Large Dungeon Near College Town

[XCali]

Glad I could be of assistance!

You have many options for getting the attention of the PCs, so I wouldn't necessarily say there is a "best" way to do this. On a basic level, you have a hook just in the sheer fact that a mysterious new cave has opened up recently. This draws the attention of dungeon delvers and archaeologists alike, especially being just outside of a college, which normally serves secondarily as a hub for news. You also have a hook in that the professor has been acting strange, which could easily tie into the mysterious new cave. If you plan on using an attack to get the attention of the PCs, it could be spun into the former two as the initial hook, which could work well to bring a multifaceted angle to it, allowing the GM/DM a couple options for intrigue. The attack could even be how the GM/DM introduces the PCs to your setting. "As the grand crown of the college crests the hill, you can faintly hear cries of distress in the distance".

As far as how to decorate it, my best advice would be to keep it to simple outline. Who/what resides there? This answers most of the questions about what physical means are held there, and combined with how you decide to spin the professor acting strange, there could be many options. Is the professor actually a cult leader who has been secretly operating in the cave, and a portion of the faculty/students are a part of that cult? This is just an example, but shows how the college could be involved in some way. It doesn't even have to be evil, say the professor has stumbled upon an ominous secret inside the cave, and knowing this dreadful knowledge has him on edge, givien the implications. This could give the PCs some information gathering role playing options. Maybe his mind was hijacked by an artifact he found in the cave, say an ancient tiara, that he has not adorned himself with, until now. This could lead the PCs to eventually find a means to remove the tiara, which normally is an unremovable cursed artifact. The options are truly unlimited, just remember, always simple, never complicated.

Generally, caves are pretty abstract, lending to the idea that there is no one set path, especially when a chamber could have multiple entries/exits. You may not even want to include room numbers. What may work better, are events/notable areas listed by A.) B.) etc.

Again, I hope this helps. I feel like my 18 years of learning to design dungeons could convey nicely into a tutorial, I may just have to sit down and write one..

Cheers!

IR

PS: Make sure you have a solid motivation for the PCs to be doing what they're doing.

That is incredibly useful. It gives a good idea to how I can go about writing adventure hooks that can have multiple options in approach. Thanks, really.

My biggest dilemma basically is, I'm not the one who is going to DM/GM this adventure, I'm creating this set of maps for many other DMs/GMs to pick up and run the adventure. Again, I have never DM'd a game. So, that is why I want to gather as much information about how to approach this map set as possible. Hope it makes sense.

Again thank you for the tips!

[Adfor]

That is incredibly useful. It gives a good idea to how I can go about writing adventure hooks that can have multiple options in approach. Thanks, really.

My biggest dilemma basically is, I'm not the one who is going to DM/GM this adventure, I'm creating this set of maps for someone else to pick up and run the adventure. Again, I have never DM'd a game. So, that is why I want to gather as much information about how to approach this map set as possible. Hope it makes sense.

Again thank you for the tips!

My pleasure!

If you're collaborating with others, I'd suggest sitting down with the DM, and just hash out some of the things that they want to do/pursue in their campaign, that could maybe tie into this adventure. You could even include the players in that conversation, since they are the ones who more or less make up the bulk of the story, being the ones in the spotlight. Having a clear idea of wants and needs for both the DM and players would be extremely helpful in creating your outline, even if it's just what type of monsters the DM would like to run.

Personally I think it would be really cool to have the cave lead to a since segregated basement of the college, that even the administration has no idea about. Stirring up dust that hasn't been disturbed in ages is always a mesmerizing way to roll out a dungeon. "As the rough hued stone door slowly shifts downward upon your touch, a great gust of air sucks inward as the slab begins to lower. The stale air russells a thick layer of dust that is apparent upon the floor, indicating clearly that this chamber hasn't been disturbed in a very long time."

Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with on your dungeon-making endeavors.

IR

PS: The newest update looks great, keep it up!

[XCali]

My pleasure!

If you're collaborating with others, I'd suggest sitting down with the DM, and just hash out some of the things that they want to do/pursue in their campaign, that could maybe tie into this adventure. You could even include the players in that conversation, since they are the ones who more or less make up the bulk of the story, being the ones in the spotlight. Having a clear idea of wants and needs for both the DM and players would be extremely helpful in creating your outline, even if it's just what type of monsters the DM would like to run.

Personally I think it would be really cool to have the cave lead to a since segregated basement of the college, that even the administration has no idea about. Stirring up dust that hasn't been disturbed in ages is always a mesmerizing way to roll out a dungeon. "As the rough hued stone door slowly shifts downward upon your touch, a great gust of air sucks inward as the slab begins to lower. The stale air russells a thick layer of dust that is apparent upon the floor, indicating clearly that this chamber hasn't been disturbed in a very long time."

Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with on your dungeon-making endeavors.

IR

PS: The newest update looks great, keep it up!

As I know only one DM personally, the collaborating thing is still just a pipe dream. No, I'm creating this for other DMs/GMs to use out in the world.

The cave ending up below the college is a great idea! Thanks! I will do that as another map that shows what is below ground on the College map itself.

[Adfor]

As I know only one DM personally, the collaborating thing is still just a pipe dream. No, I'm creating this for other DMs/GMs to use out in the world.

The cave ending up below the college is a great idea! Thanks! I will do that as another map that shows what is below ground on the College map itself.

Well shucks! I'm glad you like it.

I like the elevation work, but it's a little hard to tell what is supposed to be low and high terrain. I supposed you could make a legend, but I've always been a fan of easily legible elevations. Even something as simple as a numerical representation could really help distinguish what is high and low.

I'll see if I can dig up some old cave maps of mine to show you want I mean.

IR

Edit: Here's a decent example of some of my cave/ruin work. Keep in mind that this was a dungeon I ran for a group, so it still has all the monster placements and such, and still remains fairly unfinished.

[XCali]

Well shucks! I'm glad you like it.

I like the elevation work, but it's a little hard to tell what is supposed to be low and high terrain. I supposed you could make a legend, but I've always been a fan of easily legible elevations. Even something as simple as a numerical representation could really help distinguish what is high and low.

I'll see if I can dig up some old cave maps of mine to show you want I mean.

IR

Edit: Here's a decent example of some of my cave/ruin work. Keep in mind that this was a dungeon I ran for a group, so it still has all the monster placements and such, and still remains fairly unfinished.

I agree that a map is better if it illustrates clearly what it needs to. Though, I am intrigued that you find it hard to tell the difference. I am looking at the image from a distance and from close up and it is still entirely clear to me. (A note of Highlights and shadows, take for example a picture of a person's nose. The highlighted area of the nose is clearly protruding, whereas the shadows show a depression in the skin. Same basic thing exist the majority of the time where Highlights show something that is lifted and the shadows portray something that is going down or hidden.)

That said, I am looking at the area just to the left of the H of hope and there seem to be some confusion on what kind of height that southern part of the chamber is. I will look into it to making things like that a tad more clear.

[XCali]

Here is my progress with adding more elevation in the dungeon. Also, added several books, a large monster skull to one of the chambers and whatnot.
Let me know what you think?

### Latest WIP ###