Ruleset
Citadel of Blood
Citadel of Blood is the 1980 SPI dungeon crawl that Labirynt Śmierci was made from. You can play it here, solo, by choosing it on the set-up screen.
What it is
A party of Heroes and Initiates raids the fortress of X the Unknown. You build the maze one chit at a time, fight or bargain with what lives there, and try to find and destroy the Hellgate. Experience and gold buy better characters between games.
How this site plays it
- Choose Citadel of Blood on the new-game screen. The choice is fixed once the game has begun.
- Names follow the Citadel of Blood booklet, from the Hellgate to the Evil Mage, in English.
- The 23 Heroes, the maze and every number not listed on the comparison page are shared with Labirynt Śmierci, so the same hero, monster, spell and item pages describe both.
- Mods that work with it are offered on the set-up screen; the others are hidden.
Not played yet
These rules of the book are not played yet; for now the engine follows the Labirynt Śmierci way:
- A tile that fits nowhere. If none fits, place the closest chit and treat the mismatched sides as walls.
- When to search for traps. Only when you first enter a room.
- The explored maze between adventures. Optional: it stays only if the next game starts in the same session.
Labirynt Śmierci or Citadel of Blood?
Pick Labirynt Śmierci to play the Polish rulebook: the Black Gate, the Nameless One, the Warlock.
Pick Citadel of Blood to play the 1980 English rules: the Hellgate, X the Unknown, the Evil Mage, and the changes on the comparison page.
Five differences you will notice
| Labirynt Śmierci | Citadel of Blood | |
|---|---|---|
| Individual victory | The character who survives every adventure with the most XP and wealth. | A character who leaves alive with at least 100 XP and 100 gold or jewels; the best total wins. |
| Reorganising the party | One character from each rank may move. | One character in all may move. |
| Lightning | 1D3 × 2 wounds. | 1D3+2 wounds. |
| Demons guarding the Gate | 2D3+1 Demons guard the Black Gate. | 1D3+2 Demons guard the Hellgate. |
| Bribing a monster | Gold only. | Gold or jewels. |
Credits
Death Maze is an independent, fan-made browser version of Labirynt Śmierci and Citadel of Blood. Labirynt Śmierci is a Polish board game published by Encore (Jan Adamski, the company's founder) around 1982–1984 without an official licence. Labirynt Śmierci is an unlicensed Polish edition of Citadel of Blood (SPI, 1980; game design and development Eric Smith, original game system design Greg Costikyan and Redmond A. Simonsen, physical systems and graphics Redmond A. Simonsen), which in turn grew out of Deathmaze (SPI, 1979; design and development Greg Costikyan, physical systems and graphics Redmond A. Simonsen). The Citadel of Blood characters and premise come from SPI's Swords and Sorcery.
Citadel of Blood (1980)
Fantastic Adventure in the Fortress of Evil
Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI)
- Game Design and Development:
- Eric Smith
- Physical Systems and Graphics:
- Redmond A. Simonsen
- Original Game System Design:
- Greg Costikyan and Redmond A. Simonsen
- Rules Editor:
- Brad Hessel
- Design Assistance:
- Justin Leites and Matt Ruff
- Playtesters:
- Doug Barton, Steve Brandies, Dale Greer, Bernard Gunther, Elizabeth Hailey, Justin Leites, Mark Lund, Eric Ristad, Clayton Smith, Anthony Stanford
- Production:
- Rosalind Fruchtman, Ted Koller, Manfred F. Milkuhn, Michael Moore, Bob Ryer
Game titles and names belong to their respective owners. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of the publishers or designers.
Ready to enter the Citadel?
Start a solo game and choose Citadel of Blood on the set-up screen.