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<blockquote data-quote="Reynard" data-source="post: 5232365" data-attributes="member: 467"><p>Me too, but this doesn't change the fact that linearity does happen unintentionally and it's a worthwhile goal, when discussing dungeon design, to keep the avoidance of linearity at the forefront of the mind.</p><p></p><p>You see, the game is not played nor these boards read solely by those that have been rolling d20s for 30 years or more. New people enter the hobby and its associated communities on a regular basis -- though not as often as we might like -- and even those that have been around a while try new things now and again. So there's actual value in discussing the fundamentals on a regular basis. You never know when a fresh faced DM, just off a few poorly designed modules, wants to try and create his own dungeon, coming to messageboards for advice.</p><p></p><p>In addition, the old hands sometimes get stuck in their ways and fail to recognize their own weaknesses, too often convinced of their own rightness inherent in the somewhat suspect virtue of having been at it a long time. Even they can occasionally benefit from an obvious reminder now an again.</p><p></p><p>Ultimately, though, it's just a basic obvious but often overlooked mistake people make when designing dungeons. They come up with awesome ideas for traps, rooms, challenges and puzzles, and they want the players to experience them all. So in their architectural design, they inadvertently funnel the party through the level in a linear fashion to ensure they encounter all the DM's cool ideas. It happens. Pointing it out just might save someone from making that easy mistake as they sit down tonight and prep for their tuesday night game.</p><p></p><p>So, to come the long way round to answer your question: most DMs probably wouldn't *want* to design a linear dungeon, but they might do so because they lack experience, are in a hurry or are focused on some other aspect of design. They could probably use a reminder nudge not to do that.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Reynard, post: 5232365, member: 467"] Me too, but this doesn't change the fact that linearity does happen unintentionally and it's a worthwhile goal, when discussing dungeon design, to keep the avoidance of linearity at the forefront of the mind. You see, the game is not played nor these boards read solely by those that have been rolling d20s for 30 years or more. New people enter the hobby and its associated communities on a regular basis -- though not as often as we might like -- and even those that have been around a while try new things now and again. So there's actual value in discussing the fundamentals on a regular basis. You never know when a fresh faced DM, just off a few poorly designed modules, wants to try and create his own dungeon, coming to messageboards for advice. In addition, the old hands sometimes get stuck in their ways and fail to recognize their own weaknesses, too often convinced of their own rightness inherent in the somewhat suspect virtue of having been at it a long time. Even they can occasionally benefit from an obvious reminder now an again. Ultimately, though, it's just a basic obvious but often overlooked mistake people make when designing dungeons. They come up with awesome ideas for traps, rooms, challenges and puzzles, and they want the players to experience them all. So in their architectural design, they inadvertently funnel the party through the level in a linear fashion to ensure they encounter all the DM's cool ideas. It happens. Pointing it out just might save someone from making that easy mistake as they sit down tonight and prep for their tuesday night game. So, to come the long way round to answer your question: most DMs probably wouldn't *want* to design a linear dungeon, but they might do so because they lack experience, are in a hurry or are focused on some other aspect of design. They could probably use a reminder nudge not to do that. [/QUOTE]
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