Mapping Boatmurdered, Part 1

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    One of the things that I want to talk more about on this blog is domain-level play. The problem is, that I don't have a lot (really any) experience running it. I could still write about it, but without actually trying things out it will be nothing but daydreams and regurgitated posts by other people.

    Luckily, I am currently running a campaign which will have a focus on domains, war, and wilderness exploration. All of them are cool parts of the OSR, and all of them are parts of the OSR that no one can agree on. With dungeoneering there is something like a standard approach that works very well. Everything else, not so much.

    The first several sessions have been about getting my players familiar with the system and helping them to understand a bit more of the world. With that underway, they are now on their way to claim the lost dwarven fortress of Koganusan (aka Boatmurdered), courtesy of a handy magic axe they found with a sort-of-map to the place and a decree that its bearer is the rightful ruler.

    For those not familiar with the legend of Boatmurdered, you can find the full description here. In short, Boatmurdered was a game of Dwarf Fortress where players would pass the fortress off to someone else after a year of running it. The goal of Dwarf Fortress is to build a fortress with a team of dwarves (handy name, right?), though it has a slightly ridiculous focus on realism that causes most fortresses to inevitably collapse.

    Handily for RPG purposes, the players of Boatmurdered provided many maps of the fortress as it developed and every room had some form of purpose. I have been working off of those maps and creating a map that is usable by us for dungeoneering in and let me say: this map is huge. I knew the fortress was big, but I don't think I really got an idea for the scale of it until I actually started. Luckily for me, the fortress has been divided into subsections where it is crossed by rivers or magma flows. Currently, I am finishing up the second main section which I think will be enough to keep my players occupied for a session or two so that I can finish the rest.

    Of course, as I wrap up my mapping of the insides of Boatmurdered, it becomes important to think about the surrounding terrain of Boatmurdered. There is a nice overworld map in the Saga which made placing the fortress not too difficult, but I am thinking that it has been something like 1,000 years since the fortress was abandoned.

    While the fortress was a dead wasteland when it was abandoned (due to overzealous flooding of the surroundings with magma), it obviously would have recovered by now. Instead of a dead wasteland, I am filling it with a lush and old forest filled with conspicuously out of place igneous rock formations. I will also be slightly widening and moving the rivers that are supposed to be around the fortress, so that it fits better in my world. But hey, even rivers change over the course of a millenium.

    Obviously this is all a work in progress, but I think that I will be continuing to post updates about Boatmurdered and even all of my notes once I finish prepping it. Perhaps two versions, one with my prep and one with empty keys for you all to fill in?

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