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Post by aldarron on Feb 4, 2014 9:32:16 GMT -6
I like this thread! Great answers, both from Benoist and Grog. There's an awful lot to read and I may have missed it, but one answer I didn't notice yet is: Q: How big do I make the dungeon? ........ Realizing Benoist very well done methods here are his own and often quite independent of those given in the 3lbb's and related sources, but the by book answer is "a good dungeon will have no less than a dozen levels down... (M&T 4).
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benoist
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
OD&D, AD&D, AS&SH
Posts: 346
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Post by benoist on Feb 14, 2014 11:28:00 GMT -6
Added a master list of the posts with direct links in the OP. New post soon.
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Post by Red Baron on Mar 1, 2014 0:01:04 GMT -6
Has anyone drawn dungeons like the ones in the FFC?
I've tried ignoring the gridlines and rotating the entire map 45 degrees, and it looks awful.
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benoist
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
OD&D, AD&D, AS&SH
Posts: 346
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Post by benoist on Mar 1, 2014 19:37:08 GMT -6
Has anyone drawn dungeons like the ones in the FFC? I've tried ignoring the gridlines and rotating the entire map 45 degrees, and it looks awful. I'd rather draw from the grid in the normal position (with grid lines intersecting horizontally and vertically) and include elements of orientation (walls, corridors) in the overall structure of the level at a 45 degree angle. Looking at the FFC maps it is more likely what was going on when they came about.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2014 15:36:17 GMT -6
First, I'll repost the actual questions that lead to this series of posts: The one thing that's been bugging me is, how do I go about [building a megadungeon]? Describe the entrance and if they enter then start creating everything on the fly from that point as they advance, you create you own map momemt by moment as you describe it to the players, let your imagination have free rein and and let it flow. Variety and options. How big do I make the dungeon? The dungeon grows as long as you have players, it has no limit. How many levels should I have ready at session #1? It is not necessary to have anything premade. How do I keep PCs interested right from session #1? Have a sense of humour, have a sense of the fantastic, of the weird and eerie, and of the chilling and frightening. Read classic fantasy Robert E Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, etc, etc. Let you mind be open to all kinds of ideas and throw it all at the players. Paint a picture with words, see it, hear it, feel it, smell it and taste it - you are right their creating it and you blend the characters into it and help them see, hear, feel, smell and taste what you do. How do I keep time during dungeon crawling? How do I compute time spent by PCs at exploring each room, level, etc. so I can keep a meaningful tally on resources like torch, lantern oil, rations, etc.? I like to use a mild amount of bookkeeping, so I don't track this too close, I just have them resupply every chance they get. How do you like your dungeon? Mythic underworld, quasi-realistic underground complex, or something else entirely? Yes! What software, if any, do you recommend for dungeon map creation? I'm doing it by hand, but having simple and handy software at hand might be nice. No software, be old school, roll up your sleeves and do it by hand. Also, since I don't know nuts about archeology, how the f**k do things like entire cities get buried over time? And how would it possible to explore them without, you know, shoveling all the dirt away first? I just don't bury it beyond being able to uncover or discover an entrance. benoist has a lot of great advice, but quite frankly I don't have that kind of time so I always do the above for thousands of rooms.
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jdjarvis
Level 4 Theurgist
Hmmm,,,, had two user names, I'll be using this one from now on.
Posts: 123
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Post by jdjarvis on May 11, 2014 19:57:46 GMT -6
Hereks a trick we get to do in the modern computer age: create multi- angle graph paper. Make one regular grid and then make one or more copies rotated 30, 45 degree (whatever really). Print out as many sheets as you need. Keep the additional rotated grids thin and put them in distinct shades and colors so they are easy to see in design and play. The advantage here is rooms and corridors offset on angles stay the right size and you can quickly draw without measuring.
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Post by tdenmark on Aug 4, 2021 15:39:41 GMT -6
Uh oh. I was doing another one of those deep dives into the depths of ODD74 and reading this old thread. What a cool project. Did any more come of it?
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