Author Topic: Some help putting together a dungeon  (Read 5852 times)

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Vinom

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Some help putting together a dungeon
« on: May 18, 2010, 02:04:09 AM »
I want to put together a real, home brewed, honest to god dungeon for my party to appologize for the leave of absence I had to call. I've already descided with a map-makers nightmare of non-euclidian navigation, once the party enters, there's no way out execpt through the treasure room. I'm working on the mapping system, but I need monsters and traps that will have endured for five hundred years with the dungeon ecology issues my rules lawyer is likely to throw at me.
A player once asked me if there was any way to make a Tarrasque more evil... 3 sessions later he was stoned with D20s as the PC led an exidus out of the path of a Dire Tarrasque of Legendary Wonder.

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weenog

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Re: Some help putting together a dungeon
« Reply #1 on: May 18, 2010, 02:44:37 AM »
What objections would the pseudo-ecologist raise to a dungeon populated densely and entirely with liches that have gone insane with boredom, and mainly pass the time by telling stories that don't go anywhere?
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Tonymitsu

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Re: Some help putting together a dungeon
« Reply #2 on: May 18, 2010, 03:04:00 AM »
Undead was going to be my first suggestion too.


As for the layout....
Make it a perfect square, with every room exactly 20 feet by 20 feet, with 1 door on each of the four walls, 10 feet wide.
And all the rooms look exactly the same.
And the wall on the far left side of the dungeon loops back to the room far right side, and vice versa.  And if you really want to mess with them, then make the door on the left lead to a room on the far right but one row up.

Seriously though... King's Quest VI... best @#%!ing labyrinth design ever...

Vinom

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Re: Some help putting together a dungeon
« Reply #3 on: May 18, 2010, 03:11:52 AM »
I was going with door ways that walking back through won't lead you to the room you were in. Namely every door way is a one way portal so that navigation becomes a real hastle...

Also, I was thinking Undead, constructs, summoning traps, encounter traps, living spells, things that don't need to eat or breathe...
A player once asked me if there was any way to make a Tarrasque more evil... 3 sessions later he was stoned with D20s as the PC led an exidus out of the path of a Dire Tarrasque of Legendary Wonder.

Quote from:  Sarda the Sage
You're a quick thinker and spiteful, I can respect that. You won't be killed, Bikke

Never trust a smiling laughing chuckling grinning emotionless drunk, you know what Never Trust a DM!

78% of DM's started their first campaign in a tavern. If you're one of the 22% that didn't, copy and paste this into your signature

Pulling off Pun-pun in 26 rounds

N00bs, because all gamers have to start somewhere

"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from Science!"

Remember, Mobs are at least as stupid as their dumbest member.

Architect

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Re: Some help putting together a dungeon
« Reply #4 on: May 18, 2010, 04:45:43 AM »
You could play with the Deathless template from BoED--perhaps tailor it a bit to your specifications. Decide what kind of a dungeon it is/ what purpose it serves, and go from there...

Any ideas in that area?
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Vinom

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Re: Some help putting together a dungeon
« Reply #5 on: May 18, 2010, 04:56:52 AM »
The dungeon is a wizard's tower type deal, made by the court wizard of the human king after the was struck mad by a NPC liche.  The purpose of the dungeon is to entrap anyone who enters to be victims in spell research.
A player once asked me if there was any way to make a Tarrasque more evil... 3 sessions later he was stoned with D20s as the PC led an exidus out of the path of a Dire Tarrasque of Legendary Wonder.

Quote from:  Sarda the Sage
You're a quick thinker and spiteful, I can respect that. You won't be killed, Bikke

Never trust a smiling laughing chuckling grinning emotionless drunk, you know what Never Trust a DM!

78% of DM's started their first campaign in a tavern. If you're one of the 22% that didn't, copy and paste this into your signature

Pulling off Pun-pun in 26 rounds

N00bs, because all gamers have to start somewhere

"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from Science!"

Remember, Mobs are at least as stupid as their dumbest member.

weenog

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Re: Some help putting together a dungeon
« Reply #6 on: May 18, 2010, 05:14:49 AM »
There's always the old "You think you're in a strange dungeon with numerous topoligical and continuity errors, but in fact you're being eaten by a giant plant that keeps you paralyzed with a toxin that also happens to be a potent hallucinagen while it slowly digests you" angle.  Except they're being eaten by a research laboratory dungeon and maybe the toxin is a powerful illusion or enchantment tied to the area, maybe?
"We managed to make an NPC puke an undead monster."
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Architect

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Re: Some help putting together a dungeon
« Reply #7 on: May 18, 2010, 06:16:21 AM »
The dungeon is a wizard's tower type deal, made by the court wizard of the human king after the was struck mad by a NPC liche.  The purpose of the dungeon is to entrap anyone who enters to be victims in spell research.

Perhaps add possibilities of insanity via Unearthed Arcana, as well as abberation-illusions. If the goal is spell research, then it is feasible to posit that testing the mental capacity of his victims could be well in the running.
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carnivore

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Re: Some help putting together a dungeon
« Reply #8 on: May 18, 2010, 07:52:22 AM »
the easy way ..... since you are using "One-way doors" :

Each room has a permanent Temporal Stasis spell that is Deactivated when someone enters the room .... then creatures in the room act normally, and are unaware of the passing of time, between when someone enters and leaves the room ... when someone leaves the room the Temporal Stasis is reactivated ... if you want to be mean: you could even say that it doesnt matter who leaves ... an screw with the adventures sense of time, since all thier Buffs will be gone if someone else leaves the room(the duration will end)

 :D

Mixster

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Re: Some help putting together a dungeon
« Reply #9 on: May 18, 2010, 11:50:27 AM »
Oozes! Don't forget Oozes! They are important and cool.

If it is a research lab, a group of refugee elans or elves could be camping around a level 5+ cleric who conjures food for them each day. Perhaps even if high enough level he could throw off a few heroes feasts.

Quote
Each room has a permanent Temporal Stasis spell that is Deactivated when someone enters the room .... then creatures in the room act normally, and are unaware of the passing of time, between when someone enters and leaves the room ... when someone leaves the room the Temporal Stasis is reactivated ... if you want to be mean: you could even say that it doesnt matter who leaves ... an screw with the adventures sense of time, since all thier Buffs will be gone if someone else leaves the room(the duration will end)

The only problem with this is that if one player exits through the door before the other players, they will essentially be screwed, so have it be something that starts the stasis a few minutes after the last person left.
Monks are pretty much the best designed class ever.

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carnivore

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Re: Some help putting together a dungeon
« Reply #10 on: May 18, 2010, 05:28:37 PM »
Quote
Each room has a permanent Temporal Stasis spell that is Deactivated when someone enters the room .... then creatures in the room act normally, and are unaware of the passing of time, between when someone enters and leaves the room ... when someone leaves the room the Temporal Stasis is reactivated ... if you want to be mean: you could even say that it doesnt matter who leaves ... an screw with the adventures sense of time, since all thier Buffs will be gone if someone else leaves the room(the duration will end)

The only problem with this is that if one player exits through the door before the other players, they will essentially be screwed, so have it be something that starts the stasis a few minutes after the last person left.

not if the room includes a long Hallway entering or leaving ..... or you could just do it for an Entire level .... and key it to a Group(variable size according to however many enter the level within a 10 round time limit)

 :D

duncandun

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Re: Some help putting together a dungeon
« Reply #11 on: May 18, 2010, 05:39:50 PM »
Make it interesting, If it hasn't been taken care of... make that painfully aware. Make teleporting doors malfunction, have parts of the dungeon have fallen away and been overgrown by some kind of underground mushroom jungle. Have an army of blinkdogs controlling part of it.

Hell make it a city!

Ok maybe a little too grand but I am a fan of underground 'jungles', and I like dogs:\.

Vinom

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Re: Some help putting together a dungeon
« Reply #12 on: May 18, 2010, 06:20:02 PM »
Oozes! Don't forget Oozes! They are important and cool.

If it is a research lab, a group of refugee elans or elves could be camping around a level 5+ cleric who conjures food for them each day. Perhaps even if high enough level he could throw off a few heroes feasts.
Quote
Each room has a permanent Temporal Stasis spell that is Deactivated when someone enters the room .... then creatures in the room act normally, and are unaware of the passing of time, between when someone enters and leaves the room ... when someone leaves the room the Temporal Stasis is reactivated ... if you want to be mean: you could even say that it doesnt matter who leaves ... an screw with the adventures sense of time, since all thier Buffs will be gone if someone else leaves the room(the duration will end)
The only problem with this is that if one player exits through the door before the other players, they will essentially be screwed, so have it be something that starts the stasis a few minutes after the last person left.
There are a few problems with that... namely I've striken food and water generating magic from the spell list.

But temperial stasis rooms....
A player once asked me if there was any way to make a Tarrasque more evil... 3 sessions later he was stoned with D20s as the PC led an exidus out of the path of a Dire Tarrasque of Legendary Wonder.

Quote from:  Sarda the Sage
You're a quick thinker and spiteful, I can respect that. You won't be killed, Bikke

Never trust a smiling laughing chuckling grinning emotionless drunk, you know what Never Trust a DM!

78% of DM's started their first campaign in a tavern. If you're one of the 22% that didn't, copy and paste this into your signature

Pulling off Pun-pun in 26 rounds

N00bs, because all gamers have to start somewhere

"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from Science!"

Remember, Mobs are at least as stupid as their dumbest member.

weenog

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Re: Some help putting together a dungeon
« Reply #13 on: May 18, 2010, 06:22:01 PM »
Anything made of meat that has Regeneration is a source of food and... well, not so much water, but fluid that could possibly be filtered to produce it.
"We managed to make an NPC puke an undead monster."
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Lunaramblings

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Re: Some help putting together a dungeon
« Reply #14 on: May 18, 2010, 06:27:37 PM »
I forget what the module was, but there was a module in which all of the traps and what not were reset every so often, I believe every 24 hours by demons that were bound to the site. You could also use traps to summon in whatever monsters you want them to deal with.

Vinom

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Re: Some help putting together a dungeon
« Reply #15 on: May 18, 2010, 06:33:00 PM »
I forget what the module was, but there was a module in which all of the traps and what not were reset every so often, I believe every 24 hours by demons that were bound to the site. You could also use traps to summon in whatever monsters you want them to deal with.
Sound reasonable, if this was a one day crawl... but if I spam summon monster traps, then the cleric will prepare nothing but summon moster to counterspell the traps... and this isn't a crawl they'll be able to navigate in a single day, game day or Real world day.
A player once asked me if there was any way to make a Tarrasque more evil... 3 sessions later he was stoned with D20s as the PC led an exidus out of the path of a Dire Tarrasque of Legendary Wonder.

Quote from:  Sarda the Sage
You're a quick thinker and spiteful, I can respect that. You won't be killed, Bikke

Never trust a smiling laughing chuckling grinning emotionless drunk, you know what Never Trust a DM!

78% of DM's started their first campaign in a tavern. If you're one of the 22% that didn't, copy and paste this into your signature

Pulling off Pun-pun in 26 rounds

N00bs, because all gamers have to start somewhere

"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from Science!"

Remember, Mobs are at least as stupid as their dumbest member.

skydragonknight

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Re: Some help putting together a dungeon
« Reply #16 on: May 18, 2010, 07:00:04 PM »
Keep a Gelatinous Cube in your dungeon: not only are they fun encounters, but they keep your dungeon clean and sparkly - just like new!
It always seems like the barrels around here have something in them.

Vinom

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Re: Some help putting together a dungeon
« Reply #17 on: May 18, 2010, 07:02:48 PM »
Keep a Gelatinous Cube in your dungeon: not only are they fun encounters, but they keep your dungeon clean and sparkly - just like new!
hehehe
A player once asked me if there was any way to make a Tarrasque more evil... 3 sessions later he was stoned with D20s as the PC led an exidus out of the path of a Dire Tarrasque of Legendary Wonder.

Quote from:  Sarda the Sage
You're a quick thinker and spiteful, I can respect that. You won't be killed, Bikke

Never trust a smiling laughing chuckling grinning emotionless drunk, you know what Never Trust a DM!

78% of DM's started their first campaign in a tavern. If you're one of the 22% that didn't, copy and paste this into your signature

Pulling off Pun-pun in 26 rounds

N00bs, because all gamers have to start somewhere

"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from Science!"

Remember, Mobs are at least as stupid as their dumbest member.

Mixster

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Re: Some help putting together a dungeon
« Reply #18 on: May 18, 2010, 07:10:23 PM »
Oozes! Don't forget Oozes! They are important and cool.

If it is a research lab, a group of refugee elans or elves could be camping around a level 5+ cleric who conjures food for them each day. Perhaps even if high enough level he could throw off a few heroes feasts.
Quote
Each room has a permanent Temporal Stasis spell that is Deactivated when someone enters the room .... then creatures in the room act normally, and are unaware of the passing of time, between when someone enters and leaves the room ... when someone leaves the room the Temporal Stasis is reactivated ... if you want to be mean: you could even say that it doesnt matter who leaves ... an screw with the adventures sense of time, since all thier Buffs will be gone if someone else leaves the room(the duration will end)
The only problem with this is that if one player exits through the door before the other players, they will essentially be screwed, so have it be something that starts the stasis a few minutes after the last person left.
There are a few problems with that... namely I've striken food and water generating magic from the spell list.

But temperial stasis rooms....

Actually a bunch of elans don't even need that magic, they've got power points for free and can spend one power point and not need to eat for 24 hours. A Psionic society of Elans could be thriving under conditions with no food, since they would have very few enemies that could matter to them. Most of them could be Psions, but some could just have a single level of psion, be Illithid hunters or anything. Since everyone else can feed on the Elans, you can work your ego-system from there, The Elan tribes could have huge fear of any outsider, since everything down there wants to eat them.
Monks are pretty much the best designed class ever.

JaronK

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TheEndIsNear

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Re: Some help putting together a dungeon
« Reply #19 on: May 18, 2010, 07:16:41 PM »
Anyone see hypercube? Every room is the same. You have no way of knowing how many rooms there are. Each door leads to a different one when ever they are opponed. Different dimensions clash. Make your party encounter itself but younger(lower level). Then make them run away and get lost. Make a certain character's magic item very ornate. Encounter the party again, kill it. Find the same items. Cept that you realise one of of you guys you find that same exact item (different dimension). Multiple times.