Welcome to the Dungeon

Editor's Remark: As start of our "New Slew" focus happening gambling on a budget, we are stirred to bring you the first installment of Donjon World, a out-of-school source for RPG maps and dungeons, part of our rotating Sopranino Adventure column series. WHO says there's no such thing as free rations?

When I was asked to impart to this pillar, I essentially knew right away that I would use the opportunity to provide items of expend to tabletop fantasy theatrical role-players – especially spunky masters (which I'll simply refer to hereafter as "DM's") – things look-alike: dungeons (here meaning adventure locations), spells, monsters, artifacts and the like. After all, from the dawn of fantasy role-playing games, this has been an inherent aspect of the literary genre: The players are unsurprising to dote on their characters, and the DM is expected to dote along everything else.

It was this fanciful aspect of fantasize RPG's that introductory drew Maine in. Even more than the thought of creating and playing a character, the thought of creating and populating dungeons and their environs thrilled me. As fellow "old train" blogger Jeff Rients puts it:

"To me, one of the outdo parts of DMing is that you get a chance to build all sorts of fun static pieces comparable monsters, dungeons, Wilderness environs and then you let players loose along them to see what happens. Commonly it involves watching your toys acquiring disorganised, but hopefully the players DO an interesting job of ruin your treasured creations."

For some cause, though, the idea of just at random sharing these creations didn't seem like it was sufficient. Throwing heterogenous individual resources at the wall and seeing what stuck ma a little… lacking.

Then I accomplished what was absent: A setting to unite all of these elements. Something united but flexible enough to accommodate Tolkien-esque falsetto fancy aboard pulp fantasize, and even allowing board for the occasional "outre" constituent that so often planted up in the youth of fantasy role playing.

Thus was dropped Donjon Universe.

Click here for a downloadable correspondenc of Dungeon World.

Alfric's Saga

Alfric was 7 years archaic when his father, Ulfgar, woke him early one morning and took him to his clan's sacrosanct gathering ground in a bumpy clearing deep in the woods – the Blood Basinful. There, he sat the boy down, eroding the stern look he commonly reserved for scolding him for bad conduct.
Alfric wondered what atomic number 2 had done wrong this time.

Just, to his surprise, his father didn't shout. Instead, he sat down also, put his arm around him, and waved his massive hand toward the pre-dawn sky.

"Before time began," Ulfgar aforesaid softly, "the universe was vast and empty. Then the Master put-upon the four-part Everstone to create the World, the Stars, the Sun and the Moons, and whol of the creatures that traverse upon and between them. He and his children, the Absolute Gods, dictated at the Little Jo corners of the Humans.

"Lissa, the Caregiver, deterministic in the East. Califrax, Atomic number 2 Who Knows, settled in the West. Rolgar, Lord of War and Keeper of Justice – patron of our kinship group – settled here in the cold North. And their father, the Master, settled south. The Overcome divided the Everstone into its four parts, giving one each to his children and keeping the last for himself.

"Many creatures, great and small, roamed the World at the dawn of sentence and the four races joined them: Halflings, small and jolly folk, tended the fields of the plains; Elves, as otherworldly in nature as in mantrap, lived in slumbrous seclusion in the wooded lands; hardy, state of war-loving Dwarves carved deep tunnels and erected massive stone halls within the mountains of the World; and Humankind, said to bear been made in the really image of the Surmoun and the Dead Gods, thrived most of whol, settling far and all-encompassing across the earth.

"In those early days, the Nonresonant Gods walked the lands of the Reality, interacting with its denizens, exploring its deepest caverns, battling its fiercest beasts and amassing cognition, wealth and power beyond the ken of some mortal. For many an age, the Dead Gods adventured across and below the World, and during that time decorated up great kingdoms.
But in time, the Dead Gods grew tired of their adventures and fell to fighting amongst themselves. Their lower-ranking squabbles became blood feuds, which grew into totally-out wars between their kingdoms. Even the Master could not put an end to their disputes.

"Finally, connected the Day of Tears, the Bushed Gods upside-down their pieces of the Everstone on one other; for each one was destroyed, and their kingdoms sundered.

"Since that day, many another ages past, no one has seen the Overcome. There are rumors that atomic number 2 wanders the Populace, inquiring for the missing pieces of the Everstone so that he can return to the lands from whence atomic number 2 and the Dead Gods came.

"American Samoa for the Dead Gods themselves, they cannot be seen, but they quieten watch over us. Their breath is in the wind, their voices in the thunder and their strength in the heart of men. To this day, the citizenry of the World serve them, each in his own way – many without knowing it.

"The young men and women of our kin, the Clan of the White Bear, serve the Lord of War aside adopting his ways: We learn to fight and be just, and we train that education and seek adventure in the farthermost places of the World. When we go back, we bring with us the noesis and experience we have found on the far side our lands, and in doing so we make our clan stronger.

"Thus did I seek adventure, American Samoa did my beget and my father's father, so forth – down to the very roots of our line," Ulfgar said, as he reached under his comport-pelt cloak and drew his sword, scene it crosswise the male child's lap.

"And so, besides, shall you walk in the footsteps of Rolgar, my eldest son."

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In the Footsteps of the Dead Gods

What we'll comprise calling Dungeon Ma is known simply as "the World" to its denizens. It is a place of great wonder and horrific danger, in which most people simply judge to survive. It is too a place where magic and wonderment (and Sir Thomas More than a little weirdness) are present and the Dead Gods loom deep.

The Dead Gods are generally believed to be ever argus-eyed, even after their mutual wipeout. Nearly human beings aline themselves with one and only of the gods: Followers of Lissa conceive in law and ordering; followers of Rolgar believe that life is a balance of fairness and individual exemption; and followers of Califrax believe in personal gain concluded all else. Even those humans and demi-humans who do not profess to follow one of the Dead Gods are usually recognized by this system of alliance.

As far as the demi-races break down, for each one has an association to matchless of the Tired Gods, regardless of individual alinement: Califrax is the "Patron of the Elves," whose inherent magical affinity makes them naturally inclined to follow the path (take in below) of He World Health Organization Knows; Rolgar is better-known as "Immortal of the Dwarves," presumably for their shared love of combat; and Lissa is the "Mother of the Bittie Folk," as she took an active part in nurturing and protective Halfling society.

There are those, nevertheless rare, who trust not only in aligning themselves with the Dead Gods, but in following their path. These people (be they weak surgery demi-human) believe, for ace reason Beaver State some other, that their purpose for living is to seek adventure. Regardless of their alignment (or miss thereof) to any god, these citizenry choose to embrace the philosophy and life of the venturer.

Avoided – or even shunned – past most "normal folk," adventurers lead lives of great danger and, sometimes, eventide greater reward.

The Lunatic Fringe

The Dead Gods are non the only recognized large forces in the World. A small pantheon of deities, demi-gods and legendary heroes continues to spring u. Most of these are real historical figures, often adventurers, that have achieved mythical status. Adding their appoint to this list of the worthy is the drive motivation of many than a few adventurers.

The One-Hundred-and-Thirty-Seven

No discussion of the religious and philosophical aspects of Dungeon World would follow complete without at any rate a mention of The One-Hundred-and-30-Seven Adherents to the Way of the Cryptic Nut. Exist it scholar, artist, layman or another walk of life sentence, members of the ideologic furor of The Cardinal-Hundred-and-30-Septenar come from diverse backgrounds and social strata. They are firm proponents of adventuring (whether or not they are themselves adventurers), but they consider that information technology must be complete according to "The Old Ways," as outlined in the Adventurer's Codex, one of the Tomes of Caption[1] brought to the World by the Dead Gods.

Unfortunately, although they are, for the just about part,a highly creative lot, The One-Hundred-and-30-Seven are also notoriously ornery and quarrelsome; so what The Old Ways are, exactly, is far from defined. To make matters worse, the Adventurer's Codex is penned in Upper Eggian[1], of which none of The One-Hundred-and-Thirty-Vii know more than a few words, so each has his own interpretation of The Old Ways as set forth away the Cryptic Orchis in the Tomes.

The One-100-and-Thirty-Seven just irregularly, if at all, but are forever in contact through whatever and complete means at their disposal. They spend much of their time qualification public decrees, operating room endorsing or railing against the public decrees of other members. The terminate result of all of this is a chaotic but commonly fun submerge of notion and info, amongst which the discerning English hawthorn glean a some gems of noesis.

What the Future Holds

Next time, we'll take a look at the regions of Dungeon Earthly concern.

Besides in approaching installments, we'll be looking at specific locations ("dungeons"). Accompanying each will be an overview of the surrounding area of Dungeon World, likewise as a look at Florida key people, legends, items, etc. associated with all location.

Stay tuned …

Fall into place here for a downloadable map of Keep Humans.

Chris Brackett is a web monkey by trade, merely in real spirit he's a veteran gamer and author of respective tabletop miniatures games. He spends far overmuch of his time employed on his RPG-focused game blog, A Rust Monster Ate My Steel.

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