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IC: Dungeon Callers.

Posted by Lord Gwydion
Iceseer
member, 51 posts
Fri 22 Sep 2017
at 23:46
  • msg #6

IC: Dungeon Callers

i am not even sure what original dnd is. and so i'll ask is that first edition?
horus
member, 266 posts
Wayfarer of the
Western Wastes
Sat 23 Sep 2017
at 00:56
  • msg #7

IC: Dungeon Callers

In reply to Iceseer (msg # 6):

Original Dungeons & Dragons (aka "White Box D&D") was originally published in the mid-70s by Tactical Studies Rules (TSR) out of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

Inside the box were three 5.5" X 8.5" saddle-stapled booklets with a set of polystyrene polyhedral dice, and not much else.

From these humble beginnings arose an entire hobby.
Iceseer
member, 52 posts
Sat 23 Sep 2017
at 01:01
  • msg #8

IC: Dungeon Callers

okay yeah i meant old school but i believe that original means the same thing for this, but cool go for it.
LonePaladin
member, 643 posts
Creator of HeroForge
Sat 23 Sep 2017
at 03:14
  • msg #9

IC: Dungeon Callers

After the White Box set, they wrote up a simplified version as a sort of introductory set (also the material and box art allowed it to be sold in toy stores), calling it "Basic D&D". It introduced dungeon crawling, simple characters, and only went up to 3rd level. Then they added the Expert rules which upped the level cap to 14th and introduced wilderness exploration.

The next addition was the Companion rules, which increased the level cap to 25. It introduced the idea of high-level characters becoming sovereigns, with lands of their own, strongholds, armies, politics, all that. The characters aren't required to be together all the time any more, as they're each strong enough to act alone if they choose. (In other words, they might each start on their own direction in the campaign.)

The Master set increases the level cap to 36 (the maximum), and introduces planar travel and attempting to gain true immortality -- as in, attaining deity status. And that is a ruleset in itself, the Immortals rules.

All together, that set is referred to as "B/X" or "BECMI". A compilation of these rules was put into the Rules Cyclopedia back in '92 or so, right about the same time that 2nd Edition D&D came out. It evolved into a separate game, with its own rules and quirks.

This is the version I've been calling "Classic D&D" for simplicity. Calling it BECMI might make some people think it's not D&D.
Lord Gwydion
member, 13 posts
Sat 23 Sep 2017
at 07:17
  • msg #10

IC: Dungeon Callers

Thanks for all the interest, everyone.

As a few others have said, "Classic D&D" reders to the non-advanced line of Box sets that came out during the 80's. It's the D&D I cut my teeth on as a kid, and ignores a lot of the complexity of AD&D.

Of course, I have my ever evolving house rules for it, but I can post all of them in the game and players that have the original books could just use them, no problems.

I will try to get this set up soon.
shapeshade
member, 11 posts
Sat 23 Sep 2017
at 16:41
  • msg #11

IC: Dungeon Callers

In reply to Lord Gwydion (msg # 1):

I'll add that a caller is a good idea. Whomever posts the most often should be the caller. Every game involving parties should be like that. I wouldn't mind being in a game like that.
horus
member, 267 posts
Wayfarer of the
Western Wastes
Sat 23 Sep 2017
at 21:34
  • msg #12

Re: IC: Dungeon Callers

shapeshade:
In reply to Lord Gwydion (msg # 1):

I'll add that a caller is a good idea. Whomever posts the most often should be the caller. Every game involving parties should be like that. I wouldn't mind being in a game like that.


Hmm... I got the sense that each player would have several characters and act as caller for his or her entire party.  Did I miss something?  Or did you mean that the calling character would be the one in a player's cadre who posted most often?
Lord Gwydion
member, 14 posts
Sat 23 Sep 2017
at 22:34
  • msg #13

Re: IC: Dungeon Callers

Horus, you got it right. Each player will run an entire party solo. If two parties enter the same area of the dungeon they can interact. And there will be a tavern in town where parties can swap rumors, clues, magic items, etc. between delves.
LonePaladin
member, 645 posts
Creator of HeroForge
Sun 24 Sep 2017
at 04:00
  • msg #14

Re: IC: Dungeon Callers

Lord Gwydion:
And there will be a tavern in town where parties can swap rumors, clues, magic items, etc. between delves.

Or characters, I'm assuming.

"Hey, can we borrow your dwarf?"
horus
member, 268 posts
Wayfarer of the
Western Wastes
Sun 24 Sep 2017
at 04:41
  • msg #15

Re: IC: Dungeon Callers

LonePaladin:
Lord Gwydion:
And there will be a tavern in town where parties can swap rumors, clues, magic items, etc. between delves.

Or characters, I'm assuming.

"Hey, can we borrow your dwarf?"


Whoa, there's a level of trust to aspire to.

"Don't crush that dwarf - hand me the pliers!"

That brings me to a question:  Will the characters be the employees or henchmen, if you prefer, of some nebulous off-screen personage, or will one of the characters control the party, or are both styles of play acceptable?

This could easily morph into a "DanMachi" game, with the players acting as gods and goddesses and their characters being members of their Famiglia.
This message was last edited by a moderator, as it was against the forum rules, at 04:45, Sun 24 Sept 2017.
shapeshade
member, 12 posts
Sun 24 Sep 2017
at 12:35
  • msg #16

Re: IC: Dungeon Callers

...Oh.

Well that's a pretty awesome idea as well, frankly. If a player disappears, a party disappears, but there will be other parties still around...

Sounds great. Maybe as great as the idea I thought it was. Possibly more great.

I'd like to be involved in anything like that...
Lord Gwydion
member, 15 posts
Mon 25 Sep 2017
at 00:50
  • msg #17

Re: IC: Dungeon Callers

Had to Google Danmachi. I lived in Japan for a decade, but never got into manga. I'm familiar with most of the classics, but pretty unfamiliar with the more recent stuff like that.

I guess it's a nested narrative? I doubt I'll be doing anything like that. It wasn't my intention anyway. If you want to think of yourself as one of the gods in Clash of the Titans, feel free, but I probably won't include any sort of meta-layer for "god" interaction.

Just good old dungeon exploration, but you play four to six PCs simultaneously.
Youp
member, 35 posts
Mon 25 Sep 2017
at 11:42
  • msg #18

Re: IC: Dungeon Callers

I would be interested in playing.
Justisaur
member, 38 posts
Dungeon Master since 1979
Wed 27 Sep 2017
at 23:41
  • msg #19

IC: Dungeon Callers

In reply to shapeshade (msg # 11):

Hmm.  I wonder could using a caller actually work in a game.  1st to post gets to dictate other's actions* if they don't post after 24 hours or something like that?

Within reason and within character, no "I give all my gear to Lothar and throw myself in the pit of lava!"
Lord Gwydion
member, 16 posts
Wed 27 Sep 2017
at 23:49
  • msg #20

IC: Dungeon Callers

The idea at the table is that the players discuss the actions of each PC among themselves, and the Caller just reports to the DM. And at places where no obvious better choice exists (left or right passage with no clues what may lie down either) the Caller gets to decide in order to speed play.

It would probably slow down a normal PbP game!
LonePaladin
member, 647 posts
Creator of HeroForge
Thu 28 Sep 2017
at 00:19
  • msg #21

IC: Dungeon Callers

Just turn on the Players Wanted flag already!

...and, y'know, post a link to the game here for the others.

Heh.
Lord Gwydion
member, 18 posts
Thu 28 Sep 2017
at 00:29
  • msg #22

IC: Dungeon Callers

Not quite ready for that. I'm kinda busy IRL at the moment, so I'm only getting a few things ready in the game every day. Be patient. It's coming. :D
Justisaur
member, 39 posts
Dungeon Master since 1979
Thu 28 Sep 2017
at 16:20
  • msg #23

IC: Dungeon Callers

I did try separate parties (although each solo) once with a dungeon crawl PbP.  I found it didn't work very well, as the separate parties quickly got out of sync with each other - one would go off and do a days stuff while the other didn't post much then be back almost immediately from the other's point of view.   It also slowed down considerably when they did meet up.
LonePaladin
member, 649 posts
Creator of HeroForge
Thu 28 Sep 2017
at 17:43
  • msg #24

IC: Dungeon Callers

There's a simple answer for that: instanced dungeons.

Make a whole bunch of dungeons (or use published ones), but have each one be a separate, self-enclosed area for each group. If two groups enter the same dungeon at roughly the same time, it won't matter because they each get their own copy and won't encounter each other.

You could even randomize most of a dungeon's elements -- particularly monsters and treasure -- so that two parties could enter at the same time and have completely different experiences (and loot).
Justisaur
member, 40 posts
Dungeon Master since 1979
Thu 28 Sep 2017
at 21:30
  • msg #25

IC: Dungeon Callers

In reply to LonePaladin (msg # 24):

At that point you're really just running multiple campaigns that happen to be set in the same dungeon.  Nothing wrong with that though.
Lord Gwydion
member, 19 posts
Sun 1 Oct 2017
at 02:33
  • msg #26

IC: Dungeon Callers

I already have considered that I won't be able to keep a consistent timeline of all parties. Basically, I'll have to handwave it away as "timey-wimey mythic underworld" stuff.

Or maybe have it as such that parties only meet up when in town. In the dungeon, the first group to enter an area with an encounter gets that encounter (sort of like instances in an MMORPG) and any other groups that enter "at the same time" don't. Or do, in a parallel universe.

I do want the actions of one party to be able to affect the dungeon for other parties. I don't want to have to keep track of multiple versions of the dungeon for each party. Managing the dungeon for all of the parties will be tough enough.
LonePaladin
member, 650 posts
Creator of HeroForge
Sun 1 Oct 2017
at 03:09
  • msg #27

IC: Dungeon Callers

So is this going to be set in one of those big mega-dungeons, like Undermountain or the Emerald Spire or the Grande Temple of Jing? I can't think of any megadungeons in the Mystara setting (the original world for Basic/Expert D&D).

Or are you going to have a town that's simply conveniently close to several dungeons? Maybe something like the Keep on the Borderlands?
Lord Gwydion
member, 20 posts
Sun 1 Oct 2017
at 04:40
  • msg #28

IC: Dungeon Callers

It's my original creation megadungeon, and yes, there is a convenient town nearby.
Kolath
member, 5 posts
Sun 1 Oct 2017
at 05:21
  • msg #29

IC: Dungeon Callers

So this is set in the game Towns! I love it.
Lord Gwydion
member, 21 posts
Thu 19 Oct 2017
at 05:23
  • msg #30

IC: Dungeon Callers

Final Post:

Thanks for waiting, everyone! I've got the game set up, and I'm ready to start gathering players and having them build their parties.

Dungeon Callers: Treasures, Serpents and Ruins
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