Ingenious "dungeon" locations/terrains

[Hormalakh]

^what...

 

Look sewers are great and all. We just wanted to see a few other possibilities for dungeons.

[Agelastos]

Well then, those Parisian tunnels that may, or may not, have been as spacious in 1370 as they are since 1850 shall serve as proud example of the average Europea urban sewage disposal system.

 

Wow. Way to twist my words.

[Dream]

An opium den where the longer you're in there the more stoned your party gets.

[PsychoBlonde]

 

How are sewers anachronistic? They've been around for thousands of years, since the Indus Valley civilization.

I'm not sure if the medieval Europeans built any sewers themselves, but some European cities had fully serviceable sewer systems built by the ancient Romans.

So, if the P.E. continent had a mother culture of skilled engineers, like the Romans, there is no reason that there shouldn't be sewers.

 

It's not the sewer itself that is anachronistic, it's that most sewers are not big enough to stand up in much less have a battle. Heck, MODERN sewers aren't this big.

 

There's not a lot of value-added in giving the poop commodious (hah) tunnels.

[Kore]

I really like the concept of Ulcaster, it was just a pity that they didn't flesh it out more. I also really liked the way that Firewine ruins worked in that it wasn't a linear "here is a dungon entrance, now go kill the boss" type dungeon. It really encouraged exploration and you could access it from multiple points. It was just cool.

 

Also ferns. Ferns are cool. I also like the idea of a bank vault.

 

Does a dungeon have to be "epic"? I quite like the idea of having a reasonable sized dungeon, maybe 2 levels or so, based in a bakery and the quest topics were fairly mundane. You still have to overcome challenges, but generally they need you to use your non combat skills to complete it rather than fighting everyone. I just think a bakery would be fun

Edited November 17, 2012 by Kore

[aluminiumtrioxid]

Hypercubes.

[necromate]

...a bakery would be fun

 

The old necromancer, who retired, gets alzheimers and thinks he is still fighting in the war, he used the dark arts to animate his goods and became the first pastamancer! Now he is marching towards the town hall to conquer the city!

[Labadal]

Maybe a Gelato Shop.

[LadyCrimson]

I don't mind that the setting of the dungeons (sewer, caves, dungeons, giant towers/homes) might be similar...it's the design and whether or not they all visually "look the same" that makes them interesting or boring.

 

Entering a dungeon tower/giant mansion that had a bizarre design, both in appearance and navigation would be cool. Like the Winchester Mystery House type weird....something that looks like whoever designed it was following no logical plan but isn't just a Halloween-house.

[Kore]

...a bakery would be fun

 

The old necromancer, who retired, gets alzheimers and thinks he is still fighting in the war, he used the dark arts to animate his goods and became the first pastamancer! Now he is marching towards the town hall to conquer the city!

 

Words cannot describe how much I love that.

[rjshae]

The Realm of Dreams and Shadows

Early researches into the nature of shattered souls revealed the existence of a chaotic, non-linear space that became known as the realm of dreams and shadows. It was discovered that the remnants of the shattered soul left behind an imprint on this extradimensional space, forming a "pocket" of distorted reality. These spaces reflected the essence and misery of the shattered soul, bearing some resemblance to the former reality of the victim, yet lacking an essential wholeness and self-integrity. They could range in size from a small nest to grand realms filled with all manner of strange wonders.

 

Wizards learned to exploit these pocket realms, searching for spaces that were amenable to colonization and exploitation. They became safe havens where wizards could carry out their investigations and store their knowledge. However, over time the wizards began to mysteriously disappear, along with their pocket realms. At first the cause was a mystery, but it was eventually found that some shattered souls could actually heal, causing the associated pocket realm to collapse. As knowledge of this discovery spread, most wizards abandoned their pocket laboratories and returned to the mundane world, along with their goods and experiments. Still, a few pockets remained in use, particularly by wizards somewhat lacking in wisdom and mental balance. These maintained pockets often reflected the diverse nature of their owners, having oddball features and properties.

 

The surviving established pockets can sometimes be accessed through portals and magical links. These entryways can be found in places like ruined laboratories or by means of a mysterious trinket whose original purpose has been lost. But entry into a pocket realm is a path not to be tread lightly; not only is the realm likely to be strange and exotic, but the magical outpost established there can contain dangerous or outrageous experiments. Even experienced wizards will be reluctant to enter such a realm as the risks may outweigh the rewards, and their apprentices are sternly warned against venturing thence.

[necromate]

The Realm of Dreams and Shadows

Early researches into the nature of shattered souls...

 

Nice :D Just needs a little touch to it, I mean a reason for entering... These pockets being very dangerous to enter, becouse they could disappear with you alltogether is kind of... hm let's say the player does not want to take the risk just for gold and spells... but if a companion shouts: GERONIIIIIIMOOOOOOOO! out of greed and you have to jump after him to get his/her ass out of trouble :D hurray amaizing adventure

[Gurkog]

I would enjoy traversing the chaos of an insane deity's soul. The laws of physics could change at random and everything (including the party) could morph into weird stuff at times.

[Jarmo]

Spice up the norm by adding something.

 

Standard castle dungeon, but the castle has partly collapsed and everything is at 20 degrees angle. Walkable, maybe one corner under water?

Standard cave dungeon, but filled with luminescent mushrooms or crystals.

 

Varied materials, the castle is made of granite/timberwood/bone/skulls/flesh.

 

Not a castle, but a luxury mansion, hotel, apartment building.

 

--

Also, instead of 20 degrees, flip the whole thing upside down or 90 degrees,

maybe for some elemental plane or dream sequence or something.

Edited November 19, 2012 by Jarmo

[Rostere]

It would be cool with a "dungeon" where you are teleported to an alien celestial body. Maybe the residence of a long- dead scientist/wizard of an ancient civilization on a moon or asteroid or something like that. Another idea is a dungeon which is actually the inside the intestines of some huge, strange deep-water fish, or a derelict ship belonging to some unknown civilization.

[Stun]

Forest "dungeon."

 

You're magically tossed into the middle of a forboding forest shrouded in mist. You can go wherever you like in the forest but the exit involves triggering several keystones at the same time to activate a portal to leave. Trying to leave in a more mundane manner simply has you circle back to where you started. You can only get in with at least 3 people, however.

 

Ugh.... You've just described Icewind Dale 2's Fell Wood, only instead of portals they had.... er... I don't remember what they had. Knowedge of how to get deeper into the wood, I think. Followed by defeating some ghostlights in order to leave or some such.

 

 

Anyway, How about... a crevice in the ground that the party falls into, then has to explore its way out of, and when they finally do, they find themselves in another part of the world.

Edited November 19, 2012 by Stun

[Somna]

Forest "dungeon."

 

You're magically tossed into the middle of a forboding forest shrouded in mist. You can go wherever you like in the forest but the exit involves triggering several keystones at the same time to activate a portal to leave. Trying to leave in a more mundane manner simply has you circle back to where you started. You can only get in with at least 3 people, however.

 

Ugh.... You've just described Icewind Dale 2's Fell Wood, only instead of portals they had.... er... I don't remember what they had. Knowedge of how to get deeper into the wood, I think. Followed by defeating some ghostlights in order to leave or some such.

[...]

 

I was wondering where I got that thought from.

 

Towns make good dungeons too, especially with the illusion of being able to leave at any time spurring the party further if they stumble on something strange.

[Falkon Swiftblade]

I can't go into details, but I'm currently working on a game and I thought a fair bit about a similar question you asked, and I wanted a major set piece to be more like something out of Ico where you spend a lot of time in one main set piece, but you go through a gambit of cathedrals and towers, and caverns and underground rivers, and more. I want environments to serve a purpose. I don't want to see in PE 7 floors of bedrooms, and 6 floors of the same dungeon walls and layout. I hope it's organic and mysterious. I also hope its not too short and takes like 10-20 min per floor and there's like 5 encounters each.

[AGX-17]

Obviously doesn't fit P:E, but fits the thread topic.

The "ruins" of an ancient, advanced civilization, as in a "future-tech" type civilization with nanotechnology and self-repairing/maintaining AI systems, so it's a bunch of fantasy primitives walking into a fully functioning sci-fi facility. Maybe some wild revelation that the "magic" your mages have been casting is just a globally-saturated nanomachine system artificially exciting the molecules in creatures' bodies into combustion with fire "magic" or the opposite with ice "magic," in response to what the AI/s interpret as command inputs from system users.

 

Hmm...

 

I can't think of anything else. Perhaps we could use a Portal Technology (3D Realms "Prey"). It would be a different way to break up 2d geometry. We could create a dynamic portal in space, go through it, turn around and close it like a window shade. We could have more different types of locations/terrains by doing such thing.

 

How would that change the terrain? Teleporter mazes have been around for decades.

Edited November 19, 2012 by AGX-17

[kenup]

-snip-

You got my attention with this one!

 

It could be the opposite. That technology could be the result of magic/cycle of suffering(reincarnation). Either way it could serve as an 180 degree turn for the plot.

 

It wouldn't fit though as you said and it might be too FF like... but maybe?

[General Balls]

Anyway, How about... a crevice in the ground that the party falls into, then has to explore its way out of, and when they finally do, they find themselves in another part of the world.

 

I'm totally up for the last part. One of my favourite things about exploring is finding new things.

 

Half Life 2, Ravenholm. The feeling after spending ages in the dark town, fighting off headcrab zombies and finding the awesome Father, you pick your way through the mines behind the town and emerge blinking in the daylight of a new morning. Train tracks stretch away from you in two directions and you're left with the thought: what on earth has happened while I was gone? One of the best feelings I've had in gaming.

[Azarkon]

Silly role players, a dungeon is a cell where prisoners were tortured in olden times. They're not adventuring areas.

Edited November 19, 2012 by Azarkon

[kenup]

Silly role players, a dungeon is a cell where prisoners were tortured in olden times. They're not adventuring areas.

I was about to propose a dungeon being below a prison.

[maggotheart]

Some ideas for dungeons at great heights instead of great depths:

 

An airship that is currently flying through the air at a thousand feet. There is an engine room, crew quarters, mess hall and so forth. One wrong move can send an adventurer hurtling to their doom. The party must take care not to damage the vessel or it could crash, killing everyone on board. This could be used for a stealth mission, where the party must find a way to fly up there, grapple hook onto the side of the ship and sneak onboard through a porthole, before taking control of the bridge without damaging the ship.

 

A village situated in the canopy of a rainforest. The locals use wooden platforms, vines, crude ladders and bridges to get around. The lower levels of the jungle are filled with nasty insects and predators. There could be some kind of chase going on, with the party rushing through the precarious network, possibly snapping vines and cracking platforms under their armour weight. Or some kind of flying monster has nested in the village, driving off all the locals and the party must get up there and deal with the thing.