What I Want Out Of a Dungeon

hustin1 · November 2019

1. I want a dungeon that forces us to make several difficult choices along the way, and none of them should EVER be "meta".
2. I want a dungeon that entices us to take a path leading away from the direct route to the end, and leaves us all saying, "THAT. WAS. AWESOME!" when we return to the main path.
3. I want a dungeon that then does the above more than once before we get to the end.
4. I want a dungeon with NPC's that we HAVE to talk to (and actually pay attention to what they say).
5. I want a dungeon with a single room that makes us roar with laughter.
6. I want a dungeon with a wide variety of random events that might derail us from our "expected" course.
7. I want a dungeon that has unlockable areas that are tied to quests outside the dungeon.
8. I want a dungeon that GIVES us external quests.
9. I want a dungeon that rewards the party sticking together.
10. I want a dungeon that teaches that running ahead alone is a great way to get killed.
11. I want a dungeon that requires that players actively search for something hidden.
12. I want a dungeon that does its best to prevent players from knowing where things are in advance.
13. I want a dungeon that looks like it was built for a specific purpose and actually makes logical sense in how it is laid out.
14. I want a dungeon that requires gathering clues along the way.
15. I want a dungeon that rewards thinking your way through a situation (and by this I *don't* mean mere fight mechanics).
16. I want a dungeon with lots of lore that tells you about its history, since the builder of a dungeon and the occupier of a dungeon can be very different.
17. I want a dungeon where the lore you find is an important factor in getting through it.
18. I want a dungeon that makes it extremely painful to just brute-force your way through certain situations, even for the most BiS players.
19. I want a dungeon that requires bringing a light source lest you be eaten by a grue.
20. I want a dungeon that very strongly tempts players to go "off the beaten path", even if it means more danger.
21. I want a dungeon that makes players choose between multiple unknown dangers.
22. I want a dungeon that leaves players uncertain as to which way to proceed, even when they replay it.
23. I want a dungeon that gets players jumping at shadows.
24. I want a dungeon that entices players to constantly search for hidden doors, objects, or traps.
25. I want a dungeon that gives players a strong incentive to watch their backs as they proceed.
26. I want a dungeon that gives players a strong incentive to move stealthily.
27. I want a dungeon that sometimes forces players to go to "Plan B", which they might have to formulate on the fly.
28. I want a dungeon where players will find it difficult to definitively say, "okay, we might get derailed at this point."

regenerde · November 2019

Well, only way to bring that kind of content into the game would be to get the Foundry working again...

Unknown · November 2019

This content has been removed.

hexngone · November 2019

29. How about skill nodes/chests in dungeons that contain items needed to progress further into the dungeon (thus making folks open them instead of ignoring them). Progressive pieces that can be assembled into a key come to mind...

30. Dungeons that require 'down-dressing' to lower IL equipment to complete (similar to the profession/MW mechanism that penalizes players for using high-end tools/artisans instead of relying on chance/risk). This could be applied to all the pre-mod 14 dungeons and SH, utilizing the lower IL gear as is instead of deleting/transmuting it.

But as a whole, I support what the OP listed, more story less running - more thinking and strategy, less independent movement.

majorcharvenak · November 2019

hustin1 said:
1. I want a dungeon that forces us to make several difficult choices along the way, and none of them should EVER be "meta".
2. I want a dungeon that entices us to take a path leading away from the direct route to the end, and leaves us all saying, "THAT. WAS. AWESOME!" when we return to the main path.
3. I want a dungeon that then does the above more than once before we get to the end.
4. I want a dungeon with NPC's that we HAVE to talk to (and actually pay attention to what they say).
5. I want a dungeon with a single room that makes us roar with laughter.
6. I want a dungeon with a wide variety of random events that might derail us from our "expected" course.
7. I want a dungeon that has unlockable areas that are tied to quests outside the dungeon.
8. I want a dungeon that GIVES us external quests.
9. I want a dungeon that rewards the party sticking together.
10. I want a dungeon that teaches that running ahead alone is a great way to get killed.
11. I want a dungeon that requires that players actively search for something hidden.
12. I want a dungeon that does its best to prevent players from knowing where things are in advance.
13. I want a dungeon that looks like it was built for a specific purpose and actually makes logical sense in how it is laid out.
14. I want a dungeon that requires gathering clues along the way.
15. I want a dungeon that rewards thinking your way through a situation (and by this I *don't* mean mere fight mechanics).
16. I want a dungeon with lots of lore that tells you about its history, since the builder of a dungeon and the occupier of a dungeon can be very different.
17. I want a dungeon where the lore you find is an important factor in getting through it.
18. I want a dungeon that makes it extremely painful to just brute-force your way through certain situations, even for the most BiS players.
19. I want a dungeon that requires bringing a light source lest you be eaten by a grue.
20. I want a dungeon that very strongly tempts players to go "off the beaten path", even if it means more danger.
21. I want a dungeon that makes players choose between multiple unknown dangers.
22. I want a dungeon that leaves players uncertain as to which way to proceed, even when they replay it.
23. I want a dungeon that gets players jumping at shadows.
24. I want a dungeon that entices players to constantly search for hidden doors, objects, or traps.
25. I want a dungeon that gives players a strong incentive to watch their backs as they proceed.
26. I want a dungeon that gives players a strong incentive to move stealthily.
27. I want a dungeon that sometimes forces players to go to "Plan B", which they might have to formulate on the fly.
28. I want a dungeon where players will find it difficult to definitively say, "okay, we might get derailed at this point."

Sounds to me like you want a TRUE dungeon master. The above would be fun if they could make it happen.

callumf · December 2019

hustin1 said:
1. I want a dungeon that forces us to make several difficult choices along the way, and none of them should EVER be "meta".
2. I want a dungeon that entices us to take a path leading away from the direct route to the end, and leaves us all saying, "THAT. WAS. AWESOME!" when we return to the main path.
3. I want a dungeon that then does the above more than once before we get to the end.
4. I want a dungeon with NPC's that we HAVE to talk to (and actually pay attention to what they say).
5. I want a dungeon with a single room that makes us roar with laughter.
6. I want a dungeon with a wide variety of random events that might derail us from our "expected" course.
7. I want a dungeon that has unlockable areas that are tied to quests outside the dungeon.
8. I want a dungeon that GIVES us external quests.
9. I want a dungeon that rewards the party sticking together.
10. I want a dungeon that teaches that running ahead alone is a great way to get killed.
11. I want a dungeon that requires that players actively search for something hidden.
12. I want a dungeon that does its best to prevent players from knowing where things are in advance.
13. I want a dungeon that looks like it was built for a specific purpose and actually makes logical sense in how it is laid out.
14. I want a dungeon that requires gathering clues along the way.
15. I want a dungeon that rewards thinking your way through a situation (and by this I *don't* mean mere fight mechanics).
16. I want a dungeon with lots of lore that tells you about its history, since the builder of a dungeon and the occupier of a dungeon can be very different.
17. I want a dungeon where the lore you find is an important factor in getting through it.
18. I want a dungeon that makes it extremely painful to just brute-force your way through certain situations, even for the most BiS players.
19. I want a dungeon that requires bringing a light source lest you be eaten by a grue.
20. I want a dungeon that very strongly tempts players to go "off the beaten path", even if it means more danger.
21. I want a dungeon that makes players choose between multiple unknown dangers.
22. I want a dungeon that leaves players uncertain as to which way to proceed, even when they replay it.
23. I want a dungeon that gets players jumping at shadows.
24. I want a dungeon that entices players to constantly search for hidden doors, objects, or traps.
25. I want a dungeon that gives players a strong incentive to watch their backs as they proceed.
26. I want a dungeon that gives players a strong incentive to move stealthily.
27. I want a dungeon that sometimes forces players to go to "Plan B", which they might have to formulate on the fly.
28. I want a dungeon where players will find it difficult to definitively say, "okay, we might get derailed at this point."

Very nice post.

I think this would be a great thing to aim for totally!

ecrana · December 2019

I want a dungeon that doesn't have any bugs or glitches.

What I Want Out Of a Dungeon

Comments