Does anybody not use dungeons?

[Psion]

I use "site based encounters" which are rarely "dungeons" per se, but things like enemy outposts, castles, mansions, and so forth.

 

[drnuncheon]

I was going to say "not very many", but then I thought about it. A hidden shrine under the city, a cave where a pirate treasure is hidden, a sunken temple dedicated to a forgotten god, and most recently a long voyage into a vast system of natural caverns. I guess all of those could count as 'dungeons', even if they're not really the 'enter here for 10'x10' stone corridors stocked by mad wizard' type.

Still, most of the action in my game has been above ground, in cities or the wilderness.

J

 

[gunter uxbridge]

In two campaigns played over two year I had a grand total of two dungeons featured in the games. I hate dungeon crawls and only use them when they suit the overall plot.

 

[The Allamistako]

Not really.

Most of my adventures are wildernis crawls (can you say that?) or city based, so I don't use dungeons much. Also, as I don't hand out many magical items (my group just hit 8th, and they have one magical item each..), that's not a problem...

-Alla

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

As a rule of thumb, I only use dungeons when playing XCrawl. Most of my normal games take place in cities or the wilderness, with planar travel (and spaceships) being possibilities.

A few years ago, my PCs got together and decided to build a dungeon, though I never learned what they were planning on doing with it.

 

[Buttercup]

I have used small dungeons, but only rarely. They're not that interesting.

 

[Desdichado]

Not really -- I prefer games with lots of intrigue and deception. Plenty of combat, but you really have to be in a city, and trying desperately to figure out who your real enemies are, not wandering through rooms and smiting everything in them.

 

[officeronin]

Not really -- the closest we've been is the city sewers (which are not that expensive) and a few large buildings. We do much more with politics and wilderness exploration.

OfficeRonin

 

[blackshirt5]

I agree with Tsyr... not a lot of sense in them. Why can't the villain be hiding in a city, or in the forests, or deep in the swamps?

In my world at least, a Dungeon(especially one designed yourself, so you know all the ins and outs) is a lot safer than a castle, swamp, or city. A castle is vulnerable to fliers(including airships). cities don't necessarily guarantee safety. Just because you're hiding among the masses, doesn't mean that the rogue and the ranger won't be able to use their connections or tracking skills to hunt you down. And swamps aren't always safe either, especially when you've got a master tracker on your tail.

A dungeon, on the other hand, is generally underground(for much the same reason as a bomb shelter is, to protect you from aerial strikes), filled with traps, can be built so that your pursuers have to follow certain paths(with the help of secret passages and such so that you don't have to follow these same[usually trapped and guarded] paths), and generally just has a certain air about it that adds to a feeling of superiority.

 

[megamania]

yup.

Not as much as before but I still use them. Sometimes I use them when I knew I have a large workload or family stuff coming. Summer time I generally run dungeon crawls. I can create them months in advance and put them out as I need them. Then I'm not taking time away from the family from picnics and outings this way.