Zalabar
2010-04-18, 08:34 PM
I'm running a 3.5 game with copious player customization and a suitably involved metaplot. The basic idea is a cycling series of small runs though differently themed dungeons broken up by stays at a relatively civilized location. So the party goes through the fire dungeon, completes a quest for the Mcguffin of truth, and then is warped back to town for a night at the inn, figuring out what's going on, healing, and trading in whatever they could loot for better killy stuff.
These dungeons are a loose microcosm of the old planescape Dnd cosmology, making ideals more powerful as one moves away from the prime materium. So each dungeon has certain thematic elements, and a basic question that should give some kind of role playing oppertunities.
Some of these dungeons write themselves; there is a world composed of clockwork and mechanical precision, where the highest virtue is fitting in precisely as needed. The party can be chased around by 'reprocessors' in whatever stats are needed to keep the game interesting, try to foster independant thought, or just kill stuff and take their things. Another is a giant forest dominated by plant creatures and untouched by fire, where the strong survive and the only question asked how to best define strength.
The problem pieces are more esoteric; one world is composed of Cyclopian chains in orbit around a titanic figure engulfed in fire. It's theme is sacrifice, to the point where it's 'god' is the self destructive figure in the flames. Another has an overall idea that over-specialization is the bestus thing ever, to the extreme of making characters into items, but I'm kinda stuck on how to make that work, much less establish even an idea on what the place looks like.
So, I think this is a great idea, but I don't know how to make it work. Any ideas or tips on general adventure design?
These dungeons are a loose microcosm of the old planescape Dnd cosmology, making ideals more powerful as one moves away from the prime materium. So each dungeon has certain thematic elements, and a basic question that should give some kind of role playing oppertunities.
Some of these dungeons write themselves; there is a world composed of clockwork and mechanical precision, where the highest virtue is fitting in precisely as needed. The party can be chased around by 'reprocessors' in whatever stats are needed to keep the game interesting, try to foster independant thought, or just kill stuff and take their things. Another is a giant forest dominated by plant creatures and untouched by fire, where the strong survive and the only question asked how to best define strength.
The problem pieces are more esoteric; one world is composed of Cyclopian chains in orbit around a titanic figure engulfed in fire. It's theme is sacrifice, to the point where it's 'god' is the self destructive figure in the flames. Another has an overall idea that over-specialization is the bestus thing ever, to the extreme of making characters into items, but I'm kinda stuck on how to make that work, much less establish even an idea on what the place looks like.
So, I think this is a great idea, but I don't know how to make it work. Any ideas or tips on general adventure design?