Kilan Larsen
DnD Map Design 2
What Happened?
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During the playtest of my updated map "The Crawling Caverns", Valerie and Elliot this time embarked as a rogue and a ranger respectively. Once again the scenario started with the giant rat running from the darkness only to be killed by a Crawler. After the players killed the Crawler, I directly informed them that at any point they could roll to investigate. This gave them a method of discovering the Crawlers on their own, rather than shooting randomly at stalactites. The ranger took interest in the pool of water and decided to swim underneath to the other side, while the rogue continued West-ward alone. While the ranger explored the water area without triggering any attacks, the rouge moved North and ran right under a Crawler, and narrowly defeated it alone. She then proceeded further North and failed her investigation check, which led to another Crawler falling on her. This time the rouge came to help. Afterward, they backtracked South to find the pickaxe, and then returned North to clear the boulders and move towards the boss. They found the corpse and antidotes, and proceeded to toss the corpse into the boss area to trigger it falling from the ceiling. The fight was challenging but fair, and the adventure was once again successful.
The Map
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By having a single entrance into the cave and a bottleneck before the boss room at the end, I've designed this map using Semi-Linear principles. This way I can make sure that the players are immediately made aware of the danger of Crawlers on the ceilings, and they know to check for danger as they move forward. In addition, I re-located the antidotes needed to aid in the final boss fight so that the players are guaranteed to find them before they are needed. The entire middle of the map can be tackled with whatever strategies the players want, and they can even make it to the boss without fighting any enemies if they are very careful.
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The cave's multiple split paths and series of 'locks' via the boulders made for a much more interesting play experience, as the players had to deliberate over which path was best and could avoid certain paths if they wanted. This ended up causing them to split the party early on, completely of their own curiosity. Swimming in the water and finding the pickaxe are both optional, but the players must do one or the other and are rewarded with a useful item if they do both (an ATK boosting Herb).
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Line of Sight
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The light shaft at the Herb's location serves two distinct purposes, it explains why there is a unique plant growing there, and more importantly it attracts the player's attention and beckons them to explore. Due to the line of sight angles, players who did not swim in the underwater passage or clear the boulders cannot see the light, and will not be drawn into the water. They must choose to try and clear the boulders, or to take a swim. Once the players clear the boulders or decide to swim, they are then able to see the light from across the water. This makes it so that even the players who didn't want to swim earlier and cleared the boulders are now enticed to jump in the water anyway.
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The Monsters and Environment
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I made two important changes to the Crawlers in this updated map. Firstly, I made them easier to find (via investigation checks), which allowed the players to more easily avoid them. Then, I increased the damage that they deal while falling to penalize players who do not watch where they are going. This resulted in the players being extremely wary about being attacked, and added a good amount of tension while also slowing their progress through an otherwise short map.
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The water and lighting played a much more important role this time and I think really help tie the map together, rather than just being there for the sake of it. The water allows daring players to get an early shortcut in the map, at the risk of running into Crawlers in a less than ideal area. And the light shaft in the darkness provides a motivation for players to explore an otherwise dark and uninteresting area.
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Improvements to Make​
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The map felt about perfect and I really wouldn't want to change much at this point. One addition I could make to the map would be extra secrets and goodies that the players could uncover to further encourage exploration. I could also add more details and unique elements, such as the smells and sounds of the cave for an additional level of immersion.
