red nails, and blue

An experiment for dungeon factions

Get a biggish dungeon map (more than a dozen rooms) like one of these and stuck it with features and treasure and traps and whatever. There are two groups fighting over it so they make up all the encounters. Mark an area on each sides with a faction's color and leave a decent sized buffer zone.

Each room/encounter check roll 2d8, preferably one red and one blue.

-If the room is within the higher die's territory, subtract the lower and take the result.

-If in the enemy's territory, take each result separately. The stronger result somehow infiltrated and has been found out by a “native” and now they are battling. If the intruder survives this becomes contested space.

-If in contested space, the stronger has just killed the weaker (if a tie they are both dying or it's just empty).

Example factions

SPIRAMANDER CULT

Extradimensional parasites burning in the lungs

1 - Singed Prophet. Anoints with oil while babbling. 2HD, casts Burning Hands

2 - Naked axolotl spiramander. Screams when wounded. 1HD, stats as dog, glowing gill fronds

3 - Hunchback in sodden robes. Larval spiramanders pop out of back to croak-cast Scorching Rays. 3HD

4 - 1d3 Facehuggers. Try to grapple, lay eggs if attached for three rounds. 1HD

5 - Wereshark fighter thrall, singed and glowing gills, scimitar. 2HD, AC plate

6 - 1d6 dwarves with tongues replaced by long larvae. Can whip out to grapple and burn. 2HD

7 - Emberhoof Ogre. Steps smolder, smoking meteoric club deals 2d8. 3HD

8 - Adult Salamandramorph. 4HD, AC chain, attacks x2, ignite on hit

ORDER OF WERESHARKS

Honor takes second place in the battle for surface flesh

1 - 1d3 human form knights in armor. 1HD, AC plate, attack with sickles

2 - Hybrid with tail (as club, sends flying on max damage), plate armor coming loose. 2HD, AC leather

3 - 1d4 sharkshead knights. Nonverbal, attack with longswords and hooks. 1HD, AC plate

4 - Hammerhead knight. Chains to grapple and drag. 2HD, AC chain

5 - Hybrid lancer. On bridled salamander larva, charge attacks double damage. AC chain

6 - 1d6 Dogfish halflings. High Dex, sneak attack as thieves. 2HD

7 - Great White Knight. Wields greataxe, covered in remoras that can be thrown as spears that cause bleed, 4HD, AC plate

8 - Mako priest. Rasping mace causes bleed on hit unless they save. AC leather, casts Blood in the Water - summons from this table, roll 1d6