Herobizkit
Adventurer
[MENTION=4475]Sammael[/MENTION]: I may have a solution for your dungeon dilemma. Here's a web article about The Five-Room Dungeon.
Classic D&D tropes you've never mastered
- Thread starter Viking Bastard
- Start date
Jack7
First Post
Dwarves. Given the sheer industry, weirdness, introversion, and potential power of this race I've never felt like I've done them justice. Though I'm making an attempt right now. Through the use of underground cities with unique architecture that the Dwarves designed because they were forced to, not because they wanted to.
Sea-going adventures/voyages/explorations - I've designed some good ones, but I've never done, for instance, an island hopping or coastal exploration campaign like I'd like to do.
Lawful Evil. To me there's no such thing. But I'd like to be able to create a Devil who is to me as interesting, as dangerous, as vicious and malicious, and as outright scary as a Demon. But the lawful part makes them seem like Gentlemen pansy-demons. It's like they're all Victorian era ring-boxers instead of vicious street fighters who will pull a shank and kidney spike ya with it. I don't really play alignment, and don't want to, but I like the concept of Lawful evil in theory, especially as a motivation for a monster like a Devil. But the lawful part of evil strikes me as impossible. It's like a governor you put on Evil.
The Giants - I've designed and played some good Giant adventures. But I don't think I've ever really used their true potential. They have a lot of potential. In my setting there is a half-giant race the players can use a character. That's has gone very well. But giants as a culture and a race, I just haven't nailed that. A friend of mine did - he made giants an alien race that had crash landed on an island in his world and couldn't escape and so had slowly converted their technology into a culture different from the rest of his world - but I didn't wnana just copy his approach.
Mind Flayers - The friend I mentioned above had a big campaign I played in involving the Mind Flayers. In his campaign Mind Flayers (this was back in the late 70s) were a group that had invaded his world from a different dimension, had a very bizarre mental based technology, had run into the giants and a war had broken out between the Mind Flayers and the Giants. The Giants used what we'd call science, the Mind Flayers used mental technology, and we (the players) had magic, with the local native populations caught in the cross-fire. His Mind Flayers were truly evil and impressive and extremely dangerous to everyone, the Giants included. From that day forward I wanted to do something really impressive with Mind Flayers but they never seemed to mesh well with my setting. And again I didn't just wanna copy him.
Psionics - I've altered psionics a good deal and now include it as the abilities of certain creatures. But I've yet to be satisfied with Psionics as a game factor. Or a system. It always seems it's the fall back position, and is never used to potential, and I've never found or designed a system I think meshes perfectly with my setting.
Sea-going adventures/voyages/explorations - I've designed some good ones, but I've never done, for instance, an island hopping or coastal exploration campaign like I'd like to do.
Lawful Evil. To me there's no such thing. But I'd like to be able to create a Devil who is to me as interesting, as dangerous, as vicious and malicious, and as outright scary as a Demon. But the lawful part makes them seem like Gentlemen pansy-demons. It's like they're all Victorian era ring-boxers instead of vicious street fighters who will pull a shank and kidney spike ya with it. I don't really play alignment, and don't want to, but I like the concept of Lawful evil in theory, especially as a motivation for a monster like a Devil. But the lawful part of evil strikes me as impossible. It's like a governor you put on Evil.
The Giants - I've designed and played some good Giant adventures. But I don't think I've ever really used their true potential. They have a lot of potential. In my setting there is a half-giant race the players can use a character. That's has gone very well. But giants as a culture and a race, I just haven't nailed that. A friend of mine did - he made giants an alien race that had crash landed on an island in his world and couldn't escape and so had slowly converted their technology into a culture different from the rest of his world - but I didn't wnana just copy his approach.
Mind Flayers - The friend I mentioned above had a big campaign I played in involving the Mind Flayers. In his campaign Mind Flayers (this was back in the late 70s) were a group that had invaded his world from a different dimension, had a very bizarre mental based technology, had run into the giants and a war had broken out between the Mind Flayers and the Giants. The Giants used what we'd call science, the Mind Flayers used mental technology, and we (the players) had magic, with the local native populations caught in the cross-fire. His Mind Flayers were truly evil and impressive and extremely dangerous to everyone, the Giants included. From that day forward I wanted to do something really impressive with Mind Flayers but they never seemed to mesh well with my setting. And again I didn't just wanna copy him.
Psionics - I've altered psionics a good deal and now include it as the abilities of certain creatures. But I've yet to be satisfied with Psionics as a game factor. Or a system. It always seems it's the fall back position, and is never used to potential, and I've never found or designed a system I think meshes perfectly with my setting.
I'm with you on that one...
It's why I never buy adventure modules, because you just know there's a dungeon or two in there somewhere.
Viking Bastard
Adventurer
While I've never had problems with dungeon design, the 5 room dungeon template looks perfect for me.
Kudos to all that have suggested it!
Kudos to all that have suggested it!
Ahnehnois
First Post
Me too.
I've hardly ever gotten that far. I really haven't run a dungeon since I ran a crappy little one in one of my first sessions over ten years ago.
Then again, I see no reason to change that.
Zhaleskra
Adventurer
In character puzzles that rely on metagame knowledge to solve. All right, I'm guilty of doing this too, but never as blatantly as "Channel Good The Way Is Open".
Oh, and while we're on that subject, energy having alignment traits. And the entire concept of "negative" energy.
Oh, and while we're on that subject, energy having alignment traits. And the entire concept of "negative" energy.
Thulsa Doom was an adversary of Kull, not Conan.
Vegepygmy
First Post
Unless you're talking about the movie.
Yes, which gets back to my statement that villains threatening a character's parents et al is rather hackneyed.
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