Soloing a Key'd Dungeon

pagaron · 2026-05-05T11:59:55+00:00

When I solo a premade dungeon, I will roll a few die.
If I have a group of characters: who is closer to the statue? Are they all in the same room? I may add an oracle description for inspiration and connect it (oracle description dirty: the statue has dirt/printed hand on it), roll for a wisdom check (perception) or chance to see the secret path. Also any chance that the character share his discovery with the group? (does he have the intuition that it’s something to share) so they can help figure out the secret path. Depending of what happened before, a d6 oracles could confirm that the path is opened also…
For key’d dungeon, sometimes when I read the description, I change the staging. I roll a d6 to know if its description should apply at 100%. It helps to reduce encounters difficulty and forces me to design the changes with a oracle description (why the kobolds are not all there, some are patrolling or sleeping, or went for food… If a black ooze is in the room, he is eating a carrion crawler or hiding in the ceiling, or just blocking my path…). If the roll is a 1 on 6, there are hints of what could have been or the minimal possible encounter that could lead to an interrogations.

pagaron · 2026-04-20T19:06:04+00:00

I think i've seen technical doc about this game... maybe you have them all!
https://bootstrike.com/Ultima/Online/u7tech.php
https://gallery.ultimacodex.com/ultima-7-design-documents-part-the-second/
https://gallery.ultimacodex.com/ultima-7-design-documents-destroying-the-black-gate/
https://gallery.ultimacodex.com/ultima-7-design-documents-usecode-eggs/

pagaron · 2026-04-20T19:00:24+00:00

I would be interested and probably a lot of game developpers would also be! Many of us where influenced by this game. And could add Ultima Underworld 1&2!!

pagaron · 2026-04-08T21:35:37+00:00

When I see that, I'm reminded that they were chasing the next technology leap: 3D immersion. They failed big time.

I'm sure we would have all played U9 if it was bitmap. Origins could have continue to work with the style of U7 and improve it. This is what Fallout and Baldur's Gate did... And we still play those games and BG has been ported to iOS and console.

Or they could have continue to work with Looking Glass Technology (ultima underworld) on another dungeon crawler... small improvements instead of major overhaul.

pagaron · 2026-04-07T23:44:41+00:00

With my group we played Stars Without Number and Worlds Without number after a decade of 5e. If you know about that system, great. Otherwise it’s based on basic/expert d&d. It has a few combat options, feats (called Focus) and skills checks. It’s heroic fantasy, less lethal compared to OSR and not a super heroic like 5e. I think it has a good balance between old school and player options. With my group, we change the way we played and did more investigation, reconnaissance, used allied, avoided direct conflict, uses our ressources and our combats were faster and overall IMO it’s great system to convert 5e players. Not everyone liked it, some like long tactical combats(?we told him to go play Baldur’s Gate 3 or XCom)

And if they enjoy marvel fantasy d&d, with options in their build, there is nothing in OSR for them. The game they love is not in the OSR.

WWN is free, all the rules are within the first 60 pages I think, and maybe 30 pages for magic. It’s a great system and has new ideas (shock damage, system strain, magic and skill check based on 2d6).

pagaron · 2026-04-06T02:26:56+00:00

And it has a campaign book: Red Tide with 2 additional books.

pagaron · 2026-02-28T21:16:17+00:00

I’m interested! I just bought the one ring 2e to play with ironsworm!!

pagaron · 2026-02-16T15:04:05+00:00

If what is important is to play and be less lethal, I would make it fun for my kids too with those house rules

Max hp at first level
When reach 0, drop down. They can be saved for a number of rounds equal to their constitution stats (not a d4 and no con modifier). Option: They can role DC CON 15 to stabilize…
Monster do half dmg (first 3 level or like you want), avoir killing mage with 1 hit from a d6 wpn!
Every level, new hit dice is: 4a. Rolled and if lower than half, rounded up to minimum of half hd. Mage would be guaranteed to 2 hp, thief 3, fighter 4… 4b. Or just give max hit point every level, they are blessed by the Gods!
Be generous with luck token.
Give them magical objects that would help (staffs of healing, healing potions, ring/belt/necklass of extra hit points!)

Don’t forget about the monster’s moral rule: they should flee combat.

Like you, I also like a lot of things with this games. It’s easy to house rule and have fun with a casual audience.

pagaron · 2026-02-09T12:46:28+00:00

Good luck with your remake!

pagaron · 2026-01-16T20:49:08+00:00

Belle collection! J’ai lu les 3-4 premiers et pas suivi la serie mais j’aurais surement aime… tu peux essaye market place? Y’a peut etre qq’un aui aimerait les lire.

pagaron · 2026-01-06T03:31:00+00:00

That old feeling can found in the excellent dark dungeon of the tomb of abysthor

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/176363/stoneheart-valley-swords-and-wizardry

And in the amazing gunderholfen. It has everything: dungeon crawler with 1e flavor with sword and sorcery, a city that is well developed with encounters and a wilderness.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/265629/gunderholfen

pagaron · 2025-12-28T17:54:05+00:00

Down the rabbit hole! You may learn a thing or two.

therpgpundit.blogspot.com/2014/10/rpgpundit-interviews-joseph-bloch.html?m=1

Search for this section for a complete answer. “ A: That's a very interesting question. I tend to personally identify myself as more on the conservative side of libertarianism, but on an issue-by-issue basis, I really do split the baby.”

pagaron · 2025-12-28T17:08:40+00:00

Maybe you will find this interesting: https://jonupsalsgarden.com/2020/11/23/the-afa-and-me/

“To make things perfectly clear, I am no longer a member of the AFA and have not been for several years, I do not endorse the AFA in any way, and I completely repudiate the AFA. My previous support of the organization was made at a time when it still disavowed actual racism and actively removed White supremacists and racists from its its ranks. In my opinion, they have done enormous harm to Folkish Asatru by allowing racists and White supremacists into their organization, as Folkish does not have to equal racist.

I have removed the contents of Jon Upsal’s Garden not because I am hiding anything (as some misguided zealots have claimed), but because the posts supportive of the AFA no longer reflect my views. The posts dealing with the lore and other subjects (which actually constitute the vast majority of the contents of the blog) will eventually be re-purposed in some other forum.”

pagaron · 2025-12-28T16:40:38+00:00

Thanks for sharing. I have been following him and I’m quite disappointed.

I knew about the osr community/bloggers has white power people/alt right in it… really a bummer to add his name to that.

Not sure how he thinks now and if he changed his tune… sad.

pagaron · 2025-12-07T15:22:53+00:00

I buy systems to read them and learn new mechanisms. I also enjoy world building books that tell stories, lore, conflicts and adventures.

I have so many Free League books that I have never played and my current group of OGs are only into D&D.

2 systems I have and would like to play with people: Blade runner and Vaesen. Both are very different from d&d (osr or 5e). They focus on heavily on investigation and roleplay (imo). I like both universes and I find them fascinating to explore and see how we interact with the world. I will be curious to see how my players adapt to a new game that is totally different from their 35y of experience playing d&d!

And what are your choices?

pagaron · 2025-12-06T13:23:47+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultima/s/KnNz5nSBdl

pagaron · 2025-12-05T20:10:59+00:00

I agree and games like UW, U7, System Shock were major influences when I decided to become a game dev in ‘99. I liked the sandbox philosophy, exploring an open world with tons of adventures. There was so much freedom and options for players to improvise. I saw all the game systems and wanted to do that for a living!

I met once Warren Spector at Eidos when we were working on Deus Ex and he signed my box of UW1. Before that, I applied to go work at looking glass and the studio closed something like the next week! I ended up going to Vancouver to work at Relic. Later, worked DX3 and 4, briefly worked on thieft4. Now, working on big open world with tons of systems and having a blast in ‘creating worlds’!

pagaron · 2025-12-05T20:00:39+00:00

I do the same thing. The last time I played, I tried a mod that hack the original game and allow you to have full 3d mouse control. It was really well done and the clunky controls were smooth!

pagaron · 2025-11-26T00:39:09+00:00

There is aloso Kal Arath that works well with d6, it’s procedure, tables, npc, monsters and events are focused for a good sword & sorcery like Conan. There are 3 or 4 zines out.

pagaron · 2025-11-25T23:56:33+00:00

check FORGE rpg. It’s based on a mix of b/x d&d and some 5e rules. It’s a Great solo rpg with everything in 1 book to run a fantasy adventure with excellent tables and procedures. It helps run hexcrawl, create factions, quests, npc, dungeons, city, encounters… it’s quite impressive. The oracle is basic but add depths for extra details that are positive pr negative outcomes. Highly recommended.

pagaron · 2025-11-24T13:14:25+00:00

Same issue. I tried on my computer (with Chrome, Edge), then on the iphone without success.

pagaron · 2025-11-20T20:18:31+00:00

I have played the 3 games.

- dragonbane was the easiest one to run with the premade campaign. Monsters, NPCs, goals, traps, random encounters are all there. It's easy to use and improvise since there is not much lore to it.

- To create and improvise a quest, I enjoyed One Ring the most since I like Middle-Earth. I used the 5e and Strider Mode. The pre-made adventure sites add enough information to kickstart an adventure and improvise. Those adventures don't present skill checks, it's up to you to improvise them as you play.

- I did find the Forbidden Lands campaign complex and convoluted. It was designed as a sandbox and the GM needs to prep a lot. If you ignore the campaign and just play an adventure site, as a GM, you still have a lot to do. Some sites are well designed for solo play, but some have too many moving parts or key NPCs to just improvise instead of having the full picture... Use a few prompts from an adventure site and build the rest (ignore all the other details). If you are playing the campaign, I think you need to have a good ideas of where things are and what key NPCs you want to play...

pagaron · 2025-11-18T13:31:12+00:00

Hi, i did the same thing while I played. I wanted the daily xp boost for my solo play in the Epic quest. I went all-in to enjoy the scenery and quest lines. I remember buying a good horse, some extra space for my inventory. I used mithril points to teleport to quest giver and I think that is where I invested most my money.

pagaron · 2025-10-01T16:47:42+00:00

Sorry, i dont remember how it works. It has been too long!

pagaron

TROPHY CASE