61 lines
2.4 KiB
HTML
61 lines
2.4 KiB
HTML
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/book-page.css" />
|
|
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/book-page.css" />
|
|
<h1>Preparing a Dungeon</h1>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
If you have time to prepare a dungeon and know that the Player Characters will
|
|
explore it, the following process generally works well:
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<ol>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<strong>Think about the general look and mood of the dungeon:</strong> Is it
|
|
a spooky ruin, a lavish castle, or perhaps a network of ancient tunnels?
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<strong>Sketch a rough map of the dungeon:</strong> This doesn't need to be
|
|
pretty, but does need to be functional. You're the only person that will use
|
|
it, so make sure your notes are clear (especially if you plan on using the
|
|
dungeon weeks or even months from now). If you're short on ideas, the
|
|
internet is filled with awesome dungeon designs — there's nothing wrong with
|
|
drawing inspiration from them.
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<strong>Place rewards</strong> (see page 264) in your dungeon: These may be
|
|
magic items, currency, or even Inventory Points. Try to avoid placing most
|
|
of the rewards in the same room (you should encourage exploration).
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<strong>Place obstacles and threats</strong> (traps, puzzles, hostile
|
|
creatures) in your dungeon, preferably so that they guard or prevent access
|
|
to rewards.
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li>
|
|
When you prepare an obstacle or threat, do not determine in advance how
|
|
the Player Characters might approach it. That's for them to decide.
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
Avoid swarming the heroes with a large number of weak enemies; instead,
|
|
focus on two or three challenging encounters (see page 292 for more).
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
If the reward is an item, the creature guarding it might use it in
|
|
battle.
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<strong>Think about one or two Danger Clocks</strong> appropriate for your
|
|
dungeon, their size and what will happen if they are filled — will the
|
|
heroes be ambushed? Is there a magical surveillance system? Will the tunnels
|
|
be flooded by lava?
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<strong>Determine the focal point of your dungeon</strong> (an antagonist, a
|
|
precious artifact, a vital piece of information) and choose its location.
|
|
Most of the time you will want to place this element far away from the
|
|
entrance, but you might also make it relatively easy to reach (in this case,
|
|
the rest of the dungeon will feature "optional content").
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ol>
|