DURF Expanded

Review by Wazza

The DURF Expanded preview by Emiel Boven is a free 52-page PDF available for download here: https://emielboven.itch.io/durf So what is DURF? Put simply it’s a rules-light dungeon-fantasy RPG in the vein of Knave, Troika! and Into the Odd incorporating simple bookkeeping, quick character generation, and an advantage system. In essence it’s an easy game to pick up and play, designed to be hacked, pulled apart, built on top of and licensed under Creative Commons (CC-BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed allowing you to share and adapt the game for any purpose you might desire. And on top of that the original DURF game with all its adventures and supplements are available for free!

The preview cover has a colourful isometric dungeon feel and the contents are broken down into easily digestible chapters. So let's get going with Chapter One: Core Rules. Every character has three attributes: Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX), and Willpower (WIL) rolling a d3 to determine their value. You start with 1d6 Hit Die which is rolled in combat. Then roll on the Trait table to gain silver-tongued, Rubber Bones, and Good Nose to name a few), gather your belongings (roll a d6 based on your highest attribute to acquire weapons, armour and magical items) and it's off to the races, oh but don’t forget to give yourself a name.

The game mechanics boil everything down to an Action Roll  where you roll a d20 + modifier with a 16 or higher, a success. Buffs let you roll an extra d6 while Breaks subtract one. DURF uses an elegant encumbrance inventory slots system where you can only carry 10 + STR items. I’m a fan as fantasy should be about adventuring, not book-keeping. There's even a neat mechanic where accumulated stress hinders your ability to carry more gear as it takes up its own slot, so the more stressed you are, the less stuff you can carry. The passage of time is broken down into three distinct elements, namely Combat Rounds, Exploration Turns and Travel Watches and delineate the differences between fighting, exploration and travelling through the wilderness whilst on your way to the next dungeon. 

Ah, combat! The first thing every GM and player turns to when accessing an action-focused TTRPG and don’t try denying it! A nice touch is if it's light then the party goes first if not then roll a d6 to determine initiative, so keep those torches burning! The outcome of opposed STR and DEX checks determine melee and ranged weapon effectiveness respectively with rules for dual-weapon wielding,  breaking weapons, and crits. Armour and shields reduce damage and NCPs roll for morale in bad situations. Recovering from a fight can take place over a turn, a night or an entire day in a safe haven allowing you to repair broken weapons and armour and restore wounds. 

Harkening back to AD&D the GM awards XP based on the amount of gold your party plunders and for monsters Hit Dice you defeat whilst exploring the stygian dungeon depths. Ah the good old days! Earn a 1000XP times your current level and up you go. So grab that loot and kill those monsters.

So we’re onto the equipment chapter for all your exploration and martial needs.

Weapons, Armour and gear, all your standard fare is here. Rather than count every arrow roll a d6 after combat with a 1 meaning you’ll need to restock at the nearest village, town or city. Should you wish to hire meat-shields (I mean hirelings) then you can choose from Torch-Bearers, Warriors, and Magic-Users to bolster your forward ranks, but expect them to receive their own share of the loot and XP.

Chapter Three is all about Spellcasting. A book or scroll is required to cast a spell which starts with cantrips at level 0 and tops out at level 5. Wands provide a buff when spellcasting and any newly-acquired magic can be scribed into a book or blank scroll at 200 gp per level. There’s a (mostly humorous) blunders table for when you miscast with one resulting in a downpouring of sardines! Magic items take the form of potions, weapons and armour. 

The next chapter is exploration where your party of adventures will travel the wilderness, rest, hunt and have the inevitable random encounters. There’s a short section on environmental hazards that PCs seem to have an increasing predilection of stumbling into such as poison, drowning, fire, and falling off things.

Next is a short preview of first and second-level spells (66 of each for a total of 132) and a bestiary preview showcasing an angry Ankheg, a bullish Bandit, a bellowing Banshee, a belligerent Basilisk, a bearish bear, a burrowing beatle-brute, and a bulbous Black Pudding. And we end with two pages of alchemical advice and some nasty diseases. There is a lot packed into this preview and from the looks of things we’re in for a treat with the finished book, which will be a 200-page hardcover for 42 euros or 60 for the book and an accompanying adventure anthology zine. It will also be possible to purchase the Electrum Archive zine as an add-on. Stay tuned as I will be reviewing the finished product in the not-too-distant future.