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From: naivar@dspo.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.games.frp
Subject: Re: How do you write a dungeon?
Message-ID: <190@dspo.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 8-Jan-85 16:46:53 EST
Article-I.D.: dspo.190
Posted: Tue Jan  8 16:46:53 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 12-Jan-85 00:22:27 EST
References: <2173@nsc.UUCP>
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Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory
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Ah, yes, I remember my first dungeon. It was quite a large dungeon
and took me a while to finish. It had two levels and over 150 rooms.
I had decided that EVERY room should have a monster and a treasure
in it, or at least a neat puzzle to solve. Wellll, to say the least
it was not too exciting for the players as they soon got tired of hack
and slay all the time(I didn't have too many puzzles.) but they did
leave EXTREMELY rich - I didn't really keep track of how much gold
was in the dungeon as a whole.
	I would suggest that for almost any adventure (or dungeon)
that you create, you also create at least a small plot line for the
characters to follow. This makes for a slightly more exciting game.
In one adventure in which I am a player, our group calls itself the
'un-homed' because after a giant storm at sea after a successful quest,
we were blown off course and away from the REWARD!($$$) Now we are
constantly looking for a way back home, but no one has even heard of
the name of our homeland. So far we have been coerced (ie - threatened)
into rescuing several important people and saving villages from
general evil-doers. For me it has been an extremely interesting game
because of all the diversity and action. There's just enough hack 'n
slay to hold my interest, but we do spend time plotting our next moves
so as not to end up on the wrong end of a sword.
	Before you even draw up what the dungeon is going to look
like, decide on a plot or central theme. Make sure the adventurers
aren't going to walk out millionaires after the first couple of rooms
and try not to put in too much fighting hand-to-hand with meanies.
After about 30 orcs, it starts to get a little monotonous......
	Good luck on your dungeon - I've allways enjoyed being the
DM (ie - God). :-) 

Famous last words:

"We are a band of hearty adventurers - join us or die!"

naivar@dspo					-Mark