Pat, another Calgarian, and the blogger behind Ode To Black Dougal, also has a little site called Red Box Calgary. The purpose of that site is to promote B/X Dungeons & Dragons games in Calgary, an objective I heartily endorse. He has proposed that we start up a new B/X campaign this Fall.One suggested setting for that upcoming B/X campaign are the dank and horror-filled catacombs, crypts and tunnels beneath an ancient, sprawling and corrupt city. This setting possesses a certain appeal to me, as I am currently reading several of Jack Vance's The Dying Earth novels, and that setting reminds me of Kaiin, a crumbling city, whose abandoned outskirts and underground tunnels hold mysteries and danger. The idea behind the campaign is that the DM duties will rotate amongst the participants. If the other participants were up for it, that would allow each of them to develop their own portions of a shared world, and link them all together in a more-or-less coherent framework.
Another option is to create a Caves Of Chaos styled campaign, where each DM takes one of the cave entrances in a box canyon or valley, and develops it, allowing for later linkages between the complexes. The above art is inspiration for the later suggestion. The art is by Michael Komark, and is from the D&D 3.5 Players Handbook II.
In terms of the latter option, you might want to check out the Chaotic Caves adventure from the LL forum, if you haven't already.
ReplyDeleteSounds very awesome...for your folks' sake, I hope it gets off the ground!
ReplyDeleteThe Caves sound like the way to go, just for ease of adventure design. If you base them in an area of "temporal flux" or "Chaotic influence" (a la Land of the Lost), the DMs won't even have to pay attention to how their own cave tunnels interfere with other ones, each residing in its own, shifting, pocket-dimension.
Plus, the caves could always LEAD to a sprawling, ancient, subterranean city...
; )
I agree, the Caves of Chaos idea sounds awesome. I wish I had the time to check it out. I'm assuming you guys will be playing at Sentry Box?
ReplyDeleteKiltedyaksman said...
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the latter option, you might want to check out the Chaotic Caves adventure from the LL forum, if you haven't already.
Color me intrigued. I will check it our.
JB said...
Sounds very awesome...for your folks' sake, I hope it gets off the ground! The Caves sound like the way to go, just for ease of adventure design. If you base them in an area of "temporal flux" or "Chaotic influence" (a la Land of the Lost), the DMs won't even have to pay attention to how their own cave tunnels interfere with other ones, each residing in its own, shifting, pocket-dimension. Plus, the caves could always LEAD to a sprawling, ancient, subterranean city...
I'm equally intrigued by Pat's suggestion of catacombs beneath a dying city, we'll see what setting is ultimately arrived at!
Rognar said...
I agree, the Caves of Chaos idea sounds awesome. I wish I had the time to check it out. I'm assuming you guys will be playing at Sentry Box?
We're still trying to come to some conclusion. The Sentry Box is attractive, though the comforts of someone's home also has a certain appeal!
I think the catacombs beneath the city idea could work as well. As a metagame way to divide responsibilities, you could divide the surface area of the city into a number of circular sectors (pie slices) equal to the number of DMs, and then each be responsible for that part of the city and what was beneath it.
ReplyDeleteDepending on which DM is running, the party decides to go exploring in that direction.
You could even justify switching DMs mid-stream (if it was time to switch turns) by saying the party has crossed over into another zone, say via a one-way teleporter or such.
Looks very cool! I just happen to be looking for a group to RP with, any chance you're looking for an extra thief/cleric/assasin/etc?
ReplyDeletecheck out red box calgary, we're just in the midst of organizing a campaign.
ReplyDelete