Cool Encounter Areas

Ramien Meltides · Mar 22, 2002

The 3e DND DMG hands you some locales like 'a bridge of skulls over bubbling lava' and a collapsing tower. I've done the 'treasure vault' fight and the 'rope bridge over chasm' fight, but I need some more ideas of places to run fights with lots of cool stuff lying around.

My favorite example is the king's feasting hall, complete with chandeliers to swing on, tapestries to flop down on enemies, and tables which can be tossed on their sides for cover.

Yes, in case anyone's wondering, I am a big fan of the Feng Shui game

Can you guys think of some good locales with interesting stuff to use for encounters? I am working up a 'dangerous mountain pass' scenario that involves lots of big rocks, misty mountains, and perhaps a dungeon or two with room for a bridge of skulls

Crothian · Mar 22, 2002

Shops and stores always worked well. I once had combat through an obsticle course that was used to train the local army. that was fun. I had a magical room that was basically MC Esher's painting of all the stairs and ledges going in all directions. That was really hard to keep straight, but fun.

RangerWickett · Mar 22, 2002

On the inverted deck of a winship that has been capsized by a lightning storm, and is drifting toward the mountain lairs of a coven of blue Dragons.

Inside the brain of a leviathan.

In a wand warehouse, where every wand's command word is "Fire!" but they all have different spell effects.

In the lair of an ancient Dragon, whose rotting carcass has attracted hundreds of treasure-seeking young Dragons.

Mistwell · Mar 22, 2002

Take your traditional pirate boarding party, ship to ship, but move it into the air, with balloon driven airships. Make a wrong move when swinging across on a rope, and you better hope you have feather fall prepared!

Mark Plemmons · Mar 22, 2002

Inside a mining shaft where you find a spaceship that's been buried for who knows how long....

- Mark

d20Dwarf · Mar 22, 2002

Mark Plemmons said:
Inside a mining shaft where you find a spaceship that's been buried for who knows how long....

- Mark

There you go promoting Dragonstar again, Mark.

The book I'm working on now, Way of the Sword, has an excellent section on unique and interesting fighting locations. Unfortunately its still about 3 months from release.

Gospog · Mar 22, 2002

I recently ran a game that took place during a fantasy war between humans and the "monster races".

The setting was a large city that had been razed and rebuilt as a massive prison camp for conquered humans. The camp was built like a walled-in maze, and was run by minotaurs.

Moe Ronalds · Mar 22, 2002

The closest I've come to interesting is on top of a large, raised platform with all sorts of smaller platforms rotating around it, floating about 10 feet below.

TheDayKnight · Mar 22, 2002

Easy things that you can add to your battles that will stick in your players mind: The half-buried head of a colossal statue.

In the Abyss, on the train driven by four iron golems churning the wheels, crossing Juiblex's Sea of Slime.

Evil Josef · Mar 22, 2002

The Planes make for a lot of fun places to fight, provided you have what it takes to survive there. Here's a few off the top of my head:

Dodging around the stomping legs of the Crawling City on Gehenna as it descends a fire-streaked volcanic slope.

A Road-Warrior-esque battle along a convoy of speeding astral carracks. (Headbutt-loving githyanki with mohawk optional.

)

A cat-and-mouse fight with nasty aquatics in the maze of an octopus' coral garden.

Leaping from face to face on a particularly small cube on Acheron. Better yet, leaping from face to face and cube to cube during a multi-cube ping-pong cube clash.

Any good?