dungeon motion

you've got the moves

a compendium of PbTA moves for classless games

Pariah

Fear

When you draw upon your reputation to scare or intimidate someone, roll +CHA: on a 10+, hold 3 Fear; on a 7-9, hold 1 Fear. When you're humbled, de-fanged, or show mercy, lose all Fear. Spend Fear 1-for-1 to:

  • Draw all attention to yourself
  • Cause someone to hesitate, flinch, or flee
  • Coerce a temporary agreement or concession

Nightmare

(Requires Pariah)

You can spend Fear to ask questions from the Seek Insight list.

Hard to Kill

When you are at Death's Door, you can roll +CON or +nothing (your choice). On a 7-9, you can mark a debility of your choice to regain 1 HP.

Unstoppable

(Requires Hard to Kill)

When you are reduced to 0 HP in battle, you can keep fighting. Each time you take damage while at 0 HP, mark 1. If something would heal you while you keep fighting, clear one mark instead.

When you stop fighting, roll for Death's Door with a -1 penalty for each circle marked. If you survive, clear all your circles.

Fire Within

When you are in darkness, you are able to see by the light of your inner fire. When you take damage from cold or fire, reduce that damage by 2.

Guiding Light

When you lead one or more NPCs through danger, roll +CHA: on a 10+, you all make it through (Helior be praised); on a 7-9, the GM will tell you what's required to get everyone through safely.

Stalker

When you carry a normal or light load and move with care, you make no noise and leave no sign of your passing. When you hide yourself in a natural environment, you remain unseen until you draw attention to yourself, move positions, or attack.

Wild Speech

The grunts, barks, chirps, and calls of natural beasts are as a language to you. You can understand their intentions and communicate basic ideas. When you Persuade a beast, you can choose to roll +WIS.

Alpha

(Requires Wild Speech)

When you assert your dominance over a beast or spirit of the wild, roll +WIS: on a 7+, it must choose 1 from the list below; on a 10+, you also gain advantage on your next roll against it.

  • Fight you for dominance
  • Slink away or flee, then avoid you
  • Accept your authority, at least for now

Mollify

When you spend time with someone, you can ask their player why you frighten them or creep them out (you usually will) and get an honest answer.

When you Make Camp and relate your fears to one another banish fear from your heart for a time.

Raven's Voice

Memory

When you record a sound, sentence, or phrase you've heard with flawless tone and pitch mark Memory. When you release the words you've memorized back into the world spend Memory to Persuade with advantage (if it makes sense) or to reproduce a spell or effect precisely. You will become mute for a time. Your voice will return in ~1 hour.

Sleepwalker

When you anoint a sleeping person with your own blood you may share in their dreams. When you Seek Insight within a dream or vision, you may roll with +CHA instead of +WIS. If you are reduced to zero HP in a dream, you fall into a deep slumber from which you awaken after a day's rest.

Dream Dancer

(Requires Sleepwalker)

When you enter a dream and craft and shape it to your will you roll +CHA: on a 10+, you can do anything you imagine; on a 7-9, you do it but the dream turns sour. Either allow the GM to make a hard move or awaken, suddenly, in a cold sweat.

Trick of Light and Shadow

When you invoke the shadows within and without to shield you from sight roll +CHA: on a 10+, you may walk between shadows for a time; on a 7-9, you disappear and reappear a short distance away.

The Mind is Like a Sieve

When you interact with an NPC and wish to slip from their memory immediately, roll +CHA: on a 10+, they forget you instantly and remember instead something plausible of your choosing; on a 7-9, they forget you instantly, but are shaken or upset by the experience; on a 6-, they remember you, for now, and some detail about you will stick with them indefinitely.

Turn the Soil

Once per expedition when you Have What You Need you may choose to retrieve an item one might find on a corpse or in an unturned grave up to a value of 2. You needn't Requisition this item, instead choose a number of options equal to its value:

  • Time has taken its toll. Add or remove a tag to reflect this flaw. Also reduce its value by 1.
  • You suffer a minor curse. Receive disadvantage when you Defy Danger until you make amends.
  • It's clearly recognizable as plunder. Someone, or something, will come looking for it soon.

Poisoner

Mark the Poisons special possession. You ignore the dangerous tag when handling poisons. Gain access to the following in addition to nightshade oil:

  • Corpse root ingested, slow, dangerous results in a temporary death-like state.
  • Nailadd venom contact, dangerous results in +1d4 damage and numbness when injected.
  • Fireweed burned, dangerous creates black caustic smoke that repels pests and vermin.

Musclebound

(Requires Strength +2 or higher)

When you make a hand-to-hand or thrown attack, it's forceful and messy. If it would already be forceful and/or messy, it's even more so.

Situational Awareness

When you Discern Realities, add these to the list of questions you can ask:

  • What is my enemy's true position?
  • Who or what here is the biggest threat?
  • What's the best way in/out/through/past?

When a fight starts, ask the GM one question that you could ask with Discern Realities, and gain advantage to act on the answer.

Pantherish Grace

When you are unarmored and unencumbered, you impose disadvantage on any damage you take that you could dodge or roll with.

Backstab

When you attack someone up close and they don't see it coming, Deal Damage or roll +DEX: on a 10+, Deal Damage and pick 2; on a 7-9, Deal Damage and pick 1.

  • Deal +1d4 damage
  • Strike a weak spot, ignoring their armor
  • They can't make noise or raise an alarm
  • You slip away before they can react
  • You create an opportunity; you or an ally gain advantage if you act on it

Danger Sense

You can always ask the GM, "Is there an ambush or trap here?" If they say "yes," roll +INT: on a 10+, ask the GM both questions; on a 7-9, ask 1:

  • What will trigger the trap or ambush?
  • What will happen once it's triggered?

On a 6-, don't mark XP, but nothing bad happens just yet.

Bend Bars, Lift Gates

When you use brute strength to overcome an inanimate obstacle, roll +STR: on a 7+, OH YEAH! but choose 1 (on a 10+) or choose 2 (on a 7-9).

  • It takes a while
  • You cause unwanted damage or harm
  • You make a lot of noise
  • Mark a debility

Staunch Defender

When you Defend, you hold +1 Readiness. Even on a 6-, you hold 1 Readiness.

Weapon Specializations

Pick two.

Tricks of the Trade

When you pick locks or pockets or disable traps, roll +DEX: on a 10+, you do it, no problem; on a 7-9, you still do it, but the GM will offer you two options between suspicion, danger, or cost.

Charge!

When you charge into battle, gain +1 armor and deal +1d4 damage on the initial exchange. Anyone who follows your lead also gets this benefit.

Armored

When you wear armor, ignore the clumsy tag.

Walk Through the Valley

You are unaffected by poison or disease.

Countermeasures

When you witness a magical effect, you may ask the GM, "how can this be countered or interrupted?" and get an honest answer. You or an ally gain advantage on your next roll to act on the answer.

Everything Bleeds

When you exploit an unnatural foe's specific weakness or vulnerability, deal +1d6 damage.

Crack the Codex

penalty

When you cast a spell from a stolen spellbook, whose prerequisites you have already cast before, roll +INT. On a 10+, you cast it successfully. On a 7-9, you cast it, but pick one:

  • Draw unwanted attention or put yourself in a spot; the GM will say how
  • Reality twists around you (say how) and you take -1 ongoing (cumulative) when casting spells until you Make Camp
  • The spell is unstable, short-lived, or imprecise

Everything Burns

When you inspect a work of artifice or magic for a fatal flaw, roll +INT: on a 7+, the GM will reveal the best way to destroy/sabotage it; on a 10+, you or an ally also gain advantage to act on the info.

Improved Stat

Each time you take this move, increase one of your stats by 1 (to a max of +2).

Otherkin

Your human form is but a guise. Fill out the Monster Compendium insert. Each time you select this move, choose a new monster move. You may undergo Metamorphosis at any time to take on your monstrous traits, instinct, bane, moves, etc.

Acceptance

(Requires level 6+ and Otherkin)

You've come to terms with your monstrous nature. You no longer gain the terrifying tag unless you wish to and you may mark a debility at any time to resist your instinct or your bane and retain control.

Monster Compendium

Metamorphosis

There's a monster inside you. When you reveal the monster within roll +CON: on a 7+, take on its traits, armament, moves, instinct, bane, etc; on a 10+, you needn't indulge your instinct or Defy Danger to revert back; on a 6-, as a 7+ but you lose yourself to your instinct. Mark XP and the GM will indulge it for you soon.

Traits
pick 2 per bane plus terrifying and unnatural

Armament
pick 2

Instinct
pick 1, fulfill it to revert to human form

Bane
pick 1 or 2, Defy Danger to act against it

Monster Moves pick 1

Craving

When you indulge your instinct you may go without sustenance and heal as if you had made camp. If you go without for a season, mark a debility. If you cannot, grant control of your character to the GM until your instinct is satisfied.

Deadly

When you deal damage with the intent to kill, increase all damage dice by one size.

Formless

You can squeeze, flow, or ooze through surprisingly tight spaces without issue. Also gain +1 Armor when you go unarmored thanks to supernatural resilience.

Implements of Evil

Choose 2 additional monstrous armaments from the Monster Compendium insert.

Monster Squad

Reign
You hold domain over creatures of the night. When you call forth nocturnal scavengers or a pestilent swarm roll +CHA: on a 7+, they appear and sew chaos on your behalf but hold 1 Reign; on a 10+, hold 2 Reign; on a 6-, they sew chaos on your behalf but hold no Reign and mark XP. Spend Reign to: Shield something or someone from the chaos, or Provide aid to yourself or an ally.

Nightbreed

You can smell and track blood from miles away and when you taste blood and Seek Insight you may roll +CON. If you do you can always ask "What is the extent of their injuries?" for free, even on a 6-.

Night Crawler

When you climb, cling to, or skitter across a sheer surface you cannot fall and you make any rolls to hide, hunt prey, or traverse terrain with advantage.

Release the Beast

You are capable of exceptional strength. When you lift, throw, or break something in a display of frightening power your attacks gain the forceful and area tags and you Let Fly with +STR but the GM will choose one: What you've done cannot be undone, or You risk collateral damage in addition to other consequences.

Wielder Compendium

Your Weapon pick one

Wielder Moves

Snicker-Snack!

When you wield Your Weapon and fight to kill, you deal damage with advantage.

Voices

When you consult the spirits bound to Your Weapon, roll +CHA: on a 10+, they give you a clear, useful insight into your situation but might ask some questions in return; on a 7-9, they'll give you insight into your situation, but pick 1:
  • The insight is vague, cryptic, or incomplete
  • They make a demand of you

Well of Power

Penalty
Pick a spell from the Wizard or Cleric playbook:

When you use Your Weapon to cast this spell, roll +CHA: on a 10+, the spell works; on a 7-9, it works but pick 1:

  • You endanger yourself, an ally, or an innocent
  • You take a -1 ongoing penalty (cumulative) to use this move until you Make Camp

Diegetic Improvement

In most RPGs, you pick abilities from a list when you level up. You scan the options, choose what sounds useful, and your character can suddenly do a new thing. It works, but it has nothing to do with what actually happened in the game.

What if the fiction came first?

Find a legendary weapon in a tomb, and now Wielder moves are available. Get beaten by a werewolf, vampire or radioactive spider, and the Monster Compendium opens up. Events of the game create new mechanics.

Learn and Grow is the move that handles this. When something happens that could change your character, you talk to the GM about what move fits. Sometimes it unlocks immediately. Sometimes there are steps: training, a ritual, time. Your character is becoming someone through what they go through.

Learn and Grow

When you go through something that could change who you are, discuss with the table what move or compendium fits. The GM will tell you it's unlocked, or give you steps to unlock it.

When you have an unlocked move and XP to spend, erase 7 + your current level in XP, gain the move, and increase your level by 1.