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Roguelike D6

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For 1–4 players and a DM. Uses pools of six-sided dice (d6).

Monsters pour out of the dungeon each night, spilling into towns, forests, and fields to destroy the Overworld. Heroes are needed to descend, clear the depths, and end the flow at its source.

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What this is

Roguelike D6 is a tabletop roguelike RPG: procedurally generated dungeon runs, high danger, turn-based combat, and permanent death. Every run is different. You will die often. What persists between runs is Party Gold and Boons.

I. Using this App

The game tool above is a dungeon aide that will help a Dungeon Master (DM) run effective encounters, generate rooms and dungeons, and quickly generate rewards. Without the tool above, Roguelike D6 can be played using handmade tables, but requires hours of more work from the DM.

Use the app above on a PC or large tablet. I have not yet made necessary improvements to have it work on phones or other small screens.

• Use the Save and Load feature to quickly start from where you left off. Saving a dungeon will create a simple file for you to save. Do not change the data or name of this file.
  • You will be asked if you are sure you want to quit if you close or refresh the page, to give you ample time to save.
  • If you fail to save a run, it will be impossible to return to the exact dungeon where you left off. More on that later.
• Clicking the level in the top left, such as "Bandit Hideout 1-1" will display an example room. Feel free to draw this room exactly as defined, or develop your own interesting rooms. Traps can be placed as seen or on your own
  • Creating new rules for elevation changes, obstacles, and designing your own items and boons is encouraged. Have fun improvising these in the moment, or using premade rewards.

 Click Level to see Example Room
                                                   

• Clicking Trap or Hazard names, toxins, and keywords should open a popup helper to give you tips and information. These keywords are usually a different color than the text around them.
  • For example, at the top of a level, it will give you the number of monsters, and the type of trap you might find. You can click that trap name to reveal what it does, although you will still have secretly decide where those traps are placed.

Click Red, Purple, or Green text

• Pay close attention to "DM ONLY" sections. Monster features and abilities can stay secret as well, though healthy discussion about rule modifying is also encouraged. Sensitive information shared too soon can ruin surprises, sense of discovery, and deny players of wonder.
• Click Heal, Damage, and Sap Will to track Monster stats. Use the toggles to mark monsters as dead. Monsters of the same name share an action pool and all take the same action on the same turn. It is recommended to keep those rolled Surge dice in front of you, and remove them as you use the resources.
  • Because of the random generative nature of the dungeon, some monsters may have similar actions or features doubled on their card. It is recommended to use the more powerful actions when possible, though if players are nearing a goal or milestone, switch to using the weaker attacks.

• Players should track their own stats, trauma, and items on a 3x5 card. It is not your duty to manage them. Players should not get attached to characters, as once they enter the dungeon, they are doomed to never return.

• No dungeon run will be the same. There are dozens of themes, environments, names, and relief rooms; tens of dozens of actions, randomized summons, traps, boons, items, monsters, and bosses; and of course, billions of possible rooms (see notes on levels above).  It is impossible to experience a dungeon layout that has been previously generated before.

• Consult the community topics below for more on importing.
  • Items, Boons, and Traps are simpler.
  • Monsters and actions are much more complex.

FOR HELP WITH IMPORTING OR GAME RULES:

please visit the Discussions at the bottom of this page.

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II. The Game

What else you will need

• 10+ six-sided dice (d6) per person (more is easier)
• 3x5 cards and a pencil for each player (keep extras nearby)
• A DM to help generate levels, create and run monsters, and adjudicate hazards
  • To use the Dungeon Aide above, all you will need is a mouse

The core loop

• Before each descent, the party can buy items from 5 random shop items.
• Enter the dungeon at Level 1-1 and fight through 1-5, then descend to 2-1, and so on.
• There are 50 Hostile Levels total: Levels 1–10, each with 5 sublevels (the 5th is a boss, except 1-5).
• There are 7 non-hostile Relief Levels: 2-6, 3-6, 4-6, 5-6, 7-6, 8-6, 9-6 (special randomized relief).
• Clear rooms, take treasure, descend, and try not to get erased.

Treasure and rewards

When an entire level of monsters is cleared, use this dungeon aide or roll on a Random Treasure Table and let the party pick gold or the item. If there are 3+ players, they do not choose, instead taking gold on a roll of 3 or under, or the item on a roll of 4+.

Exit Room Choose Treasure. Items may be lost

When all players are dead, the run ends. All items and powers from the run are gone. The party is rewarded with a permanent Boon based on the cumulative Boon XP level reached. The group chooses between 2 options. Or the DM may choose to roll a Boon. Boons can be stacked if it makes sense to do so.

Boon Selection screen: Enter party's cumulative Boon XP

Combat (Quick start)

Combat begins immediately on Hostile Levels. Play is round-based, with an action pool driven by d6 rolls. Player characters choose a marching order entering into the room, while monsters are placed randomly.

• At the start of each round, each entity rolls a number of d6 equal to their Surge. Count 5s and 6s rolled: that count becomes their actions for the round (their action pool).
• Rolling no actions is dire: players can only move during these rounds until other actions are exhausted. A player who rolls no actions is routed until all other entities use actions and a new order is rolled.
• Enemies always get a minimum of 1 action even if they roll no 5s or 6s (they can’t be routed).
• If an entity (monster or player) has more actions than any other entity, they may immediately take 1 Surge Ahead action before normal turn order begins. This action takes place outside of normal turn order, but spends actions as normal.
• Turn order proceeds from high to low based on the Surge core numbers. The DM breaks ties, favoring players.
• You can use a number of moves equal to your Move core stat. You may split actions between moves, but you can’t take actions between steps of a move.
• Entities with no actions left can still move, but cannot gain additional actions until the end of the round.
• Evil entities of the same name share a turn and share one action pool. A shared “round of actions” consumes 1 action from the pool even if multiple identical enemies act.
• When no actions remain (or any entity refuses to use an action), the round ends and a new order is rolled.

Action limits

• Making an attack costs 1 action, and you can only make 1 attack per turn.
• You may still spend 1 action on a non-attack action on the same turn as an attack.
• An entity cannot use more than 2 actions on their turn unless a rule/ability/item allows it.

Common actions

• Attack (only 1 per turn): any harmful action (including pushing into hazards). A miss still counts.
• Identify Traps: reveal hidden traps within an area of squares, distance equal to your remaining Will. If Will is 1, the DM reveals only a single adjacent trap (if any).
• Push or Throw: roll; on a 6, push an adjacent same-size-or-smaller entity 1 space. If the creature is Small, you can throw it overhead up to 2 spaces. Items can be pushed/thrown the same way.
• Use an Item: if it doesn’t directly harm an entity, it’s not an attack action. (If it would immediately harm, it counts as your attack action.)

Exploration

The dungeon is randomized. Difficulty rises as you descend: more hazards, more traps, more lethal monsters. Some locations hide secret paths or doors that can change a run completely.

• Characters can take an extra non-action on their turn during exploration.
• Doors open for free by any adjacent entity. Once opened, they cannot be closed. Closed doors block line of sight and attacks.
• When all enemies are killed, the Exit opens. Take rewards, interact with the room, then move on. The DM tracks untriggered traps, toxins, and secret passages, as these can still be triggered. Characters can still be killed even if all monsters have been defeated.
• When players choose to leave and complete the room, one player character heals 1 total Trauma (the party chooses who). Players gain an item or Gold reward. In a 1-player game, that player always heals 1.

Permadeath

When every single player character dies, the run ends. The doors lock behind you each level: so there is no retreat. Sometimes Relief Levels can allow resurrection of all dead party members at a hefty price. The only thing that carries across runs is cumulative Boon XP, and Gold.

Character creation (fast start)

Create a character by choosing a class and a clan. Backstory is optional and not recommended, but each character should pick: (1) one type of enemy (or a specific monster) they hate, and (2) a type of treasure they seek. Clans determine your allowed move patterns. Class determines your special abilities and starting items.

Clans

• Mankind : Men and womenkind from the Overworld. They build cities and are common.
  • The human can move any direction 1 step, or in an orthogonal line up to 2 steps.

    
    

    Moveset 1

• Starfiend : Demonic kin and family from beyond the stars. Uncommon to meet, and generally disliked.
  • The fiend can move any direction 1 step, or leap overhead diagonally skipping a space using 1 step.

    Moveset 1	Moveset 2

    
    
• Naga : Divine half-serpents sent to intervene on mankind's behalf, while young, they hear whispers of their goddess. Rare to meet, and beloved.
  • The naga can move orthogonally up to 2 steps.

    Moveset 1	Stat bonus
    	+1 Surge

• Sprite : Humorous pranksters from the Overworld, though they originate from below.
  • The sprite leaps a step overhead in any line, skipping a space, or can move 1 step to a wall.

    Moveset 1	Moveset 2

• Xevi : Beings made of thunder and lighting, conjured during storms in the Overworld. Uncommon to meet in the Overworld.
  • The elemental moves in a straight diagonal line up to 3 steps, or can move 1 step to a wall.

    Moveset 1	Moveset 2

• Gnome: Clever, albeit paranoid, smallfolk that originate from hidden caves in the Overworld. Uncommon to find in human cities.
  • The gnome can only move to spots adjacent to walls a single step at time. They can leave the wall, or move into a nonwall-adjacent space, only if they roll a 6 when they start the turn.

    Moveset 1	Moveset (Example)	Stat bonus
    		+1d6 Max Will (Roll during creation)

• Mantis : Dry and frail insectoid species that live in the deep deserts of the Overworlds. Extremely rare.
  • The mantis can move any direction 1 step and roll. If they roll a 6, they can choose to teleport 2 spaces in an orthogonal line.

    Moveset 1

Classes

PreReq	Class	Surge|Move	Max Will	Special	Special Start #	Abilities	Start Item
--	Knight	6 | 3	6	Martiality	0	-  At the beginning of your turn, add 1 action for each Martiality you have (For up to 10 actions total in a turn).	Sword 1
						-  You have an overhead moveset, in an orthogonal L, like a knight piece in Chess but you can only use this moveset when you have no actions remaining in the round.
						-  Whenever you move adjacent to a Boss for the first time, increase Martiality by 1.
--	Ar Scholar	5 | 2	5	Trance	1	-  Whenever you roll Surge, increase Trance by the number of 6 you rolled. Whenever you gain Boon XP increase Trance by 1.	Wand 1
						-  If you choose, a Wand action you take pushes an entity back on a roll of 5 or 6. You can spend 1 Trance to push back 2 instead of 1.
						-  You can use an action to spend 1 Trance to create or extinguish a Flame Hazard adjacent to you. All Flame Hazards you create extinguish when you die.
--	Revenant	4 | 2	7	Fortitude	1	-  Whenever you roll 3 of the same numbers during your Surge, increase your Fortitude by 1.	Crossbow 1
						-  You can use an action to spend 1 Fortitude to heal from 1 Trauma.
						-  Whenever you eat the Fruit of Allagassan or heal in a Relief Room, increase your Fortitude by 1.
--	Thief	6 | 3	5	Escape	1	-  You start each Room with 1 Escape.	Double-Dagger 1
						-  You start each Room unseen.
						-  You can use an action to spend 1 Escape to become unseen.
--	Abbot	5 | 1	7	Incorruption	0	-  Specters and Shambles cannot willingly end their movement adjacent to you.	Crossbow 1
						-  Whenever you clear a Room of all Specters, Shambles, and Demons, increase your Incorruption by 1. (You must have dealt damage to at least one of those.)
						-  When you die or pray at a shrine, increase Boon XP equal to your Incorruption.
--	Stalker	5 | 3	4	Ambush	0	-  Whenever you kill an entity at range 6 or greater, increase your Ambush by 1.	Bow 1
						-  Ranged attacks made by you and adjacent characters are increased by 1 range for each Ambush you have.
						-  You take half damage (rounded down) from Hidden traps, and your range to Identify Traps is doubled. Hazards can't reduce your Will below 0.
--	Tincturist	4 | 3	6	Serum	0	-  The same round an entity dies, you can stand adjacent to their body and use an action to increase your Serum by 1. You can't increase serum from Specters, Shambles, or Demons.	Knife 1
						-  You can use an action to spend 1 Serum to attempt a denature on a Toxin that affects you or an adjacent character. If a Toxin is denatured, that character's Surge is also returned to its Maximum.
						-  Whenever you become affected by a Toxin, your Knife 1 delivers that Toxin to entities you deal damage to. You can spend 1 Serum to remove the Toxin from your Knife 1 or move the Toxin to another bladed weapon you carry.
--	Haruspex	5 | 1	7	Vision	0	-  If you have at least 1 Vision, you know the number of hidden traps in the Room. You can spend 1 Vision when you first enter a Room to reveal 1 hidden trap AND 1 unseen enemy.	Knife 1
						-  Whenever you clear a Room of all Therians, Mankind, Insects, or Sprites, increase Vision by 1. (You must have dealt damage to at least one of those.)
						-  You can use an action to spend 1 Vision to decrease the Surge of an adjacent Dragon, Zhevhols, or Malevolent by 1. You can only do this twice per Room.
3 Boon XP	Jongleur	7 | 1	5	Cadence	0	-  Whenever you enter a Room, if your Cadence is even, one character you choose gets an additional die to their first Surge roll. If your Cadence is odd, one enemy you choose removes a dice from their first Surge roll.	Crossbow 1
						-  Whenever you deal damage the first time each Room, increase Cadence by 1.
						-  Adjacent characters can use an action to spend 1 of your Cadence. They become balanced until the beginning of their next turn.
5 Boon XP	Auxiliary	4 | 3	4	Adaptability	0	-  Start with one free item from the Overworld Shop (of your choice.)
						-  Whenever you use a Magic item, increase your Adaptability by 1. If you have 30 or more, gain 1 Boon XP instead.
						-  You can use an action to spend 1 Adaptability to allow an adjacent character to use an item as a free action on their next turn. (Not an additional attack action)
15 Boon XP	Undenae	4 | 2	6	Pact	1	-  Whenever an entity with Will greater than your current Will attacks you, increase your Pact by 1.	Knife 1
						-  You can spend 2 Pact at any time to command a Shamble, Gruun, or Lavak to fight on your side for one Round. Their Will is reduced to 1.
						-  You can spend 1 Pact when you roll Surge to give a random character an additional Surge die.
20 Boon XP	Scelestique	2 | 2	6	Animus	0	-  Whenever you roll Surge, increase Animus by 1. If you rolled no Actions, increase Animus by 1 again.	Wand 1
						-  If you choose, a Wand action you take makes an entity Panicked on a roll of 5 or 6. Panicked lasts 1 Turn plus an additional Turn for each 1 Animus you spend (6 max).
						-  You can spend 1 Animus at anytime to make an adjacent entity reroll 1 die.

Starting Items

Consult your chosen class for which item you begin with, or perhaps, find these in the overworld shop.

• Sword 1
  • Use 1 action to deal 1 damage to an adjacent entity.
  • Melee

• Wand 1
  • Use 1 action to deal 1 damage to the first entity in a line at 6 range. Roll. On a 6, the entity is pushed back 1.
  • Range, Magic
• Crossbow 1
  • Use 1 action to deal 1 damage to the first entity in a line at 6 range.
  • Range
• Knife 1
  • Use 1 action. On an even, it deals 1 damage.
  • Melee
• Double-Dagger 1
  • Use 1 action to roll. On a 5 or 6, deal 1 damage to an adjacent entity and the adjacent entity directly opposite.
  • Melee

Core stats

• Clan: your blood tie. It defines your movement moveset (grid movement like chess pieces).
• Surge: if Surge is reduced to 0, you die. Surge drives turn order and how many dice you roll for actions.
• Move: your Class determines your amount of Move. You can use this many movesets during your turn.
• Will: your Class determines your amount of Will. You die if your Will is reduced to 0. A reduction of Will means you were sapped.
• Health / Trauma: You usually start with 10 Health, though boons can raise this number. Damage dealt becomes Trauma, which replaces health. If Trauma reaches your Health (or greater), you die. Entering a new Level removes 1 Trauma from one character. (ie. heals 1 Trauma.)
• Special: each class has a different Special core with unique rules. Examples from the class table above include specials such as Escape, Fortitude, or Serum.

If you want a game that feels like a dungeon-crawler roguelike run at the table, with fast, swingy d6 resolution and hard consequences, you’re in the right hole in the ground.

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III. Expanded Tables

Keywords

Name	Description
Overhead	Jumps or clears entities along the path to target, ignoring them completely.
Deteriorating	Lowers by 1 for each square beyond the first, and ends when it reaches zero.
Step	Moving physically from one square to another, even if not adjacent. Whenever you use a Moveset, it moves a number of steps and you can end the Moveset early without completing each step.
Teleport	Immediately appear in a square without using a step.
Warded	The next Trauma you would take is halved (round down) then the ward ends. You can't have your Will reduced while warded and you can't become Panicked. Warded does not stack.
Supercharged	The next time you roll Surge at the beginning of combat, double the number of 6s rolled, then the charge ends. Supercharged does stack to a maximum of 10 additional 6s added to your Action Pool.
Denature	If you have a Toxin, choose one and roll 2d6 to see if it leaves your body. If you roll a number higher than the number of Trauma or roll a 12, the Toxin denatures and no longer affects you.
Surge Ahead	If an entity has more actions in their action pool than any other at the beginning of a round they get an extra action and/or moves before any turn begin in the round. A Surge Ahead doesn't count as a turn.
Wrapped Up	You cannot move until the entity that has you wrapped up is killed or moves, or if something makes you move.
Consume	An item with one use. If you use the item, it vanishes.
Armor Slot	You can only carry and benefit one Armor Slot item. If you have more than one, you must leave those others behind or give to another character.
Unseen	Entities can't attack you and your position is unknown by enemies. Unseen ends when you use an action or an entity attempts to move onto your space.
Petrified	You can't move and whenever you attack it deals half damage (rounded down). You may use 2 actions on your turn to end the petrification (then your turn ends). Functions and Remnants are immune.
Balanced	You can't be petrified, wrapped up, or get pushed.
Chilled	Your Move is halved (rounded down) to a minimum of 1 and you don't get to use Surge Ahead. Taking Flame damage or clearing a Room ends 1 stack of being chilled.
Confused	Throwing an item to another character uses 2 actions. Using a Magic item uses 2 actions. Enemy entities that are confused move in random directions.
Panicked	You can only use a Moveset if its ending step is closer to the starting point and panicked ends when you reach it. An enemy entity instead moves towards the exit and panicked ends when they reach it.
Distracted	You can only attack the entity that distracted you. Distracted ends when that entity dies or takes damage.
Routed	You rolled no actions for your Action Pool. You are routed until you get an action in your Action Pool.
Weakened	All Melee and Ranged damage you deal is reduced to a maximum of 1 damage. When you clear a Room or heal 1 or more Trauma you lose 1 stack of being weakened.
Cursed	You cannot heal Trauma except through using items until you enter the next Room. Cursed does not stack. (Character can't be chosen to heal Trauma when leaving a room.)
Phased	You cannot open doors nor can you catch or throw items. You can take steps in pillars, you do not trigger traps, and you are unaffected by hazards.
Pillar	A wall that is not orthographically attached to the outer main wall.
Push	Roll. On a 6, you Push an adjacent entity 1 space away from you in that direction. The targeted entity must be the same size or smaller. If the entity is Small, you can throw them overhead up to 2 spaces away instead.
Throw	An entity can throw a Small entity up to 2 spaces away, or they can throw a magical item to another entity up to 3 spaces away. The entity can choose to catch an item thrown to them.
Catch	An entity can catch an item thrown to them without spending an action.
Sapped	Triggered when Will is reduced.
Throwable	A larger entity can pick it up and can choose to roll. On an even, the entity can throw it up to 2 spaces away. If not thrown, the entity remains Wrapped Up.
Swarm	A feature or action that is shared by all creatures of the same name. The action or feature usually has the word Swarm in its name or description, such as "Swarm Melee 1".

Toxins

Name	Description	Reminder
Boro Toxin	You do not heal from Trauma when you leave a Room. Attempt a denature whenever you enter a Room.	Does Not Stack
Guar Toxin	You can only move up to 2 steps total per turn. Attempt a denature whenever you drink a Potion or enter a Relief.	Does Not Stack
Velella Toxin	Whenever you enter a Water Hazard, you take 1 Trauma and attempt a denature.	Does Not Stack
Viledharr Toxin	You are Confused and Weakened. Attempt a denature at the start of each turn.	Does Not Stack