I have an idea for and interesting Dungeon Crawl and I would love people's opinions. It would be a mini campaign that was probably last 8 sessions for so. Players would make seasoned characters who get extra starting XP and would have to answer the following question

1. What was your childhood like?
2. Who do you call family?
‎3. Where do you call home?
4. What is your greatest fear?
5. What is your most joyous moment?
‎6. Please detail one moment of victimization your charcter has experienced.
7. Please explain two moments of villainy and regret caused by your character.
8. Your character just recently experience a near death experience, what was it?

The catch will be that the characters all died during their near death experience and they are now making their way through the 9 circles of ****, one level at a time. The information from their backgrounds would constantly be used throughout the dungeon crawl as they face their mistakes.

For example, if someone's background said they deeply regretted killing a innocent old man, one of the rooms they would encounter would have the old man in it.

Many of the rooms would also put them in a different location temporarily. If someone said that a two-bedroom Cottage in the woods is what they call home, then the players name enter a room within the dungeon to find themselves in that same Cottage while it starts to burn down.
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I think that many of the combat encounters would also be against their loved ones or other people from their backgrounds. In addition, I would also like to connect there backgrounds when ever possible. For example maybe one characters victimization was caused by another's villainy.
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I would love to know what you would do differently or add to it. Also would love to know what kind of encounters you would add. I definitely would like an encounter where they have to pay the ferryman to carry them across. I would also love to have a few good old dungeon style traps and maybe a riddle or two.
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First of all, I like it. Sounds like great fun. I'll even admit to answering some of those questions while I was reading.

On 02/03/2018 at 9:21 PM, Amhess82 said:

I think that many of the combat encounters would also be against their loved ones or other people from their backgrounds. In addition, I would also like to connect there backgrounds when ever possible. For example maybe one characters victimization was caused by another's villainy.

Sounds interesting. Will be great if you can cross some backgrounds.

On 02/03/2018 at 9:21 PM, Amhess82 said:

I would love to know what you would do differently or add to it.

When it comes to the darker sides of their background that comes back to haunt them, perhaps put them in a situation where they have to choose between repeating the mistake or choosing to do the right thing. The twist here is that repeating their evil is rewarded and doing the right thing is punished. This is H E L L after all.

On 02/03/2018 at 9:21 PM, Amhess82 said:

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Also would love to know what kind of encounters you would add.

On the topic of "home", perhaps have a room where the characters find themselves in their idealised home. Not necessarily their real home, but the ideal. Well behaved children, loving wife/husband, plenty of money in the bank etc. Character must fight against the illusion of his/her paradise or be forever entranced.

This could be taken to in another direction, where the cause of the illusion is a siren who is getting ready to attack.

On 02/03/2018 at 9:21 PM, Amhess82 said:

I definitely would like an encounter where they have to pay the ferryman to carry them across.
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Perhaps they have to earn their passage? I can't imagine they'd be walking around with the payment they need. Perhaps have a side adventure where they help an NPC who turns out to be a good and helpful thing that flicks a coin to them to pay the ferryman.

Cool idea, sounds fun.

I like it, I like it a lot!