tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post7733215930911958268..comments2024-03-28T08:50:57.015+01:00Comments on Beyond Fomalhaut: [BLOG] The Overly Thematic DungeonMelanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-7528055369179266162017-03-07T08:48:33.558+01:002017-03-07T08:48:33.558+01:00Thanks, Chainsaw! That's the way to go, especi...Thanks, Chainsaw! That's the way to go, especially with megadungeons, since they need lots of variety to keep exploration interesting. <br /><br />IME the most practical way to stock things is to build and stock large dungeon levels in a dual fashion:<br />- have a few more dense adventure nodes which are organised around a common idea, like an underground garden and aviary, an evil temple visited by meditating monks, a river area with a fungus forest; - and in-between, use less dense connective tissue with smaller, more varied ideas (which may take some exploration to find, and some of which can be very well hidden).<br />That's a reasonable compromise, and it lets the players experience both the overall style of the dungeon, and the thematic areas you have created.<br /><br />I am also happy to report that the creative crisis I reported in the post seems to have passed: after a two month break, we returned to exploring Xyntillan this Sunday, and the ideas are flowing again. :)Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-79430940386087465602017-03-04T15:18:19.195+01:002017-03-04T15:18:19.195+01:00Great thoughts, Melan. As I have keyed my Foolsgra...Great thoughts, Melan. As I have keyed my Foolsgrave megadungeon (Level 1) for Gary Con, I regularly ask myself, "Is this fun to screw around with?" and let that answer be my guide. I may have a primordial swamp filled with giant bugs from another dimension on the north side, a undead-filled crypt on the south side and frozen, icy tunnels on the east side, where evil dwarfs worship a frost giant. I can promise you that although someone will complain this is not realistic, when I have eight people at my table for four nights in a row, they will have fun and leave thinking the place was magical and weird - anything can happen!Chainsawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15004088589379426292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-68997111951377416242017-02-28T18:02:03.982+01:002017-02-28T18:02:03.982+01:00Yes, for me this is the basis of RPGs, different m...Yes, for me this is the basis of RPGs, different modes and ignoring either always felt like a reductia ad ferraria.<br /><br />Nota Bene: Pierce pointed to the tome, but I had been organically playing like that since a very early age, albeit with all the disorganization that early strategic gaming entails.Settembrinihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10393110320011475891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-67435949396628440922017-02-28T17:56:30.689+01:002017-02-28T17:56:30.689+01:00Hah! So I feel less stupid for not knowing that on...Hah! So I feel less stupid for not knowing that one and looking it up nased on free association of keywords and the wonderful DragonDex. Took me half an hour btw. <>Settembrinihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10393110320011475891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-66173055043318902322017-02-28T14:32:31.026+01:002017-02-28T14:32:31.026+01:00That's a good point. Why declare that a campai...That's a good point. Why declare that a campaign is about X, Y or Z, when it can be all three at once? A series of adventures, like a good book, can be about many different things while maintaining its own style and sense of consistency.<br /><br />To take things a little further, this also applies to the campaign's scope and areas of interest. In <b>First Fantasy Campaign</b> (and the less well known <b>Tony Bath's Ancient Wargaming</b>, which you or Pierce recommended to us back on Disputorium), we see games which expand to encompass the players' growing interests, from fantasy battles (the original starting point) to rudimentary diplomacy, Civilisation/4X-stlye domain management, dungeoneering and tunnel construction (the offshoot that developed into RPGs), sea battles, jousting, trade and who knows what else. It is there in OD&D vol. 3 (which is probably less often read than even old-school people would admit) and to an extent the odd corners of EGG's Dungeon Masters Guide, but it is an aspect of gaming that very few people have picked up, let alone developed any further.Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-61042842961101775882017-02-28T14:19:13.999+01:002017-02-28T14:19:13.999+01:00What do you know, that's the one! Thanks; upda...What do you know, that's the one! Thanks; updated the post with two extra pictures. Yesterday evening, I spent about an hour trying to scour the Internet for that room picture without results. My best bet was James Maliszewszki's blog, since I expected this article to be his thing ("Gygaxian naturalism" - mine is "Bledsawian surrealism"), but surprisingly, it's never even mentioned.Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-53442484700547449332017-02-28T13:57:21.530+01:002017-02-28T13:57:21.530+01:00BTW, I did not know the article and had to look it...BTW, I did not know the article and had to look it up: "Let There Be A Method To Your Madness" tDm Nr.10, pp.11 by Richard Gilbert.Settembrinihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10393110320011475891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-11087647660148480402017-02-28T12:34:07.702+01:002017-02-28T12:34:07.702+01:00You are not only very right, you also put in in wo...You are not only very right, you also put in in words perfectly.<br />I would like to stress the point that even early Dungeons were not played for random shits and giggles. There always was a contextualising Campaign environment providing relevance as well as continuity. Also, a blissful state of flux between Mythic Underworld, Giant's bowling lanes and beancounting logistics of Castle Sieges exists... it is the centre of the Rientsian Retro-Stupid-Pretentious model. Like many British TV shows, D&D throws a monkey wrench at small-minded people.Settembrinihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10393110320011475891noreply@blogger.com