To Host a Megadungeon

It all started when I watched the trailer for Darkest Dungeon. The trailer gave me an itch that just can't be scratched by the narrative role-playing games that I've been participating in the last several years. I want to host a game about fantasy and exploration. I want to host a game that reminds me more of my early days in role-playing. I want to host a game where the prospect of the torch burning low should fill you with dread. I want to host a game where you seek fortune in the unknown, but may find only madness. I want to host a megadungeon.

I've been playing a fair amount of narrative role-playing games since I returned to Canada several years ago. The people I know in Toronto are most familiar with the World of Darkness system, so that is what I play. Sure, we've been exploring a fantasy world, but it has been one largely constructed as a reflection of our world. Sure, we've been dealing with various themes of horror, but they have been themes dealing with personal horror. What I want, what I need, is to host a game that reminds me more of my early days in role-playing

Sure, there was that one time I tried to get them to play D&D, but we tried out 4th Edition and after one session they said it reminded them more of a video game than a pen-and-paper role-playing game. I was reluctantly forced to agree, but I don't necessarily find video-game elements undesirable, I was more concerned with the focus of the rules on combat almost exclusive to all else, and the length of time that combat took to resolve.

Before I first played D&D there were three main fantasy influences for me: choose your own adventure books, the HeroQuest boardgame, and video-games in the form of the Legend of Zelda and Quest for Glory series. When I finally played the D&D adventure Scourge of the Slave Lords I was hooked, but then I played The Temple of Elemental Evil. This was my first exposure to the megadungeon concept, and it was love at first sight.

So in an attempt to get my thoughts in order I'll be blogging about the steps I take in the process of assembling my megadungeon (currently nameless). I have a few high level concepts already on my game design document which I'll go over in a future post, and hopefully I'll hit on everything from the system I'll be using to run the megadungeon to the theory I have behind my choices.