Dungeon Crawl Meshi

Originally published December 8th 2023

I am a large fan of the manga dungeon meshi. I have been able to read it through my local library. I decided to write up a few things I have seen in it for use with dungeon crawl classics. Never been play tested or anything these are straight out the oven.

Food

Ration Types

Food is essential for proper adventuring, how is one to win gold and glory on an empty stomach.

There are 6 types of rations, categorized into fresh and preserved. Dire and Delightful meals have special effects. A ration counts as enough food for a day.

Rations are expressed as Type| Cost| How long it lasts| special effect

Dire Fresh Rations| NA| 1 week| The consumer must make a DC 12 Fort save or become sickened, suffering a -2 penalty to all rolls for the following day.

Fresh Ration| 8cp| 1 week| No affect

Delightful Fresh Rations| 15cp| 1 week| Luck rolls made while recovering the body are rolled with a d16, the consumer gains a +2 bonus to all physical rolls for the following day.

Dire Preserved Rations| 1cp| 3 months| Luck rolls made while recovering the body are rolled with a d30, and the consumer is sickened, suffering a -3 penalty to rolls for the following day.

Preserved Ration| 5cp| 3 months| No Effect.

Delightful Preserved Rations| 10cp| 3 months| The consumer gains a +2 bonus to all physical rolls for the following day.

Making Food

Making fresh rations from foraged or butchered materials requires a Skill check. A judge determines what an appropriate DC for making the meal would be, with a traditional meal made with the highest quality ingredients being a DC 4 and scrounged together meal made from unappetising monster scraps being a DC 17.

Failing the skill check results in a Dire Fresh Ration. Succeeding the skill check by more than 5 results in a Delightful Fresh Ration.

At the judge’s discretion a failed skill check means the ration is standard instead of dire, such as in circumstances with extremely high quality ingredients. Additionally a failed check can also have worse outcomes, such as incomplete removal of a poison sack, or parasitic infection.

Making preserved rations ingredients can be turned into preserved rations via the use of various methods such as sun drying, salting, honeying, dry aging, and pickling. The various methods take various amounts of time as determined by the judge. The quality of preserved rations be them Dire, Delightful, or standard is determined by the judge based on the quality of the ingredients used.

Going Without Food

Day Effect

1 The adventurer does not naturally regain any Ability Score Damage.

2-3 The adventurer does not naturally regain any HP.

4 The adventure begins suffering 1 Stamina damage per day.

5+ As above, but the adventure also suffers 1 point of Strength or Agility damage (determined randomly) per day.

Feeding Hirelings

A hireling’s Morale rolls are modified by the type of meal they last ate.

Dire Fresh -1

Ordinary Fresh +2

Delightful Fresh +5

Dire Preserved -3

Ordinary Preserved +0

Delightful Preserved +2

Spells

Dazzling Lights

Level: 1 (wizard and elf)

Range: 50’

Duration: Instantaneous

Casting time: 1 action

Save: Fort

General: The caster makes a dazzling display to confuse their foes. This spell counterspells Darkness. Sightless creatures are immune.

Manifestation: Roll 1d4 1) the caster’s hands begin glowing before a sudden flash; 2) motes of dust suddenly appear before all bursting into light; 3) a beam of light emerges from the mouth of the caster; 4) the world suddenly becomes bright as if lit from all directions but without a noticeable source.

Corruption: Roll 1d5 1-2) Minor corruption; 3) light begins emanating from the caster’s eyes at all time, illuminating what is 5’ in front of them; 4) any candle the caster touches automatically lights; 5) The caster becomes blinded in one eye.

Misfire: Roll 1d4 1) All lights sources in sight are snuffed out, mundane fires may be relit, magical light sources are rendered useless for 1d5 minutes; 2) the nearest creature blinded by injury is healed; 3) all light sources within 40’ start emitting light twice as far, and consume fuel twice as fast; 4) the spell’s casting is delayed, next time the caster casts a spell this spell is cast again with result of 12-13 aimed at the creature closest to the caster.

1 Lost, failure, and worse! Roll 1d6 modified by Luck: (0 or less) corruption + patron taint + misfire; (1-2) corruption; (3) patron taint (or corruption if no patron); (4+) misfire.

2-11 Lost. Failure

12-13 A dazzling display flashes in the face of a single target, disorienting them, dropping them to the bottom of initiative order and inflicting a -4 penalty on their next attack.

14-17 Light hits directly into the eyes of a foe, they drop to the bottom of initiative and suffer a -6 penalty to all rolls until the end of their next turn.

18-19 In a flash a single foe must make a Will save or be blinded for a turn. If a creature is blinded it suffers a -5 penalty to Reflex saves as it is disoriented, in addition to a -4 penalty to all other actions for a turn.

20-23 Light explodes all around the caster CL creatures closest to the source of light must make a Fort save or be blinded for a turn. If a creature is blinded it suffers a -5 penalty to Reflex saves as it is disoriented, in addition to a -4 penalty to all other actions for a turn.

24-27 The light is overwhelming, CL + 4 creatures closest to the source of the light must make a Fort save or be blinded for a turn. On a successful save the creatures are only blinded for CL minutes, and suffer a -7 to all rolls in their disorientation for a turn.

28-29 The light burns, CL + 5 creatures closest to the source of the light must make a fort save or be blinded for a day. While blinded the creatures suffer -10 to all checks for the remaining day.

30-31 A single and overwhelming light bursts forth, CL+ 6 creatures of the caster’s choosing must make a Fort save or go blind for a month, only going blind for a week on a successful save.

32+ A wall of blinding light 30’ wide manifests, anything on the business side of the wall that can see is blinded permanently, and passes out.

Warp

Level: 2 (elf only)

Range: Varies

Duration: Instantaneous

Casting time: 1 action

Save: Fort

General: The caster can teleport themselves to places they are familiar with on the same plane of existence. At higher levels the caster can teleport one additional creature and at greater and greater distances. Unwilling teleporters are afforded a Fort save to avoid being spatially displaced.

Manifestation: 1d3 1) The caster simply vanishes from where they are and appear at their desired location. 2) The caster melts into a shadow before their shadow rushes off at hyperlight speed to their desired location. 3) A light mist suddenly surrounds the caster and their desired location, they fade in and then back out of the mist.

Corruption: Roll 1d6) 1) Greater. 2) Major. 3) Minor. 4) The caster becomes slightly translucent, each time this result is rolled the caster becomes more and more translucent until the 6th time and they simply fade some existence. 5) The caster loses their sense of direction, any future attempts to cast this spell has a 25% chance to teleport to the wrong location. 6) The caster becomes spatially unstable, any critical hit scored against them causes them to teleport to a random spot within 60’ of their location, this can include into walls.

Misfire: Roll 1d4 1) A caster shaped chunk of ground or other such material appears above their head and begins falling towards them, DC 14 Ref save to avoid it landing on them. 2) The caster is teleported to a random location within a mile that they are not familiar with. 3) The caster’s memory of the location they wish to teleport to is wiped 4) The caster teleports themselves to where they stood, lying prone and suffering 1 damage from the trip.

1 Lost, failure, and worse! Roll 1d5 modified by Luck: (0 or less) corruption + patron taint + misfire; (1-2) corruption; (3) patron taint; (4+) misfire.

2-11 Lost. Failure.

12-13 Failure, but spell is not lost.

14-15 The caster warps to a place they can see within 60’.

16-19 The caster warps to a place they can see within 60’. If they wish they can trigger this teleportation up to 1 round after the spell was cast.

20-21 The caster can warp themselves and one creature they are touching up to to a place the caster knows within 100’. If they wish they can trigger this teleportation up to CL rounds after the spell was cast.

22-25 The caster can warp themselves and one creature they are touching to a place the caster knows within 140’. If they wish they can trigger this teleportation up CL minutes after the spell is cast.

26-29 The caster can warp themself, and/or a creature they are touching yo a place the caster knows within 140’. If they wish they can trigger this teleportation up to CL + 2 minutes after the spell is cast.

30-31 The caster can warp themself, and/or a creature they can see within 10’ to a place the caster knows within 160’. If they wish they can trigger this teleportation up to CL + 10 minutes after the spell is cast.

32-33 The caster can warp themself, and/or a creature within 20’ to a place the caster knows within 200’ of their current location. The caster can teleport the other creature into the ground or walls if they wish, displaying the matter 1 for 1 to where the creature once stood. If they wish they can trigger this teleportation up to CL turns after the spell was cast.

34+ The caster can warp themself, and/or a creature they can see to a place the caster knows within 400’ of their current location. The caster can teleport the other creature into the ground or walls if they wish, displaying the matter 1 for 1 to where the creature once stood. If they wish they can trigger this teleportation up to CL turns after the spell was cast.

In addition the caster may spellburn to keep themselves spatially fluid, 1 point per 3 turns of fluidity. While spatially fluid the caster may make a luck check to teleport directly behind the source of a would be successful attacker.

Water Walking

Level: 1 (cleric) 2 (wizard)

Range: 20’

Duration: 1 hour.

Casting time: 1 action

Save: Will

General: The caster is able to walk on the surface of water as if it was solid ground, at higher casting the spell is able to bring things from the depths to the surface with a great speed. Unwilling creatures can make a will save to avoid the effects of the spell.

Manifestation: Roll 1d3: (1) water freezes directly under the target and turns back to water as soon as they move away (2) the water underneath the target gently molds and wraps itself to support the creature (3) a faint light shimmers in a hard plane right above the water just where the target stands.

1-11 Failure.

12-13 The caster is able to walk on water at normal speed.

14-17 The caster is able to walk on water with a +5’ bonus to speed.

18-19 The caster and CL allies they touch are able to walk on water with a +5’ bonus to speed.

20-23 The caster and CL allies within range are able to walk on water with a +5’ bonus to speed.

24-27 The caster and CL creatures within range are able to walk on water with a +5’ bonus to speed. In addition any target under water begins rising towards the surface at a speed of 15’ per round.

28-29 The caster and CL+3 creatures within range are able to walk on water with a +5’ bonus to speed. In addition any target under water begins rising towards the surface at a speed of 15’ per round. While rising the targets are encased in a bubble of air preventing them from drowning.

30-31 The caster and CL+5 creatures within range are able to walk on water with a +10’ bonus to speed. In addition any target under water begins rising towards the surface at a speed of 30’ per round. While rising the targets are encased in a bubble of air preventing them from drowning, and are unaffected by decompression.

32+ The caster and CL+7 creatures within range are able to walk on water with a +10’ bonus to speed. In addition any target under water begins rising towards the surface at a speed of 100’ per round. While rising the targets are encased in a bubble of air preventing them from drowning, and are unaffected by decompression. In addition the cleric can raise up medium sized human constructions (eg longboats) to the surface.

Magic Items

Adamantine Cook Shield

+2 AC, -1 check penalty. D8 fumble.

The Adamantine Cook shield is incredibly good at distributing heat, any ray of fire (e.g. dragon's breath, scorching ray) has a 50% chance of leaving the wielder unharmed.

When used by a dwarf for shield bashing an Adamantine Cook Shield deals 1d4 damage, and mighty deeds to push people with a shield are twice as effective.

When used as a wok the shield imparts a +3 bonus to cooking skill checks

Living Staff

A magical staff imbued with life that connects all things. While in the possession of the staff a caster gains a 50% bonus rounded down to spellburn. For example if a caster burns 2 points of strength to cast a spell they gain a +3 Bonus. Additionally the staff has an internal Stamina score of 5, the caster can spellburn this Stamina on a 1 to 1 basis for bonus, the staff regains 1 Stamina per week without spellburn. A caster can utterly decimate the staff, turning it into dust in exchange for +25 to any single spell check.