After waking in the night with a panic attack, I wrote something on the RPR Discord that was somewhat of a revelation. In the pre-dawn light of the hobby room, there was a sense that I needed to get back to something simpler:

I’m starting to realise that while I might feel drawn to a deeper, character-driven, deeply-drawn, coherent serious role-playing experience, what I probably need in my life is some pretty shallow, stereotypical, lightly-drawn, light-hearted escapism from my otherwise very serious and emotionally-invested life.

– RPR Discord, #rpg-chat, 02/08/2025 03:38

As I begin a fresh week, I’ve found myself lighting up (so to speak) as I revisited the Dungeon Fantasy supplements for GURPS Fourth Edition. While countless aficionados would encourage me to grab the DFRPG boxset off my shelf, I have been drawn back to the original dungeon-crawling prescription by Sean Punch.

Yesterday, in a few minutes of quiet between some pretty intense family stuff, I grabbed my laptop and (using GCS) knocked up a character sheet for Goriel Swiftfoot as a Scout. While my intention was to solo play with Goriel, a full-fat 250-point dungeoneer, the joy that arose was palpable. It got me delving deeper.

Wracking my brain to find some inspiration for a more long-term online-based GURPS campaign has given rise to several cool ideas but no traction. The lack of progress largely arises from the fear that committing to a long-term campaign is going to lock me into play for a year or more with something that might not be enjoyable.

It might be trite and simplistic, but the classic Dungeon Fantasy formula suits where I am right now in my life. I have a slot in my bi-weekly cycle in which I could run a campaign but I don’t have a whole load of time in-between sessions to prep. There are online friends who might like a game but no clear agreement on a campaign idea.

Coming back to first principles, I am once again reminded of Justin Alexander’s advice on two fronts: 1) the most basic scenario structure (outside of combat) is the dungeoncrawl, something that is easy to work up and run; 2) the Open Table is a valid option for those of us who cannot commit to a dedicated campaign.

GURPS Dungeon Fantasy has the resources needed to work up a viable Open Table dungeoncrawling game through the lens of the classic megadungeon. I’ve had this desire many times over the years but the barrier has always been overwhelming myself with the pressure to build the whole thing before I play.

I’ve experienced first-hand the words of Peter Dell’Orto:

Creating a megadungeon is an enormous task. Attempting to complete one before play starts can doom a campaign. So consider doing what the original megadungeon creators did: Start playing right away!

His advice is sage:

Map just enough to handle a few delves, limit access to a small number of entrances, and get started. Keep mapping and stocking the dungeon as the delvers explore.

– GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 21: Megadungeons (SJ Games, 2020), page 10

I have at least two megadungeon maps already lying around in the hobby room, either of which could be re-purposed for a romping Dungeon Fantasy open table. There’s the eponymous Dungeons of Thaarl underneath a ziggurat in the harsh desert. There’s also the Fire Citadel of the Dragon Kings which was conceived for Mystamyr back in 2016.

Peter Dell’Orto’s further advice from the pages of Pyramid also speaks to me deeply. In his article entitled, “Building a Long-Term Dungeon Fantasy Campaign”, Peter writes:

The easiest way to build the foundation for a long-running but simple game is to start small and expand as needed. It’s easy to get overwhelmed as a GM or as the players if you start with everything… Start small, stay focused on the players’ enjoyment, and keep it only as big as it needs to be for the fun to be epic.

Pyramid 3/98 (SJ Games, Dec 2016), pages 30-33

Some pretty shallow, stereotypical, lightly-drawn, light-hearted escapism in the form of a dungeon adventure game is very appealing right now. Who cares if it’s coherent and well-thought-out? Sometimes it’s pleasant to simply delve the tunnels, slay the monsters, and grab the loot. I know some folk will roll their eyes and sigh, but at least I’m back to smiling and chuckling.

Game on!