Detention Deep is a free first-person dungeon crawler about four students trying to get back to Quillmoor Academy. Move the party one square at a time through four floors, prepare spells, and fight monsters that act in real time. It has keyboard and touch controls.
Key Takeaways
- Detention Deep is a grid-based dungeon crawler: the party moves one square at a time and turns in ninety-degree steps, while monsters act in real time.
- Four students, four schools of magic: Finn throws fire, Mira slows and freezes, June heals and protects, Oskar brings light and lightning.
- Every spell attack rolls a d20: a natural 20 doubles the damage dice, a natural 1 fizzles.
- Twenty spells are found as scrolls, and many passages only open to the right one: fire for webs, Light for magical darkness, Ice Bridge for flooded squares.
- The climb ends with Magister Vane, an expelled teacher who changes element every 15 seconds.
A dungeon crawler that starts in detention
Cleaning the school cellar is the punishment. Falling through its floor is not. Finn, Mira, June and Oskar land in the Pit, a glowing cavern far below Quillmoor Academy, and the only way home is up: four floors, each darker and stranger than the last.
The story follows Finn, Mira, June, and Oskar through an illustrated opening, conversations on each floor, and comments during exploration. Students who reach zero hit points faint; rune circles can bring them back into the party.
Four students, four schools of magic
Every student has a role, three prepared spells and a free wand bolt with a short cooldown:
- Finn throws fire. Fire burns monsters and the webs that block some corridors.
- Mira slows and freezes monsters, buying the party time.
- June heals and protects. Her Mend spell heals whoever is hurt the most.
- Oskar brings light and lightning. Without his Light, magical darkness swallows everything.
Spells cost mana, which comes back slowly on its own and much faster on the rune circles hidden in the caves. Rune circles also wake students who have fainted. Wand bolts are free, so the fastest way to deal damage is often just to press Space and fire every ready wand at once.
d20 combat in real time
Combat in Detention Deep runs in real time, but it uses tabletop rules. Every spell attack rolls a d20 plus the caster's bonus against the monster's armor class, and the roll is shown on screen. A natural 20 is a critical hit that doubles the damage dice. A natural 1 fizzles.
Monsters roll too, against the armor class of the student in the row they attack. The two students at the front take the hits from monsters ahead, while monsters from the side or behind hit whoever they reach. So formation matters: tap two portraits to swap places and move a tired student to the back.
Twenty spells and puzzles that need them
Scrolls found on the way write new spells into the party's spell book for good, twenty spells in all. Open the book to see every chapter and choose which three spells each student keeps ready.
Many passages only open to the right spell:
- Webs need fire.
- Magical darkness needs Light.
- Flooded squares need Ice Bridge.
- Pits need Overgrowth.
- Rubble needs Fireball.
- Hollow walls open to Reveal.
Levers open doors and portcullises. Pressure plates keep a gate raised while something heavy stands on them, and the Pull spell reaches levers behind bars.
Listen to the students when you face an obstacle: their comments can point to the spell you need. Be careful around chests, too; some conceal a threat.
Four floors and Magister Vane
The way up leads through the Pit, the Old Dungeons, the Forbidden Archive and the Old Undercroft, each with its own walls and monsters. On the last floor waits Magister Vane, a teacher expelled long ago for reading the forbidden books.
Vane changes the demands of the fight. Every 15 seconds he turns to another element, and the school of magic that beats it hurts him double, so you keep switching casters. He gathers blasts down his line that the party has to step out of, or freeze him before they land, and he calls the library's monsters to help.
How to play Detention Deep
- W/S or Up/Down step forward and back, A/D or Left/Right turn, Q/E step sideways.
- Space fires every ready wand.
- 1 to 4 pick a student, then Z, X, C cast their three prepared spells.
- B opens the spell book, F drinks a potion, P pauses, M toggles sound.
- Walk into a lever to pull it.
On a phone, use the movement pad and tap the wand and spell buttons on each student's panel.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of game is Detention Deep?
A first-person dungeon crawler on a grid. The party moves square by square and turns in ninety-degree steps, as in the classic crawlers, while monsters act in real time.
Is Detention Deep free to play?
Yes. Detention Deep is free in your browser with no download. An account adds the leaderboard and achievements.
How do the d20 rolls work?
An attack rolls a d20 and adds the student's spell bonus. If the total reaches the monster's armor class, the spell hits. A natural 20 doubles the damage dice and a natural 1 fizzles.
What happens when a student runs out of hit points?
The student faints and can't act. Standing on a rune circle wakes them up after a few seconds. When all four have fainted, the run ends.
How is the score counted?
In house points: monsters defeated, scrolls learned, secret rooms found, a bonus for each floor with extra points for every second under par, a big bonus for defeating Magister Vane and more for every student still standing.
Find your way back to class
Start Detention Deep, learn each student's spells, and guide the party past Magister Vane to reach the school. For another dungeon game, try the free movement and combat of Dungeon Cast or the text-character world of Glyph Depths.