PDA

View Full Version : Where's the cutoff? (DM question)



Greyfeld85
2011-11-29, 02:12 PM
So, I'm going to be trying my hand at DMing a PbP game some time in the near future. However, I'm not really sure when I should stop planning, and start recruiting for the game.

The thing is, this game is patterned loosely after Tower of Druaga (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tower_of_Druaga), so I have to create a crapload of expansive dungeon floors. However, if I try to map it all out before recruiting, I'm not sure I'll ever actually get it done.

So, when do I stop planning and just recruit players, so I can get things rolling and get an idea for what classes are going to be running the gauntlet?

Jeraa
2011-11-29, 02:16 PM
There is no right answer. Some people prefer to have everything planned out, others prefer to just make it up as they go. It all depends on your personal preferences.

Tengu_temp
2011-11-29, 02:27 PM
You're playing PbP, which means you have the luxury of always being able to step back and plan. You don't need to even start planning anything before recruiting, and you can probably afford to start building a new floor only a bit before the players reach it.

Greyfeld85
2011-11-29, 02:27 PM
Well here's the thing.... I don't think I need the entire dungeon mapped out before I start recruiting (especially since some traps probably should be retooled for whatever group I end up with), but I'm looking at throwing together at least 30 floors of dungeon for the entire campaign. And I'm not really sure how quickly they're going to blow through it, and how much time I'm going to have to make new maps.

Nerd-o-rama
2011-11-29, 04:22 PM
And I'm not really sure how quickly they're going to blow through it

The best you can hope for in PbP, especially diceroll-heavy PbP like one long dungeon crawl, is the speed of a handicapped, drugged snail. Trust me, it will take a while to get through a level.

Greyfeld85
2011-11-29, 04:37 PM
The best you can hope for in PbP, especially diceroll-heavy PbP like one long dungeon crawl, is the speed of a handicapped, drugged snail. Trust me, it will take a while to get through a level.

lol that's kinda good to hear.

Ok, I have some thoughts on when I'm going to cutoff then. So, another question:

What are some ways that you, as a DM or a player, have seen roleplaying encouraged during a dungeon crawl?

The Dark Fiddler
2011-11-29, 05:22 PM
lol that's kinda good to hear.

Ok, I have some thoughts on when I'm going to cutoff then. So, another question:

What are some ways that you, as a DM or a player, have seen roleplaying encouraged during a dungeon crawl?

Really, the best way is to include some obstacles and encounters that aren't strictly combat-solvable. Let me share with you the story of Noh, as found on 1d4 chan.

My group was in a dungeon where, unbeknown to them, they were being tested by the spiritual forces that resided within, in order to see if they were worthy of... bla bla bla, the same old shtick.

They find a secret door, and inside is a pedestal with a highly ornate and obviously magical rapier (which two of the characters used), resting upon a similarly ornate/magical chain shirt that the two other characters used.

Next to them, a young girl, with a blank expression, simply requests, "Please do not take these items." Of course, my players didn't want to pass up such great items, but they knew that something bad would happen if they just took them, they decided they needed more information before they could make a decision. Pretty standard method of action. And, the only way they could get more information was from the girl.

I didn't want to spoil everything, and more importantly I wanted this to just be a short test so we could go on to the next part. Also, since she was just the physical manifestation of a minor spiritual entity, she didn't need to do any more than fulfill her task as a test giver. So, I decided she would be like a NPC from a video game. She would only respond with "No" or, if a negative answer would confuse the players or the players decided to get crafty and ask something like "Can we NOT take these items?", she would simply reply "Please do not take these items."

The conversation was pretty much:
P1: Can you tell us about these items?
DM: No.
P2: Can we ask your name?"
DM: No.
P1: What are you doing here?
DM: No.
P3: Are these items important to you?
DM: Please do not take these items.

The players kept at it for a few minutes, until the bard decided to use a perform check to "Awaken her dormant soul etc." and rolled a 19. As such, I decided I might as well say that she shed a single tear.

At this point, my players could no longer stand it. And they ended up doing something I was completely unprepared for.

One of them scooped her up, put her on his shoulder, and decided they were going to take her. They quickly began to argue as to which one of them was going to carry her, completely ignoring the amazing magical items less than an arm's reach away, and talking about how she was the cutest thing in the entire world. They decided to name her "Noh", since it was what she replied when asked her name.

They then carried her through the dungeon, risking themselves many times in order to keep/protect her. After the third time she slowly walked back towards the items when she was left alone during a battle (accompanied each time with each player screaming her name), they decided to go back, put the items on her, and then continue carrying her around.

I had added this whole test as a bit of a side thing, and didn't know what to do. At the completion of the whole thing, their reward was to have a spirit bound to one of their magic items, corresponding with what virtues they exhibited the most through out the dungeon. As a bit of a side bonus (since she was practically a construct anyway), I decided that a spirit would also be bound to Noh, but the complete binding would take some time, and that the players would be able to take her out of the dungeon. My players were so happy, and they concluded that along with the rest of the adventure (which they seemed to enjoy), this was the best session they've had in years.
I feel bad.

As a more personal story, I want to say that my DM once threw an apparently sentient but mute animated object candlestick at us once, and it had a human-ish face. My character attempted to communicate with it, while the rest of the part reacted with everything from distrust to antipathy. It was pretty fun.

Nerd-o-rama
2011-11-30, 05:00 PM
The best roleplaying I've seen in RPGs almost always comes about when players take it upon themselves to talk among themselves and play their characters off against each other. Unfortunately, I don't know how to encourage this as a GM other than giving them the opportunity and praying.

Tyndmyr
2011-11-30, 05:22 PM
You're playing PbP, which means you have the luxury of always being able to step back and plan. You don't need to even start planning anything before recruiting, and you can probably afford to start building a new floor only a bit before the players reach it.

Accurate. I hadn't even mapped out the entire first floor of The Endless Dungeon back when I started running that. It did not pose a problem. The rate at which people clear rooms is fairly slow even for reasonably active folks. At a rate of say, two posts a day, a combat can take days to resolve. And for pbp standards, that's probably above average. Mapping faster than the player explore is relatively easy.

Dr.Epic
2011-11-30, 05:24 PM
So, when do I stop planning and just recruit players, so I can get things rolling and get an idea for what classes are going to be running the gauntlet?

Honestly, if you have all the major NPCs ready, then I say go for it. You can't plan the game exactly because plays can always stray from your plans, but if you know who the major plot characters are and the setting is good, I say go for it.