1.

0: What is Skeleton Cavern:​ It is an ultra simple roleplaying game that 

Armor  Items 
can be played solo or with a traditional GM if you so wish.  
  Shield  +3H  1g  (2) Bread Crust  1D3 H  1g 
2.0: What You Need:​ ​2 six-sided dice, graph paper, note paper/character 
sheet, a pencil w/eraser, this chapbook.  Magic Cap  +3W  1g  (3) Ale  1D3 W  1g 
  Cloak  +6H  2g  (4) Potion  1D6 H  2g 
3.0: Rolling:​ During play, you always roll 1D6, trying to score equal to 
or lower than your stat score. If you are proficient, roll 2 dice and take  Chainmail  +6W  2g  (5) Holy Water  1D6 W  2g 
the better result of the 2. 1 always succeeds. 6 always fails. (NOTE: When 
you see 1D3 it means you roll a die and half the result rounding up.)   Blessed Armor  +6HW  3g  (6) Miracle  FULL HW  6g 
   
4.0: Characters:​ ​To create a character, do the following:  5.0: Generating Rooms:​ ​Begin by choosing a random square on the graph 
1. STATS:​ You have 4 statistics. ​ST​rength, ​DE​xterity, ​WI​ts,  paper and generating the first room. To generate a room, roll the D6. The 
CH​arisma. You have 7 points to assign between them as you see fit.  number rolled in the number of squares in the room. These can be drawn 
No stat can have a score lower than 1 or higher than 4.  in any way, shape, or form so long as they are orthogonally connected. 
2. CLASS:​ Choose a class. There are 4 to choose from. Each one will  Next, roll 1D3 (1D6 divided by 2 rounded up). This is the number of doors 
make you proficient in one area. ​Fighter:​ Proficient in ST  in the room. Draw small rectangles to represent the doors along any 
Ranger:​ Proficient in DE ​Wizard:​ Proficient in WI ​Bard:  single square’s edge to designate an exit.  
Proficient in CH   
3. RACE​: Choose a race. Race grants you a +1 bonus to one stat.  6.0: Room Type:​ ​Each newly generated room has a type. Roll 1D6 to 
Human:​ +1 ST ​Halfling:​ +1 DE ​Dwarf:​ +1 WI ​Elf: ​+1 CH  determine the type. Note this in the room with a letter. 
4. HEALTH​: Your health is your ST+DE+20 (+10 for a challenge).  ● (1) Dirt​: (D) This room has a dirt floor.  
5. WILL​: Your will is your WI+CH+20 (+10 for a challenge).  ● (2) Muddy:​ (M) This room is muddy. +1 DE rolls.  
  ● (3) Watery:​ (W) This room has water in it. +1 St rolls 
5.0 Weapons:​ Roll 2D6 to determine your gold. You may buy equipment now.  ● (4) Stone:​ (S) This room has a stone floor.  
Weapons have a damage rating and a cost in gold (g).   ● (5) Crypt:​ (C) This room is a crypt. +1 to WI rolls. 
  ● (6) Altar:​ (A) This room has an altar. +1 to CH rolls. 
 
Melee Weapons  Ranged Weapons 
7.0: Doorways:​ Next, you will choose one door to move through into the 
Dagger  1  1g  Throwing Star  1  2g  next room. Roll 1D6 to determine the door type. After moving, generate 
the new room. 
Short Sword  1D3  2g  Rock Sling  1D3  3g  ● (5-6) Unlocked​: Move through freely. 
● (4) Stuck​: Must make a ST check to get through. Lose 1 WILL to 
Hand Axe  1D3+1  3g  Shortbow  1D3+1  5g 
reroll and try again. 
Great Sword  1D6  4g  Longbow  1D6  6g  ● (3) Locked​: Must make a WI check to get through. Lose 1 WILL to 
reroll and try again. 
Great Axe  1D6+1  5g  Crossbow  1D6+1  7g  ● (​1-2) Trapped​: Must make a WI check to disarm and move. If you 
  fail, take 1D3 damage but still move through. 
6.0: Armor and Items:​ ​Armor grants the wearer a boost to their health,   
will, or both. Other items such and food and potions can be used to  8.0 Monsters:​ ​After Entering any room. Roll to generate the monsters in 
restore lost health and will.  the room. Roll once for the monster type and a second time for the number 
of that monster. Each monster has a Max number of that type that can 
appear in a room, a Health Damage, a Will Damage, and a Life Force. 
 
  Monster Type  Max  H DMG  W DMG  LF 

1  Putrid Rat  6  1  1  1 

2  Winged Rat  6  1  1D3  2 

3  Floating Skull  5  1D3  1D3+1  5 

4  Skeleton Archer  4  1D3+1  1D3+1  7 

5  Skeleton Warrior  3  1D6  1D6  10 

6  Necromancer*  1  1D6+1  1D6+1  20 

 
9.0: Fighting: ​To fight the monsters in your room, follow these steps in 
order: 
1. Bravery:​ Make a CH check. If you pass, gain 1 Will. If you fail, you 
lose Will according to the monster’s W DMG. If your Will is ever 0, 
all rolls take a +1 modifier. (A roll of 1 STILL always succeeds) 
2. Ranged Attack:​ IF the room is 4 squares or larger you may make a 
ranged attack. Roll a DE check. If you succeed, apply weapon 
damage to the monster’s LF.  
3. Melee Attack:​ You MUST now make a melee attack using a ST check. 
If you succeed, apply the weapon’s damage to the monster’s LF. If 
you fail, roll the monster’s H DMG and apply it to your health. 
4. Repeat:​ Repeat this process until either you die or you’ve killed 
all the monsters in the room. Run away with a successful CH roll. 
 
10.0: Treasure:​ Roll 1D6. If you get 1 through 5 you earn that much gold. 
If you roll a six, roll on the Items chart on the previous page. If you 
roll a 1 on the items chart you find nothing. 
 
11.0: The Boss: ​The Necromancer is the boss of the dungeon and will not 
appear until you’ve encountered all the other monsters at least once. 
Additionally, he will only appear in a Crypt or Altar Room. If you roll 
him when he can’t appear, reroll. Once he is defeated, the game ends.  
 
11.0: Leveling Up:​ In between games you may spend 100 gold to add +1 to 
one stat. No stat can be higher than 5. You may also buy new equipment. 
You may only have 1 melee and 1 ranged weapon at a time.  
 
 CHAPBOOK ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS 
 
1. Print off the first two pages back to back. 
2. Fold the pages in half to form a chapbook folio so that the cover 
art is on the front of the chapbook and the monster chart is on 
the back.  
3. Print the third page separately. 
4. Cut off these assembly instructions (and the Note on Gameplay) 
and discard them leaving you with just the character sheet. 
5. Alternatively, keep this section as an “extra” page and put it in 
the middle of the Chapbook.  
6. OR forgo printing the third page and use your own note paper or 
note card as the character sheet. 
 
A NOTE ON GAMEPLAY and CLARIFICATIONS 
 
● Natural rolls of 1 ALWAYS succeed, despite die modifiers from 
room types or loss of Will (as indicated in Bravery). 
● Play the game multiple times to level up your character and make 
them stronger. 
● Use the character in this Micro Chapbook RPG in other Micro 
Chapbooks for mixed up gameplay. 
● Interchange weapons, monsters, rooms, etc. with other Micro 
Chapbook RPGs for more options and variety.  
● The game may be played as a “traditional” RPG with one person 
acting as a GM. 
● The GM can choose to prebuild the cave beforehand, choosing what 
is in each room, the layout, the doors, the traps, where the 
Necromancer is hiding, and more.  
● The GM can add in treasure chests with set gold or items inside.  
● The GM may choose to run the game in a more “roleplay” style with 
added story elements, non-player characters, quest goals, etc. 
● In this way, the GM can use WI for all reading, writing, and 
intelligence based rolls. The GM may also use CH for all social 
based rolls with NPCs, enemies, and more.  
● Try playing the game on a traditional grid based game mat with 
miniatures. 
● Each miniature can move 1 square at a time orthogonally as part 
of the melee attack phase.  
● Ranged attacks may be made at a distance. Melee attacks may be 
made while adjacent.  
● Come up with your own house rules!