How to Enter the Vault

[Drew]

THE VAULT
A GM-less Multiversal Dungeon, A place where worlds overlap, rules blur, and impossible heroes meet.

This dungeon is designed to be played without a GM.
The dungeon itself provides the rules, enemies, and outcomes.

---

PART I: THE UNIVERSAL CHARACTER CONVERSION

Bring any character from any tabletop RPG.
Do not change their story, personality, or equipment.
You are only translating how they function inside the Vault.

The Only Four Stats
All characters are expressed with four numbers:

BODY – Physical ability
Strength, agility, speed, toughness, reflexes, endurance

MIND – Thought and presence
Intelligence, perception, intuition, charisma, leadership, will

MAGIC – Reality-breaking power
Spells, psionics, divine power, mutations, cosmic abilities

TECH – Tool-based power
Weapons, armor, gadgets, cybernetics, vehicles, hacking

---

The Universal Scale (0–10)

Use this scale for all four stats:

0 – Nonexistent
2 – Ordinary human
3 – Trained professional
4 – Exceptional
5 – Superhuman
6 – Extreme
7 – Legendary
8 – Mythic
9 – Transcendent
10 – Absolute force

Most characters will have stats between 2 and 6. Zeros are allowed.

Examples:

• A medieval knight: BODY 4, MIND 3, MAGIC 0, TECH 1
• A wizard: BODY 2, MIND 4, MAGIC 6, TECH 0
• Iron Man: BODY 2, MIND 6, MAGIC 0, TECH 7
• A Call of Cthulhu professor: BODY 2, MIND 4, MAGIC 1, TECH 2

---

Health

Health = 5 + BODY + half of your highest among MIND, MAGIC, and TECH (round down)

When Health reaches 0, you disappear from the Vault and come strolling into the Loom again.

---

Attacking

1. Choose which stat applies (BODY, MIND, MAGIC, or TECH)
2. Roll 2d6 + that stat

6 or less – Miss
7–9 – Glancing hit (-1 damage)
10–12 – Solid hit
13+ – Devastating hit (+1 damage)

---

Damage

Base Damage = the stat used to attack

---

Items

There is no money.
All items are single-use or key items.

When an item says “single-use,” destroy it after use.

[Drew]

PART II: HOW TO PLAY WITHOUT A GM

1. Read each room aloud when you enter it.
2. Follow the instructions exactly.
3. If an outcome is unclear, choose the option that is worse but more interesting.
4. Once a room is cleared, it doesn't reset. When the dungeon is cleared, all rooms reset.

---

PART III: THE DUNGEON MAP

[Drew]

PART IV: ROOM-BY-ROOM KEY

---

ROOM 1 — ECHO CELL

The room is perfectly bare stone. When the last person enters, the door they came in through disappears and the other door audibly seals itself shut. Then the room begins to listen. Every breath, footstep, whispered word, and heartbeat is reflected back a fraction of a second later—then again, slightly louder. The echoes stack, overlap, and resonate through bone and thought.

One at a time, characters may attempt BODY, MIND, MAGIC, or TECH.

If the roll is 10+ — the door opens cleanly. The acting character finds the right response instinctively. They still their breathing, they speak at exactly the wrong frequency, they focus their thoughts and ignore the auditory feedback, etc. The room's echoes collapse inward and fade and the door opens silently. No harm is done.

If the roll is 7–9 — everyone in the group loses 1 Health each. The character succeeds, but not quickly enough. The echoes build to a painful resonance that vibrates through the chamber. Teeth ache. Vision blurs. Muscles tense involuntarily. Everyone feels the sound inside their skull, not their ears. The door opens abruptly as the resonance peaks, cutting the feedback loop—but the damage is already done. The sound pressure affects everyone equally. This is shared strain, not targeted harm.

If the roll is 6 or less — the acting player loses 2 Health. The acting character reacts incorrectly. They shout. They strike the door. They overthink. They panic. The room resonates in sympathy—not with sound, but with intent. The echoes collapse inward, focusing on the acting character alone. For a brief moment, it feels like their own voice is being forced back through their body in reverse. Blood trickles from the nose or ears. The world narrows to vibration and pressure. Balance is lost. Then the door opens violently, dumping the character forward. The room punishes the source of the dissonance. The others feel it—but the acting character becomes the echo.

On future visits to this room:
ENCOUNTER: GUARDIAN THING

Every time Room 1 is revisited after the first visit, the room is occupied by a single Guardian Thing (two if there are 4+ players).

• Health: 6
• Attack Stat: BODY 4

The Guardian Thing could be a stone golem from Dungeons & Dragons, a T-800 from Terminator, or Pyramid Head from Silent Hill. It could just as easily be a servitor from Warhammer, a Tyrant from Resident Evil, a Black Knight from Dark Souls, a Lovecraftian shoggoth, or a living suit of medieval armor. As long as it blocks the room and attacks physically, it's a valid Guardian Thing.

REWARD: Fracture Token (single-use) - a thin, circular wafer that, when broken in half, can turn a miss into a glancing hit.

[Drew]

ROOM 2 — PRESSURE ARCHIVE

A long, low chamber of fitted stone blocks. The walls are lined with shallow shelves, all empty, as if something once rested here but was removed in haste. The floor is not broken... but it is wrong. Each stone tile floats a finger's breadth above the layer beneath it, held in place by invisible force. When weight is applied, tiles sink, tilt, or drift sideways with a slow, grinding resistance, like pressing down on something that does not want to move. This room was designed to store weight, not people.

Before leaving the room, one player must take the lead and choose one approach:
BODY — careful balance, slow testing of weight
MIND — identifying repeating load patterns
TECH — reinforcing or locking tiles in place
MAGIC — stabilizing the forces holding the floor aloft
That player makes the roll.

10+ — Clean Passage - The lead player finds the correct method. The floor settles just enough to allow safe passage. No harm is done.
7–9 — Controlled Failure - The floor shifts unpredictably, but the group reacts in time. The floor slightly destabilizes Tiles slam down onto ankles and shins. The lead player takes 1 damage.
6 or less — Load Collapse - The chosen method fails badly. Several tiles drop at once. The floor violently destabilizes. Sudden drops wrench joints and muscles. The force reverberates upward through the body. The lead player takes 2 damage.

On future visits to this room:
ENCOUNTER: ARCHIVE SENTINEL

Every time Room 2 is revisited after the first visit, the room is occupied by a single Archive Sentinel (two if there are 4+ players).

• Health: 6
• Attack Stat: BODY 4

The Archive Sentinel could be a Stone Talus from Zelda: BotW, ED-209 from Robocop, the alien thing from The Thing, or Ellen Ripley from Aliens in her power loader suit. Players are encouraged to reskin freely.

REWARD: Load Stabilizer (single-use) - a computer chip that, when swallowed, will negate the next instance of trap, hazard, or environmental damage.

[Drew]

ROOM 3 — UPPER JUNCTION

This chamber has two exits - one to the east and one to the south. The stone floor here is scarred and uneven, gouged by repeated impacts, drag marks, and hurried turns. The damage isn't random. Whatever passes through this room changes direction violently. The air feels unsettled, as if momentum itself hasn't decided which way to go.

Before leaving the room, one player must take the lead and choose how the group navigates the unstable flow of force that converges here. Choose one approach and roll:

• BODY — bracing against sudden directional shifts and shockwaves
• MIND — predicting the pattern of force and timing movement precisely
• TECH — anchoring the group with clamps, lines, or stabilizers
• MAGIC — dampening or redirecting the conflicting energies

10+ — Clean Navigation - The group moves through the junction as the forces briefly cancel out. No harm is done.
7–9 — Partial Control - The forces surge unpredictably but are mostly contained. The acting player takes 1 damage.
6 or less — Momentum Shear - The junction releases its stored force all at once. The acting player takes 2 damage.

REVISIT ENCOUNTER — JUNCTION ENFORCER

Every time the party re-enters Room 3 after the first visit, the junction no longer tolerates hesitation. The forces here have condensed into a physical form whose only purpose is to keep traffic moving.

Spawn 1 Junction Enforcer (2 if the party has 4 or more players.)

• Health: 6
• Attack Stat: BODY 4

This could be a bull, Mr. X from Resident Evil 2, or Juggernaut. Reskin freely. A living battering ram, a security mech designed to clear intersections, a spectral executioner that hurls bodies aside, a gravity-distorted humanoid that hits like a truck. If it hits hard and keeps moving, it fits.

REWARD: Vector Lock (single use) - Activate immediately after a roll. Add 2 to the roll result.

[Drew]

ROOM 4 — JAW CORRIDOR

This corridor is long and narrow, with stone walls set unnervingly close together. The masonry here is different. Each block slightly curved, slightly offset, like overlapping teeth. As you step forward, the walls inhale. Stone segments slide inward, pause, then snap back with tremendous force. The motion repeats in uneven rhythms, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, as if the corridor itself is testing timing and hesitation.

OBSTACLE: OSCILLATING STONE JAWS

To pass through the corridor, each player must face the jaws. Each player chooses one approach and rolls individually:

• BODY — precise movement, strength, and timing
• TECH — jamming, bracing, or disrupting the mechanisms

No other approaches work here. The corridor only respects **motion or interference**.

RESOLUTION (PER PLAYER)

• 10+ — Clean Passage. You move through the corridor without incident. The stone snaps inches from your body, but never touches.
• 7–9 — Clipped. You mistime a step or your interference slips. You take 1 damage.
• 6 or less — Crushed. The jaws close fully around you for a split second before releasing. You take 2 damage.

REVISIT ENCOUNTER — CORRIDOR MAULER

Every time the party re-enters Room 4 after the first visit, Spawn 1 Corridor Mauler (2 if the party has 4 or more players.)

• Health: 6
• Attack Stat: BODY 4

Choose one interpretation, or invent your own. The stats never change. A rancor, from Star Wars. A licker from Resident Evil. The Mountain from Game of Thrones. If it kills by pressure and proximity, it fits.

REWARD - Jaw-Wedge (single-use): Activate immediately after you hit an enemy. That hit is treated as a solid hit, regardless of the roll result. After use, the wedge shatters under strain.