Chaos Quest
In Chaos Quest you are partied with a band of adventurers the likes of which have never been seen! In a dungeon which has never been seen! Battling monsters which have never been seen! And... <ahem>... well, maybe you get the point.
Loosely inspired by 1000 Blank White Cards, Munchkin, Descent, Betrayal at House on the Hill, and any other modular-board board game, Chaos Quest pits the players against Chaos. Pure randomosity, well, to a degree.
Requirements:
A stack of 3.5" index cards (cut in half to make squares)
Pens!
A bunch of D6's
Imaginations!
The Objective:
Be the first adventurer to reach the Ultimate Artifact of Near Certain Doom and Death and inevitably betray your companions as you take the fame, glory, and riches for yourself!
The Setup:
In Chaos Quest all of the dungeons, adventurers, monsters, and loot are generated by the players. To begin each adventurer should create the following:
1 adventurer card
1 artifact card
10 monster cards
3 skill cards
10 treasure cards
15 dungeon tiles
Totalling 41 cards. Fudge these numbers around for longer or shorter games.
It may seem like a lot of work, but setup is supposed to be half the fun!
To create your adventurer card:
- Grab a full index card
- Give yourself a name
- Draw a picture of your adventurer
- Make columns for four attributes; strength (S), intellect (I), dexterity (D), and luck (L)
Now, roll 4 D6's. Each die is then placed into a skill. Finally, you have 6 free points to divvy up however you choose.
To create the dungeon deck:
- Each player takes 15 cards to create their dungeon tiles with.
- Each dungeon tile must contain:
- Some colourful dungeon artwork
- 2-4 exits (one potential door or exit on each of the four edges of the card)
- Additionally each dungeon tile may contain any combination of the following:
- A depiction of a monster (resulting in the adventurer facing a monster)
- A depiction of treasure / loot / swag /etc (resulting in the drawing of treasure)
- An event or circumstance specific to the room.
To create the monster deck:
- Each player takes 10 cards to create monsters with
- Each player rolls a number of dice equal to the number of adventurers. This is your stat pool.
- Each monster must have the following:
- A title or name
- An illustration
- A stat it attacks with (it doesn't have to make sense, but try to explain it with illustrations! if the ogre wants to attack with luck, have him wield a club made of rabbits feet, or some similar facsimile)
- A value for its stat; to determine this roll 2d6 and add any number of points you like from your stat pool.
To create the skill deck:
- Each player takes 3 cards to create skills with
- Use your wildest imagination when coming up with skills, but keep it fun. Some examples of good skills might be:
- Marksman: The player may reroll one attack per turn if he is using a ranged weapon.
- Shapeshifter: The player may assume the form and primary stat of any creature he has defeated in combat. This must be announced before entering combat.
- Nobility: Once per game the player may demand equipment, assistance, or a snack from the kitchen from another adventurer.
- Some bad skills might be:
- I automatically win the game
- +100 to all attributes
- Make up any skill I want anytime i want
You have a lot of power when you're making these skills. Don't let it get to your head. And remember, other players might end up with the skills you created!
To create the treasure deck:
- Each player takes 10 cards to create treasure cards with
- Each player rolls a number of dice equal to the number of adventurers. This is your bonus pool.
- Each treasure must have the following:
- A title
- An illustration
- A number of required hands (0-2)
- Each treasure may have any combination of the following:
- A trap the player must overcome when he/she draws the treasure (or else suffers the consequences listed on the card)
- A curse which affects the player for a duration listed on the card (if it reduces stats this comes out of your bonus pool)
- A bonus to a particular stat (which comes out of your bonus pool)
- Any other effects or circumstances around drawing or wearing the item
To create the artifact deck:
- Each player rolls four dice. These represent the stat bonuses that the UAoNCDaD (Ultimate Artifact of Near Certain Doom and Death, henceforth referred to as "The Artifact") will grant the wielder in future games should they find it.
- These values are now noted at the bottom of the card and can be allocated however the player desires between the four primary attributes (which is to say any number of dice can be pooled into a single attribute)
- Add an additional effect to the text of the card. The artifact may be discarded in future games to acquire the desired effect (as such, the effect should likely be quite powerful)
- Additionally, the artifact card must contain a title and an illustration.
Finally:
The first player to finish his tasks is responsible for coming up with an entrance to the dungeon. You could start outside the dungeon gates or have just climbed down a well, surrounded with possibilities on all four sides. The choice is yours!
Starting the Game
What? You mean we haven't started yet?
Take the four artifacts and shuffle them up. Take the lower quarter of the dungeon deck and shuffle one artifact into it. Discard the other three artifacts for now without looking (these can be reused in future games should you desire).
Roll a die to see who goes first. Take turns drawing three skills and choosing two of them to keep. The third skill is shuffled back into the deck for the next person to draw. The last player to choose gets to draw four skills and choose two (a mild concession for having to choose from skills other people didn't want).
All players start with one random treasure.
All players place a token or counter of their choosing on the starting tile (thimble, coin, miniature, i don't care).
Gameplay
Turns are taken in order starting with the first player.
A player may move to one new tile per turn.
If the next area is unexplored flip over a new dungeon tile and place it appropriately. If it can not logically fit, discard it.
A player may choose to draw any tile of his choosing from the discard pile instead of drawing from the face-down deck.
Follow the instructions listed. Dungeon tiles are resolved in the order of Monsters, Treasure, Events (unless otherwise noted by the event on the dungeon tile).
Combat:
Roll a D6 and add the appropriate attribute to it. If the monster is attacking you with Luck, you must defend with Luck, Strength with Strength, and so on. You defeat the monster if your combined skill is greater than the monsters. A roll of 1 halves your natural skill (rounding up) and a roll of 6 doubles your natural skill (rounding up). This means a skill of 5 will automatically defeat a monster with a skill of 4 or less unless a 1 is rolled.
If the combat is a success draw a treasure card and ignore any traps! Curses still apply.
If you are defeated in combat and have no means to stay alive, discard a treasure of your choice and remove your token from the dungeon. On your next turn place your token back onto the starting area, this turn is now over and otherwise a waste.
Treasure:
If a dungeon tile indicates that treasure should be drawn, draw two treasure cards and choose one of them. Shuffle the other back into the deck. Follow any instructions, traps, curses, or events listed on the treasure card.
Attacking another player:
If you land in the same tile as another player you may choose to attack them with a skill of your choice. Both players roll a die and add their skills up (including effects from 1's and 6's and any items or curses that may be in effect). The attacking player may take any item from the opposing player (except for previously acquired artifacts which are bound to their owners).
End Conditions
If an adventurer reveals an artifact tile during a move, the adventurer must immediately battle three monsters which guard the ancient relic. These monsters must both be defeated to claim the prize! If the adventurer is defeated in combat any remaining monsters continue to stand guard and are placed face up on the tile containing the artifact. Any player may now enter this room and attempt victory!
Should all monsters be defeated, the adventurer claims his artifact and is immediately teleported out of the dungeon. Of course, dramatically, the dungeon crumbles to dust and the remaining adventurers die horrible horrible deaths.
The surviving player may add one point to any skill of his choosing. Additionally, he gets to use the artifact in future games, as well as any items or skills he currently possesses. In future games, skills may be discarded in order to draw new ones. Each player may only have two skills at any time. Any cursed items or effects the player carries remain between games.
