Getting out of the Spaghetti Dungeon

[Arnwyn]

Why not? Do you do so because you feel that dungeon crawling should be free from reason?

Yes absolutely, and for multiple reasons. First, I believe that the concept of "dungeons" (and the "underdark", etc.) are nonsensical and completely free from reason already (these are what I was referring to in my "heck no" statement). Why bother busting my already overworked DM-butt for "realism" in a completely unrealistic environment? Further, the cost/benefit of including all these "realistic" features clearly shows that for me it is a complete waste of my rather limited and valuable time. My players prefer ease-of-use, game flow, and fun far more than they value realism in an intrinsically unrealistic environment. (Of course, it also helps that IMC, more often than not dungeons really have been "designed by insane architects and inhabited by escaped asylum patients".)

For certain parts of the game, "realism" is highly overrated. This depends, of course, on you and your players - thus my "heck no" comment, which applies to me, my players, and my game re: dungeons, and "heck yes" for castles and all other sorts of buildings.

Or do you need a linear encounter progression? Or some other reason?

No, that has nothing to do with it. Other reason (see above).

 

[adwyn]

While the D&D concept of "dungeon" is somewhat skewed from reason, I do like to have a dungeon's layout make more sense than simply filling up a rectangular peice of paper. A couple of useful tricks I have found are;

1) Include an sideways view or elevation sketch which includes the dungeon, the overlaying terrain, and any water table.

2) Design a basic dungeon and then add changes and expansions in phases each time imagining new occupants. This is how corridors get blocked off, hidden, et al.

3) Don't try to fill all of the paper. Leave blank areas, its not a sin.

4) Scale down the rooms. While a few places may need to be large, there's no point in building (digging is worse) any bigger than necessary. Goblins and kobolds don't need 10' ceilings, there just as likely to build a new floor that splits the room into two stories.

 

[Timely Drought]

The Wieliczka salt mine in Poland. Unfortunately there's no top-down view.

http://www.kopalnia-wieliczka.pl/english/trasa.htm

 

[Conaill]

Here's another cool real-live underground complex:

The Williamson's tunnles under Liverpool

 

[mseds99]

Cerro Rico at Potosi, Bolivia

Just wanted to chip in here. If you are into mines, then it's a must that you go to Cerro Rico in Potosi, Bolivia. I did a quick check on google for a map, but to no avail. The entire mountain is hollowed out like Swiss cheese. I WHOLEHEARTEDLY recommend going there if you are an adventerous type.

As far as your question, there seemed to be no reasoning to these particular mines; they seem to be fairly random. At least my untrainined eye could not discern any pattern or reason.