The Dungeon Narrator isn't just running a game - you're the final authority on how the world responds to your players. Traditional games follow the books closely, looking up the hundreds of rules, maybe bending a rule here or there. You? You're writing the missing details in real time for their table.

Here's the shift: A traditional adjudicates rules. A DN interprets reality.

When a player says "I want to shove him off the cliff with my shield," the other games flips through combat maneuver charts. The DN thinks: How big are they? How braced are they? What's the player's momentum? What feels right for this moment?

You're not bound by these books - you're guided by them. Open Dungeons books are your foundation, not your ceiling. But with that freedom comes responsibility. Every ruling you make sets a precedent. Every "yes" or "no" teaches your players what kind of world they're playing in.

Optional Reading

In Open Dungeons™, alignment does not apply to player characters. You have full agency to
decide how your character thinks and acts in the world. No chart, grid, or label can dictate your
choices - your character's morality and personality are entirely yours to roleplay.

For the World:

Alignments exist to describe how races, cultures, factions, and monsters are generally viewed.
It is not an absolute law - individuals may differ - but it provides a shorthand for how most of the
world understands a group’s tendencies.

There will always be exceptions, but the value of alignment lies in agreement. If you mention a
demon in conversation, nearly everyone shares the same expectation of cruelty and danger. If
you mention a unicorn, the same agreement exists around purity and kindness. Alignments are
the cultural shorthand that makes those assumptions possible.

Laws and Structure

This is about how a creature relates to rules, order, and authority.

Orderly: Respects hierarchy, routines, or natural laws. These creatures thrive in systems and usually enforce rules.

Impartial: Indifferent to laws or rules. They follow them when convenient, ignore them when not.

Wild: Rejects laws and structure outright. These creatures value freedom, instinct, or chaos above imposed order.

Treatment of Others

This is about how a creature values or disregards the well-being of others.

Kind: Respects life, acts with compassion or mercy, even toward enemies.

Impartial: Neutral toward others. Neither kind nor cruel; decisions are pragmatic or situational.

Vile: Disregards life, thrives on cruelty, selfishness, or malice. Others are tools, prey, or obstacles.

Attacking with spell, spell caster just casts at target. Target makes Save Roll against spell type.
Type of Save Roll is suggested in the spell stats, but if DN decides otherwise: Pick the Save
Roll by spell essence, with this guide below:

Dex Quick - dodging stuff you can physically avoid
Bursts, lines, cones, rays, volleys, falling rubble, slick floors.

Con Tough - withstanding harm to the body
Fire, cold, thunder, acid, necrotic burn, petrify, poison gas, disease.

Wis Mind - resisting influence on thoughts or senses
Charm, fear, sleep, hold, suggestion, possession, illusions.

Spells state the type and amount of damage, and whether a successful Save Roll reduces
damage to zero or to half.

DR applies if physical damage. Not Psychic, Poison, Disease, Curse or Suffocation damage,
or similar effects.

Natural 1 save, take 25% more damage, or suffer a worse condition, DN choice per spell.

Examples of Natural 20 save roll against spell:
Fireball reflects back at caster.
Charm spell makes caster infatuated with the target.
Lightning bolt arcs back through casters body.
Or maybe just "The caster's spell fizzles and caster takes 1d4 backlash."

For each level a Wizard or Cleric gains, add +1 to the target's Save Roll TN. For example, a 3rd level
Wizard's spells require targets to roll against a TN that is 3 higher than the base.

Ongoing effects:
If a spell persists, the target may attempt the listed save at the end of each of its turns to end the effect early.

Attacking, to hit (punching, elbowing, etc.): Roll 1d20, then add + STR Bonus + your level. If
the total is equal to or greater than the target AC, the hit is successful.

Damage: 1 point of damage or Strength bonus whichever is greater. DR applies.

Grappling / Wrestling: Both creatures roll d20 + Strength bonus + Level. The higher result
wins and may restrain, knock down, or hold the target.

Natural 20: Attacker may knock the target down, stagger them (lose their next action), or push
them 5 feet. DN decides.

Attacking, to hit: Roll d20 vs target AC. No ability bonus to
attacks.

Damage: Weapon damage only. Strength bonus applies only
to thrown weapons (daggers, spears, hand-axes). Composite
bows add Str bonus.

Reload: Bows, light crossbows, and hand crossbows shoot every round.

Medium crossbow reloads 2 rounds (shoot every 2nd round) and heavy or greater crossbows
3 rounds (shoot every 3rd round). At 5th level these values drop by 1 round.

Shooting in melee (close quarters combat): -4 to hit. At 5th level -2.

Attacking, to hit: Roll d20 vs target AC. No ability bonus to attacks.

Damage: Roll weapon damage + Strength bonus. Apply armor DR after any save reductions.
Natural 20 ignores DR and is two times (x 2) damage.

Reach: Spears, polearms, and long weapons may strike from the second rank or over allies.

"Action" is a specific thing a character does on their turn (cast a spell, attack, dash, etc.).

"Turn" is you declaring your action.

"Round" occurs after everyone, including monster(s) had their turn.

Action = Turn

On your turn (your action), you may move and take one significant action, such as
attacking, casting a spell, etc.

Characters take turns declaring what they do. DN decides what order per combat
encounter.

Turn - a character's turn to do something, lasts about 5 seconds (in adventure time).
Round - a round is when everyone, including monsters, has taken a turn.

Who goes first? You, companions, NPC's or monsters?

DN decides who goes first in combat: it's relative to setup, scene, character decisions,
etc.

Player characters earn 100 XP per hour of gameplay
at the table

The DN can decide to add or subtract to level XP
requirements, and/or give or take away from your
session.

Level 1 = 0 XP
Level 2 = 2,000 XP
Level 3 = 4,000 XP

Every level after level 3 is another
2,000 more XP, each, up to level 10.

DN can add or subtract XP per session or adventure as they see fit, and/or change XP needed per level for their game.

Some DN's may penalize players for not showing, for talking on phone, etc. or reward for doing heroic feats, or saving party from certain death.

Adventures occur every 3 months to 2 years in game time.

Leveling never occurs during adventures, but only after, giving the character time to have
learned their new skills and abilities - trained for the earned level. Though levels may be
awarded in real-world time, after a game session.

All characters start at level 1.