tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post807446171861569095..comments2024-03-28T15:32:19.036-04:00Comments on Dungeon Fantastic: Longer delves in Felltower?Peter Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-77899103565673956212016-05-24T20:00:23.808-04:002016-05-24T20:00:23.808-04:00I don't think it's the re-stocking. Most o...I don't think it's the re-stocking. Most of the re-clearing of areas has happened because the PCs went to the same places over and over to try and avoid dealing with the orc problem.<br /><br />In any case, I'm talking about things a bit bigger than travel time to the depths - I'm talking now-or-never opportunities that just can't be passed up, even if the session is almost over, or ones where you can't leave until you complete them. Where handwaving travel back to town would be okay, if they could get to the point where return to town was possible!Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-37008768789789023252016-05-24T18:37:50.353-04:002016-05-24T18:37:50.353-04:00Is there any way to ease up on the restocking? Se...Is there any way to ease up on the restocking? Seems that part of the slow-down is related to having to fight your way deeper and deeper just to get to the new stuff. Less critters up top makes it a lot easier to hand-wave away the travel from surface to new areas.Warren Aboxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07671897478928823164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-3364662639070168062016-05-24T11:14:11.898-04:002016-05-24T11:14:11.898-04:00Those are good suggestions. But I really want to a...Those are good suggestions. But I really want to avoid adding PC-facing resources to solve a player-facing problem. In other words, my concerns are "How to make the XP system and attendance-optional pickup game approach work with multi-session delves" more than "how to allow PCs to sustain themselves over a long dungeon crawl." Any solution that solves A by solving B will mean all places that have multi-session play happen need some variation of B.<br /><br />If every one-way door to a sublevel, every pocket dimension, every cursed scroll that sends you into a labyrinthine maze also comes with a town, a wizard, a safe room, etc. that also can just happen to have the new attendee's character in it, I feel like I'm changing the problem from one thing (player and XP issues) to another (in-game resource access and transport.)<br /><br />I really need to talk to my players about this. And some of the issues won't get resolved until we hit the first of these areas, and I can talk about them in specific without giving away what's ahead but unknown. Best that my players expect that some doors aren't just "one last door before we go home" and some options are now-or-never even if it's 6:30 pm and I need to be out the door at 7:00 pm, but not know why that is so just yet.Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-78986699612585809612016-05-24T08:55:03.349-04:002016-05-24T08:55:03.349-04:00Was going to suggest safe rooms or even safe '...Was going to suggest safe rooms or even safe 'towns' in the Dungeon.<br /><br />The dungeon towns might be a small community that charges upkeep (or not), limited goods, limited services so the players still need to go back to base, but its easy enough to have other PCs start there or the players finish there if there is no time to leave the dungeon.<br /><br />eg A theoretical magician (and their small group of bodyguards) in the dungeon who has carved out a little area for magical research. He'll give you quests, resupply you and buy your stuff (all at a not so good price).Unachimbahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04873952842828774048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-59227002772423978262016-05-23T17:11:17.373-04:002016-05-23T17:11:17.373-04:00Those might be useful to make the "camp"...Those might be useful to make the "camp" requirement Charles suggested work for me. Thanks.<br /><br />The big issues are all logistical and player-oriented, though. The game is built around "we play with who shows up, your guy only delves when you are there" and multi-session delves mess with that. That's where the toughest part of having clearly multi-session areas but also limited-access areas in the dungeon really is. And those exist to limit "nibble the apple until it's finished" delves and occasionally force act-now-or-never opportunities.Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-62011705699078301272016-05-23T12:11:18.547-04:002016-05-23T12:11:18.547-04:00You could have "safe rooms" which allow ...You could have "safe rooms" which allow for one night's camp or something similar. I've used that before in extended dungeon crawls. Of course, at least twice the players missed that a room was a safe zone and camped in an open area and got ambushed...<br /><br />More to the point, they're strictly one time only or require clearing a zone first. It also makes Survival (Dungeon) useful for sussing out that the area's indeed safe for the night.Chris Bowerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01771166560218927280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-48246675465151091812016-05-22T12:18:56.928-04:002016-05-22T12:18:56.928-04:00Not-stopping mid-combat would be ideal, yes. Forci...Not-stopping mid-combat would be ideal, yes. Forcing camp might be tricky - what counts as camp? Does this mean I'm offering safe rest? Do I need to allow them to "camp" but still re-con looting the bodies when combat ends moments before I pack up and leave? I'm going to have to think about how useful and enforceable that would be.<br /><br />I'm expecting these to happen at least sometimes without planning - the PCs read the cursed scroll halfway through the session, they stumble into the one-time area and it takes longer than one session, etc. So I couldn't really take the middle suggestion. That would also open the door to "take along the missing player's PC" as a thing. It's one thing to say, okay, he's still with you, finish the session and get him out of there ASAP, and another to say, "We need a druid, bring the druid in case it's a two-session delve."<br /><br />Having drop-ins run NPCs is already a thing. It's more the regulars who hit a spot of busyness that I'm concerned about. It's more fun to be able to show up and run your own guy, and the couple of NPCs who reliably come now are low-point or are the Ally of a PC. Except Raggi, but there is no way I'm handing over Raggi's sheet and seeing if someone can play him appropriately crazy. I prefer the mystery and "will he die?" to an expected "play him carefully so I don't sit out the rest of the session" approach.Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-69196515098433145112016-05-22T11:33:13.917-04:002016-05-22T11:33:13.917-04:00Force them to end the session in a *camp*, for sta...Force them to end the session in a *camp*, for starters, to keep things from starting medias in res with a different crew. Second, get an idea of everyone's schedules, and take those guys who might be coming later as NPCs right away. Those guys who only show up now and then? They can play one of the characters tagging along, even if they're not their usual characters.Charles Saegerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00368131505593336249noreply@blogger.com