Castle Kelpsprot is my Dungeon25-ish project: a science-fantasy capsule game megadungeon designed for HUDless play. For background, see my first post on the project.
Never one to miss an opportunity for self-indulgence, I’m writing about my influences per the latest Blog Bandwagon. I’ve found that my influences vary a lot from project to project—and from medium to medium—so I’m focusing specifically on the media that informs my current project, Castle Kelpsprot. Frankly, this post is half-baked, as I’m too deep in the weeds of prep to reflect on the project as a whole.
Podcasts
Into the Megadungeon
I’ve been fascinated by megadungeons for years, but Ben Laurence’s podcast amplified that fascination into an obsession and inspired me to create my own megadungeon.
3d6 Down the Line
My personal experience with megadungeons is sadly limited to brief Stonehell campaign and a half-dozen forays into another well-known megadungeon. I enjoyed listening to the 3D6DTL crew’s Arden Vul campaign, and I learned a lot about what a dungeon needs to support long-term play. I also discovered which aspects of megadungeon excite me and which feel tedious. And although I haven’t read Richard Barton’s The Halls of Arden Vul, it’s also certainly a secondhand source of inspiration for Castle Kelpsprot.
Books
Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake
I chose to read Gormenghast because I’d decided on a castle as the setting for my megadungeon, not the other way around. I love the sense of history in Gormenghast and how its inhabitants adhere to various strange rituals and customs without understanding their purpose. And names such as “Prunesquallor,” “Swelter,” and “Rottcodd,” inspired the naming convention I use for many of Castle Kelpsprot’s denizens.
Stephen Biesty’s Cross-Sections Castle by Stephen Biesty and Richard Platt
I was obsessed with this book as a child, although the idea of an oubliette was too much for me; apparently I once sobbed to my mother that the poor people confined to the oubliette “died of loneliness.”
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
The way in which Miller’s monks puzzle over and misinterpret relics from a more advanced age captured my imagination. The themes of cyclical history and humanity’s failure to learn from its past mistakes also resonated.
The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe
I have yet to finish The Book of the New Sun, and admittedly I enjoyed The Claw of the Conciliator less than the first book. I loved The Shadow of the Torturer for its weirdness, hyperdiegetic approach to narrative, Wolfe’s prose, and the bleak sadness that pervades the novel. It’s also one of the only science-fantasy books I’ve read.
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Moby-Dick was one of the first great novels I read, and I love its experimentation, baroque prose, and sense of humor. I can’t say it’s had a very direct influence, but Castle Kelpsprot does have whalers, sea shanties, and other nautical motifs. (And I’m also re-reading Moby-Dick as I wrap up my megadungeon prep).
Wool by Hugh Howey
Like the silo in Wool, Castle Kelpsprot is a confined, isolated, and mysterious space in which people live and work. I found the power dynamics, factionalism, and attention to material concerns in this novel quite relevant to my own work.
Blog Posts
“A Campaign Where There is One of Anything” from Rise Up Comus
It’s pretty much right there in the title, but this idea was foundational to the creation of Castle Kelpsprot.
“Delegation, Dismemberment, and Disability” from Cosmic Orrery
I’ve written before that combat as war is insufficient. I aim to reimagine what conflict and violence look like in a dungeon exploration game, and this piece provided me with incredible food for thought. In fact, I’ll likely add a new spread to the Kelpsprot Player’s Guide specifically addressing some of these ideas to better set expectations.
“What Is Interesting About Basic Dungeoneering” from I Cast Light!
A great reminder that just because folks have played dungeon exploration games a certain way for a long time doesn’t mean you need to play that way. This prompted me to carefully consider which procedures would bring value to Castle Kelpsprot (an overloaded encounter die) and which would mostly bog things down (player mapping).
“Zelda-Style NPC Personalities” from To Distant Lands
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a weird little freak inhabiting a horrible dungeon must be in want of something oddly specific.
“Landmark, Hidden, Secret” from DIY & Dragons
This post heavily informs how I write and key rooms. I also take inspiration from the way Yochai Gal translates this model into area keys in adventures such as Rise of the Blood Olms.
“Encounter Checklist” from Prismatic Wasteland
One of the posts I consult the most often. I should really just create a one-page reference to print out and keep on my desk as I write.
Games
Electric Bastionland & Into the Odd by Chris McDowall
What more can be said about these games? I’m greatly inspired by the weirdness and implied setting of Electric Bastionland‘s failed careers and how both systems pare rules for exploration down to their bare essentials.
Dogs In the Vineyard by D. Vincent Baker
I’ve written before about how I find the approach to conflict in this game so compelling, although I ended up taking a different approach mechanically.
Bonus Books
I read two books for the first time this year that I loved, and while they haven’t been particularly influential on Kelpsprot, I’m recommending them every chance I get: The Book of Love by Kelly Link and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. Seriously, these are two of my very favorite fantasy novels and are also among my favorite books period.
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