Mearls: Good Excuses for Fun

[catsclaw227]

From Mearls' gleemax blogpost

I'm currently working on part of an adventure for 4e, in addition to my usual core 4e rules duties. I'm having a lot of fun drawing maps and planning out encounters, primarily because I think the core concept I created for the mini-dungeon I'm designing gives me a lot of excuses for weird, crazy encounters.

The concept: a demon temple where minotaur priests would test adherents. The worthy ones who pass the tests get to enter the cult. Those who fail become demon chow. The nifty thing is that you cantake a sort of White Plume Mountain approach and it all makes sense. The temple's links to the Abyss power the weird parts of the encounters, and the elaborate traps and set pieces are all there for a good reason.

It's a nice change from H1 and the adventure I wrote for playtesting. In H1, Bruce and I built an environment where the monsters moved into an existing dungeon. The same thing happened with the playtest dungeon I wrote.

Anyway, it's a good excuse to show off all the new rules for building encounters with weird environments, bizarre magical effects, and so on in 4e. It makes me want to do a conversion of White Plume Mountain, Ghost Tower of Inverness, and any of the other classic puzzle dungeons.

This makes me REALLY want to know what all the core environmental effects are.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It makes me want to see the playtest dungeon he created.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Mearls makes a great point about dungeon as test. It's the best, possibly the only, justification for the old school beatable-if-you-approach-them-right monsters, traps and puzzles. Now there's a reason why the only weapon that can beat the BBEG is stored in his home, instead of being tossed into a volcano.

It works because that's what a dungeon really is. A test for the players.

 

[hong]

A dungeon also limits the draw distance. Important for those with crappy video cards.

 

[TarionzCousin]

Anyway, it's a good excuse to show off all the new rules for building encounters with weird environments, bizarre magical effects, and so on in 4e. It makes me want to do a conversion of White Plume Mountain, Ghost Tower of Inverness, and any of the other classic puzzle dungeons.

I personally don't need any more remakes of old modules. I would much prefer it if Mearls published this module instead.

A dungeon also limits the draw distance. Important for those with crappy video cards.

:rimshot:

 

[Mouseferatu]

I personally don't need any more remakes of old modules. I would much prefer it if Mearls published this module instead.

I don't know if it has to be either/or--there are some classics I'd still love to see updated--but I agree that this sounds like a fantastic idea for a module.

Mike, if you're lurking, put this on the schedule.

 

[Gloombunny]

A dungeon also limits the draw distance. Important for those with crappy video cards.

That's so emo.

 

[hong]

That's so emo.

You're making me cry.

<-- ME CRYING

 

[Sadrik]

A lot of the old modules simply are not as fun with the current 3.5 rules- the culprit is taking 20 on 5' cubes. Search needs to be changed a little bit to bring the player back into it. What do you search where do you search. If you dont search the base of the statue you get nothing ie-if you search the statue itself you find nothing. but if you searched the base you find a slide out drawer with a lever in it...

I take 20 on he square with the statue in it. -> you find a drawer with a lever.

I seem to like the old way better than the new, hopefully it will make a come back.

 

[Melan]

A dungeon also limits the draw distance. Important for those with crappy video cards.

Now there's a perfect reason for those twisty-turny tunnels.