Ur-Dungeon

Ur-Dungeon is a collaborative world-building game.

Ur-Dungeon does two things. 

First, it is intended to be an enjoyable experience in and of itself, designed for several players to collaboratively develop lore around an Ur-Dungeon. 

Second, it is intended to be a set-making and world-building piece for other kinds of role-playing games. 

This could be D&D, but just as easily any other TTRPG in which characters enter a specific place, interpret lore, uncover secrets, and engage in heroic action, or merely attempt to survive.

This game is not about building a literal dungeon, but the Ur-dungeon of a game-play system. It’s not necessarily about medieval subterranean basements (though it could be if you wanted it to be). The Ur-Dungeon is better understood as a physically demarcated environment with challenges, mysteries, history, and a set of clear geographical boundaries.

This game will be about defining PLACES, PEOPLE, and their PURPOSE  as the Ur-Dungeon develops. At the conclusion of play the players should have an object in which another adventure-TTRPG can take place. Importantly, unlike other world-building games, the ‘camera’ stays focused only on the PLACE that will become the Ur-Dungeon. The ‘camera’ sees all within it, but it never leaves the place in which it is first established. Further, the game posits no strategy for ‘winning’ - there is no goal beyond building a complex, interesting, lore-filled environment. Empires will rise and fall, leaders will die or be usurped, and a place may be home to many different PEOPLE before the game concludes. The game cares not for their welfare, only their struggle, and the PLACE they leave behind. 

Does this game do anything special with the idea of a ‘dungeon’, or is it innovative? No, not really. This game is a utility, a simple tool. It is a hammer, and it solves the problem posed by a nail. It is a fun way for a GM to offload planning responsibilities, and to allow collaboration in world-building. Not enough players show up to the regular game? Run a session of Ur-Dungeon instead. Have friends who are curious about role-play, but anxious about ‘doing voices’ or looking silly? Run Ur-Dungeon to generate buy-in. Ur-Dungeon should be fun to play by itself, but it should also generate excitement to explore what is built from a first-person or characters’ perspective.