So, Paganini has been pondering dungeon-crawl-game design over in #indierpgs (realtime chat is good for game discussion, too!).

I've been thinking about SR a bunch lately, and it occured to me that its Matrix is also its equivalent of the dungeon, and is a somewhat unique expression of that location. This is especially true if you use the rules printed in the Virtual Realities sourcebooks (original, 2.0, or the new 3E Matrix revision).

For starters, almost all Matrix runs are solo affairs. Each party (SR uses another term, I think, but I do not recall it) usually has just one decker (hacker/cowboy), and that decker is the one that handles all the computer stuff. This is most unique in that decking is built-in solo adventuring.

The next bit stems around a main focus of Nate's ponderings, namely the Gear and selection before going in.

The decker's equipment consists of hardware and software. The software programs are the specific spells the decker uses, while the hardware sits in the real world and facilitates all that spell-slinging, as well as allowing the decker to connect at all (barring the Otaku; different topic).

These programs have three main categories: non-detection, utility, and combat. Further, there are many many subtypes within each category: some attack spells target one attribute over another, or have a specific effect apart from damage; there are a number of ways to achieve non-detection, which usually break down to Manipulate Obstacle or Manipulate System; and there's a utility program you can specialise for just about every last trick you can pull on the Matrix. You have a limited amount of memory space available for running programs, so pre-selection is key.

Players are also actively encouraged to develop both their own hardware and their own software. There are systems for maintaining both, keeping up with the State of the Art so they don't fall behind, which allows you to keep things current without having to invent whole new programs; you wouldn't need to write Sword, and then Bastard Sword, then Great Sword, then Anime Sword, you'd simply have Sword v1.2, 1.2.0b, 2.3, et cetera.

Another quirk is the difference in purpose of these dungeon crawls. While most standard fantasy crawls have you delving to Kill the Beastie or Take the Treasure, Matrix runs more often than not involve possessing the dungeon; integrating themselves into the code so deeply they have command of virtually every aspect of the system/dungeon. Taking the Treasure comes a close second, but second nonetheless. Killing the Beastie is usually only done as a last resort, and only in service of Possession or Treasure.

An equally big difference is the simple factor of time; Matrix runs take game-time minutes, not hours, days, or weeks (or months! Underdark and all). And you're usually being traced in the process.

the VR sourcebooks present ways to randomly generate a system for any occasion, so you're never short a dungeon if the decker wants to go looking for something you didn't have planned.

I think anyone looking at dungeon crawl design might want to take a look at SR's Matrix (use one of the VR sourcebooks! blows the core material away) for a different approach, maybe some fresh ideas.

Definately a point that needs to be addressed in many fantasy genre games. Many dungeon adventures have become as stale as the generic air that inhabits them. The seemingly random map, filled with monsters to kill (for experience) and treasures to plunder have become the objective, rather than the setting. Despite any attempt to add flavor to the dungeons, the point remains the same, kill & plunder.

However, the days of the dungeon need not be passed by. IMO, all that is really needed is a purpose for the dungeon, and a purpose for the players being there.

In SR, the players didn't just jack into a random government organization, trash the place, and transfer millions credits to their Swiss bank accounts. It was often for reasons such as the computer controlled door was locked, or taking down dangerous defenses.

In the same respect, I find the "dungeons are old and mysterious, and don't have to make sense" cliché rather old. Picking between the left and right passage is easier and less random, when the area is laid out in a logical fashion. It's more interesting to discover that the castle was once the great baron's border defense, that fell to an undead invasion (thus explaining why they have been slapping down zombies all day). The +3 long sword is cooler, when you find out that it belonged to the kings right hand man, and was in his hand through the final battle.

Long point short, I agree full heartedly. Dungeon crawls need a face lift from time to time. Not a complete change, but a fresh look. For this, I have often wanted to write a RPG (or more likely a single session game) that places the players as the dungeon builders, faced with heroes and do-gooders. I'm sure there are plenty of ways to breath new life into many of our favorite past time.