For as long as there have been PCs, there have been holes for them to poke around in — from the tiny holes requiring tiny tools to the big holes leading to entire unexplored worlds. But what makes each of them so inexplicably appealing? Is it the placement? The size? The shape? The ambiance?
(Holes, Disney, 2003)
During the month of June, Moebius Adventures is hosting the RPG Blog Carnival. And we want to know what’s in the hole. So your posts should address that question: “What’s in the hole?” All genres and play styles are welcome. No game too small. No crevasse too big.
What is a “hole” exactly? Two definitions I found on Google were “a hollow place in a solid body or surface” or “a small or unpleasant place.” Whether you focus on the practical aspects of the term or the more esoteric ones is up to you!
Films such as The Ruins, Pitch Black, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and even Holes have been exploring the use of holes in stories over the last 30 years and those are just the ones I can come up with off the top of my head. (If you know of any good films that might inspire ideas, be sure to include them in the comments.)
Hopefully over the course of the month folks might explore questions like:
- How do you determine the hole’s characteristics? How big? How deep? How dark?
- Do you already know what’s in the hole? Or do you figure it out along the way?
- Is it possible that the hole might close behind the PCs? Or in front of them? What happens if the PCs get stuck?
- Where is the hole? In a rock in space? At the bottom of the ocean? The wall of a dungeon or cave?
- How do you approach a hole as a PC vs. as a GM/DM/Storyteller?
- How is a hole different in science fiction settings than in fantasy or horror?
- What qualities should every hole in a RPG session include?
- And many more… Use your imaginations!
And if you need a few places to start, here are a few quotes for inspiration:
- “It is a good thing to follow the First Law of Holes: if you are in one, stop digging.” – Denis Healey
- “Do you realize that if you fall into a black hole, you will see the entire future of the Universe unfold in front of you in a matter of moments and you will emerge into another space-time created by the singularity of the black hole you just fell into?” – Neil deGrasse Tyson
- “A round man cannot be expected to fit in a square hole right away. He must have time to modify his shape.” – Mark Twain
- “Great holes secretly are digged where earth’s pores ought to suffice, and things have learnt to walk that ought to crawl.” – H.P. Lovecraft, “The Festival”
Don’t forget to create comments below with any posts you may create! Depending on the number of submissions I may do a mid-month summary as well as an end-of-month summary with links to any articles.
Thanks and good luck!
**UPDATE** – Here’s the summary post bringing together all the cool articles folks put together for the carnival. Great work folks! Thanks for taking the time to write!
I actually had two holes that I wanted to connect, 23 miles apart, plus another thing that needed to be connected further down. It makes for some complicated politics in the hole.
http://mindweaverpg.wordpress.com/2014/06/04/pliinreuk-cavern-goblin-hive/
Nice! Thanks James!
What’s in the Hole? is a great question. we’ve just posted six possible answers/encounters at our blog:
http://hereticwerks.blogspot.com/2014/06/whats-in-hole-rpg-blog-carnival-for.html
Awesome! Thanks guys!
Thanks for the topic – here’s a short scene/situation, and I have a couple more ideas in the pipeline…
http://leicestersramble.blogspot.com/2014/06/whats-in-hole-june-2014-rpg-blog.html
Fun! Thanks Vance!
I took a science fiction approach. It’s actually a plot/historical event that was originally supposed to take place behind the scenes, but I decided to do it as a one-shot scenario.
http://sunshinealliance.blogspot.com/2014/06/whats-in-hole.html
Nice! Science fiction needs some love!
Here’s mine for the month…I just put a city in the hole:
http://rivetgeek.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-people-of-well.html
@Wil – Love the idea of a city in a hole. Has some fantastic story possibilities!
Just posted another six options for what might be in that hole in Wermspittle:
http://hereticwerks.blogspot.com/2014/06/whats-in-hole-take-two.html
Awesome. I love these – each has an easy-to-use plot that could be repurposed many different ways. Great work!
I gave it a shot with a Sci-Fi WormHole table
http://aeonsnaugauries.blogspot.com/2014/06/whats-in-hole.html
Love it! Thanks!
And… take 2. A bunch of little holes…
http://leicestersramble.blogspot.com/2014/06/whats-in-hole-ii-june-2014-rpg-blog.html
The exhumer is an undead born from close contact with other corpses. If there are holes all over the graveyard, don’t rule these guys out in favor of graverobbers. They dig looking for rotting flesh to consume.
http://mindweaverpg.wordpress.com/2014/06/16/monster-monday-exhumer/
James, that’s awesome. Love the twist of monsters seeking the recently deceased as opposed to the living!
Heres my somewhat rambling entry:
http://www.generaltangent.com/blog/2014/06/20/june-2014-blog-carnival-whats-in-the
@GeneralTangent – The idea of a “portal” themed portable hole is awesome! And you might want to let Sgt. Pepper out of the hole soon so they can make some of their other tour dates. 😉
Hey, awesome topic. Thank you for hosting! Here is my post http://wp.me/s4dhff-iceholes
@James – I don’t want to run into that shark in a dark, cold ocean ANYWHERE… Terrifying! Great work! 🙂
Hi Fitz,
Rather late to the party, but I have written a post at Tales of a GM about the creation of a catacomb complex for my HeroQuest 2 campaign.
http://talesofagm.com/?p=1055
All the best
Phil
@Phil – Thanks for the submission! And this party never stops. 😉
Coming in right at the end with the crested worm.
@David – I have a whole new respect for kobolds… Geez. My childhood doesn’t look so bad now. 😉
A summary post will be on its way in a day or so as I get my head back in the game after a few days away. 🙂 Great work everybody – some quite creative posts!!
And here’s the summary post: http://blog2.moebiusadventures.com/2014/07/02/round-up-whats-in-the-hole-june-2014-blog-carnival/
Some great entries for June – thanks to everybody who chipped in!!