Crowdsourced dungeon at the 'Pub!

Best Selling RPGs - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com

Necrozius

Legendary Pubber
Joined
Apr 25, 2017
Messages
4,289
Reaction score
10,602
Greetings 'Pub!

After musing over the potential of River Horse's RPG based on Jim Henson's Labyrinth (review thread here), I thought we could make our own here at the Pub... Crowdsource style!


My proposal:
  • We work as a community to create this dungeon adventure by submitting encounters, artwork, editing, stat blocks etc...
  • We could make it as system-neutral as possible, but perhaps some contributors could submit stats for specific systems
  • We agree on a setting and theme
  • It fits into the "structure" of the Labyrinth exploration system, which I will describe here


Exploration system:

Basically, the Labyrinth RPG works like this:
  • The Dungeon is split into "Chapters", which are areas with distinct moods, themes and environments. In the Labyrinth RPG, for example, the sections were: Stone Walls, Hedge Maze, Land of Yore, Goblin Town and the Castle. Other than the final area, there are no overall maps; these areas are abstracted and a bit surreal.

  • Each Chapter includes a numbered set of "Rooms" (in Labyrinth, there are about 22 in each, except for the final one). These Rooms vary in scope and size from a single dungeon cell to a city block. Each Chapter also has its own distinct random tables for encounters and treasures.

  • Advancement through each Chapter is done by rolling a d6 and adding your Progress to the result. This is the number of the next Room you go to. If this result would go beyond the number of Rooms within a Chapter, you immediately go to the next Chapter, starting at Room 1.

  • Progress is usually the current Room number you're at, but not always. If you succeed at "defeating" the challenge in a Room, you will be instructed to "advance your Progress". Failure means that you have to do that exploration roll again. In Labyrinth, there's an "Oubliette" that a few Rooms could send you to, which really sucks.

  • There's a time limit! Sometimes failing an Room's challenge means losing an hour. Also if you try to backtrack and fail your roll and get lost. Running out of time (ie, getting to the 13th hour) means you lose.

  • If you reach the final boss in the final Chapter before the Time runs out, you win!


How we do could do this:
  1. We vote as a community to decide upon an overall Dungeon Theme. Ideally we choose one that can have some distinct environments that we could split into "Chapters".

  2. Once we sort that out, we vote on what the Chapters will be like, and what the final challenge would be (a literal "final boss"?)

  3. We divide each Chapter into 20 or so "Rooms" (aka encounters). Forum members "park" their names next to these as writers, artists etc...

  4. Before we go hog wild, we'd have to come up with some rules and standards around these "Rooms":
    • general difficulty and "PG rating"
    • penalties for "failure"
    • limitations on "backtracking"
    • logistics around encounter rewards, hooks or consequences that could come up again in later encounters


What do you think?

Let me know if any of you are interested. We have a great community here with a variety of skills. I believe we might even have an Editor or two (crossing fingers).

The final outcome could be something that we share among the contributors but perhaps sell on DriveThru or wherever to help raise fund the RPGPub and keep it alive!

Cheers!
 
Some ideas to get us started:

1. A Ravenloft or Castlevania type of huge sprawling Castle with many different floors and levels. Defeat the Undead Lord or Lady at the end!

2. A massive maze of traps like the movie Cube. Great potential for Sci-fi horror, but instead of death, the protagonists get maimed in all sorts of ways (keep the players in the game), or perhaps allow new PCs to be "rescued" from cells or cloning vats.

3. Blame! mega cyber dungeon (Manga or the Movie). Essentially a nightmarish huge underground futuristic ruin full of Clive-barker-inspired Cyber Demons that can possess and "hack" a person's genes and transform them into other monstrosities.

4. Ever seen Robin of Sherwood? How about a mystical, fog-shrouded and ruin-infested forest in medieval England/Wales? Full of Fey, Pagan magic and evil Satanists.

Lots of possibilities...
 
Proposed structure of a typical "Room"

Based on the ones in the Labyrinth RPG:
  1. Title of the Room
  2. Flavor text (brief, a sentence or two)
  3. Illustration: floor plan, with numerical references
  4. Numbered descriptions of the Room (based on the floor plan)
  5. Random tables to ensure replay-ability
  6. Consequences block: here is what happens if the players succeed at overcoming or failing the challenge
I figure we could try to keep these as tight as possible while making them flavorful and memorable. Stat blocks could be in the Appendices, based on whichever systems we end up building them for....
 
Placeholder: template structures

Note: the names in the table below are just examples: I haven't enlisted anyone yet LOL

Chapter 1

Theme
: Lorem ipsum

Random encounters (combat):
  1. lorem ipsum
  2. lorem ipsum
  3. lorem ipsum
  4. lorem ipsum
  5. ...

Random descriptions:
  1. lorem ipsum
  2. lorem ipsum
  3. lorem ipsum
  4. lorem ipsum
  5. ...

Room nameWriterArtistsRoom connectionsStatus
1The BeginningNecroziusTristramEvansDraft
2The Next RoomDoc SammyNecrozius5Complete
3The Third RoomEndlessFlightVersion 2
4???RobertsconleyDraft
5Some other roomJane Doe2Parked
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
 
Last edited:
Great idea this!

4. Ever seen Robin of Sherwood? How about a mystical, fog-shrouded and ruin-infested forest in medieval England/Wales? Full of Fey, Pagan magic and evil Satanists

Out of the options this is the one I'd go for as it is (a) very appealing and (b) could allow for 'mini-dungeon' sites like barrows and things and also other kinds of areas like hamlets, towers and what-not. Also, it would have the most application in my games so I'm being biased.

Lovely idea for the community though, thanks for posting/suggesting. :thumbsup:
 
IF anyone is interested in more formally participating, I would love to hear in what way you'd like to contribute.

Myself, I'm a nobody, but I can draw, write (but in need of an editor) and I know Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator (and have a copy of Adobe CC). So I can actually make stuff if we're short on resources.

Looking forward to hearing what you folks think...
 
Out of the options this is the one I'd go for as it is (a) very appealing and (b) could allow for 'mini-dungeon' sites like barrows and things and also other kinds of areas like hamlets, towers and what-not. Also, it would have the most application in my games so I'm being biased.

Yeah I'm particularly interested in a woodsy, folkloric setting out of Celtic and Pagan myth. If we do this right, it could be used in a variety of campaign settings, from medieval/fantasy to even modern. Hikers get lost in the woods and voila.

Robin of Sherwood changed my life, honestly. I especially was fascinated by the deliberate separation of the Horned God and the Devil. Mysterious, Pagan or Arthurian figures in the emerald, misty forest...
 
Why not a pub-themed setting? Make the whole thing a massive Oktoberfest-like piss-up. We could have areas like the Market, Tavern Street, the Filthy Alley That Doubles As A Toilet And Fight Pit, the Brewery, the Warehouse, etc.
 
Out of the options this is the one I'd go for as it is (a) very appealing and (b) could allow for 'mini-dungeon' sites like barrows and things and also other kinds of areas like hamlets, towers and what-not. Also, it would have the most application in my games so I'm being biased.

I also immediately saw a lot of potential with the "forest-as-Dungeon" idea - a mystical wood, that once entered cannot easily be left without traversing specific paths/solving a sequence of puzzles/defeating/appeasing the Forest Lord, etc. Capture a Mythago Wood by way of Sea of Leaves vibe.
 
We should get a general interest check here and then open another thread to vote on the overall theme.
 
As for what I can contribute, I can work on an individual section or two, and in general provide some art.
 
Last edited:
I can't draw but I'd be happy to give room writing a shot. I like most of the ideas you suggested, except for the sci-fi-horror-maze; that seems the hardest to change to different "PG ratings".
 
I do my best work in horror, so I'd suggest pushing into "R" territory, just leaving out overt sex/sexual violence and anything icky in that territory
 
I'm down to contribute a room/location, it has been a while since I've done original content but it should be fun.
 
Of the ideas you put forth, I’d be most likely to help out with number 4. the Haunted Sherwood type deal.
 
I can write a room for whatever. But someone else is doing the map and/or illustrations:smile:.
BTW I'd prefer an R-rated product.
 
Last edited:
I'm not particularly good at the art side. Unless you want distorted stick figures. Out of the options presented, I like the Forest of Doom/Robin of Sherwood theme. And I'm not crazy about pushing the boundaries of what's acceptable, so a PG, kind of 12A setup seems good to me.
 
I can draw (a little) though its been awhile and I've been published in my writing (for The One Ring and Lone Wolf). I can also produce (hand drawn) maps and have some old school skills in putting together word docs/pdfs (take a look at my resources link below).

I am quite a bit 'time poor' at the moment so the subject matter would need to grab my attention and out of those listed that would mean going with option 4 for me to commit some of the little time I have as I'm afraid the others don't really interest me.
 
Cool, glad to hear folks are interested.

re: the themes, my pitches were just to get the "ball rolling". Does anyone else have any suggestions? I'm very cool with Haunted Sherwood, personally.

Something to consider while settling on a theme: how to break it up into those Chapters that I mentioned before.

Each Chapter would benefit from a distinct atmosphere or environment. As a few people mentioned, we could easily break up the Haunted Sherwood by:
  • The Woodland Path (forest encounters along a maze-like path)
  • Old Nottingham (the ruins of an old village and farms)
  • The Barrows (pre-Christian tombs and barrows)
  • The Castle or Cathedral of Dooooom (large ruined structure)
Something like that. What do you think?
 
The mystical forest thing could be done in a bunch of ways. You could take the basics of the Sherwood outline above and apply it to a Fae Court kind of approach. One benefit of Fae trappings is that it provides a lot of room for non-linear movement and drastic changes in scenery without seeming odd, as the labyrinth can bounce back and forth from the the material and fae realms.

A more horror themed lost in the woods version could also use that same pattern. I can see something there using elements of, say, Into the Wyrd and Wild and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.
 
Cool, glad to hear folks are interested.

re: the themes, my pitches were just to get the "ball rolling". Does anyone else have any suggestions? I'm very cool with Haunted Sherwood, personally.

Something to consider while settling on a theme: how to break it up into those Chapters that I mentioned before.

Each Chapter would benefit from a distinct atmosphere or environment. As a few people mentioned, we could easily break up the Haunted Sherwood by:
  • The Woodland Path (forest encounters along a maze-like path)
  • Old Nottingham (the ruins of an old village and farms)
  • The Barrows (pre-Christian tombs and barrows)
  • The Castle or Cathedral of Dooooom (large ruined structure)
Something like that. What do you think?
Structurally, rather than something like The Woodland Path being one distinct chapter, could shorter bits of it be used as an "interlude" between the various locations? So rather than the flow being 1 - 2 - 3 - 4, it would be 1.1 - 2 - 1.2 - 3 - 1.3 - 4?
 
Structurally, rather than something like The Woodland Path being one distinct chapter, could shorter bits of it be used as an "interlude" between the various locations? So rather than the flow being 1 - 2 - 3 - 4, it would be 1.1 - 2 - 1.2 - 3 - 1.3 - 4?

I suppose so, as long as the progression still works (roll d6, add current Progress rating). Instead of hard stops, we could have “blended” transitions, true.

Simplicity being key...
 
Cool, glad to hear folks are interested.

re: the themes, my pitches were just to get the "ball rolling". Does anyone else have any suggestions? I'm very cool with Haunted Sherwood, personally.

Something to consider while settling on a theme: how to break it up into those Chapters that I mentioned before.

Each Chapter would benefit from a distinct atmosphere or environment. As a few people mentioned, we could easily break up the Haunted Sherwood by:
  • The Woodland Path (forest encounters along a maze-like path)
  • Old Nottingham (the ruins of an old village and farms)
  • The Barrows (pre-Christian tombs and barrows)
  • The Castle or Cathedral of Dooooom (large ruined structure)
Something like that. What do you think?
Sounds fine to me!

Also, I have a very original idea about a forest encounters...tree-inhabiting spiders:grin:!
 
Sounds fine to me!

Also, I have a very original idea about a forest encounters...tree-inhabiting spiders:grin:!

nature-1.jpg
 
How about an innocent party of travelling spiders who get ambushed by hungry tree-dwelling dwarves?
 
Something to consider while settling on a theme: how to break it up into those Chapters that I mentioned before.

Each Chapter would benefit from a distinct atmosphere or environment. As a few people mentioned, we could easily break up the Haunted Sherwood by:
  • The Woodland Path (forest encounters along a maze-like path)
  • Old Nottingham (the ruins of an old village and farms)
  • The Barrows (pre-Christian tombs and barrows)
  • The Castle or Cathedral of Dooooom (large ruined structure)
Something like that. What do you think?


I think, since we seem to be pretty unanimous on the forest as theme, we should come up with the basic story which will inform the other choices
 
I think, since we seem to be pretty unanimous on the forest as theme, we should come up with the basic story which will inform the other choices
Yes, we should. What do yo think about keeping elements from the Labyrinth RPG’s structure, in terms of a time limit and other mechanisms?
 
Maybe something in a classic fairy tale as the basic framework? Or even a fairy tale mashup. I'm thinking original Grimm here more than Disney.
 
Maybe something in a classic fairy tale as the basic framework? Or even a fairy tale mashup. I'm thinking original Grimm here more than Disney.
Absolutely: I was hoping for something folkloric and old fashioned. Grimm more than Disney, for sure. But also more based on real world myths rather than mainstream fantasy. If there are elves and dwarves, for instance, I’d rather look at European Myth rather than the Forgotten Realms.
 
In the Labyrinth RPG, the main goal (plot) is to reach the center of the labyrinth and confront the Goblin King, who stole something of great value from one or more of the protagonists.

It was up to the players to decide what that was, but we could provide some suggested options (ie, adventure hooks to suit different moods).
 
Yes, we should. What do yo think about keeping elements from the Labyrinth RPG’s structure, in terms of a time limit and other mechanisms?

If they make sense - I mean, if there is a sense of urgency to "complete" it, then the time limit makes sense. If the playrs are simply unwary travellers inadvertantly swallowed up by the forest, less so. I'd say it all hinges on what the end goal is.
 
In the Labyrinth RPG, the main goal (plot) is to reach the center of the labyrinth and confront the Goblin King, who stole something of great value from one or more of the protagonists.

It was up to the players to decide what that was, but we could provide some suggested options (ie, adventure hooks to suit different moods).


I wouldn't want us to do something that skirts sooo close to the Labyrinth game. Let me pour over my fairy tale motifs index and pitch a few ideas...
 
I'd be interested. Maybe something based on English folklore like the Lambton Worm (although that's definitely a higher level challenge!)
 
How gonzo/humourous are we being? Are evil satanic morris dancers too silly?
 
Something with a Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell feel might work. It could just as easily be Germanic as British, of course. It might be fun to subvert and roll some of the common tropes in Grimm style fairytales. Like a brave young princess who needs to fetch water from a magic well to wake her magically slumbering prince. Cannibal Candy children that ambush and eat perfectly harmless midwives. That sort of thing.
 
Something with a Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell feel might work. It could just as easily be Germanic as British, of course. It might be fun to subvert and roll some of the common tropes in Grimm style fairytales. Like a brave young princess who needs to fetch water from a magic well to wake her magically slumbering prince. Cannibal Candy children that ambush and eat perfectly harmless midwives. That sort of thing.
Three pig delinquents who constantly torment their elderly wolf neighbour.
 
I wouldn't want us to do something that skirts sooo close to the Labyrinth game. Let me pour over my fairy tale motifs index and pitch a few ideas...
Yeah of course, that was just an example. My point was having a clear reason for the PCs to make their way through the woods, escape the woods, or find their way to a specific location inside of it.
Lots of possibilities that we’ll have to narrow down.
 
Banner: The best cosmic horror & Cthulhu Mythos @ DriveThruRPG.com
Back
Top