Monsters and Mantids - Player's Handbook

Welcome to Monsters and Mantids!

Monsters and Mantids is based on a dwarven game with similar themes. However, we have drastically simplified the rules to make the game more approachable. If the game still seems intimidating, you are in error: the game is NOT intimidating. You will understand this after playing a few rounds. Like all good casino games, you can learn it just by playing! We have organized the rules so that the most important information comes first. You can stop reading whenever you are ready to begin gambling!

Understanding Dice Notation

Monsters and Mantids uses a large number of six-sided dice. They are referred to in a shorthand form by the letter "D", which stands for "dice". For instance, if you eat a corpse after a battle, the game might say that you will recover 5D health. This means that five dice will be rolled, and you will recover the sum total of the amount shown. Often there is also a fixed amount added to the dice rolls. For example, some abilities deal 2D+3 damage. This means that two dice will be rolled, and the total damage is the amount shown on those dice plus 3. The amount can also be negative, such as 2D-3. This works the same way: you would roll two dice, then subtract 3 from the total. (Dice totals can never be negative, however, so if the number would go below 0, it becomes 0 instead.)

How The Game Works

You take on the role of a heroic mantis. You will fight enemies, encounter strange beings, avoid traps, and hopefully escape with a mighty pile of treasure! Your mantis is trained in three randomly-chosen combat abilities. During combat, you pick which of these three abilities to use. The enemy will also attack you at the same time. Your attack and the enemy's attack happen simultaneously. This means that even if you kill the enemy, their attack still hurts you, and you may both kill each other! (Certain combat abilities change this rule.) After each successful battle you can choose to delve deeper or to retreat and "cash out". If you choose not to retreat, you can instead meditate to improve one of your combat abilities, or rest and eat the corpse of your fallen enemy to regain your health. (When you reach level 3 you will have additional meditation options available.) If you choose to "cash out", the game ends and you receive Councils equal to the amount of gold your mantis character accumulated. You will also receive one Red Wing Token for each cultural artifact you found. (More about culture items later.) If your mantis hero dies (either in battle or due to an unfortunate random encounter), the game ends and you receive nothing. So knowing when to cash out is a crucial skill in Monsters and Mantids -- a skill that will take practice to master! But even if your mantis dies, your score is still eligible for the leaderboards, so you you can still earn bragging rights. Monsters and Mantids games typically only last a minute or two. Many mantis heroes will perish, but there are always more! Do not mourn them. Avenge them instead!

Loot: Culture, Hats, and More

When you defeat an enemy or survive an encounter you may receive special items. These includes gold, cultural artifacts, consumable items such as potions and bombs, and hats. Gold has no in-game effect, except that you can sometimes purchase items with it from creatures you meet. When you cash out and end the game, you receive Councils equal to the gold you have. Hats are equipment that provide special benefits. You begin play with a Basic Hat that has no special effect. Whenever you find a new hat you will be asked whether you want to keep your old hat or wear the new one. You can only keep one hat at a time. There are many kinds of hats, each with different game effects. You can also find cultural artifacts. These include jewelry, trinkets, rugs, furniture, and anything else that has cultural value. Individual cultural artifacts are unimportant, but when you accumulate multiple artifacts, there are several benefits: - When you cash out, you receive 1 Red Wing Token for each cultural artifact your mantis had
- When you cash out, there is a chance you will activate a Table Buff (see below). The chance is 5% multiplied by the number of cultural artifacts your mantis had
- When your mantis makes Diplomacy checks (see below), you receive a +1 diplomacy bonus for every cultural artifact your mantis has You can also find consumable items such as healing potions. You use these during combat. (They will be listed as additional options alongside your three combat abilities.)

Diplomacy Checks

When you encounter strange creatures, you may need to trick them, calm them, or otherwise manipulate them emotionally. This is done with a "Diplomacy Check". Three dice are rolled, and if the total is over a certain number, something good happens. If the number is too low, something bad happens. If the number is 6+ higher than the target number, this is called a "critical success" and something extra-good happens. If two or more of the dice roll a 1, however, something terrible happens: a "critical failure". Critical Failures happen whenever two 1s are shown, regardless of the total of the dice. For every cultural artifact you've found, +1 is added to the dice total. There are also hats, buffs, and other strange effects that can improve your Diplomacy Checks. But remember that no matter how big of a bonus you have, it's always possible to roll two 1s and get a Critical Failure. Diplomacy always comes with risk! Sometimes the right decision is to not engage at all.

Saving Throws

When you run into traps, tricks, or treachery, you may need to make a Saving Throw. This works exactly the same as a Diplomacy Check, except that you do not get a bonus for having cultural artifacts. There are hats, buffs, and weird events that can permanently improve your Saving Throw rolls. But just as with Diplomacy Checks, rolling two 1s on the dice means a Critical Failure, which is often fatal.

Perks

When you reach level 2, 3, and 5, your character can pick a Perk from a random list. Perks are unique bonuses and abilities. The Perks you can choose are randomly-selected from among all Perks your character is eligible for. Many Perks require a previous Perk. For instance, the "Robust and Lucky" perk will only show up if you already chose the "Lucky" perk earlier. Some perks also require you to have a certain amount of Max Health, a certain combat ability, etc. Note that all Perks completely stack together. So if you choose the "Lucky" Perk, which grants +1 to all Saving Throws, and later choose the "Robust and Lucky" perk, which grants +1 to Saving Throws and Diplomacy Checks", the two perks combine to grant +2 to Saving Throws and +1 to Diplomacy Checks.

Table Buffs

If you have any cultural artifacts when you cash out and end the game, there's a chance you will activate a Table Buff. There's a 5% chance for each cultural item you have. (e.g. cashing out with 3 cultural artifacts would give you a 15% chance for a Table Buff.) Table Buffs are special bonuses that are given to every player who starts a game at that casino table. There are many different Table Buffs, such as Lucky Looter (which causes you to find 25% more gold on corpses) or Stylish Adventurer (which causes you to start with a Stylish Hat). Table Buffs last for an hour once activated. It's possible you'll randomly re-activate a Table Buff that's already active -- if that happens, its duration is reset to an hour. Everyone that starts a new game at the table during the next hour will receive all active Table Buffs. Due to space limitations, only ten players can fit around a table. Keep your place at the table by continuing to play! If you leave the table, another player may take your spot.