Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Every Man's Dungeon is His Castle

At the end of Tuesday’s session (report coming soon) my co-DM attempted to give out a hook for the nearby village of Hommlet.  When he did so one of the players objected.  It seems that he has been waiting anxiously for the day that he could run the Temple of Elemental Evil, and so we agreed that he could do so if he wished.  Then my wife expressed interest in making a dungeon and running it.

Thinking about it today, I was reminded of a section from EPT wherein Barker states that eventually players should make their own underworlds and cities in the world of Tekumel.  I've always been fascinated by the concept, and now I see the potential to enact it.  

Here is my idea:  any player who wants to DM should either pick a large module or make a big dungeon of their own.  They should place it somewhere on the map below.

click to embiggen

Once placed, the player should detail the wilderness area around the dungeon itself (the area contained in the square).  The DMs should come up with some common assumptions and a skimpy setting bible so that reality doesn't shift too greatly, but within those parameters one has complete control over what goes on in his or her square.

The player should make two rumor tables.  One will be rumors about their dungeon, and the other will relate to the surrounding wilderness.  These will all be combined on one large table that every DM will use when the players go in a tavern.  I may suggest a system that would cause the rumors gained to skew towards those areas which are close by, but that is up for debate.

Whenever the characters are headed to your square, your character stays behind to handle party business in the other areas.

While I think it'd make sense for me to get Greyhawk and its environs, I'm willing to give it up.  Nightwick abbey seems like it would fit in well in the Shield Lands...




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