Cthangband 6.5 Release

The title says it all really. I’ve packaged up and released version 6.5 of Cthangband.

If that means nothing to you, check out my Cthangband page for more details about the game.

Anyway, version 6.5 is just a routine update, with no major gameplay changes. There are a few minor tweaks and a few bugfixes, but the main difference in this new version is in the user interface. Version 6.5 has new background images and introduces ambient background music and sounds (don’t worry, you can easily turn those off it you don’t want them).

A full list of the changes in 6.5 is:

• Fixed rounding error in character viewer where a Con of 6 was showing +0.5 hits per level rather than the -0.5 hits per level it actually gives.
• The ‘Restoration’ service has been moved to the Alchemists.
• The ‘Research an item’ service has been moved to the Magic Shop, to replace the Ritual of Recall (which has been removed).
• Chosen Ones have been rebalanced (mostly a reduction in combat skills and hit points).
• Fixed bug where tall but narrow levels caused LOS glitches near the bottom of them.
• Base ability scores are now generated in a new manner on character creation.
• Fixed bug where characters with the ‘other’ gender weren’t being given a height and weight.
• Added atmospheric background music (don’t worry, you can turn it off if you don’t like it).
• Added Amulet of Anti-Theft as a useful low-mid level item.
• A Potion of New Life will now restore you to your original birth race as well as curing all mutations.
• A new character based on the previous one will use the race the old character was born as rather than their race at the point of death (in case they had been polymorphed into a different race at any time).
• Fixed rare hang condition when generating world map after character creation.
• Replaced in-console splash screen with a proper one that includes game options, making them more visible.
• Replaced most background textures.
• Level feelings are now given separately for danger and treasure.
• The slime molds are no longer revolting!
• If players Word of Recall without ever having entered a dungeon, they will now end up on level 1 of the dungeon instead of returning to their starting town.
• Kill count moved to end of monster description so that basic ‘what is it’ text comes first.
• Corrected class documentation to properly include the Globe of Invulnerability spell on the various spell lists.
• You no longer have to kill all the monsters in a multi-monster quest in one go. You can kill some, leave the level, then return later and kill the rest to finish the quest.
• Wizard Bolt can no longer be reflected back on you by monsters.

Anyway, the new version can be found here.

Advertisement

Dark Dungeons X Finished

Back in December, I mentioned that I was going to start working on a new edition of Dark Dungeons.

Well, I’ve spent the last four months doing exactly that, and I’m pleased to announce that the new edition is finished.

I’m calling it “Dark Dungeons X”. The ‘X’ standing for both 10 (because it’s the 10th anniversary edition) and ‘Expanded’ because this new edition includes material from both the original Dark Dungeons and also Darker Dungeons.

The changes to this edition, when compared to the previous edition, are:

• New and improved layout – the book is now around 410 pages rather than 320 pages, but that is because I’ve moved away from the cramped three-column layout and used more modern design. However, I’ve kept the feel of the book as close to the original as I can, design changes notwithstanding.
• The rule changes for Darker Dungeons are included in the text. Darker Dungeons is the game as played at my table, and now that the original game that Dark Dungeons was based on is available to buy as a PDF once more (which wasn’t the case when Dark Dungeons came out) there seems little point in releasing a new edition of Dark Dungeons that slavishly follows it.
• There are a couple of new additions to the game over and above those added in Darker Dungeons – the Clockwork race, and the Warlord fighter variant, for example. Also the Immortals rules have been given a major expansion to make them more of a blend between the two sets of Immortals rules from the original game and I’ve added values for magic items.
• I’ve added a whole bunch of “Developer Commentary” sidebars to the game. These explain the reasoning and intent behind the various rules and rules changes in a more personal manner rather than the impartial “rules voice” used in the text itself.
• A switch from the old Lulu print-on-demand to a print-on-demand available directly through DriveThruRPG.

Having said that Dark Dungeons X is finished, it is going through a final period of proofreading and checking – and will be uploaded to DriveThruRPG (for both PDF and print-on-demand) in a couple of weeks time.

Here’s a new Work-In-Progress

I’ve uploaded a new “work in progress” version of the rules, now that I’ve mostly finished the big update (making the game cover the full range of levels that the game it takes inspiration from does).

The differences between this version and the last one are (from memory):

• A new colour scheme that makes the tables easier to read.
• Everything now goes from level 1-50 rather than 1-20.
• There are a few changes in the names and descriptions of classes to better fit the setting lore.
• Witches get a new spell path – “Nature’s Bounty” – replacing their old “Stone Lore” path.
• All the spell paths have been re-formatted (and in some cases mostly re-written) so that they’re easier to read and it’s more obvious where the spells and gaps are.
• The process of learning spell paths has been streamlined.
• I’ve added a “level demographics” section to the setting lore to give an idea of how common characters of different levels are in the world, and what levels are best used for different types of NPC.
• I’ve altered the progression of magical metals (from Iron-Steel-Orichalcum-Titanium-Obsidian to Iron-Steel-Titanium-Mithral-Adamantite-Aetherite).
• I’ve added crafting rules for constant-spell items and Lightmaster sails, and a crafting summary clarifying which spells are used for which type of item.

Anyway, here are the links to the files:

Lightmaster_Rulebook_WIP

Book_Of_Tables_WIP

FASERIP is now on DriveThruRPG

As the title says, FASERIP has now been approved by DriveThruRPG and you can download it here.

Unlike Dark Dungeons and Blood, Guts & Glory, which are both free by default but allow you to pay something for them if you want to as a tip or gratuity (they’re set as “Pay what you want”), FASERIP is set to be a free download only and doesn’t give you that choice. The reason for this is because of the way the artwork is licensed – it doesn’t allow me to charge money for the game. Although technically setting it up as “Pay what you want” still allows people to get it for free, I think it comes too close to charging people for me to be comfortable doing that while sticking within the spirit of the artwork’s license.