Beneath Ahknoor - A Megadungeon that’s Carved from Brindlewood
Now that It’s Worse Than That! is out, I’m working on my next project in earnest. Beneath Ahknoor is a CfB game that focuses on exploring a megadungeon.
Each level of the dungeon is treated as a mystery, and the Adventurers will go through a cycle of phases called: Making Entry, Delving, Getting Out, and Above Ground resolving levels as the delve deeper into the megadungeon, eventually confronting the Genius Loci that lives beneath all the rest and gives the megadungeon its unique feel and spirit.
My lunch-time gaming group is about to wrap up our Public Access campaign. It’s been fun to see the characters and players develop. We’ve also enjoyed the short, bounded campaign. Having a pair of timers (clues for the TV Odyssey Mystery and Odyssey Tapes) driving the campaign have made it feel like we were being impelled along - in a good way. All of this has led me to pick Beneath Ahknoor back up.
I started it about a year ago, but it got moved to the back burner. Now I’m refocusing with the intent of getting a playtesting version to itch in late April. I want to talk more about it, maybe it’s time to try an AMA thread in chat to talk about this and It’s Worse Than That!
On the Core of the Big Sync
I’ve mentioned Mike Martens’ “On the Core of the Big Sync” (Sprigs and Kindling vol 2) a couple of times, and now I’m sitting down to use it in earnest as I work on the dungeon levels of Beneath Ahknoor. (And a rewrite of my Public Access mystery Love and War at the Ren Faire.) My first step was to make myself a burndown list of what to do when writing a new mystery. Here are the 8 steps that I came up with.
Determine the Theme and Problem - what do I want the Players/Characters to feel (Theme)? How do we Present, Investigate, and Resolve the mystery (Problem)?
(Present/Resolve) Develop the Present the Mystery section - lean into the Theme and Problem. Do Players come out of the presentation knowing what to do?
(Investigate/Resolve) Identify the Suspects/Side Characters/Factions - what motivates them, and how can the Keeper embody them at the table? Are they connected to the Theme and Problem?
(Investigate) Create Locations - how does each location build up the Theme and Problem?
(Investigate) Write Moments - what sights, sounds, or symbols will linger in the players minds? How do they reinforce the Theme?
(Investigate/Resolve) Create the Clues - do they reflect the Theme and Problem of the mystery? Are they open to the players connecting them in different ways? (I like to write them, ask myself how can I make this more eerie, and rewrite them - maybe repeating this cycle a couple of times.)
Present/Resolve) Develop Meaningful Rewards - what will remind the Players/Characters of the mystery?
(Present/Investigate/Resolve) Review the Mystery - look to tie characters, locations, moments, and clues together so that they build on each other. Make sure that the Theme and Problem are a thread throughout the mystery.
One More Thing
I’ve been writing for the Summer edition of Sprigs and Kindling. Watch for some Locations and Side Characters for Public Access and a deeper look into Katas for GMs, with some examples. I’m also working on an idea for the Rooted in Trophy Fall edition. There are a lot of other amazing looking submissions that are bubbling away in the community - go take a look.