61 lines
2.4 KiB
HTML
61 lines
2.4 KiB
HTML
<h1>Dungeons</h1>
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<p>
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Page 110 provides guidelines on how to manage dungeon exploration while
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playing — but what about preparing those dungeons? How much information will
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you need? Should you have a map of the location ready?
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</p>
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<p>
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To make sure this is clear from the beginning: dungeons aren't necessarily a
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thing in Fabula Ultima, and you might run an entire campaign without the
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Player Characters ever entering one.
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</p>
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<h2>A dungeon generally covers one or more of the following functions:</h2>
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<ul>
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<li>
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Slowly eroding the heroes' resources before an important confrontation by
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having them face several weaker enemies.
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</li>
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<li>Telling more about a character, place or people.</li>
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<li>
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Rewarding careful exploration with hidden treasures that may prove useful in
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the dungeon itself or a future situation.
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</li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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If a dungeon isn't doing any of these, you probably shouldn't have it in your
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game: "dungeons for the sake of dungeons" is never a good idea.
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</p>
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<h2>Prepared and Improvised</h2>
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<p>
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The first distinction we should make is between prepared dungeons (the ones
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you thought about before the session started) and improvised dungeons (the
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ones that were introduced as part of the current session).
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</p>
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<p>
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While prepared dungeons can be more complex, the ones you have to improvise on
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the spot will necessarily be simpler — but simple doesn't mean boring.
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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A prepared dungeon allows for all three modes of exploration; most of the
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time you will rely on dungeon scenes or detailed exploration (<a
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href="/books/core/#page-110"
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>page 110</a
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>), but if the layout of the place isn't important you might even get it
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done with an interlude scene.
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</li>
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<li>
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An improvised dungeon, on the other hand, will rarely allow for detailed
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exploration (unless you have a dungeon archive ready; see
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<a href="/books/core/#page-261">page 261</a>) and generally fall in the
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middle between dungeon scenes and interludes.
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</li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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Note that this distinction has nothing to do with the importance of the
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dungeon: a key strategic location might be unexpectedly introduced halfway
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through a session, and you might know about a minor ruin along the road with
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no plot relevance weeks before you play through its exploration. Don't worry,
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we'll deal with this too.
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</p>
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