A game of riches found very far down
By Peter Smith
Spelunk is a game about caves full of things that have been forgotten for a very long time. It is a story-telling game that tells a very specific and well-known story.
Heroes go into caves, where they solve problems (some of which are monsters) and return, with treasure.
Heroes are defined by their skills (plentiful), their health (currently good, soon to drop) and their treasure (sorely lacking).
How to Create a Hero
First, note their health. It is ten. Note their skills – they have a Run of 3, a Jump of 2, and a Strike of 1.
They have some other skills. They are poorly defined as of now, and should be defined. Assign ten ranks amongst them, applying positive and negative modifiers to taste.
They have no treasure. That is why, presumably, they are going into a cave.
A list of skills follows for your convenience. Note the modifiers listed below each skill. These are special qualifiers associated with the skill. It is up to the player, that imaginative soul, to decide exactly what each skill signifies for their hero. A “Strike” may be a sword-attack, the firing of a fire-arm, or, with some clever modifier-craft, the landing on of someone from above. A hero may “Open” barriers through an open-locks spell, a set of lock-picks, or possibly through a well-placed kick.
Before the list of skills, we must first discuss modifiers. These apply special properties to the working of skills, making them more or less useful. Modifiers increase and decrease the rank cost of skills. This doesn’t affect the original rank you put into a skill. Modifiers can decrease the cost of a skill quite a bit; however, each skill always costs at least one point. Most skills can be taken more than once, however, some modifiers are restricted – you may only apply them to one skill at character creation. These are modifiers in the form “No x” and “x only” (Anti-Hazard Only, No Ancient, and the like)
RUN [Moves rank spaces horizontally in a turn.]
JUMP [Performs jumps of rank height.]
+ Mid-Air (+4) You can jump in mid-air.
+ Additional (+2 each) You can jump more than once in a turn.
+ Grab the Ledge (+1) You can "pull yourself up" if you end your jump next to a ledge.
- Max Height (-1) You always jump at your max rank.
- Useless Airtime (-3) You can't act while in the air.
- Running Start (-2) To jump horizontally, you need to have been moving horizontally.
OPEN [Opens and closes barriers of rank difficulty.]
+ Distance (+1) Affects a barrier up to three tiles away.
+ Great Distance (+2) Affects anything in the character's Line of Sight.
+ Absolute Distance (+4) Affects anything the player is aware of.
- No Ancient (-2) Can't affect ancient barriers.
- No Advanced (-2) Can't affect modern barriers.
- Imperfect (-1) Doesn't function on 10% of all barriers.
- Unreliable (-2) Doesn't function on 25% of all barriers.
- Slow (-2) Takes three actions to perform.
BREAK [Destroys objects of rank difficulty!]
+ Distance (+1) Affects an object up to three tiles away.
+ Strike Synergy (+1) Is performed at the same time as a Strike skill. Uses range and area of that skill.
+ Quiet (+1) When you break things, it's just as subtle as using the appropriate skill.
- Imperfect (-1) Doesn't function on 10% of all objects.
- Unreliable (-2) Doesn't function on 25% of all objects.
- Slow (-2) Takes three actions to perform.
STRIKE [Inflicts rank damage, affecting an adjacent tile.]
(All Strikes start with 1 Damage Rank and one 1 Range Rank.)
+ Range (+1 each) Increases range of skill by one each. The attack can travel (range) squares.
+ Area (+2 each) Affects additional tile in pre-defined pattern.
+ Critical (+1) Deals double damage 10% of the time.
+ Curve (+1) The attack doesn't need to travel in a straight line. It can move (range) squares along any path.
+ Pass-Through (+3) The attack can travel through obstacles that aren't enemies.
+ Pierce (+5) The attack can travel through enemies, damaging them as it does so.
+ Knock (+1) Knocks targets one space back as a difficulty 10 hazard.
+ Powerful Knock (+5) Knocks targets away until they hit another object as a difficulty 7 hazard.
+ Pull (+1) Pulls targets three spaces towards you as a difficulty 7 hazard.
+ Powerful Pull (+5) Pulls targets as close as possible to you as a difficulty 5 hazard.
+ Delay (+1) Skill places a bomb, trap or other object on one affected square. If that square is entered within three turns, the effect of the skill activates within the area. On the fourth turn, the object either disappears or activates. (Pick one at skill creation.)
+ Persistent (+1) Continues to affect tiles in area (and those that enter it) until the character acts again.
+ Poison Threat (+1) 25% of the time, inflicts Poison as a Difficulty 8 hazard.
+ Slow Threat (+2) 25% of the time, inflicts Slow as a Difficulty 8 hazard.
+ Weight Threat (+2) 25% of the time, inflicts Weight as a Difficulty 8 hazard.
+ Seal Threat (+2) 25% of the time, inflicts Seal as a Difficulty 6 hazard.
+ Stun Threat (+3) 25% of the time, inflicts Stun as a Difficulty 8 hazard.
+ Phantom Threat (+4) 25% of the time, instantly kills as a Difficulty 5 hazard.
+ Poison Hazard (+2) Inflicts Poison as a difficulty 5 hazard.
+ Slow Hazard (+3) Inflicts Slow as a difficulty 5 hazard.
+ Weight Hazard (+3) Inflicts Weight as a difficulty 5 hazard.
+ Seal Hazard (+4) Inflicts Seal as a difficulty 3 hazard.
+ Stun Hazard (+4) Inflicts Stun as a difficulty 4 hazard.
+ Phantom Hazard (+5) Instantly kills as a difficulty 3 hazard.
- Slow (-4) The attack must be charged (as an action) for two turns. It is performed on the last.
- Finite (-1 each) The attack has a limit of 100 uses. These may be restored by refilling its ammunition or energy supply. Deduct twenty uses each time this is taken, to a minimum of six.
- Recoil (-1) When used, the attack moves the firer one tile in the opposite direction.
- Dangerous (-3) Skill affects comrades caught in the area-of-effect. (Including the user!) Line-of-Sight no longer ignores allies. May not be applied to skills without Area or Range.
- Heavy (-3) Cannot move and use skill in the same turn.
- Cardinal (-2) Can only be aimed in the four cardinal directions. Cardinal should not be taken on a skill without the Range modifier.
- Bidirectional (-4) Can only be aimed horizontally or vertically.
- Only Down (-6) Can only be aimed straight down.
USE [Manipulates complicated systems of rank difficulty.]
+ Distance (+1) Affects a system up to three tiles away.
+ Great Distance (+2) Affects anything in the character's Line of Sight.
+ Absolute Distance (+4) Affects anything the player is aware of.
+ Disable (+2) Can subtly destroy a system. However, it can be fixed by those with an equal or higher Use skill.
+ Program (+1) Delays effect of Work - it takes place in a named amount of turns.
+ Understanding (+3) Explains workings of accessed system.
- No Ancient (-2) Can't affect ancient systems.
- No Advanced (-2) Can't affect advanced systems.
- Imperfect (-1) Doesn't function on 10% of all systems.
- Unreliable (-2) Doesn't function on 25% of all systems.
- Slow (-2) Takes three actions to perform.
SPOT [Identifies ruses of rank difficulty.]
- No Traps (-2) Can't spot traps.
- No Ambushes (-2) Can't spot ambushes.
- No Secret Passages (-2) Can't spot secret passages.
- Short Range (-2) Only spots things within five tiles of the character.
- Active (-1) Must spend action to search for traps.
- Imperfect (-1) Doesn't function on 10% of all ruses.
- Unreliable (-2) Doesn't function on 25% of all ruses.
RESIST [Increases health by rank and defeats some hazards. ]
- Health Only (-2) Resist rank doesn't defeat hazards.
- Anti-Hazard Only (-4) Resist rank doesn't increase health.
- Hates Water (-1) Can only survive (Resist rank) turns underwater.
- Sinks (-1) No mid-air jump benefit while underwater.
+ Anti-Poison (+3) Will never be poisoned.
+ Anti-Slow (+2) Will never be slowed.
+ Anti-Weight (+2) Can always jump.
+ Anti-Seal (+2) Can always act.
+ Anti-Stun (+1) Will never be stunned.
“Cave” is the general term used to refer to the mostly-underground structures where most of the treasure is to be found, and thusly, where heroes are found. Sadly for heroes, problems are also found within.
Caves may be navigated in a variety of ways. Within this game, it is separated into turns. On the heroes’ turn, all of the heroes move and act. Then, there is what is referred to as the monsters’ turn, on which the monsters (and any moving pieces of the cave) move and act and generally take effect.
On the heroes’ turn, the heroes all act, one at a time. If a hero began the turn in mid-air, they first fall six spaces. (Horizontal movement is possible during this.) The order may be decided beforehand as a matter of politeness between them (By seniority, by alphabetical order, by highest-to-lowest Run skill) it may be done according to pragmatism (First we shall see if Mr. Jones can defeat this monster, then Madam Browning shall try her luck with the rocket-launcher) or, possibly, by whoever decides what they want to do first. Note that within adventuring-groups of poorly developed etiquette, the first two methods may eventually degenerate into the latter-most.
The monsters, invariably, act in whatever devious order is the worst for the heroes.
On a given hero’s action, they will most likely be running, jumping, and using one skill. Some skills are modified to be slower – the build-up to using those counts as a skill. For anything other than Strike, this build-up must be performed while in range. (The literal act of applying the skill takes longer.) A special aside for the hero whose Strike needs bothCharging and is Heavy – you can’t move and use the Skill to charge it on the same turn, so you will be immobile for the full three turns it takes to fire it! Be quite careful with that.
Skills may be used at any point during the hero’s movement, including during a jump. They are performed on any object within range – range being a number from one an up. An object is “within range” if it can be reached by range-many spaces of movement, horizontal and vertical only, and if a direct, unblocked line of sight may be drawn from the hero to his target object. Other heroes, by default, do not block line of sight, but walls, enemies, and most objects do. Certain modifiers may change this.
Running is simple. Each hero moves up to a total of their Run skill horizontally each turn.
Jumping is slightly more difficult. When a hero jumps, they travel to an apex equal to the height of their jump skill, and then fall back down. Horizontal movement is what makes this useful – each tile they move upwards or downwards may have them moving diagonally-upwards and diagonally-downwards. Incidentally, heroes may not fall more than six squares from a jump in one turn – if their jump skill is seven or more, it simply takes that much longer.
Skills are quite easy, as they are strictly defined when they are chosen.
Then, after all heroes, the monsters act. The monsters shall be covered in greater detail later on.
The layman may suggest that there are actions that require no skill. This is incorrect. They simply require very little skill – a skill of zero! Even the confused layman may apply their Use of 0 to a lever, and one does not need to be skilled at opening anything at all to open an unsecured door. These are still skill actions.
Traveling through some passages, however, is a Run action of a sort. These usually take the hero to another room of the dungeon entirely. (Some doors, of course, simply cease to inhibit normal horizontal movement when opened.)
Caves also include all sorts of other curious features, such as moving platforms, traps, and toxic gases. These are covered under Problems.
The impatient adventuring-group may, at some point, say “okay, we just go all the way back there. That’s okay, right?” At that point, one must ask – have they already proven that they may traverse that route? Are there no monsters along the journey to complicate it? Are you feeling quite nice today? If all these answers are yes, feel free to permit the heroes to wave away the details of their voyage and deposit them at their destination.
The crafty adventuring group may wonder how heroes interact with other heroes. Heroes are solid objects – though they are polite enough to let each other pass through each other’s spaces, no hero would be caught dead sharing a space with another hero at the end of their turn. In tough situations, heroes may sometimes stand upon one another, one occupying the space above another. (Towers of heroes are hypothetically possible.) Be warned, however, that the strain of supporting another strapping young man or woman is quite a lot – they will be unable to jump, run or act at all until their load is lifted! Heroes may also strike one another should they wish, though it is not polite.
Some of the problems heroes may face are hinted at by their skills. In fact, most all of skills heroes have developed over the years are exactly tailored to handling very specific problems.
My Locale Is Too Interesting [Run and Jump]
This is the simplest of problems, and one that does not need special rules to consider. Sometimes a hero is simply unable of getting where they want to, as they are too clumsy to get there. Tough luck, o hero! That platform is too high! Perhaps there is some device that could lower a bridge for you, some application of your skills that you have not considered? Or perhaps that treasure on that ledge is quite simply not within your future prospects. (If it was easy for you to reach, would it not be taken already?)
This Beautiful Door is in My Way [Open and Break]
Doors within caves are often locked, barred, or otherwise secured. For this reason, heroes have honed their Opening skills over the years. It is simple – unless an Open skill is somehow applicable, a hero may open a barrier with a difficulty rating (a rating of how difficult it is to open, you see) equal or less than their Open skill. Difficulty ratings of barriers range from zero (A door or chest anyone may open) to ten. Most barriers are mundane, but some are locked with advanced technology or ancient mysticism, which may render some methods inapplicable. Note that Break is always applicable, and always an amusing and novel approach to a problem! Note that should you wish to close (and re-secure) the door later, Break is not your best candidate.
What a Devious System [Use and Break]
Cunning machinery, both occult and scientific, permeates the ruins of caves, both of remnants of ancient exploration attempts and civilizations that once dwelled deep underground. These are generally referred to as Systems, and may be used by those that have the skills for it. The limits of what could be a system are not well understood. Some caves have had surveillance systems that reveal their secrets to only a master computer-artist, some have ancient mines whose elevators can be operated with a set of levers, and some have platforms associated with pagan deities that may be raised and lowered and set afire by some long lost ritual. To the well-learned hero, these mysteries and more can be applied to your benefit! To the not-so-well-learned hero, they may be broken as well. Systems also have difficulty ratings, which apply both to the difficulty of using them and the difficulty of breaking them. Systems can become unpredictable when broken.
I Am Confounded and Impressed by your Devious Ruse [Spot]
Well-hidden things are often not found within caves. This is simply a testament to how well-hidden they are. All hidden objects – monsters, objects, and passage-ways, what have you – are referred to as Ruses. As soon as a Ruse enters the sight of a hero, the difficulty of the Ruse is compared to with the Spot skill of the hero. Assuming the spot skill is both applicable and equal to or greater than the difficulty rating, the true nature of the ruse is revealed. Note that circumstances may make the true nature of a ruse obvious – a monster leaping out to attack or a trap-door falling open.
This Hazard Has Begun to Affect My Health [Resist]
Hazards are awful things, but a sad fact of modern exploration. Caves are quite simply often not very well suited to human life. Specific expressions of this fact are referred to as Hazards, and have difficulty ratings like everything else. Some hazards are environmental (such as toxic gas.) whereas some are situational (the poison found on a monster’s breath or on a dart fired by a trap.) If a character’s Resist exceeds or equals that of the hazard, no effect takes place whatsoever. This means that especially resistant heroes can often stride through noxious swamps and roiling magma with impunity! Hazards may cause a variety of “status effects”, which linger and can be quite annoying. They are listed below. Luckily enough, a hero will only suffer from one status at a time. Unfortunately, it is the cave that gets to pick.
Poison – The hero loses one health every time their turn begins. This will not kill them. After the hero is removed from the cause of the poison, it disappears after five turns.
Slow – The hero finds traveling difficult, as their Run is effectively reduced to one. This disappears after five turns, or until they are removed from the cause. (It depends on the nature of the slowness.)
Weight – Jumping becomes a chore for the hero, whose Jump is now only one. Weightiness has a duration of five turns, or until they are removed from the cause. (It is often unique to the nature of the weight.)
Seal – The hero’s skills become useless to them, preventing them from doing anything but leaping about and running to and fro. This lasts for three turns, or until they are removed from the cause.
Stun – The hero has been suddenly and abruptly stunned! They may do nothing the next turn.
Oh My! A Monster [Strike]
Monsters are to be covered in a later chapter, as they are a very large problem indeed.
However, it must be said that more complex problems exist, which cannot adequately be resolved with a single skill. Often with these cases, avoidance is the key. Imagine, if you will, the simplest of traps: A pressure-sensitive floor which, when activated, causes the ceiling to instantly pound down on all below, slaying them instantly.
How do you solve that?
For this reason, a very important fact must be memorized – caves think very slowly. They are made of rock. Any given hero is far cleverer than they. Traps and other devious bits of scenery only activate on the monsters’ turn. As well, devious bits of scenery are often rather obvious, usually in direct relation to how immediately lethal they are. It’s hard to miss a bottomless pit, and such a lethal trap, no matter how deviously it was hidden at the time of construction, must have assuredly assembled its fair share of suspiciously crushed skeletons.
The solution is “don’t go in that room”.
Most traps and other interesting bits of scenery are far simpler.
Spikes – Spikes inflict an amount of damage (usually one, but it may be higher for especially sharp rows of spikes) whenever a hero or monster is in contact with them during the monsters’ turn. They may not be resisted.
Water – Heroes move slower through water. Their Run is one lower. However, they also fall far slower, and may often perform a measure of swimming – heroes drop only three spaces at the beginning of their turn as opposed to the usual six, and they may jump with no ground beneath them if they are below water.
Lava – Lava is a difficulty eight hazard that inflicts ten points of damage to those in contact with it when the monsters’ turn begins.
Moving Platforms – Platforms that move about and are sturdy enough to be stood on. They move a certain distance at the beginning of the cave’s turn, carrying anything that may be found on top of them away. Being caught between a moving platform and a hard place is dangerous – it’s a Difficulty 10 hazard that will make the unlucky hero lose ten of his health! If they survive, however, the platform will be unable to move at all, which can make things easier at times.
Bottomless Pits – They are the one inviolate way to absolutely and certainly lose a hero and every bit of treasure he carries. Note that true bottomless pits (which are lethal) should not be confused with very, very tall pits (which are no danger whatsoever). Bottomless pits often carry a faint blue haze. Ask about it!
Other interesting features are left to the hero to discover and survive.
Monsters are a very difficult and highly evolved sort of problem. None are exactly sure where they come from, but one thing is very much well known about them (as it is assuredly their most fearsome trait)
They possess skills.
It evokes a shudder, does it not? Imagine a beast that can run and jump just like you and I – not to mention that it might very well Strike better than the both of us! In fact, some monsters possess strange modifiers to their skills that are unknown to anyone else.
Luckily, however, they are not very good at surviving a good solid strike. In fact, most monsters have only one Health. Imagine that – a well-placed strike from just about anyone would destroy them entirely! They are also often quite predictable, usually possessing a certain habitat which they exclusively dwell within, and a strongly defined routine hunting pattern.
The most average monster you will ever find will possess only one point of health, a run of one, and a strike of one. This ideal monster (Ideal for the heroes, of course, not the monsters.) is seldom seen.
Most monsters also possess this curious modifier:
+ Damage Aura (+1) The strike is automatically performed on anyone that the monster collides with. (be it by having them fall onto the monster, or by having the monster expend a point of move to bump into them.) The strike may only trigger on a foe once per turn.
It is difficult to describe to those that have not experienced it, as it is usually accompanied by a flash of bright light and a shooting pain. All monsters – even the cutest, smiling ambulatory mushroom – can be expected to possess a secondary strike skill with Damage Aura, and should be treated with appropriate caution. It is often coupled with knock.
The health of a monster is not necessarily connected to its Resist skill. It is usually some measure of its size, viciousness, and general importance to the cave as a whole. Dread wyrms found at the bottom of some caves have been rumored to have more than a hundred points of health.
In fact, monsters have many curious modifiers.
RESIST
+ Shield (+1) Ignores Strikes performed from a certain direction.
+ Wall (+4) Ignores all Strikes except those that occur from a certain direction.
+ Powerful Guard (+4) If the monster occupies more than one space, they may be only damaged by strikes that affect a single space they occupy.
RUN
+ Flight (+8) Monster does not fall. Monster has no jump skill. The monster may use its Run skill to move in four directions. Flight ceases to apply when the monster is afflicted with Weight.
Monsters (especially slightly difficult ones) sometimes drop Small treasures. Larger monsters (the “chiefs” or “bosses”, as they are sometimes called, of the caves) often guard Medium or Large treasures.
We have certainly saved the most important for last. Treasures are any items of note that can be found within the caves. They are divided into Small, Medium, and Large. All of them have a certain value, which varies wildly. Some are useful only for their value, but many also have additional effects, which are listed below.
Small (Value 1-99)
The treasure instantly restores some health once picked up.
The treasure instantly restores some energy or ammunition once picked up.
The treasure allows use of a certain skill, once.
The treasure solves one certain problem.
The treasure reveals some information about the cave.
Medium (Value 100-999)
The treasure bestows a useful Skill on those that hold it.
The treasure increases an existing Skill by a few ranks.
The treasure may be held, and later used to refill health.
The treasure may be held, and used to refill energy or ammunition.
The treasure is a reusable container, useful for transporting found substances for later use.
The treasure increases the maximum health of the hero that picks it up.
Large (1000+)
The treasure bestows a new Skill on those that hold it – and it’s a potent one.
The treasure grants an enormous measure of bonus ranks in a skill.
The treasure c0ntains a terrible power – it’s a goal in of itself.
Note that some treasures may contain skills that, in some way, do not follow the rules. These are left up to the discretion of the creator of the cave. For example, an intrepid hero may find a revolver that freezes its targets solid for several turns, Stunning them for two turns instead of one. This allows the hero to leap atop them and use them as stepping stones! Only the imagination of the cave-crafter limits treasure, so enjoy.
Shops found above (and sometimes below!) ground may provide certain services in exchange for a certain amount of exchanged value, such as trading treasures, restoring health and energy, or access to systems.
Heroes may hold an unlimited amount of treasure. (Bar that which is used immediately, or that which requires containers.) Holding an enormous amount of treasure is the least problem a hero will encounter.
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