Monday, January 30, 2012

Megadungeon design (preview)

Quick and simple idea - create megadungeon maps by copying / pasting / modifying plans of castles, churches, cathedrals and monasteries! This is only a preview of what can be created this way:


I'll try to complete it, post it and try to describe as many rooms as possible :D

9 comments:

  1. quick and clever. A great way to get something unique.

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  2. Good idea. Of course, why even limit oneself to old buildings. Why not prisons, military complexes, state hospitals, palatial estates, etc.?

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  3. You're right, I must include them as well :-)

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  4. Poor players. That must be hell for the mapper...

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  5. If you keep certain sections arranged on specific layers, you can adjust their transparency or hide some of those sections/layers, and thus make incomplete maps to hand off to players. It gives them something to start off with, and they can then sketch-in the missing sections. It's less daunting than dropping this sort of a map on them cold...having done that in the past...

    Archaeological sites can also be handy in this regard. Like Trey mentioned; look at large-scale institutions and you can often find tons of good basic maps, diagrams, schematics and such that you can convert into all sorts of cool maps.

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  6. Great idea about fragments of the map available to the players, unfortunately I've flattened everything (too many layers + too big resolution). I have an idea to just rip off some fragments and "tatter" them with 'accented edges' effect.

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  7. Or you can make a fresh new layer on top of the flattened map and paint over sections with a brush to cover them up, leaving only the stuff you want the players to see left visible. That'll work just fine. It gets better if you break it up into two or three different disconnected sections and let them discover, buy or acquire the different sections and have to figure out how they line-up or fit together...

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  8. Thanks for hint :-)
    Knowing my players and their bunch of first-level losers, it will take a while until they find any dungeon :D

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  9. I did this using the Palace at Knossos in Crete. Made a really nice clanhouse for Tekumel.

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