BLEAK A one page survival-horror dungeon crawler with brutal combat Made by CyberToasty

In this RPG you play as a recently formed group of adventurers investigating a dark fortress, each character being here for their own
personal reasons. But who knows the horrors that lie beyond these walls ? Tips for the GM : -Instigate a dark ambiance -Make combat brutal
for both sides -Make resources sparse -Telegraph danger -Use goals to create interesting situations and conflicts between the characters.

Character creation : Each player has to pick one character from a premade pool of 10. Players should prepare having to switch between
characters because some of them may die, become insane, or be permanently injured. If all playable characters are unable to continue,
players have lost to the fortress. A new played character can be introduced as already venturing in the dungeon, locked in a cell or entering
soon after the first group. Each character has a goal they want to fulfill at all costs before escaping alive, which alone can be unlikely.

Characters have different attributes (tests are made using a d20, you must make less than the
value associated to succeed, 1-3 is a critical success and 18-20 a critical failure).
STR is used outside combat for lifting, pushing etc… in combat it’s used for parrying and
inflicting brutal strikes (trying to cut limbs, smash heads etc…)
DEX is used outside combat for running, climbing etc… in combat it’s used for dodging and
inflicting vicious strikes (gouging an eye, piercing an organ etc…)
WIL is used for spell casting and resisting stressing conditions.

Base character pool : (don’t hesitate to add your own custom characters)
Knight STR13 DEX10 WILL12 [+2 STR bonus for all parries / Become heroic on a 1-6 / Sturdy armor to protect his limbs / Can protect a character in emergency ]
Barbarian STR15 DEX9 WILL9 [Can wield a two-handed weapon in one hand / Not scared by violence and wounds / Can go berserk on a critical WIL fail / Cannibalism]
Burglar STR10 DEX14 WILL10 [Can disarm traps and pick locks / Bonus on ambush, discretion / Move well in the dark / Poisonous daggers / Can escape easily ]
War surgeon STR9 DEX13 WILL13 [First aid & chirurgical skills / Resources to heal wounds and cure poison / Mask protecting from toxic gas / Throwable acid bottles]
Occultist STR7 DEX11 WILL15 [Powerful spells with devastating side-effects on critical failure (mutations etc…)/ Less fear of Eldritch foes / Dark knowledge]
Cleric STR12 DEX8 WILL14 [Can cast heal and various benedictions / Can banish undead / Has to pray regularly / Hard time cooperating with occultist]
Minstrel STR8 DEX13 WIL11 [+2 DEX when playing an instrument / Can use melodies to restore morale, strengthen allies, disrupt enemies etc… / Noisy / Acrobatic ]
Local hunter STR11 DEX12 WIL11 [+2 DEX when using ranged weapons/ Bonus when fighting beasts / Can make and use traps / Dog companion he loves]
Street thug : STR12 DEX12 WIL11 [Experienced in hand to hand combat / Can improvise weapons/ Good instinct / Can survive with little food / Fights dirty]
Disgraced noble : STR10 DEX 10 WIL10 [Charisma / Good culture / Basic sword skills / Never experienced a true fight situation or faced horror / Easily disgusted]

Combat : When fighting a monster you usually have two scenarios, attacking
and defending :
- When attacking you either make a STR test (for brutal blows) or DEX test (for
vicious strikes). Attacking always involves targeting a body part, some of them
being harder to hit. Here are the different main body parts and the base malus
associated with trying to hit them : Head (-8) , Torso (-0), Left arm (-4), Right
arm (-4), Left leg (-4), Right Leg (-4). For each body part you’ve damaged
heavily add a +4 bonus to your hit roll.
Being wounded, poisoned, scared, reduces your chances to hit. In particular
having your arms or eyes wounded. Some enemies have additional limbs (like a
tail) with a -4 malus to your hit roll if you target them. Enemies that have
multiple weapons or dangerous limbs can attack you multiple times during their
turns.
- When defending you either make a STR test for parrying or a DEX test for
dodging. A successful parry can negate or mitigate damage, a critical success
usually allows you to immediately counter attack. Failure means taking damage
and a critical failure can often disarm you. A successful dodge allows you to
negate damage (or in some hard situations can at least let the player change on
which body part the hit took land) and a critical success allows a free movement.
Failure means taking damage and a critical failure can knock you to the ground
(like always it depends on the situation, it’s up to the GM).
Being wounded, poisoned, scared usually reduces the chance to parry and dodge.
In particular having your arms (for parrying) or legs (for dodging) wounded.
Some attacks cannot be parried or dodged; you can’t parry an enemy grab and
most magic attacks & you can’t dodge some attacks hitting a too wide area or
being too fast.

Taking damage : Each time you take a hit, one, or more depending on the attack, body parts are wounded. There are no Health stats, damage inflicted to your
character body are up to the GM's appreciation. Use the body plan on your character sheet to mark your wounds.
Characters are likely to suffer blood loss after battle, if no bandages or healing spells are used death will quickly follow. Some attacks can also inflict poison which can
paralyze and kill quickly if not treated with an antidote, otherwise the poisoned limb will have to be destroyed rapidly to prevent the poison from spreading inside the
rest of the body. To survive characters also need to eat frequently. Resources in the fortress are sparse so tough choices will have to be made to progress.

Moral : When players are in a very stressful situation, taking heavy damage to a limb, seeing a party member die, or witnessing eldritch horrors they must do a WIL
test. Failing the test makes your character terrified, increasing all critical failure chances to 15-20. Chain failures or critical failures will make your character develop a
lasting affliction. On a success your character manages to keep his calm and on a critical success acts heroic, temporarily overcoming his fears and gaining bonuses on
his rolls for a few turns. Rest is needed to reduce stress. Casting spells also requires WIL tests, failure consequences are likely the caster losing control of his spell but it
can also damage his mind just like fear does, especially with occult sorceries.