And now for something completely different…
Not long ago I picked up the most recent iteration of the DUNGEON! board game. My wife and I played together and it was pretty fun. The rules are simple and straightforward. Roll the dice. Beat the monster. Take the stuff.
But it has some rough edges. The four classes are imbalanced, or rather they’re balanced by moving the goal post. Rogues and Clerics need to gather 10,000 gp, Fighters need 20,000 gp, and Wizards 30,000 gp. It works, but it’s inelegant, and not as fun as the alternative. I mean, who wants to only face off against kobolds, dire rats, and giant bats when there are dragons and liches in the dungeon?
So I homebrewed some simple rules to equalize the classes. Now you can play a Rogue, Cleric, or Fighter and still have just as much of a chance of surviving those beastly sixth level baddies as the Wizard.
The DM Pastor’s DUNGEON! House Rules
All classes require the same amount of treasure to win the game: 30,000 gp. Alternatively, you can mutually agree upon a lower total for a shorter game.
FIGHTER
- You have three Action Points. (represented by three stones, chits, jewels, or whatever.)
- You can use one action point per turn to make one additional attack against a monster. Make this attack before the Monster fights back.
- You regain one spent Action Point whenever you roll doubles, but you can never have more than the three Action Points you started with.
ROGUE
- You gain the ability to Sneak.
- When entering a room or chamber, roll 1 die. If you roll a 3 to 6, you are Sneaking and the Monster does not see you.
- Draw a Monster card (and a Treasure card if you are in a room). Do not show the Monster or Treasure card to other players. Put the card(s) in the first open number slot, but keep them face down. Put the matching Number token in the room or chamber.
- If you fail your Sneak roll, the Monster sees you and attacks as normal.
- While you are Sneaking, you gain three additional options in the encounter.
- Steal – You can swap the room’s Treasure card or one of the dropped Treasures in the room (if there are any) with one of the Treasure cards from your stash. Your turn ends.
- Sneak Attack – Attack the Monster with Advantage. Roll 2 dice twice and take the higher result.
- Pass Through – If you have not moved your full 5 spaces, you can complete your movement by passing through the room without engaging.
CLERIC
- Protection – Your proficiency in defense and the graces of your god protect you in battle. The results of a Monster’s attack are one step less severe than they would normally be.
- Crushed! becomes Seriously Hurt.
- Seriously Hurt becomes Hurt.
- Hurt becomes Stunned.
- Stunned becomes Miss!
- Spellcasting – Your devotion grants you divine magical power. You prepare spells before the game begins. Roll 1 die and add 6 to the result. This is the number of Spells you have prepared. Use the same Spell cards as the Wizard. If there are multiple spell casters, take turns selecting 1 Spell card at a time. You can regain Spells following the same steps as the Wizard. Clerics can know two spells: Hold Monster and Lance of Faith.
- Hold Monster (use the Teleport Spell card)
- If you have enough movement left to enter a room or chamber, you may use this spell on a Monster inside. First, stop at the door of the room or in the space next to the chamber. Say that you’re casting Hold Monster. If the Monster is not already revealed, you must decide to cast the Spell before drawing a Monster card.
- When cast, the Monster is paralyzed for 1 turn. Move into the room and make an attack, adding an additional +2 to your result. If you miss, the Monster cannot counterattack you this turn.
- Lance of Faith (use the Lightning Bolt Spell card)
- You attack with radiant energy! Use the same mechanics as the Wizard’s Lightning Bolt Spell to resolve the attack.
- Hold Monster (use the Teleport Spell card)
Dungeon Master Pastor 
Does the additional attack for the fighter mean that he can roll 2 dices twice?
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Yep! And I think it works even if they want to spend all of their action points in one round. So they could roll those two dice multiple times in one turn.
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Thank you! Loved this (also new DM looking for tokens! This is perfect!)
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Hi there,
I like these new rules. Wanted to get some feedback and how well they worked as far as balance goes, fun factor, etc…
Thanks
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Hey! I have found that they work really well! I’ve played a few different times with a varying number of players, anywhere from 1-8. They have worked well each time. Each class has its own little strategy and something interesting to do. In each game the player who won beat out another player by only one or two turns.
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Awesome approach, will give it a try with my kids and provide some feedback!
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We have been using a variation of these rules (mostly rouge and fighter). We don’t use rogue swap loot. We also added something we like though some may feel it makes it an easier game. We each have a 4 sided die bought separately. We use chamber rooms as an opportunity to “LEVEL”. Instead of no loot the first encounter gives you your die set at level 1. Each additional chamber success flips the die maxing at level 4. These numbers add to you attack roll. Level 5 & 6 chambers level 2 times. It allows more achievable results for level 5 and 6’zones. We allow swords to stack so you can be above level 4. The results have been balanced and encourages chamber pursuits. Gain loot or race to level and get to higher zones? It’s made it feel more like a campaign type D&D. Yes you kick butt at level 4 and a sword or two. But you can still get bad rolls. A rouge has a shot at level 5 if they level enough. Other classes still have lower rolls to achieve. My wife was a level 4 fighter and still had a tough time getting the 12’s needed in zone 5 (effectively just needing an 8) without chips left to re-roll it can be a doozy. We have really enjoyed this combo of game enhancements.
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Glad you’ve been having fun playing with these! Neat idea about the leveling, that does make the chambers more interesting.
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By the way, one common complaint with the base game is the cheap cardboard character pieces. For those looking for better avatars without painting we found wizkids pre-painted figures called Wardlings to be pretty awesome. We got at our comic book store cheaper than even online. Surprisingly hard to find something like these searching online. My kid loves the characters and they come with pets that we have even worked into the game. I am in no way compensated for the opinion by the way. Just really happy with the find and thought I would share. They are perfect size for the board.
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Hi! I’d be really interested in knowing how you incorporated the pets into the game as well!
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Quite simply, I did not.
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How is the rouge supposed to gain any treasure if he keeps swapping?
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The strategy for the rogue is to trade up. Start by grabbing treasures on level 1, then head to level 6 and try to swap up for the real goods and get out alive. It’s actually a really fun variant.
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The most valuable treasure is worth 10,000 gold. How can they make it up to 30, if their’s only 1 treasure at a time? Or is it you can steal or swap?
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Never mind, I missed some rules you wrote *facepalm
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Lol, glad it came together in the end.
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Hello, these rules have really helped me spice up the game with my friends! Im also using co op rules i found on another site, so i had to change what a few things did. You have added a new layer of fun to one of my favorite board games
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Hey, thanks for sharing that! Glad you’re having fun with them! What co-op rules are you using and what changes did you make?
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so i add up everyone’s total gp to win and divide it by. that is everyone’s total as a group to win. if two people die then the group loses. if there are monsters that aren’t defeated equal to the number of players +1, then the group loses.i changed the rogue’s power to being sneak attack, where they outright kill the monster on a roll of 3 or 6. I also changed the cleric spell hold monster to sacred flam which kills a monster on a even roll of 1d6, but this spell can only be taken 3 times per game. the only reason i did this was because i didn’t want undefeated monsters to add up and make the players lose. though now that i think of it i could have just thrown out that rule lol. i hope that made sense. sometimes i have trouble getting things from my brain written out.
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Your co-op version sounds sick, what’d you divide the gold by? I made my own co-op version where one of the players is the DM, the DM rolls for the monsters’ hits and only they can see the monster stats. The DM also controls a lvl 6 monster hunting the group that can’t be killed. The monster can’t enter the Great Hall. Once the players get their gold all players must make it to the Great Hall to win. But when they do get the gold, the monster’s speed is doubled to 10 spaces. Hits to the monster stun it for a turn and hits from the monster down players. On players’ turns they can revive one ally in the same space as them. If all players are down then they lose. Instead of changing abilities I added some too, Fighter can revive themselves after being downed once a game. Rogues can do that sneak attack thing you do if the monster has already encountered an ally that’s in the same space. Clerics can revive 2 allies and can revive from 5 spaces away, as well as add their passive Protection ability to allies next to or in the same space. And Wizards can teleport the whole group. Haven’t been able to try these yet but I think they sound cool lol.
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Is cleric able to cast hold monster while in an encounter with it?
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The way I wrote that rule, hold monster has to be cast from just outside the room or chamber. If you’re in an encounter with a monster, I suppose you could use your movement to leave the room, then cast the spell and re-enter.
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I always assumed when in close combat with monster (the same room or chamber) you couldn’t retreat. As in if you are still in room with monster on your next turn (only stunned) you automatically had to fight it.
I guess you could try some evade or retreat roll with 1d6
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Btw I love this! Though regaining spells for cleric feels like a bit of pain compared to the wizard due to their ability to teleport multiple times back in a couple turns before they run out, mean while the cleric is puffing and sweating running all the way back 5 spaces a turn and running into chamber monsters without spells 😂😂😂
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Glad you like it!
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Used these rules tonight for first time. They work really well and motivated me to try some of my own house rules for Dungeon!
The only rule I added in tonight’s game, as I thought it made sense. Was for the Rouge, when in Sneak player could disarm any Traps player found.
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Glad you enjoyed them! The disarm traps thing is a good idea.
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