Dungeon Editorial: Valley of Chaos?

[MerricB]

If you look at P1: King of the Trollhaunt Warrens, you'll find that several rooms in the warrens - well, at least two - have "Development" sections that means they restock if the party leaves and then comes back. I very much appreciated that touch.

I would have liked a few random encounters in the Warrens as well, to give the impression of monsters moving around the place. I added some of that to my current running of P1.

Cheers!

 

[Rechan]

I would have liked a few random encounters in the Warrens as well, to give the impression of monsters moving around the place. I added some of that to my current running of P1.

Cheers!

Like that adventure needed MORE combat.

 

[MerricB]

Like that adventure needed MORE combat.

I know. I'm slowly bending, mutilating and spindling it - well, not that much - to improve the roleplaying aspects of it. My players help. The very first time they came to the Warrens, they bluffed their way past the guards ("We're here to serve your master!") and slew the Troll King in the first encounter.

The last session (see my sig) saw them take on 4 or 5 combats without using a daily! I was impressed.

My love of the basic mythology behind the adventure helps a lot, mind you. I'm really looking forward to when they finally finish the warren section of the adventure and move onwards into the second half!

Cheers!

 

[mearls]

One of the exciting things about this project is that we can add hooks and connections as we go along. When we first worked up the idea, the potential of finding a weird, jade key in the first cave that opens a door in the tenth cave was one of the interesting parts of it.

That's a fairly simple example, but it can be easily extended to more narrative, interesting bits.

 

[MerricB]

One of the exciting things about this project is that we can add hooks and connections as we go along. When we first worked up the idea, the potential of finding a weird, jade key in the first cave that opens a door in the tenth cave was one of the interesting parts of it.

That's a fairly simple example, but it can be easily extended to more narrative, interesting bits.

Sounds fantastic, Mike!

Will the "Valley of Chaos" be entirely designed by Wizards staff, or will it be an option for other contributors as well?

Cheers!

 

[mearls]

Sounds fantastic, Mike!

Will the "Valley of Chaos" be entirely designed by Wizards staff, or will it be an option for other contributors as well?

Cheers!

I think it's open to freelancers, but I can't say for sure.

 

[Mouseferatu]

I think it's open to freelancers, but I can't say for sure.

Eeeeeexcellent...

 

[S'mon]

I think there's a big difference between a linear-series-of-fights adventure, which is often tedious, and a sandbox environment where the PCs can choose where to go, and through intelligence gathering have a lot of control over what and when to fight.

I ordered Dungeon Delve a couple days ago not because I think plotless 3-fights-and-done are inherently interesting, but because I think it should provide useful building blocks for sandboxes of my own creation, perhaps using it in conjunction with hexed sandboxes like Necromaner's Wilderlands of High Fantasy Boxed Set (nominally 3.5, but easily adaptable) and Rob Conley's Points of Light I & II from Goodman.

 

[JeffB]

That this is nothing new? It's something WotC has been doing for 10 years - giving the loosest plot to facilitate combat encounters.

Agreed. Not been a fan of the vast majority of WOTC adventures since the late 2E days-whether they were published modules, published in Dungeon mag by WOTC proper or Piazo(print or electronic), etc. There have been a few exceptions, but not many.

That said, this new "B2" style Caves of Chaos approach is more interesting than the APs* as far as I'm concerned- And they should be easily used/transplanted to any DMs game- unlike an AP.



*not a fan of the AP style design, whether it's Paizo or WOTC- I understand they are popular, but if I had my druthers I'd like to see them go the way of the do-do bird.

 

[Imaro]

I think there's a big difference between a linear-series-of-fights adventure, which is often tedious, and a sandbox environment where the PCs can choose where to go, and through intelligence gathering have a lot of control over what and when to fight.

Yes but you won't have this, at least not at first. In order to have what you're describing here... choice, a true sandbox environment, etc. is going to take quite a few months of Dungeon before it's viable...until then it's one to 3 encounters in a cave. This is one of the bigger problems I see with trying to do a piecemeal sandbox in monthly installments.

Another is that you run into the same problems as an AP with connectivity, how does one know what is or isn't connected, important, etc. until the caves are published in their entirety. The fact that WotC hasn't satisfied many with their AP in these areas again worries me.

I ordered Dungeon Delve a couple days ago not because I think plotless 3-fights-and-done are inherently interesting, but because I think it should provide useful building blocks for sandboxes of my own creation, perhaps using it in conjunction with hexed sandboxes like Necromaner's Wilderlands of High Fantasy Boxed Set (nominally 3.5, but easily adaptable) and Rob Conley's Points of Light I & II from Goodman.

That's great...but again that's almost all we've gotten in the hardback books and many of the modules. It's not that I feel it's a wrong way to play, I just feel it's all WotC is doing. I mean if necessary hire new writers or take a chance on some fresh blood in Dungeon, but I do think this is going to get real old real fast... without some diversity to mix it up.