, it can lead them marvelously astray.  In other 
  words, information can be both correct and incorrect. 
   
  Let's look at some of the more frequent sources of information in an RPG campaign and how reliable they are, on 
  the average.  However, reliability can change considerably upward or downward based upon circumstances. 
   
   
   
  Overhearing 
  Reliability:  50% 
   
  Your PCs are sitting in their favorite watering hole, slowly going broke and pondering how they can muster up a few 
  gold pieces.  Two scurvy looking figures are sitting at a nearby table talking in low tones, but your Thief is used to 
  listening in, and she manages to overhear their conversation.  The two are shepherds who graze their sheep in 
  meadows within hills about 2 miles/3km south of town. 
   
  The shepherds have noticed that a wanted outlaw with a 50 GP price on his head is holed up in an abandoned 
  ranger's shack in the hills south of town.  The shepherds are discussing how they could capture the fugitive, but 
  they're neither Warriors nor Thieves.  They also are afraid of being slain.  Now that the PCs know where the fugitive 
  is hidden, they can leave the shepherds behind and try to capture the outlaw and the 50 GP reward for themselves. 
   
  • 
  False Information Factor:  If the PCs know that the two men really are local shepherds, the reliability factor 
  of this encounter probably could be raised to 90% or higher.  Shepherds probably wouldn't invent this kind of 
  tale unless it were true.  However, they don't necessarily have to be shepherds.  Perhaps they're the fugitive's 
  henchmen, and they're trying to divert attention from their leader's true hideout north of town (not south, as 
  was said) in order to safely move him elsewhere.  The two intentionally are allowing themselves to be 
  overheard here and there, in the hopes that local headhunters and a part of the watch will head to the shack 
  south of town, so that they can move their leader out of his hideout north of town without being observed. 
   
   
   
  Gathering Information 
  Reliability:  10-90% 
   
  One of the easiest ways to get information is to make the rounds and ask people.  Unfortunately, this method can 
  produce a plethora of partly contradicting answers of considerably varying factual quality. 
   
  • 
  Secondary Effect:  The information you're seeking also may point to activities of other NPCs or even 
  organizations.  The PCs may not be aware of them, but these creatures or organizations can become aware 
  of the questions that the PCs are asking and also can become concerned that the PCs are getting too close 
  to their secrets.  Such questions can bring the PCs quickly into jeopardy. 
   
  • 
  False Information Factor:  There are many reasons why people will give your PCs false or misleading 
  information: 
   
  � 
  Their information once was true, but circumstances have changed; it no longer is correct. 
  � 
  They don't know that it's false.  They believe it to be true. 
  � 
  They want to leave the impression of being in the know.  Therefore, they manufacture answers. 
  � 
  They PCs rub them the wrong way.  They intentionally give the PCs false information. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 172 
   
  � 
  They have reasons to want the PCs to fail in their quest.  They intentionally give the PCs misleading 
  information. 
  � 
  They are allied with foes of the PCs.  They want to set a trap for them. 
   
   
  Research 
  Reliability:  60-90% 
   
  Research can de done verbally or through written materials.  For verbal information, the PCs can seek or even buy 
  information from Sages, consulting Magi, Skáld or other local experts.  Freely given information is somewhat less 
  reliable than paid information.  Sages and others who charge a fee for information usually are on the high end of the 
  reliability scale.  If they gain a reputation for selling false or misleading information, they're bound to lose business. 
   
  Written information is a different matter.  First of all, one must keep in mind that written information in the Dungeons 
  Daring age predates the time in real world history, in the middle of the 15th Century, when Johannes Gutenberg 
  introduced the printing press.  Books in the Dungeons Daring age are the handwritten work of scribes who wrote 
  their inscriptions in books of parchment. 
   
  As you might guess, this period predates the founding of the first public libraries.  What libraries there are, are in the 
  castles and mansions of the wealthy, the towers of magi and the studios of sages.  To do research with written ma-
  terials, the PCs either must pay for access to the writings or convince the owner of a private library to allow them to 
  use it. 
   
  • 
  False Information Factor:  There are several reasons why research may produce false or misleading 
  information: 
   
  � 
  The information source is or was misinformed. 
  � 
  The information was recorded long ago and no longer is valid. 
  � 
  The misinformation was recorded intentionally to delude someone other than the PCs. 
  � 
  The information source has been hired to delude the PCs, or he or she has a secret personal stake in 
  deluding them 
   
   
  Maps 
  Reliability:  50-100% 
   
  There are a number of sources of maps for your PCs: 
   
  • 
  Government offices maintain highly reliable maps of their jurisdictions.  In non-evil locations, the PCs should 
  be able to view such maps and make their own crude copies of them either free or for a fee. 
   
  • 
  In some towns and many cities, cartographers can be commissioned to make maps, and they may already 
  have some maps available for sale.  The quality varies widely, depending upon the degree and quality of 
  knowledge that the cartographer has of the mapped area. 
   
  • 
  Libraries and sages (see Research above) may have maps. 
   
  • 
  Maps can be found in treasures or in dungeons. 
   
  • 
  People who commission the PCs to do a job or who urge them to go on an adventure may provide them with 
  maps. 
   
  • 
  Trade costers usually have maps.  They usually are of high quality, because they're vital to the coster's busi-
  ness.  PCs may be able to view and copy them for free or for a fee. 
   
  • 
  Maps might be available from retired soldiers, mercenaries and adventurers. 
   
  • 
  Commoners might have maps inherited from their ancestors. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 173 
   
  • 
  False Information Factor:  There are several reasons why maps might be inaccurate: 
   
  � 
  The world's borders change frequently.  Settlements that once stood may have been destroyed in war 
  or have been abandoned and left to crumble.  New settlements have arisen.  Earthquakes have de-
  stroyed parts of hills and mountains and caused others to rise.  They also can cause rivers to change 
  their courses, lakes to dry up and others to be formed.  Ancient maps probably show things that no 
  longer exist and lack other features that did not yet exist when the map was made. 
   
  � 
  Many cartographers never have seen the areas they map.  Their maps are based upon often inac-
  curate descriptions and distance estimates of other persons. 
   
  � 
  Some maps were made with intentional errors to divert others from reaching certain locations.  With 
  ancient maps, the targets of those diversions probably are long dead and forgotten.  With new maps, 
  the PCs might be the target of the diversion. 
   
  � 
  A map can be inaccurate without being totally false.  It might be a quick copy of an accurate map.  The 
  copyist knows or knew where distances were out of scale, but the PCs don't. 
   
   
  Divining 
  Reliability:  90-100% 
   
  One of the most reliable sources of information is magical divining.  Most consulting magi and many sages can 
  provide magical diving services. 
   
  • 
  False Information Factor: 
   
  � 
  There is countermagic that causes divining to fail or show false results.  In most cases, the target is not 
  aware of the divining attempt and therefore does not employ such countermagic, but that is not always 
  the case. 
   
   
  Observation 
  Reliability:  Variable 
   
  When one traverses a dungeon or explores another adventure site, one can see more than just the path and its 
  surroundings.  Turning again to the example of Prof. Tolkien's Moria, anyone who went through these mines with 
  open eyes would gain considerable knowledge of them.  The trail through Moria not only reveals a path but also 
  unveils the technical operation of the mines and their history.  These details were not of primary importance to Tol-
  kien's adventurers, but in a different adventure, they might have given the PCs important clues to things that they 
  were seeking. 
   
  • 
  False Information Factor: 
   
  � 
  The results of observation have two parts:  What one sees and what one concludes because of those 
  observations.  It's always possible that the PCs misinterpret what they see. 
   
  � 
  Clever builders of a dungeon who want no intruders (dwarven clans would make a good example) 
  might intentionally create false structural objects that lead intruders down false paths. 
   
   
  Public Performances 
  Reliability:  50% 
   
  Skáld are famous for earning their room and board by entertaining customers in the inns that are along the path 
  they're following in their travels.  And they also are well known for the entrancing ballads they sing and poems they 
  recite from the ancient days of yore.  It is possible that your PCs might be in the audience of such a Skáld some 
  night and hear the Skáld sing a song of ancient lore that gives the answers to many of the riddles that they've been 
  facing. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 174 
   
  • 
  False Information Factor: 
   
  � 
  Skáld are very serious students of lore.  However, they distinctly separate lore scholarship from 
  entertainment.  When a Skáld performs in an inn, he or she usually wants to entertain.  The songs 
  sung and the poems recited do have roots in ancient lore, but they've been passed down from Skáld to 
  Skáld over the generations, with each Skáld embellishing and tailoring the story to make it more 
  entertaining but in the process less accurate.  A Skáld well may give the PCs all the answers to their 
  riddles, but many of those answers might be 100% wrong. 
   
   
  Commissioned Work 
  Reliability:  Usually 90-100% 
   
  The PCs' contract from the margrave in Slovan City in our sample adventure outline is a good example of this 
  information source.  The margrave wanted the PCs to eliminate draug Baron Nundlung, and he gave them the 
  information that he had before they departed on their adventure.  This is the pattern of initial information flow for 
  almost any adventure in which a group of PCs sets forth to achieve something for someone else. 
   
  • 
  False Information Factor: 
   
  � 
  Sometimes the person who commissions an adventure has entirely different reasons to do so than 
  those that he or she gives the PCs.  He or she may been sending them on a wild goose chase or on a 
  mission that is of little real importance to him or her or, and, in the end, to the PCs too.  The reason for 
  doing this is that the person who gives the PCs the commission has entirely different foes with whom 
  he or she are dealing, and the PCs are being sent off as a red herring, to delude those foes into 
  thinking that he or she is taking one course of action when quite a different course has been charted.  
  In such a case, the "information" given to the PCs might be worthless. 
   
   
  Skáld meet at the market seeking new adventures. 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 175 
   
  2.3  Poisons 
   
  Many RPGs offers lists of real, fictitious or both kinds of poisons, define an effect, give the victim's DL to escape all 
  or part of the poison's effect and then go on to the next poison definition. 
   
  Dungeons Daring implements a system for defining the effects of poison that attempts to approach the working of 
  real poisons in the real world.  Some people in the real world can survive usually deadly poisons, but anyone who is 
  poisoned with more than a miniscule dose of a toxin usually takes some kind of damage from it.  That's the case 
  with most poisons in a Dungeons Daring campaign too.  The only way for a victim of poisoning to completely evade 
  all effects of a toxin is through an antidote or magic. 
   
  In deciding which poisons you might wish to use in your campaign, you need to use the basic encounter rules 
  described earlier in this chapter, applying them to toxins.  Contact with poison also is considered to be an encounter 
  in Dungeons Daring.  Every toxin has an Encounter Level, and you can decide which poisons are appropriate for 
  encounters with your PC party by comparing the PC party's Effective Character Level with the toxin's Encounter 
  Level.  The two tables in Section IV.2.1 Encounters show you the acceptable spread of poison encounter levels for 
  your party. 
   
  Anytime a living creature is poisoned, it must make a Stamina check against the DL of the poison.  If the victim 
  succeeds, he or she takes damage per Encounter Level of most toxins.  Some special mild poisons may cause 
  damage or another effect upon a successful Stamina check.  If the PC fails in his or her Stamina check, he or she 
  sustains this damage and also the ultimate effect of the poison, which may be sleep, unconsciousness or even 
  death, among other things. 
   
  The Encounter Level of a toxin indicates the strength of its dosage.  Because some poisons are more powerful than 
  others, not all of them begin at Encounter Level 1.  Likewise, only few poisons can achieve a toxicity of Encounter 
  Level 30.  Our tables show the minimum and maximum encounter levels for each poison. 
   
  Our tables define two categories of poison.  Alchemist's poisons are those that are brewed chemically.  Natural 
  poisons are those that are made from organic plant, animal or mutation substances.  Some of these are described 
  in more detail in Section II.4.2.7 A Catalog of Herbs and Herbal Medicines of the Players Guide. 
   
  Here is a key to the following tables: 
   
  • 
  Poison Type:  Identity of the toxin. 
   
  • 
  Stamina DL at Minimum Level:  The DL for the poison at its minimum Encounter Level.  For each additional 
  level, the DL increases by 1. 
   
  • 
  Encounter Level/Minimum:  The weakest possible dosage. 
   
  • 
  Encounter Level/Maximum:  The strongest possible dosage. 
   
  • 
  Base Damage:  The damage caused at the minimum encounter level, regardless of whether the Stamina 
  check succeeds.  This increases by one die for each additional Encounter Level. 
   
  • 
  Ultimate Effect:  The effect when the victim fails his or her Stamina check.  Unless otherwise indicated or in 
  the case of death, listed durations are per Encounter Level of the dosage. 
   
  Alchemist's Poisons 
  Encounter Level 
  Poison Type 
  Stamina DL 
  at Minimum Level 
  Minimum 
  Maximum
  Base Damage 
  Ultimate Effect 
  Lethal Poison 
  14 
  3 
  20 
  1d8 
  Death 
  Knockout Poison 
  11 
  2 
  15 
  1d6 
  10 minutes 
  unconsciousness 
  Sleep Poison 
  10 
  1 
  10 
  1d4 
  10 minutes sleep 
  Nausea Poison 
  10 
  1 
  10 
  1d6 
  2 hours nauseous 
  Blinding Poison 
  13 
  3 
  15 
  1d6 
  1 hour blinded 
  Paralyzing Toxin 
  12 
  2 
  15 
  1d8 
  10 minutes paralyzed 
  Coughing Poison 
  10 
  1 
  6 
  None 
  10 minutes coughing fit 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 176 
   
  Natural Poisons 
  Encounter Level 
  Poison Type 
  Stamina DL 
  at Minimum Level 
  Minimum 
  Maximum
  Base 
  Damage* 
  Ultimate Effect 
  Autumn Crocus 
  13 
  4 
  20 
  1d6/Nausea 
  Death in 2d4 days 
  Belladonna 
  26 
  15 
  25 
  1d8/Nausea 
  Death in 1d4 hours 
  Cranberry 
  Snowball 
  12 
  3 
  20 
  1d6/Nausea 
  Death in 3d4 days 
  Death Cap 
  Toadstool 
  30 
  21 
  28 
  3d8/Nausea 
  Death, See Players Guide 
  description 
  Dragon Blood 
  39 
  30 
  30 
  4d8/Nausea 
  Instant Death 
  Demon/Devil 
  Blood 
  39 
  30 
  30 
  4d8/Nausea 
  Instant Death 
  Elderberries 
  10 
  1 
  4 
  None 
  Nausea 1d6 hours 
  Fly Argaric 
  Toadstool 
  17 
  8 
  20 
  1d4/Nausea 
  Hallucinations 
  Coma, Death at Encounter 
  Level 12 or higher 
  Foxglove 
  14 
  5 
  15 
  1d6/Nausea, 
  Diarrhea 
  Heart stop, Death at 
  Encounter Lvl 12 or higher 
  Holly Berries 
  12 
  3 
  10 
  1d6/Nausea 
  Death at Encounter Lvl 10 
  Monkshood 
  34 
  25 
  30 
  4d8/Nausea 
  Death, See Players Guide 
  description 
  Spindle Tree 
  14 
  5 
  15 
  2d4/Vomit, 
  Short Breath 
  Unconsciousness, from 
  Encounter Lvl 12 Death 
  Venom** 
  13 
  4 
  16 
  1d8/ 
  Unconscious 
  Unconsciousness, from 
  Encounter Lvl 13 Death 
  * Additional effects are in hours per Encounter Level     ** Includes all animal poisons such as snake venom, lethal spider bite, etc. 
   
   
  2.4  Traps 
   
  In Dungeons Daring, traps also are considered to be encounters.  In deciding which traps you might wish to use in 
  your campaign, you need to use the basic encounter rules described earlier in this chapter, applying them to traps.  
  Every trap has an Encounter Level.  You should decide which traps are appropriate for encounters with your PC 
  party by comparing the PC party's Effective Character Level with the trap's Encounter Level.  The two tables in 
  Section IV.2.1 Encounters show you the acceptable spread of trap encounter levels for your party. 
   
  In general: 
   
  • 
  The damage done by most traps is decided with the d8 die. 
   
  • 
  A trap of the 1st Encounter Level usually causes 1d8 damage, a trap of the 2nd level 2d8, etc., until the 
  maximum of the 30th Encounter level is reached at 30d8 damage.  Magical traps add the Magic/Spell point 
  expenditure to the base Encounter Level with mixed traps und use the Magic/Spell point expenditure as the 
  base Encounter Level for purely magical traps. 
   
  • 
  The DL for the Talent skills Search (mechanical traps), Sense Traps (magical traps) and Enable/Disable 
  Device is 10 for 1st Encounter Level traps, 11 for 2nd level, etc., until the maximum of the 30th Encounter level 
  is reached at DL 39.  The DL is calculated by adding 9 to the Encounter Level of the trap. 
   
  • 
  Setting or resetting a mechanical trap requires a successful Enable/Disable Device check against the trap's 
  DL.  Failure means that the trap has been triggered.  The original magic must be repeated to reset a magical 
  trap. 
   
  • 
  Enhancements, such as multiple attacks, poison, magical effects, etc., increase the Encounter Level of the 
  trap by the Encounter Level of the poison or the Magic/Spell Point cost of the magic.  A multiple attack 
  increases the Encounter Level by +1 for every additional 1d8 damage that the multiple attacks can do. 
   
  • 
  Anytime it is physically possible for a potential victim of a trap to dodge it, he or she is entitled to make a 
  Dexterity check against the trap's DL to determine whether the dodge succeeds. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 177 
   
  Like NPCs that may be encountered, traps always are defined with a statistical block that contains the information 
  on how the trap functions: 
   
  Trap Name 
  Encounter Level:  1 to 30 
  Difficulty Level:  10 to 39, equals Encounter Level +9.  Some traps must make attack checks to hit. 
  Attack bonus:  (where applicable):  +1 per Encounter Level. 
  Damage:  Usually 1d8 per Encounter Level 
  Trap type:  Magical or Mechanical 
  Trigger type:  Contact and delayed for mechanical traps, magical for magical traps 
  Temporary disabling:  Lock, bar or magical. 
  Enhancement:  Mechanical:  Poison, multiple attacks, magical effects. 
  Trap Description:  Full details of the trap's location and function. 
   
   
  Definitions 
   
  Attack Bonus:  When a trap attacks with a hidden blade, darts, arrows, etc., the trap must make a normal attack 
  against the victim's Reflex defense.  However, if the victim is wearing no armor and it is impossible for the trap's 
  weapon to miss the victim, no Armor Defense check is necessary.  A victim wearing armor always has the chance 
  that the weapons will not penetrate the armor.  The attack must also be sufficient to overcome the Armor Defense. 
   
  Trigger Type/Mechanical:  All mechanical traps are triggered by contact with a trap element.  Some mechanical 
  traps may contain a mechanism that causes a certain time delay between contact with the triggering element and 
  the actual springing of the trap. 
   
  Trigger Type/Magical:  In setting a magical trap, the magic user often can define a magical trigger.  This can cause 
  the trap to be sprung when one comes within range of it, when a sound is made, when a symbol is read or seen, 
  when a spell condition is fulfilled, etc. 
   
  Temporary Disabling:  It's often necessary for the person who sets a trap to have a means for passing it him- or 
  herself.  With magical traps, this is a matter of the magical formulation used in creating the trap.  Mechanical traps 
  usually can be disabled temporarily by locking them or by building them with a barring element that prevents the 
  trap from being sprung.  When a creature confronts a mechanical trap with a disabling device, it can choose 
  between disabling the trap completely (Enable/Disable Device check) or using the temporary disabling mechanism 
  (Open Locks check).  Temporary disabling methods often are hidden.  To find them, a creature must search 
  separately for them and make a separate Search check to find them.  They use the same DL as the trap. 
   
  Enhancement:  Many mechanical traps not only cause normal mechanical damage but also are enhanced to cause 
  additional damage through poison or magic.  Others are multi-traps; instead of releasing one damaging item, they 
  can release two or more, each causing its own damage.  If a victim is hit by a trap with multiple effects, it suffers the 
  physical damage of each effect.  It also must make separate Endurance checks for poison, and it can be subjected 
  to attack rules against various defenses for spell-like attacks. 
   
   
  Magical Traps 
   
  There are no general descriptions for magical traps.  They are individual inventions of the magic users who make 
  them, or they are spells that are, in effect, traps in their own right.  Many trapping spells require their caster to make 
  a spell attack against one of the intended victim's defenses.  This requirement and the results that can come from 
  the check are an inherent part of the magical traps that might be made using such spells. 
   
  The following spells, songs, diction and rites are among those that can be used to create magical traps or that 
  constitute magical traps in their own right.  Other spells also can be used in the proper formulations. 
   
  Acid Cloud 
  Animate Objects 
  Balls of Fire 
  Blindness 
  Choking Smoke Cloud 
  Confusion 
  Deafness 
  Destruction 
  Disintegration 
  Disjunction 
  Doze 
  Fear 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 178 
   
  Fire Trap 
  Fireball 
  Firebolt 
  Icebolt 
  Iceball 
  Illusion 
  Illusion, Aural 
  Illusion, Full 
  Implosion 
  Imprison Soul or Spirit 
  Instant Death 
  Killer Cloud 
  Life Drain 
  Life Theft 
  Massive Frog Conversion 
  Mirage 
  Nauseating Cloud 
  Paralysis 
  Repel Elves 
  Repel Iron 
  Shattering Sound 
  Silence 
  Slay 
  Slay Undead 
  Sleep 
  Slow 
  Song of Oblivion 
  Soul Cage 
  Spell Drain 
  Trigger 
  Ward 
  Ward, Greater 
  Ward, Permanent 
   
   
  Mechanical Traps 
   
  There are many kinds of mechanical traps.  Some of them are hand made while others can be manufactured.  
  There also are structural traps, such as floor pressure plates that release the trap's attacks.  Giant mountain lairs 
  and subterranean dwarven halls and other dwarven constructions often have structural traps.  These are structures 
  with keystones and the like that can be removed to make a structure collapse when there is a certain amount of 
  pressure on it.  When the dwarves wish to move across or through the triggering area without danger, they simply 
  see to it that the keystone or missing element is back in its proper place.  The traps of giants usually are less 
  refined. 
   
  Dwarven structural traps have a DL bonus of +10 if the creature seeking them is not dwarven, unless the person 
  has the skill Sense Traps of the Talent Perception (but not of the Talent Skullduggery).  Dwarves can find such 
  traps with the skills Search or Sense Traps, regardless of the Talent from which they stem.  Giants' traps can be 
  found with normal trap-seeking methods and DCs.  Dwarven structural traps also can be enhanced with dwarven 
  rune magic.  Giants' traps can be enhanced with either conventional sorcerers' magic or runic magic. 
   
  The following table is not intended as an exclusive list of official Dungeons Daring traps.  Rather, it is intended as a 
  guideline for developing your own traps for your adventures or for the conversion of traps in adventures written for 
  other RPG game systems. 
   
  Possible Mechanical Traps 
  Trap 
  Minimum Encounter 
  Level/DL* 
  Maximum Encounter 
  Level/DL* 
  Base Damage 
  Base Attack Roll 
  Possible 
  Enhancement 
  Description 
  Hidden arrow with pressure 
  plate trigger 
  1 
  10 
  1d6 
  +1 
  Poison 
  Shoots one arrow per Encounter Level.  
  With Encounter Level +3 automatically 
  reloads 1 arrow per base Encounter 
  Level to attack additional targets. 
  Trapdoor with spiked pit and 
  pressure plate trigger 
  1 
  10 
  1d8 
  +1 
  Poison 
  One 1d8 spike per Encounter Level, drop 
  3ft/90cm. 
  Portcullis trap with pressure 
  plate trigger 
  1 
  10 
  1d8 
  +1 
  Poison 
  Barred metal gate drops from portcullis. 
  Scythe trap with pressure 
  plate trigger  
  1 
  1 
  1d8 
  +1 
  Poison 
  A scythe drops from a wall crevice.  Only 
  one blade drops.  Search DL reduced by 
  -2 
  Rolling rock trap with 
  pressure plate trigger 
  1 
  10 
  1d8 
  +1 
  Magic 
  One rock rolls down chute per Encounter 
  Level.  With Encounter Level +2 
  automatic release of only one rock at a 
  time with automatic reset to attack 
  additional targets. 
  * The DL always equals the Encounter Level + 9. 
  ** Roll at minimum Encounter Level, +1 per each additional Encounter Level. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 179 
   
  Possible Mechanical Traps 
  Trap 
  Minimum Encounter 
  Level/DL* 
  Maximum Encounter 
  Level/DL* 
  Base Damage 
  Base Attack Roll** 
  Possible 
  Enhancement 
  Description 
  Hidden spear with pressure 
  plate trigger 
  1 
  10 
  1d8 
  +1 
  Poison 
  Shoots one spear per Encounter Level.  
  With Encounter Level +3 automatically 
  reloads 1 spear per base Encounter 
  Level to attack additional targets. 
  Needle Trap, pressure plate 
  or trip wire trigger 
  1 
  30 
  0 
  +1 
  Poison 
  Damage is dependent upon poison. 
  Ceiling stone drop with 
  pressure plate trigger 
  2 
  15 
  1d8+ 
  1d8 
  per 
  100ft
  /30m 
  +2 
  - 
  Drops one stone or brick from the ceiling 
  per Encounter Level.  Calculate as 
  ranged attack with range increment 
  100ft/30m.  Dodge DL -2 at 200ft/60m 
  range and -5 at 300ft/90m range. 
  Large Net Trap with 
  pressure plate trigger 
  2 
  10 
  0 
  +2 
  - 
  Drops a net from the ceiling.  Calculate 
  as ranged attack with range increment 
  100ft/30m.  Dodge DL -2 at 200ft/60m 
  range and -5 at 300ft/90m range. 
  Ceiling Pendulum with 
  pressure plate trigger 
  3 
  20 
  1d8 
  +3 
  - 
  Search necessary only for trigger if the 
  pendulum is still.  The pendulum, which 
  reaches from the ceiling almost to the 
  floor, always is visible. 
  Collapsing Column with 
  pressure plate trigger 
  4 
  20 
  1d8 
  +3 
  - 
  The column always is visible.  One must 
  be within 3ft/90cm of it to detect signs of 
  a trap.  Dwarves often use several 
  pressure plate triggers. 
  Flooded room trap with 
  pressure plate trigger 
  5 
  25 
  0 
  - 
  Magic 
  Trigger shuts and locks doors and floods 
  room with water.  Damage is drowning. 
  Falling block trap with 
  pressure plate trigger 
  5 
  25 
  1d12 
  +d12 
  per 
  100ft
  /30m 
  +5 
  - 
  Drops a stone block from the ceiling 
  weighing 30lbs/15kg per Encounter 
  Level.  Calculate as ranged attack with 
  range increment 200ft/60m.  Dodge DL -
  2 at 400ft/120m range and -5 at 
  800ft/240m range. 
  Collapsing Wall with 
  pressure plate trigger 
  6 
  25 
  2d8 
  per 
  sq. 
  yd/m 
  wall 
  +6 
  - 
  Collapses a wall at 1 square yard/meter 
  per Encounter Level.  Calculate as 
  ranged attack with range increment 
  10ft/3m.  Dodge DL -2 at 20ft/6m range 
  and -5 at 30ft/9m range. 
  Compacting room with 
  pressure plate trigger 
  7 
  30 
  dead 
  - 
  Magic 
  Causes the room to compact, eventually 
  squashing everything in it to death. 
  Collapsing Ceiling with 
  pressure plate trigger 
  10 
  30 
  1d8 
  +10 
  Magic 
  Collapses the ceiling to collapse.  If there 
  is a dodge possibility, calculate as 
  ranged attack with range increment 
  10ft/3m.  Dodge DL -2 at 20ft/6m range 
  and -5 at 30ft/9m range. 
  Collapsing Building with 
  pressure plate trigger 
  15 
  30 
  1d8 
  +15 
  Magic 
  As collapsing ceiling, but all ceiling and 
  walls collapse simultaneously. 
  Floor pit trap with pressure 
  plate trigger 
  15 
  30 
  1d8+ 
  1d8 
  +15 
  Magic 
  1d8 floor collapse damage + 1d8 
  damage per spike per Encounter Level 
  per square yard/meter. 
  * The DL always equals the Encounter Level + 9. 
  ** Roll at minimum Encounter Level, +1 per each additional Encounter Level. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 180 
   
  Employing traps 
   
  Once you decide to place a trap somewhere in your campaign, you should start out by doing a statistical block as 
  described a few pages back.  You need to develop more information about your specific trap, however, than that 
  which we've listed in the Descriptions column of the Possible Mechanical Traps table.  There are a number of things 
  that you need to know about your trap to make it work properly in your adventure.  And remember that as your PCs 
  start searching for, finding and then trying to disarm traps, they are going to be asking you for a lot of detail on what 
  they are seeing.  Here are some points that you need to answer: 
   
  • 
  Exactly where is the trap? 
   
  • 
  Exactly what area will be affected by it if it is triggered? 
   
  • 
  Will any or all PCs have enough room and perhaps time to dodge the trap? 
   
  • 
  If a PC finds the trap and tries to disarm it, what does he or she see? 
   
  • 
  Exactly what kind of mechanism does the trap have to trigger it? 
   
  • 
  How does it look? 
   
   
  2.5  Overland Challenges 
   
  Anytime the PCs are above ground and in the great outdoors, they face all kinds of potential problems and 
  uncertainties.  Most of them can make your adventure more interesting, and some of them make valid tools to get 
  your PCs back on the track of your adventure if they're traveling off of it. 
   
  One of the first things on your priority list in overland adventuring should be to insist that what the PCs say they will 
  do is realistic and possible.  Let's look at an example.  A favorite ploy of PCs' players is to tell the game master, 
  We'll ride (or walk) on through the night.  In most cases, your answer (silently, to yourself) should be, Not by the hair 
  of my chinny chin chin! 
   
  In the age in which your PCs are on the road, they're not heading west on Interstate 10 to Los Angeles with their 
  high beams on.  Nor are they racing east of Munich on the A8 Autobahn to Salzburg with the headlights of their 
  Porsche lighting the way.  In the age in which they're traveling, they're on a lousy dirt road at best, one filled with 
  potholes and possibly rutted by wagon traffic. 
   
  If they're walking and there's a bright full moon, they probably can go on successfully at half tempo, leading their 
  horses, if they have any.  However, there are only a few days of full moon each month, and in some months, there 
  will be no moonlight from the full moon because the sky is overcast.  With the black sky of a new moon, where only 
  stars twinkle in the sky, or by a heavy overcast, the PCs can see almost nothing. 
   
  Of course, they can light torches and proceed slowly, but that will tip their presence to all hungry animals and 
  beasts in the area as well as to evil NPCs and mutations.  They're begging for foes that they cannot see but who 
  can see them to ambush them.  These same animals and NPCs may think thrice about attacking a band of 
  adventurers that the dares the outdoors at night and has enough courage to light a campfire.  Such folks usually 
  know how to set a guard and how to defend themselves.  They might even have set traps for intruders. 
   
  On the other hand, if the PCs do go on when they can see nothing, they're bound to trip now and then, and sooner 
  or later, one or more will injure themselves in a fall.  Sometimes even worse, a horse will fall and be lamed.  Unless 
  the PCs are traveling with magical horse medicine, the animal will not be able to go on.  The commotion that often 
  results from a fall, particularly the fall and injury of a horse, also may draw hungry animals or enemies. 
   
  However, the thoughtlessness with which PCs want to travel through the night may not be all their fault.  It's your job 
  as game master to paint a clear picture of what they see and then convey that picture to the PCs' players.  It's your 
  job to make them understand how dangerous the road is upon which they're traveling and also how dark it is, what 
  the weather conditions are, etc.  The times of sunrise and sunset often are of vital importance to adventurers.  It's 
  your job to make sure they know when it will get dark and what the time is. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 181 
   
   
  The winter road … beautiful but treacherous. 
  Product Identity 
   
   
  January (1) 
  Date - Sunrise/ 
  Sunset - AM/PM 
   
  Weather Summary 
  26 
  SR: 7.56 SS: 5.01 
  Partly cloudy, calm, High 13°F/-11°C, low 8°F/-13°C, snow cover 47 inches/117.5 cm 
  27 
  SR: 7.55 SS: 5.03 
  Clear, calm, High 16°F/-9°C, low 0°F/-18°C, snow cover 46 inches/115 cm 
  28 – Full Moon � 
  SR: 7.54 SS: 5.04 
  Clear, calm, High 22°F/-6°C, low 16°F/-9°C, snow cover 45 inches/112.5 cm 
  29 
  SR: 7.53 SS: 5,06 
  Clear, calm, High 27°F/-3°C, low 24°F/-4°C, snow cover 44 inches/110 cm 
  30 
  SR: 7.51 SS: 5.07 
  Clear, calm, High 32°F/0°C, low 29°F/-2°C, snow cover 43 inches/107.5 cm 
  31 
  SR: 7.50 SS: 5.09 
  Clear, calm, High 34°F/2°C, low -30°F/-1°C, snow cover 43 inches/107.5 cm 
  Six days in January from a sample campaign 
  Open Game Content 
   
   
  Many adventures include calendars for 12 months or more that contain the kind of information shown in the sample 
  calendar above.  If one isn't provided with the adventure or if you're writing your own adventure, you should provide 
  one.  It's an important tool. 
   
  While discussing calendars, it might also be good to mention that adventurers often take the deep winter off and 
  use it for training and/or resting.  They also might take on winter work as guards or even an early version of 
  detectives in a town or city until spring comes.  Some adventurers who want no rest plan the winters for the 
  exploration of subterranean dungeons that might keep them busy until spring, but if your PCs choose to do that, 
  make sure that they explain to you how they keep themselves fed in the four or five months that they plan to spend 
  dungeoneering. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 182 
   
  Some inexperienced PCs are foolish enough to try to continue doing overland adventuring in cold winter months.  
  You should see to it that they learn quickly that this is the most dangerous time of year to be on the road.  Not only 
  do they face all of the perils that are there in summer, but they also have to deal with very short days and very long 
  nights.  Gathering enough dry wood to keep a campfire going through a 15-hour night in a snow-filled landscape is 
  as good as impossible. 
   
  In addition, in winter they have to wear heavy, warm clothing, which reduces their Dexterity, they need to pack 
  much more and they need to be able to change clothing in case they get wet.  Remember too that wet clothing 
  won't dry if it's frozen solid. 
   
  Whatever you do, don't be the kind of sucker some game systems would have you be and make all kinds of silly 
  magic available to your PCs to relieve them of winter's burdens or to feed them when they go where there's nothing 
  to eat.  An adventure and success at the end of it are most enjoyed when the PCs have endured hardship and diffi-
  culties.  They also should endure the hardship and difficulties that the world itself has created for them.  After all, 
  that's a part of the adventure! 
   
  Let's look next at individual aspects of overland adventuring and then some ideas on how you, as a game master, 
  not only can deal with them but also make them come to life in your campaign. 
   
   
   
  2.5.1  Streets, Roads, Trails and Paths 
   
  This is the point where we can dispel unwanted visions of Interstate Highways and the German Autobahn system 
  from our preconceptions when entering our RPG world. 
   
   
   
  City cobblestone, left, and a typical road near a city, right 
  Product Identity 
   
  • 
  Streets are found in settlements, from the smallest up to cities.  The majority of the streets that we'll 
  encounter are simply a variation on dirt roads.  They're made of mud, that is, they consist of bare earth.  The 
  soil is bare because one walks and rides upon it too often for grass to grow.  Main thoroughfares in cities, 
  many towns and even some well-to-do villages are made of cobblestones.  City streets usually vary between 
  8 and 30ft/240 cm and 9m in width.  Narrower streets usually are called alleys or lanes. 
   
  • 
  Roads run outside of settlements, connecting to streets when they meet a settlement, village, town or city.  
  Roads usually are thoroughfares made of mud (see the picture, upper left, on the following page).  When they 
  get very near to a prosperous village, a town or a city, roads might instead be a two-rut track with the ruts 
  filled with gravel to keep the roadbed relatively smooth and free of potholes (see the picture, right, above).  In 
  the countryside and the wilderness, roads have little substance.  They tend to vary in width between 10ft/3m 
  and 6ft/180cm.  The closer the road is to a settlement, the wider it tends to be. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 183 
   
   
   
  Typical overland dirt road, left above, a prairie track, right above, and forest trails, below 
  Product Identity 
   
   
   
   
  • 
  Trails are narrower cousins of roads.  They tend to be in areas where there is a lower level of traffic than in 
  those with roads.  Trails seldom leave room for two to ride abreast, although two to three people usually can 
  walk next to one another upon them.  As one follows a trail, its quality tends to be irregular.  In areas where 
  the terrain is hard or where its usage is heavier, a trail may be just as flat as a dirt street in a city.  In other 
  places, where there are many large rocks and boulders or thick brush, trails may be pinched to the width of a 
  path.  In some places, where a trail hits a low point and tends often to stand in water or be mucky, one often 
  can find not only the trail but also three or four paths that attempt to detour around the problem area.  Trails 
  tend to be 4 to 7ft/120 to 210cm wide. 
   
  • 
  Paths really should be understood to be footpaths at the most.  They aren't suited for riding a horse, and 
  many are too narrow and grown in by brush or pinched by boulders to make it possible to lead a horse along 
  them.  Some paths are made by the usage of creatures that live or lair along them, and their purpose really is 
  to be footpaths.  Most, however, are so-called deer paths.  These are paths made by deer, boar and other 
  wild animals.  They can lead clearly over some distance and then suddenly seem to end in the middle of 
  nowhere.  These seeming end points actually are path junctions, where animals tend to go off in different 
  directions without making clear paths in any of them.  Rangers can find these continuations, but they offer 
  adventurers no useful trail.  Paths seldom are 3ft/90cm wide, and they can narrow to less than a foot/30cm. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 184 
   
  • 
  Pathless Travel:  This point really is outside the described category, but it relates well to it.  Sometimes your 
  PCs need to travel where there are no roads, trails or paths.  That's not necessarily a problem if they're 
  crossing open plains or a prairie, but in most other landscapes, traveling without at least a path is prob-
  lematical to say the least.  It becomes a critical problem if the PCs are without a reliable map and have 
  gained no expert knowledge of the lands before them.  On such a journey, it often can be foolish to take 
  along riding or pack animals.  The party may come to a point where the animals can't go on.  The PCs then 
  will face the choice between turning back or abandoning their animals.  If they are using a pack animal, that 
  probably also will mean abandoning most of the possessions that the animal is carrying. 
   
  As we can see, roads, trails and paths and their conditions as well as the lack of any kind of path can have a rather 
  substantial effect upon your adventure and the PC party that's on that adventure.  For that reason, these conditions 
  also can offer you as a game master valuable tools with which you can steer your adventure in the directions you 
  wish without pulling your PCs around by their noses. 
   
  If the PCs are going the "wrong" way, you can make travel in that direction extremely difficult.  At the latest, when 
  the PCs reach the point where they have to abandon their animals (if they have any), they usually will reconsider 
  their choices and pick another direction.  If you suspect in advance that the PCs might go astray, you can help them 
  find the "right" path by seeing they have a bit of advance information on what territory is ahead of them.  When they 
  find they're in totally different country, they'll change their minds easier.  
   
   
   
   
  Dangerous road with ruts, left; Rangers' footpath, center, and deer path, right 
  Product Identity 
   
   
  2.5.2  Forests 
   
  There are many ways to categorize forests in terms of their effects upon RPGs.  Let's look at some of them: 
   
  • 
  Evergreen Conifer:  The forest has predominantly yew, spruce, pine and/or fir trees.  It is darker most of the 
  year than mixed and deciduous forests.  The forest floor has better wind protection than in other forests.  
  Natural (not planted) evergreen forests tend to be in northern areas.  Usually such forests are relatively thick 
  and have little ground vegetation. 
   
  • 
  Mixed Northern:  The forest has a more or less balanced evergreen conifer and deciduous trees that lose 
  their leaves in winter.  The evergreen conifers tend to offer some wind protection even in deep winter.  Forest 
  floors are relatively clean, although there may be patches of brambles and high grass.  Natural mixed 
  northern forests usually are found only on the borderlines between cold and temperate regions. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 185 
   
  • 
  Deciduous:  The forest has predominantly deciduous trees that lose their leaves in winter.  The rustling of 
  the leaves can make it difficult to hear in the summer wind, but wind protection is good.  In winter, there is 
  little protection from the wind, but sunlight penetrates well.  The undergrowth in most deciduous forests 
  consists of relatively small plants that hinder travel little.  Natural deciduous forests often include wild nut and 
  fruit trees which can provide travelers with seasonal nourishments.  Wild berries also thrive on the edges of 
  them.  Such forests predominate in temperate areas. 
   
  • 
  Mixed Southern:  The forest has a more or less balanced deciduous and broad-leafed evergreen trees.  The 
  leafed evergreens tend to offer some wind protection even when the deciduous trees are bare.  Forest floors 
  often have large patches of high grass and undergrowth up to a yard/meter high.  Passage can be difficult 
  and slow.  Natural mixed southern forests usually are found only on the borderlines between tropical and 
  temperate regions. 
   
  • 
  Broad-Leafed Evergreen:  The forest has predominantly broad-leafed evergreen trees.  Most such woods 
  are jungles and/or rain forests.  Wind protection is good, but the thick and lush undergrowth makes passage 
  all but impossible.  A machete is standard equipment for passage away from the trails in such a forest.  Such 
  forests are found only in tropical areas.  They often have wild tropical fruit trees and berries which can 
  provide adventurers with nourishment.  They also are home to many venomous and vicious beasts. 
   
   
   
   
   
  Forests by Density 
   
  • 
  Thin Forests usually have a separation of 2 yards/meters or more between tree trunks.  Only evergreen 
  conifer, mixed northern and deciduous forests tend to be thin.  They have little or no undergrowth, but fallen 
  branches on the forest floor often can impede movement through them.  Branches, sticks, etc., usually cover 
  so much of the forest floor that it's very difficult to move unheard through them.  In such forests, Sneak 
  checks have a +10 penalty when there is no wind.  There is no penalty when the wind is strong in an 
  evergreen conifer forest, and with strong wind, there is a bonus of 5% in mixed northern and 10% in 
  deciduous forests on Sneak checks.  Persons, mounts and pack animals can move through a thin forest at 
  50% their normal tempo if they aren't making a concentrated effort to Sneak.  Visibility in a thin forest usually 
  ranges between 81 and 100 feet (1d20+80) or 25 to 30m (1d6+24).  All established and natural evergreen 
  conifer, mixed northern and deciduous forests are thin forests. 
   
  • 
  Medium Density Forests are, at least to a certain extent, unnatural forests.  They are younger forests and 
  therefore are not natural virgin timber.  Young forests either were planted or seeded naturally after the 
  destruction of an earlier forest.  Such destruction can, of course, have resulted from logging operations or in 
  the harvest of firewood, if the area's not too large.  It also can have occurred as a result of forest fires, storms 
  or the like.  The main point is that the virgin forest is gone and younger wood is replacing it.  The result is that 
  many trees, with still thin to medium trunks, stand less than a yard/meter apart.  Because the forest neither 
  has been thinned nor has it thinned itself, many small branches are scattered across the ground making it 
  difficult to Sneak.  In such forests, Sneak checks have a +10 penalty when there is no wind.  There is no 
  penalty when the wind is strong in a medium density evergreen conifer forest, and there is a strong wind 
  bonus of 5% in medium density mixed northern and 10% in medium density deciduous forests on Sneak 
  checks.  Persons, mounts and pack animals can move through a medium density forest of non-conifers at 
  10% their normal tempo and through a medium density forest with at least 50% conifers at 5% their normal 
  tempo.  Visibility in a medium density forest usually ranges between 31 and 50 feet (1d20+30) or 10 to 15m 
  (1d6+9). 
   
  • 
  Dense Forests either are young conifer forests, unthinned and less than 20 years old, or jungles.  Young 
  conifer forests often are planted with trees less than 18 inches/45cm apart.  By the time they reach the age of 
  10, they usually will have been thinned and then become medium density forests.  Jungles wax densely in 
  the rainy tropics and are filled with lush undergrowth.  Both kinds of dense forests are impossible to pass 
  without cutting a path, which makes Sneak efforts impossible without magical help.  Cutting one's way 
  through a dense forest usually limits the tempo to about a mile/1.6km daily.  Visibility in a dense forest usually 
  ranges between 11 and 20 feet (1d20+10) or 3 to 6m (1d4+2). 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 186 
   
  Fantasy Forests 
   
  In the real world, forests evolved from stands of primeval trees into the modern life forms that we know today.  Only 
  two known descendants of the early generations of trees survive today, the Gingko and the Wollemi Pine (not a true 
  pine) of Australia.  In the second generation, much of the northern part of our world was covered with yews, the first 
  of the conifers.  When men began cutting forests, the yew receded, although yews still are among us today. 
   
  Dungeons Daring takes a somewhat similar approach to forests.  The Dungeons Daring concept includes partly 
  sentient forests, a theme more broadly described in Book 3, the Creature Guide.  We'll discuss it briefly here in 
  order that you can examine it and decide whether it fits into your campaign concepts or whether you might wish to 
  modify this concept to suit your needs.  If you wish to take a different approach, you basically need only to eliminate 
  or modify two official Dungeons Daring creatures, the tree herder and the elven tree. 
   
  Dungeons Daring forests are based closely upon the concepts used in the Jörðgarð™ World made for the 
  Dungeons Daring game.  In this concept, there are three forest generations: 
   
  • 
  The first generation, somewhat like the primeval trees of our own world, was made by a creator race. 
   
  • 
  When the light elves came into the world, the creator race gave them the responsibility for the husbandry of 
  the forests.  The elves hybridized the many trees of this second generation, most of which still are in the 
  gaming world today. 
   
  • 
  The third born, the humans, are not yet advanced enough to understand plant hybridization (in contrast to 
  humans of the real, modern world).  But they have cleared large areas of second generation forest for their 
  settlements, farming lands and for timber and firewood.  In the latter case, older and slower growing trees, 
  above all yews, but to a certain extent even oaks and beeches, have vanished from many areas and have 
  been replaced by faster growing trees like pines, fir and spruces which the humans have planted. 
   
  This concept will have some effects upon your campaign.  Dungeons Daring envisions a world with two types of 
  forest that provide contrasting adventuring experiences: 
   
  There still are the so-called elven woods.  Rather than elves, these forests today are tended mainly by Rangers, 
  Green Druids and Nature Druids, above all those of half-elven blood.  However, these woods, great stands of 
  ancient oaks and beeches in some areas, of yews in others, also still are the home of sentient elven trees and the 
  tree herders who tend them.  Both can be quite dangerous to careless adventurers. 
   
  These two types of woodland creatures are part of an ancient tale.  After the light elves inherited the forests from 
  the creator race, some elves loved the forests so much that they turned from the Light and bound their spirits not 
  with the Darkness but rather with the Balance and its woodlands.  In their earlier years, they retained their elven 
  natures, working as Nature Druids and Rangers in the woodlands.  In these times, they gave birth to the dryads, 
  sprites and nixies that still inhabit many forests and woodland waters.  These also were the years when elven cross-
  breeding produced most of the second generation trees that grace the world at the time period when your PCs are 
  wandering through it. 
   
  Time also brought change to the wood elves, as they called themselves in these pre-human times.  Just as the light 
  elves at times longed for their true nature as stars in the heavens, some of the wood elves yearned to become one 
  with the trees that they were warding.  Gradually, their spirits merged with those of the trees, and they became 
  sentient trees, or Elven Trees as they are named. 
   
  Others, like those light elves who still remain upon the Middle Dimension of the gaming world, were not ready yet to 
  become something else.  Their hearts were with their woodlands, but they remained driven by their duty to tend to 
  the forests, a sense of duty that had grown with the knowledge that many of their brethren had become one with the 
  forest they warded. 
   
  These elves gradually evolved into something other than light elves, just as their brethren who went into the depths 
  became black elves, now known as dwarves.  The wood elves grew tall as the trees they warded.  Their skin 
  became bark, like that of a tree.  With time, branches with leaves even began to grow from their bodies.  And yet, 
  for all of that, they remained unrooted, mobile beings with a voice.  Tree herders, they call themselves, and that is 
  the name that men give them. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 187 
   
   
  Where the ancient yew stands, tree herders and elven trees may be nearby. 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 188 
   
  Tree herders, elven trees and also their relatives, the dryads, sprites and nixies, basically are neutral in respect to 
  questions of Light and Darkness.  The view themselves as being of a general neutral good alignment in their own 
  environment, although humans, from their viewpoint, would tend to view most of these creatures as being neutral 
  and elven trees as being neutral evil. 
   
  Tree herders and elven trees, working together, can indeed be a more formidable foe than the worst of dragons.  In 
  the ancient woods that once listened to the voices of the light elves, the trees could be taught to move.  They also 
  learned to withdraw their outer roots, even their fine hair roots, into their main root system and to use their main 
  roots to walk in a fashion through the ground.  As a result, tree herders can call out to their elven trees to move with 
  them against an enemy if need be.  The elven trees, like sergeants, pass the order on to the normal trees of the 
  wood, and they follow them. 
   
  Tree herders look upon humans for what they are, a young race that still understands little about the world in which 
  it lives or the tender balances that must be preserved for the world to remain healthy.  Most humans do look upon 
  forests as little more than natural resources that are waiting to be mined.  That is indeed what forests are to a 
  certain extent to nature and to the earth mother who planned such things. 
   
  It is in the nature of trees to overproduce, to seed themselves too thickly.  As in many other areas of nature, the 
  forest is a place where only the fittest are intended to survive.  The tree herders know this and the elven trees once 
  knew it, although that knowledge grows somewhat foggy within them now.  Even as light elves were warding the 
  early forests, they also were harvesting them toward the same ends as humans, to gain fuel and building materials. 
   
  Unlike the humans, however, the elves understood that forests grew too thickly, for the forests' own sake, the elves' 
  sake and for the sake of those races yet to be born.  All races that use wood were intended to thin the forests in 
  order that the healthiest trees might grow to their full strength, but to thin a forest well requires an ability to 
  understand which trees should stand and which must fall. 
   
  When humans began coming to the forests, they saw only trees, not forests.  Their saws and axes began felling as 
  many trees as the humans wanted or needed with no regard for maintaining the balance within the wood.  This 
  drew the ire of the tree herders and the wrath of many elven trees.  In some forest areas, human logging teams 
  entered and never returned.  The unwitting loggers found themselves suddenly being crushed to death by very 
  pliable tree branches that stuffed the bodies in the root zones beneath their trunks as fertilizer. 
   
  The tree herders stop such attacks when they are aware of them.  They know that warfare with humans does no 
  service to the forests or to the world in which they stand.  Tree herders are very wary of most humans, but they 
  have built trusting relationships with Nature Druids, Green Druids and Rangers, all of whom continue the traditions 
  and teachings of the light elves in their dealings with the woodlands. 
   
  The tree herders and elven trees left the Light to journey into the forests, where they became one with the Balance, 
  which is allied with the Light in the search for harmony.  In the current era of Dungeons Daring, there is a chance of 
  encounters with tree herders and elven trees at anytime when your PCs enter a forest still dominated by evergreen 
  yews in the North and by ancient oaks, beeches and ashes in temperate zones.  Although unthinking PCs may find 
  themselves in serious trouble in these forests, they have little to fear from the Darkness, because the tree herders 
  and elven trees still ward these woodlands against the servants of evil. 
   
  However, the Darkness certainly has laid its claim to parts of the forests that are younger than tree herders and 
  elven trees or those older forests that they have abandoned.  The Darkness does all in its power to prevent the 
  inhabitants of the gaming world from achieving harmony, but at the same time, it demands its own share of all 
  things, and the forests are no exception. 
   
  In the darkest pockets of many forests, one can find the webs of spider draugs and their keepers, the herder 
  draugs.  Spider draugs are the lowest of all servants of the Darkness although not necessarily the least powerful 
  among them.  As a punishment, the Darkness takes the souls of draugs that have fallen in battle and failed 
  miserably in their missions and places them in the bodies of giant mutated spiders.  These spiders can survive 
  physically only by consuming meat and blood.  Normally their diet consists of forest animals that they trap. 
   
  When they are lucky, human flesh may fall into their traps. However, the spider draugs are not allowed to consume 
  such prey immediately.  When they are tightly woven into the undead forest spiders' webs, human victims are 
  confronted by the spiders' master, a herder draug. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 189 
   
  These fell creatures are fallen intermediate draugs who once were human.  They too failed miserably in their 
  service to the Darkness, and they are being punished by forced service in the spider draugs' domain.  It is their job 
  to convince the spiders' captives to yield and accept transfiguration into undead draugs rather than being eaten 
  alive by the spider draugs.  If the captives refuse, the herder draug departs and allows the spider draugs to have 
  their feast. 
   
  Herder and spider draugs usually fulfill their duties with absolute dedication.  A spider draug has nothing to lose.  It 
  already is as low as a draug can be.  If it is slain, no worse fate awaits it that to be restored again in the body of 
  another mutated spider and to continue on as a spider draug.  Once it has won over enough captives as new 
  draugs for the Darkness, it can be rewarded by being restored as a draug of higher order. 
   
  The conditions are nearly the same for a herder draug, higher only than a spider draug in the hierarchy of the 
  undead.  If it fails, the worse that can happen to its soul is to be restored as a spider draug.  If it succeeds, it can 
  gain a second chance as a draug of higher order.  The absolute lack of fear of destruction by spider draugs and the 
  limited fear of destruction by herder draugs make both determined, dangerous foes. 
   
   
  The Nature of Forests 
   
  Regardless of whether the PCs are in an ancient northern forest filled with yews and populated with tree herders 
  and elven trees or whether they're in a southern mixed forest with evergreen and deciduous broad-leafed trees, 
  they'll find that almost all forests have certain common characteristics.  However, jungles, because of their density, 
  are exceptions in certain cases. 
   
  Forests generally need a reliable water table beneath their surface.  In a landscape with little water, there may be 
  hardy trees but there will be no forests.  If a forest is dominant in deep-rooted trees like oaks and beeches or pines, 
  the water table usually is at a lower level.  If spruces, birches, wild fruit trees and the like are predominant, the water 
  table is likely nearer to the surface. 
   
  Large forests tend to be on rolling if not hilly land.  At higher levels, there usually are springs that produce creeks.  
  These can be the sources of streams that turn into major rivers.  They also can be the sources of small tributaries 
  the flow into rivers.  In some cases, if there are basins with heavy soils, they also might flow into them, forming 
  moors that have outlets only when flooded but that otherwise slowly drain the water into underground bodies of 
  water.  The largest of forests often are cut by rivers that flow from a higher point somewhere into a lower area 
  somewhere else that opens en eventual path to the sea. 
   
  If your band of PCs enters a forest that none or few have entered before them, they well may have to blaze their 
  own trail through the wood or rely, to the extent that they can, upon deer paths.  However, if the forest is one that is 
  used by others, there already will be paths, trails and perhaps roads leading into and through it. 
   
  In general, roads and rivers will avoid smaller forests.  It's easier to ride around a small forest than to clear a road 
  through it.  Riding around a forest gradually creates such a road.  However, if a large forest is in the way of a river, 
  the river probably will cut a path through it.  If a large forest blocks the way between two important destinations, a 
  road will be cut through it. 
   
  The logic of roads and rivers can be carried further.  Still assuming that we're dealing with a large forest that blocks 
  the route between two destinations, the chances are good that both of those destinations are on a river.  If that's the 
  case, you can be certain that the road follows the river on one bank or another.  There are a few reasons that will 
  lead people to choose the river as the path for a road through a forest.  First of all, the river provides an opening in 
  the forest's canopy, which in turn provides light in what otherwise is a dark forest in places. 
   
  Beyond that, however, a road on a river also provides travelers with a partial defense.  If the river is fast enough or 
  deep enough, travelers can vanish into the forest on their own side if they're being attacked by enemies with ranged 
  weapons on the opposite bank. 
   
  Transit through the forest is the main reason for forest roads.  But if you're designing your own adventure and 
  placing a forest in it, you'll probably have trails and paths in the forest too.  Each time you're inclined to put a trail or 
  a path somewhere, you should know why it's there.  If you don't know, don't create the trail or path until you find the 
  answer. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 190 
   
  Forest trails and paths exist because someone or something uses them to go from one place to another.  You 
  should know who or what that is, because your PCs well might stumble upon them or it.  If a trail or path that is in 
  relatively good condition stops in the middle of nowhere for no particular reason, your design probably is faulty.  No 
  one takes the time to cut and tend a trail that has no purpose. 
   
  However, there is one possible exception:  Your PCs might encounter a trail or path that isn't in good condition, one 
  that's somewhat overgrown or that almost vanishes at places.  In this case, you have a trail or path that appears to 
  have gone out of use.  It once led somewhere, but it doesn't necessarily do so anymore.  One of the best examples 
  is in an old logging trail.  It leads to an area where loggers once fell trees, but they completed their work some time 
  ago and moved on to other locations. 
   
  Even in this case, however, if the PCs make a close examination of the site at trail's end, they still should have a fair 
  chance of determining what once was there.  If it was a logging site, there should be old stumps available, and 
  anyone who looks for such things should notice that the trees at that site are younger than those in the surrounding 
  area.  A Ranger, Green Druid or Nature Druid would notice such a thing automatically. 
   
  Here are some examples of reasons for cutting trails or paths into a forest: 
   
  • 
  Roads and trails often lead to current or former logging camps. 
   
  • 
  Hunters maintain a network of paths in forests. 
   
  • 
  Farmers cut heavily used trails into the forests.  In the age modeled, farmers frequently cleared areas in 
  forests for firewood and then made meadows of them where they grazed cows and calves.  These meadows 
  also often had artificial ponds to provide drink for the grazing animals. 
   
  • 
  There may be mines in a forest. 
   
  • 
  In areas with low populations where law enforcement is weak, bandits or beasts may have their own 
  networks of forest trails or paths. 
   
   
  With time, an enemy on foot can cross, but horses must stay behind. 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 191 
   
  2.5.3  Mountains and Hills 
   
  In the Dungeons Daring concept, hills are claimed by all races, while high and desert mountains are the domain of 
  dwarves, giants, orcs and trolls.  Until the recent past, men have avoided them, making incursions only into the 
  border areas just above the foot of the great mountain ranges. 
   
  As in the real world, Dungeons Daring offers no official definition that separates mountains from hills.  In general 
  folk usage, the word mountain is applied to one or a chain of heightened points in the landscape with clearly defined 
  summit points.  Rolling and rounded rises in the landscape, on the other hand, generally are considered to be hills.  
  The word mountain tends to apply to rises of 1,000 ft/300m or more.  Lower rises generally are hills. 
   
  In the Dungeons Daring concept, many of the world's valuable natural resources can be found in mountains and 
  hills.  The knowledge that copper, lead and bituminous coal are abundant in some areas is beginning to draw 
  humans into them.  Bituminous coal is found in some broad mountain valleys where primeval forests stood and then 
  were buried in floods. 
   
  Iron, the bane of elves, and anthracite coal to this date are mined only by dwarves.  Until now, iron has been found 
  only in the depths of the northern and southern mountain ranges.  There they also find that hard and black coal that 
  is all that remains on the primal forests once fashioned by the creator race. 
   
   
  In terms of appearances, mountains could be classified as follows: 
   
  • 
  Arctic mountains:  These are large outcroppings of rock and ice in the polar caps, where the only sentient 
  inhabitants are polar bears, penguins, undead draugs and the like. 
   
  • 
  Alpine mountains:  These are large outcroppings of rock that rise above the treeline and usually cover wide 
  areas of territory.  The highest peaks may be covered year round with snow. 
   
  • 
  Volcanic Mountains:  Basically, these are Alpine mountains that still are volcanically active. 
   
  • 
  Desert Mountains:  These are large outcroppings of rock, but they usually border upon or are in deserts.  
  They have almost no vegetation and relatively little wildlife.  Desert mountains that are on the borderline 
  between high deserts and other terrain types also might be snowcapped year-round. 
   
  • 
  Green Mountains:  These are mountains that are completely below the tree line and are covered with 
  vegetation.  In the Dungeons Daring concept, as in the real world, there is no universal tree line.  It is defined 
  by many weather-related factors.  In the real world, the highest tree line is in the Bolivian Andes at 
  17,000ft/5,200m.  The lowest treeline at 2,600ft/800m is in Sweden.  Most Dungeons Daring mountain ranges 
  have their tree lines at about 7,000ft/2,100m. 
   
  • 
  Middle Mountains:  In most cases, people define middle mountains as those with heights between 2,000 
  and 4000ft/600 and 1,200m.  Most middle mountain ranges are completely forested and below their local tree 
  lines. 
   
  • 
  Low Mountains:  Many people would call low mountains hills, but those that are called mountains usually 
  are rises that cut a distinctive line in their landscapes and that have distinctive ridge lines.  Low mountains 
  always are vegetative.  Most are forested.  Generally, the term low mountain is applied to rises of less than 
  2,000ft/600m. 
   
  • 
  Hills:  These are simple rises in the landscape, with altitudes below 1,000ft/300m.  Low moraines also are a 
  type of hill.  The rises are gentle, often rolling or even rounded, as is the case with moraines.  Ranges of hills 
  often tend to look from above somewhat like the gentle waves of a lake rather than like a series of ridgelines. 
   
  Humans long have populated middle and low mountains, hills and many areas with green mountains.  However, 
  orcs, goblins and in some areas trolls contest their claims.  Giants, orcs and in some places trolls tend to form the 
  main population on the surfaces and in the upper depths of Alpine and volcanic type mountains.  Fire giants 
  dominate desert mountains, although a heat-resistant orc mutation appears to be penetrating these areas. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 192 
   
   
  Above and below the tree lines:  Dwarves, giants, orcs and trolls. 
  Product Identity 
   
   
  Only fire giants can pass the volcanic kettles of the mountains. 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 193 
   
  Adventurers who enter Alpine or volcanic type mountains still are charting new courses in the Dungeons Daring era.  
  There have been human incursions into the mountains, to be sure, and there have even been invasions, but all 
  have been somewhat ill-starred.  Many factors conspire against humans who venture into the heights.  First and 
  foremost is their ignorance of the terrain, a lack of knowledge that gives every foe a distinct advantage. 
   
  Another factor is the set of alliances and tolerances among the human's foes in the mountains.  Only the dwarves of 
  the depths are more or less neutral in regard to humans.  They have no love for the young folk, but dwarves will 
  tolerate humans as long as they remain outside of the dwarves' domains.  On the other hand, dwarves will use all of 
  the axe power and runic magic at their disposal to deal lethally with humans who refuse their orders to leave areas 
  near the gates to their halls, and a human has little chance of survival should they succeed in intruding into the 
  dwarves' subterranean halls. 
   
  The greater threat comes from giants, orcs and trolls.  The two latter races are mutations of the Darkness.  They are 
  mortal enemies of the three human races.  Giants are of more complex alignment.  The giants would view their 
  general racial alignment as being somewhere between neutral good and chaotic good, as far as their dealings with 
  one another are concerned.  But they consider themselves to have been wronged by elves and humans.  They 
  consider both to be their mortal enemies. 
   
  One might expect them to react in the same manner with orcs and trolls, servants of the Darkness who have laid 
  claim to and occupy what once were large parts of the old giant kingdoms in the mountains.  However, the giant 
  chieftains reacted otherwise.  They see the mutations of the Darkness as the enemies of their enemies and have 
  been willing to come to terms with them. 
   
  The giants are a diminishing and fading race.  They lead long lives, but they no longer can reproduce.  They are 
  dying out, very slowly but surely.  The giants have need for ever less territory.  As a result, they negotiated with the 
  orcs in areas where they came, ceding large parts of their mountain domains to them, with both folk agreeing to 
  respect the other's territories.  In areas where the Darkness sent trolls, the giants came to a similar understanding. 
   
   
   
   
   
  Everywhere and anytime, an ambush can be waiting. 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 194 
   
  Humans who attempt to enter high mountains face a plethora of dangers.  They begin already with their direction of 
  travel.  Humans who wish to enter the mountains must start from below them and go upward, automatically giving 
  them the disadvantage of holding the lower ground. 
   
  That's compounded by the fact that most Alpine mountains are heavily forested to the tree line and sometimes have 
  large boulder fields above it.  Both give the humans' foes excellent cover for the ranged attacks they make from 
  their advantaged higher ground. 
   
  Humans who want to force their way into the mountains will not be able to buy or otherwise acquire anything but 
  crude maps.  Although some humans have survived incursions into certain mountain areas and sketched the paths 
  they took, these are without accurate distance measurements and describe only those things that could be seen 
  from the paths that they choose or cut for their ascent. 
   
  No human ever has made a thorough survey of the mountains.  Most information known about them has been 
  gleaned through magical divining, which provides reliable information about specific locations but little information 
  about distances.  One knows, for instance, approximately where some of the major tribal settlements of the giants 
  or orcs are and what is in them, but little information is available about the trails that lead to them or what dangers 
  may be along those trails, such as prepared landslide traps that can be triggered to cause tons of stone to roar 
  down upon intruders. 
   
  Humans also know almost nothing about the smaller giant and orc settlements in the mountains.  Even less is 
  known about the cave-dwelling trolls, and no information is known about the deep-dwelling dwarves, whose 
  mountain halls usually are protected from diviners by powerful runic magic. 
   
  Giants, orcs, trolls and dwarves suffer under no such lack of information.  They know their own territories 
  thoroughly.  They know where the passes and trail lead because they made them.  They know where the traps are 
  because they made them.  And they know almost everything else about their mountain domains because they live 
  there. 
   
  Most of these things apply in desert mountains too, where fire giants and a small but growing number of fire-
  resistant orcs have the say.  Fire giants are, of course, the predominant danger.  They not only can survive the des-
  ert heat; they thrive on it.  The desert orcs like others of their race can ill tolerate sunlight even though they seem 
  able to withstand heat.  They're night walkers in the deserts rather than day farers. 
   
  Human intruders often are reduced to the same level as the orcs.  If they wish to be really active, they need to work 
  at night, when their sight (unlike that of the orcs) fails them.  Even if humans are well-trained and outfitted to survive 
  the desert's heat, they still are at a decided disadvantage when they have to engage in combat or magical duels at 
  temperatures up to 115°F/45°C. 
   
   
  2.5.4  Grasslands, Prairies and Steppes 
   
  All of these landscapes are types of plains, as are some forests.  The basic characteristic of a plain is that it is 
  relatively flat. 
   
   
  Grasslands 
   
  In this category, we find flat to gently rolling landscapes that are covered by non-woody plants, mostly grasses, 
  sedge, rushes and forbs.  After the Pleistocene Ice Ages of the real world, climate changes caused grasslands to 
  become its dominant land feature worldwide.  The world envisioned for Dungeons Daring still is shifting from a 
  forested landscape into one where grasslands are dominant.  However, human clearing of forests and increased 
  grazing is slowly moving the status of grassland toward that of the real world. 
   
  The nature of grassland can vary greatly dependent upon the fertility of the soil and the annual precipitation.  Less 
  fertile and drier grasslands may be host to plants that barely reach an annual height of a foot/30 cm.  Highly fertile, 
  rain-blessed grasslands grow plants that reach heights approaching 10ft/3m. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 195 
   
  Native non-plant life in grasslands tends to be mostly medium- and smaller-sized animal forms small enough to find 
  shelter from predators in the vegetation.  Mutations seldom are found in large grassland areas, although they may 
  enter them to a distance of 10 miles/15km or so from other landscapes such as forests that border upon them.  
  Draugs avoid grasslands because they provide no adequate shelter from the sun. 
   
   
  Prairies 
   
  Prairies are a type of mostly treeless grassland that has a plant culture with deep and interconnected root systems 
  that prevent erosion.  Many prairie areas are arid.  These tend to grow grasses that need little rainfall and wiry 
  brush.  As in most grasslands, native non-plant life in prairies tends to be medium- and smaller-sized animal forms 
  small enough to find shelter from predators in the vegetation.  Except for the short orcs known as goblins, mutations 
  seldom are found on prairies that are more than 10 miles/15km from other areas.  Draugs avoid them as they do 
  other grasslands, because they provide no adequate shelter from the sun. 
   
   
  Steppes 
   
  Although steppes can cover vast territories, they often are an intermediate landscape between high desert and 
  another type of terrain, usually forests or prairies and sometimes both on different sides of the steppe.  There are 
  grassland steppes, shrub steppes and forest steppes.  The landmarks of all steppes is dryness accompanied by 
  high summer temperatures, low winter temperatures and a considerable span between daytime and night 
  temperatures in the warm season.  Except for the short orcs known as goblins, mutations seldom are found on 
  areas of steppes that are more than 10 miles/15km from other areas.  Draugs avoid them because they provide no 
  adequate shelter from the sun. 
   
   
   
  Grasslands yield to forest and mountains in the distance. 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 196 
   
  2.5.5  Deserts 
   
  There are two basically different types of desert, hot and cold.  Cold deserts are called tundra. 
   
   
  Hot Deserts 
   
  One talks about deserts and high deserts, although the latter is not a true geographical or geological entity.  High 
  deserts are in most senses ordinary deserts except for the effects of their altitude, which usually is 2,000ft/600m or 
  higher. 
   
  Deserts experience extremely high daytime temperatures in the summer, with cool nights, due to the lack of 
  humidity.  The highest deserts have moderate and sometimes even truly cold daytime temperatures in the winter 
  months, with extremely cold nights. 
   
  Fire giants are the only sentient creatures who normally make their home in the desert, although they too tend to 
  avoid the higher deserts with their frigid nights and cold winters.  Mutations and draugs avoid deserts, as do most 
  other sentient creatures not native to them.  However, there are some exceptions.  Deserts can be a source of 
  valuable resources.  This is particularly true of the raw mountains of the higher deserts, where settlements can be 
  found where humans brave the temperature extremes for the sake of wealth. 
   
  Most deserts were formed by rain shadows caused by mountains blocking the path of rain or snow.  For the most 
  part, deserts are sandy surfaced landscapes.  Sand dunes, stony surfaces, rock formations and desert mountains 
  make up only a minority of a desert's surfaces.  Little soil and vegetation are the mark of a desert.  Nonetheless, 
  deserts do support certain life structures. 
   
  The infamous poisonous scorpions, several types of snakes, the kangaroo rat, the coyote, the jack rabbit, and many 
  kinds of lizards can be found in most deserts.   Like undead, which are unknown in the desert, such animals tend to 
  be night walkers.  They remain hidden in tunnels or in the shadow of rock formations during the daytime heat.  
  Vegetation includes not only cactus but also many kinds of wiry shrubs, prickly pears, the brittle bush and scrubby 
  but hardy pines.  High, cold deserts also tend to have large patches covered with hardy, drought-resistant grasses. 
   
  Windswept deserts like the Sahara of the real world with little but endless sand dunes in sight are rare.  Most 
  deserts are sandy and rocky surfaces with scattered but frequent clusters of vegetation.  Although it's not an idea 
  that occurs to one immediately, deserts also have rivers.  Most of the time, desert rivers are dry.  In many deserts, 
  when rare rain does fall, it tends to come in torrents that are a part of violent thunderstorms.  Such deluges cause 
  heavy volumes of water to begin flowing suddenly in the erstwhile dry rivers.  Their flash floods then can wash away 
  anyone and anything in their paths. 
   
  When high deserts are of considerably more altitude than 2,000ft/600m and are near mountains, they can be 
  secondary hosts to populations that usually are associated with mountains rather than deserts although the 
  incursion of mountain creatures usually lasts only from evening to sunrise in the hot part of the year.  This can bring 
  mutations like orcs and even draugs into the border areas of such high deserts in the night hours. 
   
  Whether deserts are high or low, the temperature can reach up to 115°F/45°C on a sunny summer day.  Regardless 
  of how well a human might be outfitted or trained for the desert, he or she is at a decided disadvantage in such heat 
  in combat with a fire giant, who thrives in such weather. 
   
   
   
  Tundra (Cold Deserts) 
   
  Tundra is found only in the border regions of the polar circles in the northern and southern hemispheres of the 
  gaming world.  A basic characteristic of tundra is permafrost.  The soil beginning at a depth of about a yard or meter 
  remains frozen year-round, which has the effect of preventing the growth of most kinds of trees.  Some shallow-
  rooted trees are found in scattered locations, but these are the exception rather than the rule.  Most vegetation is 
  limited to low bushes, grass, sedge, moss and lichen. 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 197 
   
  Tundra also includes some other landscape types.  Shallow ponds, bogs and marshes are scattered across it.  In 
  tundra ponds, one can find cod, various flatfish, salmon and trout.  Other tundra dwellers are caribou, reindeer, 
  foxes, hares, lemmings, the musk ox, porcupines, arctic shrews, squirrels, voles, weasels and wolves.  In the 
  northernmost parts of the tundra, one even can find polar bears. 
   
  Tundra birds include the snowy owl, arctic falcons, ptarmigans, ravens, snowbirds, snow geese, gulls, sandpipers, 
  snow buntings, tundra swans and arctic terns.  Tundra insects include mosquitoes, moths, grasshoppers, flies. 
  blackflies, moths and arctic bumblebees. 
   
  Unfortunately, trolls hunt the perimeters of the tundra at night in some areas, and the orc population is growing in 
  many tundra regions.  There also are strange draug settlements in some tundra regions.  Hunters' reports of draugs 
  in the tundra, in arctic mountains and in the border areas of the high deserts are a source of growing concern to 
  human rulers of regions farther south. 
   
  There appears to be no immediately detectable sensible reason for draugs to be in these largely unpopulated 
  areas, causing much speculation as to why they have come.  However, there is a growing apprehension that the 
  Darkness may be assembling a draug army in the frigid parts of the world, which are its domain, and that these 
  draugs are in training as parts of that forming army. 
   
  One well might argue that the climate of the tundra is suited only for draugs.  From the vernal to autumnal 
  equinoxes, the long days of daylight would be inhospitable to draugs, but the dark winter season with almost no 
  daylight at all before the winter solstice is ideal.  Temperatures in the tundra are anything but inviting; in the summer 
  months, they tend to range between 37°F/3°C and 54°F/12°C, although frost is possible at anytime.  In winter, 
  temperatures tend to range between -18°F/-18°C and -60°F/-50°C. 
   
  Nonetheless, there are seasonal ice giant and human settlements in some tundra areas, although their number is 
  declining with the orc incursion.  Hunters and fishermen in some northern lands traditionally have housed in the 
  tundra in summer months to fish and to hunt reindeer.  Until recently, summer tundra villages with meat and fish 
  packing operations and furriers could be found in several parts of some tundra zones. 
   
  However, summer settlers returning to their part-time villages in recent years have turned back home again after 
  discovering that their settlements had been taken over by armed orcs or simply destroyed by orcs in the winter 
  season.  Human settlers never have remained in the tundra during the frigid winters, but ice giants do. 
   
   
  Course grasses, muck and bog dot the tundra in summer. 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 198 
   
  2.5.6  Wetlands 
   
  Traditional wetlands fall into three broad categories: 
   
  • 
  Bogs 
  • 
  Marshes 
  • 
  Swamps 
   
   
  Bogs 
   
  Bogs often are found within moors, which are discussed in the next section.  Unlike most wetlands, bogs are 
  produced neither by the inflow of stream water nor by springs.  Their water comes entirely from rainfall, which gives 
  them a very acidic balance.  There are rich in sphagnum moss, which turns into peat and can be viewed as an early 
  stage in the formation of bituminous coal.  Bogs are, like coal, flammable, which makes them dangerous under 
  certain circumstances. 
   
  In some areas, particularly those that are distant from forests, bogs are heavily used by humans who mine the 
  sphagnum peat grown there as fuel.  Such peat mining is not without dangers, however.  A subspecies of orcs 
  generally called moor goblins dwells near some bogs.  They attack humans, even when outnumbered, and eat their 
  victims if they survive the battles.  As a result, most bog miners go to work in large groups and in the company of 
  well-armed warriors. 
   
  Bogs exist in cavities that have deep beds of rock or thick clay that prevent their water from percolating into the soil.  
  These conditions provide for very acidic soil that is low in nutrients.  A side product of this characteristic is the evo-
  ution of carnivorous plants, most of them small, which trap insects.  There is, however, a larger species common in 
  some bogs known as the Moor Trap which can, in fact, trap an entire human being and slowly digest his or her 
  body.  However, only strangers in a bog would be caught unawares by a Moor Trap.  The huge plant is easily 
  distinguishable and known to bog workers. 
   
  Insects comprise most of the animal life in bogs.  The waters tend to be too acidic to sustain most amphibians or 
  water reptiles.  However, many types of animal life that live outside of bogs do enter them to forage.  Draugs 
  seldom are found in bogs and do not inhabit them. 
   
   
  Marshes 
   
  Marshes are similar to bogs in that they hold largely stagnant water, but in contrast to a bog, their water comes from 
  streams and there is water movement and flow at times through marshes.  Because that degree of movement is 
  limited, large amounts of organic matter accumulate in marshes and produce marsh gas which bubbles up through 
  the water.  The gas is highly inflammable, and it self-ignites at times, producing will o' the wisps. 
   
  Marshes tend to be relatively shallow.  Humans usually can walk through marsh waters.  Where the marsh has a 
  sand bottom, such movement can be easy.  If it has a mud bottom, feet can get stuck, making movement slow.  
  However, poisonous, swimming water snakes can make wading a marsh dangerous. 
   
  Usually marshes are free of trees but are rich in grasses and herbs.  The most common plants are grasses, reeds, 
  rushes, sedges and typhas.  They are important breeding habitats for a wide variety of wildlife and are used by 
  many kinds of birds and insects.  Fish are frequent in all but the most brackish of marshes, as are water snakes.  
  No sentient creatures, alive or undead, live in swamps. 
   
   
  Swamps 
   
  In many senses, swamps are the geological opposite of bogs.  They are free of peat, play host to water-loving trees 
  and are fed by external water sources.  Water continually flows through a swamp, albeit slowly.  Swamp water also 
  tends to be considerably deeper than that of a marsh. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 199 
   
  There are some swamps that are sources of streams.  In some areas, one finds wide basins flooded with spring 
  water.  It flows out of the basin at its lowest point, forming a creek or river.  However, source swamps are the ex-
  ception rather than the rule.  Many swamps are lake backwaters formed in relatively flat parts of the lake distant 
  from the main current flow.  Others are backwaters on wide rivers where the current is light. 
   
  A wide variety of wildlife including many types of insects and fish can be found in swamps.  Exactly what lives in any 
  specific swamp depends too upon climate.  Some of the more common swamp dwellers are alligators, crocodiles, 
  bald eagles, beavers, black bears, bobcats, cougars, cranes, crayfish, deer, dragonflies, flamingoes, frogs, hawks, 
  herons, muskrats, newts, otters, raccoons, red wolves, scorpions, shrimp, snails, spiders, toads, turtles and water 
  snakes including poisonous varieties. 
   
  Plant life can include algae, alpine bottlebrushes, buttercups, cypresses, duckweeds, ferns, grasses, heath 
  varieties, herbs, lignum, mangroves, reeds, rushes, sedges, swamp mahogany, swamp oaks, water peppers, water 
  tupelos and various vines and creepers.  Draugs and most mutations avoid swamps. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  The swamp:  a no man's land where nature thrives 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 200 
   
  2.5.7  Heaths and Moors 
   
  Although they often appear similar at first glance and share highly acidic soils, heaths and moors are for the most 
  part opposites.  Heaths tend to be dry and warm.  Moors are cold and wet, often forming the northern- and 
  southernmost borders to tundra landscapes that approach the polar circles. 
   
  Most heaths have sandy, well-draining soils, although small bogs can be found at times where bedrock is near the 
  surface, reducing drainage.  Moorlands tend to have large bogs and heavy soils high in clay content.  Quicksand 
  can be a danger near bogs in both heath and moorlands.  Quagmires, however, are frequent in moors but rare in 
  heaths. 
   
  Heaths tend to be dominated by woody shrubs up to about 6ft/2m tall.  Hot, tropical heaths can be the habitat for a 
  wide variety of flora and fauna, where temperate heaths have vegetation consisting largely of heather, heath and 
  gorse plants. 
   
  Heaths and moors that are near populated rural areas often are used by farmers for grazing.  Remote moors and 
  heaths are becoming more dangerous.  The amphibian orc subspecies known as the moor goblin is beginning to 
  appear in significant numbers in many remote moors, staking their claims there, just as other goblins have done in 
  prairies and on the steppes. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  A new pine forest has been planted at the edge of a heather-covered moor. 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 201 
   
  2.5.8  Waterways 
   
  Waterways are one of the best geographical tools that a game master can use in planning his or her campaign 
  setting.  Waterways – just as in the real world – not only make excellent borders and barriers but also create 
  chances to build bridges.  They also are the living arteries and veins of the gaming world, just as they are in the real 
  world.  In this section we'll look at the following types of waterways: 
   
  • 
  Lakes 
  • 
  Ponds 
  • 
  Rivers 
  • 
  Creeks 
  • 
  Brooks 
   
  Before we look at specific types of waterways, we need to recall what we learned about the water cycle during our 
  school days: 
   
  • 
  Rain falls from the skies and percolates into the soil. 
  • 
  The water collects underground in rivulets and even underground streams, following the rules of gravity and 
  seeking ever lower elevations. 
  • 
  Sooner or later, the water pushes to the surface and bubbles out, making a spring. 
  • 
  The water from the spring flows along the world's surface, forming a brook. 
   
  Once brooks have formed, there are various possibilities: 
   
  • 
  Brooks can widen, becoming creeks and then rivers that eventually flow into the ocean. 
  • 
  Some brooks end when the flow into a river or creek. 
  • 
  Some creeks end when they flow into a river. 
  • 
  Some rivers end when they flow into another river. 
   
   
  Underground rivers are an important link in the water cycle.   
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 202 
   
   
  Lake Tahoe's Crystal Bay, a closed waterway that never reaches the sea 
  Product Identity 
   
  All brooks, creeks and rivers that flow into other bodies of water are called tributaries. 
   
  Now, before we continue, we should note that there is one fallacy in our schoolbook theory already.  It has to do 
  with that old but inaccurate rule of thumb:  All rivers flow into the sea.  Unfortunately, that's not true.  There are 
  some rivers that never flow into the sea. 
   
  We find a prime example in the rivers Bear, Jordan and Weber Rivers, in the state of Utah in the U.S.A.  These 
  three rivers flow into the Great Salt Lake on the Bonneville Flats.  The Great Salt Lake has no outlets.  Its water 
  does not flow into the sea; it evaporates just as sea water does. 
   
  This brings us round in something of a circle, where we may be able to find a bit of accuracy in our inaccuracy after 
  all:  The Great Salt Lake is what remains of a great inland pluvial sea in prehistoric times. 
   
  Another interesting example in the U.S.A. is the link of Lake Tahoe, the Truckee River and Pyramid Lake in the 
  Sierra Nevada Mountains of California and Nevada.  Melting snow from the mountains flows down into the Tahoe 
  Basin, which is 1,645 feet/501m deep, forming Lake Tahoe.  The great lake has only a single outlet, the Truckee 
  River.  Nearby Donner Lake also is a part of this system.  Its outlet is Donner Creek, a tributary of the Truckee, 
  which flows down Nevada's east face of the Sierra and across the Northern Nevada desert into another basin, Lake 
  Pyramid, which, like the Great Salt Lake, has no outlet. 
   
  In designing our real world, nature broke some of its own seeming rules.  There are rivers that don't flow into the 
  sea but dead end instead at inland desert lakes, where the water evaporates.  There also are streams that spring 
  from the ground, forge a course along the surface and then flow into a cave system running underground once 
  more before re-emerging to flow into the sea.  The Puerto Princessa Subterranean River in the Philippines is one of 
  the better known examples. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 203 
   
  In designing your campaign setting, don't hesitate to break the alleged rules in the manner Mother Nature does, if it 
  serves your campaign well.  But if you do so, follow another of nature's examples:  Don't overdo it.  Rivers that flow 
  back into the ground or that never reach the sea are rare exceptions.  They should be that in your gaming world too. 
   
  Also scrutinize advice you read in books like this one.  Not all advice on gaming world design is good.  One of the 
  best-selling and best quality RPG design books that we know contains the following sentence: 
   
  Rivers always begin at a high point and flow toward a lower point in the direction of the equator, 
  eventually reaching the sea: 
   
  This sentence simply is inaccurate.  We agree that rivers flow downward.  We've already seen that there are some 
  rivers that never reach the sea.  The idea that all rivers flow toward the equator, however, is ridiculous.  Some do.  
  Some don't. 
   
  Contrary examples are two of Europe's greatest rivers, the Rhine, with its source in the Swiss Alps, and the stream 
  that begins in Bohemia as the Labe, becoming known as the Elbe when it crosses the border into Germany.  Both 
  of these rivers flow toward the North Pole, emptying into the North Sea.  In addition, most of the two rivers' 
  tributaries flow northward too. 
   
   
   
  Watersheds 
   
  Before we can design waterways, however, we have to design the contour of our lands.  In doing so, we'll define 
  watersheds, which, in turn, will decide where our waterways are and in which direction they flow.  Let's take a real 
  example from the Northern Bavarian landscape to see how that works.  We'll start along one of the southernmost 
  east-west ridges of the low Steigerwald range: 
   
  • 
  In the valley along the south side of the ridge flows a small creek called the Weisach.  In the valley below the 
  north face flows an even smaller creek called the Kleine (Small) Weisach. 
   
  • 
  The small springs on the south side of the ridge create brooks that flow into the Weisach.  The brooks that 
  spring on the north face flow into the Kleine Weisach.  Therefore, the ridge marks the minor watershed line 
  between the Weisach and the Kleine Weisach. 
   
  • 
  The valleys descend from west to east, therefore, both creeks flow eastward.  The Kleine Weisach flows a 
  mere 3 miles/5km before the ridge ends in the east and it empties into the Weisach.  Therefore, the Kleine 
  Weisach is a tributary of the Weisach. 
   
  • 
  The Weisach itself cuts only a 4-mile/7km path when it empties into a river called the Aisch, which is 43 
  miles/75km long.  The southernmost ridges of the Steigerwald range and the northernmost hills of the 
  Franconian Heights to the south form the Aisch watershed.  The Aisch also flows from east to west. 
   
  One could continue on with this example, seeing ever greater watersheds claiming huge territories, as the Aisch 
  flows into the Regnitz River and the Regnitz flows into the Main River.  At the end, we are in the base level of one of 
  Europe's greatest watersheds, that of the Rhine, into which the Main flows.  Every brook, creek and river up to the 
  Main's confluence with the Rhine was a tributary.  The Rhine, however, is a major river that flows directly into the 
  North Sea. 
   
  In our example, we also see how watersheds compound.  The tiny brooks and the Weisach Creek with which we 
  begin are parts of the Weisach, Aisch, Regnitz, Main and Rhine watersheds. 
   
  This is the kind of planning you need to do when you start making maps of your own campaign setting.  If you don't 
  do it, sooner or later you'll find that some of the waterways in your campaign setting will be flowing uphill.  You won't 
  be alone with that problem.  We know of instances in one of the most popular RPG campaign setting ever sold 
  where rivers do not merely flow uphill but across hills. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 204 
   
  Lakes and Ponds 
   
  Most lakes fall into one of two general categories: 
   
  • 
  Flow-Through Lakes:  This is the biggest category.  Such lakes are fed water by one or more streams, and 
  the water also flows out of the lake into another stream.  Some flow-though lakes are, in fact, nothing more 
  than the substantial widening of a river at a point where it flows into a basin.  Others are water basins where 
  there is a confluence of one or more streams. 
   
  • 
  Source Lakes:  Such lakes are the beginning of a water flow.  They usually are found in high basins with 
  springs that fill the basin with water, with surrounding hills and mountains that fill the basin with runoff water 
  or a combination of the two. 
   
  Most lakes have a single outflow.  The lowest point on the rim of the basin that created the lake is the point where 
  the basin (lake) spills over when it's full.  The water that runs out of the lake forms a river.  Some lakes hold widely 
  varying amounts of water in different seasons.  When the lake is at its lowest levels, there is no spillover, and the 
  river then runs dry, at least at its source.  Tributaries can, of course, continue to feed water into it at lower levels. 
   
  On the previous pages, we described Lake Tahoe, in the states of California and Nevada in the U.S.A.  Lake Tahoe 
  is an ideal example of a source lake and how such a lake functions.  Most of its water comes from Sierra Nevada 
  Mountains runoff caused by snow melt.  A smaller amount comes from springs in the lake's bed.  The low point of 
  the Tahoe Basin is on the California side on the north shore, where the Truckee River runs out of the lake. 
   
  If in time of drought the lake's level were to drop to such an extent that the Truckee River outlet went dry, this would 
  not necessarily mean that the river itself would go dry.  Downstream, the river also is fed by Donner Creek, the 
  outflow from Donner Lake in the nearby mountains.  Other runoffs also feed water into the Truckee on its way to the 
  Reno area of Northern Nevada. 
   
   
  Sunset over Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin from High Cliff State Park on the northeast shore 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 205 
   
  A good example of a flow-through lake would be Lake Winnebago in east central Wisconsin in the U.S.A.  It is one 
  of the largest inland freshwater lakes in the U.S.  Although the lake has a surface of 10x30 miles/50x16km, it is, in 
  principal, not much more than a confluence of the Fox and Wolf Rivers and an extreme widening of the 200-
  mile/320km-long Fox. 
   
  When one takes a close look at these waterways, one finds the source of the Fox River in springs near Pardeeville 
  in the south central part of Wisconsin.  The Wolf, in contrast, has its source in the opposite direction, in the great 
  woodlands of Forest County in Northern Wisconsin.  The Wolf has its confluence with the Fox a bit east of Lake 
  Winnebago in a smaller water-filled basin called Lake Butte des Morts (Hill of the Dead).  From this small lake, the 
  Fox flows directly into the Winnebago Basin, where it forms the huge Lake Winnebago. 
   
  The basin rim's lowest point is on its north shore by the twin cities of Neenah and Menasha, where the Fox flows out 
  of the lake to the northeast into the large bay of Lake Michigan called the Green Bay at the city of Green Bay, made 
  famous by the city's Packers football team. 
   
  If your RPG world is to be credible, you won't want it to have too many lakes as big as Lake Tahoe or Lake 
  Winnebago.  They should be exceptions rather than the rule.  But both of them make excellent models for creating 
  your own source and flow-through lakes for your campaign setting. 
   
  Lakes can provide your setting with both color and adventure elements.  Any type of freshwater creature could dwell 
  in a lake.  That definition does not need to be limited to large muskellunge and northern pike fish.  You also can add 
  fantasy water beasts or mutations of your own choice or invention to these waterways. 
   
  Even in the real world, larger things can be found in lakes than muskies and northerns.  Lake Winnebago in 
  Wisconsin has a respectable population of huge Lake Sturgeon.  These fish, survivors of primeval times, can reach 
  lengths up to 6ft/180cm and can weigh as much as 200lbs/100kg.   They not only populate the huge lake but also 
  swim upstream in the Fox and Wolf Rivers each spring to spawn. 
   
  However, what lives in the water is only one element of a lake in your RPG setting.  When people are looking or 
  looked in the past for new areas to settle, lakeshores have been among the more desirable locations.  They provide 
  a steady source of food – fish.  Lakes provide an excellent central service point for the communities that are settled 
  along the rivers that flow into and out of them. 
   
  When new settlers come to a lake area, they should and usually do attempt to gain full control of all of its shores as 
  quickly as possible.  If they succeed in this goal, they can secure a much safer means of travel than is available by 
  land, provided that you've placed no man-eating beasts or mutations in the lake to threaten them.  When a 
  homogenous folk secures all shores of a lake, one can cross it and travel from one lakeshore settlement to another 
  without worry of attack from any quarter but the air.  If there are no evil dragons in the area, aerial threats probably 
  are minimal. 
   
  Any enemy attacking a lakeshore settlement from the inland has to reckon with retaliatory defenses attacking back 
  from both flanks, and these easily can encircle the attacker, who has nowhere to go except into the lake.  This 
  defensive advantage is lost in the winter if the lake freezes over.  In that case, an enemy making a surprise attack 
  upon a lakeshore settlement also can flee by riding across the ice. 
   
  This question of safety, as mentioned, is most pertinent when you, as a game master, have placed no grave threats 
  in the water.  However, water travel can become extremely dangerous if you populate your lake with vicious and 
  violent man-hating beasts or mutations or, for that matter, even if you populate it with large schools of piranha-like 
  man-eating butcher fish. 
   
  Another facet of a lake that offers intriguing possibilities is its depth.  Inland flatland lakes seldom will have a 
  maximum depth of more than 15 to 20ft/4.5 to 6m.  Even the huge Lake Winnebago has a maximum depth of only 
  21ft/6.4m.  Mountain lakes are an entirely different matter.  The water of a mountain lake can fill an incredibly deep 
  basin.  Lake Tahoe, which we've already used as an example, has a depth of 1,645ft/501m.  The world's deepest 
  lake, Lake Baikal in Siberia is more than a mile deep.  Its deepest point is 5,371ft/1,637m below the surface. 
   
  To paraphrase The Shadow of radio's glorious days:  who knows what evil lurks in the depths of such a lake?  The 
  answer is obvious:  Only you, the game master knows. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 206 
   
  The deepest lake in the U.S.A., Crater Lake in Oregon, is 4,000ft/1,220m deep.  It fills a deep caldera that was 
  formed during the collapse of the volcano Mt. Mazama nearly 3,700 years ago.  If you use Crater Lake as an 
  example, you can ask not only what lurks in its depths, but also what would happen if something, perhaps even 
  demons or devils, were to reopen the old lava tunnels beneath such a lake and rekindle its volcanic fire. 
   
  Ponds are, by and large, not much more than small to tiny lakes.  However, within that category are many 
  variations.  One often differentiates between flowing and stagnant ponds.  A flowing pond, like a lake, usually has a 
  continual supply of new fresh water and an outlet that flows into a creek.  A stagnant pond is a basin with neither 
  inlet nor outlet.  It's simply a small basin in which water collects.  Many stagnant ponds are brackish, but this does 
  not need to be the case.  In areas with heavy, regular rainfall, the skies produce enough fresh water to maintain 
  desirable oxygen levels. 
   
  A large number of ponds are man-made.  Waterways frequently are dammed to create mill ponds which release a 
  controlled measure of water into a mill stream.  This provides a steady flow of water to evenly turn the waterwheels 
  that power grain mills, sawmills, hammer smithies and the like.  In areas where the only flowing water is in small 
  creeks that are unable to support a fish population, farmers sometimes build chains of ponds and channel creeks 
  through them, in order to breed and raise fish.  Ponds also are used in some locations as communal drinking water 
  for farm animals. 
   
  Because of their small size, ponds seldom are a center point for adventures.  However, there can be exceptions.  A 
  saboteur could, for instance, poison a pond.  Another possible kind of sabotage would be to introduce a school of 
  man-eating piranha-like butcher fish into a pond. 
   
   
   
   
   
  Streams 
   
  This category includes rivers, creeks and brooks.  Keep in mind that most great rivers begin with a spring.  They 
  bubble out of it and downhill as a brook, widen to a creek and then grow into a river.  There are no scientific 
  definitions for these words.  In fact, U.S. Americans and Australians and Britain's have different meanings for the 
  word creek.  In the U.S.A. and Australia, creek means a small to medium-sized natural stream.  In the United 
  Kingdom and India, creek refers to a tidal stream that usually flows through a salt marsh or a mangrove swamp. 
   
  In regional areas of North America, a creek also might be called a bourn, kill or run.  In the United Kingdom, some 
  of the regional names for creeks are Beck, Bourne, Brook, Burn, Stream and Syke.  Dungeons Daring uses the 
  common North American definitions: 
   
  • 
  Brooks are small streams that flow from a natural spring. 
   
  • 
  Creeks are narrow but relatively steadily flowing streams with a relatively short course.  They can be as 
  narrow as a foot/30cm wide.  They also can be 20ft/6m and more wide.  A creek usually ends at a confluence 
  with a river within 10 miles/15km or less of its source.  However, rapid-flowing mountain creeks may at times 
  have a considerably longer course. 
   
  • 
  Rivers are larger streams that usually flow into the sea or into another chain of waterways that usually ends 
  at the sea.  A river in its early stages sometimes is said to be in its young or upstream stages, usually as 
  narrow and shallow as a creek, but it gains in size as it flows over its course.  Secondary rivers (tributaries) 
  usually have a course more than 10 miles/15km long, and they can flow over a course of several hundred 
  miles/kilometers.  Primary rivers – those that usually have a mouth on the sea – can be even longer. 
   
  In defining such waterways for an RPG campaign, a game master easily can have a bit of a mental block, one 
  sometimes shared by players.  If one uses the words river or creek, the mind tends to conjure a vision of one certain 
  kind of river or creek, probably a mental picture of the river or creek most familiar to this person. 
   
  In truth, however, rivers, creeks, brooks and springs come in many shapes and forms and with very different flows.  
  To give you a broader picture of the design possibilities open to you, we've included a collection of photos on the 
  following pages.  If you choose any of these as models for your setting, feel free to show your players the 
  corresponding picture, so that their PCs have a better idea of what's before them. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 207 
   
   
   
   
  A mountain spring, above left; a mountain brook, above right; a lazy countryside creek, below left, 
  and a roaring mountain creek, below right  
  Product Identity 
   
   
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 208 
   
   
   
  A hazardous mountain river, above, and a mountain river with a bridged-over ford, below 
  Product Identity 
   
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 209 
   
   
   
  The great German Main River in Karlstadt, left, and the smaller Pegnitz River in Neuhaus, right 
  Product Identity 
   
   
  Rivers and creeks are powerful game master tools in two senses: 
   
  • 
  They give you the foundation upon which you can build your villages, towns and cities.  In the age mirrored in 
  a Dungeons Daring campaign, settlements without flowing water would and should be rare.  Once you've 
  developed your hills or mountains, valleys, watersheds and streams, you can create villages, towns and cities 
  at locations where it makes sense for them to be. 
   
  • 
  Waterways not only make typical and natural political borders, but they also give you a means you can use to 
  develop boundaries for your adventure.  A stream that's been developed to fit your needs can make it very 
  difficult for your adventurers to travel in certain directions. 
   
  Let's focus a bit on the latter point, because it can provide you with a vital tool. 
   
  As we've already mentioned, PC groups sometimes have a tendency to go in directions quite different from those 
  which you intended.  If you let them follow those directions, you'll also find yourself scrambling to define territory that 
  you hadn't considered earlier and that is totally irrelevant to the adventuring at hand.  You may even be forced to 
  develop a different adventure in the direction the PCs have gone. 
   
  Usually it's best to avoid that by keeping the PCs on your intended track, but that's easier said than done, 
  particularly if you want to do it in a manner that doesn't lessen your campaign in the eyes of your players.  A game 
  master must remember first and foremost in such situations that players positively hate the idea that you're 
  manipulating their PCs or leading them around by the nose. 
   
  When you ask people to join your campaign, you're inviting them to leave reality and the real world and to move at 
  campaign time instead into the virtual reality of a virtual world.  Most players join a campaign because they want to 
  do just that, and your campaign will run well if you keep it at that level. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 210 
   
  Now … let's assume that your adventure lies to the west of your PCs' current location, but they decide to head east.  
  The easiest way to solve this problem is simply to say, OK guys!  I know you want to head east, but the adventure's 
  in the west.  You gotta turn around! 
   
  That's the easiest way, but probably also the worst.  It's likely to earn you a bit of scorn from your players, but even 
  worse, it pulls them out of their characters' roles and the virtual reality of your campaign world.  The PCs and their 
  world cease to exist for a bit.  All you have is yourself and your real world players sitting around a gaming table in 
  the real world.  That's an occurrence you want to avoid whenever possible. 
   
  You can achieve your end better by placing credible barriers in the directions you don't want the PCs to go.  If you 
  want them to head west, you not only need to paint a scenario that makes west look like the most interesting 
  direction, but you also can put things in the other directions that make travel that way seem undesirable to the PCs. 
   
  In the last section, we looked at the many different types of terrain you can use to build your world.  You might put a 
  vast stretch of heath to the north that gradually turns into moor and then tundra.  There probably is little that would 
  draw PCs in that direction.  Beyond the borders of the kingdom in which the PCs find themselves, in the south, is 
  desert, also not necessary alluring.  So … what about the East? 
   
  Let's assume that the East, at least for the PCs, is largely unpopulated wilderness that you have calculated into your 
  future campaign plans, but you don't want the PCs to go there now.  The perfect solution is a stream that forms a 
  boundary between the border town where the PCs are and the eastern wilderness.  Two things that cannot exist in 
  this situation are a bridge or a ford.  The next ford should be several days' ride north or south of town. 
   
  Once you've eliminated bridges and fords, you need to pick the right kind of stream.  The lazy countryside creek 
  shown bottom left on Page 207 isn't the right choice, even without the bridge.  The PCs can wade it easily, and if 
  they have horses, their mounts can wade or jump it.  The same applies to the pastoral Pegnitz River pictured on 
  Page 209.  The PCs horses can't jump, but horses and riders can wade or swim it.  The mountain river on the 
  bottom of Page 208 also won't do, even if we eliminate bridge and ford.  The river is too shallow and slow.  The PCs 
  and their horses can wade it. 
   
  The roaring mountain creek bottom right on Page 207 (the Ramsauer Ache near Ramsau in the Bavarian Alps) and 
  the rushing mountain river at the top of Page 208 (the young Main River in the Fichtelgebirge or Spruce Mountains 
  of Northern Bavaria) are different matters.  Both are more dangerous than they seem to be in the photos.  Horses 
  would refuse to enter either of these streams. 
   
  Both of these streams have rapidly descending beds.  Their waters roar forward at high speed and with tremendous 
  force.  The deepest areas in the Ramsauer Ache are a bit more than 3ft/1m deep, and there are large rocks in the 
  creek's bed that also are nearly a yard/meter in diameter.  The young Main seldom is more than a foot deep, but it 
  some ways, it is even more treacherous. 
   
  A group of PCs could decide to leave its mounts behind and wade either of these streams, but they're less likely to 
  succeed than one might think.  A creek some 3ft/1m deep might not seem to be a challenge, but when it rushes 
  downstream with the force of the Ramsauer Ache at its deeper points, it's difficult to remain standing.  If a PC slips 
  and falls, the water will begin washing him or her downstream with its full force, and it's probably only a matter of 
  minutes before he or she is dashed violently against a rock.  Many people have died in this manner. 
   
  In the young Main, the chances of being killed are minimal, but the chances of falling are greater, and that can lead 
  to broken arms and legs that can put an adventure journey onto the side track for awhile.  The problem with this 
  river is that the rocks make up its entire bed, and all of them are extremely slimy.  With streams like the young Main 
  and the Ramsauer Ache, the chances of having a disaster increase considerably if the PC who is trying to wade the 
  river is heavily armed and armored or is carrying a heavy back pack.  The fact that the PCs can't get their horses to 
  cross such streams will be enough to convince many PCs to rethink the direction they've chosen. 
   
  However, you can't place streams like the young Main or the Ramsauer Ache just anywhere in your campaign.  
  These are mountain streams that rush downhill at relatively steep inclines.  If you're adventuring in the plains or 
  generally rolling hills, it's impossible for such streams to exist there. 
   
  A better solution then might be a wide, deep river, like the Main in Karlstadt to the left on Page 209, assuming there 
  are neither bridges nor fords nearby.  This picture shows a much larger Main than the one pictured some 100 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 211 
   
  miles/160km upstream at the top of Page 208.  The river is too wide for the horses to swim.  The PCs might be able 
  to swim across it, but not with their weapons, armor or backpacks.  Of course, a settlement on such a river might 
  have fishermen or other people with boats.  Such small craft would be unable to transport horses, but they could 
  bring the PCs and their gear to the other side. 
   
  You can handle that problem too by having the NPCs with boats refusing to transport the PCs.  It may be that the 
  townsmen have enemies in the wilderness across the river, and anytime they cross beyond the middle of the river, 
  arrows start flying out of the brush in their direction. 
   
  Of course, it's also possible that for other reasons a big river like the Main in Karlstadt won't fit into the location that 
  you're designing.  You might need a smaller river like the non-challenging Pegnitz in Neuhaus, shown in the right 
  hand photo on Page 209. 
   
  If that's the case, you need to add a challenge.  It's not hard to do.  When your PCs arrive in their current location, 
  have them hear almost immediately how concerned the locals are over the piranha-like butcher fish that are 
  appearing in the river.  With that, your seemingly lazy and pastoral river becomes the most difficult and impossible 
  of all to cross. 
   
  These examples show you how you can use rivers as barriers to your adventure's advantage.  Artificial 
  machinations or the simple announcement that travel in a certain direction isn't allowed interrupts the virtual reality 
  of your world.  Sensible, natural barriers such as difficult-to-cross rivers don't.  In the first case, the PCs are being 
  blocked by you.  In the second case, they're being blocked by their own decisions which they've made on the basis 
  of the obstacles that they're facing. 
   
   
   
  2.6  NPCs 
   
  We've already touched somewhat upon the idea of using NPCs as a game master's tool when we discussed using 
  information as a tool.  It usually takes NPCs to pass information on to your PCs. 
   
  In a more universal sense, NPCs are the game master's prime tool.  They are the basis for his or her adventure in 
  the sense that everything the PCs are likely to do interacts with or reacts to what NPCs somewhere at some time 
  did or are doing.  NPCs are the living (and sometimes undead) element of your gaming world. 
   
  In a game master's hands, NPCs also are an important tool for guiding your PCs and leading them along the path of 
  your adventure.  Much of the time, NPCs do this through the information they pass on to the PCs.  However, NPCs 
  also can be obstacles, just like certain types of terrain or waterways can be obstacles that keep non-suicidal PCs 
  from veering off of your adventure's path. 
   
  In the last section, we looked at how waterways and terrain can channel a group of PCs into the desired direction.  
  We put a vast stretch of heath to the north that gradually turns into moor and then tundra knowing that there 
  probably would be little that would draw PCs in that direction.  Beyond the borders of the kingdom in which the PCs 
  find themselves, in the south, is desert, also not necessary alluring. 
   
  In our final example, then, we put a wide river on the east side of town, a river without a bridge or a ford.  We also 
  suggested that fishermen might refuse to boat the PCs to other side because they were afraid of arrow attacks after 
  they passed the middle of the river.  It might have occurred to you at the time that there was a potential hole in this 
  barrier.  The PCs might succeed in stealing a boat at night and making it to the other bank despite everything. 
   
  However, they might be less likely to cross the river if they know they'd be docking in evil lands ruled by a mighty 
  Necromancer with draugs under his command, or a merciless and ruthless nobleman with a small army of powerful 
  warriors and an orc chieftain with 10,000 orc Warriors patrolling the lands on the opposite side.  A band of 1st level 
  PCs that insists upon entering such lands with no particular purpose or goal is simply suicidal. 
   
  What does a game master do if they decide to go there anyway?  Well … nothing.  Let them go, and see to it that 
  the inevitable encounter with the superior foe takes place as quickly as possible and with as little preparation as 
  possible on your part.  The PCs doubtless will be killed or perhaps captured and thrown into chains into a dungeon 
  tower.  Maybe they'll even be faced with the choice of transfiguration into draugs or torture. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 212 
   
  If they're killed, bury them.  If they're chained captives, leave them there.  If they're draugs, let them haunt their new 
  domain.  Have your players create new PCs and pick up where you left off. 
   
  Sometimes such deadly encounters are a necessary learning experience for new RPG players.  Some players don't 
  take seriously the idea that their alter ego PC can be slain and go out of existence just as easily in the virtual game 
  world as they themselves can die by taking foolish risks in the real world. 
   
  However, having your PCs be taken captive or made into draugs sometimes is a more interesting solution.  The 
  new PCs at some time in the future when they're more powerful might journey into these forbidden lands too, either 
  to rescue the former PCs whom their players once played or to destroy the draugs they had become. 
   
   
  NPCs often make up the heart of your adventure, and they're great game master tools.  
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 213 
   
  2.7  Treasure 
   
  The role treasure plays in Dungeons Daring is quite a bit different than that in many other RPGs.  In the grand-
  daddy of all RPGs, the original Dungeons & Dragons® version from 1974, treasure was the raison d'être.  The idea 
  of original D&D adventures was to go out, track down monsters or evildoers, slay them and take their treasure.  A 
  game master awarded experience points needed for new class levels based upon the amount of treasure the PCs 
  had won. 
   
  As more RPGs developed and the gaming industry grew, the emphasis shifted from treasure to slaying, and it 
  became more common for experience points to be awarded on the basis of monster or class levels of slain foes.  As 
  we've already discussed, Dungeons Daring burdens game masters with a more difficult system for recognizing 
  experience, one based upon each PC's experiences rather than treasure, slaying monsters or the quality of role-
  playing. 
   
  Traditionally, treasure has been a difficult enough issue in its own right for many game masters.  Many RPGs, in 
  defining monsters and other foes, list exactly what kind of treasure they have.  Other systems suggest that game 
  masters place treasures at each goal and use random dice throw tables to decide what treasure is there.  
  Unfortunately, these systems all create some serious problems for game masters and the campaigns that they are 
  running. 
   
  Some randomly decided treasures place magic items in the hands of the PCs that are too powerful for characters of 
  their class levels.  Some place seemingly innocuous magic items into players hands that have no effect upon the 
  current adventure but later make serious problems in future adventures where they are particularly useful for the 
  PCs but also are particularly irritating for game masters. 
   
  Most treasures give the PCs more money and valuables than they need or should have.  The result is that the PCs 
  often attempt to buy magical items that will make them much more powerful that persons of their character level 
  would be.  The game master then is faced with the unsatisfying choice between making such items available or 
  making them unavailable. 
   
  The first choice gives the adventure overly powerful PCs.  The second makes the players mad and distracts from 
  the virtual reality of the adventure, because they no longer are PCs.  They are players who think about a game 
  master who they believe is manipulating things to keep their PCs from buying what they're seeking. 
   
  In all of these cases, the treasures that your PCs have gained can end up throwing your adventure out of balance 
  and making it a lot less fun than it should be for both you and your players.  If your campaign stresses role-playing, 
  as the Dungeons Daring system is intended to do, then you need to keep the focus on the goal of the adventure 
  and its adventurers (your PCs) and away from the greed of amassing power and riches. 
   
  Dungeons Daring has the simplest system there is for treasure – none at all.  Dungeons Daring was designed to 
  serve adventuring that focuses first and foremost upon role-playing.  Slaying foes often is a necessary occurrence 
  in such adventures, and finding treasure at certain places and at certain times also is an integral part of such 
  adventures, but they seldom serve well as the focal point of the adventure. 
   
  Most RPGs consider treasure to be the valuables found in a monster's lair, a looted dungeon, the castle of a 
  defeated tyrant, etc.  Dungeons Daring has a slightly broader definition.  Treasure consists of those valuable found 
  at adventure sites and in the possession of defeated foes, and it also includes those things the PCs are able to buy 
  with the monetary part of the treasures they've accumulated. 
   
  As you might suspect by now, there are no Dungeons Daring rules for creating treasures.  But there are the 
  following guidelines: 
   
  • 
  Keep magical items rare.  They don't serve an RPG well when they turn into mass market consumer items. 
   
  • 
  Don't clutter your fantasy realms with shops and wizards who sell magic and magical services.  Such ideas 
  are ridiculous.  Members of the Magi classes, whether good or evil, are scholars who pursue knowledge of 
  magic in its own right.  They accept commissions only when they need money to finance their magical 
  research.  That almost never happens. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 214 
   
  • 
  If a magic-user does do commissioned work to earn money to support research, he or she almost always will 
  limit it to working with a smith to produce armor or weapons with plus bonuses.  Such commissioned work 
  produces a good income with little time expenditure and produces magical items that have only a minimal 
  probability of backfiring and being used against the mage. 
   
  • 
  If one convinces a magic-user to give up a magical item in his or her possession or to create a commissioned 
  work, the price probably will be another even more powerful magic item that he or she is seeking. 
   
  • 
  People who can make magical items to help heroes like your PCs will do so only if they strongly support the 
  cause of the heroes and believe that the magical items that they might make are important to the success of 
  the heroes.  This applies to evil heroes and magic-users as well as to good heroes and magic users. 
   
  • 
  When a magic user creates such an item, it well might also have hidden ensorcellments that serve the magic 
  user's purposes more than the recipient's. 
   
  • 
  Any magic user wise enough to have advanced to the level where he or she can create magical items for use 
  by others also is wise enough to hardly ever do so.  He or she knows that the magical item created for a 
  friend today may fall into enemy hands and be used against him or her tomorrow. 
   
  • 
  If the PCs conquer a magic user's tower, don't feel compelled to put his or her magical secrets or treasures 
  into whatever stash they find.  Most such magic users will have hidden their really valuable magic in places 
  and manners that make it extremely difficult to find.  It's okay for your conquering PCs to leave such a tower 
  feeling relatively empty-handed. 
   
  • 
  When designing a treasure, put only those magical items into it that you are sure will be a positive service to 
  your campaign.  Create magical treasures through careful consideration, not by random means. 
   
  • 
  When designing a treasure with magical items, ask yourself if it's positive to make one-use or limited used 
  versions of those items.  If the answer is yes, do it.  That way these items will not linger to haunt you for the 
  rest of your campaign. 
   
  • 
  When designing a treasure, analyze carefully how much spendable money and values your PCs will need 
  until they find the next treasure.  Never put more than twice that amount into the treasure.  Don't deprive your 
  PCs of the ability to build appropriate financial reserves for their station.  But also don't encourage lavish 
  spending. 
   
  • 
  Use your treasures as a tool.  If you want to lead your PCs to the next step in your adventure, have the 
  treasure include maps and/or documents that make the way clear to them.  If necessary, have these items 
  include alluring information that will make the PCs want to go your way. 
   
  • 
  When it comes to treasures of beasts, there's nothing at all wrong with leaving your PCs with a big stash that 
  has absolutely nothing of value.  After all, it's a beast's stash! 
   
   
   
   
  2.8  Other Planets, Planes, etc. 
   
  Dungeons Daring defines the Dimensions of Life and Death and the Middle Dimension.  It also defines one sun, one 
  moon and constellations of stars that once were elves.  There are no official planets or planes of existence.  
  However, you should by no means interpret this to mean that there are none at all in an official sense.  There simply 
  are none that are defined.  We also have done our best to make sure that Dungeons Daring contains no official 
  material that would be in conflict with the concepts of planets and planes. 
   
  If you want either or both to be a part of your Dungeons Daring universe, we strongly encourage you to add them as 
  you wish.  You can invent your own, or you can use those defined in another game system or campaign setting.  
  You also will note that no planar magic has been defined officially for Dungeons Daring.  However, if you introduce 
  planes into your campaign, we would suggest you also incorporate planar magic, either of your own invention or 
  adopted from another system. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 215 
   
   
   
  Product Identity 
  VV..    TThhee  LLaasstt  M
  Miillll
  An introductory adventure
  for Dungeons Daring™
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 216 
   
  11..    FFoorreew
  woorrdd  ffoorr  tthhee  G
  Gaam
  mee  M
  Maasstteerr  
   
  This last chapter is intended for game masters with little or no experience in fantasy role-playing.  If you've been a 
  GM with other game settings, this chapter well may be a bit too simplified to fulfill your expectations. 
   
  However, if you count yourself among the inexperienced, what you'll find in this chapter is a bit like a so-called 
  module.  What's that?  A module is a complete adventure, usually written by someone else, that you perhaps buy or 
  download free from the Internet. 
   
  The Last Mill is a bit different from what you'll usually find in a module.  It's customary for modules to give you the 
  details of an adventure but to list only quick summaries of information over things that are defined in the rulebooks.  
  For example, if your adventurer runs into a band of orcs, the module usually will give you only a quick summary 
  block of the orcs' gaming statistics.  The authors will assume that you have the game book that defines creatures – 
  the Creature Guide in the case of Dungeons Daring – and that you'll seek the detailed information there.  The only 
  exception is when the module defines a new creature. 
   
  In this introductory adventure, we'll give you more detailed information than you usually will find in a module.  We're 
  assuming that you're new to the game, and that you should run your first adventure with as little back-and-forth 
  paging through books as possible.  But please don't grow accustomed to our system.  You'll seldom find it else-
  where. 
   
  • 
  To run The Last Mill, you, as the game master, need to do a few things in advance: 
   
  • 
  Get a group of Player Characters ready to play.  Until you have a PC group, there's not much point in doing 
  anything else. 
   
  • 
  Print up in advance the information that the PCs will get in the course of the adventure. 
   
  • 
  Familiarize yourself thoroughly with the rest of this adventure.  You need a good idea of what happens in this 
  adventure before you run it.  Your game goes best when you don't need to interrupt it to do a lot of paging in 
  order to figure out what will happen next. 
   
  Finally … remember that here too the content consists of guidelines.  Modify whatever you need to make your 
  campaign run well.  There is only one rule, Rule No. 1:  The game master always is right. 
   
   
   
  1.1  The Player Characters 
   
  The Last Mill will run best with a PC party of three to five players.  It will run poorly with one or two PCs and get 
  bogged down a bit with six.  More than that will be a burden.  As usual, your players should decide for themselves 
  how they wish to design their PCs.  But as game master, you also need to set some conditions.  The most important 
  of these is that the party must include the following: 
   
  • 
  One Fighter:  The following Character Classes will fill that bill:  Warrior, Born Knight, Dubbed Knight and 
  Ranger. 
   
  • 
  One Magic-User:  The following Character Classes qualify:  Sorcerer or Wizard. 
   
  • 
  One Specialist:  Thief and Scout are the preferable Character Classes.  A Spy will do in a pinch. 
   
  If you have more than three players, the rest should have a free hand in choosing other Character Classes for the 
  remaining PCs.  There are, of course, some classes that will offer better service in this adventure than others.  The 
  best choices would be another Fighter and a Thief or Scout, whichever wasn't already chosen.  However, it's best 
  not to give your players this advice unless they ask for it. 
   
  In fact, it's usually best not to give your players any unrequited advice.  It tends to make your players feel as though 
  you're trying to manipulate their PCs. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 217 
   
  Inform your players that their PCs are out of employment at the moment and running short on resources.  They 
  need to deal with this problem in relatively short order if they want to eat and sleep well. 
   
  When creating your characters, give them the adventure introduction In Slovan City that begins on Page 223 and 
  continues through Page 233.  It will give them some idea of what they might need.  Give them an allowance that 
  allows them to pay their bills for a few more days.  That way, they're under pressure to earn more money. 
   
  The advance payment from the Margrave of Slovan City should enable them to buy most of what they need once 
  they're on the path to their adventure.  They may want to do some role-playing in Slovan City before they go 
  shopping.  If so, go ahead and let them do it. 
   
  Finally, to put a good foundation under the role-playing element of your adventure, have your players give sound 
  answers to the following: 
   
  • 
  Why did they pick their chosen Character Class?  What goals do they have that made them want to follow 
  this career path as an adventurer? 
   
  • 
  How did each of them get to a place like Slovan City?  Were they born there or did they travel there?  If they 
  are not natives, why did they go there? 
   
  • 
  How did they get together? 
   
  Always be ready at this point to help your players out, but at the same time, don't give any unrequited advice unless 
  it's absolutely necessary. 
   
   
  1.2  The Non-Player Characters 
   
  This adventure contains friendly, neutral and hostile creatures.  For most of the friendly and neutral creatures, we'll 
  include minimal statistical blocks.  The only exceptions are the prisoners whom your PCs are likely to free in Dark 
  Valley. 
   
  You may have to run the freed prisoners as additions to the PC party, so we'll include detailed statistics for them  
  However, it's unlikely that your PCs will come into conflict or combat with the other friendly and neutral NPCs.  More 
  extensive statistics will be offered for the hostile creatures that your PCs are likely to encounter.  The necessary 
  detailed statistics will appear within the adventure at the point you're likely to need them. 
   
  Here's a list of the NPCs that your PCs are most likely to encounter in the sequence in which they'll be encountered: 
   
  • 
  Margrave Hermacek, ruler of the March of Slovan with its seat in Slovan City, Born Knight LvL 12, friendly. 
  • 
  Adjutant Sir Radu, adjutant of Margrave Hermacek, Dubbed Knight Lvl 8, friendly. 
  • 
  Wladislav, visiting royal Diviner in the service of King Lladoslav, Diviner Lvl 9. 
  • 
  Gunnar, refugee Harriki sorcerer who serves as the margrave's court mage, Sorcerer Lvl 8, friendly. 
  • 
  Ivan, commander of the march militia, Dubbed Knight Lvl 9, friendly. 
  • 
  Taras, royal district counsel, Merchant Lvl 5, friendly. 
  • 
  Bedrich, common thief, Thief Lvl 2, hostile. 
  • 
  Jaroslav, Innkeeper, Southguard Inn in Slovan City, Commoner Lvl 1, neutral. 
  • 
  Vaclav, innkeeper, Golden Scythe Inn in Goldfields, Commoner Lvl 1, neutral. 
  • 
  5 Brigands, in the hills north of Goldfields, Fighters LvL 1, hostile. 
  • 
  3 Draug Warriors, in the road south of Lastmill, Intermediate Draug Warrior Lvl 1, and two Intermediate 
  Draug Commoners, Lvl 1, hostile. 
  • 
  Miroslav, innkeeper, Border House Inn in Lastmill, Commoner Lvl 1, friendly. 
  • 
  3 Draug Warriors, on a raid in Lastmill, two Intermediate Draug Fighters Lvl 1, and one Intermediate Draug 
  Commoner, Lvl 1, hostile. 
  • 
  Iveta, Lastmill, Herbal Witch Lvl 9, friendly. 
  • 
  Targa, Lastmill, Herbal Witch Lvl 5, friendly. 
  • 
  4 Skeletons, in Dark Valley (formerly Ting's Mill), Skeleton Draugs, Commoner Lvl 1, hostile. 
  • 
  24 Intermediate Draugs, in Dark Valley, 8 Warriors Lvl 1, 16 Commoners Lvl 1, hostile. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 218 
   
  • 
  3 Intermediate Draugs, guards of the prisoners in Dark Valley, one Warrior Lvl 2 and two Warriors Lvl 1, all 
  hostile. 
  • 
  Antonin, miller from Lastmill, Artisan Lvl 2, friendly. 
  • 
  Katja, miller's wife from Lastmill, Commoner Lvl 1, friendly. 
  • 
  Karel, farmer from Lastmill, Commoner Lvl 1, friendly. 
  • 
  Tomas, farmer from Lastmill, Commoner Lvl 1, friendly. 
  • 
  Thund, Intermediate Draug, troop commander of Baron Nundlung, Warrior Lvl 2, hostile. 
  • 
  Baron Nundlung, Intermediate Draug, ruler of Dark Valley, Intermediate Draug Wizard Lvl 2, hostile. 
   
   
  1.3  Background Information 
   
  The information and maps that follow on Pages 223 through 233 should be printed and given separately to your 
  players.  Their PCs have been in Slovan City for some time.  Therefore, this information should be known to them.  
  Be prepared to be asked for more information, and give your PCs everything they request, as long as it's something 
  they'd be likely to know or have earned.  However, be careful not to give them any information that they would have 
  no reason to know and that they would be unlikely to learn in Slovan City. 
   
  You'll notice that the information here is in two parts.  The first part tells your PCs where they are and what they 
  know about their surroundings and the history of the area.  The second tells them what happens when they have 
  their audience with Margrave Hermacek.  Sooner or later, they will have to visit the margrave.  Their money is 
  running out.  The adventure offers them no other reasonable means to earn any money. 
   
  However, don't push your PCs into meeting with the margrave.  Let them become aware of what he's seeking and 
  then make their own decision on what they want to do.  It well could be that the margrave's announcement doesn't 
  interest them at all.  They might think that anyone who goes into the Ruined Lands is nuts.  Let them keep thinking 
  that until they modify their opinion to thinking that anyone who goes into the Ruined Lands is nuts or hungry. 
   
  Some PC groups still might say no thanks and tell you that they want to seek their fortunes in the East, West or 
  South instead.  If you have an alternate adventure that you want to run there instead, let them go and move to that 
  adventure.  If not, simply tell the players that it's all right for their PCs to ride in whatever direction they wish, but you 
  have no adventures in that direction.  If they want to go that way, they need to have a game master who can offer 
  them something there. 
   
  This advice, however, applies only to a new adventure with new players.  If you have an established campaign and 
  your PCs decide to go in a different direction than the one you've chosen, you have no good option other than to let 
  them go where they wish.  You may have to do some improvising, but once they're on the wrong trail, start putting 
  some things along that trail that will make them change their minds rather than refusing to take the campaign in 
  their chosen direction. 
   
   
   
  1.4  Working with the Maps and Floor Plans 
   
  The maps and dungeon plans for this introductory adventure are Open Game Content.  They also are available in a 
  separate download in their original Fractal Mapper 8 format.  We've kept these maps relatively simple so that 
  inexperienced FM8 cartographers can work with them.  You may wish to modify some of these maps for your 
  campaign.  If so, you need the FM8 mapping program. 
   
  Fractal Mapper 8 is the official mapping program for Dungeons Daring.  You can get more information on FM8 at 
  the manufacturer's Internet address.  If you are uncertain whether FM8 is a program you might want to use, you 
  also can download the free trial version and the handbook.  With it, you can learn thoroughly how to use FM8 before 
  making your decision on whether to buy the program.  The trial version does everything that the full version does 
  except printing, saving maps and exporting maps to other formats. 
   
  For more information, go to: 
   
   
  http://www.nbos.com 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 219 
   
  If you aren't using Fractal Mapper 8, skip ahead to Section 2, Slovan City. 
   
  There are many game masters and players who have vowed to defend their RPG gaming tables against computers 
  with their lives.  We have no argument with people who feel that way.  However, we've found in our own campaigns 
  that the intelligent use of computers at the gaming table not only can speed up those activities that tend to bog 
  down a campaign, but they also can draw players deeper into the adventure and increase the excitement of en-
  counters or dungeon exploration. 
   
  Fractal Mapper 8 is an excellent program for making on-screen depictions for yourselves and your players.  Most 
  modern PCs have video cards that support two-monitor operations.  That means – simply put – that you can have 
  your own game master version of a map, one that shows everything, visible on your screen, and another version 
  that shows only what your players should see visible on a second screen. 
   
  If you have FM8 and you've downloaded the free PDF manual from http://www.nbos.com , you'll find detailed 
  instructions on how this works beginning on Page 109 of the manual. 
   
  There are two basic ways to bring your game to greater life using this dual-screen method: 
   
  • 
  Our preference is with a projection screen and a digital projector.  The game master uses a laptop PC with 
  dual monitor support, showing the game master's version of the map or dungeon floor plan on the laptop's 
  screen and, with the digital projector, the player's version on a 6ft/180cm-wide projection screen.  Both the 
  players and the game master use laser pens to indicate locations on the screen.  We found that this has 
  brought a degree of excitement and involvement into our games that we had not achieved with scenario 
  boards and miniature figures. 
   
  • 
  Other campaign groups in which the game master and all or most players have laptops prefer a network 
  approach.  All of the PCs at the gaming table are connected in a peer-to-peer network, and all have an 
  installation of FM8.  The game master and the PCs both have access to the PCs' map, but only the game 
  master has access to his or her own version. 
   
  We'll give you some more tips on how to apply these features later when we're using the description of Bedrich's 
  lair. 
   
  There are two important points for those of you who wish to use or modify the adventure maps with FM8: 
   
  • 
  You need to make the appropriate display quality settings in FM8 to see all of the map detail on your screen. 
   
   
   
  Setting display quality  
  Open Game Content 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 220 
   
  With the illustration on the previous page as a guideline, use the following FM8 menu options: 
   
  • 
  1.  In the main menu, click the option Map. 
  • 
  2.  In the dropdown menu, click Display Quality. 
  • 
  3.  In the next menu, click Highest and also make sure that the other settings match those in the illustration 
  on the previous page. 
   
  All of the Dungeons Daring maps have grids upon them to help you measure distances.  In some cases, you might 
  want to hide these grids.  In others, you might want to change their color or degree of transparency to make the 
  map more legible.  Here's how to do that: 
   
   
   
   Changing the grid settings of a Dungeons Daring map or floor plan  
  Open Game Content 
   
  Use the illustration above as a guideline. 
   
  • 
  1.  In the main menu, click the option Map. 
  • 
  2.  In the dropdown menu pick the option Grids. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 221 
   
  • 
  3.  In the dialog box Grid Setup click the radio button No Grid under Grid Style. 
  • 
  4.  If that's all that you want to do, click the command button OK. 
   
  However, if you want to change the degree of transparency or color of the grid rather than making it invisible, stay 
  with the illustration on the previous page and: 
   
  • 
  1.  In the main menu, click the option Map. 
  • 
  2.  In the dropdown menu pick the option Grids. 
  • 
  A.  In the dialog box Grid Setup click the command button Select Color to change the grid color. 
  • 
  B:  And/or use the slider More Solid to set the degree of transparency. 
  • 
  4.  Click the command button OK. 
   
  Here is how to find the original, editable versions of the maps for this adventure: 
   
  • 
  The map of the March of Slovan on Page 224 is in the file DDLastMillOverland.fmp. 
  • 
  The map of the City of Slovan's Old City on Page 226 is in the file DDSlovanCity.fmp. 
  • 
  The floor plan of the Southguard Inn on Page 232 is in the file DDSouthguardInn.fmp. 
  • 
  The dungeon plan of Bedrich's lair on Page 252 is in the file DDBedrichsLair.fmp. 
  • 
  The dungeon plan of Bedrich's hideout on Page 255 is in the file DDBedrichsHideout.fmp. 
  • 
  The old hand-drawn, parchment map of Dark Valley (Tingl's Mill) on Page 258 is in the file DDDarkValleyParchment.fmp. 
  • 
  The map of Goldfields on Page 262 is in the file DDGoldfields.fmp. 
  • 
  The dungeon plan of the Golden Scythe Inn on Page 263 is in the file DDGoldenScythe.fmp. 
  • 
  The encounter map for the North Hills brigand encounter on Pages 265 and 266 is in the file DDNorthHills.fmp. 
  • 
  The encounter scene in the North Hills on Page 221 is in the file DDNorthHillsEncounter.fmp. 
  • 
  The encounter map for the draug encounter near Lastmill on Page 271 is in the file DDDraugs.fmp. 
  • 
  The maps of Lastmill on Pages 276 and 277 are in the file DDLastmill.fmp. 
  • 
  The floor plan of the Border House Inn on Page 280 is in the file DDBorderInn.fmp. 
  • 
  The map of the Lastmill draug encounter on Page 286 is in the file DDDraugEncounter1.fmp. 
  • 
  The map of Dark Valley on Page 291 is in the file DDDarkValley.fmp. 
  • 
  The floor plans of Tingl's Mill on Pages 295-298 and 305 are in the file DDTinglsMill.fmp. 
  • 
  The dungeon plan of Dark Valley's tunnels on Page 306 is in the file DDDarkValleyTunnels.fmp. 
  • 
  The dungeon plans of Dark Valley's tunnels on Page 307-308 are in the files DDDarkValleyTunnelsArea1.fmp, 
  DDDarkValleyTunnelsArea21.fmp and DDDarkValleyTunnelsAreas3_4.fmp. 
  • 
  The dungeon plans of Baron Nundlung's tower on Pages 314-315 are in the file DDNundlungsTower.fmp. 
   
  1.5  Advance Checks 
   
  There are many situations where your PCs are entitled to make a check to see whether they succeed at a certain 
  task or in defending themselves against a certain threat.  Unfortunately, checks must be made at times for things of 
  which the PCs may not be aware.  Indeed, such checks often determine whether the PC becomes aware of some-
  thing.  If you ask the player to make a check at such critical times, you – the game master – and not the circum-
  stances of the PC's situation might tip off the player and the PC that something secretive is going on. 
   
  Some game masters make secret checks for their PCs in such situations.  There may be times when you have to 
  do that too, but it's best to avoid them as much as possible.  Most players prefer to roll their own checks rather than 
  having the game master make secret checks for their character.  Therefore, we suggest that you have each player 
  roll a series of advance checks for such situations. 
   
  We recommend two or three check rolls in advance for each of the following.  You need to take a piece of paper 
  and write these down.  You then can use these checks whenever such a situation occurs, applying the player's own 
  dice roll to the check without tipping the player or the PC off to the fact that something is happening.  These are the 
  advance check rolls that we recommend: 
   
  • 
  Strength 
  • 
  Dexterity 
  • 
  Stamina 
  • 
  Magical Aptitude 
  • 
  Mechanical Aptitude 
  • 
  Knowledge 
  • 
  Endurance Defense 
  • 
  Reflex Defense 
  • 
  Will Defense 
   
   
  Once you've used up these advance checks, take a short break in play and have your players roll up a new set of 
  advance checks. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 222 
   
  22..    SSlloovvaann  CCiittyy  
   
  Municipal Level:  Town 
  Ruler:  Margrave Hermacek 
  Enforcement:  March Militia 
  Population:  1,900 
  Alignment inclination:  Neutral good 
  Wealth:  800,000 GP.  Top sales price: 42,000 GP.  The average person in Slovan City earns 8 GP monthly.  Sir 
  Radu, the adjutant, earns 300 GP a year.  Farmers earn about 5 GP a month.  Poor laborers may earn as 
  little as 2 GP a month. 
  Political System:  Benevolent (march) 
  Taxation:  Inn Tax 5%, Crop Tax 5% tithe, Product Tax 5% 
  Extraordinary laws:  None 
  Key locations and map numbers:  See following pages 
   
  Key NPCs:  Margrave Hermacek, ruler, 56-year-old male Born Knight lvl 12, AL: NG, Sir Radu, march adjutant, 38-
  year-old male Dubbed Knight lvl 8, AL: RG; Sir Ivan, militia commander, 68-year-old Dubbed Knight lvl 9, AL: NG; 
  Gunnar, court mage, 46-year-old male Sorcerer of 8th lvl; Wladislav, royal Diviner in the service of the king, 52-year-
  old male Diviner lvl 9.  Watch:  78 officers and soldiers of the march militia (see description of map location No. 5). 
   
  As your adventure starts, give your players the description of Slovan City that begins on Page 223 and ends on 
  Page 233. 
   
   
   
  The south gate of Slovan City 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 223 
   
  In Slovan City 
   
  This part of the world was torn by serious wars that ended some 30 years ago.  You find yourselves 
  in the town of Slovan City in the Kingdom of Wenzen.  The great Harriki Empire once had its 
  borders about 100 miles/160km north of Slovan City, but it fell in the Great Wars. 
   
  Slovan City is the ruling seat of the March of Slovan.  A march is a border county that is ruled by a 
  margrave, the title given to a count who rules along and protects a land's borders. 
   
  During the wars, forces of the Darkness coming from the icy lands of the north and overran the 
  Harriki Empire with an army that included not only orcs but also many draugs, the name given to 
  undead humans, in other words, changed humans who are not alive but who are not really dead 
  either.  Their souls and bodies continue on in pseudo-life, powered by black necromantic magic. 
   
  In the final months of the Great Wars, the remnants of the Harriki host did manage to defeat what 
  was left of the draug army, sending its remaining undead in flight to the northwest, but the empire 
  itself was in a state of ruin.  The poison of the draugs had made wasteland of its once fertile fields.  
  Within a few years, the Harriki that had survived migrated southward and eastward, assimilating 
  themselves into the population of the Wenzen Kingdom or the distant Middle Empire. 
   
  The draug invaders then moved again into the Harriki wastelands, but there no longer were many of 
  them, and few humans saw them as a continuing threat.  Many parts of the lands of the fallen empire 
  long lay barren of life.  Only in the recent past have the lands begun healing themselves, with 
  patches of prairie and forest beginning to grown again in places.  The draugs in the north appear to 
  be too weak and too few in number to stop this recovery of nature.  However, there are some hardy 
  humans left in the lands of the old empire who make use of this change. 
   
  The March of Slovan also suffered severely during the wars, although it was neither conquered nor 
  destroyed.  However, most of its population is gone.  The North Road along the south-flowing 
  Jihvode River that led to the Harriki Empire and to the baronial town of Tingl's Mill inside the fallen 
  empire's border once was straddled with farming and foresting villages for miles/kilometers on 
  either side.  Slovan City also was a thriving border city of 40,000. 
   
  Only the settlements of Goldfields and Lastmill remain on the North Road today.  The other villages 
  have crumbled into ruin and are overgrown with grass or forest, as are the roads that once led to 
  them.  Slovan City has been reduced to a border town, although the kingdom wants it to continue to 
  stand as a northern defense post. 
   
  However, what survives of the old march still is doing fairly well.  Margrave Hermacek's soldiers 
  have done a good job of keeping the North Road and both Goldfields and Lastmill relatively free of 
  the brigands who have taken up residence in the Coldwood and the Border Forest in the distance on 
  both sides of the road. 
   
  That notwithstanding, Slovan City remains only a shadow of its former self, albeit it one that 
  prospers respectively in its reduced dimensions.  In its early days, when it housed hardly 1,000 
  people, its founders built a strong wall around the settlement to defend it from whatever might 
  come. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 224 
   
   
   
  The March of Slovan – the adventure area 
  Open Game Content 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 225 
   
  However, the town grew beyond its founders' wildest imaginings.  Within a short time, the majority 
  of its residents lived outside of the wall, leading the city fathers to build a second and much larger 
  wall encircling the so-called New City. 
   
  Then came the Great Wars, when all of the March of Slovan suffered badly.  Draugs and large 
  hordes of orcs that served them poured several times over the northern border, bringing ruin and 
  destruction.  In the wars' worst moments for the march, almost every settlement and village north of 
  Slovan City had been destroyed, including most of the northern part of Slovan City's New City.  
  Only the small Old City inside the older city wall and the southern half of the New City survived. 
   
  Fortunately, most settlers of the devastated areas of the rural march and of the fallen sections of 
  Slovan City's New City were able to escape into the heart of the kingdom in the south, safe from 
  harm.  Orcs and draugs leveled the outer wall in the north and destroyed the New City north of the 
  inner wall.  There's never been any reason to rebuild it; most of those who fled remained in the 
  south. 
   
  Of the entire northern part of the march, only the remnants of Slovan City and the villages of 
  Goldfields and Lastmill survived the wars with minimal damage.  Goldfields and Lastmill were 
  protected by large units of royal soldiers sent by old King Leos, who was determined that the North 
  Road remain closed to the hordes from the north. 
   
  Being forced to raid across the land deprived the draugs that led the attack of the ability to shield 
  themselves properly from sunlight, leading to the destruction of many of the evil tide's war captains.  
  Without draugs to control them, the leaderless orcs quickly fell victim to their own chaos and were 
  relatively easy to defeat. 
   
  Thus, the March of Slovan just barely missed vanishing from the map books of the Kingdom of 
  Wenzen.  Instead, it faded into what it is today, a northern watchpost that keeps an eye on whatever 
  might be brewing in the north.  Most of the subjects of the King of Wenzen seldom ever even think 
  about the distant northern march. 
   
  The only human population north of Slovan City that is outside of its bounds and Goldfields and 
  Lastmill are a few roving Rangers and Nature Druids and a band of 15 or 20 brigands that came 
  from places unknown into the Border Forest recently.  When High Summer comes, Margrave 
  Hermacek plans to send several specialized units of soldiers out to encircle the forest and then hunt 
  down and hang the criminals. 
   
  Unfortunately, the margrave has been faced with a new problem lately.  There have been instances 
  where draugs from the north have made night raids in Lastmill and abducted villagers.  He has said 
  he intends to put a stop to this. 
   
  It seems now that his ill fortune could be your good fortune.  While most of the folks in Slovan City 
  enjoy simple prosperity in a remote but now tranquil part of the world, all of you are unemployed, 
  nor does a suitable job opening appear to be waiting around the next corner. 
   
  Fortunately … maybe … is the fact that Margrave Hermacek is seeking mercenaries who will 
  perform a special mission for him.  He's offering an incredible payment of 1,000 gold pieces to 
  anyone who can succeed, with an advance payment of 100 GP.  At that level of sold, his demands 
  may be beyond your modest abilities.  But one could check the situation out. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 226 
   
   
  The Old City – the inner part of Slovan City 
  Open Game Content 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 227 
   
  Regardless of whatever solution you find for your financial problems, Slovan City is where you are 
  at the moment, and it's a town that you know relatively well.  The heart of town is the walled Old 
  City, the town center where Margrave Hermacek has his modest country castle and where his militia 
  has its last remaining garrison. 
   
  One must be careful with the militia.  It serves as both the army and the police of the march.  Its job 
  is to keep peace in the march and to deal with those who would breach it, regardless of whether 
  these persons are draugs from the north, brigands in the forests or common thieves and other crimi-
  nals in the settlements.  The commander of the militia at the garrison in Slovan City is Sir Ivan, a 
  68-year-old Dubbed Knight who was knighted by King Lladoslav. 
   
  Many of the key businesses in Slovan City as well as governmental facilities are in the former Old 
  City, surrounded by the Inner Wall.  The parts of the New City that were north of the inner wall as 
  well as due east and west of it remain in a state of crumbling ruin.  The people who once lived there 
  fled south into other parts of the kingdom or into the east.  Since the wars, there has been no one for 
  whom the northern part of the former city might be rebuilt. 
   
  The main part of surviving Slovan City lives south of the inner wall, where one also finds additional 
  taverns, small inns and secondary businesses.  The outer wall, in deteriorating condition, still makes 
  an arc around the southern part of the former New City, but it no longer is maintained, nor are its 
  towers manned by the militia.  The parts of the wall east, west and north of the inner city were 
  destroyed in the wars, and they have not been rebuilt. 
   
  There are no hidden dangers (except for possible cave-ins) in the northern, ruined part of the Old 
  City.  It is not inhabited by any creature, living or dead, except for small natural animals.  Militia 
  units patrol the ruins to see to it that things stay that way. 
   
  The map on the previous page shows the Old City inside of the inner wall, where most of the 
  march's main facilities are: 
   
  1. 
  Gunnar's Tower.  Gunnar, a refugee Harriki sorcerer, serves as Margrave Hermacek's court 
  mage.  He is based in the tower, which always has served the march's court magi.  Gunnar, a 
  46-year-old male, is a Sorcerer.  The tower also is used by Wladislav, a royal Diviner in the 
  service of King Lladoslav.  Wladislav is a 52-year-old male.  His main mission is to keep a 
  magical eye upon doings in Dark Valley, over the northern border in the fallen empire.  It is 
  commonly known that one can gain access to Gunnar and Wladislav only through Margrave 
  Hermacek.  Otherwise, they are unavailable to the general public. 
   
  2. 
  Margrave Hermacek's Castle.  This is a small country castle that also is the center of 
  government for the march.  The main characters in the castle are the Margrave Hermacek, a 
  56-year-old Born Knight who was one of the kingdom's heroes of the Great Wars.  The 
  margrave also is the march's sole judge.  The head of Hermacek's staff is Sir Radu, his 
  adjutant.  Radu, a native of Slovan City, is a 38-year-old Dubbed Knight.  Radu knows Dark 
  Valley and the surrounding area in the fallen empire well.  Ten years ago, while serving as a 
  royal army officer, he led several expeditions into the Dark Valley area to destroy then larger 
  bands of draugs from the North.  King Lladoslav knighted him for this service.  Anyone who 
  wishes to see the margrave must go through Sir Radu. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 228 
   
  3. 
  Southguard Inn.  The Southguard is Slovan City's only quality inn, also the town's only inn 
  that has rooms available for long-term guests staying indefinitely in the town.  It is owned and 
  operated by Jaroslav, a town native, who is a 44-year-old Commoner.  The inn's waitress is 
  Olga, an attractive 26-year-old native of Slovan City who also is a Commoner.  Jaroslav brews 
  his own house lager in the March's Communal Brewery.  Unless your group has decided 
  otherwise, this is where you all live in Slovan City.  The weekly cost for a room is 1 GP.  It 
  includes breakfast.  Noon and evening meals run between 6 BP and 1 SP.  A quart/liter 
  tankard of house beer costs 3 CP.  A pint/half-liter of wine costs 7 CP. 
   
  4. 
  Court Apothecary.  This operation belongs to Margrave Hermacek.  It produces herbal 
  medicines that are made available to healers in his service and also to healers, herbal witches 
  and rangers who provide services elsewhere in the march.  The managing apothecary is 
  Antonin, a 59-year-old male Healer.  He also is the margrave's personal Healer.  Antonin is 
  assisted by Nadja, a 29-year-old female Healer, and Tanja, a 24-year-old Healer.  They can 
  brew many of the herbal medicines described in the Players Guide. 
   
  5. 
  March Garrison.  The commander of the march's militia is Sir Ivan, a 68-year-old Dubbed 
  Knight.  Under his command in Slovan City are 6 officers, 12 non-commissioned officers, and 
  60 soldiers, all of them Warriors.  Sir Ivan also commands the detachment in Goldfields.  The 
  militia provides both military and police services.  The march's jail is in the cellar dungeon of 
  the garrison.  When there is a hanging, the gallows are erected on the garrison's courtyard.  
  The soldiers in Slovan City are responsible both for the town and for all of the rural parts of 
  the march except the immediate surroundings of Goldfields. 
   
  6. 
  Court Communal Brewery.  The brewery belongs to Margrave Hermacek and is used by his 
  court brewmaster to brew the beer used by the castle and the garrison.  However, it is a 
  communal brewery and as such also is used by the landlords at the town's inns and taverns to 
  make their own house brews.  A regular brewing schedule determines who is entitled to use 
  the brewery on which days.  The brewery is run by Frantisek, a 58-year-old male Artisan who 
  is both a master plumber and mason.  He is employed by the margrave. 
   
  7. 
  Jihvode River.  The stream, which flows down into the march from Dark Valley and the 
  ruined lands, now is an unnavigable, fast-moving rapids upstream from Lastmill.  Dams that 
  once existed in the Dread Hills made it possible to run small boats between old Tingl's Mill 
  and Lastmill, but these were destroyed in the wars.  Small boats still can transport people and 
  supplies between Lastmill, Goldfields and Slovan City.  Larger boats can sail south of Slovan 
  City, to and from the other counties of the kingdom. 
   
  8. 
  Royal Counsel.  Counsel Taras, a 37-year-old Merchant, is the representative of King 
  Lladoslav in the march.  He is in charge of conveying regular news between the king and the 
  margrave's court.  The royal Diviner Wladislav, in Gunnar's Tower, serves under Taras.  The 
  counsel building in Slovan City also rents out office space to companies in other parts of the 
  kingdom that do business in the march. 
   
  9. 
  Josef's Wagon Works.  Josef is a 51-year-old male master wainwright, an Artisan.  He 
  employs two journeyman Artisans and two Commoners who are apprentices.  His company 
  makes and repairs wagons and horse-drawn sleighs. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 229 
   
  10. 
  Waterside House.  The tavern draws mostly laborers.  The tavernkeeper is Miroslav, a 55-
  year-old male Merchant.  The only food offered is a selection of cold cuts or cold fish 
  specialties on a board with bread and condiments at 2 BP per serving.  A quart/liter tankard of 
  house beer, brewed by Miroslav in the communal brewery, costs 5 CP. 
   
  11. 
  Docks.  River boats dock here and load and unload passengers and cargo.  Passage per person:  
  Jihlovice (next settlement outside of the march to the south) 1 SP, Goldfields 4 BP, Lastmill, 8 
  BP. 
   
  12. 
  Elena the Healer.  Elena, a 62-year-old female Herbal Witch, sells her medicines and provides 
  services to the general public. 
   
  13. 
  March Market.  The nine-story building and its grounds are owned by Margrave Hermacek.  
  The market is the tallest building in the entire Kingdom of Wenzen.  Much of its floor space 
  and places on the outdoor market square are rented to merchants, peddlers, farmers, etc.  The 
  March Market was built to help Slovan City stand against sieges and heavy attacks, should 
  war break out again.  Community hay lofts are in the upper stories of the market building.  
  Flour and grain are stored on the middle floors.  Conserves including salted meat and wines 
  are in the cellars.  The ground floor houses a large general store that has most items that locals 
  need.  The store owner is Katrina, a 48-year-old female Merchant.  She employs six workers 
  who take care of customers and inventory.  All are 1 male and female Commoners.  In the rear 
  of the first floor is Pavel's Butcher Shop.  Pavel, a 39-year-old male Artisan, is a master 
  butcher who owns his own private slaughterhouse and second butcher shop south of the inner 
  wall in what remains of the New City.  On the second story (European 1st floor) is Miklas' 
  Leather Shop, which sells a wide variety of leather goods, most intended for riding.  He has, 
  among other things, a good selection of saddles, saddlebags, reins, etc.  Miklas, a 40-year-old 
  male Artisan, has a leather works in the southern remains of the New City.  His shop manager 
  is Libuse, a 22-year-old female Merchant.  The second story also has the small Cartography 
  Shop of Milos, a 33-year-old male Scholar.  On commission Milos makes maps of those 
  territories he knows, which include all of the march and much of the Kingdom of Wenzen.  He 
  is unable to make maps of the fallen Harriki Empire. 
   
   
   
   
   
  Beyond the Map 
   
  All of the following locations are south of the inner wall in what remains of the New City.  None are 
  shown on the map.  The mills are on a small rapids on the Jihvode River.  Primitive locks were built 
  to facilitate boat travel through the rapids area.  The canal and the mill stream flow through gates in 
  the dam made for the locks.  The dam holds back sufficient water to create a mill pond large enough 
  to assure a flow through the mill runs, even in times of drought.  
   
  Jihvode Mill:  A large grain and vegetable oil mill.  The master miller is Shamel, a 45-year-old male 
  Artisan.  He employs two journeymen, both human male Artisans, and two apprentices, 
  both human male Commoners. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 230 
   
  Slovan Timber:  Emil, a 50-year-old male Artisan, is the owner and master sawyer.  His sawmill 
  cuts timber from the march's forests and sells the resulting lumber.  He employs two 
  journeyman sawyers, both male Artisans, an apprentice and a laborer, both male 
  Commoners.  The main saws are driven by belts powered by a waterwheel. 
   
  Rapids Smithy:  The large hammersmith operation is run by the twins Gustav and Jiri.  Both are 44-
  year-old male Artisans.  Gustav is a master weaponsmith and armor maker, and Jiri is a 
  master blacksmith.  They not only supply customer services but also are the official court 
  smiths.  They employ three journeyman weaponsmiths and armor makers, all male 
  Artisans; two journeyman blacksmiths, both male Artisans, and three apprentices and a 
  laborer, all Commoners.  The smithy has two large hammers powered by a waterwheel. 
   
  Jakub's Shafts.  Master fletcher Jakub and his apprentice make excellent bows and arrows.  Jakub is 
  a 52-year-old male Artisan.  His apprentice is Kamila, a 23-year-old female Artisan who 
  was elevated to journeyman level at the last guild festival. 
   
  Julius' Steeds.  Julius, a 38-year-old male Merchant, sells riding and draught horses, ponies and 
  donkeys. 
   
  Other Information 
   
  Most prices tend to correspond to those in the Players Guide.  Adventurers are affected by an inn tax 
  of 5%, which is included in the room price, and a product tax, which is included in the price of all 
  products purchased.  Slovan City has a population of about 1,900, all human. 
   
   
  Slovan City – the Ruins of the northern part of the New City 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 231 
   
  Southguard Inn 
   
  The Southguard, where most PC groups in this adventure will have their lodgings, once was a true 
  luxury inn.  Today, it's still the finest inn in the March of Slovan, but one can see that it has had 
  better days.  The Southguard is the only inn in Slovan City that has rooms available for long-term 
  guests who are staying indefinitely in the town. 
   
  The ancestors of the current innkeeper, Jaroslav, grew wealthy housing well-heeled merchants who 
  traveled between the fallen Harriki Empire in the north and the heart of the Kingdom of Wenzen to 
  the south.  Those days have passed.  Slovan City is only a shadow of itself, and most of the mer-
  chants who come to town today are little more than peddlers. 
   
  Still, the Southguard is where most prefer to stay.  It isn't difficult.  The prices are only a fraction of 
  what they once were.  The weekly cost for a room is 1 GP or 7 SP per person in a double room.  The 
  price includes breakfast. 
   
  Jaroslav and his late father, the previous innkeeper, have invested as much as they could and can 
  into maintaining the fine old hostelry, but that isn't enough.  The place is becoming worn and a bit 
  threadbare. 
   
  Jaroslav is a 44-year-old Commoner.  The inn's waitress, Olga, an attractive 26-year-old native of 
  Slovan City who also is a Commoner, is the only other fulltime employee.  Jaroslav's wife, Milna, a 
  42-year-old Artisan, is a master cook.  The maids and maintenance people work part-time. 
   
  Jaroslav brews his own house lager in the Court Communal Brewery.  Noon and evening meals run 
  between 6 BP and 1 SP.  Milna cooks simple country food, but it's excellent.  A quart/liter tankard 
  of house beer costs 3 CP. 
   
  Use the floor plans on the following page as a guideline to the Southguard.  The public room has the 
  only public entrance to the inn.  The public room and kitchen are on the ground floor of the main 
  building.  The guest rooms are on the second story (European first floor).  The side buildings contain 
  a guest stable, a storage area, a small slaughter and butcher house and the apartment of Jaroslav and 
  Milna.  The side buildings also have the jakes for public room guests. 
   
  One enters the inn and the public room through double, massive oak doors.  All of the tables are 
  sturdy but time-worn.  At times, one has to be careful not to get slivers in one's hand.  The six 
  windows can be closed with green wooden shutters on the outside and covered with thick blue 
  draperies on the inside.  The draperies are worn and have sun-faded spots.  Three fireplaces heat the 
  public room.  One is on the wall to the right on the floor plan.  The others are on the wall to the 
  kitchen on the bottom side of the floor plan. 
   
  R – This table is reserved for local regulars who've patronized the public room for years.  Unless 
  you fall in that category, this table is not open to you. 
   
  B – This is the tap, where Jaroslav pours drinks and conducts business with house guests.  There 
  usually are two hand-pulled barrels on the bar.  One contains Jaroslav's house brew, the other a low 
  quality white wine from the heart of the kingdom to the south.  A pint/half-liter tankard of wine 
  costs 7 CP. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 232 
   
   
   
  The Southguard Inn with distance grid (below) and without (above)   Open Game Content 
   
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 233 
   
  K – Door to the kitchen.  Milna cooks within.  Olga goes regularly between the kitchen and the 
  public room to deliver orders, serve food and take payments.  Jaroslav serves drinks from behind the 
  bar. 
   
  S – The stairway to the guestrooms.  The stairs are covered with a once luxurious brown-red carpet 
  that is threadworm but not dangerous.  Jaroslav always keeps an eye on the stairway to see to it that 
  public room guests who are not house guests do not ascend the stairs. 
   
   
  The Second Story (European 1st Floor) 
   
  J – Directly at the top of the stairs are four jakes, reserved only for those who are staying in the inn.  
  These jakes are not available to public room guests. 
   
  H – The 10-foot/3m wide hallway leads to the 12 guest rooms. 
   
  1-10 – These are singles.  They cost 1 GP a week.  Each room has a single four-poster bed, a chest, a 
  wardrobe, a desk and a wood-burning stove.  An adequate wood supply always is on hand.  The 
  rooms all have double windows, each 30 inches/75cm wide, with green shutters that can be barred 
  on the outside and worn, sun-faded red draperies on the inside.  Simple key locks secure the doors. 
   
  11-12 – These are doubles.  They cost 7 SP per person per week.  Each room has a double bed, a 
  chest, a wardrobe, a desk, a table with four chairs and a wood-burning fireplace.  An adequate wood 
  supply always is on hand.  The rooms have a set of double windows, each 30 inches/75cm wide, and 
  a set of quadruple windows, each 30 inches/75cm wide.  All have green shutters on the outside that 
  can be locked or barred and worn, sun-faded red draperies on the inside.  The quadruple windows 
  have sliding shutters rather than door-type shutters.  Simple key locks secure the doors. 
   
   
   
   
  In the public room 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 234 
   
  2.1  Information for the Game Master 
   
  Once you've given the last 11 pages to your players, the adventure goes into their hands.  You need to give them 
  some time to decide what they want to do.  Most groups will bite rather quickly at the mission that the margrave is 
  offering to finance, at the very least going to the castle to make an appointment with Sir Radu, in order that they can 
  learn what it's about. 
   
  That will take you to the next section.  However, some groups might want to nose around and get some information 
  on their own before they see the margrave.  Others might ignore the margrave's offer completely and decide to ride 
  off in another direction.  Even though you have no material to deal with that option, let them do it.  Have them ride 
  the first day until sunset before they come upon another village. 
   
  Borrow the brigand encounters later in this adventure and give them one or two similar encounters with similar 
  brigands along the way.  See to it that any brigands they might slay have empty pockets.  When they arrive at the 
  next settlement, make it a small thorp.  It should have a small tavern, one that probably has two uncomfortable 
  guest rooms that already are taken by peddlers. 
   
  Make your PCs sleep in a farmer's barn with their bedrolls, if they have any.  See to it that the farmer charges them 
  two or three copper pieces for the use of his barn.  If they decide to camp under the open skies, let them, but have a 
  thunderstorm with a rain deluge break out around midnight. 
   
  Don't do anything to force your PCs back to Slovan City, but keep them uncomfortable, under attack and without the 
  ability to earn a single copper piece anywhere until they decide that the wisest thing to do is to see the margrave.  If 
  a PC thief decides to steal to finance the group, let him or her use his or her skills.  But if he or she fails, see to it 
  that militiamen encounter the group to arrest him or her and throw the thief in the hoosegow for a few months. 
   
  If the PCs try to find work, have the locals tell them that there's nothing available, but they've heard that the 
  margrave in Slovan City is paying handsomely for a group of adventurers willing to take on a mission he has for 
  them. 
   
  Whatever happens, it's your job to manage events at present rather than pushing things forward.  That probably will 
  continue until the PCs decide to go to the margrave's castle.  When they get there, they need to see Sir Radu first.  
  They will not get a chance to see the margrave immediately.  Instead, Sir Radu will make an appointment for them 
  in the next day or two.  He will send a runner to their lodgings to inform them when they should appear at the castle. 
   
   
  2.2  Meeting the Margrave 
   
  Once the PCs have an appointment, give them pages 235 to 240.  These give them details they can look back at 
  when they visit Dark Valley. 
   
  Handing out this kind of paper usually isn't the best of ideas.  It interrupts role-playing.  But in this case, we're 
  assuming that your players are inexperienced and haven't learned yet to take note of those things that will help 
  them best succeed in their adventure.  For this initial outing, the text will give them a chance to refresh their 
  memories.  However, if you are against this approach, you also can use the text as a script for role-playing the parts 
  of the various NPCs. 
   
  As a game master, you should note that the text ends with the PCs being asked if they have any questions.  You 
  should ponder in advance what your PCs might ask and how the margrave and the magi might answer such 
  questions.  This is their and your bridge back into role-playing.  It's important that the PCs have a chance on role-
  playing level to interact personally with the margrave and the magi. 
   
   
   
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 235 
   
  By the Margrave 
   
  The guards take you to Sir Radu, who advises you on what proper manners are in the presence of the 
  margrave.  He says you will have an audience with the margrave, his court Sorcerer Gunnar and the 
  visiting royal Diviner Wladislav.  The adjutant assures you that the margrave will answer any and all 
  questions that you may have, but it is proper court etiquette to wait until he asks for your questions. 
   
  Sir Radu then leads you into a luxurious chamber, albeit much more modest than you had expected.  
  Four chairs are on a dais that is about a foot/30cm higher than the main floor.  The adjutant motions 
  for you to take seats on chairs upon the lower main level.  Still standing, he then introduces you to 
  the margrave, the man in the middle of the seated group of three. 
   
  Hermacek is a greying man who is beginning to show his 56 years, but he still has the figure of a 
  powerful warrior.  The men at his sides appear to be more scholarly types. 
   
  I am grateful you have come, the margrave says.  Gesturing toward the man to his right (your left), 
  he says, This is Wladislav.  He is a visiting Diviner in the service of the king.  Wladislav appears to 
  be slightly younger than the margrave but also is greying. 
   
  Hermacek gestures toward the other man.  This is my court Sorcerer, Gunnar, he says.  Gunnar is a 
  bit younger than the margrave or Wladislav, but he has reached his mid-40s.  Both men give you a 
  friendly nod, but they say nothing. 
   
  We are beginning to have a problem with draugs in the march, Hermacek says.  However, these 
  problems are part of an older and greater problem.  The margrave turns toward the royal Diviner.  I 
  think Wladislav can explain it best of all, Hermacek says. 
   
  The royal Diviner nods his agreement and says, The problem north of here comes from the Great 
  Wars that once brought the march to the verge of ruin.  The wars ended, as such, but neither the 
  Harriki Empire nor the Draugs of the Darkness truly won or lost it.  Rather, both sides had ex-
  hausted themselves and their resources.  As a result, the wars petered out rather than being decided 
  or having truly been ended. 
   
  The flames of the Great Wars flicker still, although weakly.  However, there are signs that they are 
  rekindling, slowly, quietly, almost unnoticed. 
   
  Let us look back for a few moments to the making of the Great Wars.  They took place in the vast 
  lands north of here that were the Harriki Empire.  The Harriki were the first humans to settle these 
  lands, warring with the fire giants to reach them.  They were immigrants from a more distant land in 
  the east that our scholars call the Middle Empire.  Most Harriki who survived the wars returned 
  there and remain there still. 
   
  Although the Harriki had to fight bitter battles with the fire giants to reach their new homeland, they 
  found peace when they at last arrived there.  The light elves who had settled and shaped the lands of 
  their empire-to-be had left before their arrival.  To their surprise, the Harriki found a rich, empty 
  land that appeared to be awaiting them. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 236 
   
  In it, they built the greatest empire ever known to mankind.  But despite that, although the Harriki 
  had gained more than men anywhere ever had achieved before their time, they were dissatisfied.  
  They hated their mortality.  The strove to learn the secret of immortality that they thought the elves 
  knew but would not share with them 
   
  Thus began the corruption of the Harriki.  A draug spirit of great evil whom we do not name came 
  to some of the Harriki kings and offered them immortality as undead, as draugs, through the magic 
  of black necromancy. 
   
  Our folk too are of the Harriki, but in those darkening times, we left the empire and formed our own 
  realm, which we kept clean of draugs and undeath.  From what we have learned of these times, it 
  appears that this great draug spirit arranged for one of the Harriki kings to be slain in secret.  The 
  high draug then took this king's form and identity, ruling in the dead king's place and leading much 
  of the empire into Darkness and evil. 
   
  We know not whether such things be true, but Harriki Rangers who still guard parts of the fallen 
  empire claim that the high draug was a fallen member of the creator race.  Further, they say, it is 
  forbidden for such to intervene directly in the affairs of men, much less to slay one of us.  In slaying 
  the Harriki king, the high draug brought the curse of the Earth Mother down upon him, which made 
  him vulnerable, leading to its destruction.  Or so the Harriki Rangers claim.  No one in the Kingdom 
  of Wenzen knows the truth of such matters. 
   
  However, these surviving men of the North say that there was another second-in-power to the High 
  Draug who pretended to be the king.  This was a Harriki duke who followed the High Draug as a 
  powerful dark draug Black Necromancer.  The duke, they say, survived the Great Wars and, from 
  somewhere in a mountain castle far to the northwest, he commands the undead who still roam the 
  ruins of the Harriki Empire. 
   
  Furthermore, the Rangers claim, there is another evil power even farther to the northwest, in the 
  wasted tundra lands.  The Witch Queen, they call her, and they say that she is a great living Black 
  Necromancer of the dark elves.  They say that the Witch Queen used her powers in the most critical 
  moment of the Great Wars, when the high draug whom we do not name attempted to use his powers 
  to destroy the entire Harriki army. 
   
  These things were forbidden to the high draug.  In attempting to do these deeds, his vulnerability 
  opened, and the Witch Queen stole the power he intended to unleash, making it her own.  Thus was 
  the high draug destroyed, or at least he has been driven from our world since that time. 
   
  The Harriki Rangers say that the Witch Queen hates the powers of the Darkness, although she is no 
  less evil than the high draug was.  What her designs are no man knows.  We know only that she has 
  not made her power felt again since the Great Wars. 
   
  Lest you begin to worry, the margrave has no intention of sending you against the great draug duke 
  or the dark elven Witch Queen.  These are tasks far beyond the ability of any of us in this room 
  today.  However, before you decide whether you will accept his mission, you should know what is 
  driving the margrave's enemy. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 237 
   
  During the Great Wars, the southernmost county of the Harriki Empire was the March of Jihvode, a 
  land that now lies almost totally in ruin.  It was named after our river, which has its source in the 
  Harriki march.  The March of Jihvode was divided into several baronies.  That which touched on 
  our borders was the Barony of Tingl's Mill, which was named after the barony's largest settlement. 
   
  Baron Nundlung was a low level Black Necromancer who served the powers of Darkness and as 
  such became a draug who was totally subservient to the Dark Draug Duke in the northwest and the 
  chain of command in the Dark Host under the duke.  Nundlung and some of his followers were 
  among the draug survivors of the wars.  He and his undead still rule over what little is left of Tingl's 
  Mill, although we in the south now call the ruined settlement Dark Valley. 
   
  Now, the margrave asked me to be here today to tell you these bits of history and to tell you more 
  than you perhaps know about draugs.  These creatures are undead.  They are neither quite living 
  nor quite dead. 
   
  Draugs are former humans who for one reason or another have consented to yield their lives to 
  become undead.  Their souls remain alive, but their bodies, which the souls inhabit, are dead.  Their 
  bodies do not rot or decay.  They simply remain lifeless, as they were at the moment of death, 
  animated by black necromantic magic rather than life. 
   
  Many of the Harriki sought undeath in the belief that it would make them immortal.  Others were 
  coerced or threatened into doing so.  But each draug, in the end, consented to his or her trans-
  figuration. 
   
  Now, there are many kinds of draugs, and I am not going to discuss all of them, because you will 
  encounter only the lower levels of them if you accept the margrave's mission.  There is no point in 
  my discussing the greater draugs with you, because there are none where you may be going, and 
  you would be absolutely helpless against them if you were to encounter any. 
   
  The minor draugs that you are likely to encounter if you accept the margrave's mission are like they 
  were in life.  If they were warriors, they still are warriors.  If they were magi, they still are magi. 
   
  However, there also are some important differences.  Draugs have no free will.  They yielded their 
  wills to their undead masters.  In matters where their masters have left no instructions, they are free 
  to do as they wish.  But if they have orders to do certain things, they have no choice but to do them, 
  even if the task threatens to destroy them.  The only leeway left to them is to carry out their orders 
  without enthusiasm or commitment, which sometimes can be an advantage for us. 
   
  In some respects, ordinary draugs are weaker than we are.  In others, they are stronger.  When 
  encountering draugs, one must plan to take both those weaknesses and those strengths into account.  
  Sunlight and iron are two great weaknesses of draugs.  A single ray of direct sunlight will destroy a 
  minor draug forever.  Being in daylight without direct sunlight severely weakens a draug.  One 
  almost never sees a lesser draug in the light of day. 
   
  Iron weapons too are powerful against draugs.  A wound from an iron weapon will slay a draug's 
  body.  However, we have no iron weapons that we can give you, and you doubtless have none of 
  your own. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 238 
   
  Draugs also are unable to cross running water of their own power.  Contact with running water will 
  damage their bodies.  However, they can be transported over running water, and they can cross 
  bridges. 
   
  Some things that can have a terrible effect upon the living have little or no effect upon draugs.  Heat 
  and cold have no effect upon a draug as long they do not cause it to burn or to dehydrate or become 
  frozen to an extent that movement becomes clumsy to impossible.  Cold may freeze a draug in its 
  position, but it does no lasting damage.  Heat can cause damage only if it causes the draug to catch 
  fire. 
   
  Because a draug's eyes are dead, it does not see in the same manner that we do.  But a draug can 
  see in a magical manner, and even when it is dark, a draug can see over a span of 60 feet/18m.  
  Because a draug's body is dead, most poisons have no effect upon it.  Only those like acids that 
  actually destroy tissue can damage a draug. 
   
  Because their bodies are dead, draugs react differently to wounds than the living do.  They do not 
  react to pain.  They feel none, because they have no living nervous system.  This can be a dis-
  advantage for us, in that pain cannot affect a draug's performance.  But it also can be an advantage, 
  because draugs often withdraw from battle too late to save themselves.  Their inability to feel pain 
  makes them unable to properly assess the damage that they have taken. 
   
  Finally, destroyed draugs can be particularly annoying, because a draug you have destroyed has 
  the irritating knack of meeting you again on another battlefield and on another day.  This can occur 
  only if you have failed to destroy the draug properly. 
   
  Black Necromancer Draugs can repair the damaged bodies of their slain followers magically and 
  restore their souls to their dead bodies, if they haven't been properly destroyed.  If one slays a 
  draug, it's always best to severe its head and totally destroy it by burning it, smashing it beyond 
  repair or the like.  Once the head has been destroyed, the body is beyond repair. 
   
  Finally, there's another kind of so-called draug that one may encounter upon this mission.  These 
  aren't real draugs, although people name them that.  I'm referring to zombie and skeleton draugs.  
  They're really animations rather than draugs.  Nothing about them is alive.  They have neither souls 
  nor spirits. 
   
  They're simply dead bodies or bones that have been animated by magic and that are steered through 
  the complete concentration of the Black Necromancer who created them.  They fight on until the 
  Necromancer gives up control of them or until they've been so badly damaged that the magic can't 
  move them anywhere. 
   
  Zombies and skeletons are relatively easy to handle if there aren't too many of them.  If you face a 
  number of them, try to get yourself into a tight area where you only have to face one or two at a 
  time.  They then should be relatively easy to take out. 
   
  That's my summary. 
   
  Margrave Hermacek speaks again. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 239 
   
  If you accept and fulfill my mission, I'm willing to pay you a total of 1,000 GP, with 10% of that 
  available as an advance. 
   
  Let me tell you what the problem is.  The Harriki rangers of whom Wladislav spoke believe that the 
  great draug duke in the northwest is trying to rebuild his draug army.  That is a slow and tedious 
  problem for him, because most of his undead host was forever destroyed in the Great Wars.  To 
  restore his army, he needs to make new draugs.  He has begun to do so. 
   
  The Draug Baron Nundlung in Dark Valley is only a small pawn in the duke's operations, but his 
  will is enslaved to the duke and whatever other draugs are between the duke and Nundlung in the 
  chain of command.  Nundlung is not powerful enough to make draugs, but he's apparently under 
  orders to abduct humans. 
   
  This operation has started just recently, and I want it put to an end as quickly as possible.  If I send 
  my militia northward, Nundlung just will withdraw deeper into the fallen empire, where it will get 
  more dangerous for my soldiers, the farther they go. 
   
  However, we think that if we send a small group of adventurers northward, like yourselves, Nund-
  lung may believe that he will be able to capture you and turn you over to his superiors for trans-
  formation into draugs. 
   
  His draug warriors already have made a few incursions into the march, raiding our northernmost 
  settlement, Lastmill, and abducting villagers there.  They've been taken to Dark Valley, where Nund-
  lung holds them prisoner in a dungeon until a higher level Black Necromancer in the duke's service 
  comes down from the north to perform the transfiguration magic. 
   
  The visiting Necromancer draug comes once a month.  He's not due again for another fortnight, so 
  now still is a good time to make a raid. 
   
  What I hope you will do for me is make a raid into Dark Valley, free whatever of our people from 
  Lastmill are being held there and destroy Baron Nundlung and whatever other draugs you can.  The 
  draug duke's resources still are spread so thin that we think if Nundlung is destroyed, he will order 
  the other draugs in Dark Valley to retreat farther north, abandoning Dark Valley.  That will make 
  our march more secure. 
   
  Gunnar, my court sorcerer, can give you a bit of information about Dark Valley and your route 
  there. 
   
  Gunnar nods acknowledgement to you. 
   
  There are only two settlements between here and Dark Valley, he says, Goldfields and Lastmill.  
  Some draugs have been spotted in the area north of Goldfields recently, but they've made no trouble 
  in the village yet.  However, if you're on the road between Goldfields and Lastmill at night, you may 
  run into them. 
   
  We've also had problems recently with living human brigands trying to rob travelers in the North 
  Hills between Goldfields and Lastmill.  They're untrained, and they have poor weapons, so they 
  shouldn't pose a big problem for you.  But you might run into some of them. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 240 
   
  Once you leave Lastmill, you van make it to the ruins of Dark Valley before nightfall, but you'll have 
  to spend the night there.  Harriki Rangers who have done it tell us that the main building of the mill 
  still stands and that there's something about it that the draugs don't like.  They consider it to be the 
  safest place in Dark Valley, even if it isn't totally safe. 
   
  A vestige of ancient good lingers about the old mill building, they say.  They do not enter the mill 
  building because they do not wish to disturb the source of the good that they sense.  They camp 
  before the mill building under the stars. 
   
  The Rangers do not fear the Draugs of Dark Valley.  They are ancient Harriki of great power.  
  Nundlung and his draugs would have no chance to withstand their wrath.  However, the Rangers 
  consider the baron and his draugs to be a trivial problem, one not worthy of their attention.  Nund-
  lung doubtless makes a detour around the Rangers out of fear.  He knows how powerful they are. 
   
  Unfortunately, we have a problem gathering information about Dark Valley.  In the days of the 
  wars, higher powers of the Darkness placed a magical screen over the village.  It still is partly 
  effective.  Neither Wladislav nor any other Diviner in the kingdom has been able to break through it 
  completely yet. 
   
  Wladislav begins speaking again: 
   
  We can sense who and what is there, but we haven't been able to visualize what is there.  We know 
  from the Harriki Rangers that almost everything in Dark Valley is in a state of ruin except the 
  baron's tower and the old mill building.  They still stand, although the mill is in pretty ramshackle 
  condition.  The Rangers say that Dark Valley is safe during the daylight hours, because the baron 
  remains in his tower and the draugs remain in their underground dungeons.  Unfortunately, we'd 
  like to give you a map of Dark Valley, but we don't have one. 
   
  The margrave speaks again. 
   
  So, he says.  Now you know what it's about.  If you accept this mission, Sir Radu will pay you in 
  advance the sum of 100 GP.  If you return with the abducted villagers, you will be paid another 500 
  GP.  If you bring back the head of Baron Nundlung, you will be paid the remaining 500 GP. 
   
  However, also be warned.  If you take the advance payment and then skip off somewhere else and 
  not take on the mission, I'll have to put a price on your heads.  The king will honor that, so you'll be 
  sought throughout the Kingdom of Wenzen 
   
  Any questions? 
   
   
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 241 
   
  2.3  After the Meeting 
   
  Information for the Game Master 
   
  What happens after the meeting with Margrave Hermacek depends completely on the decisions made by the PCs.  
  If they have accepted the mission and have been paid the advance of 100 GP, go directly to the next encounter, 
  Section 2.4 Meeting Bedrich.  If the PCs have decided to mull over the margrave's offer, then you'll have to follow 
  their actions and react to them until they decide what to do about the mission. 
   
  If the PCs are dawdling more than you wish, you might have a new group of PC adventurers arrive at the inn, 
  bragging that they intend to take up the margrave's offer.  A day after they arrive, have Sir Radu send a runner to 
  the PCs with the message that the new group has asked for an appointment with the margrave.  Radu will tell the 
  PCs that the margrave wants to give the PCs a chance to accept his offer before he talks with the new adventuring 
  group. 
   
  Set a deadline, perhaps on the same evening or by noon of the following day.  Have Sir Radu's runner tell the PCs 
  that if they haven't decided to accept the mission by that deadline, the margrave will set an appointment with the 
  other adventurers and begin negotiating with them. 
   
   
   
  2.4  Meeting Bedrich 
   
  Information for the Game Master 
   
  When drafting a new adventure, many game masters try to insert things that can be used as threads to lead into the 
  next adventure.  With that in mind, we're going to embellish upon our original draft and add a few elements than you 
  might wish to use to build a second adventure rooted in Slovan City – if and when your PCs return from Dark Valley. 
   
  In our outline, the Thief Bedrich picks the pocket of the PC carrying the 100 GP advance from the margrave and 
  escapes back to his lair.  The PCs track him down, recoup their money and also find an ancient map in Bedrich's 
  lair of Tingl's Mill, in other words, the ghost town of Dark Valley, as it was before the war. 
   
  The only purpose this encounter serves in this adventure is to put that map in the PCs' hands.  However, one 
  element of this encounter is strange.  It may raise a question that even new players will pose.  Why in the world is 
  Bedrich waiting for them in the belief that will have the 100 GP advance?  He should have no way to know that. 
   
  Bedrich is an outer element in a plot idea we have for a follow-up adventure, one you can develop later for yourself 
  or ignore, as you please. 
   
  Slovan City has a small bit tightly organized thieves' ring known only as the Brotherhood.  Word is that the ring is 
  headed by a master thief named Tabor.  Tabor does, indeed, exist.  His lair is in the cellar of a ruin in the northern 
  remnants of the New City, a lair that is concealed in part by magic. 
   
  The first Harriki immigrants to settle the Slovan City site mined lignite coal beneath the surface of the city until the 
  veins petered out.  Most of the old mining shafts were filled or collapsed long ago.  Some that still exist run only for 
  short stretches, as is the case under Bedrich's lair.  One still leads from Tabor's lair in the northern ruins under the 
  inner city to a secret door in the castle cellar, and another goes to the cellar of a building in the southern New City. 
   
  None of Tabor's subordinates knows where he lairs, and only a few have contact with him at all.  When he comes to 
  the southern New City, he seems to just appear there and vanish again.  However, Tabor really is only No. 2 in the 
  Brotherhood.  The real leader is Blahnik, the secretary of Sir Radu in the castle. 
   
  In his position, Blahnik learns of almost all movements of cash and valuables in Slovan City.  When he decides that 
  his thieves are up to dealing with those making or guarding a worthwhile movement of cash or valuables, he gives 
  Tabor instructions to do it and tells how him the operation should be conducted. 
   
  Blahnik knows that the PCs are coming to discuss the margrave's mission.  He's sized them up and thinks they'll be 
  easy marks. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 242 
   
  The one thing Blahnik pondered was whether to hit now and settle for the PCs' advance or wait until they return and 
  try to nab the larger rest payment of 900 GP.  He decided quickly to settle for 100 GP, using the philosophy that a 
  bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.  He doubts that the PCs will survive the journey to Dark Valley much less 
  bring back the abducted villagers or the draug baron's head.  Therefore, he's decided to go for the 100 GP. 
   
  Keep in mind that 100 GP is a lot of money in Slovan City.  It's a bit more than the average person there earns in a 
  year, and as much as Sir Radu, among the wealthiest men in town, earns in four months. 
   
  Blahnik has given Tabor all of the details, including when the PCs will see the margrave.  Other members of the 
  Brotherhood have been assigned to keep a casual eye on the PCs, to assess any particular strengths and 
  weaknesses that they might have. 
   
  Tabor told one of his direct subordinates to set up the hit on the PCs.  That subordinate passed the orders on to one 
  of his subordinates, and the latter chose Bedrich for the job, most of all because he thought that Bedrich's trained 
  Doberman would make the encounter absolutely credible to the PCs. 
   
  Bedrich has no idea who Blahnik is.  He too has heard rumors that Tabor is the mysterious and elusive head of the 
  Brotherhood, but he does not know him.  His own boss in the Brotherhood has told Bedrich exactly how to pull off 
  the snatch.  Another thief has pointed the PCs out to Bedrich from the distance and told him of any peculiarities he 
  may have observed. 
   
  Bedrich knows when the PCs will see the margrave.  He is to take a seat on the docks across the Jihvode River 
  from the castle and wait for them to emerge.  He has been told that a man will appear at a front window of the 
  castle, look out the window and than carefully hold up his right hand, extending the number of fingers that define the 
  position from Bedrich's viewpoint of the PC carrying the 100 GP.  He then will close his hand and touch the 
  corresponding spot on his own body that shows where the PC is carrying the money. 
   
  Now … a few PC groups will be super clever and divide the money among themselves before leaving the castle.  
  Blahnik will be chagrined and know he has to settle for less, but he'll keep his plot in motion.  In this case, he'll pick 
  the PC he thinks will be easiest to hit and give signals for that PC. 
   
  Bedrich has been told that his commission for the hit will be 2%, but at a minimum of 1 GP.  He has no idea how 
  much money he will be stealing, but he also has no doubt that his bosses do, so he has no thoughts of cheating 
  them.  His orders are to pick the chosen pocket, swapping a pouch with 100 CP for the pouch with 100 GP, and 
  then to depart from the PCs as rapidly as possible after the encounter and to return to his lair, which has a secret 
  hiding place. 
   
  That's how things stand when the encounter begins.  This background plot is much more detailed and complex than 
  is necessary for The Last Mill as a standalone adventure, but it does give you a detailed plug-in for a follow-up 
  adventure, if you want one. 
   
  The meeting with Bedrich is a special encounter.  It's one of those situations where you may have to use a secret 
  check.  It also is a situation where you might have to do some fudging, a nice word for cheating.  This encounter 
  isn't a test of the PCs' abilities so much as an integral part of the adventure in which the PCs can find an old hand-
  sketched map of Dark Valley, made before the wars when it still was called Tingl's Mill. 
   
  In this encounter, Bedrich will collide with the PCs and with his pickpocketing skills steal the advance payment of 
  100 GP.  The guidelines call for his victim to make a Notice Objects and Movement check against the Thief's Sleight 
  of Hand check.  A Notice Objects and Movement check normally is 1d20 + the ability bonus for Knowledge + the 
  PC's bonus for the talent skill Notice Objects and Movement, if he or she has the talent skill. 
   
  To make this encounter work, you have to make a seeming hidden Sleight of Hand check for Bedrich and then rule 
  secretly that he has succeeded in picking the target PC's pocket, regardless of what was rolled.  That's balanced 
  out by the fact that the PCs will be available to follow Bedrich to his lair under all circumstances.  You should give 
  Bedrich no chance to elude them.  But your players should not be aware that the fix is in. 
   
  The Brotherhood has given expensive clothing, in fact an old suit of Blahnik's, and a gold piece to make Bedrich 
  convincing to the PCs.  Remember that a gold piece is half a week's pay for the average person in Slovan City.  It's 
  not peanuts. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 243 
   
  NPC Statistics 
   
  Bedrich 
  Thief, level 3 
  Size:  Medium, 5'10"/178cm, 124lbs/62kg.  Brown hair. 
  Age:  37 years 
  Initiative modifier:  +12 melee (+4 Dexterity, +8 Interactive Speed) 
  Injury Points:  19 
  Life Points:  4 
  Base Defenses:  Armor 10; Endurance 11; Reflex 17; Will 13. 
  Attacks:  Short sword, attack bonus +2, Damage 1d6.  Billy club (no proficiency), attack bonus -2, Damage 1 injury 
  point. 
  Magical Attacks:  None 
  Magical Items:  None 
  Armor:  None 
  Speed:  30ft/9m 
  Resistances:  None 
  Abilities:  Strength 10, Dexterity 18, Stamina 14, Magical aptitude 1, Mechanical aptitude 16, Knowledge 14 
  Special abilities:  Sneak attack +1d6; Trapfinding; Evasion. 
  Talent Points:  56 
  Primary Talents:  Perception 12, Religion 1, Skullduggery 12 
  Secondary Talents:  Applied Knowledge 4, Athletics 4, Melee Combat 4, Naturalism 3 
  Skills with Bonus:  Armor Proficiency +4, Concentration +14, Craft Toxins +16, Create Herbal Medicine +5, 
  Enable/Disable Device +16, Escape Bindings +16, Forgery +16, Handle Animals +5, Heal +5, Interactive 
  Reaction +16, Interactive Speed +16, Knowledge Dungeons +16, Knowledge Local +16, Make Diagnoses +8, 
  Notice Objects and Movement +14, Open Locks +16, Perform (acting) +6, Ride Mount ±0, Search +14, 
  Sense Traps +16, Sleight of Hand +16, Sneak +16, Swim +2, Use Magical Device +6, Use Rope +16, 
  Weapon Proficiency (melee) +4, Wilderness Survival +5. 
  Alignment:  Neutral evil 
   
  Injury Point Threshold 
  Remaining 
  Injury Points 
  Attack, Damage, Skill 
  and Defense Penalty 
  Fully capable 
  14 or more 
  None 
  Injured 
  10-13 
  -1 
  Seriously injured 
  5-9 
  -2 
  Critically injured 
  1-4 
  -3 
  In mortal danger 
  0 
  -4 
   
   
  Fala 
  Dog, Doberman Pinscher 
  Fighter, level 3 
  Size:  Medium 30 inches/75cm at shoulder, 42 inches/108cm long, 50lbs/25kg 
  Age:   7 years 
  Initiative modifier:  +9 (Dex +5, Int. Reaction +4) 
  Injury Points:  27 
  Life Points:  4 
  Base Defenses:  Armor 12, Endurance 18, Reflex 20, Will 14. 
  Attacks:  Bite, Attack Bonus +5; Damage 2d4 + 1. 
  Magical Attacks:  None 
  Magical Items:  None 
  Armor:  None 
  Speed:  50ft/15m 
  Resistances:  None 
  Abilities:  Strength 13, Dexterity 19, Stamina 14, Magical Aptitude 1, Mechanical Aptitude 10 and Knowledge 10. 
  Special qualities:  Pounce and Pin, Sense Traps, Swim, Track and Wilderness Survival 
  Talent points:  18 
  Primary Talents:  Athletics 9, Melee Combat 9 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 244 
   
  Secondary Talents:  None 
  Skills with Bonus:  Concentration +5, Interactive reaction +10, Notice Objects & Movement +7, Search +7, Sense 
  Traps +5, Sneak +10, Swim +10, Weapon proficiency (bite) +10, Wilderness Survival +7. 
  Alignment inclination:  Neutral, in accordance with Bedrich's alignment, neutral evil. 
   
  Pounce and Pin:  As a full one-round action, Fala can use a melee attack to spring upon a target creature.  If the 
  target is attacked from behind, it has a -4 penalty on its check.  If the target fails its check, the dog succeeds in 
  knocking down and landing upon the target.  The dog also succeeds in pinning one of the target's arms (game 
  master's choice).  In any round, as a full one-round action, the victim can try to free itself with Strength check 
  against the Fala's Strength check (1d20+1).  Because the dog has the character pinned, its check does not qualify 
  as an action.  As long as the target is pinned, it loses its Dexterity bonus, if any, and it cannot use the pinned arm.  
  While the target is pinned, its Reflex bonus, if any, is lost for any parts of the body that are not covered by the body.  
  In other words, if the target is wearing only a chainmail shirt, its face and hands are not protected by its armor. 
   
   
  Injury Point Threshold 
  Remaining 
  Injury Points 
  Attack, Damage, Skill 
  and Defense Penalty 
  Fully capable 
  20-27 
  None 
  Injured 
  13-19 
  -1 
  Seriously injured 
  6-12 
  -2 
  Critically injured 
  1-5 
  -3 
  In mortal danger 
  0 
  -4 
   
   
  The Action 
   
  The following scenario takes place just after the PCs have left the margrave's castle grounds.  You can read the 
  boxed parts to your PCs, or you can rephrase the content in your own words. 
   
  A hundred gold pieces to the better and facing a dangerous mission, you find yourself standing in the castle 
  courtyard before the fountain. 
   
  It's up to the PCs now to decide what they'll do next.  Bedrich and Fala are standing, mostly hidden by the beech 
  tree in front of the inn, waiting for them.  If for some reason the PCs stay for awhile on the west bank of the Jihvode, 
  the two will simply wait.  After all, there is only one bridge. 
   
  When the PCs do head toward the bridge, Bedrich (without Fala) will approach them, attempting to intercept them 
  just before they leave the bridge on the east bank.  During the following narrative, stop and let the PCs speak at 
  anytime they wish to do so.  If a PC attempts to use Sense Motive or some similar ability upon Bedrich, have him or 
  her check against Bedrich's Perform (acting) score at DL 18. 
   
  A well-dressed man, possibly a court squire or merchant, to judge from his dress, is approaching you from 
  the inn side of the river.  He appears to be in his late 30s.  It appears that he intends to cross the bridge, and 
  it also appears that he wants to gain your attention. 
   
  Good sirs, he shouts to you.  A boon I would ask of you, and I am prepared to pay you fair reward!  Please 
  hear me out! 
   
  He apparently doesn't intend to wait and to hear whether you're willing to listen.  He continues talking.  As he 
  does so, his left hand draws a gold piece from a pocket. 
   
  I have noticed that you were in the castle, therefore, I am assuming it is open to you.  I have been done a 
  great injustice, but I am convinced that Sir Radu will see that things are set aright.  However, before that can 
  be, one must gain his attention. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 245 
   
  A fine man and fair, Sir Radu is.  Alas, were I to try to see him, I am afraid I would see the inside of the 
  dungeon beneath the garrison instead.  Alas and Alack! 
   
  Bedrich is my name.  In my day, I was proud indeed to serve the margrave as his court secretary. 
   
  But I shall be brief.  Several years ago, dear sirs, my departed wife was having an affair with Sir Ivan, the 
  commander of the garrison.  And then, as I learned of this disgrace and was about to act upon it, she was 
  found murdered in the northern ruins, and evidence was left there to indicate that I was the murderer.  
  Unwitting, I was arrested, tried and sentenced to be hanged.  To my dubiously good fortune, I was jailed with 
  another condemned man who was an expert at such things, and he contrived for our escape. 
   
  All these many years, instead of fleeing to safety, I have remained here in the march, disguised and gathering 
  evidence, bit by bit, that will prove my innocence, and I say, dear sirs!  I have it now, by jove! 
   
  As Bedrich speaks, a black Doberman pinscher saunters up toward you, looking as nasty as it can at 
  Bedrich, snarling slightly and baring its fangs.  It keeps a distance from the group of you and Bedrich of about 
  10ft/3m.  Bedrich looks frightened. 
   
  Oh, I say now, he continues.  Oh, no!  Not that cur!  This despicable hound belonged to my departed wife!  It 
  never did like me, and since she died, the creature hunts me.  Oh, I do say, sirs!  I prithee!  Protect me from 
  the beast! 
   
  Barely does the last word come from Bedrich's mouth when the dog suddenly springs upon Bedrich, knocking 
  him against (name of the PC with the money), before he falls to the ground. 
   
  Everything that Fala does he is trained to do.  Have the PC whom Bedrich bumped check for Dexterity.  The check 
  is a phony diversion to keep anyone from thinking about picked pockets.  Inform the PC that he or she manages to 
  remain standing.  If the PCs start to act, tell them that Bedrich appears to be rolling free.  Roll a phony 1d20 for 
  Bedrich, so that it looks like you're making a check of some sort. 
   
  Bedrich seems to be more agile than one would have suspected.  Just as the Doberman appears to be 
  snapping for his throat, Bedrich succeeds in rolling out from under it.  He has a short wooden club in his hand 
  that he shoves into the dog's throat.  The dog chokes slightly, frees itself from the club and makes a few more 
  choking noises and looks at all of you as if it's appraising the opposition.  It runs for about 15ft/450cm, stops, 
  snarls at all of you and then runs off quickly, behind the inn. 
   
  Bedrich gets up and brushes off his clothing, looking somewhat aghast at (the PC whom he bumped). 
   
  Oh, I do say!  Oh, I'm very sorry.  Oh, I do hope none of your clothing is damaged.  If it is, I do insist on 
  paying for the repairs.  You need only give me the tailor's bill.  Oh, this is awful. 
   
  Give the PCs a chance to reply, then have Bedrich continue. 
   
  Fortunately, I have learned to deal with that awful cur.  It seldom succeeds in biting me anymore.  But let me 
  conclude my proposition.  I shall be brief. 
   
  I have the evidence that I am sure will clear me and convict Sir Ivan, and if I can only get it into Sir Radu's 
  hands, I believe I shall have succeeded.  Unfortunately, if I attempt to enter yon castle, I barely would get 
  within the doors.  My disguise has protected me among the public, but there are those within who would see 
  through it quickly.  The guards would be called and I would be taken off to the garrison, where Sir Ivan 
  would be only too happy to see me. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 246 
   
  He would confiscate and destroy my evidence and throw me back into a death cell.  He then would ask the 
  margrave to set a new date for my hanging, and the number of my remaining days would be short indeed.  
  Thus, the boon I beg of you. 
   
  He hands the gold piece toward you. 
   
  I wish to hire your brief services at this rather handsome payment of a gold piece.  I ask only that you return 
  briefly to the castle, ask for a short audience with Sir Radu and then tell him that you were encountered by 
  the murderer Bedrich, who asked you to give something of great importance to him.  That is both my 
  proposal and the boon I would ask of you.  What say you, dear sirs? 
   
  Bedrich waits for your answer. 
   
  Bedrich already has the 100 GP, so it's of no real concern to him whether the PCs take up his offer or not.  If they 
  say they will do so but want no payment, after a polite refusal, he will be more than happy to take back the gold 
  piece.  After all, his bosses in the Brotherhood won't know that, so he should be able to keep the money for himself. 
   
  If the PCs refuses to do his bidding, he will look sadly at them, assure them that he understands their position and 
  say that he will seek another then, departing from the PCs and heading back southward through the town.  He will 
  tell them that it's time to leave the Old City again.  In that case, let the PCs do whatever they wish to do until they 
  discover that the 100 GP is missing.  At that point, go to Section 2.5 Chasing Bedrich. 
   
  If the PCs agree to do Bedrich's bidding, continue on here. 
   
  Bedrich takes a thick parchment envelope with a wax seal from his inner pocket and hands it to you. 
   
  There be the fruits of seven long years of evidence gathering.  I thank you, good sirs.  I do believe you are 
  about to save my life!  But alas, I have been in the inner town too long for my own good already.  With your 
  pardon, I shall depart now and head back to my accommodations south of the gate.  I cannot thank you 
  enough, dear sirs, but be assured that if I am cleared and restored to my position in the castle, you shall be 
  rewarded more richly still for your kindness!  I bid you adieu and wish you well! 
   
  With those words, Bedrich heads south down the main road toward the south gate. 
   
  It's time again to wait and see what the PCs do.  Let them discover for themselves in their own time that their money 
  has been stolen.  At whatever point they discover their loss and then tell someone else, including Sir Radu, have 
  the NPCs give them the advice that they should give the pickpocket's description to the guards at the Southgate 
  and see if they can say where the PCs should look. 
   
  Sir Radu also will tell the PCs that they can go to the garrison and file a complaint.  The militia then will try to hunt 
  down the thief for them, but that might cost valuable time that they thief can use to disappear.  However, if they 
  think they're up to dealing with the thief themselves, the law in the Margrave of Slovan gives them the right to track 
  down a thief in immediate pursuit and bring him or her to the garrison, where they can file charges. 
   
  If the PCs go to the castle before discovering the swindle and they mention to the guards that they met with Bedrich 
  the murderer, the guards will look puzzled.  If they meet with Sir Radu and tell him that they have a message for him 
  from Bedrich the murderer, use the following: 
   
  Sir Radu has a puzzled look on his face.  From whom? he asks.  I never heard of a murder named Bedrich. 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 247 
   
  If the PCs give Radu the envelope: 
   
  Still looking puzzled, Sir Radu opens the envelope and pulls out a thick stack of blank parchment. 
   
  You'll need to ad lib the rest of this encounter.  At this point, at the latest, the PCs probably will discover that their 
  advance is gone and that they now have an identical sack with 100 CP.  If not, Sir Radu probably could ask if they 
  maybe had been swindled by a pickpocket. 
   
  Whatever occurs, the PCs either will try to get their money back, or they'll decide to go on without it.  If the do the 
  latter, skip ahead to Section 2.6 Heading North.  If they decide to seek their money, continue on with Section 2.5 
  Chasing Bedrich. 
   
   
  2.5  Chasing Bedrich 
   
  Information for the Game Master 
   
  If the PCs do anything but talk with the guards at the Southgate, they will make no progress whatsoever in tracking 
  down Bedrich.  This was his first operation in the Old City.  No one there knows him.  No one can give them any 
  tips.  The next planned action occurs when the PCs talk to the guards at the Southgate, after they have described 
  Bedrich.  If they forget to mention the dog, have them ask if Bedrich goes around with a Doberman. 
   
  One of the guards says, We know who that is … well, not his name … but you know … who he is.  He's new 
  here, or at least his dog is.  We've been watching him because of that dog.  Might be that we've seen him and 
  not paid any attention to him before.  But that dog … well … we know where he and the dog hole up. 
   
  Let the PCs react.  If the PCs ask the gate guards to accompany them, the guards will say that they are not allowed 
  to leave their post but that they can get help by going back into the inner city and filing a complaint at the garrison.  
  However, if they think they're up to dealing with the thief themselves, the law in the Margrave of Slovan gives them 
  the right to track down a thief in immediate pursuit and bring him or her to the garrison, where they can file charges. 
   
  When the time comes for the guards to tell them how to find Bedrich, one of them says: 
   
  You have to go straight down the road here, about 200ft/60m or so.  You'll come to an intersection.  On the 
  right side is a small general store.  Turn right there and go another 100ft/30m or so.  Most of the buildings 
  there are in pretty good condition, but then you'll come to three in a row that are abandoned … or at least 
  appear to be … and that are in pretty dilapidated condition. 
   
  The one in the middle is small, not much more than a cottage.  The old tinker used to live there, but when he 
  died, his son boarded the place up.  He said he'd be back and get the place back into good repair, but he 
  never returned. 
   
  That's the one.  This character you're seeking probably picked the lock, entered and started holing up there.  
  It's not his place.  It isn't really anyone's anymore.  But that's his address, as much as he has one.  When he 
  came through the gate before, that's the direction that he headed. 
   
  Assuming the PCs go that direction, they will have no trouble finding the house.  It fits the guard's description 
  precisely.  However, the PCs do face a problem or two. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 248 
   
  You find the house that the guard described.  It fits his description perfectly.  But you do have a problem or 
  two with it.  The windows are indeed boarded up, and there appears to be only a single door.  Before it, in a 
  tight pattern about 6ft/2m wide, the black Doberman is marching back und forth, snarling at you and baring 
  its fangs.  However, it's not attacking you.  It appears to be guarding the door instead. 
   
  Bedrich has ordered Fala to guard the house at all costs, and the dog will fight the PCs until it or they are dead.  In 
  adjudicating this encounter, remember Fala's high Reflex score of 20 and his speed of 50ft/15m, which is 67% 
  faster than the PCs' speed of 30ft/9m.  He should not be an easy opponent.  With his initiative modifier of 9, he 
  probably also will have the first attack in most rounds.  However, you can't move to the next section until the PCs 
  eliminate Fala or find a way around him. 
   
   
  2.6  Bedrich's Lair 
   
  Information for the Game Master 
   
  Fala's barking serves as an alarm for Bedrich.  The house has only one door, and the windows are boarded up, so 
  there's no chance for him to flee.  Instead, he uses a trapdoor in the floor of the kitchen and hides in a former supply 
  room in the ruins of an old mining shaft beneath the house. 
   
  The cover to the trapdoor was cut cleverly, making it difficult to see.  Unfortunately, the door is square and Bedrich, 
  in his hurry, did not put it on properly.  As a result, the grain runs in the wrong direction, making it easier to spot if 
  enough light is shed upon it.  Bedrich inadvertently took care of that problem for the PCs too.  He has two lanterns, 
  and he left one of them, still burning, on a decrepit table in the kitchen, just above the trapdoor. 
   
  When Fala started barking, Bedrich was just about to leave his lair and bring the money and the fancy clothing to 
  his own boss in the Brotherhood.  The fancy boots he was wearing are on the floor of the old living room, by his 
  sleeping mat.  The expensive clothing he used, which also belongs to the Brotherhood, are in his backpack, which 
  is on the floor by his sleeping mat.  A fire is burning in a rickety old pot belly stove in the living room.  Bedrich had 
  no time to put it out before fleeing into the mine shaft. 
   
  Bedrich is savvy about operations in the Brotherhood.  Although such things seldom ever are said openly within the 
  Brotherhood, Bedrich knows that if he is captured, his boss in the Brotherhood, Radek, will see to it that Bedrich is 
  assassinated before he can give evidence against Radek.  Facing a choice between possible and certain death, in 
  his own mind, Bedrich, if cornered, will fight the PCs to the death rather waiting for a Brotherhood assassin in 
  Radek's service to slay him. 
   
   
  Working with the Floor and Dungeon Plans 
   
  Different game masters use different methods to create an interface between the players who act out the PCs' roles 
  and the dungeons and floor plans that describe and define what the PCs see.  The most frequent and simple 
  method is paper.  In other words, the players get to see a printed version of the dungeon or floor plan (or also a 
  close-up of an outdoor encounter scene) that is printed on paper. 
   
  That will work too with the floor plans of Bedrich's lair and the dungeon lair beneath that are on the following pages.  
  Unfortunately, a letter-sized printed page from this PDF file won't give you the right scale that you need if you use 
  miniatures, but it will give you varying options. 
   
  You can, for instance, print several copies of these floor and dungeon plans, using versions that hide things that the 
  PCs can't regularly see.  After that, you can use a scissors to cut out each of the rooms separately and show it to 
  the PCs as they enter the rooms.  You can do the same with the game master's version that shows things that the 
  PCs might not see immediately, such as the trapdoor in Bedrich's house.  Once the PCs discover such things, you 
  can give them the room cutout that shows where it is. 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 249 
   
  The reason we make our maps available not only on the pages of the books but also as downloads in the original 
  Fractal Mapper 8 format is that they substantially expand your options as a game master and your players' ability to 
  visualize their situation.  Let's look at some of the possibilities. 
   
  If you use the original floor plan of Bedrich's house together with Fractal Mapper 8, you can show or hide the 
  trapdoor at will.  As downloaded, the trapdoor and the key letter T are visible.  You can make them invisible with the 
  following steps (also see the screen shot below).  These operations are valid for printing, for use with a digital 
  projector or in a laptop network where the game master and the players see different map versions. 
   
  • 
  1.  Click the menu option Map. 
   
  • 
  2.  In the dropdown menu, pick the option Layers.  That opens the dialog box named Layer Settings. 
   
  • 
  3.  In the column Visible of the dialog box, click off the control boxes GM Only Trapdoor and GM Only Text. 
   
  • 
  4.  Then click the command button Ok. 
   
  NOTE:  To make the trapdoor and the letter T visible again, repeat these steps but this time click control boxes GM 
  Only Trapdoor and GM Only Text back on again. 
   
   
  Hiding the game master's secret layers for the trapdoor with Fractal Mapper 8 
  Open Game Content 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 250 
   
   
  Setting the various print options with Fractal Mapper 8 
   
  If you're using miniatures, you have extensive options available that will allow you to print the Dungeons Daring floor 
  and dungeon plans complete and at the proper scale for your miniatures.  Most tin and plastic figures available 
  today use the scale system established by Wizards of the Coast® Inc. for the Dungeons & Dragons® game and the 
  d20® system.  That scale comes to 5 x 5 feet or 2.54 x 2.54 cm per map square. 
   
  The floor plan for Bedrich's house and the mining shaft dungeon are small enough that they will fit on a single letter-
  sized or European A4 sheet of paper.  But that's not always the case.  Fractal Mapper gives you the ability to print 
  floor and dungeon plans so that they continue over several pages, all at the proper scale, and with an overlap that 
  allows you to paste or tape the pages together, producing a large paper map at correct scale that fits together 
  perfectly.  Using the screen shot above, let's take a look at these possibilities. 
   
  • 
  1.  We start by clicking the menu option File. 
   
  • 
  2.  In the dropdown menu click the option Print.  That opens the dialog box named Print (seen to the right in 
  the screen shot). 
   
  • 
  3.  In the dialog box, we can click the radio button Pages Across to establish that Fractal Mapper should print 
  the map on more than one sheet of paper, if there's too little space on a single page. 
   
  • 
  4.  After that, we activate the control box Overlap Printing.  These assures that each new page has a small 
  part of the previous page repeated at the margins.  This makes it easy to accurately paste the map pages 
  together. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 251 
   
  • 
  5.  If we have a vertical floor plan, we click the radio button Portrait.  For horizontal floor plans, we click the 
  radio button Landscape. 
   
  • 
  6.  Next, we use the combo box Set square or dot grids to print at to set the desired printing scale.  We want 
  the map to be at a scale where one 5-foot grid is an inch square.  If you prefer metric settings, then your 
  150cm grid should be set at 25mm. 
   
  • 
  7.  This option applies only if you wish to print just a part of your map.  In that case, click the radio button 
  Selected Area. 
   
  • 
  8.  This option also applies only if you wish to print just a part of your map.  In that case, you use the mouse 
  to outline the part of the map you wish to print. 
   
  • 
  9.  After you've made all of your settings, click the command button Print.  However, if you want to make a 
  screen check of your settings, you also can click the Preview command button first.  Then, only after you're 
  satisfied, should you click the Print command button. 
   
  With some printers, you might find that the 5-foot/150cm grid lines on your map are almost invisible on paper.  
  When that occurs, the best solution often is to change the lines' color.  To do that, call up the dialog box Grid Setup.  
  See Page 220. 
   
   
  On with the Adventure 
   
  The following information can be given to the PCs once they get past Fala and reach the house door.  If you wish, 
  you also can give the PCs a copy of the lower floor plan on the following page, or, if you've printed and cut it in 
  advance, you can give them the rooms one at a time, as an alternative. 
   
  The dilapidated house is small – 35 feet wide and 20 feet deep/10.5x6m.  All the windows have been 
  boarded tightly shut.  A mouse barely could squeak through.  However, the old wooden door at the front of 
  the house appears to be in bad condition.  If it's locked, it probably can be bashed in with pure strength, 
   
  The door has no working lock.  The PCs also simply can open it.  Once they enter, use the floor plans on the 
  following page and the following key descriptions.  The PCs will be able to see little if they have no lantern or other 
  light source. 
   
  B – These are boarded-up windows. 
   
  D – These are wooden doors, none strong or in good condition, and none of them locked. 
   
  1.  The front door opens onto a room 20ft/6m wide and 15ft/450cm across.  Everything in the room is 
  rundown.  The wooden floor is old.  Its boards no longer have a finish.  They have turned grey.  There is a 
  decrepit wooden door in the opposite wall on the left side and two more doors in the same condition in the left 
  wall.  There's a sleeping mat on the opposite wall and an iron pot belly stove with a freshly fueled fire on the 
  fire side of the right wall.  Before the sleeping mat, on the floor, are a pair of boots and a backpack.  The 
  boots look quite similar to those worn by the murderer imposter Bedrich.  No one is in the room.  The house 
  is absolutely quiet. 
   
  Game Master:  The PCs may check out some of the things in this room: 
   
  • 
  Sleeping Mat:  The only things to be found are a dirty pillow and a dirty, worn, grey blanket. 
   
  • 
  Boots:  They are indeed the boots Bedrich wore as a part of his disguise.  As soon as he reached his 
  hideout, Bedrich changed out of the expensive clothing, which he is expected to give back to the 
  Brotherhood. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 252 
   
   
  Bedrich's Lair, with trapdoor shown, above, and trapdoor concealed, below  
  Open Game Content 
   
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 253 
   
  • 
  Backpack:  This also belongs to the Brotherhood.  It contains only the clothing that Bedrich wore when 
  encountering the PCs. 
   
  • 
  Pot Belly Stove:  This is a very dangerous item.  Bedrich took a considerable risk in lighting a fire in it.  The 
  stove is badly rusted in many places.  It would be quite easy to knock it over, which would cause parts of it to 
  crumble and to spill burning coal onto the floor.  That in turn would set the whole house ablaze quickly.  The 
  wooden floor is timber dry. 
   
  In the unlikely event that it comes to combat in this room, you should check to see what happens to the stove in 
  every round in which one of the combatants is in a square adjacent to that where the stove stands.  There is a non-
  cumulative 25% chance per round (1-5 on 1d20) that a combatant will knock the stove over, setting a fire as 
  described above.  If a fire starts, the PCs have 1d4+1 minutes (a minute is 12 five-second rounds long) to leave the 
  house before they become trapped hopelessly in the fire. 
   
  Rooms 2 and 3:  The two rooms are identical and have the same description. 
   
  2.-3.  The room is 10ft/3m wide and 15ft/450cm across.  It appears to be completely empty. 
   
  It is empty. 
   
  4.  This narrow room is 20ft/3m wide but only 5ft/150cm deep.  It looks as though it may have been a laundry 
  room at one time.  Directly inside the door is a crumbling wooden table, 5ft/150cm wide and 2½ft/75cm deep.  
  It looks like it could fall apart at any minute.  There are holes at several places on the table's surface.  Despite 
  that, someone has left a lantern burning atop the table, regardless of the danger.  The only other object, on 
  the opposite side and on the inner wall, is a tub filled with dirty water, about 5ft/150cm wide and 2ft/60cm 
  deep.  Other than that, the room appears to be empty. 
   
  The tub is what it seems to be, a tub of dirty water and nothing more. 
   
  The table and lantern combination is very dangerous.  If there is combat in this area, and one or more combatants 
  are in the same square as the table or the square adjacent to the table, you should check to see what happens to 
  the lantern once each round.  There is a non-cumulative 75% chance per round (1-15 on 1d20) that a combatant 
  will bump the table strongly enough to cause it to collapse, which will dump the lantern and its oil on the floor. 
   
  Anyone to the right of the table must flee the room within one round after this occurs or take 1d4 injury points of fire 
  damage fleeing later through the fire.  In addition, once the fire starts, the PCs have 1d4+1 minutes (a minute is 12 
  five-second rounds long) to leave the house before they become trapped hopelessly in a blaze that will consume 
  the entire house (but not Bedrich's dungeon below). 
   
  As shown on the game master's floor plan at the top of the previous page, there is a trapdoor direct to the right of 
  the table.  The trapdoor was well cut to conceal it, but Bedrich panicked when Fala started barking and was 
  careless.  The cover is on the wrong way.  The wood grain runs in the wrong direction.  As a result, a PC can notice 
  the trapdoor with sufficient light and a successful Search check against DL 11.  The trapdoor is not locked.  
  However, it is trapped.  The trap will not go off until a PC descends the ladder below the trapdoor.  It is described in 
  the next section, 2.7 Bedrich's Dungeon. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 254 
   
  2.7  Bedrich's Dungeon 
   
  Once the PCs open the trapdoor inform them of the following.  The ladder goes down 40ft/12m, so it's unlikely that 
  they will see the floor of the mineshaft below. 
   
  The trapdoor opens into the darkness, at least as far as your illumination reveals anything.  All that's visible 
  inside of it is a wide wooden ladder leading down into the darkness.  The ladder appears to be sturdy, at least 
  here at the top.  It's 3ft/90cm wide. 
   
   
  The Trap 
   
  In the outer wall between the first and second rungs of the ladder is a small wooden door.  This is the top part of the 
  trap.  The fourth rung from the top sets off the trap.  A thin, weak wire is fastened to an eye ring on one side of the 
  ladder just half an inch/12.5mm above the rung.  The wire runs through another eye ring on the other side without 
  being attached.  From there it runs out of view up behind the left support of the ladder and through a hole next to 
  the door that hides the trap.  The wire is very taut. 
   
  Bedrich sets this trap after descending the first 4ft/120cm of the ladder by looping the wire through one eye, pulling 
  it taut and then fastening it to the second eye.  When he ascends the ladder, he disarms it by loosening the wire, or, 
  if he wishes, he leaves it armed.  His is nimble enough to climb the ladder by skipping over the trapped rung.  
  Anyone else wishing to attempt this must make a Dexterity check against DL 13. 
   
  The trap wire is set to be just sufficiently taut.  If it is drawn any tighter, it opens the latch of the door to the trap 
  above.  A spring powered knife with a 12-inch/30cm blade attached to a lubricated shaft then springs 18 
  inches/45cm out of the trap's door, striking anyone on the ladder at a point 40 inches/1m above the ladder's fourth 
  rung.  One might understand this trap as functioning something like a jack-in-the-box resting on its side. 
   
  Any PC saying that he or she is carefully checking the ladder and the wall behind it can find the trap with a 
  successful Search check against DL 12.  This is a trap of the 3rd encounter level, although it does less damage than 
  most traps of that level.  The trap's knife can do only 2d4 injury points of damage.  It can be disabled with an 
  Enable/Disable Device check against DL 13.  Breaking the wire will disarm it, but one could apply too much 
  pressure to the wire, causing the trap to spring. 
   
  If someone trying to disarm the trap accidentally triggers it, the knife will spring out to the left of the character's 
  hands, but it will strike nothing and do no damage.   
   
  If the trap is sprung, it hits its victim automatically without a Reflex check.  However, if the part of the victim's body 
  that would be pierced by the knife's blade is wearing armor, an attack roll against the Armor Defense with an attack 
  bonus of +2 is necessary to determine whether the knife penetrates the armor.  The knife's spring does not have 
  enough power to cause the customary 1 injury point of damage if the armor is not pierced.  Regardless of the attack 
  roll, the trap also is unable to penetrate any armor equal to a chain shirt or higher in hardness. 
   
  Once the trap is triggered, it cannot be sprung again until it is reset. 
   
   
  The Dungeon Plans 
   
  There are game master's and PC versions of the dungeon plan on the following page.  The game master's version 
  requires some explanation.  It includes two former supply rooms that branch off of what's left of the old mining shaft.  
  The game master's dungeon plan shows the same objects in both of these supply rooms, however, they really will 
  be in only one of the two rooms. 
   
  When your PCs descend the latter, they probably will go either left or right at first.  The first of the two supply rooms 
  that they discover should be the empty one.  The second will be the one with the objects.  At the time the PCs 
  descend, Bedrich will be hiding there.  He has a hooded lantern, but the hood is closed. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 255 
   
   
   
  Bedrich's Hideout – game master's view, left, with supply rooms, and players' view, right, without 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 256 
   
  If you're using the maps in Fractal Mapper 2, you'll find layers named GM Objects Room 1 and GM Objects Room 
  2.  The Room labeled R1 is Room 1 and the room labeled R2 is Room 2.  Remember to hide the objects layer at 
  the start for whichever is the first of these two rooms explored by the PCs. 
   
  When the PCs descend the ladder, they will be able to see only what's in the players' view on the previous page.  
  Both of the supply rooms have closed stone doors.  These can be found by adequate illumination with a successful 
  Search check against DL 11.  They are not secret doors, simply stone doors built by whomever made the mining 
  shafts.  They open on strong iron hinges. 
   
  At the foot of the ladder, it is doubtful that the PCs will be able to see either of the ends of the shaft where there are 
  cave-ins.  The cave-ins usually will be beyond the range of their lanterns, taverns, etc.  The two doors also can not 
  be seen until one is at their location in the shaft. 
   
   
  Key to the Dungeon Plans 
   
  • 
  C – Cave-in areas.  It is impossible to proceed beyond these points. 
   
  • 
  T – Location of the trapdoor (40ft/12m above) and foot of the ladder. 
   
   
  Game Master's Version Only 
   
  • 
  R1, R2:  Supply rooms 1 and 2.  Bedrich is in the opposite room from the one to which the PCs go first. 
   
   
  The Action 
   
  When the PCs reach the bottom of the ladder: 
   
  The descent with the ladder was deep.  You probably are about 35 to 40 feet/10,5 to 12m below the surface.  
  You find yourselves in a shaft 10ft/3m wide and just as high, cut out of bedrock in a square shape.  From 
  appearances, this probably is an ancient mining shaft.  It runs on in both directions beyond the reach of your 
  illumination. 
   
  No one is visible in either direction, and everything is silent.  Your lantern light reveals several sets of 
  footprints in the dust on the floor of the shaft, all made by feet of about the same size, but the footprints go in 
  both directions from the base of the ladder. 
   
  Bedrich made all of the footprints.  Dust settles slowly here.  If any of your PCs have abilities to determine which 
  footprints are newer, they will be unable at their levels to draw any conclusions.  Dust accumulates slowly here.  
  They should, however, be able to determine that the footprints probably were made by the same person. 
   
  The PCs will find the first secret door only if they search for it.  The DL to find it is 11.  The door to the room that 
  Bedrich is not using has hinges badly in need of lubrication.  It takes a Strength check against DL 13 to open it.  It 
  will squeak very loudly when opened.  The door to the room Bedrich uses has well-oiled hinges. 
   
  Bedrich will use the sound of the other door squeaking as a signal to begin making his exit from the dungeon.  If 
  one of the PCs in the other room explicitly says that he or she is keeping a keen ear open for noises while 
  investigating the first room, he or she can make a Notice Objects and Movement check against Bedrich's Sneak 
  check to hear Bedrich slipping down the shaft back to the ladder.  The DL is 26.  If any PC is watching the shaft 
  while the others are in the first room, he or she will notice a small amount of light from Bedrich's hooded lantern 
  when Bedrich slips toward the ladder. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 257 
   
  The PCs should be given the following information when they enter the first room. 
   
  This is a square chamber 10 by 10ft/3 x 3m in size with walls, ceiling and floor of stone and stone brick.  The 
  chamber appears to be empty, but some of the stones in the wall are slightly ajar, and the dust upen them 
  was disturbed at some time. 
   
  Bedrich searched the room at an earlier time, thus the disturbances in the dust. 
   
  Unless the PCs spend an eternity searching this room, they should be able to encounter Bedrich just as he's 
  beginning to ascend the ladder.  At the time they reach the ladder, Bedrich will be on the third rung above the floor, 
  with his feet 3ft/90cm above the floor.  He is talented at making a springing jump.  From the ladder, he will jump to a 
  position behind the PCs, ready to fight. 
   
  Although he's not aware of it, Bedrich does not have the pouch that he stole from the PCs.  Instead, he has his own 
  pouch, which he took accidentally, leaving the pouch with the 100 GP behind in the other room.  If the PCs capture 
  or slay him, they will find that he has the following: 
   
  • 
  His short sword. 
  • 
  His clothing. 
  • 
  A leather pouch very similar to that which the PCs were given in the castle.  It contains 2 GP, 3 SP, 2 BP and 
  6 CP as well as 70 counterfeit coins made to look like GP. 
   
   
  When they reach the ladder: 
   
  The person at the ladder is indeed Bedrich, although the clothing he's wearing now are much poorer than 
  those he had when he tricked you. 
   
  So, ye think yer my match, Bedrich says, still about a yard/less than a meter up the ladder.  I warn ye, I have 
  a bit of experience with this blade! 
   
  Give the PCs a chance to react. 
   
  Bedrich surprises you with a magnificent jump from the ladder over your heads, landing on his feet behind 
  (describe his position). 
   
  My blade always is thirsty, he says.  How kind of you to come and offer it drink! 
   
  At this point you need to have everyone roll for initiative, and you need to roll for Bedrich.  Only two of the PCs can 
  engage him in melee combat at one time because of the width of the mining shaft.  One of the two always will be at 
  an advantage, because Bedrich can defend himself against only one opponent at a time.  He will fight to the death.  
  The two PCs who cannot join in melee combat can try to make ranged or spell attacks. 
   
  If the PCs search Bedrich or his body after defeating him, they find the items listed above.  Their 100 GP still are 
  missing.  If Bedrich still is alive, he will claim that he gave the money to an organization for which he works, in the 
  hopes that he can escape and return to retrieve the missing money. 
   
  If the PCs search the room where Bedrich was holed up, they'll find a sleeping mat, their pouch with the 100 GP 
  and a small chest that contains an extra set of thieves' tools and the old, hand-drawn map on the following page. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 258 
   
   
  Hand drawn map of pre-war Dark Valley when it still was known as Tingl's Mill 
  Open Game Content 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 259 
   
  33..    G
  Goollddffiieellddss  
   
  Municipal Level:  Village 
  Ruler:  Margrave Hermacek (in Slovan City) 
  Enforcement:  March Militia, commander Sgt. Damek 
  Population:  200 
  Alignment inclination:  Neutral good 
  Wealth:  6,000 GP.  Top sales price: 600 GP.  The average person in Goldfields earns 7 GP monthly.  Poor 
  laborers may earn as little as 2 GP a month. 
  Political System:  Benevolent (march) 
  Taxation:  Inn Tax 5%, Crop Tax 5% tithe, Product Tax 5% 
  Extraordinary laws:  None 
  Key locations and map numbers:  See following pages 
   
  Key NPCs:  Sgt. Damek, commander of the militia detachment, human male Warrior level 3, age 30; Vaclav, 
  innkeeper at the Golden Scythe, human male Commoner level 1, age 44. 
   
  Once the PCs are finished with Bedrich in Slovan City, the next step of their adventure is their ride northward over 
  Goldfields and Lastmill to Dark Valley.  Whenever they decide to depart Slovan City, make sure you and they know 
  what equipment they're carrying and where and how they're carrying it.  After the PCs have begun their journey to 
  Goldfields, give them the following information.  You may wish to reference the map of the march on Page 224. 
   
  The first day out takes you on the North Road along the Jihvode through prairie land and slightly rolling hills.   
  Less than 500ft/150m north of Slovan City, the cobblestone of the North Road comes to an abrupt end, and 
  the way northward becomes a broad dirt road but still one that's easy to ride. 
   
  In the distance to the north are somewhat larger hills, with forests nearby to the west and farther distant to the 
  east.  Occasionally, riders or a wagon coming from Goldfields in the north pass you.  The travelers all assure 
  you that the road ahead is clear and without threats. 
   
  The landscape is pastoral but unpopulated, although that was not always so.  Frequently, you see rings of 
  foundation stones rising over the grasses, a reminder that this once was a thriving area where horses, cattle 
  and sheep were raised, in a peaceful time when farms dotted the countryside. 
   
  However, the Great Wars did break out, and a horde of draugs, orcs and some evil men crossed the 
  countryside here, destroying everything in their path.  Many farm families fell to this bloody tide.  More 
  managed to flee ahead of it, escaping into the heart of the Kingdom of Wenzen south of the march.  None 
  ever returned to claim the lands that they had abandoned. 
   
  Towards evening you began passing the Gold Forest, about a mile east of the road and the river, and go up 
  and then down a low hill that rises above the river, which cuts a narrow gorge through the higher ground.  As 
  you descend again, the Village of Goldfields lies directly before you. 
   
  Like the northern ruins of Slovan City's old New City, foundation stones and remnants of stone walls rise 
  through the grasses outside of the town wall.  Goldfields also was once much larger than it is today, but that 
  was before the wars. 
   
  To both sides of the village are large grain fields.  Goldfields never has been a center for grazing cattle or 
  sheep, although most farmers do have a milk cow or two and some pigs to serve their own needs.  Rather, 
  the area between Goldfields and Lastmill traditionally was the grain belt of the march. 
   
  The significance faded into the pages of history with the wars.  The large Golden Mill still stands in Goldfields, 
  but only one of its two waterwheels still turns, grinding out grain for the village, for Slovan City and some of 
  the northern areas of the remainder of the Kingdom of Wenzen.  Most of the great grain fields that once 
  stretched to the east and west of town as far as one could see are overgrown now.  Only the fields directly on 
  the edge of Goldfields still are planted in wheat, spelt, oats and barley.  There is only one destination for 
  travelers in Goldfields, the Golden Scythe Inn. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 260 
   
  3.1  Arriving in Town 
   
  Information for the Game Master 
   
  The information on the following page, along with the village maps and the floor plans of the Golden Scythe Inn, can 
  be given to the players. 
   
   
  3.2  A Night in the Inn 
   
  Information for the Game Master 
   
  There is no action as such planned for the PCs' stay in Goldfields, but if they go down to the public room at night, 
  they'll find the house about two-thirds full.  All the customers appear to be local. 
   
  If the PCs keep a close ear on what the locals are saying or if they begin conversing with them, the can pick up a lot 
  of scuttlebutt.  If they tell what kind of mission they're on for the margrave, the locals will approve, saying it's about 
  time that the margrave takes on the draugs who have been raiding Lastmill.  They also want him to do more to 
  capture the brigands who trouble travelers north of town. 
   
  These are the things the PCs can learn: 
   
  • 
  Brigands from somewhere – no one is quite sure where – came into the Border Forest northwest of 
  Goldfields several months ago and started raiding travelers on the North Road between Goldfields and 
  Lastmill.  Most folks think that the brigands are former Harriki who fled the little that's left of the old empire.  
  They're poorly trained and poorly armed.  It's estimated that there are 15 to 20 of them.  They attack only 
  small bands traveling north, robbing them of all of their valuables and their horses.  Usually they ambush 
  travelers near the ford on the Jihvode River in the North Hills.  The militia has difficulty tracking them down.  
  There apparently is a good Ranger in the group who knows how to hide tracks.  The villagers speculate that 
  he or she may be the brigands' leader. 
   
  • 
  In the last three or four months, small groups of draug warriors have been coming down from the ruins of the 
  Harriki empire in the north and in the dark hours of the deep night, they've abducted people from Lastmill.  It's 
  believed that they take their captives back to the draug Black Necromancer Baron Nundlung in Dark Valley, 
  the ruins of a Harriki village that once was known as Tingl's Mill. 
   
  • 
  A week ago, two peddlers headed out from Goldfields for Lastmill, but they never arrived there.  It's doubtful 
  that this was the work of the brigands.  They appear to be interested only in robbing their victims, not in 
  slaying or abducting them.  Everyone in Goldfields suspects that the draugs have begun circling Lastmill and 
  may now be raiding between Lastmill and Goldfields abducting travelers trying in the late evening to reach 
  Lastmill. 
   
  • 
  The people of Goldfields are afraid that the draugs may become more daring and begin raiding their village 
  too. 
   
   
   
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 261 
   
  In Goldfields 
   
  Goldfields and Lastmill, farther to the north, survived the wars only because the King of Wenzen 
  stationed large troop contingents and powerful magi in the two villages to help brake the tide of 
  undead and orcs that swept down from the fallen Harriki Empire.  Although they paid a great toll, 
  the royal troops and magi succeeded.   The wall of Goldfields fell.  The moat of Lastmill held. 
  Neither was conquered.  Instead, the invaders were so weakened in the battles for the two villages 
  that they could be defeated in the final battle, in the northern part of Slovan City. 
   
  That being as it may, Goldfields and Lastmill dwindled after the wars.  As with the folk in most of 
  the march, many of the farmers and others who dwelt in Goldfields and Lastmill fled into the 
  southern reaches of the kingdom and other lands beyond.  As a result, most of the farms outside the 
  town wall have crumbled into ruin, and all but the nearest grain fields long have been fallow. 
   
  The wall itself is mostly a memory.  Some, low, moss-covered segments of it still stand between the 
  stone rings that were the foundation stones of the wall's battle towers.  Only the two towers at the 
  points where the North Road entered the town were refurbished and still are in use. 
   
  The Map 
   
  1 – Guard towers at the two entrances to the village.  Each is manned by two members of the militia, 
  both Warriors. 
   
  2 – Militia outpost.  The commander is Sgt. Damek, a 30-year-old male Warrior.  His detachment 
  includes two 2nd level Warriors who, along with Damek, are on duty during the daytime at the 
  outpost, and 12 Warriors who work in shifts at the two towers. 
   
  3 – Mill pond. 
   
  4 – Dana's Wagon Works.  Master wainwright Dana, a 42-year-old male Artisan, his journeyman 
  Evzen, a 26-year-old male Artisan, and his apprentice Kamil, a 17-year-old male Commoner, build 
  wagons and sleighs. 
   
  5 – Blacksmith Kazimir, a 35-year-old male Artisan and master blacksmith, runs his small smithy 
  without the help of journeymen or apprentices.  He makes and repairs farm equipment and he shoes 
  horses, but Kazimir is ill trained for work with weapons or armor. 
   
  6- Jihvode River. 
   
  7 – Millstream. 
   
  8 – The Golden Mill.  Once the biggest industrial operation north of Slovan City, the mill now 
  grinds flour and presses vegetable oil only for the march and a few other areas of the kingdom just 
  beyond the march's borders.  The master miller, Milan, a 58-year-old Artisan, his wife Lida, a 56-
  year-old female Artisan, and their son, master miller Kornel, a 31-year-old male Artisan, run the 
  mill. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 262 
   
   
  The village of Goldfields 
  Open Game Content 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 263 
   
   
   
    
   
  With tavern graphics by GreyTale 
  The Golden Scythe Inn 
  Open Game Content 
   
   
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 264 
   
  9 –Golden Scythe Inn.  Innkeeper Vaclav, a 44-year-old male Commoner, his wife, Anezka, a 43-
  year-old female Commoner, and their serving wench Eliska, a 22-year-old Commoner, run the small 
  inn, the only hostelry left in Goldfields.  The public room does a brisk business evenings with locals 
  who enjoy the house lager that Vaclav brews.  The upper floor has four guest rooms, all singles, that 
  go per person for 5 SP a week or 1 SP a night.  Anezka will make bread boards with home-made 
  bread, cold cuts and condiments for house guests during the noon hour at 2 BP per serving.  Simple 
  warm meals can be ordered at night at 8 BP per serving.  The house lager costs 3 CP per quart/liter 
  tankard. 
   
  Other Buildings – All other buildings are farms or private houses. 
   
   
   
   
  The Golden Scythe Inn 
   
  Ground Floor 
   
  The ground floor of the building to the left is not shown.  It holds the kitchen and the quarters of 
  Vaclav and Anezka.  The letters on the floor plans correspond to the building on the right and the 
  courtyard. 
   
  B – Bar. 
   
  C – Courtyard with 5ft/150cm high stone wall and gate. 
   
  E – Entrance to the Inn and Public Room. 
   
  F – Double-face fireplace and chimney. 
   
  K – Kitchen Doors. 
   
  R – Reserved table for local regulars only. 
   
  S – Stable for guests' horses. 
   
  Upper Floor (all rooms designated with U) 
   
  The building to the right with the public room has no upper floor.  It is a single story building.  The 
  entry to the stairway to the upper floor is the door just to the right of (or above) the kitchen doors on 
  the floor plans. 
   
  UJ – Single-seater jakes for overnight guests. 
   
  U1 – U4 – Guest rooms.  Each has a pot-bellied stove, a wardrobe, a footlocker, a table with four 
  chairs, a shelf and coat rack and a single, four-poster bed. 
   
  U5 – Eliska's room.  The serving wench lives here.  (Interior not shown) 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 265 
   
   
  North Hills encounter – Game Master's version 
  Open Game Content 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 266 
   
   
  North Hills encounter – Players' version 
  Open Game Content 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 267 
   
   
  North Hills encounter scene 
  Open Game Content 
   
   
   
  44..    O
  Onn  tthhee  RRooaadd  AAggaaiinn  
   
  The following information should be given to the PCs after they leave Goldfields. 
   
  Just north of Goldfields, the North Road turns from a wide dirt road into a wagon track that is in good 
  condition.  The first part of your day is uneventful, but you've reached the point now where the road follows 
  the Jihvode River through the North Hills, a narrow valley that runs some 15 miles/23km northward. 
   
  At this time, you should show your players the PC version of the map North Hills encounter. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 268 
   
  As you enter the valley, you can see the first of many hills straddling the North Road.  The river and road 
  follow a relatively straight courses at this point.  There is a narrows in the river about 300ft/90m ahead of you 
  where rocks 6 to 8 feet/180 to 240cm high jut out of the water.  The hills are covered with coarse grasses, 
  rock outcroppings, brush and trees.  You can see two thin trails on the hillside across the river from the point 
  where it narrows and three more thin trails on your side of the Jihvode, also heading up into the hills. 
   
   
   
   
  Information for the Game Master 
   
  The game master's version of the overland encounter map shows you the following: 
   
  • 
  F – The ford in the river. 
   
  • 
  1 – The place where three brigands are waiting to ambush the PCs on the road side.  Arrow range is 
  80ft/24m. 
   
  • 
  2 – The place where two more brigands are waiting and may attack with arrows.  The range is 150ft/45m. 
   
  The second map - North Hills encounter scene – is a close-up of the point where the three brigands are waiting to 
  attack the PCs.  It well may be that the PCs track the brigands and encounter them there rather than waiting to be 
  ambushed.  If such an encounter occurs, you can give your players a copy of this map too, so that they can 
  visualize the scene accurately. 
   
   
   
  For FM8 Users 
   
  The encounter scene map was designed specifically for use with electronic visualizations or miniatures.  It is in the 
  map file DDNorthHillsEncounter.fmp. 
   
  • 
  If you're using miniatures, print this map with 1-inch grids.  It then 
  will be at exactly the right scale for your miniatures. 
   
  • 
  If you're using a digital projector or a laptop network, follow these 
  steps.  First make all layers except Markers unselectable.  Then 
  make Markers your active layer.  This will make it possible for you to 
  move the three black markers for the brigands as you please. 
   
  • 
  If you've installed the Dungeons Daring symbols (downloadable 
  from http://www.dungeons-daring.org ) proceed as follows, using the 
  graphic to the right as a guideline: 
   
  • 
  Pick the symbol set DDaring Vector. 
   
  • 
  Pick the category Markers. 
   
  • 
  Load a different colored marker for each of your PCs.  This will 
  make it possible for you also to move the colored markers for each 
  of your PCs as you please. 
   
   
  Open Game Content 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 269 
   
  NPC Statistics 
   
  Because the brigands all are 1st level Warriors, there is little room for variation in their statistics including injury 
  points. 
   
  Five Brigands 
  All Warrior Level 1 
  Size:  Medium 
  Ages:  20-30 years 
  Initiative modifier:  +0 (+0 Dex) 
  Injury Points:  19 
  Life Points:  4 
  Base Defenses:  Armor 12; Endurance 11; Reflex 10; Will 11. 
  Attacks:  Long sword (poor quality), attack bonus +2 for Reflex defense, +0 for Armor defense, Damage 1d8-1.  
  Long bow: Attack 100ft/30m +2, 200ft/60m +0, 300ft/90m -3, Damage 1d8. 
  Magical Attacks:  None 
  Magical Items:  Fireball arrows (1 each) 
  Armor:  Leather 
  Speed:  30ft/9m 
  Resistances:  None 
  Abilities:  Strength 13, Dexterity 11, Stamina 13, Magical aptitude 1, Mechanical aptitude 12, Knowledge 13 
  Special abilities:  Sneak attack +1d6; Trapfinding; Evasion. 
  Talent Points:  12 
  Primary Talents:  Melee Combat 6, Ranged Combat 6. Religion 0. 
  Secondary Talents:  None 
  Skills with Bonus:  Armor Proficiency +7, Concentration +1, Heal +1, Notice Objects and Movement +1, Religious 
  Knowledge +1, Ride Mount +1, Search +1, Sneak 0, Swim +1, Weapon Proficiency (melee) +7, Weapon 
  Proficiency (ranged) +6. 
  Alignment:  Neutral evil 
   
  Injury Point Threshold 
  Remaining 
  Injury Points 
  Attack, Damage, Skill 
  and Defense Penalty 
  Fully capable 
  10 or more 
  None 
  Injured 
  6-9 
  -1 
  Seriously injured 
  3-5 
  -2 
  Critically injured 
  1-2 
  -3 
  In mortal danger 
  0 
  -4 
   
  Balls of Fire arrows:  These magical arrows cause a Ball of Fire to explode, causing 2d6 points of damage to all 
  within 30ft/9m of the point of impact.  The brigand band managed to find a hidden stash of 20 such magical arrows 
  in the fallen empire.  They use them to intimidate victims.  Except in desperation, they will not waste a second of 
  these arrows upon the PCs. 
   
  Other supplies:  The brigands all have long swords that are in bad condition.  They make a normal attack roll that 
  checks as usual against the Reflex defense to determine the hit.  However, if there is a hit and the target is wearing 
  any kind of armor, there is a penalty of -2 against the target's Armor defense.  Regardless of whether the target is 
  wearing armor, the penalty always counts for sword damage, thus damage roll is 1d8-1 instead of the normal 
  1d8+1.  Each NPC also has in his or her possession 2d4 CP, a long bow and 30 arrows.  All five have horses. 
   
   
  NPC Strategy 
   
  If the PCs don't track down and surprise the three brigands, they will wait until the PCs reach a point directly below 
  them.  They then will fire a Ball of Fire arrow at a point of impact exactly 40ft/12m in front of the foremost PC.  This 
  will do no damage, but the PCs will feel the ball of fire's intense heat.  If the PCs are riding horses, they will need 
  1d4 rounds for them calm to calm their mounts. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 270 
   
  You see an arrow fly down from the hills above you to the left.  Suddenly a huge ball of fire explodes in the 
  road about 40ft/12m in front of you.  You can feel the intense heat, but you don't appear to be damaged.  But 
  then a voice echoes from the hills above you to the right: 
   
  That was just a warning!  We have more of those arrows, and we're prepared to fire them upon you if you 
  leave us no other choice.  Stand down now, put your arms above your heads and then both hands, palms 
  down, upon your heads! 
   
  If the PCs don't do as they say, the brigands each (all five) will begin firing one arrow per round on the PCs.  The 
  brigands on the river side will not cross the ford.  If the PCs slay or capture the brigands on the road side, the two 
  brigands on the river side will flee and ride off into the Border Forest in the West.  If the PCs try to pursue them, 
  when they come within 200ft/60m of the forest's edge, they will be attacked with 15 arrows per round, fired by 
  archers concealed in the trees.  All of the brigands in this group are 1st level warriors.  Use the statistics above.  If 
  the PCs come within less than 100ft/30m of the forest, the brigands will try, in two successive rounds, to hit them 
  directly with Balls of Fire arrows. 
   
  The encounter will delay the PCs long enough that they no longer will be able to reach Lastmill before sunset.  You 
  can show them the picture below, which describes the scene. 
   
  Much of the rest of the day goes by uneventfully.  The road is empty; no one else appears to be traveling 
  between Goldfields and Lastmill today.  Unfortunately, it appears that your tangle with the brigands will make 
  it impossible to reach Lastmill before the sun sets.  The last gentle hill before Lastmill is ahead of you.  A 
  stand of pine trees marks its crest.  But last rays of gold and orange in the western sky are yielding to the 
  black of night. 
   
   
  Sunset over the last hill before Lastmill … with draugs on the way 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 271 
   
  The North Road veers toward the hill.  The Jihvode flows about 1,000ft/300m to the west of the hill, through a 
  somewhat swampy stretch of flat land.  The North Road crosses the hill, which is low but broad.  Its crest is 
  only about 100ft/30m higher than the surrounding flat lands.  But the hill spreads out north to south and east 
  to west over a stretch of some 3,000ft/1,000m. 
   
   
  Before you continue with your description, you should give the PCs a chance to react.  For the description and 
  encounter that follow, use the encounter map below.  Fractal Mapper 8 users also can print this map at a scale of 1 
  inch per grid for use with miniatures or use it with a digital projector or laptop network and markers.  The map file is 
  DDDraugEncounter1.fmp. 
   
   
   
   
  Draug encounter south of Lastmill 
  Open Game Content 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 272 
   
  The last traces of daylight vanish as you ascend the hill, but the full moon is up early tonight and it is bright.  
  Although the light is weaker than it would be by daylight, you still can say relatively well, even making out 
  weak differences in color. 
   
   
   
  Before you continue with your description, give the PCs a chance to react again. 
   
   
   
  As you approach the crest of the pine-covered hill, you see the ruin of a large watch tower some 100ft/3m to 
  the right of the road.  Only the lower 20ft/6m of the tower's wall still stand.  The top ring of stones is broken off 
  in a jagged fashion. 
   
  As you look at the ruin, three dark figures step out from the forest just in front of the ruin.  As well as you can 
  see, they appear to be human, but there is a red glow in the eyes of all three of them.  Each holds a drawn 
  long sword.  One of them speaks in a strangely emotionless voice: 
   
  Be greeted, travelers!  We are the servants of Baron Nundlung.  The baron invites ye to visit him in his court 
  in Tingl's Mill.  He offers ye the gift of deathless eternity.  We offer ye the choice between eternal deathless-
  ness or death now.  Yield and come with us, or we shall slay ye! 
   
   
   
  The servants of the baron are a draug warrior and two draug commoners.  They will not allow the PCs to pass and 
  will fight them until they are destroyed or the PCs are dead. 
   
   
   
  NPC Statistics 
   
  Draug Warrior 
  Warrior, level 1 
  Size:  Medium 6ft/183 cm, 170lbs/85kg 
  Age expectancy:   Draugs survive until they are permanently destroyed 
  Initiative modifier:  0 
  Injury Points:  24 
  Life Points:  None. 
  Base Defenses:  Armor 10; Endurance 12; Reflex 10; Will 17 
  Attacks:  Long sword, attack bonus +3, damage 1d8+1. 
  Magical Attacks:  None 
  Magical Items:  None 
  Armor:  None 
  Speed:  30ft/9m per round 
  Resistances:  Resistance to heat and cold 
  Abilities:  Strength 12, Dexterity 11, Stamina 20, Magical Aptitude 1, Mechanical Aptitude 12, Knowledge 13. 
  Special qualities:  Perceive in the dark, magical touch, undead injury effects, immune to pain, immune to poison, 
  vulnerability to daylight, vulnerability to direct sunlight, vulnerability to iron, vulnerability to running water, 
  herbal vulnerability, ley ban, emergence (See definitions under Draug Commoners below). 
  Talent Points:  8 
  Primary Talents:  Melee Combat 8 
  Secondary Talents:  None 
  Skills with Bonus:  Armor Proficiency +9, Notice Objects and Movement +1, Ride Mount +1, Search +1, Sneak 0, 
  Weapon Proficiency +9 
  Alignment inclination:  Any evil 
  Treasure:  None 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 273 
   
  Draug Commoners (2) 
  Commoner, level 1 
  Size:  Medium. 1) 5'10"/178cm, 134lbs/67kg and 2) 5'8"/173cm, 128lbs/64kg 
  Age expectancy:   Draugs survive until they are permanently destroyed 
  Initiative modifier:  +2 (Dex +2) 
  Injury Points:  5 
  Life Points:  None. 
  Base Defenses:  Armor 10; Endurance 10; Reflex 11; Will 15 
  Attacks:  Long sword, attack bonus +1, damage 1d8 
  Magical Attacks:  None 
  Magical Items:  None 
  Armor:  None 
  Speed:  30ft/9m per round 
  Resistances:  Resistance to heat and cold 
  Abilities:  Strength 11, Dexterity 13, Stamina 20, Magical Aptitude 1, Mechanical Aptitude 14, Knowledge 11. 
  Special qualities:  Perceive in the dark, magical touch, undead injury effects, immune to pain, immune to poison, 
  vulnerability to daylight, vulnerability to direct sunlight, vulnerability to iron, vulnerability to running water, 
  herbal vulnerability, ley ban, emergence. 
  Talent Points:  8 
  Primary Talents:  Applied Knowledge 3, Athletics 3 
  Secondary Talents:  Melee Combat 1 
  Skills with Bonus:  Armor Proficiency +1, Concentration +4, Herbalistic Knowledge +4, Notice Objects and 
  Movement 0, Ride Mount 0, Search 0, Sneak +1, Weapon Proficiency +1 
  Alignment inclination:  Any evil 
  Treasure:  None 
   
   
  Special Qualities of the Draug Warrior and Draug Commoners 
   
  Resistance to Heat and Cold:  Heat and cold have no effect upon a draug as long they do not cause it to burn or 
  to dehydrate or become frozen to an extent that movement becomes clumsy to impossible.  Cold may freeze a 
  draug in its position, but it does no lasting damage.  Heat can cause damage only if it causes the draug to catch fire.  
  At that point it takes the standard damage that the fire causes. 
   
  Perceive in the Dark:  The eyes of draugs emit a signal something like that of a bat.  The less light there is, the 
  stronger the signal becomes.  When the signal is reflected back to the draug's eyes, it forms a colorless image in 
  black, white and grey tones of what normally could be seen in light.  This image does not magically detect invisible 
  creatures and objects.  Invisibility magic allows such signals to pass in both directions through invisible objects.  
  This virtual sight has a range of 60ft/18m. 
   
  Magical Touch:  Draugs have no living nervous system but they do have a magical ability to sense objects when 
  they are touched.  This sense is limited to the perception that an object is being touched.  A draug also can, for 
  example, move his or her hand around an object and perceive its form.  It can squeeze an object and detect 
  whether it yields, giving the draug an impression of its degree of hardness.  However, a draug cannot feel such 
  things as small points or sharpness although it well may see them. 
   
  Undead Injury Effects:  Draugs have no life points.  If an injury dismembers a draug, as might be the case with a 
  targeted hit, it loses the use of the dismembered body part.  Otherwise, a draug is at full capacity despite the loss of 
  injury points until it reaches 0 points, when it automatically is slain.  Even after reaching 0 injury points, a draug's 
  body can be repaired and bound again to a soul.  Only if the draug is decapitated and the head is destroyed is it 
  impossible to restore its own body and return its soul to it. 
   
  Immune to Pain:  Draugs have no living nervous system and therefore feel no pain. 
   
  Immune to Poison:  Draugs have no life system that can be damaged by poison, however destructive poisons (like 
  some acids) that will destroy physical body tissue have the same effect upon a draug's undead body. 
   
  Vulnerability to Daylight:  One small, single ray of sunlight touching a draug will destroy its physical essence 
  forever, and it also will destroy permanently the soul of any draug below dark draug level.  Being in daylight without 
  exposure to direct sun does not destroy a draug, but it gives it a penalty of -2 on every decision that requires a dice 
  roll. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 274 
   
  Vulnerability to Iron:  Any wound from iron automatically slays a draug.  However, a draug body slain by iron can 
  be restored and have its soul returned to it. 
   
  Vulnerability to Running Water:  Draugs are unable to cross running water of their own power.  They cannot will 
  themselves to do so.  If draug flesh comes into contact with running water, the surface of skin that touched the 
  water will be dissolved as though it had been in a dangerous acid. 
   
  Herbal Vulnerability:  Certain plants are particularly strong in the forces of Light and Life, which causes difficulty 
  for draugs that encounter them.  Ransom or wild garlic and sloe bushes repel draugs.  A draug must make a 
  Stamina check against DL 35 to touch or cross ramson or to touch or pass by or through sloe.  However, if it is 
  commanded to do so by its master draug, the master draug makes the check instead. 
   
  Ley ban:  Draugs will come only reluctantly within 100ft/30m of a ley line or 500ft/150m of a ley stone.  Within that 
  range, they lose all of their magical powers and all use of magic.  Even their magical items become temporarily non-
  magical. 
   
  Emergence:  Draugs cannot be forever trapped inside physical bounds unless they are made of lead or iron or they 
  are encircled by running water.  They can move through any other type of matter at a rate of ⅛ inch/3cm per round.  
  That's equivalent to 1½ inches/38mm a minute or 7½ feet/230cm an hour. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  The outskirts of Lastmill 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 275 
   
  55..    LLaassttm
  miillll  
   
  Municipal Level:  Village 
  Ruler:  Margrave Hermacek (in Slovan City) 
  Enforcement:  March Militia 
  Population:  120 
  Alignment inclination:  Neutral good 
  Wealth:  5,000 GP.  Top sales price: 550 GP.  The average person in Goldfields earns 5 GP monthly.  Poor 
  laborers may earn as little as 15 SP a month. 
  Political System:  Benevolent (march) 
  Taxation:  Inn Tax 5%, Crop Tax 5% tithe, Product Tax 5% 
  Extraordinary laws:  None 
  Key locations and map numbers:  See following pages 
   
  Key NPCs:  Miroslav, innkeeper at the Border House Inn, human male Commoner level 1, age 56; Iveta, human 
  female Herbal Witch level 9, age 62; Targa, human female Herbal Witch level 5, age 37; Corporal Oldrich, 
  commander of the militia detachment, human male Warrior level 2, age 26; two militia soldiers, human male or 
  female, Warrior level 1. 
   
  As you approach Lastmill, you notice that the town is on something of an island.  The North Road bypasses 
  the town to the east.  A wooden bridge crosses the river at the village's south end.  It appears to be the way 
  into town. 
   
   
  Game Master's Notes 
   
  Lastmill never had a town wall.  Instead, as a defensive measure, a moat was dug around the west side of the 
  village and a system of three, removable wooden bridges was used to make access to the town difficult.  The North 
  Road, which has degenerated into a riding track north of town, bypasses the village proper.  Give your players the 
  information on Pages 277-282. 
   
   
  The Last Mill in Lastmill – damaged but still intact 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 276 
   
   
  The Village of Lastmill – Game Master's Version 
  Open Game Content 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 277 
   
   
  The Village of Lastmill – Players' Version 
  Open Game Content 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 278 
   
  In Lastmill 
   
  Lastmill, like Goldfields, survived the wars only because the King of Wenzen stationed large troop 
  contingents and powerful magi in the two villages to help brake the tide of undead and orcs that 
  swept down from the fallen Harriki Empire. 
   
  Lastmill is on an artificial island.  To enter the village from the North Road, one must cross the 
  Jihvode on a wooden bridge south of town and then cross the wide millstream on a second wooden 
  bridge west of the village.  One can see that the bridges were made in a manner that makes their 
  removal easy, forcing invaders to cross the running water of the Jihvode or the millstream.  The orcs 
  from the north could do that, but the undead of the host could not cross running water. 
   
  Although they paid a great toll, the royal troops and magi succeeded in defending Lastmill in the 
  wars.   Neither Lastmill nor Goldfields was conquered.  Instead, the invaders were so weakened in 
  the battles for the two villages that they could be defeated in the final battle, in the northern part of 
  Slovan City. 
   
  The population of Lastmill is concentrated upon the island, for security's sake.  However, most 
  farmers have barns and sheds by their fields outside of town.  Like Goldfields, Lastmill historically 
  was part of the March of Slovan's grain belt.  Wheat, oats, barley and spelt are Lastmill's main crops.  
  However, timber operations in the eastern part of the Border Forest also are of economic 
  importance.  Like Goldfields, Lastmill also diminished substantially after the wars, leaving a large 
  number of ruins outside of town. 
   
  Lastmill today is protected by a small detachment of militia in the so-called War Tower and the 
  village Siege House.  The War Tower is a multi-story tower 70ft/21m high.  In its base is the militia 
  detachment, which houses the commander, Corporal Oldrich, and his two soldiers.  The upper 
  stories are empty but have space enough to accommodate all of the villagers, should the town come 
  under attack. 
   
  The top level of the tower makes an excellent watchpost, with a view during clear weather that 
  reaches to the Dread Hills in the north, the North Hills in the south, Coldwood Forest in the east and 
  the Border Forest in the west.  The top level of the tower also has secured in a chest a magical 
  scepter with which one can communicate in times of emergency with Wladislav, the royal diviner in 
  Gunnar's Tower in Slovan City. 
   
   
  The Village Map 
   
  1 – Jihvode River. 
   
  2 – Millstream. 
   
  3 – Acedia's General Store.  This shop is vital to the village's well-being.  Farmers in Lastmill raise 
  few food crops and have few animals.  They concentrate upon the harvest of grain for the Last Mill.  
  As a result, they rely heavily upon Acedia, a 48-year-old human female Merchant, who runs the 
  village's only shop.  She sells a wide variety of supplies as well as food at prices averaging about 5% 
  above those in the Players Guide. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 279 
   
  4 – Border House Inn.  The Border House once was an exclusive hostelry, the last in the kingdom 
  before the border with the Harriki Empire.  Since the wars, it has fallen on harder times.  Relatively 
  few travelers come to Lastmill these days, and none travel on to the Lands of Ruin in the north.  The 
  owner and landlord, Miroslav, nonetheless tries to maintain the inn as well as he can in the tradition 
  of his ancestors.  However, the main source of his modest income comes from the locals who 
  frequent the public room in small numbers in the noon hour and in larger numbers after the day's 
  work is done.  The inn is sound.  The walls and windows are tight against winds, and there are no 
  leaks in the roof.  However, some things are a bit threadbare, and there are places where new paint 
  would be helpful.  The complex includes a stable for visitors' horses to the rear right of the main 
  building and the small brewhouse where Miroslav brews his house beer to the rear left.  Miroslav is 
  a 56-year-old human male Commoner.  The cook is his wife, Dusana, a 54-year-old human female 
  Commoner.  The serving wench is their daughter 36-year-old daughter, Eliska, a Commoner.  When 
  he has time, her husband, the lumberjack Evzen, a 38-year-old human male Merchant, also helps out 
  at the inn. 
   
  5 – Siege House.  This structure belongs to the March of Slovan.  It once was a second inn, with 
  more guest rooms than the neighboring Border House, but it went out of business during the wars.  
  Margrave Hermacek bought it and had it remodeled, to help sustain his northern border outpost in 
  times of trouble.  It has large grain cellars, storage areas that are available to Acedia's General Store 
  where Acedia can keep non-perishable foods, wine and the like and storage areas that are available 
  to local farmers.  The building is not manned.  It is under the control of Corporal Oldrich in the War 
  Tower. 
   
  6 – War Tower.  The building, also property of the March of Slovan, is the main defensive structure 
  in the village.  It has room for the entire village population to seek shelter within its yard/meter thick 
  limestone walls during times of war.  There also is an underground tunnel connecting the tower to 
  the neighboring Siege House.  The ground floor is the station of the small military detachment of 
  militia from Slovan City.  Corporal Oldrich, the station commander, a 26-year-old human male 
  Warrior, has his quarters on the second story (European first floor).  The two soldiers who do 
  temporary duty under his command, always human male or female Warriors from Slovan City, have 
  quarters in the third story (European second floor). 
   
  7 – The Last Mill.  The mill is run by Strom, a 49-year-old human male master miller and Artisan of 
  Level 6.  He and his wife, Kamila, a 44-year-old human female Commoner of 1st level, live on the 
  upper floor of the mill.  They employ a journeyman miller, Vavrin, a 32-year-old Artisan of 2nd 
  level, and at all times, they have two apprentices, human male or female Commoners of 1st level.  
  The mill grinds all of the local grain into flour and commercial feed and it also presses seeds into 
  vegetable oil. 
   
  8 – Zdenek's Wagonworks.  Zdenek, a 41-year-old human male master wainwright and Artisan, 
  builds and repairs the wagons and sleighs used by local farmers.  His sole employee is the 
  journeyman wainwright Vilem, a 29-year-old human male Artisan. 
   
  9 – Marek's Smithy.  The village master blacksmith is Marek, a 36-year-old human male Artisan.  
  He works alone.  Marek does not make or repair armor or weapons. 
   
  10 – House of Healing.  This is the home of Iveta, a 62-year-old human female Herbal Witch, and 
  her daughter, Targa, a 37-year-old human female Herbal Witch.  They have a large herbal garden on 
  the west side of their house. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 280 
   
   
   
   
  With tavern graphics by GreyTale 
  Border House Inn, ground floor with grid. 
  Open Game Content 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  With tavern graphics by GreyTale 
  Border House Inn, ground floor without grid. 
  Open Game Content 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 281 
   
   
  Border House Inn, upper floor with grid. 
  Open Game Content 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Border House Inn, upper floor without grid. 
  Open Game Content 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 282 
   
  The Border House Inn 
   
  When entering the inn, a stairway to the upper level is just past the doorway, about 5ft/150cm 
  inside.  The rest of the ground floor that's visible is the public room.  Miroslav has four guest rooms 
  at 3 SP a week or 8 BP nightly.  The house beer costs 3 CP for a quart/liter tankard.  The Border 
  House has no regular food menu, but Dusana will make food for overnight guests at 3 BP per meal. 
   
  The Ground Floor 
   
  B – Bar.  Miroslav usually works here, pouring tankards of his house brew from the barrel. 
   
  E – Entrance.  Two wide, wooden doors, each 5ft/150cm wide. 
   
  F – Double-faced, wood-burning fireplace. 
   
  J – Jakes. 
   
  K – Kitchen Entrance.  Two wide, wooden doors, each 5ft/150cm wide. 
   
  L – Table reserved for local regulars. 
   
  W – Windows with green wooden shutters. 
   
   
  The Upper Floor 
   
  J – Jakes. 
   
  1-4 – The four guest rooms.  These rooms are a bit more cramped than the accommodations in 
  Slovan City and Goldfields.  The ceiling, following the roof contours, slants downward on the 
  outside wall.  Two dormers are in these walls with windows.  Each room is furnished with a four-
  poster bed, a wardrobe, a foot locker, two chairs and a wood-burning pot belly stove. 
   
   
   
  The golden grain fields of Lastmill 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 283 
   
  5.1  Arriving in Lastmill 
   
   
  The following information should be given to the PCs as they enter Lastmill. 
   
  The North Road continues on as a wagon track, but a wooden, hand-carved road sign advises a left turn to 
  enter Lastmill.  This road too is a double-rut wagon track until it reaches a wooden bridge that crosses the 
  Jihvode River.  On the other side, a gravel road continues on along a second stream, turning northward.  The 
  first structure you see is a mill complex across the stream. 
   
  Show the players the picture on Page 274. 
   
  As you ride directly by the mill, across the stream, you notice that the cupola of its elevator has been badly 
  damaged.  It doesn't appear to be damaged from a fire or a natural disaster and certainly not from the 
  ravages of time.  It looks convincingly like a battle took place there.  There's no sign of activity at the mill. 
   
  Show the players the picture on Page 275. 
   
  Just past the mill, you can continue on northward over the gravel road or turn right on another, which will take 
  you across the bridge and into Lastmill.  On the other side of the bridge, to the left, is a large limestone tower, 
  about 70ft/21m tall. 
   
  The next events are decided by the PCs' actions. 
   
   
   
  Game Master's Notes 
   
  The PCs are arriving in Lastmill on the evening after catastrophic events.  In the previous night, while the PCs were 
  in Goldfields, a disastrous draug raid took place at about 3 a.m.  It came to a battle with the draugs that left two 
  draugs destroyed, three villagers and a soldier dead and another soldier wounded to the point where he is fighting 
  for his life.  Three of the draugs managed to escape Lastmill, taking the miller, Strom, and his wife, Kamila, with 
  them as prisoners.  Everyone assumes that they are being taken to Dark Valley. 
   
  Here is how events unfolded: 
   
  • 
  Corporal Oldrich, the commander of the small militia detachment, was out with a land patrol of the militia, 
  showing its members where someone has been digging underground shelters for draugs, to protect them 
  from daylight.  Indications are that the Brotherhood of Slovan City is receiving payment from the draug Baron 
  Nundlung in Dark Valley to dig the shelters.  The events that occurred were related by the seriously wounded 
  and injured soldier Viktor, who rests in mortal danger at present in the House of Healing. 
   
  • 
  The War Tower was manned by the two remaining soldiers of the detachment, Viktor and Boris.  In the hours 
  after midnight, Boris had the watch and Viktor was sleeping.  At about 3 a.m. Boris awoke Viktor, telling him 
  that five draugs were slipping over the west bridge into the village and heading south toward the mill.  Boris 
  said he would pursue the draugs and told Viktor to follow him and join the battle as soon as he was dressed 
  and armed. 
   
  • 
  Viktor reached the mill a few minutes after Boris.  When he reached the mill, the bodies of the mill's two 
  apprentices and of one draug lay dead at the mill's doorway.  Viktor could hear fighting going on within.  
  When he entered the mill building, he could hear that the action was taking place above, in the wooden 
  elevator cupola.  He climbed the stairs to join in the fray. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 284 
   
  • 
  When he reached the cupola, Viktor found both Boris and the mill's journeymen, Vavrin, battling three draugs.  
  The dead body of a fourth draug was on the floor.  The draugs were between Boris and Vavrin, on one side, 
  and the miller and his wife on the other.  The hands and ankles of Strom and Kamila had been bound with 
  rope.  They were unable to take part in the combat.  Boris and Vavrin were badly wounded and two of the 
  three draugs had been damaged. 
   
  • 
  Viktor joined in the fray, which ended suddenly when the undamaged draug in the group threw something in 
  the direction of Viktor, Boris and Vavrin.  All that Viktor can recall is an explosion and then awakening badly 
  hurt and wounded in the House of Healing. 
   
  • 
  The explosion awakened some other villagers, who rushed to the mill.  When they arrived there, they saw the 
  three draugs and their prisoners, Strom and Kamila, already across the millstream riding furiously northward, 
  doubtless back to the North Road with Dark Valley as their goal. 
   
  • 
  Viktor had landed unconscious in the millstream.  Fortunately, his body washed up against the closed dam 
  gate above the waterwheel rather than being washed over the main dam.  Boris and Vavrin were less 
  fortunate.  They apparently landed in the main flow of the stream and were washed over the larger dam.  
  Their dead bodies were found later, washed up on the bank of the millstream just north of the point where the 
  stream flows back into the Jihvode. 
   
  • 
  Corporal Oldrich returned from the patrol at mid-morning.  He has used the magical scepter in the War Tower 
  to report to Gunnar's Tower in Slovan City, to ask for reinforcements as well as replacements for Boris and 
  Viktor.  However, Lastmill will have to defend itself against any new draug attacks for the next three days.  It 
  will take that long for the new soldiers from Slovan City to reach Lastmill. 
   
  • 
  Corporal Oldrich has drafted four locals with some combat training into service as watches, until 
  reinforcements arrive.  He also has told the blacksmith, Marek, to take the bell that was saved from the fallen 
  watch tower south of town and to mount it in the War Tower.  As of now, whenever draugs approach Lastmill, 
  Oldrich will see to it that the bell is rung.  When it tolls, he expects every able-bodied villager to come armed 
  with something, even if only a scythe, a wood axe or a pitchfork, to the village's defense. 
   
  • 
  Oldrich also warns the villagers that the situation with the draugs is becoming more serious.  He says that the 
  patrol confirmed that cave shelters are being excavated in the North Hills.  He has no doubt that the draug 
  Baron Nundlung in Dark Valley will try to make draugs of everyone in Lastmill and then begin to move against 
  Goldfields.  Angry over the latest turn of events, Oldrich says the time is long overdue for the king and 
  Margrave Hermacek to crack down firmly, both upon Nundlung and the Brotherhood in Slovan City, which he 
  believes is digging the draug shelters in the North Hills in return for payment. 
   
   
   
  When Oldrich learns that the PCs are on a mission to Dark Valley in the service of the margrave, he will be 
  skeptical about their chances for success.  Some things may come out in discussion with the PCs: 
   
  If they ask why the royal army hasn't dealt with the draugs, Oldrich will reply that the militia has attempted without 
  success to destroy them.  There is a large network of mine shafts under Dark Valley, he will explain.  Nundlung 
  knows that his draug contingent wouldn't survive in combat against a large militia patrol, so, whenever a patrol has 
  ridden into Dark Valley, the baron and all of his draugs vanish into the depths of the mine shafts.  When the 
  soldiers, who know nothing of the shafts' layout, enter them to hunt draugs, they seldom find more than two or three 
  of the undead. 
   
  Oldrich believes that they key to eliminating the threat of Dark Valley is to eliminate Nundlung.  The dark duke of the 
  far north is too distant from Dark Valley to be able to keep it in his grip.  Without Nundlung, the draugs of Dark Val-
  ley would be slaves without a master.  Oldrich believes that if Nundlung can be slain, the duke's minions will draw 
  Dark Valley's draugs into the interior of the fallen empire, ending their threat to Lastmill. 
   
  Oldrich already has been with patrols in Dark Valley.  He knows that a large, perhaps chaotically released blast of 
  magic at the wars' end destroyed the ecology of much of the Lands of Ruin.  Rock formations bolted up from the 
  ground in some areas, while others sank, becoming swamp.  Fertile plains turned into dust plains or prairie.  Forests 
  drained and died. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 285 
   
  Nonetheless, the northern lands are recovering, albeit slowly.  In some areas, soils are growing fertile again.  New 
  trees are beginning to grow in some areas where old forests died.  Dark Valley is a strange patchwork of 
  catastrophe and recovery.  For no particular reason, some patches are growing healthy again, and others, directly 
  next to them, remain as devastated as they were at the wars' end. 
   
  The only two buildings that still stand are Nundlung's Tower, which has neither windows nor apparent entrances, 
  and the old Tingl's Mill building.  He is unaware of the tunnels shown on Bedrich's map.  However, he does know of 
  the Harriki Rangers' claims that the mill building is a haven that is somewhat safe against draugs. 
   
  At this time of year, he says, the lawn around the building is dotted with dandelions, English daisies and ramson.  
  My opinion is that it may be the ramson rather than the house itself that causes this.  I've never been in the house, 
  so I'm only guessing.  But draugs have problems with ramson.  They cross it or come into contact with it only 
  unwillingly, and it muddles their brains when they do cross it. 
   
  They only way they can reach the house is by crossing the ramson, the Jihvode or the old millstream.  Draugs 
  never enter running water: it destroys them.  And even if they find a way onto the mill island, it has another patch of 
  dandelions and ramson across the stream on the island, behind the mill.  Of course, if I'm right, then the old mill is a 
  haven only at springtime, when the ramson is up.  My choice for sanctuary would be the mill island itself – provided 
  that the draugs have no archers among them. 
   
  Oldrich will tell the PCs that the entryway to the draug tunnels in the old mine shafts is through the cellar entrances 
  that remain in the ruins of old buildings.  He will add: 
   
  My advice is, fight them by day, even in the tunnels.  At night, go to your sanctuary.  When it's dark, you won't have 
  a chance against them.  Whatever sanctuary you can find is your only hope.  During the day, you always can try to 
  retreat if you encounter too many of them in one of the old mine shafts.  Maybe you can find a way to the draug 
  baron.  Our patrols never succeeded at that. 
   
  If the PCs have shown Oldrich Bedrich's map of old Tingl's Mill, he'll note the tunnels indicated on the map and say, 
  These could be the ones.  We never were in any tunnels there. 
   
   
  5.2  Draugs in the Night 
   
  One assumes the PCs, in preparation for the difficult new day that faces them in Dark Valley, will try to get a good 
  night's sleep in the Border House Inn.  However, at 3 a.m., the following happens: 
   
  Your sleep is rather rudely interrupted somewhere in the middle of the night by what sounds like the tolling of 
  a temple bell.  It occurs to you that there are no temples in Lastmill.  It must be the warning bell that Oldrich 
  had raised in the War Tower. 
   
  As soon as this thought enters your consciousness, you become aware of a commotion outside, perhaps in 
  front of the inn.  You discover that there's sword fighting going on in the road in front of the house across the 
  street.  It appears that three villagers are fighting with five men dressed in black. 
   
  The battle is going on at the point where the red X is on the game master's version of the Lastmill map.  If the PCs 
  run to the scene, use the encounter plan on the following page and continue here: 
   
  When you reach the scene, you can see that two of the villagers and two of the men in black are down.  The 
  faint red glow in the eyes of the three remaining men in black tells you that the foes are draugs.  Just as you 
  reach the scene, Corporal Oldrich also falls motionless to the ground. 
   
  At just that moment, two women come running up the street from the south.  The older of the two shouts, 
  Keep them at bay!  Keep them away from the wounded.  We'll take them safely away. 
   
  An unarmed man, perhaps 60 years old or so, opens the door of the house across the road from the fray, 
  looking at first sleepy, perplexed and irritated and then shocked. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 286 
   
   
  Draug encounter in Lastmill – Black, draug; grey, Corporal Oldrich, green, villagers, 
  Open Game Content 
   
  and X, fallen. 
   
   
   
  NPC Statistics 
   
  3 Draug Warriors 
  Warrior, level 1 
  Size:  Medium, 1) 5'7"/170cm, 140lbs/70kg; 2) 6ft/183 cm, 170lbs/85kg; 3) 5'9"/175cm, 155lbs/78kg 
  Age expectancy:   Draugs survive until they are permanently destroyed 
  Initiative modifier:  0 
  Injury Points (full):  24 
  Injury Points (remaining):  1) 9, 2) 7, 3) 10 
  Life Points:  None. 
  Base Defenses:  Armor 10; Endurance 12; Reflex 10; Will 17 
  Attacks:  Long sword, attack bonus +3, damage 1d8+1. 
  Magical Attacks:  None 
  Magical Items:  None 
  Armor:  None 
  Speed:  30ft/9m per round 
  Resistances:  Resistance to heat and cold 
  Abilities:  Strength 12, Dexterity 11, Stamina 20, Magical Aptitude 1, Mechanical Aptitude 12, Knowledge 13. 
  Special qualities:  Perceive in the dark, magical touch, undead injury effects, immune to pain, immune to poison, 
  vulnerability to daylight, vulnerability to direct sunlight, vulnerability to iron, vulnerability to running water, 
  herbal vulnerability, ley ban, emergence (See definitions under Draug Commoners below). 
  Talent Points:  8 
  Primary Talents:  Melee Combat (8 points) 
  Secondary Talents:  None 
  Skills with Bonus:  Armor Proficiency +9, Notice Objects and Movement +1, Ride Mount +1, Search +1, Sneak 0, 
  Weapon Proficiency +9 
  Alignment inclination:  Any evil 
  Treasure:  None 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 287 
   
  Jarek!, the older of the two women shouts, Take the smaller one.  Bring him to the House of Healing!  We'll 
  take the other two. 
   
  And so it is now.  The group of you faces the three draugs.  One of the three says to you, in an emotionless 
  voice, Begone from here.  Go about your business and save your lives.  We have not come for you.  We have 
  come for the people in this house. 
   
  The three draugs look well prepared to take you on, if you insist.  On the other hand, they also look rather 
  damaged themselves. 
   
   
  Game Master's Notes 
   
  In most campaigns, your PCs will jump right in and take on the draugs.  If your group does the same, you have two 
  books full of guidelines that will tell you how to run the following events.  The draugs will fight until they are 
  destroyed.  They have no choice.  That's what draug Baron Nundlung has ordered them to do, and their wills are 
  enslaved to his. 
   
  If your PCs take this course, run the battle and jump ahead to Section 5.3 After the Battle.  However, if you have 
  one of those rare parties that just stand there and do nothing, describe how a married couple in their mid-30s are 
  dragged out of the house by the draugs, followed by their two screaming children, 6 to 8 years old.  The draugs 
  don't want the children.  They slam them to the ground, injuring both. 
   
  The two Herbal Witches, Iveta and Targa, will have watched this from down the street, along with Jarek, the older 
  man who aided them in carrying off the bodies.  All three of them begin shouting that the PCs are a band of 
  abhorrent cowards.  The PCs will note the sounds of other villagers awakening and see candle light burning behind 
  closed shutters. 
   
  If the PCs finally battle the draugs at that time, the villagers will be cool to them afterwards, but they will acknow-
  ledge that they finally mustered the courage to do what they should have done earlier.  However, they will have little 
  understanding for the PCs' doing nothing until the children were battered.  Above all, they will think the PCs are a 
  band of cowardly fools heading off to certain death … a group of nithlings who probably will be made into draugs in 
  Dark Valley and who will make problems later as undead for Lastmill. 
   
  If the PCs do nothing at all, the draugs will flee the village on foot by the same route they entered, forcing the 
  married couple they have abducted to go with them.  As the draugs ride away with their captives on horses that 
  were hidden across the millstream, more and more lanterns will begin burning in Lastmill.  When the villagers learn 
  how cowardly the PCs behaved, Miroslav will throw them out of the inn, refusing payment and saying he doesn't 
  want people of their ilk in his house.  Other villagers will approach the PCs armed with scythes, pitchforks and a 
  blacksmith's hammer, telling the PCs to get out of town immediately and not to return.  If the PCs refuse, they will 
  use their makeshift weapons to drive them out or slay them in the process. 
   
   
  5.3  After the Battle 
   
  Game Master's Notes 
   
  If the PCs have earned the gratitude of the villagers, you should assess the damage that the PCs have taken and 
  see that they are cured properly.  Iveta and Targa will use whatever potions and preparations they need to bring the 
  PCs back up to their full quota of injury points.  Iveta then will inform the PCs of the state of events: 
   
  Viktor and Vavrin still healing slowly, but we lost the other three.  Corporal Oldrich and the two villagers who 
  aided him tonight were beyond our talents.  All three have died. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 288 
   
  Marek knows how to use the instrument in the War Tower.  He will inform Slovan City that we are in dire need 
  of replacements.  But that will take at least three days.  Until then, our men will have to form a watch and 
  ward off any further attacks. 
   
  Now you've had a taste of the grave danger you'll be facing in Dark Valley.  Remember always to choose the 
  ground where you have the greatest advantage!  I have head a bit about Dark Valley from the Rangers who 
  have passed through.  They visit me when they are in Lastmill. 
   
  Seek haven in the old mill at night.  It won't give you complete protection, but the draugs will have a much 
  more difficult time against you there.  Fight them during the day in their tunnels.  They are narrow.  Then only 
  a few can oppose you at one time. 
   
  Remember that most of the draugs there are simple Commoners, not Warriors, like many of those who are 
  sent out on these raids.  Draug Commoners are just as limited in their fighting talents as living Commoners.  
  And I think many of them would gladly escape the existence they have now.  They did not become draugs 
  because they hungered for eternal existence.  They became draugs because they succumbed to the baron's 
  threats and coercion. 
   
  When they became draugs, they yielded their wills to him.  When he orders them to do something, they must 
  do it.  They have no choice.  But he only can order them.  He cannot inspire them.  I believe that many of 
  these drugs will fight you reluctantly and they will not be opposed to their own destruction.  That will be to 
  your advantage. 
   
  Also, do not be surprised if the baron calls up the bones of the long dead people of Tingl's Mill.  He is a Black 
  Necromancer.  No doubt he can summon some skeletons to his service.  You need show them no com-
  passion.  These skeletons simply are animated bones that fight poorly at the baron's direction.  He must con-
  centrate fully to steer their actions, and the baron is no fighter.  No souls or spirits are bound to these 
  skeletons. 
   
  Take a good supply of clean water and food.  Be very careful of what you eat and drink in the Fallen Lands.  
  Take only that which you have brought with you.  There are poisons in the waterways including the Jihvode, 
  and in patches that have no yet recovered, strange thorny bushes grow that are no natural plants.  They are 
  mutations, perhaps of roses, perhaps of brambles, perhaps of something else. 
   
  Whatever they are, they form red berries in late summer that hang on the bush through the seasons, falling 
  only when new berries form.  They are deadly poisonous.  They will slay you within minutes after you eat 
  them. 
   
  You also must be careful about something even more insidious.  With the curse that destroyed much of the 
  life and vegetation in the fallen Harriki Empire there also came a pervasive, life-destroying mould.  The 
  Rangers of the north say that its spores are in the air, and within little time they begin to damage one's lungs, 
  eventually destroying them.  The only means to prevent this mould infection, the Rangers say, is with the help 
  of ramson. 
   
  Fortunately, if one knows where to seek it, one can find huge patches of ramson in parts of the Border Forest.  
  In its short season in spring, Targa and I go into the forest and harvest it.  We use some of it to make an 
  herbal powder that can be used just like a spice upon one's food.  We prepare a supply of it for the Rangers, 
  and they use it in the other seasons or when they are in areas in spring where no ramson grows.  We shall 
  give you enough to last through your journey in the Fallen Lands. 
   
  Targa and I would gladly give you more than, but we must keep some of our potions and poultices for Viktor, 
  Vavrin and other villagers who may need healing before this situation is ended.  However, we can give you 
  these. 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 289 
   
  Iveta and Targa will give the PCs the following.  You may wish to print this excerpt and give a copy to each of the 
  players. 
   
  • 
  Two magical healing potions apiece that, after being consumed, will immediately heal 2d4 injury points of 
  damage. 
   
  • 
  For each, an elderberry-mistletoe berry-yew berry poultice.  This will stop external bleeding in one minute, 
  which will prevent any cumulative damage from a wound.  In addition, it will heal 1 injury point of damage 
  immediately and another point every 150 minutes, for a total of 10 points in 24 hours time. 
   
  • 
  A potion of hazelwood oil each.  The potion will heal cuts and wounds at the rate of 1 injury point each 10 
  minutes beginning immediately upon application.  It will heal a total of 2d8 injury points at that rate. 
   
  • 
  A portion of juniper berry salve oil each.  The salve will heal cuts and wounds at the rate of 1 injury point each 
  10 minutes beginning immediately upon application.  It will heal a total of 2d8 injury points at that rate.  It will 
  work cumulatively with hazelwood oil salve. 
   
  • 
  A pouch of dried sloe berries.  The berries will cover half a cubic yard/meter of space.  All draugs are unable 
  to cross such an area. 
   
  • 
  A pouch each of wormwood powder.  Each pouch contains enough powder for 10 applications.  The powder 
  will not heal wounds, but it will keep infections from setting in within a wound including one that is otherwise 
  being healed. 
   
  • 
  A pouch each of ramson powder as a preventative of mould poisoning.  Each pouch holds a four-day supply. 
   
   
  5.4  The Way to the Lands of Ruin 
   
  Game Master's Notes 
   
  Anything that might attack the PCs avoids the lands between Lastmill and Dark Valley.  There are no encounters.  
  The PCs will reach Dark Valley by mid- to late afternoon, about 4 p.m. (16 hours) by a modern clock.  You can use 
  the following text as a narrative. 
   
  Less than a mile/2km north of Lastmill, the North Road deteriorates from a wagon track to a sometimes 
  overgrown dirt trail.  Although ruined foundations of buildings, probably farms, can be seen in places, the 
  area north of Lastmill clearly is uninhabited.  It strikes you that there also are fewer birds to be heard or seen 
  than south of Lastmill.  Even the insect population seems to have diminished. 
   
  These lands were broad grain fields before the wars, but the vegetation they now support is unusual for what 
  should be fertile but fallow farmland.  Tough grasses and wiry survivor bushes such as Manzanita dot much 
  of the landscape. 
   
  The only sign that there has been any non-plant life in this area – or at least an imitation of it – is in the hoof 
  prints that clearly are visible in the trail.  Those doubtless are from the horses that bear the draugs on their 
  raids from the north.  Are their horses undead too? 
   
  Pause and give the PCs a chance to discuss things among themselves.  Ask them what they wish to do, if anything, 
  en route to Dark Valley, and give them a chance to do it.  Find out what they want to do when it's time to stop for 
  their mid-day break and lunch.  The following information applies when the PCs cross into the Lands of Ruin. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 290 
   
  66..    DDaarrkk  VVaalllleeyy  
   
   
   
  The grasslands of the March of Slovan come to an abrupt end, succeeded by a patchwork of rock, prairie, 
  swamp and a number of other landscape types.  The path of the Jihvode into Dark Valley is clearly visible, 
  but the North Road has all but vanished.  Across the river apparently is the right direction, because you can 
  make out parts of the trail a bit ahead of you on that side, but immediately before you are only tall, tough 
  grasses. 
   
  To your left, stone pillars rise from the Jihvode, doubtless the remnants of a vanished bridge.  About 
  100ft/30m farther upstream, you see a short stretch of the river that is wider and shallower.  If you wish to 
  cross to the Jihvode's west bank, you probably can ford the river there with little difficulty.  However, 
  immediately past the shallows you can see that the river runs deeper and swifter again. 
   
  Dark Valley has a long, narrow island in its middle area.  It appears that an old millstream flows to the west 
  with the main branch of the Jihvode on the right.  The ruined bases of towers, a town wall and buildings are 
  visible here and there.  Some of the ruins still seem to have openings to cellars.  Only two buildings still 
  stand:  The tower in the ruins of Baron Nundlung's castle and a stone building with decrepit clay tile roof, 
  apparently the Tingl's Mill building. 
   
  However, the structural remnants are the least interesting features.  What is astounding is the landscape.  
  Most areas along the Jihvode are either recovering grasslands or swamp with thick vegetation, but above 
  them to the east and west are patches of mostly infertile prairie and desert interrupted by strange mini-
  mountains. 
   
  These are mostly bare rock outcroppings, some of natural mountain stone and others of red stone usually 
  associated with desert mountains.  However, none of these outcroppings rises more than 50ft/15m above the 
  surrounding landscape.  Never before in your lives have you seen anything like this. 
   
  In any case, you're here.  You have a bit more than three hours before night falls.  Of living or undead, you 
  see no trace at the moment.  Nor birds wing over or chirp, and there seems to be little of no animal life. 
   
   
   
   
   
  Game Master's Notes 
   
  This is a good time to hand out Pages 291-293 to your players.  They'll give them a better idea how Dark Valley 
  looks and how the important sites appear.  Give them as much time as they need to examine this material and to 
  decide how they wish to proceed. 
   
  Please note that there's a bit more to the swampy areas (Map No. 1) than is explained in the text for the players.  In 
  the swampy areas, there are many quicksand pits hidden by shallow water or organic debris.  If a PC falls into a 
  quicksand pit, it will suck him or her down slowly.  Each PC in quicksand must make a successful DL 15 Dexterity 
  check or sink down into the mud and quicksand.  After 3d4+3 minutes, the victim's mouth and nose will sink below 
  the quicksand, causing him or her to suffocate and die within 1d4+2 additional minutes.  To pull a victim from 
  quicksand, a successful Strength check against DL 15 is necessary. 
   
  The map also shows the ruins of two bridges.  Both are 90% in a state of ruin.  No PC can cross these ruins. 
   
  Buildings 6 and 7 have cellar openings that lead into the tunnel shown on the map the PCs found in Bedrich's lair in 
  Slovan City. 
   
  Once the PCs have decided what they want to do, the action can continue.  We assume that most groups will want 
  to check out Tingl's Mill, but you'll have to react to the PCs' decisions with the material that begins on Page 294. 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 291 
   
   
  Dark Valley - formerly Tingl's Mill – as it appears today 
  Open Game Content 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 292 
   
  Dark Valley 
   
  Map Key 
   
  1.  These areas appear to be mostly swampy. 
   
  2.  Baron Nundlung's tower.  The tower is 90ft/27m high and 30ft/9m in diameter at the base.  It 
  appears to be in completely sound condition.  However, it has no windows.  There also are no colors 
  waving atop the flagpole on the tower's roof.  The low remnants of the castle walls stand mostly in 
  swampland around the baron's tower.  The land surrounding the tower seems to be on higher, dry 
  ground.  Trees already have taken root there.  But most of the rest of the castle ruins are in land that 
  appears to range from mucky to swampy.  There appears to be no way to reach the tower without 
  going through swamp.  (Also see the picture below.) 
   
  3 – Millstream. 
   
  4 – Partly swampy remnants of the mill pond. 
   
  5 – The Jihvode River. 
   
  6.-7.  Ruins with visible cellar openings.  (Also see the picture on the following page.) 
   
  8.  The Last Mill.  (Also see the picture on the following page.) 
   
   
  The Baron's tower and the ruins of his castle in Dark Valley 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 293 
   
   
  The remnants of Tingl's Mill in Dark Valley 
  Product Identity 
   
   
   
   
   
  Underground cellar openings in Dark Valley 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 294 
   
   
  Day is done.  The night of the draugs comes to Dark Valley. 
  Product Identity 
   
   
  6.1  Tingl's Mill 
   
  Game Master's Notes 
   
  See the picture of the mill building on the previous page and the floor plans on the following pages.  If you haven't 
  done so yet, show your players the photo of the building's exterior. 
   
   
  Exploring the Mill 
   
  The old mill building is dilapidated, but its sandstone walls still seem to be structurally solid, although most of 
  the stucco that once covered them has fallen off.  The windows are barred, and the massive wooden door still 
  might be solid.  The clay tile roof, on the other hand, is another story.  It probably offers little protection from 
  rain these days, and it appears as though it could collapse easily. 
   
  If the PCs investigate the building, they can determine the following: 
   
  • 
  The massive oak door is solid, but the window in it (see photo) is broken.  However, the latch of its lock is 
  damaged.  One can easily force the door open. 
   
  • 
  The bars on all of the ground floor windows (including the shed) all are firm.  It would take more than human 
  strength to spring them from their anchors in the stone (a successful Strength check against DL 33). 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 295 
   
   
  Overview of Tingl's Mill 
  Open Game Content 
   
  • 
  One can judge the quality of the roof only after one reaches the upper floor of the building.  The large beams 
  that support the roof are in excellent shape, but the thinner wood of the lattice work is partly rotten.  If there 
  was a roof collapse, the tiles would cave in onto the upper floor but without enough force to immediately 
  damage the ground floor. 
   
   
  Key – Overview of Tingl's Mill (see floor plan above) 
   
  • 
  1.  The entire lawn area is a mix of wild ramson, dandelions and English daisies. 
  • 
  2.  Entrance 
  • 
  3.  Dormers 
  • 
  4.  Shed.  The shed is empty. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 296 
   
   
  Tingl's Mill:  Ground Floor with 5ft/150cm grid 
  Open Game Content 
   
  Narrative Key to Ground Floor (see floor plan above) 
   
  As shown on the floor plans, eight large wooden beams, 2x2ft/60x60cm in size, help support the building. 
   
  1 – Shed.  The shed is empty. 
   
  2 – Massive oak door with broken window.  The door is not locked.  After the door has been opened, the 
  PCs can determine that it is massive oak 3 inches/75mm thick.  A successful Strength check against DL 20 is 
  necessary to break down the door.  However, a successful Strength check against DL 11 will force the 
  damaged lock open. 
   
  3 – Old millstone.  The millstone is 5ft/150cm in diameter and 6 inches/15cm thick.  Game master:  The 
  stone weighs 400lbs/200kg.  One PC can lift it with a successful Strength check against DL 27.  Two can lift it 
  if both make successful Strength Checks against DL 16. 
   
  4 – Business desk.  The desk is empty. 
   
  5 – Empty wooden supply shelves 
   
  6 – Double-faced fireplace 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 297 
   
   
  Tingl's Mill:  Ground Floor without grid 
  Open Game Content 
   
  7 – Grain chutes from upper floor 
   
  8 – Grain mill and millstone. 
   
  9 – Waterwheel shaft.  The shaft, 2ft/60cm in diameter, has a worm that turns two sets of wooden gears.  
  There no longer is a waterwheel attached on the outside. 
   
  10 – Oil press hammers 
   
  11 – Wooden stairs to upper floor 
   
  12 – Supply room.  The shelves contain old kitchen equipment and utensils, partially rusted. 
   
  13 – Bedroom.  The room contains a wood stove with a stovepipe going through the wall, a double bed, a 
  night stand, a table with four chairs, two wardrobes and a large chest.  The chest contains a box with six 
  magical Candles in the Darkness.  For a description, see Page 73 of this book. 
   
  14 – Kitchen/living room.  The room contains two cupboards, a stove with kitchen cabinet, a work table, a 
  dining table, a corner bench and a stove pipe that runs from the bedroom to the chimney.  Two inanimate 
  skeletons sit on the chairs at the dining table.  Their bones still wear the tatters of some clothing. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 298 
   
   
  Tingl's Mill:  Upper Floor with 5ft/150cm grid 
  Open Game Content 
   
   
  The skeletons are those of the miller and his wife.  He was a retied Ranger and she a low level Sorceress.  They 
  lived on past their normal years with the help of magical Harriki potions, maintaining a defense against the black 
  necromancy that devastated the lands.  They died peacefully and contentedly in the same moment, when the magic 
  of the last of their Harriki potions ran out.  The PCs, of course, will not be able to determine all of that, but a close 
  examination will show that their skeletal bones are undamaged and there is no sign of weapon damage upon the 
  chairs or elsewhere within the building. 
   
   
  Narrative Key to Upper Floor (see floor plan above) 
   
  As shown on the floor plans, eight large wooden beams, 2x2ft/60x60cm in size, help support the building.  
  There is nothing of value or interest on this level. 
   
  1 – Stairs to ground floor 
   
  2 – Grain chutes.  These lead to the ground floor. 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 299 
   
   
  Tingl's Mill:  Upper Floor without grid 
  Open Game Content 
   
  3 – Beam from hoist.  The door through which the no longer existing hoist once led has been bricked shut. 
   
  4 – Wood-burning stove. 
   
  5 – Vent.  (See the photo.)  This is a small roof vent that is open but barred. 
   
  6 – Window dormers. 
   
   
  Users of Fractal Mapper 8 
   
  If you use Fractal Mapper 8, you can find all of the various versions of these floor plans by turning the appropriate 
  layers on and off.  These floor plans are in the file DDTinglsMill.fmp. 
   
  If you use miniatures, you also can print the various floor plan versions at the proper scale of 1 inch/2.54 cm per 
  square.  That will give you correctly sized 5ft/150 cm squares, scaled to match your tin figures.  You also can zoom 
  in on particular areas of the floor plan. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 300 
   
  6.2  Encounters in Dark Valley 
   
  Baron Nundlung has only limited resources in Dark Valley.  During the wars, his village's cemetery was emptied, 
  with all the dead being raised as animated zombie draugs and skeleton draugs.  All met their destruction in the 
  battles to which they were summoned. 
   
  Since then, the only new bodies that the baron has accumulated are those of four abductees who refused his 
  coercive attempts to have them accept transfiguration into draugs.  They were slain.  They are dead long enough so 
  that nothing remains of their flesh, preventing their being summoned as animated zombie draugs.  The baron has 
  no dead flesh available to animate as zombies.  The remains of the four abductees can be animated only as 
  skeleton draugs.  If they are destroyed, the baron has no more grave remains that he can animate. 
   
  Most of the intermediate draugs in Dark Valley are Harriki Commoners who were coerced into accepting their 
  transfiguration.  The nine draug Warriors were soldiers in the Dark Host during the wars.  They became draugs of 
  their own free will. 
   
  It is important that you keep in mind whether the intermediate draugs in combat are motivated or unmotivated.  
  When a draug is unmotivated, it has a penalty of -2 on its Endurance, Reflex and Will defenses and it never has 
  the initiative.  Determine the status as follows: 
   
  • 
  The nine intermediate draug Warriors in the tunnels always are motivated. 
   
  • 
  The 24 intermediate draug Commoners are motivated when they fight away from Tingl's Mill. 
   
  • 
  The 24 intermediate draug Commoners are unmotivated when they fight at Tingl's Mill.  This is an affect of 
  the ramson which grows among the dandelions and English daisies in the lawn. 
   
  If the PCs spend the night in Tingl's Mill – the safest place in Dark Valley – they will be attacked by animated 
  skeleton draugs and intermediate draug Commoners in the course of the night.  If they spend the night outside of 
  the mill, they will come under more severe attack.  Use the following measuring sticks, along with the statistics that 
  follow. 
   
  • 
  If the PCs are in the mill, they initially will be attacked by four skeletons and afterward by a series of 
  unmotivated intermediate draug Commoners. 
   
  • 
  If the PCs spend the night elsewhere in Dark Valley, they will be attacked simultaneously by all 24 motivated 
  intermediate draug Commoners. 
   
  Also keep the following in mind: 
   
  • 
  The four skeleton draugs have no souls or spirits.  They cannot act on their own.  Their actions are steered 
  by the mind of the baron, who must concentrate to control them. 
   
  • 
  The 24 intermediate draug Commoners were coerced into becoming undead, but that does not necessarily 
  mean that they are whiling away their time in Dark Valley waiting for some kind soul to slay them.  They will 
  follow the baron's orders to fight and remain motivated.  Only the effects of ramson will cause them to 
  become unmotivated. 
   
  The following summarizes the population of Dark Valley: 
   
  • 
  Baron Nundlung, ruler of Dark Valley, Intermediate Draug Wizard Lvl 2, hostile.  He is in his tower. 
   
  • 
  Thund, troop commander of Baron Nundlung, Intermediate Draug Warrior Lvl 2, hostile.  He is in the baron's 
  tower. 
   
  • 
  9 Intermediate Draugs in the tunnels, in each group one Warrior Lvl 2 and two Warriors Lvl 1, all hostile.  
  They remain in the tunnels. 
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 301 
   
  • 
  4 Skeletons, Skeleton Draugs, Commoner Lvl 1, hostile.  They are buried but can be raised at anytime by 
  the baron.  (The baron will keep the fifth available skeleton in reserve.) 
   
  • 
  24 Intermediate Draugs, in Dark Valley, 24 Commoners Lvl 1, hostile.  They are in cellars other than those 
  marked with the numbers 6 and 7 on the map on Page 291. 
   
  The living prisoners are in cages in the tunnel near the base of the baron's tower.  If they are freed, they can join the 
  PCs in the fight, using the weapons of slain draugs. 
   
  • 
  Antonin, miller from Lastmill, Artisan Lvl 2, friendly. 
   
  • 
  Katja, miller's wife from Lastmill, Commoner Lvl 1, friendly. 
   
  • 
  Karel, farmer from Lastmill, Commoner Lvl 1, friendly. 
   
  • 
  Tomas, farmer from Lastmill, Commoner Lvl 1, friendly. 
   
   
  NPC Statistics 
   
  4 Skeleton Draugs 
   
  Although they often are called skeleton draugs, these animations are not true draugs at all.  They are nothing more 
  than the bones of a dead human that have been animated through the black necromantic magic of a spellcaster.  
  The mage who activated the skeleton draugs must concentrate fully upon their doings to keep the animations 
  active. 
   
  The skeletons have neither life nor unlife.  They cannot think and they see nothing.  The spellcaster's magic causes 
  their actions to occur.  In that sense, there is little difference between the telekinetic lifting of a rock and the black 
  necromantic steering of a skeleton's bones. 
   
  A skeleton's actions are quite limited.  Basically, it only can deal blows with its leg or arm bones or scratch with its 
  finger bones.  The hand bones are not capable of holding weapons. 
   
  Character Classes:  Commoner 
  Character Level:  1 
  Size:  Medium 5'9"/175cm; 5'7"/170cm; 5'11"/180cm; 6ft/183cm 
  Age expectancy:   Skeletons endure until they are destroyed or until the spellcaster ceases to concentrate upon 
  them. 
  Initiative modifier:  -2 (Dex -2) 
  Injury Points:  9, 6, 8, 7 
  Life Points:  None 
  Base Defenses:  Armor 10, Endurance 15, Reflex 8, Will:  That of the controlling necromancer. 
  Attacks:  Hand scratch: 1d4; arm blow, 1d4 or leg kick, 1d4. 
  Magical Attacks:  None 
  Magical Items:  None 
  Armor:  None 
  Speed:  20ft/6m per round 
  Resistances:  Resistance to heat and cold 
  Abilities:  Strength 10, Dexterity 7, Stamina 20, Knowledge 0*, Magical Aptitude 0*, Mechanical Aptitude 0* 
  (* Allowed for this creature.) 
  Special qualities:  Undead injury effects, immune to pain, immune to poison, ley ban. 
  Talent points:  None 
  Primary Talents:  None 
  Secondary Talents:  None 
  Skills with Bonus:  None 
  Alignment inclination:  None, steered by neutral evil 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 302 
   
  Resistance to Heat and Cold:  Heat and cold have no effect upon a skeleton as long they do not cause it to burn 
  or to become frozen to an extent that movement becomes clumsy to impossible.  Cold may freeze a skeleton in its 
  position, but it does no lasting damage.  Heat can cause damage only if it causes the bones to catch fire.  At that 
  point it takes the standard damage that the fire causes. 
   
  Undead Injury Effects:  Skeletons have no life points.  If an injury dismembers a skeleton, as might be the case 
  with a targeted hit, it loses the use of the dismembered bones.  Otherwise, a skeleton is at full capacity despite the 
  loss of injury points until it reaches 0 points, when it automatically is destroyed. 
   
  Immune to Pain:  Skeletons have no living nervous system and therefore feel no pain. 
   
  Immune to Poison:  Skeletons have no life system that can be damaged by poison; however destructive poisons 
  (like some acids) that will destroy physical bone have the same effect upon a skeleton. 
   
  Ley ban:  Skeletons cannot come within 100ft/30m of a ley line or 500ft/150m of a ley stone.  If they come within 
  that range, they automatically are destroyed. 
   
   
  24 Intermediate Draug Commoners 
   
  An intermediate draug is a human who has become a draug.  Many have taken the step to undeath at the urging or 
  coercion of another draug.  But any Necromancer who knows the Transfiguration spell can make a draug of him- or 
  herself or of another human who is willing to become a draug. 
   
  As a part of the transfiguration, a new draug yields his or her free will and is bound to the service of another draug, 
  usually one of higher rank.  A new draug begins as an undead version of the human that he or she was with the 
  same Character Classes, Talents and Skills as it had as a human (except those that are closed to draugs). 
   
  Character Classes:  Commoner 
  Character Level:  1. 
  Size:  Medium (Human Bodies) 
  Age expectancy:   Draugs survive until they are permanently destroyed 
  Initiative modifier:  0, Unmotivated:  Last in Sequence 
  Injury Points:  14, 12, 18, 12, 14, 14, 16, 18, 18, 12, 14, 12, 16, 18, 14, 16, 16, 12, 16, 12, 16, 18. 
  Life Points:  None. 
  Base Defenses:  Armor 10; Endurance 12; Reflex 10; Will 17.  Unmotivated:  Endurance, Reflex and Will -2. 
  Attacks:  Long sword, attack bonus +1, damage 1d8. 
  Magical Attacks:  None 
  Magical Items:  None 
  Armor:  None 
  Speed:  30ft/9m per round 
  Resistances:  Resistance to heat and cold 
  Abilities:  Strength 10, Dexterity 10, Stamina 20, Knowledge 10, Mechanical Aptitude 10, Magical Aptitude 1. 
  Special qualities:  Perceive in the dark, magical touch, undead injury effects, immune to pain, immune to poison, 
  vulnerability to daylight, vulnerability to direct sunlight, vulnerability to iron, vulnerability to running water, 
  herbal vulnerability, ley ban, emergence 
  Talent Points:  8 
  Primary Talents:  Applied Knowledge 4, Athletics 4 
  Secondary Talents:  None 
  Skills with Bonus:  Concentration +4, Notice Objects and Movement 0, Ride Mount 0, Search 0, Sneak 0. 
  Alignment inclination:  Neutral evil 
   
  Resistance to Heat and Cold:  Heat and cold have no effect upon a draug as long they do not cause it to burn or 
  to dehydrate or become frozen to an extent that movement becomes clumsy to impossible.  Cold may freeze a 
  draug in its position, but it does no lasting damage.  Heat can cause damage only if it causes the draug to catch fire.  
  At that point it takes the standard damage that the fire causes. 
   
  Perceive in the Dark:  The eyes of draugs emit a signal something like that of a bat.  The less light there is, the 
  stronger the signal becomes.  When the signal is reflected back to the draug's eyes, it forms a colorless image in 
  black, white and grey tones of what normally could be seen in light.  This image does not magically detect invisible 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 303 
   
  creatures and objects.  Invisibility magic allows such signals to pass in both directions through invisible objects.  
  This virtual sight has a range of 60ft/18m. 
   
  Magical Touch:  Draugs have no living nervous system but they do have a magical ability to sense objects when 
  they are touched.  This sense is limited to the perception that an object is being touched.  A draug also can, for 
  example, move his or her hand around an object and perceive its form.  It can squeeze an object and detect whe-
  ther it yields, giving the draug an impression of its degree of hardness.  However, a draug cannot feel such things 
  as small points or sharpness although it well may see them. 
   
  Undead Injury Effects:  Draugs have no life points.  If an injury dismembers a draug, as might be the case with a 
  targeted hit, it loses the use of the dismembered body part.  Otherwise, a draug is at full capacity despite the loss of 
  injury points until it reaches 0 points, when it automatically is slain.  Even after reaching 0 injury points, a draug's 
  body can be repaired and bound again to a soul.  Only if the draug is decapitated and the head is destroyed is it im-
  possible to restore its own body and return its soul to it. 
   
  Immune to Pain:  Draugs have no living nervous system and therefore feel no pain. 
   
  Immune to Poison:  Draugs have no life system that can be damaged by poison, however destructive poisons (like 
  some acids) that will destroy physical body tissue have the same effect upon a draug's undead body. 
   
  Vulnerability to Daylight:  One small, single ray of sunlight touching a draug will destroy its physical essence 
  forever, and it also will destroy permanently the soul of any draug below dark draug level.  Being in daylight without 
  exposure to direct sun does not destroy a draug, but it gives it a penalty of -2 on every decision that requires a dice 
  roll. 
   
  Vulnerability to Iron:  Any wound from iron automatically slays a draug.  However, a draug body slain by iron can 
  be restored and have its soul returned to it. 
   
  Vulnerability to Running Water:  Draugs are unable to cross running water of their own power.  They cannot will 
  themselves to do so.  If draug flesh comes into contact with running water, the surface of skin that touched the 
  water will be dissolved as though it had been in a dangerous acid. 
   
  Herbal Vulnerability:  Certain plants are particularly strong in the forces of Light and Life, which causes difficulty 
  for draugs that encounter them.  Ransom or wild garlic and sloe bushes repel draugs.  A draug must make a 
  Stamina check against DL 35 to touch or cross ramson or to touch or pass by or through sloe.  However, if it is 
  commanded to do so by its master draug, the master draug makes the check instead. 
   
  Ley ban:  Draugs will come only reluctantly within 100ft/30m of a ley line or 500ft/150m of a ley stone.  Within that 
  range, they lose all of their magical powers and all use of magic.  Even their magical items become temporarily non-
  magical. 
   
  Emergence:  Draugs cannot be forever trapped inside physical bounds unless they are made of lead or iron or they 
  are encircled by running water.  They can move through any other type of matter at a rate of ⅛ inch/3cm per round.  
  That's equivalent to 1½ inches/38mm a minute or 7½ feet/230cm an hour. 
   
   
  Encounters Outside of Tingl's Mill 
   
  Such encounters can occur only outside the hours of daylight and then only if the PCs are too foolish to seek haven 
  in Tingl's Mill.  If the PCs are abroad in Dark Valley at night, Baron Nundlung will not raise skeletons against them.  
  Instead, he will send all of his 24 intermediate draug Commoners to march at the same time against the PCs in an 
  attempt to capture them.  The draugs will slay them only if they have no alternative. 
   
  When the PCs are within parleying range, the draugs will begin demanding that they surrender, assuring them that 
  their reward will be freedom from the burden of death. 
   
  The draugs will not approach at a tempo faster than 30ft/9m, which will give the PCs a chance to change their 
  minds and seek shelter in the mill.  However, if the PCs flee, the draugs well may split up in an attempt to encircle 
  them. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 304 
   
  Encounters in Tingl's Mill 
   
  The first attack will be made by the four skeleton draugs.  Any of them or any of the intermediate draugs should be 
  able to force the door open.  The broken latch will yield to a DL 11 Strength check.  If the PCs are smart, they will 
  leave the door only so wide open that one skeleton or draug at a time can attempt to enter through it.  Then they will 
  block it by moving the millstone behind the door, to keep it from opening wider. 
   
  Neither the skeletons nor the draugs will attempt to force the door wider open, in that case, because doing so would 
  leave them open to a defenseless attack against them.  Remember, there will be room for only one skeleton or 
  draug at a time to attempt to press through the opening.  If the PCs use this tactic, the narrow room the skeletons 
  and draugs have in which they can fight will give them a penalty of -2 on their attack rolls. 
   
  To move the millstone into this position, one PC must make a successful Strength Check against DL 27.  Two PCs 
  can move the millstone into position with two successful strength checks against DL 16 each.  If the PCs try in any 
  way to block the door completely closed, two draugs will get a battering ram.  With it, they will completely break the 
  door in 1d6+6 rounds. 
   
  Strategy:  If the battle reaches the point where the PCs are on the verge of defeat, rule that the first traces of 
  daylight are appearing in the eastern sky, and that the draugs retreat back into their cellars. 
   
   
  Floor Plan Key (see next page) 
   
  1 – The 4 Skeleton Draugs. 
   
  2 – The Wooden Door. 
   
  3 – The Millstone. 
   
   
  Users of Fractal Mapper 8 
   
  If you use Fractal Mapper 8, you can extract the floor plan on the following page from the file DDTinglsMill.fmp.  You 
  can zoom in on this area of the floor plan.  For the skeleton encounter view on the next page, show the layers Text 
  Encounter Scene, Skeletons Encounter Scene and Encounter Legend.  At the same time, hide the layer Legends. 
   
   
  Draug tunnels   
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 305 
   
   
  Tingl's Mill:  Skeleton encounter 
  Open Game Content 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  6.3  Encounters in the Tunnels 
   
  We'll begin with floor plans of the encounter areas followed by their descriptions. 
   
  Key to Overview Floor Plan (see next page) 
   
  1 – Entrance from Site No. 7 on Dark Valley map.  This entrance is guarded by one intermediate draug Warrior 
  Lvl 2 and two intermediate draug Warriors Lvl 1. 
   
  2 – Entrance from Site No. 6 on Dark Valley map.  This entrance is guarded by one intermediate draug Warrior 
  Lvl 2 and two intermediate draug Warriors Lvl 1. 
   
  3 – Prisoner Holding Area.  This area is guarded by one intermediate draug Warrior Lvl 2 and two intermediate 
  draug Warriors Lvl 1.  It includes four cages, one with Antonin and Katja, one with Karel, one with Thomas and one 
  empty.  The lvl 2 Warrior guard has the keys. 
   
  4 – Entry to Baron Nundlung's Tower.  This entry is guarded only by the three draug Warriors at Area 3. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 306 
   
   
   
  Overview of the Dark Valley tunnels 
  Open Game Content 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 307 
   
   
   
  Dark Valley tunnel areas 1, above, and 2, below 
  Open Game Content 
   
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 308 
   
   
  Dark Valley tunnel areas 3 and 4, above, and close-up of cells below 
  Open Game Content 
   
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 309 
   
  Key to Floor Plan Area 1 (see Page 307) 
   
  When the PCs descend the stairs here, the three intermediate draug Warriors (one level 2, two level 1) will demand 
  their surrender and fight until one side is destroyed or slain if the PCs refuse. 
   
   
  Key to Floor Plan Area 2 (see Page 307) 
   
  When the PCs enter this area, the three intermediate draug Warriors (one level 2, two level 1) will demand their 
  surrender and fight until one side is destroyed or slain if the PCs refuse. 
   
   
  Key to Floor Plan Area 3 (see Page 308) 
   
  When the PCs enter this area, the three intermediate draug Warriors (one level 2, two level 1) will demand their 
  surrender and fight until one side is destroyed or slain if the PCs refuse.  This is the last guarded area before the 
  stairs that lead up into Baron Nundlung's tower.  The cages hold the four prisoners. 
   
  1 – Draug guards.  Two intermediate draug Warriors, level 1, and one intermediate draug Warrior, level 2.  The 
  level 2 draug has the keys to the cells. 
   
  2 – Miller's Cage.  In the cage are Antonin, the human male miller from Lastmill, Artisan level 2, and his human 
  female wife, Katja, Commoner level 1. 
   
  3 – Karel's Cage.  In this cage, a human male farmer from Lastmill named Karel, Commoner level 1, is imprisoned. 
   
  4 – Tomas' Cage.  In this cage, a human male farmer from Lastmill named Tomas, Commoner level 1, is 
  imprisoned. 
   
  5 – Empty cage.  If one or more PCs are captured, they will be held here. 
   
   
  Key to Floor Plan Area 4 (see Page 308) 
   
  The stairway is unguarded.  The four prisoners know that the draug Baron Nundlung descends these stairs when he 
  comes to the cages to attempt to convince the prisoners to yield to transfiguration as draugs. 
   
  A spiral stairway of stone, about 15ft/4.5m wide, leads upward at this point.  It appears to be unguarded. 
   
   
  Game Masters Note: 
   
  Remember that the Antonin, Katja, Karel and Tomas can help the PCs in their further encounters if they are freed. 
   
   
  NPC Statistics 
   
  3 Intermediate Draug Warriors 
   
  Character Class:  Warrior level 2 
  Size:  5'2"/157cm (female), 6'2"/188cm (male), 5'10"/178cm (male) 
  Age expectancy:   Draugs survive until they are permanently destroyed 
  Initiative modifier:  0 
  Injury Points:  28, 25, 27 
  Life Points:  None. 
  Base Defenses:  Armor 15 (chain mail +5), Endurance 12, Reflex 10, Will 15 
  Attacks:  Long sword, attack bonus +5, damage 1d8+2 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 310 
   
  Magical Attacks:  None 
  Magical Items:  None 
  Armor:  Chain mail 
  Speed:  30ft/9m per round 
  Resistances:  Resistance to heat and cold 
  Abilities:  Strength 14, Dexterity 11, Stamina 20, Magical Aptitude 1, Mechanical Aptitude 13, Knowledge 13. 
  Special qualities:  Perceive in the dark, magical touch, undead injury effects, immune to pain, immune to poison, 
  vulnerability to daylight, vulnerability to direct sunlight, vulnerability to iron, vulnerability to running water, 
  herbal vulnerability, ley ban, emergence 
  Talent Points:  20 
  Primary Talents:  Athletics 10, Melee Combat 9, Religion 1 
  Secondary Talents:  None 
  Skills with Bonus:  Armor Proficiency (2), Concentration +1, Notice Objects and Movement +1, Ride Mount +2, 
  Search +1, Sneak 0, Weapon Proficiency (2) 
  Alignment inclination:  Any evil 
   
  Special quality descriptions:  See next page. 
   
   
  6 Intermediate Draug Warriors 
   
  Character Class:  Warrior level 1 
  Size:  5'2"/157cm (male), 6'2"/188cm (male), 5'10"/178cm (male) 
  Age expectancy:   Draugs survive until they are permanently destroyed 
  Initiative modifier:  0 
  Injury Points:  17, 17, 17 
  Life Points:  None. 
  Base Defenses:  Armor 12 (leather +2), Endurance 12, Reflex 10, Will 15 
  Attacks:  Long sword, attack bonus +4, damage 1d8+2 
  Magical Attacks:  None 
  Magical Items:  None 
  Armor:  Leather 
  Speed:  30ft/9m per round 
  Resistances:  Resistance to heat and cold 
  Abilities:  Strength 14, Dexterity 11, Stamina 20, Magical Aptitude 1, Mechanical Aptitude 13, Knowledge 13. 
  Special qualities:  Perceive in the dark, magical touch, undead injury effects, immune to pain, immune to poison, 
  vulnerability to daylight, vulnerability to direct sunlight, vulnerability to iron, vulnerability to running water, 
  herbal vulnerability, ley ban, emergence 
  Talent Points:  8 
  Primary Talents:  Athletics 8, Melee Combat 7, Religion 1 
  Secondary Talents:  None 
  Skills with Bonus:  Armor Proficiency (2), Concentration +1, Notice Objects and Movement +1, Ride Mount +2, 
  Search +1, Sneak 0, Weapon Proficiency (2) 
  Alignment inclination:  Any evil 
   
   
  Special Qualities (Levels 1 and 2) 
   
  Resistance to Heat and Cold:  Heat and cold have no effect upon a draug as long they do not cause it to burn or 
  to dehydrate or become frozen to an extent that movement becomes clumsy to impossible.  Cold may freeze a 
  draug in its position, but it does no lasting damage.  Heat can cause damage only if it causes the draug to catch fire.  
  At that point it takes the standard damage that the fire causes. 
   
  Perceive in the Dark:  The eyes of draugs emit a signal something like that of a bat.  The less light there is, the 
  stronger the signal becomes.  When the signal is reflected back to the draug's eyes, it forms a colorless image in 
  black, white and grey tones of what normally could be seen in light.  This image does not magically detect invisible 
  creatures and objects.  Invisibility magic allows such signals to pass in both directions through invisible objects.  
  This virtual sight has a range of 60ft/18m. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 311 
   
  Magical Touch:  Draugs have no living nervous system but they do have a magical ability to sense objects when 
  they are touched.  This sense is limited to the perception that an object is being touched.  A draug also can, for 
  example, move his or her hand around an object and perceive its form.  It can squeeze an object and detect 
  whether it yields, giving the draug an impression of its degree of hardness.  However, a draug cannot feel such 
  things as small points or sharpness although it well may see them. 
   
  Undead Injury Effects:  Draugs have no life points.  If an injury dismembers a draug, as might be the case with a 
  targeted hit, it loses the use of the dismembered body part.  Otherwise, a draug is at full capacity despite the loss of 
  injury points until it reaches 0 points, when it automatically is slain.  Even after reaching 0 injury points, a draug's 
  body can be repaired and bound again to a soul.  Only if the draug is decapitated and the head is destroyed is it 
  impossible to restore its own body and return its soul to it. 
   
  Immune to Pain:  Draugs have no living nervous system and therefore feel no pain. 
   
  Immune to Poison:  Draugs have no life system that can be damaged by poison, however destructive poisons (like 
  some acids) that will destroy physical body tissue have the same effect upon a draug's undead body. 
   
  Vulnerability to Daylight:  One small, single ray of sunlight touching a draug will destroy its physical essence 
  forever, and it also will destroy permanently the soul of any draug below dark draug level.  Being in daylight without 
  exposure to direct sun does not destroy a draug, but it gives it a penalty of -2 on every decision that requires a dice 
  roll. 
   
  Vulnerability to Iron:  Any wound from iron automatically slays a draug.  However, a draug body slain by iron can 
  be restored and have its soul returned to it. 
   
  Vulnerability to Running Water:  Draugs are unable to cross running water of their own power.  They cannot will 
  themselves to do so.  If draug flesh comes into contact with running water, the surface of skin that touched the 
  water will be dissolved as though it had been in a dangerous acid. 
   
  Herbal Vulnerability:  Certain plants are particularly strong in the forces of Light and Life, which causes difficulty 
  for draugs that encounter them.  Ransom or wild garlic and sloe bushes repel draugs.  A draug must make a 
  Stamina check against DL 35 to touch or cross ramson or to touch or pass by or through sloe.  However, if it is 
  commanded to do so by its master draug, the master draug makes the check instead. 
   
  Ley ban:  Draugs will come only reluctantly within 100ft/30m of a ley line or 500ft/150m of a ley stone.  Within that 
  range, they lose all of their magical powers and all use of magic.  Even their magical items become temporarily non-
  magical. 
   
  Emergence:  Draugs cannot be forever trapped inside physical bounds unless they are made of lead or iron or they 
  are encircled by running water.  They can move through any other type of matter at a rate of ⅛ inch/3cm per round.  
  That's equivalent to 1½ inches/38mm a minute or 7½ feet/230cm an hour. 
   
   
  Antonin 
  Human Male Artisan (Miller), Level 2 
  Size:  Medium 5'9"/175cm tall, 170lbs/85kg 
  Initiative modifier:  +6 (+2 Dex, +4 interactive reaction) 
  Injury Points:  14 
  Life Points:  3 
  Base Defenses:  Armor 10, Endurance 12, Reflex 12, Will 11. 
  Attacks:  Weapon or unarmed, +3.  Damage by weapon or attack (+2 Strength).  Draug long sword, +3, damaged 
  1d8+2. 
  Magical Attacks:  None 
  Magical Items:  None 
  Armor:  None 
  Speed:  30cm/9m 
  Resistances:  None 
  Abilities:  Strength 14, Dexterity 15, Stamina 13, Magical Aptitude 1, Mechanical Aptitude 16, Knowledge 14 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 312 
   
  Key ability:  Mechanical Aptitude 
  Special qualities:  None 
  Talent points:  25 
  Primary Talents:  Applied Knowledge 10, Perception 10, Religion 1. 
  Secondary Talents:  Melee Combat 2 
  Skills with Bonus:  Armor Proficiency +4, Concentration +12, Craft (miller) +12, Heal +2, Interactive Reaction +4, 
  Knowledge (local) +12, Notice Objects and Movements +12, Perform (acting) +12, Religious Knowledge +3, 
  Ride Mount +2, Search +12, Sense Motive +12, Swim +2, Use Magical Device (religious) +3, Weapon 
  Proficiency +4. 
  Alignment inclination:  Neutral good 
   
  Injury Point Threshold 
  Remaining 
  Injury Points 
  Attack, Damage, Skill 
  and Defense Penalty 
  Fully capable 
  11-14 
  None 
  Injured 
  7-10 
  -1 
  Seriously injured 
  3-6 
  -2 
  Critically injured 
  1-2 
  -3 
  In mortal danger 
  0 
  -4 
   
   
   
  Katja, Karel and Tomas 
  Human Female and Male Commoners, Level 1 
  Size:  Medium 
  Katja, 5'8"/173cm, 176lbs/88kg 
  Karel, 5'9"/175cm tall, 170lbs/85kg 
  Tomas, 5'11"/180cm, 180lbs/90kg 
  Initiative modifier:  0 
  Injury Points:  4 
  Life Points:  1 
  Base Defenses:  Armor 10, Endurance 10, Reflex 10, Will 10. 
  Attacks:  Weapon or unarmed, -3.  Damage by weapon or attack (+1 attack bonus, -4 no proficiency).  Draug long 
  sword, -3, damaged 1d8. 
  Magical Attacks:  None 
  Magical Items:  None 
  Armor:  None 
  Speed:  30cm/9m 
  Resistances:  None 
  Abilities:  Strength 10, Dexterity 10, Stamina 10, Magical Aptitude 1, Mechanical Aptitude 10, Knowledge 10 
  Special qualities:  None 
  Talent points:  8 
  Primary Talents:  Applied Knowledge 3, Athletics 4, Religion 1. 
  Secondary Talents:  None 
  Skills with Bonus:  Heal 0, Notice Objects and Movement 0, Ride Mount 0, Search 0, Sneak 0, Swim 0. 
  Alignment inclination:  Neutral good 
   
   
   
  Injury Point Threshold 
  Remaining 
  Injury Points 
  Attack, Damage, Skill 
  and Defense Penalty 
  Fully capable 
  4 
  None 
  Injured 
  3 
  -1 
  Seriously injured 
  2 
  -2 
  Critically injured 
  1 
  -3 
  In mortal danger 
  0 
  -4 
   
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 313 
   
  6.4  Encountering the Baron 
   
  After the PCs and their presumably freed prisoners reach area 4 in the previous encounter, they can begin 
  ascending the spiral staircase of draug Baron Nundlung's tower.  Area 4 of the upper dungeon plan on Page 308 
  corresponds to area 1 of the upper dungeon plan on the following page.  The descriptions of the tower ascent 
  assume that the PCs have a source of light. 
   
  Users of Fractal Mapper 8 
   
  You can use and modify the dungeon plans on the following page by opening and editing the file 
  DDNundlungsTower.fmp.  This map has individual layers for the dungeon, center and top layers of the tower. 
   
   
  Key to Dungeon Level Floor Plan 
   
  1 – Base of Stairs.  This point is the bottom of the stairway shown for area 4 of the map on Page 308. 
   
  2 – Door.  At the top of the dungeon stairs is a double door of massive oak.  Each door is 5ft/150cm wide and 
  6'7"/2m high.  The doors are not locked.  The hinges are not oiled, and they squeak loudly, although Baron 
  Nundlung and Thund, in the draug baron's chamber above, will not hear the squeaking. 
   
   
  Key to Middle Level Floor Plan 
   
  The stairway ascends to a height of 70ft/21m before reaching the draug baron's chamber.  The windows and arrow 
  slits of the tower all have been bricked shut and all floors between the dungeon level and the baron's chamber have 
  been removed.  At 50ft/15m height. there is a large door opening that has a barred massive oak door.  If the PCs 
  manage to break this door open, draugs will be unable to ascend and descend during daytime. 
   
   
  Key to the Floor Plan of Baron Nundlung's Level 
   
  1 – End of Stairway.  This is the point where the spiral stairway ends at draug Baron Nundlung's chamber.  There 
  is no doorway, merely an opening in the stone floor. 
   
  2 – Baron Nundlung. 
   
  3 – Commander Thund. 
   
  4 – The Baron's Necromantic Workbench and his Desk.  Various spell components and a spell book with the 
  baron's known black necromantic spells are on the workbench along with the baron's Rod of Animation (3 charges 
  remain) and a crystal ball with a range of 1 mile/1,500m..  The desk has a document from a Count Narfar, 
  demanding delivery of 25 new draugs at the castle in Hrimgard.  It also contains a large pouch with old Harriki coins 
  as follows:  13 GP, 5 SP, 7 BP, 4 CP. 
   
  5 – Bookcases and Table with Chairs.  The bookcases are mostly empty, but they do still hold a few parchment 
  tomes on black necromantic magic as well as ledger books dealing with the collection of taxes and tithes going back 
  to the time of the fallen Harriki Empire.  A triple candleholder with three burning candles stands on the table. 
   
  6 – Ladder to Upper Level.  This ladder leads to the top level of the tower, where a wooden stairway leads to a 
  trapdoor that opens onto its roof.  The top level originally had been used as a watchpost and guard level, but its 
  openings all have been bricked shut.  The trapdoor to the roof is not locked.  This level, not shown on the floor 
  plans, is empty. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 314 
   
   
   
   
  Open Game Content 
   
  Baron Nundlung's Tower – dungeon level, above, and middle level 
   
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 315 
   
   
  Baron Nundlung's Tower – the draug baron's level 
  Open Game Content 
   
   
  Game Master's Notes 
   
  Neither the draug Baron Nundlung nor his troop commander, the draug Warrior Thund, expects the PCs to try to 
  ascend the tower to the baron's chamber.  They are not listening for intruders nor are they being watchful, which 
  gives the PCs certain advantages.  If they hear the PCs ascending the stairs and the PCs make no unusual sounds 
  that would betray their identity, Nundlung and Thund will assume that they are draug warriors coming to report 
  information. 
   
  As a result, for normal noises, the PCs need make no Sneak checks that you will use under ordinary circumstances.  
  However, if they PCs make any sounds or noises during their ascent that draugs would not make, then Sneak 
  checks are necessary.  We suggest that you have them make three Sneak checks apiece before they begin their 
  ascent.  If the PCs make unusual noises, compare them with the checks of Baron Nundlung and Thund for Notice 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 316 
   
  Objects and Movement.  Because the two are not guarded, they make these checks with a penalty of -3.  However, 
  if they become alert, this penalty no longer is applied. 
   
   
  Narrative 
   
  As the PCs reach the door at the top of the dungeon stairs, as shown in the upper floor plan on Page 315. 
   
  At the top of the stairway is a double door of massive oak.  Each door panel is 5ft/150cm wide and 6'7"/2m 
  high. 
   
  The doors are not locked. 
   
  The tower appears to be hollow and dark, but a spiral stairway of stone, about 10ft/3m wide, runs along the 
  interior of the tower wall upward.  Here at the lowest level, the stairway seems safe, but one does have to be 
  careful.  There is no railing.  Were one to slip and fall, the descent would be unbroken back down to the 
  dungeon level. 
   
  During the ascent: 
   
  It appears that the tower once had floors beginning at the dungeon level and then at 10ft/3m intervals.  Every 
  10ft/3m, you can see stone supports in the walls that doubtless once held floors, but these are gone now.  
  The tower, at these levels, is simply hollow except for the stairway.  You also can see many points where 
  there where arrow slits and window openings in the tower wall, but these all have been bricked shut. 
   
  Game Master:  The point at which you give the PCs the following information depends upon the illumination range 
  of their light source.  The baron's floor is at a height of 70ft/21m.  Once their source of illumination is within range, 
  read the following.  However, also note the narrative for the blocked door at 50ft/15m.  Depending upon the source 
  of illumination, the PCs may see the blocked door first. 
   
  At last your light reveals an end to the tower's emptiness. Xft/m (X is the extent of the PCs' illumination) 
  above you are stone buttresses that support a floor of stone.  There is an opening on one side, probably the 
  point where the stairs emerges into the floored area.  You also can hear voices coming faintly through the 
  opening, and there is a trace of flickering light from one or more flames.  You estimate that the floor is 
  70ft/21m above the dungeon level below. 
   
  Game Master:  The following description should be read when the PCs reach a point 50ft/15m above the dungeon 
  level.  If the PCs manage to break the door open, draugs will not be able to use the stairs during daytime hours. 
   
  You've reached the fifth point where an old floor once was removed, as evidenced by stone buttresses in the 
  wall.  This time, however, there's an additional feature.  There's a large door portal in the wall, a yard/meter 
  wide and 10ft/3m high.  In the portal is a wooden door made of massive oak and reinforced with brass bands.  
  Two thick bars have been bolted onto the door and sunk into each side of the wall to prevent the door from 
  being opened. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 317 
   
   
  Draug Baron Nundlung's Tower in Dark Valley.  Oak wood seals the old door opening. 
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 318 
   
  Game Master's Notes 
   
  The PCs might decide to investigate the door, but there's nothing more to it than what's described two pages back. 
   
  As the PCs approach the baron's level, the voices they hear will become easier to understand.  Nundlung is in his 
  chamber with his commander, the draug Warrior Thund.  If the PCs attempt to listen in, use the following to recreate 
  what they hear: 
   
  Baron Nundlung is dissatisfied with his draugs' performance against the PCs so far.  He has been 
  watching the PCs' nighttime actions with his crystal ball, and he is convinced that they are adventurers 
  of little skill.  He does not use the crystal ball during the daytime because the images of daylight that 
  the crystal ball transmits blur his vision.  He does not understand why Thund hasn't been able to rally 
  the draugs to capture or, if necessary, destroy the PCs.  The baron would much rather have them alive 
  and in the dungeon cages, where they would be held until a more powerful Black Necromancer draug 
  from the north visits, who could transfigure the PCs into draugs.  Tingl's Mill (the draugs do not use the 
  name Dark Valley) is in dire need of new draugs, due to the losses of the previous days.  If the PCs 
  hole up in the mill building again during the coming night, the baron wants Thund to round up every 
  draug in the settlement, arm it, and send it in a mass charge upon the mill building.  The baron wants 
  Thund to work ramson leaves onto arrow tips.  If any of the draugs halt or straggle when they have to 
  cross the ramson outside the mill building, Nundlung wants Thund to shoot them with arrows.  The 
  intense mental pain a ramson wound would cause would motivate the other draugs to ignore their 
  aversion to the growing ramson, the baron argues. 
   
  Once the PCs reach the baron's chamber, issues of detection and surprise come into play.  Neither Nundlung nor 
  Thund is expecting the PCs to enter the tower.  They have no idea where the PCs are at the moment, if the PCs 
  have made no unusual loud noises to warn them. 
   
  Before you run this encounter, look carefully at the dungeon plan on Page 315.  Baron Nundlung has his back 
  mostly to the stairs, so he will not immediately see the PCs ascending them.  Thund is behind a bookcase and 
  cannot see the PCs on the stairs until he moves out from behind it. 
   
  Thus, if the PCs have been quiet enough, they will take Thund and the draug baron completely by surprise.  This 
  means that the PCs (and the freed prisoners, if they are along) will have a free round of action without counter 
  reaction in the first round of the encounter.  After that, normal initiative rolls decide the sequence of actions. 
   
  What happens from this point on depends upon your PCs' actions.  Whether they win or lose, the encounter with 
  Nundlung and Thund is the end of this adventure.  All that remains afterwards is the return trip to Slovan City. 
    
    
    
  NPC Statistics 
   
  Baron Nundlung – Intermediate Draug 
  Character Class:  Black Necromancer level 2 
  Size:  5'4"/163cm (male) 
  Age expectancy:   Draugs survive until they are permanently destroyed 
  Initiative modifier:  0 
  Injury Points:  19 
  Life Points:  None. 
  Spell Points:  9, Maximum per spell: 2 
  Base Defenses:  Armor 10, Endurance 10, Reflex 10, Will 15 
  Attacks:  Dagger, attack bonus +1, damage 1d4 
  Magical Schools:  Black Necromancy, Abjuration, Conjuration, Transmutation 
  Magical Attacks:  Spells +9 
  Magical Items:  Rod of Animation (3 charges left), animates 1d4+4 skeletons or zombies per use; Crystal Ball, 
  range 1 mile/1,500m 
  Armor:  Chain mail 
  Speed:  30ft/9m per round 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 319 
   
  Resistances:  Resistance to heat and cold 
  Abilities:  Strength 10, Dexterity 11, Stamina 20, Magical Aptitude 18, Mechanical Aptitude 1, Knowledge 16. 
  Special qualities:  Perceive in the dark, magical touch, undead injury effects, immune to pain, immune to poison, 
  vulnerability to daylight, vulnerability to direct sunlight, vulnerability to iron, vulnerability to running water, 
  herbal vulnerability, ley ban, emergence 
  Talent Points:  30 
  Primary Talents:  Arcane Magic 7, Applied Knowledge 7, Perception 7, Religion 2 
  Secondary Talents:  None 
  Skills with Bonus:  Arcane Knowledge +11, Casting in Combat +11, Concentration +11, Detect Magic +11, Gather 
  Information +10, Knowledge Dungeons +10, Knowledge History +10, Notice Objects and Movement +10, 
  Perform (acting) +10, Read and Write Magic +11, Religious Knowledge +10, Ride Mount ±0, Search +10, 
  Sense Magic +11, Sense Mechanics +11, Sense Motive +10, Sense Traps +10, Sneak 0, Spellcraft +11, 
  Swim +3, Use Magical Device +11 
  Alignment inclination:  Chaotic evil 
   
  Spells available:   
   
  Alarm 
  School:  Abjuration 
  Spell/Magic Points:  2 
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  2 Hours/Caster Level 
  Range:  Close 
  Effect:  20ft/6m radius 
  Alignment:  All 
   
  You create a magical alarm that sounds a mental or audible alarm each time a creature enters the warded area or 
  touches it.  A creature that speaks the password (determined by you at the time of casting) does not set off the 
  alarm.  You decide at the time of casting whether the alarm will be mental or audible. 
   
  Mental Alarm: A mental alarm alerts you (and only you) so long as you remain within 1 mile/1.5 km  of the warded 
  area.  You note a single mental ping that awakens you from normal sleep but does not otherwise disturb 
  concentration.  A silence spell has no effect on a mental alarm. 
   
  Audible Alarm:  An audible alarm produces the sound of a hand bell, and anyone within 60ft/18m of the warded 
  area can hear it clearly.  Reduce the distance by 10ft/3m for each interposing closed door and by 20ft/3m for each 
  substantial interposing wall.  In quiet conditions, the ringing can be heard faintly as far as 180ft/54m away. The 
  sound lasts for 1 round. 
   
  Creatures within a silence spell cannot hear the ringing.  Alarm can be made permanent with a permanency spell. 
   
   
  Cloud of Fog 
  School:  Conjuration 
  Spell/Magic Points:  2 
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  10 minutes/level 
  Range:  Medium 
  Effect:  Fog, 2ft/6m radius, 20ft/6m high 
  Alignment:  All 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 320 
   
  You create a bank of fog that billows out from the point you designate.  The fog obscures all sight beyond 
  5ft/150cm.  A creature within 5ft/150cm has concealment.  Attacks have a 20% miss chance.  Creatures farther 
  away have total concealment with a 50% miss chance.  The attacker can’t use sight to locate the target.  A mode-
  rate wind disperses the fog in 4 rounds; a strong wind disperses the fog in 1 round.  The spell does not function 
  underwater. 
   
   
  Doom 
  School:  Necromancy, Black 
  Spell/Magic Points:  2 
  Attack Throw?  Will 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  1 minute/caster level 
  Range:  Medium 
  Target:  One living creature 
  Alignment:  Darkness 
   
  You fill a single subject with a feeling of horrible dread that causes it to become shaken and unable to do anything 
  for the spell's duration.  To succeed, you must make a successful spell attack against the target's Will defense. 
   
   
  Mage's Apprentice 
  School:  Conjuration 
  Spell/Magic Points:  1   
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Rund 
  Duration:  1 Hour/Caster Level 
  Range:  Close - from Caster's position 
  Effect:  One invisible, mindless, shapeless servant 
  Alignment:  All 
   
  You create an invisible, mindless, shapeless force that performs simple tasks at your command.  It can run and 
  fetch things, open unstuck doors, and hold chairs, as well as clean and mend.  The servant can perform only one 
  activity at a time, but it repeats the same activity over and over again you tell it to do so for as long as you remain 
  within range.  It can open only normal doors, drawers, lids and the like.  It has an effective Strength score of 2, so it 
  can lift only 10 lbs./5 kg.  It can trigger traps and such, but it can exert only 10 lbs/5 kg of force, which is not enough 
  to activate certain pressure plates and other devices.  It can’t perform any task that requires a skill check with a DL 
  higher than 10 or that requires a check using a skill that can’t be used untrained.  Its speed is 15ft/7.5m.  The 
  servant cannot attack in any way.  It cannot be killed or damaged.  If you attempt to send it beyond the spell’s 
  range, which is measured from your current position, the servant ceases to exist. 
   
   
  Magical Web 
  School:  Conjuration 
  Spell/Magic Points:  2 
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  10 Minutes/Caster Level 
  Range:  Medium 
  Area of Effect:  20ft/6m radius from spell's center 
  Alignment:  All 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 321 
   
  You create a many-layered mass of strong, sticky strands similar to a large, semi-circular spider web.  The strands 
  trap anything caught in them.  The strands are far larger and tougher than spider webs.  These strands must be 
  anchored to two or more solid and diametrically opposed points or else the web collapses upon itself.  Creatures 
  and objects caught within a magical web become entangled among the gluey fibers.  However, attacking a creature 
  caught in a web won’t cause you to become entangled as long as you do not touch the strands.  An entangled 
  creature can’t move from its space, but it can break loose from the web by making a DL 20 Strength check or an 
  Escape Bindings skill check.  These are 1-round actions.  The strands of a Magical Web are flammable.  Fire can 
  slash them away as easily as a hand brushes away cobwebs.  Any fire can set the webs alight and burn away an 
  area 5ft/150cm square in 1 round.  All creatures within flaming webs take 2d4 points of fire damage from the flames. 
   
   
  Move Object 
  School:  Transmutation 
  Spell/Magic Points:  1 
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  Concentration 
  Range:  Close 
  Target:  Object to 5lbs/2.5kg weight 
  Alignment:  All 
   
  You can point your wand or finger at an object and lift it and move it at will from a distance.  As a move action, you 
  can move the object as far as 15ft/7.5m in any direction.  The spell ends if the distance between you and the object 
  ever exceeds the spell’s range. 
   
   
  Protection 
  School:  Abjuration 
  Spell/Magic Points:  2 
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  1 Minute/Caster Level 
  Range:  Touch 
  Target:  Creature touched 
  Area of Effect:  Alignment:  All 
   
  You ward your target against attacks.  You create a magical barrier around the target at a distance of 1ft/30cm.  The 
  barrier moves with the target and has three major effects.  The target gains a +2 deflection bonus to its Armor 
  defense and a +2 agility bonus to its Reflex defense.  The barrier blocks any attempt to possess the warded target 
  or to exercise mental control over the creature including enchantment effects.  The protection does not prevent such 
  effects from targeting the protected creature, but it suppresses the effect for the duration of the spell.  If Protection 
  ends before the effect granting enchantment effect does, the enchantment begins to take effect.  The barrier keeps 
  out a possessing life force but does not expel one if it is in place before the spell is cast.  The spell prevents bodily 
  contact with summoned creatures.  This causes the natural weapon attacks of such creatures to fail and the 
  creatures to recoil if such attacks require touching the warded creature.  No summoned creatures are immune to 
  this effect.  The protection against contact with summoned creatures ends if the warded target attacks or tries to 
  force the barrier against the blocked creature. 
   
   
  Ray of Weakness 
  School:  Necromancy, Black 
  Spell/Magic Points:  1 
  Attack Throw?  Reflex 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 322 
   
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  1 Minute/Level 
  Range:  Close 
  Target:  Creature, living or undead 
  Effect:  Ray from wand or finger 
  Alignment:  Darkness 
   
  A weakening ray springs from your wand or finger.  You must succeed on a spell attack against the target's Reflex 
  defense to strike.  If you succeed, the target takes a penalty to Strength equal to 1d6+1 per two caster levels.  The 
  spell cannot reduce the target's Strength score below 1. 
   
   
  Silence 
  School:  Abjuration 
  Spell/Magic Points:  2 
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  1 Minute/Caster Level 
  Range:  Long 
  Area of Effect:  20ft/6m from spell center 
  Alignment:  All 
   
  You bring complete silence to the affected area.  All sound is stopped.  Conversation is impossible, spells with 
  verbal components cannot be cast, and no noise whatsoever issues from, enters or passes through the area.  The 
  effect can be ended only by using Ban Magic upon the center point. 
   
   
  Spider Climb 
  School:  Transmutation 
  Spell/Magic Points:  2 
  Attack Throw?  No 
  Gestures or Wand?  Yes 
  Words?  Yes 
  Material?  No 
  Casting time:  1 Round 
  Duration:  10 Minutes/Caster Level 
  Range:  Touch 
  Target:  Touched creature 
  Alignment:  All 
   
  The subject can climb and travel on vertical surfaces or even traverse ceilings as well as a spider does.  The 
  affected creature must have its hands free to climb in this manner.  The subject gains a climb speed of 20ft/6m.  
  Furthermore, it need not make checks to traverse a vertical or horizontal surface, even upside down.  A spider 
  climbing creature retains its Dexterity bonus to its Reflex defense, if any, while climbing, and opponents get no 
  special bonus to their attacks against it.  It cannot, however, use the run action while climbing. 
   
   
  Special quality descriptions:  See descriptions for Thund. 
   
   
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 323 
   
  Thund - Intermediate Draug Warrior 
   
  Character Class:  Warrior level 2 
  Size:  5'7""/170cm (male) 
  Age expectancy:   Draugs survive until they are permanently destroyed 
  Initiative modifier:  +2 (Dex) 
  Injury Points:  30 
  Life Points:  None. 
  Base Defenses:  Armor 15 (chain mail +5), Endurance 12, Reflex 10, Will 15 
  Attacks:  Long sword, attack bonus +5, damage 1d8+2 
  Magical Attacks:  None 
  Magical Items:  None 
  Armor:  Chain mail 
  Speed:  30ft/9m per round 
  Resistances:  Resistance to heat and cold 
  Abilities:  Strength 14, Dexterity 14, Stamina 20, Magical Aptitude 1, Mechanical Aptitude 13, Knowledge 13. 
  Special qualities:  Perceive in the dark, magical touch, undead injury effects, immune to pain, immune to poison, 
  vulnerability to daylight, vulnerability to direct sunlight, vulnerability to iron, vulnerability to running water, 
  herbal vulnerability, ley ban, emergence 
  Talent Points:  20 
  Primary Talents:  Athletics 10, Melee Combat 10 
  Secondary Talents:  None 
  Skills with Bonus:  Armor Proficiency (2), Concentration +1, Notice Objects and Movement +1, Ride Mount +2, 
  Search +1, Sneak 0, Weapon Proficiency (2) 
  Alignment inclination:  Lawful evil 
   
   
  Special Qualities (Nundlung and Thund) 
   
  Resistance to Heat and Cold:  Heat and cold have no effect upon a draug as long they do not cause it to burn or 
  to dehydrate or become frozen to an extent that movement becomes clumsy to impossible.  Cold may freeze a 
  draug in its position, but it does no lasting damage.  Heat can cause damage only if it causes the draug to catch fire.  
  At that point it takes the standard damage that the fire causes. 
   
  Perceive in the Dark:  The eyes of draugs emit a signal something like that of a bat.  The less light there is, the 
  stronger the signal becomes.  When the signal is reflected back to the draug's eyes, it forms a colorless image in 
  black, white and grey tones of what normally could be seen in light.  This image does not magically detect invisible 
  creatures and objects.  Invisibility magic allows such signals to pass in both directions through invisible objects.  
  This virtual sight has a range of 60ft/18m. 
   
  Magical Touch:  Draugs have no living nervous system but they do have a magical ability to sense objects when 
  they are touched.  This sense is limited to the perception that an object is being touched.  A draug also can, for 
  example, move his or her hand around an object and perceive its form.  It can squeeze an object and detect 
  whether it yields, giving the draug an impression of its degree of hardness.  However, a draug cannot feel such 
  things as small points or sharpness although it well may see them. 
   
  Undead Injury Effects:  Draugs have no life points.  If an injury dismembers a draug, as might be the case with a 
  targeted hit, it loses the use of the dismembered body part.  Otherwise, a draug is at full capacity despite the loss of 
  injury points until it reaches 0 points, when it automatically is slain.  Even after reaching 0 injury points, a draug's 
  body can be repaired and bound again to a soul.  Only if the draug is decapitated and the head is destroyed is it 
  impossible to restore its own body and return its soul to it. 
   
  Immune to Pain:  Draugs have no living nervous system and therefore feel no pain. 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 324 
   
  Immune to Poison:  Draugs have no life system that can be damaged by poison.  However, destructive poisons 
  (like some acids) that will destroy physical body tissue have the same effect upon a draug's undead body. 
   
  Vulnerability to Daylight:  One small, single ray of sunlight touching a draug will destroy its physical essence 
  forever, and it also will destroy permanently the soul of any draug below dark draug level.  Being in daylight without 
  exposure to direct sun does not destroy a draug, but it gives it a penalty of -2 on every decision that requires a dice 
  roll. 
   
  Vulnerability to Iron:  Any wound from iron automatically slays a draug.  However, a draug body slain by iron can 
  be restored and have its soul returned to it. 
   
  Vulnerability to Running Water:  Draugs are unable to cross running water of their own power.  They cannot will 
  themselves to do so.  If draug flesh comes into contact with running water, the surface of skin that touched the 
  water will be dissolved as though it had been in a dangerous acid. 
   
  Herbal Vulnerability:  Certain plants are particularly strong in the forces of Light and Life, which causes difficulty 
  for draugs that encounter them.  Ransom or wild garlic and sloe bushes repel draugs.  A draug must make a 
  Stamina check against DL 35 to touch or cross ramson or to touch or pass by or through sloe.  However, if it is 
  commanded to do so by its master draug, the master draug makes the check instead. 
   
  Ley ban:  Draugs will come only reluctantly within 100ft/30m of a ley line or 500ft/150m of a ley stone.  Within that 
  range, they lose all of their magical powers and all use of magic.  Even their magical items become temporarily non-
  magical. 
   
  Emergence:  Draugs cannot be forever trapped inside physical bounds unless they are made of lead or iron or they 
  are encircled by running water.  They can move through any other type of matter at a rate of ⅛ inch/3cm per round.  
  That's equivalent to 1½ inches/38mm a minute or 7½ feet/230cm an hour. 
   
   
   
  The end of an adventure is the start of another.  Pick a trail!   
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 325 
   
  VVII..    LLeeggaall  aanndd  TTeecchhnniiccaall  DDaattaa  
   
   
  11..    PPhhoottooggrraapphh  IInnddeexx  
   
  Page 
  Content 
  Front cover 
  Karlsburg Ruin above Karlstadt on the Main River in Bavarian Lower Franconia 
  18 
  Breitenlohe Castle in the Steigerwald Mountains of Bavarian Middle Franconia 
  23 
  Thuringian Forest Mountains near Eisenach in German Thuringia 
  28 
  Davis Creek Park near Carson City, Nevada, U.S.A. 
  34 
  Watzmann Mountain near Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps 
  44 
  Scottish Games at the Kaiserpfalz Castle in the Upper Franconia City of Forchheim 
  48 
  Young White Main River in Bavarian Upper Franconia 
  51 
  Steigerwald Mountains of Bavarian Franconia 
  53 
  A Loch in the Scottish Highlands 
  61 
  Sterpersdorf Mill on the Aisch River in Bavarian Middle Franconia 
  66 
  Prussian border marker in the Franconian Forest Mountains of Bavaria 
  69 
  The winter moon 
  85 
  Echter Castle with water moat in Mespellbrunn, in the Spessart Mountains of Bavaria 
  90 
  Comstock in winter, near Virginia City, Nevada, U.S.A. 
  95 
  Mount Lassen extinct volcano, Lassen National Park, Northern California U.S.A. 
  105 
  Underground River in Wimsen in the Swabian Alp of German Wurttemberg 
  106 
  Sierra Nevada Mountains, Northern California, U.S.A. 
  109 
  Giechburg Castle ruin near Bamberg in Bavaria Upper Franconia 
  116 
  Hersbruck in Bavaria's Franconian Switzerland Mountains 
  126 
  Erlabronn in Bavaria's Franconian Steigerwald Mountains 
  129 
  Celtic settlement ruin in the Aisch Valley of Northern Bavaria 
  132 
  Rock opening in Bavaria's Franconian Switzerland Mountains 
  135 
  RPG group in Bavaria 
  143 
  Steigerwald Mountains of Bavarian Franconia 
  146 
  Reichelsburg fortress ruin near Aub in Bavarian Lower Franconia 
  153 
  Karlstadt on the Main River in Bavarian Lower Franconia 
  163 
  Sunset over the Steigerwald Mountains of Bavarian Franconia 
  165 
  Reichelsburg fortress ruin near Aub in Bavarian Lower Franconia 
  168 
  Steigerwald Mountains of Bavarian Franconia 
  174 
  Imperial City Days in Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavarian Middle Franconia 
  181 
  Celtic settlement ruin in the Aisch Valley of Northern Bavaria 
  182 
  In the Steigerwald Mountains of Bavarian Franconia 
  183 
  Forest areas in Bavarian Franconia 
  184 
  Forest areas in Bavarian Franconia 
  185 
  In the Steigerwald Mountains of Bavarian Franconia 
  190 
  In the Šumava Mountains of Czech Bohemia 
  192 
  (Top) Ritteralmalpe in the Bavarian Alps near Berchtesgaden 
  192 
  (Bottom) Volcanic spring in Lassen National Park in Northern California, U.S.A. 
  193 
  Fichtelgebirge (Spruce Mountains) of Northern Bavarian Upper Franconia 
  195 
  In the Steigerwald Mountains of Bavarian Franconia 
  197 
  Black Moor in the Rhön Mountains of Bavarian Lower Franconia 
  199 
  Swamp in the Steigerwald Mountains of Bavarian Franconia 
  200 
  High Moor in the Rhön Mountains of Bavarian Lower Franconia 
  201 
  Underground arm of the Zwiefalter Aach River in Wimsen, in German Wurttemberg 
  202 
  Crystal Bay on Lake Tahoe in the Northern California Sierra Nevada Mountains 
  204 
  High Cliff State Park on Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin, U.S.A. 
  207 
  (Upper Pictures) Fichtelgebirge (Spruce Mountains) of Northern Bavaria 
  207 
  (Lower Left) Zenn River in Bavarian Middle Franconia 
  207 
  (Lower Right) Ramsauer Ache in the Bavarian Alps 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 326 
   
   
  Page 
  Content 
  208 
  (Top) The young Main River in the Northern Bavarian Fichtelgebirge (Spruce Mountains) 
  208  
  (Bottom) Trubach River in the Franconian Switzerland Mountains of Northern Bavaria 
  209 
  (Left) Main River in Karlstadt, in Bavarian Lower Franconia 
  209 
  (Right) Pegnitz River in Neuhaus, Northern Bavarian Franconian Switzerland Mountains 
  212 
  Imperial City Days Festival in Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavarian Middle Franconia 
  215 
  Medbach Mill ruin on the Aisch River in Bavarian Middle Franconia 
  222 
  City gate in Prichsenstadt, in Northern Bavaria Lower Franconia 
  230 
  Reichelsburg fortress ruin near Aub in Bavarian Lower Franconia 
  233 
  Franconian Open Air Museum in Bad Windsheim, in Bavarian Middle Franconia 
  234 
  Dinkelsbühl in Bavarian Middle Franconia 
  260 
  Mountain view in Bavarian Upper Franconia 
  270 
  Sunset over the Steigerwald Mountains of Bavarian Franconia 
  274 
  Medbach Mill ruin on the Aisch River in Bavarian Middle Franconia 
  275 
  Medbach Mill ruin on the Aisch River in Bavarian Middle Franconia 
  282 
  Grain fields in the Steigerwald Mountains of Bavarian Franconia 
  292 
  Reichelsburg fortress ruin near Aub in Bavarian Lower Franconia 
  293 
  (Top) Nuns' Mill ruin near Uehlfeld in Bavarian Middle Franconia 
  293 
  (Bottom) Reichelsburg fortress ruin near Aub in Bavarian Lower Franconia 
  294 
  Sunset over the Steigerwald Mountains of Bavarian Franconia 
  304 
  Fortifications in Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavarian Middle Franconia 
  317 
  Reichelsburg fortress ruin near Aub in Bavarian Lower Franconia 
  324 
  Walberla Mountain in the Franconian Swiss of Bavarian Upper Franconia 
  326 
  Imperial City Days Festival in Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavarian Middle Franconia 
  Back cover 
  Hinge in the Franconian Open Air Museum, Bad Windsheim in Bavarian Middle Franconia 
   
   
  There's nothing like a quick nip before hitting the trail again!   
  Product Identity 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 327 
   
  22..    LLeeggaall  IInnffoorrm
  maattiioonn  
   
   
  Dungeons Daring is released under the terms of the Open Gaming License Version 1.0a.  You should read and 
  understand the terms of this license before copying, modifying or distributing this material.  The text of the Open 
  Gaming License 1.0a is not Open Game Content.  Instructions on using this license are provided within the license 
  itself. 
   
   
  2.1  Open Game License 
  Version 1.0a 
   
  The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright © 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc 
  ("Wizards"). All Rights Reserved.  
   
  1.  Definitions: (a)"Contributors" means the copyright and/or trademark owners who have contributed Open Game 
  Content; (b)"Derivative Material" means copyrighted material including derivative works and translations (including 
  into other computer languages), potation, modification, correction, addition, extension, upgrade, improvement, 
  compilation, abridgment or other form in which an existing work may be recast, transformed or adapted; (c) 
  "Distribute" means to reproduce, license, rent, lease, sell, broadcast, publicly display, transmit or otherwise 
  distribute; (d)"Open Game Content" means the game mechanic and includes the methods, procedures, processes 
  and routines to the extent such content does not embody the Product Identity and is an enhancement over the prior 
  art and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the Contributor, and means any work 
  covered by this License, including translations and derivative works under copyright law, but specifically excludes 
  Product Identity. (e) "Product Identity" means product and product line names, logos and identifying marks including 
  trade dress; artifacts; creatures characters; stories, storylines, plots, thematic elements, dialogue, incidents, 
  language, artwork, symbols, designs, depictions, likenesses, formats, poses, concepts, themes and graphic, 
  photographic and other visual or audio representations; names and descriptions of characters, spells, 
  enchantments, personalities, teams, personas, likenesses and special abilities; places, locations, environments, 
  creatures, equipment, magical or supernatural abilities or effects, logos, symbols, or graphic designs; and any other 
  trademark or registered trademark clearly identified as Product identity by the owner of the Product Identity, and 
  which specifically excludes the Open Game Content; (f) "Trademark" means the logos, names, mark, sign, motto, 
  designs that are used by a Contributor to identify itself or its products or the associated products contributed to the 
  Open Game License by the Contributor (g) "Use", "Used" or "Using" means to use, Distribute, copy, edit, format, 
  modify, translate and otherwise create Derivative Material of Open Game Content. (h) "You" or "Your" means the 
  licensee in terms of this agreement.  
   
  2.  The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content that contains a notice indicating that the Open 
  Game Content may only be Used under and in terms of this License. You must affix such a notice to any Open 
  Game Content that you Use. No terms may be added to or subtracted from this License except as described by the 
  License itself. No other terms or conditions may be applied to any Open Game Content distributed using this 
  License.  
   
  3.  Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content You indicate Your acceptance of the terms of this 
  License.  
   
  4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this License, the Contributors grant You a 
  perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license with the enact terms of this License to Use, the Open 
  Game Content.  
   
  5.  Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing original material as Open Game Content, You 
  represent that Your Contributions are Your original creation and/or You have sufficient rights to grant the rights 
  conveyed by this License.  
   
  6.  Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE portion of this License to include the 
  enact tent of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any Open Game Content You are copying, modifying or distributing, and 
  You must add the title, the copyright date, and the copyright holder's name to the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any 
  original Open Game Content you Distribute.  
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 328 
   
  7.  Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, including as an indication as to compatibility, 
  except as expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with the owner of each element of that Product 
  Identity. You agree not to indicate compatibility or co-adaptability with any Trademark or Registered Trademark in 
  conjunction with a work containing Open Game Content except as expressly licensed in another, independent 
  Agreement with the owner of such Trademark or Registered Trademark. The use of any Product Identity in Open 
  Game Content does not constitute a challenge to the ownership of that Product Identity. The owner of any Product 
  Identity used in Open Game Content shall retain all rights, title and interest in and to that Product Identity.  
   
  8.  Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content You must clearly indicate which portions of the work that you 
  are distributing are Open Game Content.  
   
  9.  Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may publish updated versions of this License. You may 
  use any authorized version of this License to copy, modify and distribute any Open Game Content originally 
  distributed under any version of this License.  
   
  10.  Copy of this License: You MUST include a copy of this License with every copy of the Open Game Content You 
  Distribute.  
   
  11.  Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or advertise the Open Game Content using the name of any 
  Contributor unless You have written permission from the Contributor to do so.  
   
  12.  Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the terms of this License with respect to 
  some or all of the Open Game Content due to statute, judicial order, or governmental regulation then You may not 
  Use any Open Game Material so affected.  
   
  13.  Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail to comply with all terms herein and fail to cure 
  such breach within 30 days of becoming aware of the breach.  All sublicenses shall survive the termination of this 
  License.  
   
  14.  Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only 
  to the extent necessary to make it enforceable.  
   
  15.  COPYRIGHT NOTICE  
   
  • 
  Open Game License v 1.0a, Copyright © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.  
   
  • 
  System Reference Document, Copyright © 2000-2008, Wizards of the Coast Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, 
  Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, Andy Collins, David Noonan, Rich Redman, Bruce R. Cordell, based 
  on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. 
   
  • 
  Vintyri™ and Vintyri Project™, Copyright © 2001-2008, Steigerwald EDV Verlag™. 
   
  • 
  Jörðgarð™, Copyright © 2001-2008, Steigerwald EDV Verlag™. 
   
  • 
  Dungeons Daring™, Copyright 2007-08, Steigerwald EDV Verlag™. 
   
  • 
  Dungeons Daring Players Guide, Copyright © 2007-08, Steigerwald EDV Verlag. 
   
  • 
  Dungeons Daring Game Masters Guide, Copyright © 2007-08, Steigerwald EDV Verlag. 
   
  • 
  Dungeons Daring Creatures Guide, Copyright © 2007-08, Steigerwald EDV Verlag. 
   
  • 
  Adventurers' Guide to the Jörðgarð World, Copyright © 2007-08, Steigerwald EDV Verlag. 
   
  • 
  Alchemy & Herbalists, Copyright © 2002, 2005 Bastion Press, Inc. 
   
  • 
  Torn Asunder:  Critical Hits, Copyright © 2003 Bastion Press, Inc. 
   
  • 
  Spells & Magic, Copyright © 2002 Bastion Press, Inc. 
   
  END OF LICENSE 
  
  Dungeons Daring™ Game Masters Guide - Page 329 
   
  2.2  Open Game Content and Product Identity 
   
  Your right to use the Open Game Content within this product is contingent upon your agreement to abide by all of 
  the provisions of the Open Game License Version 1.0a as found upon the preceding pages.  We wish to draw your 
  attention here to Section 7 of that license: 
   
  7.  Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, including as an indication as to 
  compatibility, except as expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with the owner of each 
  element of that Product Identity. You agree not to indicate compatibility or co-adaptability with any 
  Trademark or Registered Trademark in conjunction with a work containing Open Game Content except 
  as expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with the owner of such Trademark or 
  Registered Trademark. The use of any Product Identity in Open Game Content does not constitute a 
  challenge to the ownership of that Product Identity. The owner of any Product Identity used in Open 
  Game Content shall retain all rights, title and interest in and to that Product Identity.  
   
   
  The following trademark symbols are Product Identity.  Under the license terms, you may not use these 
  trademark symbols in any product you derive from the Open Game Content in this publication. 
   
   
   
  ™ 
   
  The following trademarks and terms are Product Identity.  Under the license terms, you may not use these 
  trademarks and terms in any product you derive from the Open Game Content in this publication. 
   
  Steigerwald EDV™ 
  Dungeons Daring™ 
  Jörðgarð™ 
  Joerdhgardh™ 
  Vintyri™ 
   
  All artwork and photographs not designated specifically as Open Game Content.  Under the license terms, 
  you may not use these trademarks and terms in any product you derive from the Open Game Content in 
  this publication.  
   
  The original Dungeons Daring™ books in electronic PDF form contain product identity.  Therefore, these 
  electronic books, as issued, are not Open Game Content and may not be distributed by you in any form.  
  That includes distribution by downloading in Internet. 
   
  If you have a need to use Product Identity contained in the original Dungeons Daring books and/or wish to 
  distribute the original books, please contact us regarding a separate license.  We will issue such licenses 
  when legal and other conditions are fulfilled at no cost to the licensee. 
   
  If you wish to have the Dungeons Daring books in editable form without Product Identity issues, you can 
  download the Dungeons Daring Game Designer Reference Document at no charge from our website: 
   
   
  http://www.dungeons-daring.org 
   
   
  2.3  Contact Information 
   
  Steigerwald EDV™ Verlag 
  Internet:  http://www.dungeons-daring.org 
  Am Hasenloehle 12 
   
  91481 Altershausen 
  E-Mail:  info@dungeons-daring.org 
  Federal Republic of Germany 
  
   
   
  TM 
  We Support Open Gaming
  Steigerwald EDV™ Verlag 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons Daring/Dungeons Daring Game Masters Guide.pdf