Finding My Way

"I've been gone so long, I've lost count of the years."

With the Gygax '75 Challenge complete, I'm left asking, "What Now?" This isn't my first time writing a blog so I have a few ideas cooking. As I launch into this latest endeavor I'm looking ahead into what I want write and share in this space.

Caress of Steel

First and foremost I'll be expanding upon the ideas captured during the Gygax '75 Challenge. Caress of Steel is the starting area for an old school fantasy campaign. The work done over the five weeks of the challenge created the framework for the campaign, but there is still a lot left to do.

Gary's advice was for crafting the elements needed to get a campaign off the ground. The expectation is that work would continue as the campaign progressed. I presume that Gary would be doing all the work for his setting and dungeon to stay ahead of his players. While that level of detail may have worked 1975 it doesn't work for me today. I need to flesh out some more details before letting players loose in the setting. Only then will the campaign come to life.

While the setting is connected by the threads of the themes and inspirational material, it still feels a little too loosely defined for me. I'd like to tighten it up by revisiting each of the steps for a second pass. For example, many of the names and NPCs detailed in Step 4 were quickly put together to check off the workbook tasks; a second pass will help identify any weak or missing aspects.

In addition to revisiting the work already accomplished I've identified more work yet to be done:

1. Create player hand-outs
2. Clean up the Pinterest board
3. Finish the Equipment list availability and starting inventory
4. Create random encounter matrix for wilderness and dungeon
5. Roll random encounter numbers & hit points
6. Roll for treasure values and magic items

Adhering to the Dungeon World principle of "Draw Maps, Leave Blanks", I will work to keep a light touch on filling in background for the setting. Room is needed for the players to contribute and for their characters to grow and evolve.

The Big Wheel

Another topic I want to explore here is the work of Joseph Campbell, specifically the cycle of the Hero's Journey. This cycle of stages have become the lingua franca of storytelling. I feel there is a lot of material to mine here for the RPG hobby.

No doubt other topics will pop up as inspired by play. For now, that's plenty to get started.

Illustration Credits

Wikimedia Commons - An illustrated dictionary of words used in art and archaeology (1883) by unknown artist


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