Podcast trip to Paris, dungeon generator

New podcast episode, promo, resources

Sep 15, 2024

Meanwhile in the Subway

If you missed it last time, we’re restocking Côme Martin’s modular sensation Meanwhile, in the Subway on sale at 15% off for a limited time! GMs can use its system to run 3-5 players through a 2-hour one-shot or a campaign, and the module doubles as a setting extension module for games like Troika! or Electric Bastionland. Its hundreds of stations are character and adventure seed generators, it’s a trip. And the game is all printed on a double-sided, 60x90cm, 3 cross-fold, 8 zigzag-fold metro map designed by Nicolas Folliot. Check this out:

Alongside this game, The Lost Bay Studio is also popping two other Côme Martin games on a 15% off sale:

Côme Martin Collection

Feathered Adventures, a 132pg game with GMless rules and all the action, humor and charm of Saturday morning cartoons like Ducktales or ~~Picsou~~ Scrooge McDuck comics.
Feathered Adventures
Broken Cities, an 88pg GMless game for 2-5 players using a deck of playing cards. In these surreal one-shots, create the city together play an asymmetric conflict between Travelers and City.
Fits in a pocket, perfect for the traveling GM

Podcast: interview with Côme Martin

Today, The Lost Bay Podcast takes you on a subway trip in Paris to talk with Côme Martin, designer of Meanwhile, in the Subway. Côme is a unique designer with a taste for playful and unexpected game design. In this episode we talk about the French indie RPG scene, how designing and playing in France/French is different than doing it for the international English speaking audience, a 24-hour gaming session, and the sweet nostalgia hidden in Côme’s games.

Caution: Two Frenchies speaking, may contain traces of French accent, ;)

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Listen on Spotify

Inside the bay

D&D&D, or Dungeon Dice Drop Generator.

I'm always late for game night. No matter what I do to stretch the day, it won't last more than twenty-four hours, and I'll end up devouring leftovers before the 8:30 pm Wednesday game: I barely have time to prep. This is why I like quick, lightweight procedures to pull from under the GM's hat and plug into the live game. When it comes to dungeons, I mostly improv them. Usually, I draw maps from real-life places that I know well. That way, I can fill the dungeons with details: a painting on the wall, a water leak, a hidden stair. I primarily run modern setting games, which makes this process particularly easy. UNIT DH-17 dungeon is identical to the house where I grew up as a teen.

Small prefab suburban house, looks shady — UNIT DH-17 cover and dungeon

Actually, most of my dungeons are. The unplanned consequence of that improv autobio trick is that my dungeons tend to look all the same.

I need a quick (small) dungeon generator, and I might have found one: the 3D, D&D&D, or Dungeon Dice Generator.

Before getting into details, here's the brief:

6 rooms max: I don't need large dungeons
one roll only: needs to be quick, under two minutes
agnostic: should work for any setting/system
lightweight: read the mechanics once, remember them forever

We'll roll exclusively d6s, and use the dice as the outline of the dungeon floorplan.

Here's the procedure:

roll your dice
pull them close to draw a map
doubles, triples, etc: larger rooms
even-even, or odd-odd: doors
even-odd: locked door or secret passage
Lowest die: dungeon entrance
3: Trap
4: Encounter (optional)
6: Treasure
Highest die: Boss

That's it, you got your map, in 70 seconds max.

The Highest die boss is a super clever modification of the original procedure suggested by Mr Hitchhiker Dave.

Example:

Six dice over a sheet of paper and the corresponding generated dungeon map — S for secret passage/locked door, = for door, T for treasure

The procedure is so simple that it calls for on-the-fly adjustments: too many doors, ditch one. No trap, add one.

Visions of the bay

As we're all sharpening our design brains in The Lost Bay server/community for the upcoming All Flesh is Surplus spooky month themed jam I've started putting together a list of accessible art resources. Some of them are originally intended for fantasy games, but a skull is a skull, and can work in any setting.