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Dungeons#

Philosophical notes on dungeon design.

Not how to run combat, nor the generation of maps, but the societies and systems behind a dungeon and how they form an organic ecosystem on its own that changes based on players actions.

Active vs. Passive Dungeon#

https://old.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/fusz92/the_active_dungeon_vs_the_passive_dungeon/
Both styles require contrivances. Active => more tactics. Passive => more exploration, puzzles, slow smarts.
TL;DR: neither style incorrect, just be aware of the tradoffs.

Passive Dungeon#

Majority of dungeons. Locations to be explored, and have enemies. Avoid obstacles, disarm traps. Passive means the dungeon is peaceful and devoid of combat; exists in state largely agnostic to the party's presence. E.g. raiding necro's long dead crypt.
Traps may exist, or might have been sprung already. Dungeon has no ways to respond aside from existing enemies.

Pros:#

  • Can help create a sense of ‘deep history’ through forgotten ruins and ancient structures
  • Extremely flexible in terms of accommodating a variety of challenges
  • Can exist agnostic of faction politics
  • Familiar (and by extension comfortable) to many players

Cons:#

  • Often require contrivances to justify puzzles
  • Seldom change the political landscape of a campaign once cleared (compared to something like clearing a town of an occupying army)
  • Goals can become repetitive (i.e. an endless string of ‘go here, retrieve this treasure’)

Active#

Actively responding to players. E.g. raiding necro castle in n-day military raid ops. Necromancer actively trying to oppose the party by throwing enemies at them and creating obstacles to impede or prevent progress.
Doors rigged on the fly, water sources poisoned, staircases destroyed after before them, monsters actively wait for party to rest.
Arms race to secure rest locations. Tactical game, moves, countermoves.

Pros:#

  • Provide out-of-combat strategic opportunities a layer above in-combat tactics
  • The gameplay loop of moves and countermoves is generally satisfying
  • Can have a strong sense of progression as earlier parts of the dungeon are made safer
  • Generate satisfying conclusions as the party wins a war of attrition

Cons:#

  • Can become a slog
  • Leave little room for things like puzzles and riddles, which many players enjoy
  • Combat-heavy and may have little variety as a result
  • Require contrivances of intelligent enemies being holed-up in a location in order to function

Holistic Dungeon#

https://old.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/fbbj2f/building_better_dungeons_using_puzzle_game_design/

Tier 1 Dungeon#

My-first-dungeon. A bunch of thematically-disconnected rooms where puzzles exist in a vacuum and enemies are all but randomised. In one room you fight skeletons, in the next you fight drow, in the next you fight a yeti. There is no overarching theme tying the dungeon together, and possibly no deeper a goal than ‘get to the last room to grab the loot there’. This is where many DMs start out. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s important to recognise it as the entry-level stepping stone that it is.

Tier 2 Dungeon#

Tier 2 – The nine-to-five dungeon. This baby is a real workhorse in Dungeons & Dragons. There is a thematic tie that informs the puzzles and enemy encounters. Perhaps you are clearing kobolds out of an old forgeworks so that it can resume operation. The fights are against kobolds, the traps and puzzles are mechanisms built by the kobolds to keep intruders out, and maybe the final fight is a group of fanatical kobolds protecting a dragon egg and trying to warm it in the heart of the forge. This is the tier that 90% of all dungeons fall into, including those in published adventures. I want to be clear, this is not bad design. In fact it’s really good design. It’s immersive, satisfying and ultimately creates a positive gameplay experience.

Tier 3 Dungeon#

Tier 3 – The Holistic Dungeon. The dungeon is fundamentally defined by a theme or mechanic, and every facet of the dungeon ties back to this theme or mechanic. Everything from the way encounters must be approached to the integration of puzzles and how they must be solved. The Tucker’s Kobolds dungeon is a classic example of the Holistic Dungeon, wherein an entire philosophical approach to building and running encounters defines everything that takes place in the dungeon. It is also not the only form of implementation of the Holistic Dungeon, and my aim here is to discuss one of the other major ways to approach building the Holistic Dungeon.

Holistic Goals#

https://old.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/fbbj2f/building_better_dungeons_using_puzzle_game_design/

Have One Underlying Mechanic#

E.g. the portal gun. The time travel mechanic of DOTT. Doom's flashlight.
Tie everything to the mechanic.
Puzzles do not exist in a vacuum.
Puzzles can change the world around them (rotational puzzles, lantern illumination, lever far below everything).
Try to Increase Complexity By Expanding On Your Mechanic, Not By Adding New Mechanics:
- Find new ways to use the same mechanic
- Combine different challenges so they occur simultaneously.
- If all else fails, add more rules to your core mechanic (can frustrate players!)
Introduce elements that complement your mechanic!
Build a mechanic suitable to the scope of your dungeon.

Megadungeon#

How to run a 100-room dungeon. Settlements, entrance points, expectations.
https://old.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/i4s06k/building_better_campaigns_using_puzzle_game/

Gates#

Gate entrance between reginos:
- political actions needed with factions to allow progression (political obstacles)
- party needs to reform
- fractured landscapes from natural disasters, liquefied earth (physical obstacles)
- guards disallow entry (combat / political obstacles)
- a Fly scroll can be used for semi gated progression
- item unlocks that allows certain destruction (obstacles / guards) or manipulation (ancient keys)
- financial obstacles

Linearity#

Allow non-linearity (if you want). Can be done by having many gates. One might might help with another.
Consider what are HUB worlds and what are SUB worlds.

Megadungeon Puzzle#

Something that spans a megadungeon. A passive underlying puzzle.
Spread semi-related (seemingly unrelated) breadcrumbs throughout. Holy texts, abandoned. Old glyphs.

Investigations & Mysteries#

The Gumshoe System is designed around the idea that investigative scenarios are difficult to run with most role-playing systems. The problem is identified as important clues being missed due to failed dice-rolls, resulting in play grinding to a halt.

The Gumshoe System is designed to solve this by making the game not about finding clues, but about interpreting them. Attention is given to designing investigative scenarios, while at the same time the focus is put on encouraging the players to take control of the investigation (and, thereby, the story being told).

There was a video on how to talk run an adventure like this, but it was a lot of common sense. Don't rely on rolls (at least not for critical things, they NEED to find clues). Use rule of 3 clues - plethora of clues, players won't necessarily make sense of it anyway. Don't throw in red-herrings unless there's counter-evidence. If players can think it's not clear, you probably made it too convoluted. A lot of preparation to be made here up front.