Including "famous" areas

[Teric neDhalir]

So. If the area of your server includes many famous canon areas (in my case Dungeon of Swords, Dungeon of the Hark, Halls of the Hammer, etc etc) how do you go about implementing them? Make them DM only? Just fill them with repeating spawns? Be extremely fancy with scripting so that the area is "cleared out" as PCs work their way through? Or what? I have some ideas but would like to know how others have approached the problem in the past.
Fire away,
Teric

[dergon darkhelm]

I like the partially open to investigation, partially closed for DM events.

For example for a large dungeon complex, the two upper levels can be poked around by PCs with some repeating standard spawns. However, entrance to the 2 lower levels is blocked, hopefully by some RP plausible barricade, force effect etc. These areas can be used for events and populated as a DM wishes.


Just my $0.02 ...I've never actually built something. Just my preference as a player


and as always---thanks for building!

[oldgrayrogue]

Agree with DD. Also, please see my post here:

http://www.alandfaraway.org/forums/view ... =3&t=42256

Generally, I don't think dungeons should become "cleared out" unless its part of some major quest/event. I am sure there are all sorts of nasties willing to move in when the others get cleared out =)

[Riotnrrd]

Most legendary dungeons are IMO legendary for a reason... because they're freaking lethal (ie Undermountain).
I'd say most PCs would not be able to clear a legendary dungeon... and if it were cleared, I wouldn't think they would easily KEEP it cleared.

[darrenhfx]

What DD et al said but maybe have the areas that can be reached populated from a random wandering monster list... if that's possible.

Having a novel foe with an unknown challenge rating would add to the danger and suspense.

[HEEGZ]

You could make the entrances open to players with spawns, etc. But I would leave most of the dungeons for DM run crawls. I believe I have a collection of maps for those areas as well if you want. I'd have to upload the images, but not too time consuming.

[Teric neDhalir]

I like the partially open to investigation, partially closed for DM events.

For example for a large dungeon complex, the two upper levels can be poked around by PCs with some repeating standard spawns. However, entrance to the 2 lower levels is blocked, hopefully by some RP plausible barricade, force effect etc. These areas can be used for events and populated as a DM wishes.

That's a pretty good description of how I'd been planning things - any feedback from builders old or new?

[Brokenbone]

Canon dungeons, if they're the types of places known in a region, attract evildoers and do-gooders and everyone else. Some of them will be powerful enough to foil a trip into even the local neighbourhood containing the dungeon, either for evil motives, privacy, maybe even harm reduction!

Simple spells like Arcane Lock are level 2, permanent, add +10 DC to dispels, and only answer to a Knock spell for 10 minutes before re-locking.

A boulder or other obstacle can be stuck in a doorway/hallway by raw muscle and/or engineering knowledge not within the grasp of your average adventuring party. Maybe someone hired an ogre to do it, or thirty orcs worked on it for 6 hours with two dozen worker's comp claims, or there were a couple duergar engineers involved with a lot of pulleys, wedges, use of Enlarge spells on themselves, etc.

Anyhow, anyplace "worth" seeing is probably under someone's control already. Putting "token" spawns around a spot can screw up a storyline if you actually want to use that dungeon later in a significant way. That is, if someone has visited the first two floors fifty times, knows it's always full of goblins and which spots tend to have what traps... but then for a DM event it's full of spellcasting cultists and new traps/riddles to keep advancing, the question comes up of "what happened to my goblin punching bags?" This includes that while maybe you're used to seeing a door in a mountainside, sometimes a thriving little encampment ends up OUTSIDE as well, whether for guards, worshippers who dare not enter the "holy ground" and won't let anyone else either, etc.

I guess if people do want to build famous canon dungeons, for non-DM'd wandering, get your best scripts and sneaky ideas ready. One way doors (*the door locks behind you*). Pit traps that dump you into terra incognito a level below. Portcullis puzzles where one guy has to pull a lever 50 feet away from his party, to let his party through, getting himself stuck as the abandoned doorman (which again is no problem for the actual dungeon residents). Easy to get in, hard to get out, that's how dungeon reputations are made... otherwise they'd be called hotels. The famous spots one shouldn't be able to walk in, clear 6 rooms of monsters, then walk back out in perfect safety, repeating every server reset.

[bartleby]

Should make spawns dependent on global varriables with a DM only master lever room

So if you want to run a quest in a specific area go to the lever room pull the lever for the area it removes all creatures in the area via tag or some other identifier ... (id say faction but a NPC could be attacked and move to hostile so long as thats ok it would work) ... and stop respawning ... NWN2 does have something like what was it NESS or seomthing for NWN1 correct?

Just a thought anyhow ...

[Curmudgeon]

Should make spawns dependent on global varriables with a DM only master lever room

So if you want to run a quest in a specific area go to the lever room pull the lever for the area it removes all creatures in the area via tag or some other identifier ... (id say faction but a NPC could be attacked and move to hostile so long as thats ok it would work) ... and stop respawning ... NWN2 does have something like what was it NESS or seomthing for NWN1 correct?

Just a thought anyhow ...

ALFA NWN2 DMs have a nice tool AL made to toggle spawns on and off in an area. Yet another advantage of better dungeoneering through ACR.

[Rotku]

ALFA NWN2 DMs have a nice tool AL made to toggle spawns on and off in an area. Yet another advantage of better dungeoneering through ACR.

I can see you on the poster now, holding a copy of the ACR in your hand, with a big grin on your face - "Yet another advantage of better dungeoneering through the ACR".