I'm a performing musician in the eastern United States, so every now and then I get to try my hand at making flyers. I've also connected with a large amount of people thanks to gigging and podcasting, and many of them play some sort of tabletop RPG (usually D&D.) So, I wanted to kick something off where we can play some games adjacent to our gigs -- many of which are just a few blocks away from my house.
Of course, the easiest way to get people together is Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition currently, as it's the Player's Handbook that most people have and are familiar with already. For BUDS, I decided to implement some house rules and procedures from earlier D&D editions.
3d6 in Order
Players start by rolling 3d6 in order for all attributes, without switching any scores. These scores can be augmented with race/ancestry bonuses. After rolling, players may select any official, published character options from books physically available.
No Backgrounds
Instead of selecting a background, you may instead select any two skills. There won't be a lot of interaction with 5e character backgrounds during constant one-shot delves, so players are free to select options that they feel benefit them the most.
Random Starting Equipment
I have some tables from our homebrew tabletop RPG that I have ported into 5e for this, in the vein of Mork Borg's quick character inventory system.
Light Matters
One thing I have noticed is the prevalence of Darkvision amongst nearly every character race/ancestry in D&D 5e. Many groups already assumed light was ever-present in every environment due to this. I think the torch and lantern rules are an essential part of the exploration of dark places though, and the tension that comes from running out of light moderates how far the party can safely delve. So, while you may have Darkvision, the darkness itself works differently in Undermountain, requiring actual light sources.
Time Matters
Every ten minutes is tracked on our shared map, and all players are aware of the passage of time. It is essential for the tracking of wandering monsters, depletion of torches, rations, water, and other resources. Duration of torches and lanterns is taken from 5e.
Weight Limits
The strength rules in 5e are designed in such a way that you can mostly ignore "encumbrance" because even your average Joe can do the work of a bodybuilder. We have house ruled this so that you can carry a number of items equal to your STR score. Containers and some small items do not count towards these slots. Torches, rations, other consumables generally take up one slot. Some items can stack in one slot (such as arrows or coins.)
Wandering Monsters
Every twenty minutes (two exploration turns) spent underground triggers a d6 roll. On a 1, a wandering monster appears. The monster's level generally corresponds with the level of the dungeon, but some more powerful monsters may be encountered as well, wandering up from the deeper levels.
(I was using the BECMI red box Dungeon Level 1 table, because I like that it has NPC parties on it. Something like the Underdark Encounters table in Xanathar's Guide to Everything would probably similarly work, but it doesn't quite line up with mega-dungeon encounters, so I'll probably wind up creating my own tables sooner rather than later. Leave your suggestions as to what should be on them.)
Reaction Rolls
Non-player characters use reaction table from BECMI to determine their actions, instead of DM fiat. This means monsters will rarely automatically attack, and will on average give the party a round to determine how they will interact with the other characters.
Morale
Monsters and henchmen employed by the party have a morale score between 2-12, on average a 7. When situations call for the possibility of retreat -- being reduced to half HP, losing a member of the party, facing certain death, or other terrifying occurrences -- it triggers a 2d6 roll. Rolling above the morale score indicates the character has lost their nerve and begins to retreat or surrender.
Henchmen!
There are always henchmen looking for work in the Yawning Portal, and other adventurers looking for a party to delve into Undermountain with. Parties descending will always be approached by an NPC looking to join the delve for an equal share. Wandering monsters and abandoned party members also exist within the dungeon to possibly recruit.
Treasure = XP
The gold coin value of any treasure successfully liberated from dungeons and brought back to civilization will increase the XP of the character(s) by the same amount.
The Adventure
Dungeon of the Mad Mage is the 5e Undermountain supplement, designed for a party of 5th level. At this stage in 5e's lifespan, I think I can say with some certainty the estimate comes from the assumption of fighting every denizen of the dungeon. I combined with 4e's Halls of Undermountain to expand the map if need be. I don't own the 2e stuff, unfortunately. When you add reaction checks and morale, combined with the power level of 5e characters, I don't think you need to take the CR or level into consideration. In fact, I was mostly gauging power level by the hit dice of the monsters compared to the hit dice of the party, but no adjustments were needed despite the party more or less playing DotMM at level 1 instead of 5.
So How'd It Go?
So far, 3 characters have survived delves, acquiring 510 experience. Notable events -- one NPC failed a morale check, tried to make it back to the Yawning Portal, and was ambushed waiting for a lift by themselves. Another NPC henchmen was lucky enough to take the cursed sword instead of the players. The players encountered a lone Orc on the wandering monster table at some point (roll of 1 on a possible party of 1-10!) -- but didn't trust him and went their separate ways. The delvers parleyed with Xanathar's faction and retreated from that section to explore the hall of mirrors, survived! Made their way to some Grells and were forced to run and expend nearly all of their resources. The rolls have been fairly average, and the players have been very cautious and smart in their delving, learning quickly on their feet, adapting quickly to the notion that not everything needs to be fought.
The BUDS will continue, and I may eventually expand to running some games at the local market hall or park to open the table up beyond the Baltimore music scene, too.
Have you delved Undermountain before, or played 5e as an old-school game? Feel free to let me know your experiences in the comments!
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