I've been playing around with a random dungeon generator. I really like this aspect of literally not knowing what's around the next corner, but other than the room contents provided by the generator, I feel a bit stuck as to bringing the thing to life. I seem to be a bit prose-heavy and in the dungeon keep finding myself hurriedly slogging through die rolls to get to the next plot element.
I'm curious as to how others go about this process, as far as "fleshing out" the environment or atmosphere and other details in an area you're simultaneously creating and discovering as you go. Do you spin your own descriptions or lean on some other process or tool? Is it a part of your solo engine (I'm just using a simple d6 yes/no system)? Or are you less concerned with the "feel" and dungeon crawling just to enjoy the mechanics of your game (ie. maybe the system I'm using is the problem)?
Friday, August 25, 2017
I've been playing around with a random dungeon generator. I really like this aspect of literally not knowing what's around the next corner, but other than the room contents provided by the generator, I feel a bit stuck as to bringing the thing to life. I seem to be a bit prose-heavy and in the dungeon keep finding myself hurriedly slogging through die rolls to get to the next plot element.
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I've almost complete the fantasy sourcebook for my Bivius RPG, the mechanics are simple and the style is narrative.
ReplyDeleteAs part of the dungeon dressing, I would throw in liberal amounts of clues (some of which might be red herrings) and atmospheric stuff. Even if you don't know if a clue is valuable, creating it and adding it to a list allows you to re-incorporate the clue to simulate foreshadowing. (I call that Markov's Gun - a combination of Markov Chains and Chekov's Gun.)
ReplyDeleteI like the ideas in the Location Generator
ReplyDeleteMy process is very simple. I use a loose and interpretive room description, like:
ReplyDelete> [Room] gleaming, wood [Purpose] bodily functions [Size] expansive [Shape] square
Then I roll up a couple of items in the room, make a roll on a classic monster-treasure-trap-empty table, then finish with a few exits.
Pretty trivial with software assist.
I forgot to add some shameless self promotion:
ReplyDeletedrivethrurpg.com - 1234 Dungeon Ambiance Descriptions
These might or might not be helpful in creating some ambience for you.
And the Adventuresmith app
ReplyDeleteFree
I just enjoy the mechanics of the system and make up the descriptions based on the events.
ReplyDeleteI mostly just make up the descriptions, but I use various dungeon dressing tables (the Labyrinth Lord Advanced Edition Companion appendix especially) when my imagination flags.
ReplyDeleteTodd Zircher Markov's Gun. Nice. Related: I was running a play-by-post game for some friends, who were totally ignoring an important item in a room. I tried giving a meta-clue by posting a picture of Pavel Chekov dressed as a gunslinger, but that flew over everyone's heads, even the lit teacher. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the info, guys. Interestingly enough, I returned to my dungeon equipped to bring it to life and my character died in the very next room, so all the effort didn't serve him too well, at least.
ReplyDeleteI, however, was content to let that happen so I can move on to more complex games and try new soloing tools (this was really just my second solo "tutorial" attempt). But, this time armed with the ideas and knowledge above, if and when I find myself dungeon crawling!
Crawl on and delve deeper
ReplyDelete