Room size and monsters

[Marion Poliquin]

Lord of the Iron Fortress spoiler.

Room #2
Room size:
35'x35'

Room content:
1 bed 20'x10'
1 cloud giant 10'x10'
1 10-headed hydra 20'x20'

Doorway width:
10'x10'

Why? Why design small dungeons and cram 'em with huge monsters?

 

[Hand of Evil]

Someone was not thinking, just making a task for the adventures to bypass. This is something a lot of DM's do, they feel the need to fill every room with a monster to weaken or kill the adventures.

To me this shows bad dungeon design, basic hack & slash.

 

[hong]

Why? Why design small dungeons and cram 'em with huge monsters?

For that genuine 3rd edition rules, 1st edition feel thing.

 

[Bragg Battleaxe]

There have been plenty of times during our Adventure Path campaign when I have drawn out the room onto the mat and then worked overtime mentally trying to fit all of the stuff in the room into the space I have drawn. It can be very annoying and the example you gave is but one of dozens from that series of modules.

 

[the Jester]

Yeah, or how about the room that's big enought to hold the Huge monster, but the only corridor leading out is only 5' wide by 5' high? A common design flaw (although I occasionally use this sort of thing as a feature- like the dungeon that had the drow sorcerer with Reduce bringing in lots of monsters and then letting them get big again so they couldn't leave their "post", or the insane brass dragon in a room it couldn't get out of because its egg had been stolen and put there by baddies who locked it in until it was too big, just occasionally tossing in a few sheep for food... poor bugger went crazy).

 

[BiggusGeekus]

That poor cloud giant, sleeping single in a double bed.

 

[Furn_Darkside]

Salutations

I noticed something similar with Bane Warrens when I was reading it recently- it has a rather large npc travel from one area to another, and he does not seem to fit in the hallway.

FD

Edit: Granted, perhaps I just missed a shape change ability or something.

 

[dkoz]

That poor cloud giant, sleeping single in a double bed.

The giant doesn't sleep single. Why do you think the hydra is there?

 

[UniversalMonster]

Technically, I think a Hydra could squeeze through a 10'x10' door. Maybe someone cast a grease spell on it!


Get your greased Hydra, here!

 

[jodyjohnson]

Abstraction

It's an exercise in combat abstraction.

Neither actually takes up take much space (Gelatinous Cube excepted) they just physically deny that space to the enemy.

A medium sized human taking a 5'x5' space can still move down a 1' wide hallway (with sufficient vertical). He couldn't fight very well.

I'd apply a circumstance penalty for being in a smaller area for creatures moving down too small hallways or occupying tight rooms. The same solution as the 2 characters fighting from the same square problem.

And the bed is a sofa/sleeper.