Year of the Dungeon

This blog has moved

2010-03-06T20:56:00.001-08:00

This blog is now located at http://blog.microdungeons.com/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here.

For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
http://blog.microdungeons.com/atom.xml.

Making the Dungeon World Real

2010-03-06T20:41:00.000-08:00

I said earlier that making the world real is one of the fundamental jobs of the DM in the dungeon mastering approach that I’m trying to develop.*

Part of making the world real has to do with the consistency and believability of the dungeon and the imaginary world it inhabits. Part of this is about the immediate verisimilitude of what happens in the dungeon. Part of it is the bigger issue of a consistent believable world. I'm going to focus on the first of these.

Making the world real entails a host of immediately decisions on the dungeon master’s part concerning what happens. Consider a tactical situation:

The party has fled from a band of hungry ghouls and barricaded themselves in a room. What do the ghouls do next? Something ghoulish, obviously; could be any number of things. Maybe the start battering down the door for the food they can smell so close by; maybe in their mindlessness they wander off in search of other prey; maybe they go inform their wererat overlords in room #12.

Each of these options is tactically believable in some circumstances, but terribly different in how the PCs are impacted. In one case the ghouls directly threaten the characters, in another the characters get a lucky break, and in the third the reason for the ghoul’s behavior may be entirely hidden from the characters.

Choosing between these kinds of options is a big part of the dungeon master’s job, and the dungeon master might call upon any of a large number of tools to do this. There are books, blogs, and podcasts full of random tables and other techniques to help do this better. Making the dungeon real usually involves a mix of intuition, planning, and improvisation. It's an art, but it’s one you can improve at.

Making the world real has a really interesting relationship with being the eyes and ears of the characters. You’re often doing both at the same time, but with subtly different requirements. When you’re being the eyes and ears, you want to be very clear about the risks and challenges that the characters are investigating. But when you’re making the world real, you want to be disinterested about how it challenges the players.

Sometimes making the world real might mean visiting a really punishing challenge on the player characters. Maybe the demands of reality indicate that the player characters just blundered into an unfavorable encounter with an Ogre Magi who’s likely to kick their ass ten ways from Tuesday. As their eyes and ears you have the opportunity to make it clear to them what the parameters of this encounter are (i.e. they could very easily die). This opens up the floor for the players to look for options that don’t involve a drastically unfavorable fight (“is there an escape route? Maybe we can bribe him? Do we have a spell that would work here”). When the players ask one of these questions, that’s your cue to be their eyes and ears again. The idea here is NOT to remove the danger, it’s to make sure that it’s in the open and nobody’s surprised by it.

* I’m stealing this phrase almost directly from Vincent Baker’s Apocalypse World, though as usual I’m adapting it a bit for my own purposes. Vincent's description of this job and how it works in his game is pretty brilliant.

When you Enter the Room, The Post is Sleeping...

2010-03-05T08:03:00.000-08:00

I've been really busy this week with family and work-related stuff, so I don't have a post ready this morning. Sorry! I'm working on something, I really am.

Under the Volcano

2010-03-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

A horrific legend, about to impose its terrible truth upon a frightened people

Three comrades on a desperate mission to right an injury that calls out for justice

A glowering idol full of dark intent and cruel machinations

A deed of bravery that lives on to inspire in song and story

Lost Maps

2010-03-03T16:07:00.000-08:00

There's an awesome post over on io9 featuring maps from the show Lost, including links to some very nice fan-made maps.

Bookworm Dungeon

2010-03-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

"Explain to me why we're on this mission again?"

The wizard chuckled. Long experience had taught him that abstract thought was beyond the fighting class, but he did not mind indulging them. He flattered himself that an easy condescension was among his virtues.

"Some years ago, the wizard Azxerkak foolishly allowed himself to be encaptured by a certain magical tome prepared as a prison by his rival. That rival, fearing discovery, stashed the book away in a library contained in this very dungeon until he could safely return at a later date."

"So this wizard's caught, like in a cage?"

"Yes."

"And the cage is a book."

"Exactly."

The fighter thought about this for a long moment. "So this wizard's caught in a prison, that's really a book in a library. So how do we know we're not caught in an even bigger book in some bigger wizard's library and he's reading that book right now?"

The wizard shook his head. "Tut, tut, my boy. The very idea is patently ridiculous."

The Eyes and Ears of the Player Characters

2010-03-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to work out my own approach to running dungeon adventure RPGs. A big part of this is being the eyes and ears of the player characters. It’s the job of the dungeon master to be the eyes and ears of the players.

This idea is central to what I think of as dungeon mastering. It’s crucial to engaging the players and winning their buy-in to the game. If the players can’t see and hear the dungeon clearly, they can’t live in it or have adventures in it. The players also have a job here, which is to ask questions for the game master to answer. I’m not going to talk about that much now, but it’s important.

A lot of people equate being the eyes and ears with providing description of the dungeon and the things in it with a certain level of gleeful embellishment. This is part of it, but there’s more to ‘eyes and ears’ than a judicious use of adverbs. it’s at least equally important to be crystal clear and fair about how what they’re seeing and hearing intersects with the mechanics of the game you’re playing.

Here an illustration:

The party comes to an icy crevasse that blocks their way ahead. One of the party wants to try skirting the crevasse on foot.

How do you, the game master, indicate to the player the potential risks and rewards of this action? This is part of being the eyes and ears. There are a lot of answers to this question, and almost all of them are appropriate in some combination of system, group, and encounter.

So one answer to this suggested action, phrased in Dungeon Squad terms might be “It’s pretty slippery. You’ll need an explorer roll with a target of 6. If you fail, you run the risk of slipping into the crevasse.”

With this answer you’ve set some parameters. You’ve said what the player will have to roll. You’ve indicated that there’s a risk to failure, and described it in general terms. There’s some leeway here, and it should be set by the habits of the group. Should you also quantify the risk of falling into the crevasse on a failed roll? Do you need to tell the player how much damage that fall would cause? That’s a matter of taste.*

The point of all this is to give the players a very clear idea of where their characters stand in the fiction so they can act like heroes and adventurers and tackle the challenges of the dungeon or even fall victim to them confident that the system and the game master aren’t using underhanded techniques to trip them up.**

Probably some people are shaking their head right now, thinking that there are many times that a game master is compelled to withhold information from the players. That’s part of the being the eyes and ears as well!

Another illustration:

There’s a remhoraz lurking in the crevasse. Am I obligated to sow hints of this into my description of the crevasse somehow? In no way is the dungeon master compelled to warn the players of the threats and risks of the dungeon.

Now another consideration: a player asks if he can see into the crevasse, or asks how deep it is, or just tosses something in, waiting to hear it hit the bottom. This is clearly a way of asking the game master for more information about the crevasse. An appropriate response might be to say “you can’t see very far into it. You don’t know what’s in there”, or even, “there could be a monster in there for all you know.” This clearly indicates that there’s some risk associated with a crevasse you can’t see into, even if that risk is vaguely stated.

Being the eyes and ears is a conversation you have with the players. Like any conversation you’ve got to give and take, listen, and try to respond to the questions you hear fairly and clearly.

* I’m a strong believer in the idea of ‘free and clear’ declaration of actions. This means that before any action is taken, everyone at the table has a chance to talk about it, understand its potential consequences, take it back, suggest something else, and so on until everyone has decided what they’re doing. As far as I know, the term ‘free and clear’ comes from Ron Edwards’ Sorcerer RPG, but it’s something many game groups have done since long before Sorcerer.

** This whole idea is heavily informed by Eero Tuovinen’s discussion of challenge-based adventuring, although I’m adapting it somewhat to a more specifically dungeon-based approach.

Bad Neighbors

2010-03-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

An old feud between monstrous neighbors creates an opportunity for a band of mercenary adventurers

An ill-tempered Ogre whose violent demeanor masks an insightful intellect

A family of goblins, stubborn and set in their ways

A doubting cleric, uttering platitudes whose veracity he doubts

A young warrior unacquainted with the world eager to make his name and fortune

Daniel Reeve: Master Maps

2010-02-28T11:22:00.001-08:00

It's not every day that you stumble upon a map that literally takes your breath away. This morning I was doing a Google Image search for maps of Moria (because I do that kind of thing), and I stumbled across the cartography of Daniel Reeve. These maps are beautiful master works, every single one.

The Dungeon is Fundamentally Different

2010-02-26T16:27:00.001-08:00

Tuesday, Zak at Playing D&D with Porn Stars, in a post called Some More Nice Things About Dungeons says this:

This makes adventures based around the classic dungeon (and any interior space you use in a game which resembles a classic dungeon--a stripped-down Death Star, a Tron-like computery world, etc.) fundamentally unlike all other kinds of adventure.

I think Zak's nailing it in this post about what makes the dungeon gaming different from any other kind of gaming. It's a fascinating insight.

Every role-playing game uses some kind of constraints to manage what the player (and the GM) can and can't do. There are realism constraints (your regular-guy character can't lift a bus), setting constraints (can't harm the werewolf with regular weapons), fictional constraints (the local priest won't heal you because you called his god a two-bit faith healer last session), social constraints (the GM doesn't want you to leave town because that derails the adventure), and probably way more I can't think of right now.

The dungeon neatly rolls a bunch of the constraints of the game up into the simple fact that it has walls and corridors that you can't circumvent without a great deal of effort, and probably not even then. Notice that the structure of the dungeon acts, at different times, as a constraint of ever sort I listed above. It boils the adventure down to a small set of options so that those options can be highlighted.

And that's a big part of what's awesome about it.

I'm trying to keep this in mind as I prepare my dungeon mastery posts.

Flamesprite Tomb

2010-02-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

A brazen but charismatic con-man, wielding a misleading map

A seductive curse, offering great power, but at a terrible price

A devouring flame seeking ever more to slake its growing appetite

Exploding ghouls. Do you really need to say anythring more than "exploding ghouls"?

Dungeon Mastering

2010-02-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

I’m very interested in dungeon mastering right now. When I say “dungeon mastering,” I mean learning to run a game that makes solid use of the dungeon setting and the traditions of the dungeon adventure.

For me, dungeon mastering comes down to three basic things: be the eyes and ears of the characters, channel the dungeon, and make the world real. The players’ job is to ask questions about the dungeon and take the role of their characters. Everything else is pretty much extra.

That’s not the only way to play, and it’s not everything that a game master does, but it represents the essence of an approach to game mastering that I’m trying to understand and perfect. Maybe I’ll add some things to that list.
So, over some posts over the next several days, I’m going to try and flesh out what I mean by this.

I... Am... A.... Robot...

2010-02-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

*** Queen of the Demonweb Pits SPOILERS ahead ***

That giant spider mech at the end of Queen of the Demonweb Pits was crazy. It was the kind of thing that can make or break a campaign. I'm sure lots of groups really dug the way it changed the game, but I'm equally sure others can say their campaign started to fall apart when they found the spider robot. It was incredibly cool, but did it really belong in AD&D?

This mech might stalk the blasted plains of your campaign. Maybe it's the secret weapon of the local Baron? Maybe it's a tool of the Orc hordes, imbued with the soul of a fallen hero. Maybe it's the party's toolin' ride (just try fitting it into the dungeon, though).

The robot dungeon is inspired by the art of Scott C, whose artwork seems to be popping up everywhere for me lately. Scott draws these crazy environments full of little characters living their everyday lives. That's very dungeon-y to me.

Process Process Process

2010-02-23T09:41:00.000-08:00

I'm working on some nice color maps to tie some of the microdungeon stuff together. No details today. I'll have some sneak peeks in a week or so.

But meanwhile my mind is being blown by the art of Scott C, especially this post where he provides a look at his process. Inspiring!

Dungeon Dressing: Shrine

2010-02-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

According to Emmerline’s Taxonomy, a shrine is a space dedicated to the veneration of a specific god, which, unlike a temple, has no permanent attendants. A shrine may be any size, but a small chamber, niche, or cairn is most common, though. Given the chaotic nature of many dungeon environments, it's a significant feat for a shrine to avoid vandalization for any period of time.

A popular shrine may have the protection and patronage of the surrounding denizens, even where these denizens are enemies to one another. This may be particularly true where the shrine offers some benefit, magical or otherwise. In some cases a shrine is considered neutral ground, though in others, it may be fought over as a valuable possession. Lit candles or recent offerings are a clear sign of regular patronage.

An unmolested shrine in a heavily trafficked dungeon area may also be a sign that the local population share the same religion or, more likely, that the shrine has a powerful protector nearby, possibly on a deeper level of the dungeon. A few shrines protect themselves from desecration via trap, curse, illusion, or teleportation. Some beneficial good shrines are able to disguise themselves, being visible only to good-inclined individuals.

Some races have characteristic shrines. Grey Mountain Gnolls, for example, leave noisome memorials wherever they travel as a means of marking their dominance.

The Casks

2010-02-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

As of yesterday I've got a batch of homebrew beer bubbling away in my basement. So I thought I'd celebrate with a brewing-themed dungeon!

A crumbling ruin that provides harried travellers a respite from a vengeful storm

An imprisoned spirt desiring immediate release

A peice of forgotten lore, immensely valuable to some, but in the wrong hands, a terrible danger

A convival band of thieves under the sway of a charistmatic leader

The Positive Effects of D&D

2010-02-20T08:20:00.001-08:00

Writers reminisce about the positive effect D&D has had on their lives; at Suvudu.

The Barrow on the Hill

2010-02-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

A lonely malevolence, grown twisted and hungry in its stone cell

Stalwart guardians, their original mission forgotten, but their zeal undimmed

A frightened community, teetering on the verge of explosive retribution

A determined explorer, full of confidence and careless of danger

A glittering treasure in the dark, secret key to a sleeping gods dreams

Micro Review: Book of Ruins

2010-02-18T10:25:00.000-08:00

Chris B pointed me to the old Judge's Guild Book of Ruins earlier today. The Book of Ruins is a collection of 10 "mini-dungeons" by Michale Mayeu, originally published in 1981. The dungeons vary in length from a short 4-room encounter, to a moderately large dungeon--big enough for 1-2 sessions of play. Most of the dungeons are on the short side, however, and are designed to be easily dropped into an existing campaign, or chained together as a mini-campaign.

I've got to say, I fell in love with this as soon as I started reading it. For me, it's the epitome of a good old-school product. The encounters are well thought out and obviously playtested. There's lot of room for interesting tactical positioning. The dungeons are obviously made to unfold in play. I can easily see each one unfolding in quite a different manner depending on the group, the path they take, and how they approach particular encounters.

One of my favorite things in a small dungeon is to see encounters where talking to the the monsters is an interesting option. It doesn't have to be a major option, but it's nice if it's there. Mayeu has obviously thought this out. The relationships between the monsters and their various dispositions are properly slotted into the text.

Some of the encounters are a little stock. There are no less than three dungeons where an Ogre is a prominent villain, with a group of lesser humanoids around him. If I were running it, I would substitute more varied denizens. This was also published in 1981, and reflects its time. If you're looking for skill-based challenges or epic storylines, you won't find it here, though you could probably add it yourself.

Tactical challenge and simulation are clear goals in this product. One of the larger adventures is a carefully designed encounter with a powerful stock magical monster. The author has clearly designed this encounter based on a frustration with poorly designed similar encounters he's seen in other products. The result is a particularly nasty and challenging fight. This is completely appropriate in this kind of product, possibly even essential to challenge high-level parties, but groups that aren't expecting it will be in for an unpleasant surprise.

The Book of Ruins is available on RPGnow, and is a bargain at $4.00.

Under the Escataur Mausoleum

2010-02-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

Out on the Old Abian Road where the necropolis of the old city sprawls, there's a second city to mock the first. Where the city is a hive of commerce and a capital of politics, the necropolis is a metropolis of decay, filled with prowling thieves and unquiet dead.

But this is not to say that the place is without value. The dead, too, sometimes ply useful trades, or perform useful civic functions. Many a guild wizard has found himself forced to turn to the denizens of the necropolis for knowledge or even aid, though the price is always high. And even the old nobility pay a tithe to the graveyard ghosts for the protection of their family tombs.

The merchants of this, the city's quietest corner have their own rules, their own festivals, and their own humor. After a successful transaction, they always send the customer on their way with a cheery epitaph: "Well be seeing you!"

Will Trade Dungeons for Layout Skills

2010-02-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

I really want to make some easily digestible PDFs of my dungeons, but I just don't have the time to do it. In fact, just keeping up with posting has been a bit of a struggle this week. Is there anyone out there with a modicum of desktop publishing skills who'd be willing to take the dungeons from one month and package them as a PDF? In return, I'll make a custom to-order dungeon and send it to you wherever you live.

I want a PDF with each dungeon and its description on a single page. If it has a decent cover, so much the better, but that's not required. The PDFs will be made available freely from the blog.

Pit of the Red Mummy

2010-02-15T06:00:00.002-08:00

The artifact you seek lies in the tomb of Gazeahl the Red, but do not seek it in his sarcophagus. Better that what lies there rest undisturbed. Seek rather the mausoleum of his three celebrated servants. There it lies for certain.

What? You want to know which of the three holds it? How the hell am I supposed to know? Go try your luck, just don't blame me if you awaken something you wish you hadn't.

It's Tomb Week!

2010-02-14T17:16:00.000-08:00

Valentine's day and heart dungeons are all very nice, but it's time to get back to some good old-fashioned dungeoncraling. I'm arbitrarily declaring this tomb week! This week's dungeons will all be tombs. No particularly reason; I just like tombs, is all.

Find the Center

2010-02-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

The quest for the heart is so commonly undertaken that it has entered common parlance as a metaphor for any journey where you seek something of value. But true delvers know that the quest for the heart is neither easy nor common.

As mazes go, the challenge is not extreme, there being several navigable paths to the center. However, the barriers on the way are so pernicious, that more than one confident seeker has been sent packing. You've probably met some; disillusioned adventurers who loudly claim there is not heart after all, its a chase after smoke, an illusion, a ruse.

But the heart is there still and, if the tales are to believed, well worth the finding. Happy valentine's day!

Thinking Too Much

2010-02-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

Don't over think it.

Happy Friday!