tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post3849606734352626428..comments2024-03-29T10:34:22.739-04:00Comments on Delta's D&D Hotspot: Gygax on Dungeon DesignDeltahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-40354219809878077342021-01-28T22:23:53.192-05:002021-01-28T22:23:53.192-05:00Super well put, I agree! Thanks for that comment.Super well put, I agree! Thanks for that comment.Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-62889833536505914792021-01-28T17:52:23.145-05:002021-01-28T17:52:23.145-05:00Yeah, it's interesting to see that "old s...Yeah, it's interesting to see that "old school referees" tend to come to this design philosophy naturally over time. When I'm running other games — say, Vampire: The Masquerade, Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play, or the like which tend to be more political, NPC relationship-heavy, etc. — I make more thorough notes. But exploration-heavy games like OD&D, I go very spare on the notes (only essential details) and, as Gary said, make the rest up on the spot as appropriate to the situation.<br /><br />To your point, Delta, it would have been REALLY NICE to have had someone put that in writing for me. I've been running RPGs for almost three decades, and I only had the revelation about not overpreparing within the past, say, five years or so. A single paragraph and adjoining example could have taught me a valuable lesson much earlier.The Ghoul Priesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11076744434471847867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-87300376958701697122018-06-01T22:40:13.817-04:002018-06-01T22:40:13.817-04:00Good question. Thinking of Jon Peterson's &quo...Good question. Thinking of Jon Peterson's "Playing at the World", he had a previous pretty long history of wargames, writing in-character newsletters for Diplomacy, etc.Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-2079588538221569592018-05-25T12:02:35.048-04:002018-05-25T12:02:35.048-04:00I always wondered if Gygax started super creative ...I always wondered if Gygax started super creative or if the constant improve required for his GM style really sharpened his creativity.Ruprechthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00139664977453444000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-49094600370954537092018-03-30T14:58:05.208-04:002018-03-30T14:58:05.208-04:00It's an interesting parallel, thanks for that!...It's an interesting parallel, thanks for that! However, I wish that the "real documentation" that the masters worked with had been shared with us (so, e.g., I didn't lose 30 years chasing after overly verbose notes). It would have been handy to see a "minimal dungeon key" next to an elaborated "example of play" to see things getting fleshed out improvisationally. Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-16723083705818446702018-03-28T06:52:21.173-04:002018-03-28T06:52:21.173-04:00*full lead sheet*full lead sheetAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12144036461263676706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-13462155151685079532018-03-28T06:51:23.712-04:002018-03-28T06:51:23.712-04:00Coming into DnD last year as a newb with backgroun...Coming into DnD last year as a newb with background in improvisational music here’s a perspective: working through published adventures is a lot like learning iconic improvised solos. The exercise helps you learn the underpinnings and language of the medium. You aren’t going to learn to improvise at a high level without some background and base knowledge to work with. Once you have a strong command of the underlying pieces you can break them apart and summon and command them at will deftly. But if you are coming in without being steeped in the experience another way, seeing how others before you have done it is a powerful learning tool. So as I work through Mines of Phandelver I am looking for places I can expand and tailor it to my group but the basic scales and chords assembled into a full lead shear in this particular way give me a robust framework to start with as I earn and learn my own style.<br /><br />Cheers, Great blog<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12144036461263676706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-70074674245972782292018-03-14T17:07:34.035-04:002018-03-14T17:07:34.035-04:00The one part of the AD&D that seems to generat...The one part of the AD&D that seems to generate a minimally keyed dungeon in the manner of what Gary actual ran with is Appendix A: Random Dungeon Generation. And of course it is a revision of the Solo Dungeon Generation article from Strategic Review #1.Zenopus Archiveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14069501995927451558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-2416598577953756852018-03-12T23:24:50.528-04:002018-03-12T23:24:50.528-04:00I've definitely evolved. I used to put a lot o...I've definitely evolved. I used to put a lot of prep work in to be able to run modules by the book (honor the playwright's words, as it were). What you describe in your screen is pretty much the same as I have now. <br /><br />And you're right that the disconnect between play and publication has been a lifelong conundrum for me (esp., someone growing up in an isolated rural place who had to learn purely from the written books). Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-64660029316381120562018-03-12T23:22:10.373-04:002018-03-12T23:22:10.373-04:00You seem to be correct, sir.You seem to be correct, sir.Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-88035237333768975492018-03-12T18:33:40.166-04:002018-03-12T18:33:40.166-04:00The funny thing is that the OSR seemed to rediscov...The funny thing is that the OSR seemed to rediscover this way of doing things through its "one-page dungeon" concept. I'm not sure whether the re-discoverers were riffing off of stuff like that ENWorld Q&A, memories of some of the early dungeons, early texts such as Palace of the Vampire Queen or Arneson's First Fantasy Campaign or whether it was, as it were, a true independent rediscovery.Oakes Spaldinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08078500142758654392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-47388827274130132382018-03-12T09:30:32.256-04:002018-03-12T09:30:32.256-04:00My hats off to the GM's who can run published ...My hats off to the GM's who can run published adventures direct from the books.<br />I can't keep track of multiple players and npc actions and lengthy adventure into, so even basic adventures end up getting re-written in my format. <br />Page 1 big map, probably with hand written reminders of important things (FLOOR TRAP, ALARM BELL) pinned to the inside of the GM Screen. The rest of the pages set for quick room details (since I am terrible at remembering to put atmosphere in, that chart in the 5e DMG is a life saver). Monsters stats are one line with a reference to the MM page if they have crazy abilities. Then enough space in between to make combat notes.<br /><br />It is a funny contrast to the way Gary seemingly ran a dungeon vs what was published in those days. Those old modules were dense.Baquieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08357103428591599364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-75534828131924404272018-03-12T09:29:56.303-04:002018-03-12T09:29:56.303-04:00I've never had a campaign be enjoyable because...I've never had a campaign be enjoyable because of what is planned; it's always enjoyable because of what was spontaneous. Plan as minimally as you can because the several players (yourself included) will bring the fun regardless. Scott Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067161332003628237noreply@blogger.com