Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Guest&nbsp; 85555" data-source="post: 7900085">I think there is a place for more real-world-like, plausible, dungeons with a purpose and the more chaotic dungeons. I don't know that real world dungeons ought to be linear, but probably simpler. Yes, a real world building or structure is designed for a purpose, but a game structure also has the additional purpose of entertaining players in a game. So I think at the end of the day, entertaining the players is what matters. I go on tours of historical places and houses a lot. Those places have a clear sense of purpose and are practical, and do offer a lot of inspiration for game locations, but I don't think most players want the experience of touring a realistic spot. They want something that is gameable. You also need to leave room for imagination. I spent the last couple of years working on maps for locations that were meant to be more realistic models. They still added in gameable content, but I was trying my best to adhere to the historical details as much as I could. I discovered real world architecture is very difficult. It took a lot of additional time, and I wasn't as free to invent things. So it is a trade off, and it isn't one every GM or designer is going to want to make. Just to give an example I read at least three books on the architecture of the period and place I was interested in, and still had to consult people with more knowledge to get things right. There are plenty of great simple dungeon structures out there that are plenty of fun though. A Bushel of Rye for HARN has an excellent one (and it is fairly minimal, but still very engaging. I think that is the key, if you are going to go more simple and practical, you need to find a way to make the place engaging for the players when they explore it.</blockquote>

Verification