Conditions and Mechanics
Open Dungeons™ intentionally leaves certain terms - Prone, Grappled, Concentration, Reaction, Advantage, and similar - without fixed definitions. This is by design. When these…
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Dispatches from the table
Category: Monster Trove
Rules insights, worldbuilding sparks, new releases, and practical ideas for your next session.
Monster Alignments
In Open Dungeons™, alignment does not apply to player characters. You have full agency to decide how your character thinks and acts in the…
Read the chapterMonster Treasures/Rewards
Treasure and rewards are always decided by the Dungeon Narrator. Please see DN Guide for further details.
Read the chapterWhy Intelligence Matters
Intelligence shapes how a monster fights, plans, and responds to danger - and it's one of the easiest stats for DNs to forget in…
Read the chapterEncounter Formula
This formula scales to any group size. Always use the party's actual total HP and actions. To judge encounter difficulty, follow these steps to…
Read the chapterMonster Sizes
Tiny - sprites, rats, imps, moths, bats, toads, frogs, crowsSmall - large spiders, beetles, small devils, giant rats, koboldsMedium - hounds, ghouls, minor devils,…
Read the chapterMonster Save Rolls
Monsters make Save Rolls when affected by spells, special abilities, or other effects that allow a save. Base Target Number (TN) a monster has…
Read the chapterCooldown
A cooldown is the recovery time before a monster can use a special ability again. The cooldown starts the round after the ability is…
Read the chapterMonster Stat Blocks
A monster stat block is a short record card. It shows you how a monster works in the game. HP is Hit Points. Hit…
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