Why Dungeon Fantasy?

I've already covered why GURPS is my preferred system. I've also written on how DF doesn't easily fit into my GMing prep style. So, why did I decide to run Dungeon Fantasy?

It the covers, right?

First and foremost, I was a bit burned out by the games I had been running. The last two campaigns were a Traveller game focused on life aboard an alien ship in unknown space, and then a Fallout game about a group of nomads wandering the wastes to find a new home.

In both games (and in most of my games I've ever run), there wasn't a clear cut antagonist. There were bad people, often very bad and powerful people, but they weren't "evil" they just had conviction in their motives and actions. Plopping the players into this meant that they had to pick lesser evils, or had to deal with folks who were asses. This led to PC disagreements, and opposed goals.

Normally, I enjoy in-party conflict, but these conflicts didn't end with the party reaching an resolution and moving on. Instead the tension kept growing and things stared to fall apart.

...or not.

After these, I wanted to do something that was a bit "simpler" in terms of story. There were good guys, bad guys, and really bad guys. It doesn't get much simpler than monsters who need kill'n, and loot needing to be taken.

I also wanted something that was a change of pace from my standard "drop the players between conflicting sides and let them forge a way." A sort of low pressure situation for both players and GM. Just some visceral fun of being a powerful fantasy hero.

And this simpler world is something that does still resonate with me. Even if I didn't ever run simple hack'n'slash games (even my early Basic D&D games were focused on characters), I've played enough NetHack, Diablo, and other video games based on this sort of game style. In a way it is comforting to play this style in at the table top with my favorite RPG rules.

This, but with fewer graphics!

The rules are also the last reason. I realized that some of my players never had a chance to get a really good handle on the basics of combat. DF is a bit of "trial by fire " in that regard. There is plenty of combat, so you learn quick.

As for why my DF game has continued without break for longer than any of my previous games, the answer is simple: I'm having a lot of fun! Every week I fee the game is getting better. I'm getting more comfortable with it, the players are getting more comfortable with their characters, and the setting is getting more interesting and diverse.

I'm currently running the second "season" of the game, and follow it up with a third that starts the players in a mega dungeon. As long as we are all still having fun with it, I think I'm going to keep going.

See you in the dungeon.