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General Tabletop Discussion
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The right use of hazards
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<blockquote data-quote="MNblockhead" data-source="post: 7117630" data-attributes="member: 6796661"><p>Most recently-created adventures that I've bought and played are focused on story and NPCs as the antagonists. In older adventures, I'm thinking 1e days, the dungeon was the antagonist. Monsters were kinda thrown in as one of many hazards you had to overcome. But many dungeon crawls had few monsters. The challenge was avoiding traps, solving puzzles, mapping so you didn't get lost, and navigating hazards (collapsed areas, unsound architecture, tough climbs and delves, etc.)</p><p></p><p>I think modern designers fail to take the opportunity to give their dungeons, cities, and wilderness areas more character. So much is focused on the denizens of the environments and the traps and protections they set. </p><p></p><p>Hazards can increase immersion and give variety to the challenges your adventurers face. </p><p></p><p>I think this is especially true for tier-one play. Monsters should be few and far between and should be a BIG EVENT when encountered. Build up the suspense with tough natural challenges. Scaling the cliff or lowering themselves into the sinkhole that revealed the cave system. Why are so many dungeons dry, with the exception of the occasional water trap or pool? Have the walls and floors slick with water and slimes. Maybe the party needs to scale a flow stone to get up to another cave complex (e.g., see this pic of a flow stone in Mystery Cave from here in Minnesota: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowstone#/media/File:MysteryCaveFlowstone.jpg" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowstone#/media/File:MysteryCaveFlowstone.jpg</a>)</p><p></p><p>Some other examples of hazards:</p><p></p><p>* crossing dangerously thin ice</p><p></p><p>* needing to get through (perhaps as part of an escape) a large area thick with thorny bushes</p><p></p><p>* quick sand</p><p></p><p>* trying to traverse a mangrove swamp without slipping and getting stuck in slippery root system</p><p></p><p>* crossing a salt swamp with deep, sticky mud</p><p></p><p>* quacking bog (decay under the the sphagnum moss creates layers of muck, falling through and getting stuck in it can be nearly impossible to escape—the good news is if your character dies there, his body can be preserved for centuries, for someone to resurrect ;-) </p><p></p><p>* while traversing difficult terrain—e.g. saltwater swamp/marsh—a character gets bit by a poisonous snake. If the party can't treat it on the spot, the character may not be able to get out in time before succumbing to poison</p><p></p><p>* avalanches</p><p></p><p>* cave-ins</p><p></p><p>* leeches, mosquitoes, chiggers and other creatures that are not combat encounters but can weaken party members with discomfort and disease. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Hazards will be hated by your players. But it can be a good hate or a bad hate. A bad hate is if it just slows down the game and can only be overcome by luck of the dice. Treat even natural hazards as puzzles. Make sure that you design your hazards so that a bad roll doesn't lead to the party being stuck. Reward smart thinking, preparation, and team work. </p><p></p><p>Some hazards can be used to prevent short and/or long rests without having to keep throwing combat encounters at the party. </p><p></p><p>Hazards can make combat more interesting. Make both the PCs and monsters fight around a hazard. Such hazards should be dangerous for the PCs, but should also allow creative players a way to use the hazard against the enemy. Use hazards to help PCs defeat monsters that would be deadly if taken head-on, but also have enemies of lower CR use hazards to make them a more serious threat to higher-level PCs.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MNblockhead, post: 7117630, member: 6796661"] Most recently-created adventures that I've bought and played are focused on story and NPCs as the antagonists. In older adventures, I'm thinking 1e days, the dungeon was the antagonist. Monsters were kinda thrown in as one of many hazards you had to overcome. But many dungeon crawls had few monsters. The challenge was avoiding traps, solving puzzles, mapping so you didn't get lost, and navigating hazards (collapsed areas, unsound architecture, tough climbs and delves, etc.) I think modern designers fail to take the opportunity to give their dungeons, cities, and wilderness areas more character. So much is focused on the denizens of the environments and the traps and protections they set. Hazards can increase immersion and give variety to the challenges your adventurers face. I think this is especially true for tier-one play. Monsters should be few and far between and should be a BIG EVENT when encountered. Build up the suspense with tough natural challenges. Scaling the cliff or lowering themselves into the sinkhole that revealed the cave system. Why are so many dungeons dry, with the exception of the occasional water trap or pool? Have the walls and floors slick with water and slimes. Maybe the party needs to scale a flow stone to get up to another cave complex (e.g., see this pic of a flow stone in Mystery Cave from here in Minnesota: [URL]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowstone#/media/File:MysteryCaveFlowstone.jpg[/URL]) Some other examples of hazards: * crossing dangerously thin ice * needing to get through (perhaps as part of an escape) a large area thick with thorny bushes * quick sand * trying to traverse a mangrove swamp without slipping and getting stuck in slippery root system * crossing a salt swamp with deep, sticky mud * quacking bog (decay under the the sphagnum moss creates layers of muck, falling through and getting stuck in it can be nearly impossible to escape—the good news is if your character dies there, his body can be preserved for centuries, for someone to resurrect ;-) * while traversing difficult terrain—e.g. saltwater swamp/marsh—a character gets bit by a poisonous snake. If the party can't treat it on the spot, the character may not be able to get out in time before succumbing to poison * avalanches * cave-ins * leeches, mosquitoes, chiggers and other creatures that are not combat encounters but can weaken party members with discomfort and disease. Hazards will be hated by your players. But it can be a good hate or a bad hate. A bad hate is if it just slows down the game and can only be overcome by luck of the dice. Treat even natural hazards as puzzles. Make sure that you design your hazards so that a bad roll doesn't lead to the party being stuck. Reward smart thinking, preparation, and team work. Some hazards can be used to prevent short and/or long rests without having to keep throwing combat encounters at the party. Hazards can make combat more interesting. Make both the PCs and monsters fight around a hazard. Such hazards should be dangerous for the PCs, but should also allow creative players a way to use the hazard against the enemy. Use hazards to help PCs defeat monsters that would be deadly if taken head-on, but also have enemies of lower CR use hazards to make them a more serious threat to higher-level PCs. [/QUOTE]
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