tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post5679261105147367711..comments2024-02-25T08:15:47.886-05:00Comments on Professor Pope: Tentpole Megadungeon Design QuestionNakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-48187951368189753382011-11-03T15:27:36.575-04:002011-11-03T15:27:36.575-04:00@Francisca -- Thanks! I like the jam band metapho...@Francisca -- Thanks! I like the jam band metaphor.NakiaPopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-37632176086128824632011-11-03T15:00:14.235-04:002011-11-03T15:00:14.235-04:00My general MO:
I usually throw down 1/2-2/3 of a p...My general MO:<br />I usually throw down 1/2-2/3 of a page of text about the background of the tower/dungeon/cave system/whatever, and maybe another paragraph about the surrounding area. That is for me to consume.<br /><br />I then produce something less than a page in length for the players, something that can be read in 2 minutes, tops, which is based on my initial ideas in the document mentioned above. That gets emailed to the players or read at the table at the outset of the adventure.<br /><br />As the players root around the dungeon and town, I make up a bunch of crap on the spot, and add it to the documentation. A lot of this ends up as dead ends, the rest gets weaved in to what passes as "story" at my table.<br /><br />I might throw some stakes in the ground in the game world, never more than a week's travel from where they are. The stakes might be towns, "here be monsters" things, whatever, and the process repeats for each new area they encounter.<br /><br />There is rarely any sort of story arc, episodes, set pieces, or the like at the outset when I'm behind the screen. The story is only apparent in retrospect.<br /><br />Now, if I'm running in a somewhat defined campaign setting like you find in the '83 Greyhawk boxed set, well, most of the up-front work is done for me. We know where Homlett and the ToEE, Snure, and Iuz are already. I just need to improv some stuff along the way.<br /><br />I am currently working up a somewhat more organized/fleshed out mini-setting, which is sort of a "oh crap, the local legends ARE REAL!!!" kind of thing, but it's an outlier for me.<br /><br />So I guess to answer your question: Backstory is useful to me as a jumpstarter, but I don't sweat the small stuff. DMing D&D is very much a visceral and spontaneous thing by and large, kind of like playing in a jam band.Grumpy Old Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11087904102183244773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-8012834323952983022011-11-03T13:12:46.709-04:002011-11-03T13:12:46.709-04:00@Tim -- That's a great idea (the chest and the...@Tim -- That's a great idea (the chest and the apocalypse)! What I am trying to figure out is if I need something more than "Some dwarves and a crazy wizard made some tunnels" which is pretty much the standard dungeon origin story.<br /><br />Let's hear your pocket dimension ideas!NakiaPopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-35618757029068774132011-11-03T12:09:55.454-04:002011-11-03T12:09:55.454-04:00It's interesting that you ask this question. ...It's interesting that you ask this question. Last night I was rereading your play through of KI and was thinking how I could use it as a apocalypse starter kit. Open the chest and let the storm begin. I have been sketching ideas about the pocket dimension within the chest. I would be using the same concept as a mega-dungeon.Gothridge Manorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11371740532802642972noreply@blogger.com