What if you could walk on walls like Spiderman?
Would seeing everything sideways become your new normal?
This week we tried to capture moments of unfolding havoc, accidental renaissance-painting style, while looking at things from a (literal) new point of view.
Some Context: For my dungeon23 challenge, I’m making a d365 random table of tunnel/cavern “rooms” inside my cosmic underworld setting, “The World Without Skies”.
Really, this entire thing is an exercise in mania. I hope you enjoy this wild ride with me!
Week 6: “Sideways // Awry”
This week was another one of those where it became 2 challenges at once.
I was really inspired by how the end of my last week culminated in rooms 33-35, and wanted to keep that momentum going.
First, I wanted to explore the idea of doing sideways rooms to see if it would yield more “design space” - both for the art in the maps, as well as room to fill it with points of interest.
Spoiler alert: It was a lot of free design space. Almost too much, lol.
The second half of the sideways challenge came when I considered the word sideways itself in the context of a narrative plot; complications are a great storytelling tool, and can create a lot of dynamic scenarios out of parts that are more static when considered alone.
Because this chapter/months’ theme is WAR, I crystallized the above sentiment in the prompt “Awry” - the exact moment where the goblin poop hits the fan.
Of course, the week yielded differing amounts of chaos between entries:
In addition to everything else, this past week I’ve found myself taking this new “order of operations” when writing out the rooms:
Start with inspired prompts or roll random tables
Start drawing out the different characters and points of interest FIRST
Draw out icons and map space around them
END by writing out the points of interest in the room
It usually takes me around 30 mins to an hour or more to finish these entries - not because I try to make each one really complex, but instead because I get lost in the doodles.
When I start scribbling and I’m automatically a kid again, without a care in the world, and I just explore the page.
However, this new process forces me to try and limit the scope of each room, thank God. As I’m doodling the roll results out, I have to remember all the details before I forget to write them down!
Sometimes that’s like, an hour of actively remembering everything going on in a location!
A bit roundabout, sure, but I also cherish that as a separate mental exercise for improv GMing!
Weekly Innovation: What’s in the Hole? d30
Sorry for asking here, but does anybody know the right time to call your doctor about a procedure problem?
I can’t stop making new procedures, and they all end up being like, d30 tables.
(It’s “I30” instead of “d30”, for “invoke”, to include any means of random number generation, not just dice.)
I’ve really enjoyed having random tables with open-ended answers.
Whenever I roll them, I try to come up with a good specific answer to the open prompt.
This table has helped fill a lot of rooms with extra detail and color, without taking up much space on the page itself. It’s been very useful!
Best Room 6: “Languish!”
Every week I declare “the best room of the week”, which is actually just my favorite among the bunch.
This week, it was this tunnel where not an army itself, but the war song from the marching order became a deluge unto itself; a common occurence of Musecraft.
I really like how this entry communicates both scale and ‘calamity’. There was a lot of stuff going on already, what with the scourge beasts of various factions trying to seige the bone labyrinth, and the crevasse…. who knows what one could become walking into a place like that!
Discord Highlight: Procrastimancer’s Scuba Shaun
For Dungeon23, Procrastimancer is doing this cool spin on it where each month, he explores a new location adventure, written for Abentereuerspiel, in the Trophy Dark style - “Horror23!”
For his second month, Procrastimancer is doing a deep dive horror off of a beach setting. For your first venture out on the water, you’re diving with Shaun.
Shaun is “a friend of a friend’s boyfriend’s cousin’s husband’s partner”, and he always heads to the cool spot you’ve just been diving from with him, every summer.
This encounter takes place after your first initial dive - weary from the water pressure, physical exertion, and perhaps after seeing something very ominous in the depths.
How is Dungeon23 going for you?
Let us know in the comments and join our Discord server, where we’re posting about #dungeon23 every day!
Discovery: Sometimes Life Goes Sideways
This month has been nonstop for me. Really, this year.
At the end of last year, I lost my main freelancing gig, so I rushed to start a new business, as well as expand my freelancer offerings, as well as continue to wrap up our flagship RPG’s Kickstarter release.
These past two weeks have been really awesome, as my new business is really starting up, my freelance work has been getting steadier, and I got my prior gig back!
So now, instead of ill-expected days of ruin and toil, we’re just trying to keep up with all the opportunities and finish each one well!
As you could imagine, all this has impacted my dungeon23 journey, but I’m just as excited for it now as ever!
All this to say, if life’s coming at you sideways right now, don’t expect the worst, keep your wits about you, and put your best foot forwards! You never know what opportunities could be right around the corner.
Join Us for Dungeon23!
The best part about dungeon23 is that there’s no real way to lose. It’s for fun!
Interact with it as much or as little as you’d like. If you’re looking for a fun place to geek out about dungeon23, come on down to The Cult of The Muse Discord Server!
We’d love to see what you’ve come up with!