Rules: Dungeon of Bad Ends

[Morathor]

Dungeon of Bad Ends will be played in my homebrew system, Despair and Desire. This thread will provide a very brief overview, and will document which optional rules are in effect. Also we will be testing a new optional rule; all the details will be in this thread rather than on the google doc.

Overview
Despair and Desire is based loosely on Dungeons and Dragons (specifically fifth edition). It is somewhat simplified, with many tweaks intended to streamline forum-based gaming. It is also designed for the player characters to inevitably face defeat and rape.

Each character (including your enemies) has three core stats: Strength, Finesse, and Will. These range from +5 to -4; if any of your stats falls to -5, you are disabled and at your opponents' mercy. There is no HP, only stat damage.

Despair and Desire does not have races, classes, or equipment in the traditional sense; these are all expressed via stats and abilities. Want to play an archer? Build a character with high Finesse and a ranged attack. For more of a tank, go with high Strength and take abilities that protect your allies or heal yourself.

Optional Rules
The following rules are in play:
--Stamina
--Purity
--Relics
--Safe Haven
--Last Stand
--Sanity

 

[Morathor]

The Sanity rules are new and experimental, and as such are not yet in the main rules document. They are as follows:

Sanity

In addition to their core stats, each character, whether player or enemy, has an additional stat which functions somewhat differently.
Sanity: Sanity represents how much stress your character's mind can endure before they are incapable of ever recovering.

By default, a character’s starting Sanity is 3, although characters may have weaknesses that decrease that amount. It can not be increased, or recovered once damaged. When a character is captured and subjected to a bad end, they take 1 Sanity damage. When the party completes an area and returns to their Safe Haven, any defeated characters with 1 or more Sanity remaining can be rescued and rejoin the party. If the entire party is defeated, all characters' Sanity is reduced to 0 and they can not be saved.

When you rejoin the party after a bad end, your DM will assign you one or more new weaknesses and/or stat reductions, reducing your level. If you rejoin with 2 Sanity, you will lose one level; if you rejoin with 1 Sanity, you will lose two additional levels.

As your Sanity decreases, you are able to endure less damage before being defeated again. As long as your Sanity is 2, you are defeated when any of your core stats reaches -4 (instead of -5). As long as your Sanity is 1, you are defeated when any of your core stats reaches -3.