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<blockquote data-quote="rmcoen" data-source="post: 7497044" data-attributes="member: 6692404"><p>Through the vast powers of Necromancy, I doth resurrect this thread....(I got here from an article by Alexandrian on &quot;hexcrawling&quot;, from a google search on hexcrawl, from the &quot;Runewild&quot; Kickstarter going now.)I loved the original post. I also agree with many of the comments that have been added, including most &quot;recently&quot; in 2013, the post by Janx.&nbsp; If the story involves a Barracks (to use Janx's example) filled with possessed soldiers, over an undead- and demon-infested dungeon... I would expect a completely logical Barracks building, like I'd find in Roman or European architecture: several bunkrooms, a cafeteria, a couple private rooms for an officer or two, an armory, and a storeroom.&nbsp; A &quot;linear with hair&quot; map, with maybe two or three exits from the cafeteria, and at least 2 entry points (plus windows).&nbsp; And a single stairway down to the dungeon.&nbsp; The dungeon, on the other hand, would have straight designed hallways and cells, but could also be honeycombed by prisoners, restless (un)dead, combat damage from demons, etc -- *it* could be a branching map.But... do your PCs in a ftf RPG want to grind out every corridor in a sprawling map? or do they want to find the &quot;source of the infestation&quot; and obliterate it?&nbsp; Let them decide, I suppose, with story impacts based on either decision.&nbsp; Spend too long grinding out every demon and zombie, and the evil plans have advanced in the kingdom; break the soulstone, kill the cultists and leave, and hear stories about undead and demons terrorizing the countryside...In my current campaign - not a &quot;dungeon&quot; but a planeswalking &quot;fetch quest&quot; - each location of the fetch is a series of branching encounters.&nbsp; the maps are relatively unimportant (excepting tactical combat).&nbsp; Right now, they are in a demiplane Drow city, trying to destabilize a political situation with blackmail and assassination, while trying to fetch the artifact.&nbsp; I haven't mapped the whole city, just a circle with districts.&nbsp; They invaded one Wizard tower, so that got mapped - but not all 6 levels, just the entryway, a couple key decision points (brave the traps on the cabinet to get the teleporter Badges, or slog on through environmental traps the old fashioned way (stoneshaping through the floor/ceiling)), and the &quot;battle-the-crazed druid-lich&quot; level.&nbsp;&nbsp; Where was I going with this... oh, right: this is a story-based campaign, where they can &quot;fetch&quot; the 5 items in any order - but I adjust the monster power based on teh order they do them in.&nbsp; So the 4th item's guardians are still roughly as strong as the party; the decisionmaking-reward comes from the loot - going after Item #1 got them favors from an archfey; Item #3 got them a planewalking staff (saving them component costs) -- how they approach each successive item is affected by which items they already acquired.I (GM, my story) can't afford to have them &quot;miss&quot; one of the items because they didn't search for a secret door, or chose not to go back up from level 4 to sublevel 3B.&nbsp; But, in the current circumstance, they have a decision in front of them - betray their current benefactor, get the Item they want, and leave... or stick with the original plan, get the item and an artifact, *and* the combination to a Vault they otherwise won't have access to...&nbsp;&nbsp; So to that extent, this is a &quot;hidden level / reward for dilligent players&quot; that can be bypassed.</p></blockquote><p></p>

[QUOTE="rmcoen, post: 7497044, member: 6692404"] Through the vast powers of Necromancy, I doth resurrect this thread....(I got here from an article by Alexandrian on "hexcrawling", from a google search on hexcrawl, from the "Runewild" Kickstarter going now.)I loved the original post. I also agree with many of the comments that have been added, including most "recently" in 2013, the post by Janx. If the story involves a Barracks (to use Janx's example) filled with possessed soldiers, over an undead- and demon-infested dungeon... I would expect a completely logical Barracks building, like I'd find in Roman or European architecture: several bunkrooms, a cafeteria, a couple private rooms for an officer or two, an armory, and a storeroom. A "linear with hair" map, with maybe two or three exits from the cafeteria, and at least 2 entry points (plus windows). And a single stairway down to the dungeon. The dungeon, on the other hand, would have straight designed hallways and cells, but could also be honeycombed by prisoners, restless (un)dead, combat damage from demons, etc -- *it* could be a branching map.But... do your PCs in a ftf RPG want to grind out every corridor in a sprawling map? or do they want to find the "source of the infestation" and obliterate it? Let them decide, I suppose, with story impacts based on either decision. Spend too long grinding out every demon and zombie, and the evil plans have advanced in the kingdom; break the soulstone, kill the cultists and leave, and hear stories about undead and demons terrorizing the countryside...In my current campaign - not a "dungeon" but a planeswalking "fetch quest" - each location of the fetch is a series of branching encounters. the maps are relatively unimportant (excepting tactical combat). Right now, they are in a demiplane Drow city, trying to destabilize a political situation with blackmail and assassination, while trying to fetch the artifact. I haven't mapped the whole city, just a circle with districts. They invaded one Wizard tower, so that got mapped - but not all 6 levels, just the entryway, a couple key decision points (brave the traps on the cabinet to get the teleporter Badges, or slog on through environmental traps the old fashioned way (stoneshaping through the floor/ceiling)), and the "battle-the-crazed druid-lich" level. Where was I going with this... oh, right: this is a story-based campaign, where they can "fetch" the 5 items in any order - but I adjust the monster power based on teh order they do them in. So the 4th item's guardians are still roughly as strong as the party; the decisionmaking-reward comes from the loot - going after Item #1 got them favors from an archfey; Item #3 got them a planewalking staff (saving them component costs) -- how they approach each successive item is affected by which items they already acquired.I (GM, my story) can't afford to have them "miss" one of the items because they didn't search for a secret door, or chose not to go back up from level 4 to sublevel 3B. But, in the current circumstance, they have a decision in front of them - betray their current benefactor, get the Item they want, and leave... or stick with the original plan, get the item and an artifact, *and* the combination to a Vault they otherwise won't have access to... So to that extent, this is a "hidden level / reward for dilligent players" that can be bypassed. [/QUOTE]

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