FATE Dungeon Crawl

[Kaare Berg]

For a long time now I've wanted to play an old schoold dungeon crawl. I've come to realise that D&D in any version does not give me the CA I am looking for.

Then there was one line in FATE that fired me up:

story oriented roleplaying game

Pondered this a bit, set out to invite my players into a narrativistic dungeon crawl, and after a shitty day at work wrote this invite (harsh language warning):

THE FOREBODING MOUNTAIN.

A tale told in the LAND, in a TOWN near a FOREBODING MOUNTAIN. Where stories tell that deep under this MOUNTAIN an EVIL WIZARD built a DUNGEON and that many WICKED BEASTS and FOUL FIENDS flocked to his side. Over the years the EVIL WIZARD amassed a GREAT TREASURE as the creatures under his command looted and killed.
Now, many years later rumours have it that the EVIL WIZARD has grown sick and old and that many of the WICKED BEASTS and FOUL FIENDS have left or died. So the TOWNSPEOPLE have sent out a CALL FOR HEROES from across the LAND to seek out the EVIL WIZARD and kill him. Thus ENDING THE MEANCE under THE FOREBODING MOUNTAIN.

WHAT THE FUCK?!?
Gentlemen, and maybe gentlewomen, welcome to an old school dungeon crawl using the FATE engine. This time there is no grand scheme, no world spanning quest, no ring and most certainly no fucking hobbits. There's only the adventurers and a deep, deep dungeon filled with treasure, traps and terrible monsters.
Oh and there is FATE, a "story oriented roleplaying game" since I really can't be bothered to fuck around with things that detract from actual fun. Stay tuned for more.

Unnessecary use of swear words, but my players are getting a bit used to my "revolutionary" ideas and tons of mails with "how about this" content. So I wrote this with a certain sense of self-irony.

What I am looking for here is drifting FATE into Nar type play. And to prove you do not need a twenty sided die to play a dungeon crawl.

[Kaare Berg]

After some positive feedback I carried on with this project. Most protests were from the players who have no fond memories of prying open a chest with a ten foot pole.

CHARACTERS AND YOU

The LAND, a place of towering peaks and deep forests, where the blue sea crashes against sandy beaches and rocky shores and deep rivers cross verdant plains. Across this wilderness villages and towns lie, home to the people of the Land.
Most numerous of these are the Humans, diverse and versatile they carve a living from nature and each other. Sometimes at peace at other times at war, the HUMANS of the lands adapt and thrive.
In the deep woods the Elves roam, making their homes in living cities and spending the long years of their lives in pursuit of excellence. The ELVES have long been the guardians of GOOD and many of their kind leave their wooden citadels and travel the land.
Under the snow covered peaks, and in inaccessible valleys live the dwarves in great stone cities. Their mines and towers filled with the sound of industrious DWARVES seeking to extract GOLD and RICHES from the heart of the mountains. Some dwarves leave this life to seek LOST TREASURES and to earn HONOUR on the fields of battle, always wistfully dreaming of returning home.
Living among man is the comfort loving HOBBITS. A surprisingly hardy folk who much prefer the quiet, comfortable life to the harsh and demanding life of an adventurer. But sometimes their stealthy feet and keen eyes are just what a group of adventurers need in their quest for gold. And for some hobbits the promise of future comforts bought by burgeoning coffers are enough of an incentive to follow these heroes into danger.

WHAT IS THIS ABOUT?!?
Oh, hey, wait a minute. I thought you said "no fucking hobbits". Well I changed my mind. My prerogative. I am the "fucking" storyteller and I live with a pregnant woman. I know changing of minds, and if this is the worst shit you have to endure you're lucky.
I also remembered some plucky little fellas called Merry and Pippin, not to mention a though guy called Sam. (Frodo is a whining little shit whose only claim to fame is he carried a ring for a while, whoope fucking do).
So there is hobbits. Get the fuck over it.
Other than that you get this information so you can begin to plan and think. Come up with a rough concept (no ten pages of backstory please) of an adventurer. The rest will work out in a communal chargen session.

My players were picking up intrest. the sale was done.

[Kaare Berg]

Then my juices really go flowing (and for the impatient of you, there is a point to this post.)

SO WHAT DO YOU DO

   Now dear reader you have read of the FOREBODING MOUNTAIN and as much as you need to know about the LAND and its PEOPLE. Now we need to look at the heroes, that group of travelers and treasure-seekers known as the ADVENTURERS.
   This is no mean task I tell you, for a wider more diverse group is hard to find. They range from KNIGHTS on noble quests to wandering SWORDS FOR HIRE out to earn their next meal. SORCERER and MAGES sometimes leave their lonely towers to seek out knowledge and power while PRIESTS OF THE HOLY ORDERS seek enlightenment and purification in danger. The only thing that unites these diverse champions is their predisposition to seek out unwholesome situations and dangerous places. And the LAND has enough of these.
   Unfortunately it seems that all this wandering, all these dangers wear and tear on the adventurers or perhaps it is inherent in the type of character that this lifestyle attracts, but all of these champions seem to have a FLAW of some sort, a VICE or an UNHEALTHY HABIT that drags them through life.  But in overcoming these flaws the adventurers become heroes and tales are told of their great deeds and songs sung of the gold they've gathered.
   The road to ADVENTURE beckons, how will you walk it.

NOW WHAT?
Just plain more info for your nuggets before we sit and create characters. What this basically says is make the concept you like that fits the genre. "But there are no mention of thieves" I hear your grating, whining voices complain. For Christ sakes, it's a recruitment speech for the noble occupation of ADVENTURER. You'd think I mention the threat of instant death, torture and the long lonely nights that this life pertains. Not to mention the fact that most adventurers in actuality are money grubbing bastards set out for themselves. The fact that they save towns is incidental. Come on.
You want to play a thief; well there is a THIEVES GUILD so there must be thieves out there. And damn it if they aren't found useful for other things than filling gallows. Go a head make your concept. Its all I ask.

[Kaare Berg]

Then the first concept ticked in, I modified it and sent it back with the following comments.

Colin Darkbeard

 For as long as dwarves can remember, the DARKBEARD CLAN has been the dominating clan within the priesthood. The clan could always be recognized by the dark purple shine that could be detected in their coal black beard. And Colin is no exception. He has been an ACOLYTE for as long as he can remember, and he followed his father when he chose the PATH OF COMBAT. But the wanderlust has always been deep in his heart. So the moment he was released from service, he petitioned the HIGH PRIESTS. He wanted to go and seek out the lost "TEAR OF EGLIN".

Eglin was the founder of the Darkbeard clan, and the legend told of him as a grand warrior and a priest of Combat. Eglin and his wife Dilia held the entrance to Murhedin Mountain for 7 days and 7 nights while wave after wave of orcs, trolls and ogres tried to enter to gain the secret hidden within. On the 7th day, there were no more enemies, but Dilia was mortally wounded. Before Eglin could do anything, his fatigue overcame him and he passed out. When he woke up, Dilia was dead. Eglin was struck with grief as the soul was to far gone for him to return it. He shed a tear that fell to the earth. When the tear touched the ground it became a jewel. Eglin took Dilia inside Murhedin Mountain and sealed the entrance. The jewel was found by the dwarven reinforcements, but the entrence was never found again. The knowledge of the location of Murhedin Mountain was lost with time, but the "Tear of Eglin" was brought back. Legend tells of the tremendous healing powers of the Tear and how the Dwarves were rendered impervious to all illness and plagues when the tear was nearby. For many centuries the Dwarves benefited from the Tear. But the jewel became know far and wide all over the world, and thieves set upon quest after quest to steal it. For the jewel was said to be of tremendous size and value. But none could steal it until a treacherous clan, which name has been erased from all records, betrayed their own kin and stole the Tear. The clan was hunted down and all was killed, but the tear was gone. Since that time, many dwarves have journeyed out search for the Tear. But none has been successful.

For as long as Colin can remember, he has had DREAMS ABOUT THE TEAR and a mountain. Colin has TRAVELED FAR and has come to the mountain in his dreams, the FOREBODING MOUNTAIN! Many travelers have come to this place for various reasons, and Colin has joined a group of adventures in hope of finding, if not the Tear itself, at least a clue to the whereabouts of the TEAR.

WHAT THE GM THINKS:

Great, one aspect comes to mind: Quest for the Tear. Others check out the ALL CAPS. Me explain later, just nod your head and pretend to understand.

Me like, you'll like how the system supports this character.

Considered this concept approved (as I had anything to say in the matter).

What is his flaw?
Does he have one?

And here comes my point(s):

Aspects, with their "here is what I want the story to focus on" quality" when built from the predefined "premise" listed above will allow me to focus on what is funabout dungeon crawling the way I remember dungeon crawling.

The Character above is a great example of the way a concept can be tuned into a character (like narrative design in HQ).

More Later

[DevP]

Just want to say, I'm enjoying these emails!

[Mike Holmes]

Aspects, with their "here is what I want the story to focus on" quality" when built from the predefined "premise" listed above will allow me to focus on what is funabout dungeon crawling the way I remember dungeon crawling.

Could you expand on this? What is it that you found fun about dungeon crawling? How will Aspects support this?

Mike

[Kaare Berg]

Hi Mike, well arn't you a tricky one.

What I'm looking for?

How many of you remember back in the days when your character tolled from a 20' by 20' room to the next. When every door either hid horrid danger or fabulous treasures and the biggest moral dilemma was whether to kick it down or have the thief pick the door. Can those of you, who like me have wandered so far from this simple joyous existence in search of post-modern gothic angst and other thematic goals, remember what it is like to enter an adventure knowing that there is no greater scheme in things. Just your character and a cave.

Recently I had a "return to D&D" experience. And my sensibilities (new fangled forgite snobbery) made me realize that D&D can not deliver the simple joys above without resorting to gameism. I do not want gameism.

So I had to drop this idea. Then in my heroin-like consumption of RPG texts I discovered FATE. Then I got thinking: What is important of this nostalgic dream, rolling the D20 or telling an unpretentious story about a bunch of adventurers seeking treasure and danger in the depths of a mountain?
Then something I read somewhere struck me, what is important about a literary character that is strong, the fact that he at times uses his strength to solve otherwise unsolvable problems, or the fact that he inflicts more damage pr. blow. Here is one of the main arguments for playing this dungeon crawl with Aspects. The players will be defining what is important to them about their characters and that will allow then to focus on the joy of old fashioned dungeon crawling.

Back to D&D:
In D&D one would not be able to look at the character concept above and extract a character with Aspects such as "Blackbeard Clan" and "Acolyte" following "The Path of Combat". Sure you could make a dwarf cleric with focus on combat-spells. But you couldn't call on "the dreams about the tear" to help you crash through a locked door to save your friends.

For me as GM and a comic fan (strange combination don't you think) I'm here thinking in comic text terms. Ever read Dark Empire by Tom Veicht? Where the lines of text sometimes have words like SMUGGLERS MOON appear in bold face.
In my HQ:SW game I think in these terms because the HQ system actively supports this thinking with its Keywords. In the same manner does the thinking behind Aspects, except where ACOLYTE in HQ would have a value to roll against ACOLYTE in FATE will grant rerolls where the Player can narrate its importance in the conflict.

So to answer your question, drifting FATE towards nar and defining nar here as uncomplicated storytelling to explore the metatheme of nostalgia over a past gaming innocence, Aspects will allow me to focus myself and the players on the simplicity of the story we'll be telling and not on resource management.

Or I may fall flat on my face.

[Rob Donoghue]

Man, it's like you're reading my mind. I love it!

-Rob D.

[Mike Holmes]

OK, I'm just being Devil's advocate here, but there seems to be a flaw in your logic.

1. I want what I used to get from D&D play.
2. I don't want Gamism, however.
3. So I'll use FATE.

Well, I'm missing what it is that the dungeon crawl had that still remains when you take away the D&D Gamism. I mean, in your example, you give something that can happen in FATE, but could not have happened in D&D dungeon crawl. So how can that be desired, if what you want was something that happened in a D&D dungeon crawl?

Here's your syllogism with the flawed logic that I'm seeing.

1. I want something that I had in dungeon crawls.
2. FATE can give me something that couldn't exist in dungeon crawls.
3. Therefore FATE can give me something from dungeon crawls.

See the logic problem that this seems to pose?

I'm not saying that you're not on to something here. I'm saying that, while Rob understands implicitly what you're trying to get to, I'm not seeing it.

If it's a light themed adventure with a dungeon romp as the backdrop, but where you'll be exploring the characters in that situation using FATE, then I get it. I just don't see the similarity of that with good old gamist dungeon romp D&D, other than the color.

Mike

[Kaare Berg]

1. I want what I used to get from D&D play.
2. I don't want Gamism, however.

Back in the day when we first went over to AD&D (after years torturing mutant pigs in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) we never knew of gamism. I dear seay few here had really concretesised the idea back then. Heck I didn't know the term until I stumbled from the TROS site in here two years ago.

Know I know gamism, and am finally getting a tentaive control over what the term means. And if anything the most valuable lesson I have learned here at the Forge has been an awarness of what I want to play, what Creative Agenda am I looking for. What do I like, and what isn't my boat. Gamism doesn't float me.

So for definitions sake I am not looking for the gamism inherent in D&D.

Im am looking for the feeling I got when I picked up my first Fighting Fantasy Book (Coincidentally the Warlock under Firetop Mountain"). It is as nebulous as that. Or as you put it better:

If it's a light themed adventure with a dungeon romp as the backdrop

So I see the flawed logic, but that's just stems from my clumsy disposition. The argument for the use of aspects instead of D&D was that I am aiming for the memories, not the D20 rolls.

Make sense.

[xiombarg]

So, in essence, what you're saying is back in the day the dungeon crawl gave you a certain type of experience or feeling, because you guys weren't hung up on the details of the rules, which seemed to fight the sort of experience you wanted. Y'all did this without thinking. You Drifted without knowing it.

Now you want to recapture that experience, but instead of ignoring the rules that stopped it, you want to use a set of rules that enhances what you were doing back in the day, now that such tools are available...

Am I right?

[Kaare Berg]

Am I right?

Yepp, dead on.

Worked out that the Imporvisational Magic system will be the one for this setting.

At first I was going for combinative magic, but fell down on the IMP magic system because of the easy of which greating myriads of different "schools" just by tweaking the difficulties up or down.