Fun idea! A vertical dungeon of branching towers!

Vile Traveller · February 24, 2020, 07:18:33 PM

Is it 2-dimensional? It looks 2-dimensional. Like a scrolling video game. If it were 3D I could see a use for it.

Omega · February 24, 2020, 07:50:00 PM

Quote from: Vile;1122951Is it 2-dimensional? It looks 2-dimensional. Like a scrolling video game. If it were 3D I could see a use for it.

It seems like its 2D but from reading over the notes it allmost seems like they are saying it can do layered networks of towers. Which would not be too hard anyhow really. Just work up say two or three sets and then link them into the 3rd axis.

RPGPundit · February 27, 2020, 01:08:54 AM

My city of Arkhome (from my Last Sun DCC campaign, available on PDF as Arkhome & Arkhome II) is not a dungeon, but it is a huge city setting based on towers with interconnecting bridges, and the books have rules for generating random levels of the towers and also random contents of the caves and sewers surrounding the city.

Steven Mitchell · February 27, 2020, 07:13:57 AM

Thinking about this more, it is very rare for me to do any dungeon or dungeon-like adventure without a strong vertical element. Even in the classic D&D style, I'm fond of chimneys, deep pits with a secret door at the bottom, vaulted chambers with balconies access normally from stairs in another room, etc. The vertical dungeon turns the tendency up to 11.

HappyDaze · February 27, 2020, 08:01:44 AM

Quote from: Steven Mitchell;1123128Thinking about this more, it is very rare for me to do any dungeon or dungeon-like adventure without a strong vertical element. Even in the classic D&D style, I'm found of chimneys, deep pits with a secret door at the bottom, vaulted chambers with balconies access normally from stairs in another room, etc. The vertical dungeon turns the tendency up to 11.

I've recently run two adventures on a ship (different campaigns), and the multiple decks and action in the rigging added for some fun. Vertical "open-topped" battles with flying creatures and ranged attackers can be a lot of fun too (unless you have that one asshole in the group that "is 110% built for melee and can't do anything else").

Bren · February 27, 2020, 11:16:16 AM

Quote from: HappyDaze;1123130I've recently run two adventures on a ship (different campaigns), and the multiple decks and action in the rigging added for some fun. Vertical "open-topped" battles with flying creatures and ranged attackers can be a lot of fun too (unless you have that one asshole in the group that "is 110% built for melee and can't do anything else").

I suspect that would still be fun for the rest of the group. Possibly more fun.

Steven Mitchell · February 27, 2020, 03:11:11 PM

Quote from: Bren;1123135I suspect that would still be fun for the rest of the group. Possibly more fun.

Yes. And it the all melee person isn't an asshole, it can even be fun for him, too. I've had it happen several times where the character was 95% melee, but might as well have been all melee in that fight. Sometimes the player can get pretty inventive about what they do.

Of course, it helps if the system you are playing has a means to get opponents down to the ground, if only briefly. Fantasy Hero worked great that way, in that the ranged characters immediately start going for stun/knock out results.

Spinachcat · February 29, 2020, 07:31:50 PM

Here's a science fiction "vertical dungeon" (too big to post here)
https://www.wistedt.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/listening_post_pluto.png

Somebody built a very cool cardboard & brown bag vertical dungeon!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DnCEwr6VAAAJnPB?format=jpg&name=large

Here's a very fun looking isometric stacked dungeon (I absolutely want to run this one!)
https://i.pinimg.com/474x/f8/51/50/f85150f1cebd9816d3d61415055b63a5--fantasy-world-fantasy-rpg.jpg

Here's one you can buy from Amazon for $30
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61We8lWUpkL._SL1100_.jpg
https://www.amazon.com/Wargaming-Dungeons-Pathfinder-Warhammer-Tabletop/dp/B07TXN51C6

Omega · March 01, 2020, 12:28:22 AM

The first one works and is pretty much how Starbound plays. Or most any 2d adventure game like the oft mentioned Castlevania.

The second is just your standard 3d scaffolding terrain. Necromunda and a few other wargames make use of this.

And the 3rd is closer to the idea.

Vile Traveller · March 10, 2020, 08:36:02 AM

Coincidentally I just came across a related article in Alarums & Excursions #15 (October 1976?) by one E. A. Thomas entitled THE CASTLE OF CYLINDERS.

QuoteMy dungeon, still in the design stage is planned to remedy automatically many of the problems of straight D&D dungeons. As you can infer from the zine title, many of the rooms are apparently round.

On the first floor, most of the corridors are, shorter than usual, the rooms more numerous and varied and a high proportion of them are occupied. However, the monster selection on level one is limited to those with less than 4 hit dice, with the numbers encountered random from 1/2 to twice the party size. Other levels are appropriately scaled to pose a severe challenge but not an insuperable one to the right-strength party.

Lest anyone think a few high level characters would have a cakewalk, they haven't encountered the magical property of the cylinders. Many of the rooms sense the strength of the party by their total hit dice, levels and magical accoutrements with heavy weighting of the highest level characters present. This magical sensing device automatically activates the elevator properties of the rooms sinking the party to its proper level. The elevator does not return to the surface until the party has suffered a certain reduction in strength or at the end of a specified number of turns, whichever comes first. These, factors are not known exactly by the players.

For the foolhardy that wish a more severe challenge, there is the conveniently located one-way chute that descends one, two or three levels more than the level of the character that enters it. In the above manner, all parties can have an interesting encounter but nobody rapes my dungeon of treasure and magical items by tramping around below his capabilities. Likewise no low level party need fear meeting a Balrog unless he is stupid enough to enter the one-way chute.

Treasure and magical items are also scaled appropriately for the different dungeon levels. In general it is necessary to survive three or four successful adventures to acquire enough experience points to raise a character one level. The probability of reaching the next level in my dungeon with good play will be designed to be 60%.

Therefore only one out of 25 characters could be expected to over reach 6th level. And 6 out of 1,000 the 10th level. Of course, a superbly skillful player could improve those odds somewhat.

Encounters with intelligent and semi-intelligent monsters will be played on a tactical board with strict observance of movement limitations. One moron in our group who enjoys being chaotic will play the monsters under strict control of the DM.

HappyDaze · March 10, 2020, 11:41:54 AM

Quote from: Vile;1123805Coincidentally I just came across a related article in Alarums & Excursions #15 (October 1976?) by one E. A. Thomas entitled THE CASTLE OF CYLINDERS.

Yuck. That dungeon is from the parts of old school that I try hard to stay away from.

Omega · March 10, 2020, 06:20:45 PM

Yeah sounds more like a death trap to toss condemned prisoners into rather than a dungeon.

Vile Traveller · March 10, 2020, 06:45:41 PM

Quote from: Omega;1123883Yeah sounds more like a death trap to toss condemned prisoners into rather than a dungeon.

You mean, like a dungeon?

Omega · March 12, 2020, 11:41:06 AM

Quote from: Vile;1123889You mean, like a dungeon?

Except dundeons tend to be beatable. You might lose a few adventurers to bad choices or bad luck. But the chance of death is not an ever escalating near certainty like described above. In a normal dungeon you can get through about any of them as long as are moderately careful and or really good at negotiating. Which seems an element the the described above lacks.

Try again please.

Zalman · March 12, 2020, 05:10:20 PM

Quote from: Omega;1124002
Quote from: Vile;1123889You mean, like a dungeon?

Try again please.

A dungeon is literally an underground prison cell. The reason adventures are said to take place in "dungeons" is precisely because of those demesne's resemblance to an inescapable prison.