Should I use a partially mapped "dungeon" tonight?

[MonkeySage]

My players are only going to see part of the area tonight, and I've mostly mapped out those areas. By design, they would have very difficult time exploring the whole thing, and they sort of have a time limit anyway.

I'm asking because I've been thinking... If I had to map the whole thing, I'd never be done. I'd have to make so many predictions for the campaign, and it isn't like this area is an isolated tomb- it's the sewers that a thieves guild is using to navigate a very large city. It has access points throughout the city, and this area is just a small part of the sewers. The campaign is focused on this city in particular, and my players will rarely leave it entirely.

I had the idea of setting up locked gates to areas that haven't been mapped yet, but players are often enticed by locked gates... Working in my favor, though, is the fact the players do not have any rogues in their party, nor anyone at the moment capable of picking locks.

[hymer]

With the time limit, the locked gates ought to do the trick, as long as they don't have quick bypasses. You could drop a hint via handout or NPC that the PCs are likely to fail if they waste their time on the gates. Maybe the advice goes that the gates are only the first of several blocks in each direction. Or you could make sure the PCs know that there are dangerous things behind the gates, and bypassing the gates could set them loose in the dungeon, complicating matters needlessly.

All that said, I'd probably have a piece of prepared dungeon ready to throw in whereever, just in case they do make it past a blockade. And I might just resort to telling the players that I hadn't expected them to go this way, what with the time limit and all, and I hadn't prepared that bit yet.

[denthor]

Set real world time limit. 4 hours after that make a decision based on where they are.

[Darth Ultron]

Yes.


To avoid useing ''un mapped " parts....all you need to do is :

1.Slow the game down
2.Keep the Players Busy
3.Keep the Players Distracted

A very simple one would be: heavily locked and trapped gates TO places you have mapped out and ready. A lot of players can't resist something they can't get past....so give it to them. Maybe more then one. You should be able to get at least ten minutes out of such a block.

Just as simple is any mystery item, like a chest or box.

And a combat encounter is always an easy way to eat up time.

[Jarawara]

I always used "Construction Demons" - a great Demon with a hardhat and reflective strips on its coat, holding a sign that says "Woe to all who pass beyond this point. Under construction."

The party accepted the fact that I hadn't mapped beyond that point, and went another way.

Once they even brought coffee and a pastry to one of the Demons. That was very nice of them.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Much as I like the idea of "construction demons," if the players get a decent session's worth of playtime out of the session, they should accept "And this is where we'll pick up next time, since I haven't prepared that part!"

If they stumble close to unmapped sections too early, try prodding them in other directions. You can use treasure or something to lure them one way, or just say "Path B is only partly-mapped, so please choose A or C."