Member House Rules

[thedag]

whitecloud I have made those deals with people without using the tokens. I once did it to win the game. That is I deliberately avoided calling in the favour untill I was on level 9 and then the person had to help me in combat! Everyone who has made that deal since has always been very clear that they will honour the deal as long as it is not for the winning level!

[psyborg98]

I've have one that I've been working on. It seems like a cool idea, but I haven't been able to play test it yet.

Deathclock:
Requires a 20 sided die which will represent the clock, at the start of the game set the clock to the target winning level (10 or 20). Every round, before the starting player's next turn the clock counts down by 1.

While the clock is ticking:
Any monsters that are discarded without being killed or without doing Bad Stuff to a player are instead discarded to a separate clock discard pile.

Players may add one monster per turn to the clock pile as long as the monster's level is more than twice the player's level.

Players may discard 3 cards to wind the clock up or down. They announce which direction they want to wind it and roll a d6, adding or subtracting half the dice roll, rounded up.

When the clock runs out:
Turn the clock discard pile over and shuffle it.

Before kicking down a door a player rolls to run away, if they fail they draw from the clock pile rather than the door pile.

If a player faces a monster with a level less than half of theirs another monster from the clock pile is wandered in automatically.

Other players may play a wandering monster or similar ability to add a monster from the top of the clock pile rather than from their hand.

When the clock pile is empty the clock is reset.


In theory this should make for a much more interesting, or at least more dangerous end game, giving the level 15+ monsters that come up against level 2 Munchkins a second chance to cause some damage. It also lowers the odds of someone winning by killing a potted plant. If anyone gets a chance to try it out, let me know how it goes.

[Mister Ed]

So, anybody that has played Munchkin Apocalypse, do you think the Seals mechanic could be used in either a single-player or cooperative variant ruleset to provide a "you lose" point for the player(s) to go up against? Or do the ways that Seals are opened and closed not lend themselves to that sort of possibility?

[darthjpp]

Have anyone any thougths about an extra epic Munchkin game?
That is, continue to play to a higher level than 20(22 with "Mine goes to 11") or, for that matter, to just play until the cards run out?

Even a Monster with a combat strenght of 20 will be easaly slain by a Munchkin with lots of levels and bonuses.

[Enzzo]

Originally Posted by darthjpp

Even a Monster with a combat strenght of 20 will be easaly slain by a Munchkin with lots of levels and bonuses.

Therein lies the problem. When you get to be so powerful that the other players have to sacrifice everything to stop you, it stops being as much fun. But maybe I'm wrong. Try a few games where you play to level 30 and let us know how it works out :)

[Bampop]

Originally Posted by Enzzo

Therein lies the problem. When you get to be so powerful that the other players have to sacrifice everything to stop you, it stops being as much fun. But maybe I'm wrong. Try a few games where you play to level 30 and let us know how it works out :)

This is where incorporating another house rule that pops up in this thread a lot comes in handy. Try rolling a d12 or d20 and adding that to the monster side. We do that in our home epic games. I haven't tried an epic game out in the public world yet.

[Enzzo]

My wife and I have been playing a fun 2-player variant wherein each player controls 2 characters :)

• Player A controls characters 1 & 3.
• Player B controls characters 2 & 4.
• Characters take their turns in order: 1, 2, 3, 4.
• You win when you get both your characters to level 10. You can only reach level 10 by killing a monster, regardless if it's your first or second character to reach level 10. Your characters can help each other reach level 10.
• Your first character to reach level 10 becomes Epic, and gains abilities as per the Epic rules. This character also kicks down 2 doors per the Epic rules. Once a character reaches level 10, they can achieve levels 11-18 normally; 19 & 20 can only be reached by monster kills (however, level 20 won't win the game for you).
• Rather than each character having their own separate hand of cards, you combine them for a total hand limit of 10 (11 if one is a dwarf; 12 if both are dwarves; unlimited if you have an Epic dwarf). If an effect or ability requires a character to discard their entire hand, you discard half the cards you are holding (rounded down) (exception: If you are holding a bunch of cards due to one of your characters being an Epic Dwarf, and the non-epic-dwarf has to discard their entire hand, you only discard 5 (6 if a dwarf). If the Epic Dwarf has to discard their entire hand, discard all but 5/6).
• For the Charity phase: cards are simply discarded, unless your lowest level character is a higher level than your opponent's highest level character.
• It probably goes without saying, but your characters can trade (or give away) Items to one another any time characters could normally do so.
• Cards like Unplugged and Restraining Order reverse the effects of the last play your opponent made against you, but do not prevent further effects. (Restraining Order returns the cards to your opponent's hand and prevents them from using those cards against you for the rest of the turn).

We've had a lot of fun with it, and some truly epic combats. Potion of Apathy is extremely useful. The fact that characters can trade items (give them away) also comes in very handy.

[Sonomakid]

Stabbing your buddy is fun and all but I came up with a new way to use the munchkin cards. It's still rough around the edges and it may not be something people actually care about, but if you think it might be fun give em a whirl! Tell me what you think. Any additional rules or subtractions? And hey if the powers that be (for munchkin that is) want to use this and make it better/more munchkiny then go nuts!

Basically it is a dungeon crawl coop style where everyone plays against the deck, and I call it:

Munchkin Campaign

Using any munchkin set one can organize a more cooperative play experience. Rather than stabbing your buddies you can focus your rage in a more positive direction. By taking on the dungeon monsters! It may be obvious by now, but things work a little differently.

Setup:
The game starts in a similar fashion but instead of drawing 4 face down doors and 4 face down treasures, everyone draws 5 face down treasures. One can then trade any or all of these treasures in whatever configuration you desire. This allows your adventurers to start the game in the best position possible. Because it is going to be tough!

Before anyone draws any additional cards, shuffle the deck. Once it is properly shuffled have everyone start drawing cards from the door cards. The first monster above level 10 becomes the Mini Boss while the first monster that is level 20 becomes the Boss. Place these monsters aside for now and reshuffle the discards back into the deck.

Gameplay: These rules may change based on the difficulty level of the game. The rules here represent “Normal Mode”

All basic rules still apply when it comes to items and abilities. If you cannot equip it, give it to someone who can. The only time you cannot play anything is during combat. When the first monster is drawn all trading stops. Just like in the normal game there can be no changing items or bonuses. Traps and curses still work the same as well. So do “Useable only once” items.

The big difference is everyone takes their turn against the dungeon at the same time. Everyone starts by drawing a single face up door card. The party has to deal with everything that comes up. Traps, curses, or anything similar affect the person that draws them. All monsters drawn combine forces to take on the adventurers. And this is where things get tough.

All monsters that are drawn affect all the adventurers, but each acts as a single creature. It means that each one has to be taken down separately. It is not enough to just add up all your points vs. all their points and call it a day. Each munchkin must decide which monster they will face. And only two munchkins can gang up on any one monster, just like in the normal game. If all monsters cannot be defeated then the party must escape or be affected by the bad stuff (see Misc. Rules, “Running away”). If the party dies all go back to level one and have to start again.

All monster enhancers must be played the turn they are drawn if possible. If not you must play them on the next combat phase. Every monster enhancer applies to the monster drawn before it, or if no monster was drawn before, then the first monster after which it was drawn. Any one shot items can be used for or against the munchkin party as each person sees fit. Anyone who plays a monster enhancer is the only one who get the bonus from said enhancer (i.e. treasure, levels, etc…) it is up to them if they want to trade the items or not. Any bonus or levels gained from beating a monster goes to the munchkin who challenged it.

The game is won when all munchkins reach level 10 (or 20 in the case of epic munchkin). In order for the munchkins to progress in the game they must defeat the evil Mini Boss and the Diabolical Boss Monster! No munchkin can progress past level 4 without defeating the Mini Boss and no one can become level 10 until they have defeated the Boss. The munchkins can continue to draw to gain treasure through battle, but cannot level up until they defeat the appropriate boss.

Mini Boss/Boss Rules:
Every time someone does not draw a monster during play they draw an additional door card face down and place it either with the Mini Boss or the Boss. No one can look at this card. These cards must be distributed somewhat evenly until the Mini Boss is defeated. This card is now permanently attached to the Mini Boss/Boss and cannot be moved.
When the munchkins decide to face the Mini Boss/Boss, each one takes turns drawing from the Mini Boss/Boss deck. This becomes the Mini Boss/Boss battle. No one can fight the Mini Boss/Boss until all those cards are drawn and played.

A monster joins with the Mini Boss/Boss to fight the munchkins while any monster enhancers can be paired with the monsters they were drawn immediately before or after, whichever came first. One can also choose to play the monster enhancer on the Mini Boss/Boss instead. Any traps or curses affect the person that drew them, unless someone can roll a reflex save. Reflex saves are just like escape rolls. A 5 or 6 is a success unless something augments your skill to run away. That bonus is applied to both types of dice roll. When all cards are drawn the munchkin party must deal with all cards on the table.

If no one can fight the Mini Boss/Boss due to being assigned to other monsters the party must run away and try again later. However, any cards that were defeated are removed from the Mini Boss/Boss deck. Only a single successful run check is required to escape battle, however anyone that fails must face the bad stuff of the Mini Boss/ Boss.

Sometimes you may come across a battle where there are more monsters then there are munchkins. This can be scary as it allows monsters to gang up on munchkins! However, the same rules that apply to the munchkins also apply to the monsters. Only two monsters can gang up on one munchkin, and the munchkins choose which one’s each one of them will face!

Note: There must be at least as many additional cards as there are munchkins during the Mini Boss/Boss fights. Draw face up door cards to make up the difference if there are not enough.

Once the Mini Boss/Boss is defeated all munchkins can continue leveling past the block. Munchkins may not win after defeating the boss, so if not all munchkins are level 10 after the fight; continue to play until all munchkins have reached level 10.

Difficulty Levels:
Every good dungeon crawl or cooperative game has various levels of difficulty. Munchkin Campaign is no exception. Refer to the following guide when upping the difficulty level of your game.

Easy: Follow the rules listed above as stated. However, during battle the players can combine forces in any combination they wish. They can even add up all their points and pit them against the points of the opposing monster force.

Normal: Follow all the rules stated in the “Gameplay and Mini Boss/Boss Rules” section.

Hard: Follow all rules for a Normal Mode above but for the Mini Boss/Boss Fight roll a d6. Add that bonus to the mini boss and add twice that bonus to the boss monster! Also if the Mini Boss/Boss do not already have the bad stuff, “you die” they do now!

Insane: Follow all rules for Hard Mode but there will be a new deck in play to be created by the players. They must take another munchkin set not in play and take out all the monsters and monster enhancers. This then becomes the monsters deck! When you do not draw a monster card follow the rules of a Normal Game, but also add one card from the monsters deck each round where at least one person did not draw a monster. And all monsters now have the bad stuff, “You Die!”

To make things really insane, draw one card from the monsters deck for each person that did not draw a monster that round. Go on, I dare ya!

Misc. Rules:

Running away:
Any monster that a player escapes from takes any bonuses and joins the Mini Boss or the Boss. If the Mini Boss is still in play it will join that group. If the Mini Boss is no longer in play it joins the Boss. If a munchkin successfully runs the Bad Stuff does not affect any of the party members. However, if they fail to run the bad stuff affects them and the person to their left then has to try and run. This continues until all parties have failed or at least one has succeeded.

Death:
The party can resurrect any munchkin by selling items equivalent to 1000 gold. However, if the entire party dies then the game is over.

Hand Size:
There is a maximum hand size of 5 cards. Anything that cannot be held or used must be discarded if anyone’s hand reaches more than 5 cards. You can redistribute cards amongst the other players as per the usual munchkin rules.

Unfriendly Cards:
Any card deemed “Uncooperative” may be discarded at any time, but cannot be replaced! Keep in mind that you may find a use for these cards later, so it may not always be wise to toss them away.

Wandering Monster and Other Fluff:
Any card that would normally add monsters to combat do so in a different way. They automatically draw the top monster from the discard pile and add it to combat. That monster then faces the individual who drew the card the following turn alongside any additional monsters they may draw.

[UncleBob]

Posting this here, although it's only slightly a house rule and I don't think it's really much of an alternate way to play - but I wanted to get some opinions on it.

Tonight, my wife and I played two rounds with her mother and brother. Family fun time. ;)

Anyway, at the end of the first round, we just discarded everything and dealt out a new starting hand to everyone. I figured this was quicker than trying to shuffle everything back into the insane decks and would give the two new players a chance to experience more cards. By the way, my mother-in-law was really concerned about her sex change and the distraction it caused.

However, this lead to an interesting situation - at one point, I received a card that allowed me to search through the discards and choose a race (or class, I don't remember). Since all the cards from the first game were at the bottom of the discard pile, I considered shortly trying to go through them all. We discussed it and ruled it out.

Of course, the smarter thing to do would have been to remove the cards from the last game from the discard pile altogether, returning them to their Boxes of Holding. But we didn't.

So - if you were to play multiple games like this, would you have allowed going back to the first game's discards, called it off limits, or never have set up the second game like this in the first place?

[Signboy]

@UncleBob

I normally remove cards from the previous game before beginning a new game. Like you, I have pretty much everything for original Munchkin and my philosophy is to just throw everything in the pile, rather than "tune" the deck (unless I'm playing with new players, then I take the (long) time to fish out only the base deck.

However, I think it would be interesting to leave the discards from the previous game in for when my group plays multiple games. That would make Reap the Whirlwind an interesting card to play if it came up.

On a side note, I eventually want to play a game that combines everything I currently own Munchkin, Cthulu, Zombie and Bites just for the heck of it. A big epic deck for a big epic game.