Select your difficulty.
According to legends, this is it: the dungeon wherein lies the mystical Amulet of Zot. Whoever manages to retrieve it will gain great power and glory. Only... it probably won't be you.
You begin Succession as a rogue adventurer: a smart but perhaps unwise fellow celebrating your recent victory over a dire rat by seeking the Amulet of Zot. You will probably die. And that's where your adventure begins.
When you are killed by one of the dungeon's many occupants, you start back at the beginning with one minor change: you now control the monster who killed your previous adventurer. Should you die again, you will return as the monster who killed that monster, and so on. Someday, you'll die to something that's strong enough to claim the Amulet.
Move by clicking on a tile or using the numpad. When monsters are visible, you can only move one tile at a time. Monsters will only act when you do, so take your time if you need to. You can also attack a monster by clicking on its tile. In most cases, you will need to be adjacent to the monster you want to attack.
As you explore the dungeon, you will come across potions, which you collect automatically by passing over. You can drink these potions to gain their effects, or you can throw them to bestow their effects on a monster. To use a potion, click on it, then click on yourself to drink it or on a monster to throw it. If you change your mind, click on the potion again to deselect it. In your starting form as a rogue, you will be able to recognize the potions of the dungeon, but your later incarnations will have to discover which potion is which. Clever use of potions is vital to your success.
Each species of monster has unique properties, many of them very desirable. You can acquire a monster's properties permanently by allowing it to defeat you, but if you'd rather not start from scratch, you can also gain a monster's powers temporarily by devouring its corpse. To do this, stand over the corpse and click on your character. Eating takes several turns, and after you've eaten, you will be unable to eat again for some time, so choose your meals with discretion.
Your goal is to find the Amulet of Zot, located on the seventh floor of the dungeon. To progress through the dungeon, you must locate the stairs on each level and descend. Interact with stairs by clicking on yourself while standing over them. Once you have obtained the Amulet, escape the dungeon as quickly as possible, since the Amulet's power will attract the dungeon's most powerful inhabitants.
Keyboard controls are partially supported. You can't use potions or ranged attacks with the keyboard, but you can perform most other actions.
Hardest: You enter play as an unboosted member of your species. For dungeon-crawling purists.
Hard: You enter play with the stat bonuses of the monster who killed you. For a direct succession.
Easy: You enter play with the stat bonuses of your previous form and the monster who killed you. For those who hate losing their progress.
Easiest: You enter play with the combined stat bonuses and powers of your previous form and the monster who killed you. You keep powers inherited from previous forms even if you're polymorphed. For a sure path to victory.
Succession is a one-man effort, created for your enjoyment. The game is completely free to play. If you like Succession, consider donating to fund the development of more games like it.