Project: LONG STAIR Welcome to the Dungeon! (Core Rules - PRE-RELEASE DRAFT) In 1963, a nuclear detonation under the Nevada desert knocked a hole in reality. The bomb was something new - and still classified - but what it did was stab through the fragile skein of normal space-time and opened a hole into something stranger. The Fed put a door and a lock onto the hole - ninety tons of steel and titanium strong enough to bounce nukes. They kept it secret too. The place the hole opened into was just too weird for people to know about or deal with. It's variously called The Basement, Downstairs, or (most commonly) The Dungeon. Under reality, in realms so strange they defy scientific models to explain, someone or some thing built tunnels, chambers, traps, lairs... but also filled it with wonders and treasures - including objects and devices which could, quite simply, do the impossible. Project: LONG STAIR was born.

but will survive until he reaches a negative hit point total greater than his rank. Incapacitated PCs are either left for dead or captured. Death’s Door: A fortitude save vs. death (see Saving Throws, below) is permitted to survive an effect that would otherwise cause a PC’s demise. If successful, the character is reduced to minimum hit points and incapacitated. Morale: In battle, NPCs and monsters are subject to morale. Both sides roll 1d20 and add the rank (or HD) of their greatest combatant. If either side is doubled they will flee. The referee may roll separately for distinct groups of monsters, and may interpret other outcomes from the results, such as falling back or surrender. Combatants get a free attack against a fleeing opponent. Recovery: PCs who remain above 0 hp recover 1 hp per full turn spent resting, or all lost hp by making camp and resting for a full evening (or equivalent). PCs who have been incapacitated recover at the much slower rate of 1 hp per day of rest until fully healed, unless medical treatment (or a special Xenotech artifact or mutant power) is applied.

Saving Throws

Characters start out as Humans, but upon exposure to radiation and other mutagenic hazards may become Tainted or transform into Hybrids.

Saves are versus fortitude, reflexes, or willpower. Roll 1d20 + rank (or HD). Soldiers add +4 to saves vs. fortitude. Scouts add +4 to saves vs. reflexes. Scientists add +4 to saves vs. willpower. A rank 3 scout, for example, adds +3 (3 ranks) and +4 (scout) for a total of +7 to saves vs. reflexes. A result of 20+ indicates a save.

Class

Adventuring Skills

Each PC must select a class. Soldiers are athletic and skilled at combat. Scouts are swift and perceptive. Scientists are smart and have a knack with Xenotech artifacts. (Monsters and most NPCs do not have a class.)

All skill checks are attempted by rolling 1d20 + AC. PCs add ½ their rank (rounded down) unless stated otherwise below. Monsters typically add ½ their HD. A result of 20+ indicates success. Athletics: Swimming, running, jumping, forcing doors, lifting gates, driving a vehicle, taming or riding an animal (or monster), and so on are all feats of Athletics. Soldiers add their rank rather than ½ their rank. Awareness: Avoiding surprise in combat, detecting traps and ambushes, sensing sources of Taint (see below), finding hidden artifacts, etc. are all feats of Awareness. Scouts add their rank rather than ½ their rank. Lore: Deciphering and repairing artifacts, negotiation with dungeon natives, understanding Xenotech, addressing an alien intelligence, and the like are all feats of Lore. Scientists add their rank rather than ½ their rank.

Race

Hit Points Characters have 1 HD per rank. PCs start with maximum hit points at rank 1, then roll all HD at each additional rank, ignoring the new result if it is lower than the previous value. Soldiers have 1d10 hp per HD, Scouts have 1d8, and Scientists have 1d6. (Monsters usually, but not always, have 1d8 hp per HD.) Pure-strain Humans gain +2 bonus hit points.

Equipment PCs will be provided with standard supplies (food, water, etc.) and gear for each mission (TO BE EXPANDED...): Flak jacket (lt armour, AC 7/DR 1, MV 12") Standard-issue pistol (lt ranged weapon, 2d4 damage, out of ammo on a 1) Combat knife (lt melee 1d6 damage or lt ranged 1d4 damage) One of: Armour upgrade, combat shotgun (with ammo), extra ammo, first-aid kit. A lower AC makes you harder to hit, but is detrimental in other ways. By convention, 1” equals 10 ft in the Dungeon. Scouts add +3” MV if wearing light or no armour.

The Character Sheet Invent a name, an appellation, a one-line description, and your character is ready to explore the wastes! For example: Pvt. "Kenny" Gomes. Human Soldier 1 (XP 0, +10% bonus), AC 5/DR 2 (riot armour), MV 9”, HD 1d10+2 (hp 12), pistol (ranged Atk +1, 2d4) or knife (melee Atk +1, 1d6 or ranged Atk +1, 1d4). Pvt. Gomes has an untouchable record for mishap, disaster, and injury.

Combat Surprise: In cases where a party may be caught by surprise at the start of combat, an Awareness check must be made (see Adventuring Skills, below). Roll only once, using the best skill value in the party. Failure indicates surprise, and the party loses one combat round. Initiative: Each combatant rolls 1d6 to determine initiative. Fast weapons are +1 to initiative, slow weapons are -1. The combatant with the highest initiative acts first, with others following in descending order. Attack: Roll 1d20 + target’s AC. Soldiers add their rank. Scouts add their rank with light or ranged weapons, otherwise they add ½ their rank (rounded down). Scientists add ½ their rank with all weapons, but gain a +2 bonus with Xenotech artifacts. Monsters add their HD. Ranged weapons cannot be used in melee, except for pistols and handguns. 20+ is a hit. Damage: On a hit, roll damage dice and subtract the result from hit points. At 0 hp monsters are slain. A PC or important NPC is incapacitated at 0 hp,

The Taint In the Dungeon, ... the Taint. In addition to suffering damage from the Taint, characters who are exposed will develop mutations with increasing contamination. These mutations are determined randomly - some are beneficial, some detrimental. A PC who gains one or more mutations, but is still more-or-less normal, becomes Tainted. A character who becomes visibly disfigured or develops more than one major mutation is now considered a Hybrid. Rules for mutations and their effects are the purview of the referee.

Xenotech Artifacts When an unidentified Xenotech artifact is discovered, a character must spend a full turn attempting to decipher its use. Make a Lore check; 20+ indicates success. On a failed check the PC simply cannot figure out the device. Another attempt cannot be made until a new rank is attained. Scientists have the special ability to re-roll a failed Lore check after one additional turn of study. If this second roll is also a failure, an experience rank must be gained before retrying, as with other characters. Scientists are also the only class who can attempt to modify or recharge artifacts. The referee determines the placement of artifacts and their properties.

Experience The referee will assign XP for artifacts recovered, monsters defeated, and missions completed. All experience earned is divided evenly among surviving party members. Humans (of the normal, untainted type) gain a +10% bonus to XP earned. Starting PCs begin at rank 1 with 0 XP. A PC then requires an additional 1,000 XP multiplied by his current rank to advance to each new rank; i.e., a total of 1,000 XP to reach 2nd rank, 3,000 XP to reach 3rd rank, 6,000 XP to reach 4th rank, 10,000 XP to reach 5th rank, and so on. A character must return to his home base for training, or be trained by a higher-rank PC of the same class, before gaining the benefits of a new rank.

Project: LONG STAIR swiped from the RPG.net thread ‘[setting riff] Voices From Below and the Long Stairs’ and used without permission. Based on K-Slacker's Tempora Mutantur rules, inspired by Simon J. Bull’s SotU Refired v3, from the original ‘Searchers of the Unknown’ by Nicolas Dessaux. No challenge or claim to the ownership of any trademarks is intended or implied. This is a not-for-profit fan work, believed to reside within Fair Use.