1.

0: What is Castle of the Dead:​ ​It is an ultra simple roleplaying game 

Armor  Items 
that 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:  7.0: 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.  8.0: 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) Stone​: (S) This room has a stone floor. No effect. 
5. WILL​: Your will is your WI+CH+20 (+10 for a challenge).  ● (2) Morgue:​ (M) This room is piled with corpses. +1 ST rolls.  
  ● (3) Bones:​ (B) This room is filled with bones. +1 CH rolls 
5.0 Weapons:​ ​Roll 2D6 to determine your gold. You may buy equipment now.  ● (4) Graveyard:​ (G) This courtyard has open graves. +1 DE rolls. 
Weapons have a damage rating and a cost in gold (g).   ● (5) Torture Tower:​ (T) This room has torture devices. Make a WI 
  check or get stuck inside one and take 1D3 damage. 
● (6) Crypt:​ (N) This room seems to be a burial room. +1 to WI rolls. 
Melee Weapons  Ranged Weapons 
 
Spike Gauntlets  1D3  2g  Blow Gun  1  2g  9.0: Doorways:​ Next, you will choose one door to move through into the 
next room. Roll 1D6 to determine the door type. After moving, generate 
Hammer  1D3+1  3g  Rock Sling  1D3  3g  the new room. 
● (5-6) Unlocked​: Move through freely. 
Long Sword  1D3+2  4g  Hand Cannon  1D3+2  6g 
● (4) Stuck​: Must make a ST check to get through. Lose 1 WILL to 
Warhammer  1D6  4g  Black Powder Pistol  1D6+1  7g  reroll and try again. 
● (3) Locked​: Must make a WI check to get through. Lose 1 WILL to 
Bastard Sword  1D6+1  5g  Black Powder Rifle  1D6+2  8g  reroll and try again. 
  ● (​1-2) Trapped​: Must make a WI check to disarm and move. If you 
6.0: Armor and Items: ​Armor grants the wearer a boost to their health,  fail, take 1D3 damage but still move through. 
will, or both. Other items such and food and potions can be used to   
restore lost health and will.  10.0 Monsters:​ ​After Entering any room. Roll to generate the monsters in 
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  Zombie Cat  6  1  1D3  2 

2  Rotted Corpse  6  1D3  1D3  2 

3  Shambling Dead  5  1D3+1  1  3 

4  Zombie Dog  5  1D6  1D3  5 

5  Frenzied Zombie  4  1D6+1  1D6  7 

6  Zombie Lord*  1  1D6+2  1D6+1  15 

 
11.0: 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. 
 
12.0: 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. 
 
13.0: The Boss: ​The Zombie Lord 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 Torture Tower or Crypt. If you 
roll him when he can’t appear, reroll. Once he is defeated, the game ends.  
 
14.0: 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 
character sheet is on the front of the chapbook and the monster 
chart is on the back.  
 
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 Boss 
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!