Dungeon of Despair

Prisoners
Hard Moves
  • Appear when the MC thinks they've found solitude.
    • Sneak away, Slander or Ingratiate to distract.
  • Call guards and accuse the MC of disobedience.
    • Sneak away, Persuade not to.
  • Accost the MC when guards are far away.
    • Endure to Sneak away, Submit.
  • Steal something useful or valuable from the MC.
    • Sneak to keep watch.
  • Frame the MC for disobedience or contraband.
    • Sneak to notice beforehand, Slander to call the prisoners out for interfering.
  • Offer a morsel or clean clothes or other pittance or real necessity, for a humiliating payment.
    • Brace, Persuade, apply Dangers.
Normal Moves
  • Show what will become of the MC.
  • Gossip meaninglessly about others.
  • Circulate rumors among the prisoners and guards.
  • Profess resistance to punishment or torture.
  • Proclaim favor, imminent escape, or release.
  • Show unshakeable solidarity and organization.
Soft Moves
  • Give useful information about the dungeon, guards, warden, or mistress.
    • Sneak to learn, Slander or Ingratiate to prompt for more.
  • Give useful advice about punishment.
    • Sneak, Ingratiate, Perform, apply Edges later.
  • Give support or comfort.
    • Sneak, Persuade, Pleasure, reduce a Countdown or a Twist.
  • Give a useful item or favor.
    • Persuade, Slander other prisoners, apply Edges later.
  • Give an MC someone to make into a loyal contact.
    • Persuade, Perform or Brace to help them, Sneak, Edges from the contact's help.
  • Give an MC an opportunity they could never have outside: free an ally, assassinate or kidnap an important enemy here to gloat, a sample of blood for The Cure, or as appropriate.
    • Sneak, Perform, Persuade, as situationally appropriate.

Guards
Hard Moves
  • Arrive to aid the warden or when it most inconveniences the MC.
    • Sneak away, or to learn guards' habits and patterns, Slander another prisoner.
  • Subdue or restrain unruly prisoners.
    • Endure to try to Sneak away.
  • Deprive the MC of comforts or privileges.
    • Persuade, Submit to the indignity, remove Edges or apply Twists, as appropriate.
  • Search the MC for contraband.
    • Sneak, Persuade of good reasons for contraband or evidence, Slander.
  • Call the warden for punishment.
    • Persuade, Sneak away.
  • Punish the MC for disobedience.
    • Endure, Brace, Submit.
  • Leave the MC in stocks or solitary or with hostile inmates.
    • Persuade not to, Sneak items with.
  • Offer a morsel or clean clothes or other pittance or real necessity, for a humiliating payment.
    • Brace, Persuade, apply Dangers.
Normal Moves
  • Suggest the MC enjoys the treatment.
  • Gossip with other guards, prisoners, and the warden.
  • Circulate rumors among the prisoners and guards.
  • Show gleeful corruption and vice.
  • Promise lenience for compliance or betrayal.
  • Compare the MC to other prisoners, constantly.
  • Showcase another prisoner, broken.
Soft Moves
  • Let important information slip carelessly.
    • Sneak to hide awareness, Persuade or Slander to prompt more information.
  • Improve the MC's accommodations, restraints, or treatment.
    • Persuade, Ingratiate, Sneak.
  • Protect the MC from a dangerous prisoner.
    • Persuade, Slander, Sneak.
  • Report favorably to the warden.
    • Persuade, Perform, Sneak.
  • Fall for an obvious ruse or false compliance.
    • Persuade, Perform, Sneak with an opportunity.
  • Give an MC an opportunity they could never have outside: free an ally, assassinate or kidnap an important enemy here to gloat, a sample of blood for The Cure, or as appropriate.
    • Sneak, Perform, Persuade, as situationally appropriate.

Warden
Hard Moves
  • Call guards for unruly prisoners.
    • Sneak away, Endure, Persuade the warden of obedience.
  • Rape subdued or restrained prisoners.
    • Endure the effects, Sneak a means out of restraints.
  • Schedule a severe Torture or Humiliation Session.
    • Persuade, Sneak to hide the need for the session.
  • Detect noncompliance or subterfuge.
    • Persuade, Ingratiate, Sneak, Slander another prisoner.
  • Break a prisoner the MC relies on or cares about, especially for escape.
    • Persuade, Ingratiate, take their place.
  • Sense a prisoner's weakness.
    • Sneak, Persuade of a false weakness.
  • Appear as the first face an awakening prisoner sees.
    • Brace or Sneak against questioning or manipulative comforts.
  • Summon and persuade the mistress.
    • Persuade, Slander, if the mistress arrives then Sneak to hide motives or progres, or to learn about the dungeon.
Normal Moves
  • Ask and insinuate how the MC feels about themselves.
  • Ask and insinuate how the MC feels about their treatment.
  • Ask and insinuate how the MC feels about their ability to last.
  • Announce a new and creative form of torture, in as much or little detail as desired.
  • Tell the MC clearly how best to earn freedom.
Soft Moves
  • Belay a scheduled punishment.
    • Persuade, Ingratiate, Sneak, reduce a Challenge to a Twist.
  • Provide helpful medical treatment.
    • Persuade, Ingratiate, Sneak, reduce a Countdown or Twist.
  • Allow better accommodations or privileges.
    • Persuade, Ingratiate, Pleasure, Sneak to hide ulterior motive.
  • Report favorably to the mistress.
    • Persuade, Perform, Sneak, Slander other prisoners.

Left Alone / In Storage
Hard Moves
  • Attendants restrain the MC in a harsh or 'convenient' position.
    • Persuade or Pleasure attendants not to or to restrain lightly, Endure.
  • Others 'visit' to make use of the MC.
    • Endure, Pleasure to get it over with, Brace against extended use, Submit.
  • Monotony dulls and mutes all sensation.
    • Endure exhaustion or fatigue, Brace against delirium, Persuade any visitors or attendants.
  • Isolation numbs the MC's mind.
    • Brace against delusion, Perform to attract attention, advance a Countdown for sanity.
  • Visions of escape and restoration taunt the MC.
    • Brace, Sneak to enact an inspired plot or ploy, other Actions within the vision.
  • Nightmares of inevitability plague the MC.
    • Brace, Submit to retain inner will, other Actions within the nightmare.
  • The MC's altered body and mind present temptations to give in.
    • Endure, Brace, Pleasure (possibly the MC themselves), Submit.
  • A delusional(?) hallucination(?) assaults the MC.
    • Persuade, Perform, Sneak to learn or hide weakness, Endure, Brace, or Submit to illusory doppelganger or other hallucination.
  • Deprivation (hunger, thirst, other) settle in with grueling weight.
    • Endure, Persuade or Ingratiate any visitor or attendant for needs, Sneak essentials, Submit.
  • Escalate an MC's status in the Countdown progression:
    (none), [wavering], [humbled], [fearful], [terrified], [obedient], [broken]
    • Brace against the Countdown.
  • Afflict a different status on an MC (such as [sickly], [hobbled], [comedump], or as desired).
    • Brace, Endure, Persuade, as appropriate, or use the status as a Danger.
Normal Moves
  • The MC is disused property in storage.
  • The MC is a public-use amenity on display.
  • The mistress has forgotten the MC.
  • The MC will never be free, 'mere' imprisonment is the best they can hope for.
Soft Moves
  • The MC has peace and quiet for awhile.
    • Brace, Perform, or otherwise to reduce a Countdown.
  • The MC has time unsupervised.
    • Sneak, Persuade or Slander if others can communicate, advance a Countdown toward escape or other projects.
  • A 'visitor' has a small gift or news.
    • Persuade, Pleasure, Perform, Sneak to uncover secrets or hide intentions.
  • Attendants bring the MC out of storage.
    • Persuade, Perform, Sneak to hide intentions or guess criteria of retrieval, Submit to the intended role.
  • Give an MC an opportunity they could never have outside: free an ally, assassinate or kidnap an important enemy here to gloat, a sample of blood for The Cure, or as appropriate.
    • Sneak, Perform, Persuade, as situationally appropriate.

Humiliation Display
Hard Moves
  • Forced confession, profession, or other speech to the guards' liking.
    • Brace, Submit, Persuade you're obedient.
  • Offer a morsel or clean clothes or other pittance or real necessity, for a humiliating payment.
    • Brace, Persuade, apply Dangers.
  • Timed or competitive 'games' such as "pick this up with your thighs" or "crawl quickly".
    • Perform, Brace, Endure, Submit.
  • Other prisoners interfere, verbally or practically.
    • Persuade them not to, Sneak to steal something from them while distracted, Perform to gain approval.
  • A character the MC cares about is watching.
    • Brace, Endure, possibly Persuade the character later.
  • The mistress personally observes the MC's degradation.
    • Persuade, Perform, Submit.
  • Punishment for poor performance, defiance, or hesitance (possibly a Torture Session).
    • Endure, Brace, Submit, Ingratiate.
  • 'Reward' for good performance (forced orgasm, drugs, seeing another prisoner humbled).
    • Brace, Endure (resisting addiction or dependence).
  • Escalate an MC's status in the Countdown progression:
    (none), [wavering], [humbled], [fearful], [terrified], [obedient], [broken]
    • Brace against the Countdown.
  • Afflict a different status on an MC (such as [sickly], [hobbled], [comedump], or as desired).
    • Brace, Endure, Persuade, as appropriate, or use the status as a Danger.
Normal Moves
  • Other prisoners are always in sight.
  • guards are always gleeful, especially when they're cruel.
  • The mistress is never far away.
  • Any misstep can bring even worse punishment.
  • The guards have the MC at their mercy.
Soft Moves
  • A rival is in the same straits as the MC.
    • Slander or Sneak to sabotage them, Perform better for favor.
  • Someone the MC cares for is in the same straits.
    • Sneak them some aid, Ingratiate for aid, Brace to help directly.
  • The MC can get a reward on their own terms.
    • Persuade, Ingratiate, Pleasure.
  • The MC can bargain out of further or more intense humiliation.
    • Persuade, Ingratiate, Perform (either 'good enough' or pretending it's worse than it is).

Torture Session
Hard Moves
  • Surround and restrain the MC.
    • Sneak away before being surrounded, Endure to break free, Submit if overpowered.
  • Humiliate and belittle the MC.
    • Submit or Brace to resist demoralization.
  • Torment the MC with meticulous, intimate, precise excruciation.
    • Endure, Brace, Persuade for mercy, Submit.
  • Brutalize the MC with blunt, savage, reckless assault.
    • Brace, Endure, Submit.
  • Graphically remove something from the MC.
    • Brace against the shock, Endure, Submit, add a Twist or Challenge.
  • Viscerally add something to the MC.
    • Brace, Endure the new addition, Submit, add a Twist or Challenge.
  • The mistress makes a last-minute change to the punishment.
    • Persuade her not to, Ingratiate the Doctor or Nurses to go easy.
  • A complication occurs during the procedures and might have lasting effect.
    • Endure, Persuade or Ingratiate the Doctor, Nurses, or mistress for help, healing, or mercy, add a Twist or Challenge, start a Countdown.
  • Afflict a different status on an MC (such as [sickly], [hobbled], [comedump], or as desired).
    • Brace, Endure, Persuade, as appropriate, or use the status as a Danger.
  • Escalate an MC's status in the Countdown progression:
    (none), [wavering], [humbled], [fearful], [terrified], [obedient], [broken]
    • Brace against the Countdown.
Normal Moves
  • Question the MC on how it feels.
  • Show callous disregard for the MC's survival.
  • Show glowing approval for the MC's endurance.
  • Show pride at the MC's 'progress'.
  • The mistress personally observes.
Soft Moves
  • Administer treatment or measures to keep the MC alive and conscious.
    • Persuade, Ingratiate, remove a Twist or Challenge, reduce or remove a Countdown.
  • The mistress offers conditional reduction or change in punishments.
    • Persuade, Ingratiate, Perform.
  • The procedure stops short of truly debilitating or degrading results, this time.
    • Persuade, Ingratiate, Submit to demonstrate no more is needed.
  • Conclude the MC has been 'sufficiently educated'.
    • Persuade, Pleasure, or Perform to end the torture.
  • Improve the MC's reputation among prisoners later.
    • Perform, Sneak to hide the severity of effects, apply an Edge or even an Action.

Broken Prisoner
Hard Moves
  • Seize a prisoner the MC depends on or cares about.
    • Persuade to take their place, Sneak them some aid.
  • Threaten to take the MC as well.
    • Sneak away, Persuade not to enter a Torture Session.
  • If the MC watches: beat and brutalize the prisoner near to death.
    • Persuade or Ingratiate for mercy, Pleasure the prisoner later recovery.
  • If the MC watches: intimately torture the prisoner near to madness.
    • Persuade for mercy, Sneak to impair the delicate implements, Perform for the prisoner's later recovery.
  • If the MC watches: the prisoner begs to trade places with the MC.
    • Do it, or Persuade or Submit not to.
  • Afterward: the prisoner remembers nothing useful about anything, possibly even the MC.
    • Perform or Persuade to stir recollection this one time.
  • Afterward: the prisoner blames the MC.
    • Persuade, Ingratiate, Submit.
Normal Moves
  • Crazed prayers, curses, and pleas.
  • Uncanny, deathly silence.
  • Casually prompt the MC for 'ideas'.
  • Suggest how the MC brought this about.
  • Marvel at the prisoner's resilience or lack thereof, relate it to the MC.
Soft Moves
  • If the MC watches: allow some mitigation of the torments.
    • Persuade or Ingratiate.
  • Afterward: the broken prisoner will do anything the MC (or anyone) orders.
    • Brace or Submit to not exploit this; if the MC does exploit it, the prisoner may never recover.
  • The broken prisoner shows a single sign of hope for improvement.
    • Perform or Pleasure to aid the prisoner's recovery.

Note: by design, the Dungeon supports medium- to long-term 'prison break' narratives (though the 'break' may well be the MCs' will). Consider giving any imprisoned MC the special Countdown: "progress toward escape", in which the player secures a phase of an escape plan. Decide in advance how many phases this should take for your tastes.

Note also the 'escalate status' Strong Action: by default, it has six steps, at which point an MC is 'broken', however you choose to interpret and roleplay it. You can remove steps to hasten this outcome or increase its urgency, and the Dungeon never has to use this Action. But keep the six steps in mind, for pacing any escape. The Dungeon has no way to remove progress at escaping, but can 'inflict new torments' and 'break side-characters' to interfere with escape plots as they progress.

In general, the Dungeon 'wants' to break MCs down, and reveal them at their worst. Accordingly, a Dungeon need not be a prison, and could even serve as a (dysfunctional and corrupt) mental instituttion far better than the 'Haunted Hospital', or serve as a town that has fallen to authoritarianism or to chaos.

Edit Report
Pub: 28 Jul 2022 02:04 UTC
Views: 57