Has anyone run an adventure based on the Royal Game of Ur? I would like to run one where the party enters the dungeon and sees a map or partial map engraved on the entrance. Then each room is a separate area, separated by one way doors. They progress through each room and eventually exit. Any one done this? What sort of things did you populate the rooms with?
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I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.
I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.
There are loads of modular dungeon ideas that could work quite well for this. In fact it's something I'm working on at the moment with Inkarnate. If you google dungeon tiles, dungeon dice, and I think there was even a recent kickstarter for stamps. So basically you can whip up a really quick dungeon design in moments. Given that the Royal Game of Ur is effectively just a series of squares that to my mind seems to lend itself to a modular type set up.
For a real challenge, you could maybe even have an opposing team start off on the opposite side of the dungeon so that the central corridor of 'rooms' presents an issue?
For a real challenge, you could maybe even have an opposing team start off on the opposite side of the dungeon so that the central corridor of 'rooms' presents an issue?
You would almost have to have a rival team, since it's a race game
Since my brain is now whirring, here's how I'd do the Dungeon of Ur:
The party gets dumped in a square room with one exit. They have to solve some puzzle or other to get through the door. That opens into a second room, and then a third where the exit is on one of the side walls rather than directly opposite. Maybe one of the three rooms involves a combat instead of a puzzle
Once in the fourth room, they discover it's divided in half by a wall of force. On the other side, they can see another party of NPCs has just emerged from their own puzzle room. The new rooms have two doors, one on each side of the wall, and puzzles/combats for each party. The parties can communicate with each other, so it's up to the PCs whether they want to help the other party or try to figure out ways to hinder them. Each of the central, split rooms also has a lever on the wall opposite the wall of force, with a blinking light above it. Pulling the lever teleports the closest member of the other party who is within 10 feet of their own blinking light back to their starting room. Once one party figures out how the levers work, chaos should ensue as everyone tries to stay out of range of being teleported while still doing what they need to do to get through to the next room
I'd probably just dispense with the 'safe' rooms at the end of the game board, and have the final room be the last split room in the center. Depending on the whats and whys, I might even make that final room be a fight where the enemies on both sides need to be defeated to escape -- so if the party decided to screw with the NPCs enough that they didn't make it through to the end, the PCs might be stuck...
Edoumiaond Willegume "Eddie" Podslee, Vegetanian scholar (College of Spirits bard) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Peter "the Pied Piper" Hausler, human con artist/remover of vermin (Circle of the Shepherd druid) PIPA - Planar Interception/Protection Aeormaton, warforged bodyguard and ex-wizard hunter (Warrior of the Elements monk/Cartographer artificer) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Well, I ended up putting a lot of time into this one. I liked it a lot. My goal was to make a combat heavy dungeon and I ended up with a combat heavy dungeon requiring strategy. This is the very summary. If anyone wants the dungeon (3 pages of text and 10 pages of pictures) private message me.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Party is shown an intricate box. Touching the box transports them into the first room.
Rooms divided by conventional doors, hidden doors, energy bars, etc. and most are combat related
A bridge in the center starts with two spans across a vast canyon. Several pillars are in the center, creating a pagoda area.
Three bosses, based on the elements. Each boss has a “power” room. Shutting off/destroying the power source dramatically weakens the boss. If fought without weakening them, the boss should be a 50/50 fight.
Water knight | Sword waterfall; damming up the waterfall destroys the knight’s water sword.
Ice spider | Ice mound, melting the ice mound weakens the spider.
Earthen serpent | Balance scales with ore on one side, answering a riddle correctly tips the scales
To escape: Some of the monsters give stone tokens. The pagoda area on the bridge has slots for the tokens and placing a token in the slot creates another span. Some of the spans have clues to what is behind the door, eg slippery algae before a water room. Getting all or most of the tokens creates a span to the exit.
Exiting takes the party to an entirely new setting - Whispering Wastes
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Velstitzen
I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.
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Has anyone run an adventure based on the Royal Game of Ur? I would like to run one where the party enters the dungeon and sees a map or partial map engraved on the entrance. Then each room is a separate area, separated by one way doors. They progress through each room and eventually exit. Any one done this? What sort of things did you populate the rooms with?
Velstitzen
I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.
For reference, this shows a traditional board.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Game_of_Ur
Velstitzen
I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.
There are loads of modular dungeon ideas that could work quite well for this. In fact it's something I'm working on at the moment with Inkarnate. If you google dungeon tiles, dungeon dice, and I think there was even a recent kickstarter for stamps. So basically you can whip up a really quick dungeon design in moments. Given that the Royal Game of Ur is effectively just a series of squares that to my mind seems to lend itself to a modular type set up.
For a real challenge, you could maybe even have an opposing team start off on the opposite side of the dungeon so that the central corridor of 'rooms' presents an issue?
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.
You would almost have to have a rival team, since it's a race game
Since my brain is now whirring, here's how I'd do the Dungeon of Ur:
The party gets dumped in a square room with one exit. They have to solve some puzzle or other to get through the door. That opens into a second room, and then a third where the exit is on one of the side walls rather than directly opposite. Maybe one of the three rooms involves a combat instead of a puzzle
Once in the fourth room, they discover it's divided in half by a wall of force. On the other side, they can see another party of NPCs has just emerged from their own puzzle room. The new rooms have two doors, one on each side of the wall, and puzzles/combats for each party. The parties can communicate with each other, so it's up to the PCs whether they want to help the other party or try to figure out ways to hinder them. Each of the central, split rooms also has a lever on the wall opposite the wall of force, with a blinking light above it. Pulling the lever teleports the closest member of the other party who is within 10 feet of their own blinking light back to their starting room. Once one party figures out how the levers work, chaos should ensue as everyone tries to stay out of range of being teleported while still doing what they need to do to get through to the next room
I'd probably just dispense with the 'safe' rooms at the end of the game board, and have the final room be the last split room in the center. Depending on the whats and whys, I might even make that final room be a fight where the enemies on both sides need to be defeated to escape -- so if the party decided to screw with the NPCs enough that they didn't make it through to the end, the PCs might be stuck...
Active characters:
Edoumiaond Willegume "Eddie" Podslee, Vegetanian scholar (College of Spirits bard)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Peter "the Pied Piper" Hausler, human con artist/remover of vermin (Circle of the Shepherd druid)
PIPA - Planar Interception/Protection Aeormaton, warforged bodyguard and ex-wizard hunter (Warrior of the Elements monk/Cartographer artificer)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Well, I ended up putting a lot of time into this one. I liked it a lot. My goal was to make a combat heavy dungeon and I ended up with a combat heavy dungeon requiring strategy. This is the very summary. If anyone wants the dungeon (3 pages of text and 10 pages of pictures) private message me.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Party is shown an intricate box. Touching the box transports them into the first room.
Rooms divided by conventional doors, hidden doors, energy bars, etc. and most are combat related
A bridge in the center starts with two spans across a vast canyon. Several pillars are in the center, creating a pagoda area.
Three bosses, based on the elements. Each boss has a “power” room. Shutting off/destroying the power source dramatically weakens the boss. If fought without weakening them, the boss should be a 50/50 fight.
Water knight | Sword waterfall; damming up the waterfall destroys the knight’s water sword.
Ice spider | Ice mound, melting the ice mound weakens the spider.
Earthen serpent | Balance scales with ore on one side, answering a riddle correctly tips the scales
To escape: Some of the monsters give stone tokens. The pagoda area on the bridge has slots for the tokens and placing a token in the slot creates another span. Some of the spans have clues to what is behind the door, eg slippery algae before a water room. Getting all or most of the tokens creates a span to the exit.
Exiting takes the party to an entirely new setting - Whispering Wastes
Velstitzen
I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.