Detention Deep
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About Detention Deep
Detention Deep is a first-person dungeon crawler in the style of the old grid-based classics. Four students of Quillmoor Academy are cleaning the cellar in detention when the floor gives way. They land in the Pit, a glowing cavern far below the school, and have to climb four floors back up together.
The party moves one square at a time and turns in steps of ninety degrees. The view is drawn from pieces for every lane and distance, with torchlight, glowing moss and magical darkness that swallows everything without a Light spell.
Each student has a school of magic and a role. Finn throws fire, Mira slows and freezes monsters, June heals and protects the party, and Oskar brings light and lightning. Every student also has a free wand bolt with a short cooldown. Spells cost mana, which comes back slowly, and much faster on the rune circles hidden in the caves.
Combat is real time with d20 rules. Every spell attack rolls a d20 plus the caster's bonus against the monster's armour class: a natural 20 doubles the damage dice, a natural 1 fizzles. Monsters roll against the armour class of the student in the row they attack, so the formation matters. Nobody gets hurt for real: students at zero hit points faint, and monsters burst into smoke.
Scrolls found on the way write new spells into the party's spell book for good, twenty spells in all. 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, and Reveal opens hollow walls.
The way up leads through four floors, each with its own walls and monsters: the Pit, the Old Dungeons, the Forbidden Archive and the Old Undercroft. Levers open doors and portcullises, pressure plates hold a gate up while something heavy stands on them, some levers sit behind bars where only the Pull spell reaches them, and chests are not always chests.
On the last floor waits Magister Vane, a teacher expelled long ago for reading the forbidden books. Every 15 seconds he turns to another element, and the school of magic that beats it hurts him double. He gathers blasts down his line that the party has to step out of, and he calls the library's monsters to help.
The story is told by the four students themselves: an illustrated opening in the cellar, a talk on every new floor, short remarks while you explore, and an ending in the great hall.
The score is counted in house points: monsters defeated, scrolls learned, secret rooms found, a floor bonus with extra points for every second under par, a big bonus for defeating Vane and more for every student still standing at the end.
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.
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 armour class, the spell hits. A natural 20 is a critical hit that doubles the damage dice, and a natural 1 fizzles. Freeze and Vine Snare let the monster roll to resist instead.
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 students have fainted, the run ends.
How do I learn new spells?
Walk over a scroll. The spell is written into its student's chapter of the spell book for good and goes into a free prepared slot. Open the book with B to change which three spells each student has ready.
How are house points counted?
Defeated monsters give their experience points, each scroll learned gives 200, each secret room 300, and clearing a floor gives 1000 plus 5 for every second under the floor's par time. Defeating Magister Vane adds 5000, plus 500 for every student still standing.
Is there a boss in Detention Deep?
Yes. Magister Vane waits on the fourth floor, the Old Undercroft. He changes element every 15 seconds, and the school of magic that beats his current element does double damage, so keep switching casters. Defeating him wins the run and plays the ending.
