How do you feel about Dungeons and Boss Battles.

[Creamsteak]

Do you use dungeons at all? If you do, which I tried for my first time roughly 3 sessions ago, do you have a "big creature" lurking somewhere in there. Do you use it sometimes, never, or always?

I like that fight, the one that seems to be the cumulative purpose of every other creature in the dungeon. The highest level on the food chain, even higher than the characters. I like the "boss" even though it is a cliche' from video games and such. Even if the boss wasn't the plot, and isn't anywhere near the biggest treasure hoarder, its fun to have a creature that the PC's stand a good chance of running into.

The dungeon though was boring in all... move, encounter a trap, puzzle, monster, interesting details, etc. The thing the dungeon was lacking was a purpose... it just so happened that treasure X was there at one point and could potentially still be there. Treasure X was in the hand of runaway town deformity "Yacheslav" who also happened to be a 9th level barbarian etc. But all in all it was pointless...

 

[EricNoah]

The right purpose can make anything seem worth it. Well almost.

Usually my dungeons have some sort of minor mystery about them -- what was this place before it became a "dungeon"? Those little bits of history or detail can make a lot of difference too.

 

[Henry@home]

The dungeon though was boring in all... move, encounter a trap, puzzle, monster, interesting details, etc. The thing the dungeon was lacking was a purpose... it just so happened that treasure X was there at one point and could potentially still be there. Treasure X was in the hand of runaway town deformity "Yacheslav" who also happened to be a 9th level barbarian etc. But all in all it was pointless...

OUt of my curiosity - was this is published module? or was it something you designed?

It sounds like a module out of dungeon mag #74...

My group enjoys both - but since we are "old-timers," the dungeon crawl will always hold a place in our hearts. A dungeon-based adventure can offer much excitement and discovery, often more so than a city-based adventure. WIlderness or dungeon settings have that element of the unknown - the important thing to me is to stress how untouched by human or demi-human hands it all is.

Did you see the Fellowship of the riung movie, and the Moria sequences in it? Every darned one of us wanted to pull out some old D&D modules that night and get going! That was a fantastic dungeon! If you can capture any of that feel in a DUngeon based adventure, then you will have many exciting sessions exploring the unknown!

 

[Crothian]

That is a big problem with many Dungeons and many modules. THey are but together terribly, with no thought to why or how. Luckily, there's a book made for you: Dungeons by AEG. It goes through all elements of a dungeon. It's a good book, one I use not just for Dungeons but for basic adventure creation. It has a lot of good advice and is well thought out.

 

[MythandLore]

I almost always have some kind of a big-baddy at the bottom of a Dungeon.
Nations have their Kings.
Planes have their Gods.
Lairs have their Dragons.
That's pretty much how it is most of the time, well if it's the "main" Dungeon.
Minor Dungeons leading up to a Major Dungeon may not.

 

[EricNoah]

Re: Re: How do you feel about Dungeons and Boss Battles.

Did you see the Fellowship of the riung movie, and the Moria sequences in it? Every darned one of us wanted to pull out some old D&D modules that night and get going! That was a fantastic dungeon! If you can capture any of that feel in a DUngeon based adventure, then you will have many exciting sessions exploring the unknown!

Yep, that's because the ruin had a history and a purpose prior to the adventure (dwarven city and mine), and there was a clear purpose during the adventure (get out alive).

 

[Creamsteak]

Thanx for hints...

I enjoy this forum because I can get support for questions I have in a few minutes, without the short lines and busy type of a chatroom. It allows you to take some time in crafting what you want to say, and gives you an opportunity to look into things you may not have been paying attention to in a chat room.

 

[Henry@home]

Re: Re: Re: How do you feel about Dungeons and Boss Battles.

Yep, that's because the ruin had a history and a purpose prior to the adventure (dwarven city and mine), and there was a clear purpose during the adventure (get out alive).

I was thinking the same thing as I was reading your post.

Any setting can seem dull and comoonplace, just as any setting can be vibrant and exciting. It's all in the background you give it, as well as the dynamism given to it by the DM while it is being played.

 

[Uller]

My "dungeons" are usually laid out as encounters first:

2-4 supporting encounters(usually of an EL ~= to that of the party)

2-4 minor encounters(traps, red herrings, extraneous puzzles, RP opportunities, etc)

and finally 1 or 2 BIG encounters. the big boss and is main buds. This will usually be an EL 2-3 higher than that of the party. It provides a SERIOUS threat and challenge to the party. If they just walk in and expect to win, they will suffer serious casualties.

THEN I string them together in a "dungeon"(which can be any location, really...underground passages just make it easier to keep PCs on track).

I make it as non-linear as possible and many encounters will provide clues about future ones and how to avoid them and/or overcome them.

I've found this recipe provides for exciting, well balanced adventures that can be completed in a predictable amount of time.

Usually when I start out planning the adventure I have the main bad guy in mind and/or the location and plot. The rest is built around that so that it is believable and balanced.

 

[Darkness]

While I use dungeons some of the time (most of my adventures are city- or wilderness-based, though, and not at all designed like a dungeon), I seldom use a "boss" monster - much less one the PCs need to defeat. I probably will do this more often in the future, though, as I am quite fond of the idea.

Oh, and Uller - very cool post; I'll have to keep this in mind... (BTW: You were UllerPSU on the old boards, weren't you?)