The Book of Adventure

A roll & write game by Christian Moe

Story

You have managed to live a half-tolerable life up until this point in time, but now you have grown tired of unreliable odd jobs and fetch quests. You want to retire rich, and preferably before your back breaks. And the fastest way to riches is: Adventure!

But adventuring is dangerous, and the rewards unpredictable. The story of your adventures, however, is highly entertaining, and - with an authors touch - profitable. So you just need to adventure a bit, and you will be set for life.

Choosing the right path will be crucial for the books success, but luckily you have been born with a special sense of foreboding, that lets you know beforehand the challenge of a path, but not its specifics.

You travel out from your Hometown, not to grow rich from the treasures you find on your unknown path, but from the tales of the challenges you will encounter.

About

Goal of the game

You want to experience an epic adventure, so you can write a book that will financially secure your future. At the end of the game, if you do not die, you calculate your Review Score, which represents the success of your book. If your Review Score is sufficiently high, you win the game.

The game can end in three ways:

• You reach 20 Chapters, and finish your book.
• Your Fear rises to 20. You become mortally afraid of adventuring, and release an unfinished book.
• You suffer too many Wounds and die (no book is released).

Structure

In the game, you will move from Area to Area, and gradually create a map of your adventures, as you explore out from your Hometown, and face challenging Encounters.

In Encounters you may earn Experience and gold, but at the risk of suffering Wounds and Fear.

In Towns, you may Rest, buy Equipment and Items, get secret knowledge from Oracles, or earn a bit of gold by working a normal boring job.

Each Encounter that you overcome will become a Chapter in your book.

Overview

Each square on your paper is an Area. You start the game in a Town Area (your Hometown). Then you roll dice to fill in all the surrounding Areas, which can be of the types: Town, Encounter, or Blocked.

You progress through the game, by moving to Encounter Areas. There are 6 types of Encounters: Obstacle, Personal, Combat, Threat, Puzzle, and Trap. Each type of Encounter have various ways to be dealt with, but usually requires you to roll dice.

Your main enemies will be Fear and Wounds. Fear is unstoppable. If you let your Fear rise too high, you will suddenly find yourself fleeing from Encounters. Wounds can be fatal, but may be healed, if you have the gold to pay for it.

Components

You need the following to play this game:

• Pencil and eraser
• A red marker (for drawing your Route)
• A piece of checkered paper
• Paper for tracking combats, and writing notes.
• A dice roller app, or 6 or more six-sided dice (6 is minimum - 12 is probably enough - but you may end up rolling 20d6).

Getting Started (Tutorial)

Create an Adventurer

Your paper should be vertically oriented. At the top of the paper, write the name of your adventurer, and the working title of your book (you may change the name before release).

In the top left corner of your checkered paper write your adventurers Attributes and Stats in the following way:

Underneath, draw a horizontal line all the way across your paper. This line and the sides of the paper are the edges of the world.

Roll Attributes

Info
Attributes are Strength (STR), Wisdom (WIS), Intelligence (INT), Dexterity (DEX), Charisma (CHA), and Luck (LUC).

Your Attributes are the basic traits of your adventurer. You do not choose the traits you are born with, but you do choose how you use them.

To find your Attribute values, do the following:

• Roll 6d6.
• Change all 6s and 5s to 4s.
• Assign each result to an Attribute, and write it next to it.
• In the parenthesis next to Wounds write 15 + your STR. This is the amount of Wounds, that will kill you.

Example

We rolled [6] [5] [2] [2] [1] [3]. The 6 and 5 are both changed to 4.
We set STR to 4, making our maximum Wounds 15+4 = 19. We create our adventurer as such:

Attrs	Stats
STR: 4	(19) Wounds:
WIS: 2	Gold:
INT: 2	XP:
DEX: 1	Level:
CHA: 3	Fear:
LUC: 4	Chapters:
	Equip:
	Items:

Attribute Checks

During the game, you will need to make Attribute Checks to determine various outcomes.

To make an Attribute Check dot the following:

• Roll 1d6.
• If the result is equal to or lower than your Attribute value, the check is a success

Calculate Starting Experience

In your past, you may have struggled from being weak, foolish, stupid, clumsy, ugly or just plain unlucky. But while you may have had to work harder to be where you are today, it has also given you valuable life experiences that you can make use of in your adventuring.

• For each Attribute, subtract its value from 4, multiply by 10, and add the result to your Experience (XP).

Example

From Strength, we would get 0XP (4-4), Wisdom 20XP ((4-2) * 10), and so on, totalling 80XP.

Attrs	Stats
STR: 4	(19) Wounds:
WIS: 2	Gold:
INT: 2	XP:	80
DEX: 1	Level:
CHA: 3	Fear:
LUC: 4	Chapters:
	Equip:
	Items:

Calculate Starting Level

Your Level is derived from your Experience.

To find your Level, divide your Experience by 100, and round down.

Example

With 80 XP, we get 80/100 = 0.8 = 0 rounded down, so we do not get a Level.

Roll Starting gold

In your past, you may have been wise and put some gold to the side. You may have used your strength doing manual labor, or used your intellect to bookkeep in a small shop, or maybe you dexterously cleaned chimneys . You may have been able to get a better wage in your small jobs using your charms. And maybe you just got lucky…

Whatever the means, you may have a bit of gold when you start your adventure.

• For each of your Attributes, make an Attribute Check (see Attribute Checks).
• If the check is a success, add 1 gold.
• If the check is a fail, add 1 XP.

Example

For our Attribute Checks we roll [4] [4] [3] [1] [4] [2], which will earn us 3 gold total from STR, DEX, and LUC, and 30XP from WIS, INT, and CHA. The extra XP will also bump us to Level 1.

Attrs	Stats
STR: 4	(19) Wounds:
WIS: 2	Gold:	3
INT: 2	XP:	110
DEX: 1	Level:	1
CHA: 3	Fear:
LUC: 4	Chapters:
	Equip:
	Items:

Creating Your Hometown

Pick a square on your paper, where you would like your Hometown to be, as long as it is below the horizontal line.

Then to create the Town do the following:

• Outline the square you picked.
• Roll 1d6.
• Write HT followed by your result in the square.
• Draw a red dot in the square, to indicate your Route starts here.

Example

If we roll a [2], we write.

[HT2]

The number represents the Town's Wealth, which determines the general cost of Inventory and services in the Town.

Create Surrounding Areas

In each empty Area around your Hometown (including diagonally), do the following:

• Draw an outline around the square.
• Roll 4d6.
• If you roll three 1’s the Area is a Town. The remaining d6 determines the Town’s Wealth. Write "T" followed by the Wealth.
• If you roll two 1’s the Area is Blocked. Write a "B" in the square.
• If you do not roll two or three 1's, there is an Encounter in the Area. The sum of the four dice plus double your Level is the Encounter Challenge Level (ECL). Write the ECL number in the square, and leave room to the left of it.

Example

We roll [2] [1] [1] [6] for the top-left square, [3] [3] [1] [6] for the next, [1] [1] [1] [3] for the third, and so on, and add 2 for our Level (as 1 * 2 = 2).

[ B ][ 15][ T3]
[ 14][HT2][ 18]
[ 16][ 17][ 11]

You are now ready, to begin the game.

Gameplay

You switch between being in and out of Encounters.
When you are not in an Encounter, you must pick your next destination Area, and draw a Route to it.

Drawing Routes

A Route is a straight red line connecting a red dot in your current Area to a red dot in your next Area.

When you draw a Route, you must do the following:

• Draw a red dot in your destination Area. You may draw anywhere within the square.
• Draw from the red dot in your current Area to the red dot of your destination Area.
• You may not draw across Blocked Areas.
• Every Area the red Route line touches must be crossed out.
• If you return to your Hometown, you must draw a new red dot in the square.

Starting Encounters

To start an Encounter, pick an available square with an Encounter Challenge Level (ECL), draw a Route to it, and determine its type.

Determine Encounter type

You roll 1d6 to determine the Encounter type:

1. Obstacle [O]: A physical barrier is blocking your way forward.
2. Personal [Pp/Pm]: You are affected by a physical or mental issue
3. Combat [C]: You are attacked by a hostile creature
4. Threat [H]: You are threatened by a hostile creature
5. Puzzle [Z]: You come upon a strange mechanical contraption
6. Trap [R]: You are surprised by a hidden mechanism, aimed to harm you.

In the Area, write the letter of the Encounter type before its ECL.

Example

We will attempt the bottom right Encounter. We roll a [5] which is a Puzzle Encounter, and write Z in front of the 11.

[ B ][ 15][ T3]
[ 14][HT2][ 18]
[ 16][ 17][Z11]

After learning the Encounter type you have two options:

• Overcome the Encounter: Roll dice to beat the challenge
• Flee: Ignore the Encounter, but suffer Fear, and potentially other effects.

Overcoming Encounters

To overcome an Encounter, you must add dice to your dice pool. You will get dice from your Attributes, your Level, as well as any relevatnt Equipment you have, or Items you spend.

In some Encounters you may also Strain, where you suffer a Wound to add a die.

The specific rules for each Encounter is described in the Encounter Types section.

If you overcome an Encounter you cross out its Area, and cannot attempt it again.
After crossing it out, you must create surrounding Areas, as you did with your Hometown (see Create Surrounding Areas).

Fleeing from Encounters

If an Encounter seems unsurmountable, you may have the option to Flee from it.

When you Flee, suffer +1 Fear.

Some Encounter types also have additional penalties for fleeing (see the Encounter Types section).

When you Flee, cross out the red dot, move back to the last red dot on your Route, and move forward from there.

Fear Check

When facing certain Encounters, you may be overwhelmed by Fear. You must make a Fear Check, to regain control.

To make a Fear Check:

• Roll Xd6, where X is your Fear.
• If you roll more 6s than your Wisdom, you fail the Fear Check.
• If you fail the Fear Check, you panic and must Flee the Encounter.

Towns

In Towns you can spend gold to Rest, see an Oracle or purchase Inventory.

You can also earn gold by Working.

Each time you visit a Town, that is not your Hometown, you may also attempt to Haggle for a discount.

You may spend and earn as much in a Town as you wish, but when you move on to the next Encounter, you cannot return to the Town again.
To mark it as visited, cross out its Area (the only exception is your Hometown).

Note
Towns are rare. Everytime you create an Area, there is only a 3.5% chance for it to be a Town. So plan your time in a Town wisely.

Your Hometown

You may visit your Hometown as many times as you wish between Encounters.

Every time you return to your Hometown add 1 Fear as the familiar setting invites you to stay.

If you use your Hometown before your first Encounter, do not add Fear.

Haggle

When you enter a Town (not your Hometown), roll a Charisma Check.

If successful, all prices in the Town are reduced by 1 gold.

Purchasing Inventory

Inventory is split into two categories: Equipment and Items.

You can only purchase 1 of each kind of Equipment, but may use them as many times as you wish.
You may purchase as many of each Item as you wish, but must cross them out after use.

If you purchase an Item or an Equipment, write its name in your Stats, and remove the gold you spent.

Example

After some adventuring, we go to a Town with 1 Wealth.
We spend 4 gold to buy a Flute, and 8 gold to buy 2 Snacks.

Attrs	Stats
STR: 4	(19) Wounds:	6
WIS: 2	Gold:	2
INT: 2	XP:	231
DEX: 1	Level:	2
CHA: 3	Fear:	4
LUC: 4	Chapters:	5
	Equip:	Flute
	Items:	Snack, Snack

Inventory Prices and Effects

The purchase price of each Equipment and Item are their base price plus the Town's Wealth.

Selling Inventory

You can sell your Inventory in Towns.

You receive its base price / 2 (rounded down) in gold.

After selling an Item or Equipment, cross it out in your Stats.

Resting and Healing

You can rest at an inn in the Town, and get medical aid to heal 3 Wounds.

The cost is 1 + the Town's Wealth.

Working

Coming across gold in your adventures can be a rarity. If you find yourself in need of gold, you may spend time earning an honest wage in the nearest Town. However, the more time you spend getting a calm, predictable income, the less appealing adventuring becomes.

To earn 1d6 + W gold, where W is the Town's Wealth, you suffer 2 Fear.

Oracle

You may visit an Oracle. An Oracle will reveal the Encounter type of an Area with an untyped ECL.

The cost is 1 + W gold, where W is the Town's Wealth.

Once purchased, roll and write for an Encounter type in an Area with an untyped ECL, without starting the Encounter.

Encounter Types

1: Obstacle

A physical barrier is blocking your path.

Obstacle Start

• You may Flee, and suffer 1 Fear.

Obstacle Challenge

First, find the amount of dice you will roll:

• Add dice equal to your Level.
• Add dice equal to your STR or DEX.
• You may Strain yourself, and suffer 1 Wound to add 1 die. You may Strain as many times as you wish.
• You may use a Rope or a Bomb to add extra dice.

Then, roll all your dice. If the sum is higher or equal to the ECL, you succeed, else you fail.

Obstacle Success

• You earn XP equal to the ECL.
• Add 1 Chapter.

Obstacle Failure

• Make a Dexterity Check.
• If you fail, suffer 3 Wounds.
• If you succeed, suffer 1 Wound.
• If you have Armor, you may reduce the damage by 1 Wound.
• You may attempt the Encounter again, or Flee.
• If you Flee, suffer 1 Fear.

2: Personal

You are affected by a physical or mental issue.

Personal Start

• You cannot Flee from this Encounter.
• You must determine whether this is a physical or mental issue.
  • Roll 1d6.
  • If you roll 1-3 it is physical.
  • If you roll 4-6 it is mental.

Personal Challenge

First, find the amount of dice you will roll:

• Add dice equal to your Level.
• Physical: Add dice equal to your STR, WIS or DEX.
• Mental: Add dice equal to your INT, WIS or CHA.
• You may use a Snack to add extra dice.

Then, roll all your dice. If the sum is higher or equal to the ECL, you succeed, else you fail.

Personal Success

• You earn XP equal to the ECL.
• Add 1 Chapter.

Personal Failure

• Physical: Suffer 3 Wounds and 1 Fear.
• Mental: Suffer 3 Fear.
• Add 1 Chapter, and cross out the square, even though you did not overcome the Encounter. You must then create surrounding Areas (see Creating Surrounding Areas).

3: Combat

You are attacked by a hostile creature. The creature has a Life value equal to the ECL. You overcome a Combat Encounter by bringing the creatures Life down to or below 0.

Combat Start

• Make a Fear Check to see if you Flee the Encounter.
• Write down the creature’s Life on a separate piece of paper.

Combat Challenge

First, you may Flee the Encounter (see Flee Combat Encounter).

Then, find the amount of dice you will roll:

• Add dice equal to your Level.
• Add dice equal to your STR or DEX.
• You may use either a Sword or a Bow (you cannot wield both), and a Bomb to add extra dice.

Then, roll all your dice. If the sum is higher or equal to the creatures' current Life, you succeed, else you fail.

Combat Success

You damage the creature.

• The amount of damage is equal to your roll minus the creatures' current Life.
• Subtract the damage from the creatures' Life.
• If you bring the creatures' Life to 0 or below, you overcome the Encounter. Read the Combat Victory section.
• Else, repeat the Combat Challenge section.

Combat Failure

The creature damages you.

• Make a Dexterity Check. If it succeeds, you suffer 1 Wound. If it fails, you suffer 1d6 Wounds.
• If you have Armor, reduce your damage by 1 Wound.
• If you have a Shield, roll a Strength Check or a Dexterity Check. If you succeed, you take no damage.
• Repeat the Challenge section.

Flee Combat Encounter

You attempt to run away from the Encounter, but the creature gets a free attack at you.

• Make a Dexterity Check. If it succeeds, you suffer 1 Wound. If it fails, you suffer 1d6 Wounds.
• Suffer 1 Fear.

Combat Victory

You have defeated the creature.

• You earn XP equal to the ECL.
• Add 1 Chapter.
• Make a Luck Check. If it succeeds, gain 1d6 + 1 gold. If it fails, gain 1 gold.

4: Threat

You are threatened by a hostile creature.

Threat Start

• Make a Fear Check to see if you Flee the Encounter (see Flee Threat Encounter).
• You may choose to convert this Encounter into a Combat Encounter.
• You may Flee the Encounter (see Flee Threat Encounter).

Threat Challenge

First, find the amount of dice you will roll:

• Add dice equal to your Level.
• Add dice equal to your INT, WIS or CHA.
• You may Bribe, and spend 1 gold to add 1 extra die. You may Bribe as many times as you wish.
• You may remove Equipment and add 1 extra die for each removed.
• You may use a Rare Figurine or a Bow to add extra dice.

Then, roll all your dice. If the sum is higher or equal to the ECL, you succeed, else you fail.

Threat Success

• You earn XP equal to the ECL.
• Add 1 Chapter.

Threat Failure

• Convert and start a Combat Encounter with ECL+5.

Flee Threat Encounter

You attempt to run away from the Encounter, but the creature gets a free attack at you.

• Make a Dexterity Check. If it succeeds, you suffer 1 Wound. If it fails, you suffer 1d6 Wounds.
• Suffer 1 Fear.

5: Puzzle

A strange mechanical contraption blocks your path, and may hide something precious.

Puzzle Start

• You may Flee and add 1 Fear.

Puzzle Challenge

First, find the amount of dice you will roll:

• Add dice equal to your Level.
• Add dice equal to your INT, or WIS.
• You may use Liquid Focus to add extra dice.

Then, roll all your dice. If the sum is higher or equal to the ECL, you succeed, else you fail.

Puzzle Success

• You earn XP equal to the ECL.
• Add 1 Chapter.
• Make a Luck Check. If it succeeds, gain 2d6 gold. If it fails, gain 2 gold.

Puzzle Failure

• Suffer 1 Fear.

You may try again, or Flee. If you Flee, suffer 1 Fear.

6: Trap

A hidden mechanism, aimed to harm you, or protect something.

Trap Start

• Immediately Triggers: Roll an Intelligence Check or a Wisdom Check. If you fail, suffer 1d6+1 Wounds. After triggering, the Trap converts to an Obstacle Encounter.

Trap Challenge

If the Trap did not trigger, you may use a Trap Disarm Kit to overcome the Encounter.

Find the amount of dice you will roll:

• Add dice equal to your Level.
• Add dice equal to your INT, DEX, or WIS.

Then, roll all your dice. If the sum is higher or equal to the ECL, you succeed, else you fail.

Trap Success

• You earn XP equal to the ECL.
• Make a Luck Check. If it succeeds, gain 1d6gold.
• Add 1 Chapter.

Trap Failure

• The Trap triggers, and converts to an Obstacle.
• Make a Fear Check.
• If you have Armor, reduce your damage by 1 Wound.

Review Score

Once you have finished with your adventure, it's time to write your book, and determine your Score. Your skill at writing is determined by your Intelligence.

First, add the following:

• Your INT times 3 (the quality of your writing)
• Your XP/10 (rounded down) (the variance of your story)
• 20 if you have 20 Chapters, else 0 (the completeness of your book)
• Your remaining gold (marketing, wrapping, production cost)
• The base price for each remaining Equipment (same as gold)
• The base price for each unused Item (same as gold)
• Your Fear (the emotional drama of your book)
• Your highest beaten ECL (the best chapter in your book)

Then, subtract the following:

• Your Attribute values (how large of an effort the audience perceive your achievement to be)
• 1 for each Town, including your Hometown (how many respites you took)

If your score is the amount of years, you can live off your book.

Terms

• Gold: You use gold to buy services and Inventory in Towns, or use it to Bribe to avoid combat.

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Experience

During your adventuring you will grow more knowledgeable. This is represented by your Experience (XP). Experience is also an indicator of the quality of your book - the higher risks, the more XP, the better the Chapter.

Whenever you earn XP, write down each XP earned as a tally mark.

Level

Your Level represents the basic skills you learn while adventuring. When your Level increases, you become better equipped to overcome the challenges you face.

Your Level follows your XP. Whenever you reach a multiple of 20XP (20, 40, 60, 90...etc.) you gain 1 Level. Write down 1 tally mark.

You can always calculate your current Level, by dividing your XP by 20, and round down.

Fear

As an adventurer you constantly find yourself in dangerous or even life threatening situations. Some will leave scars on your soul that cannot heal. Over time these scars may surface as uncontrollable panic.

This dread is represented by Fear. It is the cold shiver that runs through you, when you take your first step on a dangerous path.

If you ever reach 20 Fear you are mortally afraid of adventuring. You must finish your book with the material you have.

Wounds

During the game, you may suffer Wounds. Each time you suffer a Wound, draw a circle in your Wounds stat.

If you ever have 15 + STR Wounds you immediately die, and lose the game.

Chapters

Your Chapters track your book's progress. Each Chapter covers a single Encounter.

When you have 20 Chapters, you can finish your book, and the game ends.

Inventory

Your Inventory is a list of the Equipment and Items you carry around.

You use list tracking to track your Inventory.

Equipment

During your adventure, you can purchase Equipment in Towns.

You can only carry 1 of each piece of Equipment.

Items

During your adventure, you can purchase Items in Towns. Items can be used once, and must after use be crossed out.

You may carry as many of each Items as you wish. -->

Story Roll-tables

Quicksheet

Quick Start

Quick Encounter Types

1: Obstacle

• First: You may Flee & suffer 1 Fear
• Dice: STR/DEX + Level + Strain + Rope + Bomb
• Success: +1 Chapter & ECL XP
• Failure: DEX Check: 1 Wound/3 Wounds, Armor reduces 1, you may Flee.

2: Personal

• First: Roll 1d6: 1-3 Mental/4-6 Physical
• Dice:
  • Mental: INT/CHA + Level + Flute + Pet
  • Physical: STR/DEX/WIS + Level + Snack
• Success: +1 Chapter & ECL XP
• Failure:
  • Mental: 3 Fear
  • Physical: 3 Wounds & 1 Fear
  • +1 Chapter & cross out Area.

3: Combat

• First: Make a Fear Check. You may Flee & suffer 1 Fear. Life = ECL.
• On Flee: DEX Check: 1 Wound/1d6 Wounds. Armor reduces 1.
• Dice: STR/DEX + Level + Strain + Sword/Bow + Bomb + Pet
• Success:
  • Damage = Roll - Life
  • Life = Life - Damage
  • If Life > 0, roll again, else Victory.
• Failure:
  • DEX Check: 1 Wound/1d6 Wounds
  • Armor reduces 1
  • Shield: DEX/STR Check: No Wounds
  • You may Flee.
• Victory: +1 Chapter & ECL XP & LUC Check: 1d6 gold/1 gold

4: Threat

• First:
  • Make a Fear Check.
  • You may Flee & suffer 1 Fear.
  • You may convert to Combat Encounter.
• On Flee:
  • DEX Check: 1 Wound/1d6 Wounds.
  • Armor reduces 1
  • Convert to Combat Encounter, and + 5 ECL.
• Dice: WIS/INT/CHA + Level + Bribe + Bow + Rare Figurine + Pet + removed Equipment
• Success: +1 Chapter & ECL XP
• Failure: Convert to Combat Encounter with +5 ECL. Start Combat Encounter.

5: Puzzle

• First: You may Flee & suffer 1 Fear
• Dice: WIS/INT + Level + Liquid Focus
• Success: +1 Chapter & ECL XP, LUC Check: 2d6 gold/2 gold.
• Failure: +1 Fear. You may Flee.

6: Trap

• First:
  • Trigger: INT/WIS Check: No damage/1d6+1 Wounds and mark as triggered.
  • You may use a Trap Disarming Kit to auto-succed.
  • You may Flee & suffer 1 Fear.
• Dice: WIS/INT/DEX + Level
• Success: +1 Chapter & ECL XP, LUC Check: 1d6 gold/nothing.
• Failure:
  • +1 Fear.
  • If not triggered: Suffer 1d6+1 Wounds.
  • Make a Fear Check.
  • You may Flee & suffer 1 Fear.

Quick Town Actions

• Haggle: Single Charisma Check -> 1 gold discount
• Rest: 1 + W gold -> heal 3 Wounds
• Oracle: 1 + W gold -> reveal 1 untyped Encounter Area.
• Work: +2 Fear -> Earn 1d6+W gold
• Purchase Inventory: See next section
• Sell Inventory: At half the base price (rounded down)

Quick Purchase List