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SirGraystone

Open door, kill monster, loots and repeat.

Rating: 4 votes, 3.75 average.
4 Comments
by
SirGraystone
, May 5th, 2017 at 20:47 (15420 Views)
Many of us started role playing games that way, we would enter a dungeons/ruins/castle for some reason, explore rooms after rooms, killing monsters along the way for loots. Then go back to town, sell the loots for gold and buy nice gear for our characters so we can do it again.

It was the way most of D&D adventure were created 30 years ago, many new players coming from computer game think like that too, and there's nothing wrong if that's the kind of game you want to play. I have been running a conversion to 5e of the original Temple of Elemental Evil and the players seem to be enjoying that kind of large dungeons adventure.

But monsters shouldnt be static, waiting in their room for the players to open the door, maybe they hear the players fighting and have ready actions to attack the first to open that door, or they can come out of their room to help defeat the group. In some corridor of the temple going west, the group (mostly level 3 at the time) opened a door to 3 ghouls, not really difficult for group working together but by round 3 more ghouls joined the fight, then more at round 7, then a pair of ghast took another round came from the north corridor getting behind the spellcasters. What would have been a serie of 4 or 5 easy almost boring fight became an epic battle. (despite my best try i didnt kill any players :-D )

Players go on rampage for a day in a dungeon, go back to the village to rest... have the dungeon owner add reinforcemnt and traps to wait for them to come back. Have monsters be on alert or patrol. A dungeon should evolve, the evil priest see that some annoying heroes destroyed his undead, have him raise more to replace them, the villain should be smart, he doesnt want the group to win after all and kill him.

P.S.: I do often threaten my players of having them kill, but all survive in the end for some reason.

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  1. ShadowMystik's Avatar
    One of the first lessons my original DM gave me in dungeoneering, both as a player and as a gamemaster, is that every dungeon, ruin, castle or whatever has an ecosystem and exists at a state of equilibrium. Explorers/adventurers disrupt that equilibrium and send ripples throughout the environment. This causes the inhabitants of that ecosystem to react, sometimes positively, most negatively, and a very few with indifference. (Giant rats don't care how many giant rats you kill. All they know is that you are a source of food if not food yourself. The warren of wererats, on the other hand, is going to notice and take measures seeing you as either a threat or an opportunity.) The second thing he taught me was everything should have a logic behind it. (There is not going to be a pit trap in what used to be the gallery of the old dwarven throne room. Unless of course the current residents had reason to dig one; such as adventures who keep using the hall for an entrance to the rest of the mine complex.) And finally, something that most gamers don't want to think about, the players additions to the environment. Even elves have to urinate and defecate, set up campsites/bases of operations, and other things that creatures will notice and respond to usually to the parties detriment. One of our standard pieces of equipment quickly became a couple of buckets and bags of sawdust.
  2. MarianDz's Avatar
    To: SirGraystone, ShadowMystik
    Boys both of you are great!! thank you for your experiences. Please continue in writing ...
  3. Prozacco's Avatar
    Nice words, and fitting far too often.

    One bonus is players shouldn't forget their alignment. Good aligned people do not allow monsters (mostly Chaotic Evil) to survive, regroup, and butcher (brutes) or sacrifice (cults) hapless wanderers & townsfolk or villagers.

    But to hint at modesty & practicability: Perhaps one should handle each group on its own. An acquaintance phase, so players get along with each other on routine. A learning phase, so the roleplay progresses based on the shared experiences & chosen adventures.

    Did you already write a blog about paladins who are even less Lawful-Good than Lady Aribeth was in Neverwinter nights 1?

    Add-IN: I missed it, but when the PC game version of Temple of Elemental Evil got the Circle of Eight MOD (still existent online) somebody, dunno, if officially or community, wrote 'Return to the Moathouse' into a PDF version of that adventure. I do not even know, if this is the proper PDF, due connection throttle not allowing quick check in: https://rpg.rem.uz/Dungeons%20%26%20...0Moathouse.pdf
  4. SirGraystone's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Prozacco
    Nice words, and fitting far too often.

    But to hint at modesty & practicability: Perhaps one should handle each group on its own. An acquaintance phase, so players get along with each other on routine. A learning phase, so the roleplay progresses based on the shared experiences & chosen adventures.

    Did you already write a blog about paladins who are even less Lawful-Good than Lady Aribeth was in Neverwinter nights 1?
    My group were experienced players, I may have go easier on new players.

    No I didn't write about paladins, but 5e have change how paladin work they don't have to be LG anymore.
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