Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Dungeon crawls = narrow hallway combat & door jam combats, ugh!
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="DMZ2112" data-source="post: 6242385" data-attributes="member: 78752"><p>It doesn't sound to me like your players are metagaming; it sounds like they're making tactically sound choices. Remember that in most dungeon scenarios, the PCs are the invaders. The onus is on them to progress. If they bottle themselves up in a narrow corridor or doorway, that's a victory for their opponents.</p><p></p><p>I hear you saying you don't want to increase monster ingenuity, but I feel like you're shooting yourself in the foot. What you need are smarter monsters. They don't necessarily need to be geniuses, but if your PCs retreat into a bottleneck, have your monsters do the same thing. If the PCs stop marauding through the caverns, the monsters win. There's no reason for a group of reasonably intelligent denizens to follow interlopers into an obvious trap. Put more cover in your dungeon rooms so the monsters can avoid ranged damage.</p><p></p><p>Of course, at best, that's a standoff. If you want your PCs to change their behavior, you have to show them that their bottlenecks are not safe. Have the monsters circle around and attack from behind, cutting down the casters while the fighters are pinned in their own doorway. Use secret doors. Murderholes. Arrow slits. Remote-trigger traps, like dropping slabs and closing portcullises.</p><p></p><p>Observe your players' tactics and use them against the PCs. But always remember that the monsters' goal is to stop the PCs from looting their home. If the PCs do that of their own accord by hiding in the corridor, that's as good as driving them off.</p><p></p><p>Corridor surprises, though, are corridor surprises. I mean, maybe you could design a dungeon where some corridor turns are decorative 20'x20' roomlets? More complex intersections could also help -- more directions mean more opportunities for rear ambushes, but also think in 3D -- air shafts and wells make good inconspicuous hiding places for climbing enemies.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DMZ2112, post: 6242385, member: 78752"] It doesn't sound to me like your players are metagaming; it sounds like they're making tactically sound choices. Remember that in most dungeon scenarios, the PCs are the invaders. The onus is on them to progress. If they bottle themselves up in a narrow corridor or doorway, that's a victory for their opponents. I hear you saying you don't want to increase monster ingenuity, but I feel like you're shooting yourself in the foot. What you need are smarter monsters. They don't necessarily need to be geniuses, but if your PCs retreat into a bottleneck, have your monsters do the same thing. If the PCs stop marauding through the caverns, the monsters win. There's no reason for a group of reasonably intelligent denizens to follow interlopers into an obvious trap. Put more cover in your dungeon rooms so the monsters can avoid ranged damage. Of course, at best, that's a standoff. If you want your PCs to change their behavior, you have to show them that their bottlenecks are not safe. Have the monsters circle around and attack from behind, cutting down the casters while the fighters are pinned in their own doorway. Use secret doors. Murderholes. Arrow slits. Remote-trigger traps, like dropping slabs and closing portcullises. Observe your players' tactics and use them against the PCs. But always remember that the monsters' goal is to stop the PCs from looting their home. If the PCs do that of their own accord by hiding in the corridor, that's as good as driving them off. Corridor surprises, though, are corridor surprises. I mean, maybe you could design a dungeon where some corridor turns are decorative 20'x20' roomlets? More complex intersections could also help -- more directions mean more opportunities for rear ambushes, but also think in 3D -- air shafts and wells make good inconspicuous hiding places for climbing enemies. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Dungeon crawls = narrow hallway combat & door jam combats, ugh!
Top