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My Dungeon Doesn't Have Corridors
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<blockquote data-quote="Jhaelen" data-source="post: 5501927" data-attributes="member: 46713"><p>Well, I prefer my dungeons to be small and the majority of an adventure to happen in wilderness areas. This often makes it unnecessary to include a lot of corridors or empty rooms in the dungeons that are really not much more than multi-room lairs. The wilderness is what assumes the role of empty rooms and corridors then.</p><p></p><p>But assuming I _am_ creating a somewhat larger dungeon, I agree that _random_ empty rooms are not something I need or want to see these days. What I do want to see, though, are rooms that provide clues or help to support the mood I'm trying to create.</p><p></p><p>I also want to see a sufficient number of alternative paths through a dungeon. Nothing is worse than a dungeon layout that is nothing but a single chain of rooms. As long as you don't end up creating an actual maze (which is always just boring to navigate), you're doing fine. As a bonus, make those paths distinctive, i.e. it's not just a choice of left or right, but a choice of following the footsteps of a Large humanoid or the smell of acid.</p><p></p><p>These things also serve the purpose of varying the pacing in an adventure. Hence I would _never_ reduce them to a block of read-aloud text. These should be areas that require player interaction and often skill checks.</p><p></p><p>I also prefer dynamic environments, even if they're in reality just 'scripted':</p><p>E.g. that empty room you passed on your way to the treasure chamber doesn't have to be empty on your way back...</p><p></p><p>This is something I always spend some time on between sessions:</p><p>I think about the things the adventurers have done, where they went, whom they fought, and then I make adjustments that reflect the consequences of their actions. Even very small changes go a long way, here:</p><p>E.g. if they return to their 'safe room' for another rest, let them make a perception check to notice that someone else has been in the room in the meantime. Even if they fail the check they will be wondering what's going on and may well decide to go elsewhere.</p><p></p><p>If they're acting dumb, I also have no qualms about throwing combined encounters at them as the inhabitants of the dungeon try to flush them out of their home.</p><p></p><p>4e is such a slick ruleset and it's so easy to adjust monster stats and encounter composition on very short notice that it would be a real shame to create nothing but railroads.</p><p></p><p>I also never use 'random' encounters, btw. Instead I create a bunch of 'planned' encounters before sessions and place them wherever it makes sense depending on the PCs actions. I also don't mind if some of these encounters never see play. Sometimes I also modify them a bit and use them much later in a different adventure.</p><p></p><p>Finally, I'm a fan of the approach of using a fixed monster 'budget' to draw from to mix and match encounters of varying difficulty.</p><p></p><p>So, yes, my dungeon has corridors!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jhaelen, post: 5501927, member: 46713"] Well, I prefer my dungeons to be small and the majority of an adventure to happen in wilderness areas. This often makes it unnecessary to include a lot of corridors or empty rooms in the dungeons that are really not much more than multi-room lairs. The wilderness is what assumes the role of empty rooms and corridors then. But assuming I _am_ creating a somewhat larger dungeon, I agree that _random_ empty rooms are not something I need or want to see these days. What I do want to see, though, are rooms that provide clues or help to support the mood I'm trying to create. I also want to see a sufficient number of alternative paths through a dungeon. Nothing is worse than a dungeon layout that is nothing but a single chain of rooms. As long as you don't end up creating an actual maze (which is always just boring to navigate), you're doing fine. As a bonus, make those paths distinctive, i.e. it's not just a choice of left or right, but a choice of following the footsteps of a Large humanoid or the smell of acid. These things also serve the purpose of varying the pacing in an adventure. Hence I would _never_ reduce them to a block of read-aloud text. These should be areas that require player interaction and often skill checks. I also prefer dynamic environments, even if they're in reality just 'scripted': E.g. that empty room you passed on your way to the treasure chamber doesn't have to be empty on your way back... This is something I always spend some time on between sessions: I think about the things the adventurers have done, where they went, whom they fought, and then I make adjustments that reflect the consequences of their actions. Even very small changes go a long way, here: E.g. if they return to their 'safe room' for another rest, let them make a perception check to notice that someone else has been in the room in the meantime. Even if they fail the check they will be wondering what's going on and may well decide to go elsewhere. If they're acting dumb, I also have no qualms about throwing combined encounters at them as the inhabitants of the dungeon try to flush them out of their home. 4e is such a slick ruleset and it's so easy to adjust monster stats and encounter composition on very short notice that it would be a real shame to create nothing but railroads. I also never use 'random' encounters, btw. Instead I create a bunch of 'planned' encounters before sessions and place them wherever it makes sense depending on the PCs actions. I also don't mind if some of these encounters never see play. Sometimes I also modify them a bit and use them much later in a different adventure. Finally, I'm a fan of the approach of using a fixed monster 'budget' to draw from to mix and match encounters of varying difficulty. So, yes, my dungeon has corridors! [/QUOTE]
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