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Dungeon?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
shatteredsun
Apr 28, 2008 10:00:42 From a DM to players: How much dungeon is too much dungeon? How many rooms and monsters before you get frustrated and want to whack your DM with a PHB? Is there any factor (chasing an enemy through the dungeon, finding lots of treasure) that makes dungeon crawling more tolerable? How about factors that make dungeon crawling less tolerable?
#2
entropy_judge
Apr 28, 2008 11:00:21 Too much dungeon is going to vary from player to player. Me, as long as it's interesting, I'm game. Now, attacking a series of fortified bastions in 5' wide corridors defended by Tucker's Kobolds is not going to make me happy, unless the entire party is made up of blaster mages and we're playing with 1E rules. That said, fortified areas with set approaches can be fun, particularly at high levels when you can modify the terrain.

Good things: Intelligent monster placement, intelligent random encounters (Groups of 2-4 Umber Hulks do not swarm an area), clever enemies.

Bad things: Random treasure placement, mine-cart traps.

Eh, that's all I can think of right now.
#3
dead_pool
Apr 28, 2008 15:30:46 on average if it takes more than three sessions of serious role playing and slashing I will start geting put off. it also depends on what is going on in the campaign. generally if it takes a party longer than that in my experience they are either totaly stuck at a major puzzle or are consistantly getting stuck on smaller ones. some times dms get stuck on a "realy cool idea" or "great concept" that they love but never pays off for the PCs
#4
talisman
Apr 28, 2008 16:22:58 Personally, I can take about 3 sessions of dungeoncrawling before it starts to get boring...modified, of course, by how interesting the adventure is. I hate dungeoncrawls that are just *there*; there needs to be a reason for (1) the dungeon to exist, (2) the opposition to dwell therein, and (3) the PCs to go down there.

I'll second Entropy_Judge's list of good things/bad things. I like my adventures to make some sort of logical sense; carefully consider what critters/traps you use, why they're there, and what happens when there are no annoying (and tasty) adventurers wandering about.
#5
etarnon
Apr 28, 2008 19:11:40 If it was a good, entertaining DM, I could do a whole campaign of it, a la Dungeon World.

If the DM was horrible or it was hack-fest, I would not show up for a second scenario, and open the chair for another player.
#6
EscherEnigma
Apr 28, 2008 20:09:45 With how much my group likes RP as well as dungeon, I think they would riot if we were stuck in a dungeon without RP hooks for more then a session.

Don't get me wrong, we love our combat too, but we like RP shenanigans.
#7
kouk
Apr 28, 2008 23:30:14 I would probably get bored of just being inside a single dungeon for more than 3 sessions in a row.

If there is a way to exit and go to town to sell, recuperate etc. then it extends my ability to keep going into that dungeon; I don't feel like I'm stuck in some hole and can't sell or buy things until it's over (which would possibly make me resent whatever reason I was trudging through a dungeon for days on end for).

If the dungeon is pure hack and slash and traps though, I suspect I would get bored after spending one whole session. Gotta have some other things like talking NPCs, puzzles, intra-party RP situations (not really the DM's thing, but unusual situations can stimulate more RP) etc.

I think things like multiple levels help alleviate some boredom, so that you at least feel like you are making substantial progress as you continue onward and you basically make the previous levels safe(r).
#8
lindisty
Apr 29, 2008 7:36:46 For me, if a dungeon is incorporated into the storyline and offers plot and roleplay opportunities, then no amount is too much. If it's an obvious drop out of the storyline or a side adventure that doesn't do much for plot or roleplay, then a single session might be too much.

I like killing things and getting treasure as much as the next player, but if it doesn't advance the characters' stories, I lose interest fast. Then again, in my current campaign,there's enough going on in our campaign world that our party can't afford to take time away from the main storyline to do much side adventuring. Whenever we find ourselves tempted to go off on a tangent, we realize we've got about 10 things still hanging that are only going to blow up in our faces if we take off after the bright shiny. And that suits me just fine.
#9
harleydude
Apr 29, 2008 15:18:17
I would probably get bored of just being inside a single dungeon for more than 3 sessions in a row.

If there is a way to exit and go to town to sell, recuperate etc. then it extends my ability to keep going into that dungeon; I don't feel like I'm stuck in some hole and can't sell or buy things until it's over (which would possibly make me resent whatever reason I was trudging through a dungeon for days on end for).

If the dungeon is pure hack and slash and traps though, I suspect I would get bored after spending one whole session. Gotta have some other things like talking NPCs, puzzles, intra-party RP situations (not really the DM's thing, but unusual situations can stimulate more RP) etc.

I think things like multiple levels help alleviate some boredom, so that you at least feel like you are making substantial progress as you continue onward and you basically make the previous levels safe(r).

i totally second this!!

my idea of dungen crawling is to kill baddies and taking their stuff. then sell the stuff to get better stuff specific to our PC's.

We once played a underdark adventure and the 1st time we got to sell stuff was after the campaign was over.

we were using level 3 stuff (original weapon and armor w/o upgrades) through level 12. not fun

HD

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 shatteredsun Apr 28, 2008 10:00:42	From a DM to players: How much dungeon is too much dungeon? How many rooms and monsters before you get frustrated and want to whack your DM with a PHB? Is there any factor (chasing an enemy through the dungeon, finding lots of treasure) that makes dungeon crawling more tolerable? How about factors that make dungeon crawling less tolerable?
#2 entropy_judge Apr 28, 2008 11:00:21	Too much dungeon is going to vary from player to player. Me, as long as it's interesting, I'm game. Now, attacking a series of fortified bastions in 5' wide corridors defended by Tucker's Kobolds is not going to make me happy, unless the entire party is made up of blaster mages and we're playing with 1E rules. That said, fortified areas with set approaches can be fun, particularly at high levels when you can modify the terrain. Good things: Intelligent monster placement, intelligent random encounters (Groups of 2-4 Umber Hulks do not swarm an area), clever enemies. Bad things: Random treasure placement, mine-cart traps. Eh, that's all I can think of right now.
#3 dead_pool Apr 28, 2008 15:30:46	on average if it takes more than three sessions of serious role playing and slashing I will start geting put off. it also depends on what is going on in the campaign. generally if it takes a party longer than that in my experience they are either totaly stuck at a major puzzle or are consistantly getting stuck on smaller ones. some times dms get stuck on a "realy cool idea" or "great concept" that they love but never pays off for the PCs
#4 talisman Apr 28, 2008 16:22:58	Personally, I can take about 3 sessions of dungeoncrawling before it starts to get boring...modified, of course, by how interesting the adventure is. I hate dungeoncrawls that are just there; there needs to be a reason for (1) the dungeon to exist, (2) the opposition to dwell therein, and (3) the PCs to go down there. I'll second Entropy_Judge's list of good things/bad things. I like my adventures to make some sort of logical sense; carefully consider what critters/traps you use, why they're there, and what happens when there are no annoying (and tasty) adventurers wandering about.
#5 etarnon Apr 28, 2008 19:11:40	If it was a good, entertaining DM, I could do a whole campaign of it, a la Dungeon World. If the DM was horrible or it was hack-fest, I would not show up for a second scenario, and open the chair for another player.
#6 EscherEnigma Apr 28, 2008 20:09:45	With how much my group likes RP as well as dungeon, I think they would riot if we were stuck in a dungeon without RP hooks for more then a session. Don't get me wrong, we love our combat too, but we like RP shenanigans.
#7 kouk Apr 28, 2008 23:30:14	I would probably get bored of just being inside a single dungeon for more than 3 sessions in a row. If there is a way to exit and go to town to sell, recuperate etc. then it extends my ability to keep going into that dungeon; I don't feel like I'm stuck in some hole and can't sell or buy things until it's over (which would possibly make me resent whatever reason I was trudging through a dungeon for days on end for). If the dungeon is pure hack and slash and traps though, I suspect I would get bored after spending one whole session. Gotta have some other things like talking NPCs, puzzles, intra-party RP situations (not really the DM's thing, but unusual situations can stimulate more RP) etc. I think things like multiple levels help alleviate some boredom, so that you at least feel like you are making substantial progress as you continue onward and you basically make the previous levels safe(r).
#8 lindisty Apr 29, 2008 7:36:46	For me, if a dungeon is incorporated into the storyline and offers plot and roleplay opportunities, then no amount is too much. If it's an obvious drop out of the storyline or a side adventure that doesn't do much for plot or roleplay, then a single session might be too much. I like killing things and getting treasure as much as the next player, but if it doesn't advance the characters' stories, I lose interest fast. Then again, in my current campaign,there's enough going on in our campaign world that our party can't afford to take time away from the main storyline to do much side adventuring. Whenever we find ourselves tempted to go off on a tangent, we realize we've got about 10 things still hanging that are only going to blow up in our faces if we take off after the bright shiny. And that suits me just fine.
#9 harleydude Apr 29, 2008 15:18:17	I would probably get bored of just being inside a single dungeon for more than 3 sessions in a row. If there is a way to exit and go to town to sell, recuperate etc. then it extends my ability to keep going into that dungeon; I don't feel like I'm stuck in some hole and can't sell or buy things until it's over (which would possibly make me resent whatever reason I was trudging through a dungeon for days on end for). If the dungeon is pure hack and slash and traps though, I suspect I would get bored after spending one whole session. Gotta have some other things like talking NPCs, puzzles, intra-party RP situations (not really the DM's thing, but unusual situations can stimulate more RP) etc. I think things like multiple levels help alleviate some boredom, so that you at least feel like you are making substantial progress as you continue onward and you basically make the previous levels safe(r). i totally second this!! my idea of dungen crawling is to kill baddies and taking their stuff. then sell the stuff to get better stuff specific to our PC's. We once played a underdark adventure and the 1st time we got to sell stuff was after the campaign was over. we were using level 3 stuff (original weapon and armor w/o upgrades) through level 12. not fun HD