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View Full Version : DM Help Other plane Dungeon - How to make it interesting



mbielaczyc
2018-09-20, 03:02 PM
I am designing a dungeon that takes place in another plane. It is a dream plane where creatures and demons have been trapped for a long time. The players will have to make their way to exit areas on either side. I want to make this interesting and not just hack and slash.

There will be foes at several points as well as roaming creatures.

https://i.imgur.com/NGUxC69.jpg

What could I add to an other worldly adventure to give it some flair?

hotflungwok
2018-09-20, 03:32 PM
If it's a dreamland than anything goes.

Variable Perspective (being a room where the characters are tiny/furniture is huge)
Variable Physics (like Escher's painting Relativity)
Unseen Threats (being chased by something making horrible noises, but nothing is actually there)
Twisted Memories (This place looks exactly like the playground you used to go to where that big older kid would torment you & your friends. A tall shadow falls over the area, something is behind you...)
Random Oddness (you're in a forest area, but for some reason the birds are swaying in the breeze and the trees are singing)
Deliberate Malice (this area looks like a rocky maze, but the walls are composed of large earth elementals that get up and move around when the players get near the exit)

Go nuts.

Brookshw
2018-09-20, 03:44 PM
Whose dreams? In one section will you be in a demons dream, another some kids?

Each area can have various fulfillment categories (i.e., make it a happy dream, scary etc). Populate dream land with things to accomplish the various dream fulfillments. Wisdom checks/save/contests (maybe charisma) to have players control the area in certain ways (create temporary creatures, nonmagical items).

Differ the dreamers and tailor fulfillments to each should give you a broad array of possibilities (an eladrin & demon's dream of happiness are very different). How you affect one dream can affect the next (making the eladrin's dream happy may make the demon's in the next area a nightmare.

Put different NPCs in each area, only 1 of which is the dreamer, party has to figure out the right one. Their actions could cause enemies to spawn in the dream if it drifts away from what the dreamer may desire.

Edit: bonus points, players awaken a dreamer who might have been better left asleep, the awoken dreamer then acts on the prime - future quest. Nice if you leave hints in the dream related to said future quest.

mbielaczyc
2018-09-20, 05:19 PM
Thanks so far!

I like the idea of unstable ground and walls. I may not make them elementals, but making them warm and pulse a bit. Maybe its snags clothes and armor. During combat reflex rolls to stay balanced.

This plane is connected to a universe where reality is shaped by the common subconscious of the inhabitants. So the demons within this could warp it according to their perception.

I like the idea of one creature who is "dreaming" up others in the area. Maybe they take hits and "die" easily but then just rise back up and start fighting again. They don't die until the main creature is struck down.

Rabidmuskrat
2018-09-21, 06:45 AM
Couple more interesting ideas (perhaps with limited use in certain areas only)

Death is impossible. Anything killed gets up in 1d4 rounds INCLUDING PLAYERS (Throw them against super hard enemies. Or super easy. Or make it random. Who cares? The challenge is passing through the area).
Dice rolls dont matter (but dont tell the players). When a player asks if he hits, ask him what he thinks. If he says yes, he does. If he says no, he does not. For added challenge, some monsters have figured this out as well (not too strong) and now will only roll nat20s. Damage rolls can be left as standard. See how long the players take to figure it out. (I.e You are as awesome as you think yourself to be)
Any other mechanical element of the game players take for granted. Spin it on its head. Have fun. Break all the rules.