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<blockquote data-quote="riprock" data-source="post: 2957024" data-attributes="member: 42506">Monsters Moving in LoopsI really like the original article.&nbsp; I feel one of the things that gives D&amp;D a great deal of atmosphere is the fact that the aesthetics of dungeon exploration are unlike anything in history -- it combines the thrill of an archaeologist opening King Tut's tomb with the thrill of a commando killing enemies on a mission.&nbsp; If you are preserving that weird thrill, then dungeons with lots of exploration and loops are great.&nbsp; (Also passwall and divination spells are powerful!)The original article reminded me a lot of Deus Ex's level design -- the original Deus Ex was designed so that there would be at least three ways to get to any interesting detail.&nbsp; That way, there is a stealthy way, a gun bunny way, etc.&nbsp; Even if a player is bad at one game skill, he can probably have a fair chance to find the neat stuff.Also, the original article made me recall my first criticism of dungeons is that living things don't like to live in holes with just one entrance.&nbsp; Rabbits, dogs, humans -- all of us are smart enough to make sure we have a back door to run out in case the front door is blocked.&nbsp; Many linear modules put in escape routes, but they cheat because they don't have exits labelled on the map.&nbsp; You could comb the wilderness and never find the escape route exit.If dungeons have multiple entrance/exits, then maneuver becomes more realistic and more fun.Getting to Eric Noah's quote above, moving monsters do indeed move in loops.&nbsp; Consider the way humans use a fairly large suburban house.&nbsp; They have a front door, a garage door, a back door, and they use them at different times for different purposes.If I have one &quot;lesson learned&quot; from D&amp;D maps, it's that it can be hard to balance challenge with survivability.E.g. if the dungeon is fairly realistic and the monsters have an alarm system (e.g. a gong or drum as suggested in the AD&amp;D books) then it's usually easy for a group of monsters to surround invaders and crush them with overwhelming force.My own history with D&amp;D is that I tended to start with dungeon exploration and move on to more outdoor adventures with a large maneuver warfare element, where cavalry tactics became very prominent.&nbsp; However, as I progressed, I lost the characteristic thrill of D&amp;D -- I lost the &quot;archaeologist&quot; thrill and only got the &quot;commando&quot; thrill.I am a very big fan of immersion in RPGs.&nbsp; Immersion is easily lost in wargames and combat simulations.&nbsp; D&amp;D's weird thrill -- combining the archaeologist, the commando, etc. -- often was rooted in very atmospheric modules which really produced a &quot;sense of place&quot; in the reader.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="riprock, post: 2957024, member: 42506"] [b]Monsters Moving in Loops[/b] I really like the original article. I feel one of the things that gives D&D a great deal of atmosphere is the fact that the aesthetics of dungeon exploration are unlike anything in history -- it combines the thrill of an archaeologist opening King Tut's tomb with the thrill of a commando killing enemies on a mission. If you are preserving that weird thrill, then dungeons with lots of exploration and loops are great. (Also passwall and divination spells are powerful!) The original article reminded me a lot of Deus Ex's level design -- the original Deus Ex was designed so that there would be at least three ways to get to any interesting detail. That way, there is a stealthy way, a gun bunny way, etc. Even if a player is bad at one game skill, he can probably have a fair chance to find the neat stuff. Also, the original article made me recall my first criticism of dungeons is that living things don't like to live in holes with just one entrance. Rabbits, dogs, humans -- all of us are smart enough to make sure we have a back door to run out in case the front door is blocked. Many linear modules put in escape routes, but they cheat because they don't have exits labelled on the map. You could comb the wilderness and never find the escape route exit. If dungeons have multiple entrance/exits, then maneuver becomes more realistic and more fun. Getting to Eric Noah's quote above, moving monsters do indeed move in loops. Consider the way humans use a fairly large suburban house. They have a front door, a garage door, a back door, and they use them at different times for different purposes. If I have one "lesson learned" from D&D maps, it's that it can be hard to balance challenge with survivability. E.g. if the dungeon is fairly realistic and the monsters have an alarm system (e.g. a gong or drum as suggested in the AD&D books) then it's usually easy for a group of monsters to surround invaders and crush them with overwhelming force. My own history with D&D is that I tended to start with dungeon exploration and move on to more outdoor adventures with a large maneuver warfare element, where cavalry tactics became very prominent. However, as I progressed, I lost the characteristic thrill of D&D -- I lost the "archaeologist" thrill and only got the "commando" thrill. I am a very big fan of immersion in RPGs. Immersion is easily lost in wargames and combat simulations. D&D's weird thrill -- combining the archaeologist, the commando, etc. -- often was rooted in very atmospheric modules which really produced a "sense of place" in the reader. [/QUOTE]

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