The Bloodless Dungeon

By Lance Hawvermale

Sometimes the dungeons aren't enough.

Sometimes the swordplay, the spell-slinging, the sneak-attacks fail to satisfy a GM's imagination, and he must seek a new avenue of adventure, a new format for delivering to his players a memorable gaming experience.

Greetings! Welcome to my first contribution to GM's Perspective. I'm thrilled to have the chance to share ideas with you and impart a little of the wisdom I've (hopefully) acquired over the last twenty-one years of roleplaying. Please permit me this brief introduction, and then we'll talk a bit about refereeing the scenario that isn't hack and slash in a world where hack and slash is like a universal constant. Yes, you can deliver to your players an exciting storyline without resorting to the beloved but overused archetypes of orcs and spiked pits. Read on and let's develop this concept further.

My name is Lance Hawvermale. I got my start in this industry by writing for Polyhedron and Dungeon magazines, and now I'm a member of the Necromancer Games' staff and a fellow of the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. Through Necromancer I've had the opportunity to develop the Hawkmoon campaign setting, which is supported through the Hawkmoon Adventures website. Building Hawkmoon from the ground up has taught me a lot about world creation, but what I've come to realize most importantly is this: It's not the pantheon of gods you create nor the detail of your setting's map, but rather what matters are the adventures themselves. In the old days we called them "modules," and maybe you still do. These modules—not the far-reaching worlds in which they're placed—comprise the essence of a successful campaign. Too often GMs labor over politics, lengthy descriptions of ancient races, and intricate monetary systems, while overlooking the fact that the fundamental building block of the campaign's "planet" is simply the story told to players at the kitchen table.

These stories are by requirement action-oriented. They have to be, otherwise there would be no enjoyment in playing them. In almost all modules, the heroes generally overcome a series of increasingly difficult foes to reach their shared goal. Basically success depends on simple math: Who reaches zero hit points first, the heroes or the opposition? In this article I'd like to move away from this formula and show GMs that action can still be had without an exchange of hit points and the death of standing-in-the-way foes. Please note, there's nothing wrong with that formula, as it's as old as the game itself, but GMs looking for ways to infuse new elements into their campaigns might want to consider what we'll call, for want of a better term, the Bloodless Dungeon.

We'll examine four key elements of the Bloodless Dungeon.
1. Shared Goal
2. Action
3. Damage
4. Reward

Before diving into an explanation of each of these aspects, let's first look at an example of a scenario that matches all criteria of a Bloodless Dungeon.

Example, Part One: (Not Your Typical) Damsel in Distress
The player characters (PCs) are traveling across the plains to the small village of Leafton, where they've heard lurks a faceless evil. Many miles separate the PCs from Leafton, requiring them to make a long overland journey. Right away the GM has two options when designing the adventure. He can permit the journey to happen "uneventfully" and move the PCs to Leafton with a few brief words of description, or he can allow them to face a challenge along the way. Almost always these challenges reflect the basic math: Can the PCs overcome marauding bandits, hungry griffons, and nighttime grimlock raids? Who will run out of hit points first, the PCs or the creatures that attack them en route to Leafton?

The GM wants to make this gaming session a memorable one, so he decides to have the PCs experience the journey to the distant village and offer them an obstacle along the way. But instead of relying on random encounter charts or preparing a series of monstrous confrontations, he chooses instead to put a single farmstead in the PCs' path. This small collection of rustic buildings, far off the beaten path, is to become the setting for a type of action with which most players aren't very familiar.

The PCs spend the day riding, and come at sunset upon the farm. The first thing they see is a middle-aged woman in a wheat field, swinging away at the stalks with a sickle. She's sweating, tired, and obviously overmatched by the huge field. There's far too much work for her to do, and yet she has no choice: Her husband recently died, and the harvest must reach market before the granaries close for the season. If she fails to sell her grain, she will be destitute. The woman has only two days to harvest a crop that is going to take her a week to complete. Only the heroes can save her from financial ruin.

Don't think that sounds like the setting for fantastic adventure? Well, the story above is the synopsis of an actual adventure I published in Dungeon many years ago. It worked then, and it still works today. How? By keeping in mind the four essential ingredients of a Bloodless Dungeon.

1. Shared Goal
In order to stage a successful Bloodless Dungeon, the GM must work to foment party cooperation. Many players might be initially wary of the idea of embarking on a quest with no obvious payoff. If presented with the above scenario, certain players—eager for level advancement and the acquisition of new magic items—will balk at the idea of assisting a widow in bringing in her crop when the reward for this work is neither an abundance of experience points nor a surplus of tangible awards like weapons and magic items. Let's face it: Some players partake in this game for the simple love of "leveling up" (to use a term I despise) and for the chance to see their character accrue new items, gear, and gold. If you have such players in your group, you might slightly modify the Bloodless Dungeon so that it's more universally appealing. For example, perhaps during the harvest one of the PCs is attacked by wolves. Forced to fight with the weapons at hand—sickles and flails—and perhaps not even wearing their armor, the PCs could be facing a serious challenge, one that is sure to satisfy the players hungry for experience points.

The Bloodless Dungeon doesn't work if there are dissenters in the group. A shared desire to achieve the goal, whatever it may be, leads to a sense of solidarity. If the PCs (and their players) agree as a whole in the goodness of helping the widow and her crop, their union cements them in ways a common dungeon exploration cannot. Throw in a strict timeline—remember, the widow has only two days—and the plight becomes instilled with a sense of true urgency. The PCs must work together, one of them driving the wagon, one separating the grain from the stalks, others storing grain in sacks, et cetera. Let them devise ways to work efficiently, stressing teamwork over individual abilities.

2. Action
The Bloodless Dungeon must have motion. While an extended tavern card game in which the PCs are all participants might seem at first to have the makings of a fine non-combat encounter, few players will want to sit through such monotony without at least a small taste of adventure. Thus the perfect Bloodless Dungeon keeps the PCs moving. In the above example, the PCs are tested physically as they haul bulging grain sacks, whack endlessly at the wheat, and perhaps form some kind of "assembly line" in order to get the grain harvested on time. This translates directly into ability and skill checks. Don't forget to use your dice! Predetermine a set of checks for the players to see how well their characters perform. Perhaps every hour spent swinging a scythe requires a DC 15 Con check, with the DC increasing by +1 for every hour. A failed check means exhaustion. And exhaustion means lost time. The deadline draws nearer. PCs hauling grain sacks must make Strength checks. Further, Bloodless Dungeons are excellent opportunities to make use of certain Knowledge and Profession skills that often go unused in normal scenarios. Now that PC with Knowledge (botany) or Profession (farmer) becomes invaluable. Use this moment to let his skills shine. When designing your Bloodless Dungeon, check over the Knowledge and Profession skills of your PCs, and look for ways to exploit them.

The main thing to remember is that players love to roll their dice; that's why they buy so many of them. So if you're not giving them combat, make sure you still provide ample opportunities to keep those dice rolling.

3. Damage
Just like there must always be the random die roll to determine success or failure, so too must there be a chance for a PC to incur damage during the scenario. PCs who fail certain checks might take temporary Constitution damage. Over-exertion, lack of proper water, and excessive heat or cold are all good ways to reduce the hit points of your PCs and make them aware that failure might cost them their lives. Are they tough enough to harvest the crop in two days? Or will they collapse from fatigue? To use a different example, can the PCs train the herd of wild mustangs without getting trampled? Can they sandbag a village's perimeter before the floodwaters drown them? All of these instances are great ways to provide your players with extended diversion that can prove dangerous without involving direct combat.

4. Reward
Bloodless Dungeons don't "pay" PCs in experience points and gold pieces. More often than not, the rewards are intangible. If the PCs survive two days of backbreaking labor and get the widow's crop to market moments before the granaries close for the season, their primary award would by a feeling of completion and the knowledge that they've done something good in a world full of so much that is bad. In other words, the heroes have generated some good karma, and the universe is the better for it. For some players, this is payment enough.

Others want more. And that's fine. Give them more. Bloodless Dungeons are terrific ways to meet new NPCs, who can later become faithful contacts, providing the PCs with a wealth of information, rumors, and adventure hooks. In the most successful and dynamic campaigns, all things are connected. The actions of the heroes are like ripples on the surface of a pond, casting small waves that affect even the distant reaches of the realm. What the PCs do today on a small farm west of Leafton can alter the turn of events in the king's castle, hundreds of miles away.

Sample Scenarios
Following are a few examples that you can develop and inject into your current fantasy campaign. Each can provide at least an hour of enjoyable dice rolling, even when no weapons are being drawn.

#1. The Ball Game
Use this scenario when the PCs are visiting any sufficiently foreign culture, especially those (erroneously) considered "primitive."

A civilization of aboriginal people enjoy a fast-paced, dangerous sport involving a hard wooden ball and broad wooden sticks. The game is played in an arenalike court, so that hundreds of spectators can gather and cheer for the players. This culture, which can be modeled after that of the Maya, Aztec, American Indian, ancient Babylonian, or any other "old world" society, uses the Ball Game as both a holy ceremony and an athletic event; they take it very seriously. Often players are permanently maimed. Champions are highly revered. In certain cultures, the members of the winning team receive the highest honor: They are sacrificed to the gods.

One way or the other, the PCs find themselves embroiled in the great Ball Game. Perhaps they have been captured by the natives, or asked to prove themselves before the natives will open blocked trade routes. This is a perfect example of the Bloodless Dungeon, as the PCs form a team and must work like a cohesive unit in order to win the game. They put aside their weapons, don loincloths, hoist their sticks, and enter the arena as a team. Ability checks must be made frequently; you can devise a complicated set of skill checks required for different actions during the game, from passing the ball to scoring a goal to ramming an opposing player into the wall. Charisma checks can even be made to sway the opinion of the crowd. Rewards for good play include exotic animal pelts, weapons, and perhaps native jewelry. Most of all, the biggest reward is a true and everlasting respect among the natives.

#2. Cattle Drive
The PCs find themselves as part of a classic cattle drive. They must usher a large herd of animals or exotic beasts over a considerable distance. How do they get involved in such an odd pursuit? Perhaps an NPC has vital information the PCs require, but he refuses to divulge anything unless the heroes do him a very special favor. Or perhaps a ranger or druid PC has a liege lord who requires of him a certain service: the shepherding of a rowdy herd over many dangerous miles of wilderness.

The heroes become a team of wranglers, doing their best to keep the herd moving in the right direction. They must coordinate their movements and practice strong teamwork, lest the animals scatter. Ability and skill checks play a huge roll, especially those involving horseback riding, the care of animals, and the traversing of wilderness terrain. Perils include harsh weather, mudslides, natural predators, and rustlers. How do the PCs respond to an animal with a broken leg? Or one that wonders off and gets lost?

#3. Flood!
Adventurers are always spending the night in village taverns, inns, and stables. What if the town in which they're sleeping is suffering under severe rainstorms, and one night the nearby river overflows?

The PCs must round up the frightened townspeople and convince them that inaction will result in the destruction of their town. There are sandbags to fill and stack, trenches to dig, and children and livestock to rescue from the rising waters. A detailed map of the town is essential as the PCs run around bolstering the town's defenses. A variety of dice rolls would be required, as the heroes face challenges of strength, endurance, and know-how. The matter is complicated by lightning strikes, panicked townsfolk, and probably at least one child that goes missing somewhere out in the storm.

The next morning, if the sleepless PCs were successful in saving most of the village and its citizens, they receive sundry honors from the town elders, including lifelong friendship and perhaps small land grants—not to mention the eternal gratitude of everyone!

These are but a few ideas for introducing a non-standard scenario into your campaign, if only just to liven things up a bit. Veteran players have seen and done it all—or have they? Plunge them into a Bloodless Dungeon and find out!

Copyright © 2005 Lance Hawvermale