Exhumed
A downloadable game
Exhumed is a pamphlet dungeon inspired by Dark Souls tutorial levels: short and somewhat linear, but meant to set the stage, give opportunities to learn the style of play, and offer hints of interesting things to come.
- 1 page long – fits on two sides of a single sheet of letter-size paper.
- Simple rules for risk, magic, and stamina, inspired by Into the Odd,In the Light of a Ghost Star, and Mechanisms for Tabletop Roleplaying 2
- 6 character types, 12 additional starting items, and 12 spells
- An introductory scenario about awakening in a tomb littered with souls and filthy with ghouls, with seeds for follow-up adventures
The full game is visible in the preview.
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Comments
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hi Jason!! this game is so lovely and concise, got a quick question if you don't mind answering:
do all enemies drop a # of souls derived from rolling and summing their ability dice, or is it just bosses like the Alpha Ghoul who drop a # of souls (along with larger enemies like the Scavenger Ghoul which could drop a level-up item)?
Thank you! And EACH and ANY enemy that you can imagine collecting souls for whatever reason could have [roll and sum its ability dice] souls.
(I meant for this "tutorial adventure" to introduce players to the idea that this world's monsters pretty much all have good reason to be hungry for souls, but I suspect I confused the issue by having the first monsters you encounter already be famous for rummaging around corpses!)
it works great as a tutorial, super atmospheric!! the main sticking point was that a player who has killed one pack ghoul has a good chance of being able to buy out Vanda's entire store (pack ghouls averaging 11.5 souls dropped from d6+d8+d6 and Vanda's inventory maxing out at 8 items). because of this we opted to play w the assumption that only major enemies drop souls -- this makes a lot more sense though, levelling up seems less impossible now 😅 thanks again!
Ah, yeah, Vanda doesn’t exactly have a well stocked trading post so much as a ruined shrine, a rumor mill, and a petrified husband she will sell for 5 souls (or best offer, really). Maybe she’ll get some more in stock when you come back from your next quest, though! 😉
(Edit to add: That’s my way of saying the soul values for enemy drops were calculated based on the assumption they’re used mostly for leveling, split between a party of a few players, and if you happen to have any left over for shopping, that’s swell, but I didn’t count on merchants having reliable stock in what’s effectively a post-apocalyptic setting.)
oh that makes a ton of sense!!! love worldbuilding through mechanics/economics, this game rocks
Is this compatible with Grave?
They're both traditional D&Dish games, but the specific dice rules are pretty different. (I did adapt this specific dungeon to Grave rules for Dungeon23, though—just haven't had a chance to publish that yet!)
HI,
I am new to this type of game.
Is there any way I can learn to play it?
Thank you
John
Hello! When you say "this type of game," do you mean tabletop roleplaying games in general, or more specifically, RPGs with short, minimalist rules?
If you mean "how to play RPGs in general," it can vary a lot depending on the game, but I'd recommend searching online for "actual play" videos of people playing, and/or reading some games that have really clear advice for how they are meant to be played. The RPG you're commenting on now, Exhumed, is modeled on Dungeons & Dragons, but is a very pared-down approach.
If you mean "how to play RPGs that don't specify how to play," the philosophy tends to be either that you'll use what you learned playing other RPGs, or that the specifics of how to play aren't necessarily super important as long as you and your friends are having fun. Still, there's some great play advice for traditional, minimalist games like Exhumed in Chris McDowall's Electric Bastionland, and in this blog post.
I hope this helps! Feel free to ask follow up questions if you like. You might get even better answers by asking on Discord servers like the ones linked to from the 2400 page.
Thank Jason!
Yeah, I play many board games but always give up when I try RPGs like D&D.
not sure how to start and do not know if I am playing right or wrong :))
Update: I just have a look at 2400. It looks so cool! But I want to ask Do you suggest this game for a new RPG player who try to play solo? Thank a lot!
John
I haven’t really played RPGs solo before, but I’ve heard several people say they’ve used 2400 and other games based on the same system (24XX) for it. Someone else has even made special guidelines for 24XX solo play.
As for whether you’re getting it right: Some games have intricate rules, and they really work excellently when you use them. And some other games have very minimal rules, basically trusting that everybody already knows how to play pretend, and as long as you’re putting your fellow participants’ wellbeing before getting the rules “right,” you are doing just fine. 🙂
Thanks so much!
Is it possible to modify some of the rules to fit in with more bloodborne or at the very least soulborne type of stuff?
I have a couple other games that aim to emulate Bloodborne and/or Dark Souls using other approaches (like Grave and Nighttide), so one of those approaches might work better for you. If you think you might modify Exhumed yourself, I’d love to see what you come up with!
This absolutely owns! It’s hands down my favorite game for emulating Dark Souls at the table. 10/10
Thank you so much!
This pamphlet is incredibly focused and concise, providing an entire ruleset and adventure on two pages. And, to top it all off, it's actually quite good. Highly recommended.
Thank you so much!