D&D Miniatures - Random Dungeons
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About Merric|Mail Merric||
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by SgtHulka
I wanted to use the Random Dungeons, but I wanted to use them with the simpler Mini Skirmish Rules, and I wanted to use them without a Dungeon Master. The Miniatures Handbook leaves a lot of holes that need to be filled in to do this, so I created a set of rules I intend to follow when delving, and I thought I'd share it with the group:
The purpose of this document is to fill in the gaps that will allow players to use the Skirmish Rules rules presented in Chapter 5 of the Miniatures Handbook with the Random Dungeons presented in Chapter 7 of the Miniatures Handbook. This document will also present rules for the placement and governing of Monsters without the use of a Dungeon Master.
Since the Skirmish, rather than the RPG rules, will be used, Players should create Skirmish Stat Cards for each of their Player-Characters, using Chapter 4 of the Miniatures Handbook for guidelines. Any time the Player-Characters are involved in Combat, they should use these Skirmish Stats and the Skirmish Rules to resolve that Combat. If the Player-Characters are performing actions outside of Combat, such as picking a lock, disarming a trap, or listening at a door, the Players should use the RPG stats to determine the Player-Characters success or failure.
Player-Character Morale
Player-Characters should always be considered Unique, Fearless, and Independent for the purpose of the Skirmish Rules. If the Player-Characters wish to bring NPC Hirelings into the dungeon with them, those Hirelings are governed by the normal Skirmish Command rules. In this case, the Player-Character with the highest ability score in CHARISMA is determined the leader of the Player-Character Warband, and is given a Leadership value equal to the Player-Characters Level. A Player-Character never receives a Commander Effect, unless that Player-Character is a Marshal.Traps
Player-Characters are always assumed to be checking for and attempting to disarm traps when they open a door. Whenever a TRAP is activated, allow the Player-Character who is opening the door to immediately try to detect and disarm it before setting it off and activating the monsters within the room.
One potential problem with using the Skirmish Rules with the Random Dungeon Rules is that most of the time Monsters will not activate with a Leader, and will find themselves Out of Command. This document offers a simple solution to that dilemma: the Dungeon itself acts as a Commander. Any time a Monster is activated on a square within the Dungeon (i.e. every time a Monster is activated) consider it within 6 squares of a Commander with a Leadership equal to the Dungeons overall level.
Example: The Player-Characters open a door, activating Monsters within a room. They draw the Monsters and find that theyve activated a Gnoll and a Hyena. The Dungeons Overall Level is 1. Whenever the Gnoll activates, he will be IN COMMAND since the Dungeon has a Leadership level of 1. When the Hyena activates, however, it will be OUT OF COMMAND since it is a DIFFICULT 20 creature, which the Dungeon can not control.
Monster Rout Checks
Since a Monster is always under Command, when it Routs, it will always receive a Rally Check. The direction of a Routed Monster will always be away from the Player-Characters, toward the closest part of the Dungeon that the Player-Characters have not yet explored.
If a turn ends with a Routed Monster OUT OF SIGHT of any Player-Characters, that Monster has ESCAPED. A Monster that Escapes is re-shuffled into the Monster deck. When that Monster is re-encountered, it does not regain any spells, abilities or Hit Points it had lost, but it is immune to further Route checks because it is considered to have RALLIED.
Example: The Player-Characters are fighting a Hell Hound, which uses its breath weapon before taking 10 points of damage and Routing. At the end of the third turn, the Hell Hound is out of sight of any of the Player-Characters, and has Escaped. The Players shuffle the Hell Hound back into the Monster Deck, keeping note of its Hit Points and Breath Weapon. When the Hell Hound is re-activated in a new encounter, it is down to 10 Hit Points and can no longer use its Breath Weapon attack. The Hell Hound is immune to further Route checks, because it is considered to have already Rallied.
The Miniatures Handbook suggests deciding where to activate Monsters ahead of time if playing without a Dungeon Master. These rules suggest a means of doing that while maximizing each Monsters combat effectiveness.
Placing Monsters:
When activating Monsters, roll a single LISTEN check for each Creature (use the RPG side of the Stat Card to determine the Monsters Listen Check). If any of the Creatures succeed in their Listen Checks, they are aware of the Player-Characters and will place themselves in the most favorable positions for an ambush:
If all of the creatures FAIL their Listening Checks, the Players may place the Monsters however they like, even in the least advantageous position possible for the Monsters.
Example: When the Player-Characters open a door, they activate a Half-Orc Fighter, a Half-Orc Monk, and an Orc Archer. The Half-Orc Fighter has a single melee attack, no ranged attack, and no relevant special abilities, so it is considered NEUTRAL. The Players place it directly opposite the door, 7 squares away, so it can CHARGE the Player-Character who opened the door. The Half-Orc Monk has a double melee attack, no ranged attacks, and no relevant Special Abilities, so it is considered AGGRESSIVE. The Players place the Monk on one side of the door, so that it does not block the Half-Orcs charge but can still double-attack the Player-Character who opened the door. The Orc Archer has a ranged attack, and so is considered EVASIVE. The Players place the Orc Archer as far away from the door as possible, but still with Line of Sight to the door so it can shoot the Player-Character that opened the door with arrows.
Monster Combat:
Monsters fight based on their type: Aggressive, Neutral or Evasive (see Placement, above, for definitions of these terms).
Aggressive Monsters will always attempt to Threaten as many Player Characters as possible, so long as doing so doesnt provoke Attacks of Opportunity.
Neutral Monsters will always attempt to Threaten the single closest Player-Character, without opening itself up to attack from other Player-Characters (if possible).
Evasive Monsters will always attempt to remain out of STRIKING DISTANCE of Player Characters. Striking Distance is the distance at which a Player Character can both move and attack. If possible, an Evasive Monster will attack with a ranged attack or spell, and then move away from the Player Characters, so that the Player Characters cant attack it. If the Evasive Monster is out of range or out of Line of Sight when it begins its phase, however, it will use its movement to get close enough to attack. What this means is that Evasive Monsters will often use one turn to fire and then move away, and then use the next turn to move back in and then fire.
Regardless of their type, Monsters will never provoke Attacks of Opportunity. The one exception to this rule is Monsters with the Special Ability FEARLESS. These Monsters do not care if they provoke Attacks of Opportunity.
Note that some Creatures can change their type in the midst of combat. A Kuo-Tua, for example, has a spear ranged attack, making it an EVASIVE monster. But it only has one use of that ranged attack, so once it uses that attack it becoms a NEUTRAL monster.