07-09-2019, 11:20 AM | #21 |
Join Date: Sep 2018
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Re: Pros and cons of dungeons for hack and slash roleplaying
Ultimately whether you're travelling down a corridor from room 1 to room 2, or walking along a trail form clearing 1 to clearing 2 or sailing on a ship from island 1 to island 2, it's all just window dressing in a hack-and-slash game. There's no great emphasis on environment or resource use or exposure or geographic boundaries. The dungeon format is popular because it works. Players are on a highly constrained path with an immutable environment and predictable environmental features like doors and stairs that they can prepare for. It can be just as realistic or unrealistic as any other location. If you don't like monsters mingling put barriers between areas of the dungeon. Use areas of undead that are programmed to guard certain places as separations. Have destroyed underground bridges that keep the knolls from battling or teaming up with the troll.
My greater concern is about "realistic". I've seen you grappling with D&D world construction and common sense in a lot of your posts. Ultimately if you want to get away from logical inconsistencies in a dungeon world you have to get away from a world where things are built into the game world so that they can be in the game world. Build your own game world starting from a place that makes sense to you. |
07-09-2019, 12:04 PM | #22 | |
Join Date: Oct 2007
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Re: Pros and cons of dungeons for hack and slash roleplaying
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07-10-2019, 10:24 AM | #23 | |
Join Date: Sep 2018
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Re: Pros and cons of dungeons for hack and slash roleplaying
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The where matters when characters have an opinion about the geography, when it impacts the psychology of the character to be outside or underground or rolling on the waves, when characters have the knowledge to make a difference on the ship or actually navigate the woods or, find ways to camp comfortably in the dungeons. |
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07-10-2019, 11:06 AM | #24 | |
Join Date: Oct 2007
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Re: Pros and cons of dungeons for hack and slash roleplaying
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Whether a system has actual rules or skills for navigating through a forest or across open waters is immaterial. Unless the foliage of the forest is so dense that no deviation is possible, there is always at the very least the illusion of an option to not stick to the path. Open waters offer a similar scenario where there's no guarantee (other than GM fiat) that the party ends up where the plot wants even if the crew has the apropriate skills. Unless you're familiar with your players, you should always expect them to try to explore outside easily breached boundaries. A traditional dungeon has well defined boundaries that a party that without special abilities will not be able to breach. And the setting itself paints a mental image of a fixed path with cave walls or masonry, opposed to the other two scenarios which both have an unwritten invitation to deviate from the path presented by the GM. |
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07-11-2019, 08:21 AM | #25 | |||
Join Date: May 2010
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Re: Pros and cons of dungeons for hack and slash roleplaying
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07-11-2019, 09:35 AM | #26 |
Join Date: Jul 2006
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Re: Pros and cons of dungeons for hack and slash roleplaying
Yeah, but tunnelling at feet per day is far less of a problem than when they use magic. The old dungeon standard of the magically locked door, for example, or the secret door that closes behind them from the other side, becomes a lot less of a challenge when they can simply blast it out of the way. Slowly chipping away as the noise brings the entire dungeon down on them is easily discouraged...
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07-11-2019, 09:43 AM | #27 | |
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Re: Pros and cons of dungeons for hack and slash roleplaying
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Fred Brackin |
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07-11-2019, 05:13 PM | #28 |
Join Date: May 2010
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Re: Pros and cons of dungeons for hack and slash roleplaying
When I first heard the notion of hexcrawls, I was hesitant to embrace them, because it seemed like venturing into parts unknown should involve a level of uncertainty and inaccurate maps incompatible with nice hex grids. Then it occurred to me that there's no reason to let the players see your big fat wilderness hex map.
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07-12-2019, 11:35 AM | #29 | |
Join Date: Jul 2006
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Re: Pros and cons of dungeons for hack and slash roleplaying
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07-12-2019, 11:55 AM | #30 | |
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Re: Pros and cons of dungeons for hack and slash roleplaying
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The other player who _always_ had Shape Stone prepared would probably have beaten Jaik to it. Just an example of how you're not supposed to be able to annoy mid-level and up D&D characters with mundane physical obstacles.
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Fred Brackin |
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