Dungeon Campaign (Start to Finish)

[nikharwood]

This new player is a deep person used to multiple options in complex PC and X-Box games, so I will need to make the rules quite detailed I think. hmmm *thinks hard*  

Nah - don't overcomplicate your rules - unless he absolutely insists on meta-gaming: just make sure that the gaming experience is deep enough for him...immerse in atmosphere, add ingenuity, intrigue, conundrum and enigma, toss in some nifty combat and other encounters and you'll be fine...and the trick to making all that work beautifully is the KISS approach if you ask me - strip rules down to make everything flow & intuitive - lose complexity, gain kudos 

I know I'm preaching to the converted here six - just sounded like you needed a reminder buddy

[sixsideddice]

Nah - don't overcomplicate your rules - unless he absolutely insists on meta-gaming: just make sure that the gaming experience is deep enough for him...immerse in atmosphere, add ingenuity, intrigue, conundrum and enigma, toss in some nifty combat and other encounters and you'll be fine...and the trick to making all that work beautifully is the KISS approach if you ask me - strip rules down to make everything flow & intuitive - lose complexity, gain kudos 

I know I'm preaching to the converted here six - just sounded like you needed a reminder buddy

I knew it... I knew it.... thanks for that Nik    you`ve just convinced me to stay firmly on track and not to get lost in possibilities. *Quote from self* "a set of rules which starts out as an uncluttered idea can quickly get bogged down so that its original simplicity becomes a mere footnote"

[sixsideddice]

I`ve often noticed people on the forums asking one another "How do I go about making a random dungeon".. I`ve used the following system for making my own randomness for a long time. I find it really handy for making something up on the spur of the moment, or for adding new bits to existing dungeons (especially if tired and inspiration is low at the time).


Random Dungeon Layout


At the beginning of each move in which the Heroes win initiative and actively moves a Hero miniature to a position where it has line of sight to a newly revealed area, throw a die for the random layout of the dungeon tiles. Roll once on the table below for each direction a Hero has line of sight to (place all new tiles next to the last piece(s) lain). You only have to place what the Heroes can see. For all corridor, T junction or crossroad tiles rolled... place the tile and roll once again - place the second tile next to the first tile just placed. However, before a second roll is made, also throw a separate (different coloured) die once! If this separate die result yields a 1 then the second roll for a new room or corridor along that line of sight is ignored and a dead end tile is placed instead. If all further ways into the dungeon complex lead to dead ends â€" allow a Hero to discover a previously undetected secret door (only one) at the first dead end section they explore.

1-3 = Room: 4-6 = Corridor

Corridors:

o   1= Straight corridor - 4 squares long

o   2= Straight corridor - 2 squares long

o   3= Straight corridor - 4 squares long with a door at the end 1-3: on left, 4-6: on right

o   4= 4 square long corridor with door at the end, straight ahead

o   5= Junction (1-3: T junction, 4-6: crossroads)

o   6= Corridor with corner bend (1-3: left, 4-6: right)

Newly placed doors are open on a 1 and closed on a 2-6. To find out what is beyond the door roll a die 3 times. The first roll determines whether the Heroes discover a Room or a Corridor beyond the door; the second roll to determine size, and the third determines contents.

Rooms:

o   1= Small room (4 x 6 squares)

o   2= Smallish room (4 x 8 squares)

o   3-4= Medium room (6 x 6)

o   5= Large room (8 x 10)

o   6= Special* (6 x 12):

*Special (1d6)

   1= Communal Hall the Draken Master places 1 die of tables chairs and beds in the chamber. Roll 2 dice to check for Monsters, and then roll any successes on the Random Spawning Table.

   2= Hall of Healing the Draken Master places a crate of apples, a table full of food (and chairs) and a bookcase in the chamber.

   3= Storage Area the Draken Master places a table full of food, a crate of apples and a crate of skulls in the chamber. Roll 2 dice to check for Monsters, and then roll any
successes on the Random Spawning Table.

   4= Guard Post the Draken Master rolls on the Monster Random Spawning Table and duplicates any success results twice â€" then place the resulting Monsters in the chamber.

   5= Magic Dead Room! Heroes and Monsters within this chamber may not use any special abilities.

   6= Scenario Specific Room! The Draken Master will need a few pencil drawn cards (small index file cards work well) listing what these special chambers contain. Shuffle these
cards and place them face down before the game begins. Draw one when required.

Roll for room/corridor contents:

1-3= Empty.

o   4= Rubble Tile. The Draken Master Places 1 to 3 rubble pieces within the tile.

o   5= Dropped Item Tile. The Draken Master places 1 prop of his choosing in this tile. It may at first seem logically obvious the Draken Master will always place a nasty item in this tile; but a wise DM will sometimes place nice things there, to entice the Heroes to go down that way - especially if this furthers his devious plans to lure and herd the heroes where he wants them to go!

o   6= Special:


If special....

o   1-4= Empty

. 5= Monsters? Roll 3 dice to check for Monsters, and then roll any successes on the Random Spawning Table.

o   6= Ambush! The Drake Master automatically wins initiative for the next two moves (after this one).This represents the Heroes having walked into a trap or ambush, and allows the Monsters to gain momentum for a few moments while the Heroes re-gather their wits. Also Roll 3 dice to check for Monsters, and then roll any successes on the Random Spawning Table.

By letting the majority of Dungeon Monsters be determined randomly in the way described above servers three direct purposes in the game. (1) In a competitive game where the Draken Master is actively trying to win against the Hero Player(s), it limits the DM`s power slightly within the complex. (2) In a solo game (i.e. a game where either a single Player or a group of Players run the Heroes through the Dungeon without a Draken Master) the above system for determining the spawning of Monsters coupled with the normal rules described in DW for the initial placement of newly created Monsters adds an `unknown` chance element to the game. (3) Determining the random creation of spawned Monsters for most the rooms and corridors greatly reduces the burden placed on the Draken masters head; allowing him to concentrate more on his own Scenario Specific Rooms - which are of course where the main plot encounters will take place; and are the driving force behind the game storyline.


Hopefully these few simple rules will kick start your imagination into wanting to make up some new ideas of your own (additions to the things listed above). Use the tables as they stand for the first few games; by which time you`ll get to know how it all works - and you`ll be able to start coming up with things that I have not included in the lists. At which time - just sit down for a few minutes, look at your collection of miniatures: check what dungeon tiles you have available to you: and come up with something suitably fiendish and monstrous to spice up your games.


As always and I can`t reiterate this enough times Dungeon World (for the most part) is a series of guidelines and suggestions... the rest is all down to you to make your fantasy world live and breathe in any way you choose.

[sixsideddice]

And the shape of the new campaign has finally been decided... actually the others decided for me (and I just smiled secretly to myself because it suits me just fine as I have all the figures scenery and props).

The new campaign... which we plan to run for a very long time, so can start slow and build over the months and even years ahead... will be firmly set in "Middle Earth" with a lot of pre-industrialised Steampunk (the Dwarves and Saruman)  and bits of Gothic Ravenloft thrown in for good measure 


Six 

[sixsideddice]

Campaign location has firmly been decided. The game will take place to the North of the regions described in the books; there are plenty of unexplored land masses there for me to dabble with and means I can use "Arnor" and "Angmar" as the base for all my plans.



Oh and Nik... I`ve finally picked up a nice shiney new copy of Pathfinder Core Rules, DM`s Guide, and the Bestiary....   wow is all I need to say 


First game is planned for next Saturday 

[Squirrel]

Campaign location has firmly been decided. The game will take place to the North of the regions described in the books; there are plenty of unexplored land masses there for me to dabble with and means I can use "Arnor" and "Angmar" as the base for all my plans.

First game is planned for next Saturday 

Sound cool Six I'll look forward to reading how it goes.

Cheers,

Kev

[nikharwood]

Oh and Nik... I`ve finally picked up a nice shiney new copy of Pathfinder Core Rules, DM`s Guide, and the Bestiary....   wow is all I need to say 


First game is planned for next Saturday 

Excellent - looking forward to seeing / hearing about how it goes; I am being good though and resisting buying any more RPG stuff until I've unloaded way more of my surplus to create the shelf-space 

[sixsideddice]

I am being good though and resisting buying any more RPG stuff until I've unloaded way more of my surplus to create the shelf-space 

Good man yer`self there Nik....  *sighhhhs*  I`m hopeless I`m afraid.

Actually, its all your fault Nik  if you hadn`t set me on the path, I`d never have been tempted. But I was kinda good. I thought about it for a good nine months before I actually made the jump away from 3.5 and into Pathfinder. I especially like the way it translates and amalgamates so easily into  DW and vice versa. First game session was sweet...  will relate how it went later, soon as I get a few hours spare. Second session is tonight ^^


Six 

[sixsideddice]

Cheers Squirrel....  pics and write up on the first sessions coming very soon 

[Maenoferren]

Excellent - looking forward to seeing / hearing about how it goes; I am being good though and resisting buying any more RPG stuff until I've unloaded way more of my surplus to create the shelf-space 

naaahhhhh get yourself a copy on Triple Ace Games Leagues of adventure - mine arrived yesterday, very nice it is too. played a few games so far...ubiquity system works well  and with the lot I play with, an overweight  consulting detective with a steam powered dog called snack... hence the order - snack...attack and a ex military doctor with a damaged leg... and these are the two who shall defend queen and country against the dashed enemies of the state.... oh lord rpreserve us

[sixsideddice]

an overweight  consulting detective with a steam powered dog called snack... hence the order - snack...attack and a ex military doctor with a damaged leg... and these are the two who shall defend queen and country against the dashed enemies of the state.... oh lord rpreserve us

OOoo I wanna hear more.... do you have any of this (batreps, campaign journal) on blog or anything? Sounds like my cup of tea.

[Maenoferren]

hey six here is the forum link
http://www.tripleacegames.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=22&sid=4c364c3487454e9620160fbaf0ad8bb7
I  just had a look on the web front, the special offer for leagues of adventure runs out 19th June Uk time and date stamp
the horror supplement is coming out next month I think.
Well worth a look if you are interested, to be honest we used to play savage worlds but now moving over to ubiquity as a system.
I am running the games now, but will have to sort out a character for when somebody else runs one - now do i resurrect Sir Percival Fanhard or do I come up with somebody new.hhhhhmmmmm

here is a review of the game from a third party, I shouldnt really comment too much as the writer is my mate and in my gaming group.. but I like it  
http://solaceofsavagery.wordpress.com/2012/05/21/leagues-of-adventure/

ohh and sorry for hijacking your thread..if someone wants to shift it please feel free

[sixsideddice]

wow.... Wow... WOW  WOW

That looks truly AWESOME.

Thank you very much for the links Maenoferran (<---  what does that name mean btw?).

ohh and sorry for hijacking your thread..if someone wants to shift it please feel free

Gosh no...  hack away. This is realy just a thread for me to place all things campaign related regarding the new rpg fantasy campaign I`m running; thoughts, ideas, rundown of game sessions, etc etc... and any imput is always very welcome. Side-trecks into things like your game threads just add a bit more spice really  


Six

[sixsideddice]

Where to start….

The players for this new campaign had, with the exception of my eldest daughter Tiffany, never played a game of D&D before in their lives. I knew the biggest hurdle I was going to have to overcome was their reliance on information they  t-h-i-n-k they perceive about how the game is run, based on their extensive knowledge of X-Box, PlayStation, and PC/Console games in general. This problem, I realized early on (and of course, later borne out in the game sessions themselves) was going to come from pre-conceptions that “D&D is similar to watching a screen and making the characters move about based on commands promoted by thumbs and fingers”; and secondly, the ugly meta-gaming syndrome where all those badly borrowed monsters and other creations from rpg and fantasy books which end up on PC games screen…  wind their way into the consciousness of the players, causing them `wrongly`  to believe this `out of game` information will help them with their knowledge and comprehension when transposed to paper and pencil gaming…

DM: “you see a green viscous mass slowly slithering its way towards you, filling the tunnel almost completely as it gurgles its way forward”.

Player: “oh it’s just a Green Slime, I’ve seen these in Balders Gate, easy to kill… I know cos I`ve faced these many times before on the PC game…”.

WRONG…. badly wrong. Not only does this take away the wonder and excitement of discovering new things for the fledgling player team; it creates a totally blasé  “seen it all before” attitude which de-sensitizes the players to the game before it even begins, and steals the suspension of disbelief  needed to provide maximum suspense and sense of wonder which should be intrinsic throughout the game.

This has been the biggest bone of contention that I (as a DM) have had to face so far.

The second problem I have had to deal with and an ongoing problem) is that…  PC games are all about, stat blocks, gaining and attaining powers and in game level `pick ups` , combined with a vast array of avatar types the console player can command with his fingers and thumbs. This is all well and good for a console game, because those types of game are all about tailoring the best avatar possible to battle your way through the `unrealistically` vast legions of bad guys the player is going to meet as he/she fights an endless linear onslaught to reach the end of the game and face its inevitable pre-written `cut scene` conclusion…  some console games even allow for a couple of alternative endings *gasps in mock respect and delighted surprise*… but meh! end of the day it’s all pre-programmed and inevitable.  In RPG pencil and paper gaming… especially the old school gaming that I like so much, I really like the concept of players playing humans; this was the way D&D was originally conceived (by Gygax and Arneson), and in fact Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits (note -not Halflings… that name came later), Half Orcs etc were massively penalised as playing characters with a level cap way lower than humans might ever attain. I LIKED this concept… it meant that I as DM was able to make the Elves and Dwarves and what not come alive… could make them culturally different and exotic for the players to encounter. Hard to do when you`re trying to explain to the characters that the group of Elves meandering through the forest path towards you look almost other-worldly, fey and enchanting, with an element of sad melancholy etched into their features as though their wisdom transcends through the mists of time… only to hear the player controlling the elf go: “yeah yeah, I know all this from my last DC history check and my racial bonus is +6 because I`m an elf…  so do I see a wizard who can teach another spell for my mage?” 

LET the players play humans, and let the demi humans be played as NPC`s by the DM. It’s time the good old stock human character finally took a rightful stand against the prejudice gamers have developed against this `boring` character class… when other racial types of character (barely conceived enough ever to be played properly in a role playing capacity) often look far more appealing.

I`m known for breaking rules and for making rules… usually I break them first, then remake them again to suit my style of play. In my game, it is j-u-s-t starting to dawn on the players that humans have a massive advantage in the game world over the other `potentially` playable racial types they can choose from. In fact… I will be kind and benevolent, and allow them miraculously to metamorphose into humans if they choose to (I think of my whole group, only one player chose a human would you believe; yet the rest actually have no idea how to role play a demi-human effectively). But I`ll let them all come to this conclusion themselves… in time.

But, all in all, they are a pretty good bunch, and have for the most part, taken to role playing , like ducks to water… bottom line, were all having a ball. Several sessions in and the adventure is just starting to pick up and become epic.

Next thread will summarise the game plot so far, and if I can work out image re-sizing, I`ll add photo/bios of the group :-)

[Squirrel]

Sounds like you are all having a great time - which is the whole point after all

Step learning curve for your players, but I'm sure they will master it quicker than you expect

Cheers,

Kev

[nikharwood]

Totally agree with Kev - sounds like you're getting them (& you) to enjoy themselves six - and that's what it's all about...

I can't stand meta-gaming, it must be said - does my head in & can completely ruin it for others as well. That's why it's useful to have a load of DM variables up your sleeve...not necessarily anything particularly evil (certainly not a TPK) but just things that will discourage 

Anyway - glad you're underway and it's all working out - looking forward to more detail etc as you get it 

[Nosher]

Roleplay is best left for bedroom antics

[sixsideddice]

lol

[Luddite]

What you're up to is rather interesting SSD.  When i started, there weren't even mobile phones (in fact my parents didn't even have a landline), let alone console games.

Since almost the entire 'computer game' industry owes its lineage to Messrs Arneson, Gygax et al and their wonderful roleplaying games, i find it very interesting to hear about youngsters coming out of the console gaming into pen and paper gaming.

I don't think your 'willing suspension of disbeleif' issues are unique to the generational feedback though.  I remember my earliest childhood games that were filled with wonder at the beasties i was facing in this magical world.  Experience dulls that wonder though as you become a creature of the game mechanics.  Its the old 'Monty Haul' or 'roll playing vs role playing' debate isn't it?  Lovely to hear your facing it with a new generation, prised from the soulless PC games. 

Hopefully, sticking at it, and keeping the GM pressure on developing characters rathyer than stat blocks will pay off in the end.

The best game i found to help new players understand what roleplaying is about was Greg Staffords Pendragon.  Unfortunately not much good for female gamers though...

[sixsideddice]

What you're up to is rather interesting SSD.  When i started, there weren't even mobile phones (in fact my parents didn't even have a landline), let alone console games.

When I started, the white box D&D had only just been invented, and I had one of the initial run of 2000 copies printed by Gygax and purchased from Gen Con in 1973. Space Invaders the arcade machine hadn`t even been invented yet, and like you say, most homes didn`t have a phone (eveyone used the public phone box). Supermarkets didn`t exist, and kids still wore short trousers to school.

Since almost the entire 'computer game' industry owes its lineage to Messrs Arneson, Gygax et al and their wonderful roleplaying games, i find it very interesting to hear about youngsters coming out of the console gaming into pen and paper gaming.

It is incredible isn`t it... something which was considered an unhealthy fad, a minor annoyance to most parents and frowned upon by the church as devil enhancing and spiritually unhealthy should become one of the major uber businesses of the coming decades; turning not only rpg but wargaming as a whole into a money making factory as opposed to an amateur minority pastime.

I don't think your 'willing suspension of disbeleif' issues are unique to the generational feedback though.  I remember my earliest childhood games that were filled with wonder at the beasties i was facing in this magical world.  Experience dulls that wonder though as you become a creature of the game mechanics.  Its the old 'Monty Haul' or 'roll playing vs role playing' debate isn't it?  Lovely to hear your facing it with a new generation, prised from the soulless PC games. 

Yes, totally correct. Thankfully, due to a bit of experience, some tenacity in steering the `ship` and a lot of gentle DM persuasion, I seems to be keeping things nicely on track.

Hopefully, sticking at it, and keeping the GM pressure on developing characters rather than stat blocks will pay off in the end.

This is my single minded plan... I`ve actually banned my players now from pouring over the rule books and monster manuals... sounds harsh, but we`ll see if that helps.

The best game i found to help new players understand what roleplaying is about was Greg Staffords Pendragon.  Unfortunately not much good for female gamers though...

Funnily enough, I never got on with that game; but I noticed it had quite a considerable following so it must have been a pretty cool game. I still own a copy somewhere.