I have a question, how do you go about making an adventure/quest based in a dungeon?
A. Do you draw out the map then add encounters and flesh out the dungeon.
B. Do you create the encounters then add a dungeon map for them to fit in.
C. Do you draw the map and add encounters when ever you draw a room.
D. Do you completely randomly generate a dungeon.
E. Do you do something completely different which works much better that I didn't think of.
I would say there is no "right" way to do it. I usually design an "outline" of my dungeon adventure, a few places that "must be". once I have those, I typically create a random dungeon apply encounters that fit to it along with the "must be encounters".
+1 TheOrangeOne
I always have a core concept before I start designing a dungeon. Some idea I want to inflict- er, try out on my players. Inspiration could provide as little as the story or the 'final boss' or it could determine the entire shape of the dungeon.
Well it sounds like I'm on the right track then. I got an idea for an encounter based on the use of a magic item (to light oily stairs on fire while Cheliaxian archers pelt the players with arrows). From there I envisioned where it'd need to take place (outside the entrance to a ruined temple. Then I put the Cheliax soldiers inside "investigating". And have some spirit guardian of the temple which is an enemy to both the PCs and the Cheliax.
So I have an idea and I have the map all mapped out. Any suggestions on how much total XP should be given out and how much total Treasure? They PCs should be about 7-8th level for this quest.
Thanks for all your posts.
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Dungeon design can quickly become an advanced algebraic equation.
When you start on the inital layout think of number of CR encounters based on the APL.
Give players a chance to recover at least partially between these scheduled encounters.
Group your monsters into several categories. It seems easiest to stick with evens and odds
based on the group's APL.
CR 8 would be for sub bosses
CR 6 would allow you to place 2 creatures of that for CR 8
CR 4 would allow you to place 2 creatures of that for CR 6
You could even build an arrange for CR 7 encounters instead.
Test building stat blocks for monsters in the encounter. They can be built to function
in a specific manner for the dungeon. Else populate the dungeon, outdoors nearby, and travel
route with very broad bases. A function that would have your creatures operate in several
locations.
Best to pair off encounters by CR 6 with two CR 4s. Keep this in mind to allow for random
tables to be generate and always give the full CR allowable for encounters. Again you could
certainly pair odd numbers for the same results.
By extremely careful study you can figure how most calculations represent cretures in the
PathFinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary.
This is just a single sample of many methods to arrange dungeon content. After, you tackle
the CR assortments. Then move onto easier tasks such as playing to the advantage of
tatics a planned encounter may have in its environment. Which could amount to counting
squares and rectangles on graph paper. Fill in the content with objects that you can keep
notes about.
Each individual map should be represented with detailed notes on stat blocks, treasure, and
information not provided by looking at figures on a good size grid mat.