The True Random Dungeon

Through the years there have been various books outlining how to set up a complete dungeon by doing nothing but rolling on various tables. It includes the lay-out of rooms and corridors, traps, monsters and treasure. By rolling on the charts a complete dungeon can be laid out. Heck, over at Wizardawn, they can do the whole thing in under a minute; a complete dungeon built for up to seven different systems.

However, I have to ask...has anyone ever run a completely random dungeon? By this I mean, run it with no tweaking "to accommodate my players". No, I mean play it as built with no changes? I suspect no one has, but I could be wrong.

Have you? If so, how did it work in actual play?
If you have not, would you ever consider doing so?

Does Treasure Belong to the Players?

It was a tight battle, but in the end the party managed to pull out a victory. Sure, the mage will need to rest for 8 hours to be useful again and the cleric is down to one cure light but the enemy is vanquished and the room is clear. Now for the treasure! Gold is found and even a couple of magic items; that certainly explains how one of the enemy was able to set the fighter on fire. The party seals up the room and starts dividing up the loot.

So ends another adventure. Now the question is...who does the treasure belong to, the characters or the DM?

The obvious answer is the characters. They just "earned" it by defeating the enemy. The treasure is their reward for the risks involved in obtaining the treasure. The players risked their characters in pursuit of the treasure.

And yet...the DM has the right to take it away at any point in time. The DM can have thieves steal it, tax collectors take their cut, dragons eat it in exchange for the characters lives, it can be "dropped" during stressful situations. Basically, there are hundreds of ways a DM can part the characters from their treasure.
But should a DM do such things?

I will agree there are times when the characters and their treasure have to part ways. When a DM messes up and gives the characters treasure that can disrupt a campaign, such as far too much gold or a magic item that gives the characters too powerful an advantage, then sure, take it away. But at this point the DM is really doing nothing but redressing a mistake they made. 

Ultimately it is the DM that gives over any treasure the characters gain. Sure, the DM might roll on a random table and let the die roll determine what the treasure is, but the table does not talk. The table and dice do not tell the players what treasure the characters gain. The DM is the one who gives the characters the treasure. The DM is making a decision at this point of the process. It is at this moment, the moment when the DM tells the players what the characters found for treasure, that the DM has to make a judgement call of whether or not the characters should get the treasure.

And once the characters have the treasure, they should be allowed to keep it. They earned it. There are few things in rpgs more frustrating than to have your characters struggle over great odds and have nothing to show for it. That will be how they will look at it if a DM keeps taking away the treasure they have gained. While treasure is not often the driving goal of a campaign, it is still a measuring stick of advancement and progression. Treasure is the representation of achievements.

If the DM is running a gritty, survive-on-the-most-meager-of-resources type of campaign, then it falls on the DM to hand out the treasure that stays within that concept. It is better to hand out no treasure than to give out treasure and then take it away.

What do you think? Do players have an innate right to keep the treasure they loot or is it always at the whim of the DM?

TFT - The Fantasy Trip

The Fantasy Trip was a role-playing game that came out in 1980 with the release of In The Labyrinth, the core rule set. It also included Melee (tactical combat) and Wizard (spellcasting), as well as the Advanced versions of them. The game was written by Steve Jackson who later used the system as a base for GURPS. This series of articles is a look at the rules of The Fantasy Trip as seen through modern eyes.

This concludes my look at the venerable old game of The Fantasy Trip (TFT). The game is very much a product of its time, 1980, when rpgs were in their infancy and a new frontier. Many of the tropes of those early games can be seen within TFT - perhaps it even added some. It has many things that grognards like in a game, fast rules and the ability to create your own within a solid system. Sure, it had some flaws but overall it was a good, solid product.

Is it something I would play today? Probably not. I feel there are better products out there, including sleeker products from the OSR that capture the feeling of those early days but do it more tightly. However, there are some really good ideas to be found in TFT that are still relevant for today's gamer.

TFT - Notes on Successful Game-Mastering

The Fantasy Trip was a role-playing game that came out in 1980 with the release of In The Labyrinth, the core rule set. It also included Melee (tactical combat) and Wizard (spellcasting), as well as the Advanced versions of them. The game was written by Steve Jackson who later used the system as a base for GURPS. This series of articles is a look at the rules of The Fantasy Trip as seen through modern eyes.

In The Labyrinth concludes the book with the topic Notes on Successful Game-Mastering. The publisher of Metagaming, Howard Thompson, attempts to sum up what it is the one philospohy of running a successful game.

"A GM is a solo entertainer of an unusual new variety. He is a writer, performer, and group facilitator rolled into one. Players participate in an adventure campaign for entertainment — not to let the GM be a petty god and manipulate their characters at will. It takes practice, attention, and sensitivity to lead a group through an adventure and leave them feeling good (win or lose) when it's over. Thinking of yourself as a semi-professional entertainer like a bard or other small-group yarn-spinner will help."

I particularly like the point about "leave them feeling good (win or lose) when it's over." For me that is the key to any good game. Challenge the players but leave them feeling good at the end. That is easier said than done as each player is different and all have different needs on how to "feel good" while playing an rpg. The trick of a good GM is to figure out what each player needs and to provide it.

TFT - Monster Pictures

The Fantasy Trip was a role-playing game that came out in 1980 with the release of In The Labyrinth, the core rule set. It also included Melee (tactical combat) and Wizard (spellcasting), as well as the Advanced versions of them. The game was written by Steve Jackson who later used the system as a base for GURPS. This series of articles is a look at the rules of The Fantasy Trip as seen through modern eyes.

Do you need pictures of monsters?  The Fantasy Trip (TFT) includes a section of monsters. None of them have pictures depicting them. Often this is not an issue since most experienced gamers have probably already seen a picture of many monsters in other publications. If you've seen the picture of a troll you can mentally attach that picture to one without a picture. But what happens when an rpg introduces a new, never before seen, monster or their description is different than what a reader has seen before?

Are you able to visualize a monster without having a picture for it? Is it harder to describe the monster to your players without a picture?

TFT - Disguised Monsters

The Fantasy Trip was a role-playing game that came out in 1980 with the release of In The Labyrinth, the core rule set. It also included Melee (tactical combat) and Wizard (spellcasting), as well as the Advanced versions of them. The game was written by Steve Jackson who later used the system as a base for GURPS. This series of articles is a look at the rules of The Fantasy Trip as seen through modern eyes.

One of the monsters in The Fantasy Trip (TFT) is the Octopus. At first you would think its your typical octopus, but not in TFT. No, here it's an intelligent creature that lives in swamps or large pools of water. They prefer to ambush their opponents with its many tentacles. In essence, this is the Watcher in the Water from The Fellowship of the Ring book that attacks the Fellowship outside of Moria.

RPGs have long had a history of "stealing" ideas from other sources and turning them into monsters/races/spells for their games doing little more than changing the names. The Halfling/Hobbit situation that TSR ran into during the early days of D&D is a prime example of that.