Tabletop Tales: How To Host A Dungeon

I love stuff like this. How to Host a Dungeon is a loose set of guidelines meant to aid one in the creation of a dungeon, fully developed with general lifeform populations and landmarks from ancient civilizations. More of an exercise than a proper ‘game’, the rules are well crafted and meant to simply aid, rather than direct. Many measuring systems are meant to be arbitrary and there are no concrete, correct ways to draw anything.

Created by the mind of Tony Dowler in 2008, this PDF is available for a one time fee of $0 is available from his website. If you like creative drawing or solitaire games I would suggest giving it a shot. For a small donation, a paid version exists that adds a new content for the later three ages in the form of an additional choice or two. Honestly, with how easy it is to just make stuff up for the game there is nothing these choices bring new to the table, so the decision to pay is mostly in aiding the developer which is a just enough cause.

As written, the game goes through four time periods known as Ages: the Primordial Age, Age of Civilization, Age of Monsters, and Age of Villainy. Each Age is intended to be drawn on tracing paper, with parts of your dungeon intended to be improved upon by the next age. I really like this concept, as its merits will become a bit more clear later. In preparing for this article it was only proper that I of course prepared my own example play of How to Host a Dungeon.

As any tale of a Dungeon, this story starts many years ago in the Primordial Age, with but a blank slate to mold the topsoil of in order to give yourself a playground, though the majority of it will fall beneath the ground. Three D8’s are rolled, and tables are consulted to add natural landmarks to the realm. Upon my realm I cast three heavenly die which broke my screen, so I just used a dice roller and drunkenly pointed where “it would be cool”. Upon my realm was a majestic goldvein that ran through it like a shiny river. Just over it was a network of caves inhabited by ancient Neanderthal Samurai. Little did they know that many miles underground on his gigantic lucre pile was an ancient dragon, for now, he slept…

Our land having been defined, I believe those Neanderthal Samurai referred to the area as Gomjak, and as such it shall be known. As the days grew shorter and colder more and more of the Neanderthals flocked to the Gomjak Caves. Here it is said the mighty Samurai Jonathan of Clan London forged his empire within Gomjak. The London Clan controlled this land, and they were to carve it into a great paradise for their people. I based my custom Samurai Civilization on the Dwarves, but with key differences. Freshly minted, it was time to put it to the test. Their ancestral home has been turned into a deep loving place for them as they delved deeper into Gomjaks soil.

Clan London’s trials were many, and times were tough in the Age of Civilization. Their knowledge of the land aided them as that Spring rose them to four great families of Samurai belonging to the Clan, able to make use of the ancestral resources available to support them. With the numbers capable of fulfilling the task, Daimyo Jonathan would face his first defeat at the hands of the Black Rider who had slain two of the great families that Summer. Further woes occurred over the next year as treachery took place when another Samurai tripped and accidentally murdered the entire Jonathan bloodline. This power struggle caused Clan Urmesh to ride by and wipe the rest of the clan home out. Within two years the Empire was burnt to a crisp. For decades the caves would lay in misuse…

On a later fateful day, a great quake shook the land, a thick vein of lava spurting right to the top and bursting. This great shake awoke the mighty Lignog the Ferocious Dragon, and began the Age of Monsters. As Lignog stirred, he could find more monsters had come to inhabit his new domain, and in his sleep the Kingdom of Bargnor was above easing the panic of its citizens with the recent hellfire spewing from the mountain. It also seemed that deep beneath a collection of Magma Sprites had began melting over the ancient caves and hardening them, uncovering ancient treasures buried beside old bones in the ceremonial plot. While in yet another corner of the old dungeon it seems that some Gnoll Pirates had come as well to bury their Horde and turn the place into the perfect hideout!

With the die cast for the monsters, it would seem the first year would also be the most interesting. A group of adventurers seems to have come in quite quickly in request of the King, to soften up any resistance beneath the undergrounds following the disaster. And that they did: the first major victory of the brave two soldiers sent in was defeating the dreaded Gnoll pirates and carting off their lucre, and soon the two warriors fell upon the Magma Spirits, quickly slaying the many beasts beneath. Twas a victorious day, for much loot was extracted from the underground! Little did they know, that every year Lignog would be crawling closer and closer. But alas, this did not really matter to the King, in a bid of madness with the riches carted from the Dungeons, he would descend underground with his greatest warriors, the Prince electing to rule in his stead.

The age of the Dungeonmaster had begun.

My game was on a much shorter and smaller map; your games likely won’t end so violently or quickly, but I do hope you generally understand the idea now of what a game of How to Host A Dungeon looks like. Potentially I could continue, though honestly at this point the villain wins. Below I have included the custom Civilization I used, so that it can be used in your own games.

There are a few things like it, but How to Host as Dungeon covers pretty much every base it needs to, and helps tell a great story by the end with just a little bit of imagination.

-Necroscourge 3/30/13

Neanderthal Civilization

Forming into loose Clans, the ancient Samurai honed sharp stone blades of raw Stonesteel. The Clan seeks to journey abroad and gain honor as well as wealth. With the politics of the Clan come its vices, many such Empires soon found failure as the line of friend and foe grew thin often. Neanderthal caves are roughly chiseled from the earth itself, adorned with various paintings,tapestries, and pelts. While advanced at their time the Neanderthal Samurai were still not truly civil.

Choose a cave, preferably near the surface and connect it. If one does not exist, make one. The original cave becomes the Community Cave, which is enlarged, and where many families gather. Two small caves for Population and two for Storage should be attached to the Community Cave. Black Represents a force of Neanderthals, White represents wealth.

It is now year zero of the Empire.

The Clan Year

Duties among the Clan are often delegated to those too weak to fight, while those strong enough will also do sizable work during times of war, they must focus on combat. If no members of the Clan live the Age of the Empire ends.

Spring

In the Spring the Clan will breed and mate and Scouts will be dispatched to see what is available to horde. Gather all White not claimed by the Clan but near Clan lands, each White gathered must be stored in a Cave and if need be new ones shall be drawn. For every white gathered in this way a new habitat cave should be drawn if needed for a new black counter.

Summer

If at least four black are within the Clan there will be Blood this Summer, otherwise the Clan shall focus on its efforts mining as per Dwarves. When Blood will be had, half of the Clans Black will emigrate and a D8 should be rolled. On 1-4 a Black is lost permanently, but on 5-8 the Black will return with a White.

Fall

The season of scheming. Being crude people the Clan often works against itself. Roll a D8, on a 7 or 8 remove a Black for they have been wiped out by treachery. If this occurs then an enemy black appears for every two white the Clan owns. If no treachery is to be had they will build as per Dwarves but per the Neanderthal Construction Table

Winter

In the Winter the Clan will dump its bodies in a big hole. Dig a ceremonial bodyhole a finger down, with a new side room with an X representing the grave plot of a family’s worth of population for each lost Black this year and move a White into it.

End of the Clan Age

When the Age ends, remove the Samurai and all their loot except great treasures and White in Tombs.