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