Dungeon Design

[Techcaliber]

Hello! Some people may have read a webcomic called “Goblins” (http://goblinscomic.com/comic/page-15-2019). In this webcomic, they presented an interesting idea for a dungeon. The protagonists found themselves inside of a small chamber, not much in it. One thing they noticed was that one of the walls was replaced by a large window. They look out and they see themselves. Not a mirror, but actual people. They look around the area, and their and to many duplicates to count. However, what they see are not duplicates, but other versions of themselves from other realities.

Eventually they are sent into the dungeon, and attempt to make their way through. As they pass through, they find puzzles and monsters, but they also find the other versions of themselves, who look similar but possess different abilities and have very different personalities. They usually have to fight them, as only one group can gain the rewards of the dungeon.

Know, up to this point, there hasn’t been a question, but now there is. What do you think of this concept? Would it be runnable in an actual game, or would it just be to difficult to actually do? If you would do it, how do you think it would be best to do?

Thanks in advance, and sorry the question is vague.

[Bjarkmundur]

Well, seeing how the villain in almost every superhero move is a negative version of the hero, this should work perfectly.

I'm not sure about the setup. It sounds forced. If you can get the group with a hook searching for an ancient artifact with amazing powers of healing, and then have the other group "planar travel" to attempt to get the same artifact you have much clearer source of conflict.

The catch is that although your group is searching for the artifact to stop a civilization-ending plague, the other group is also searching for it to prevent a world-ending event. This makes the group seem like the opposition at first, whilst at the end of the adventure they could even fight a common enemy, and ultimately find a way to save both worlds. This would almost definitely result in some dimension hopping for your players once the artifact is acquired, which is a ton of fun.

I think it's important for the players to know just exactly how annoying their playstyle is. So having a sneak-abusing archer-rogue fighting against a sneak-abusing archer-rogue is SO MUCH FUN TO RUN. It's also a cool tactical challenge for the players, since you're not really allowed to pull your punches.