tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054171212526699437.post2864613332503451469..comments2024-03-14T04:10:13.461-05:00Comments on The Closet Barbarian: Dungeon Engineering, Room Density and the Space BetweenGene Sollowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11329711228140134967noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054171212526699437.post-14809915738183669172012-03-26T02:55:02.241-05:002012-03-26T02:55:02.241-05:00My friends used to become so aware of the cramped ...My friends used to become so aware of the cramped look of dungeon maps that theyd often resort to metaknowledge to find hidden rooms. A shame really...Mike Bridgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17741591268012556455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054171212526699437.post-69306972945550717462012-03-25T18:26:42.253-05:002012-03-25T18:26:42.253-05:00Doing a little research, I see that Gygax's un...Doing a little research, I see that Gygax's underground levels generally (though not exclusively) have Space Between. This is true with all of his cavern complexes and most of his dungeons that I sampled randomly, though there are places where there are adjacent 10x10 rooms, etc. The Steading of the Hill Giant Chief actually proves my thesis nicely; a functional/jammed up above-ground Steading and a Space-Betweeny undergound level.<br /><br />If Grognardia can coin "Gygaxian Naturalism," I can coin "Gygaxian Structural Engineering," no?Gene Sollowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11329711228140134967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054171212526699437.post-57462109811566475852012-03-25T14:23:36.313-05:002012-03-25T14:23:36.313-05:00I quite dislike maze-style maps, both from the per...I quite dislike maze-style maps, both from the perspective of a player and the perspective of a referee. I find them tedious to describe. Quasqueton looks visually like an obstacle course designed to train PC mappers (which it really was).<br /><br />Some of the map elements just look way too artificial to me, like the spiral in the lower left, the zig zag at the top right, and the curvy passage in the middle left. This structure was supposed to be the stronghold of a pair of adventurers, and it doesn't feel like that at all to me. I much prefer Zenopus.Necropraxishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12716340801054739658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054171212526699437.post-45055217401817412322012-03-25T12:29:52.705-05:002012-03-25T12:29:52.705-05:00I tend to be more of a space-between guy, but like...I tend to be more of a space-between guy, but like to have small clusters of rooms with common walls, too, 'cause sometimes I want the players to consider not searching for a secret door and just grab a pick axe instead.<br /><br />I do tend to use more rooms with vaulted ceilings and lots of columns than other referees I know - my sop to the engineering of building underground.Black Vulmeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04270071699114783644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054171212526699437.post-80676898492687414012012-03-25T09:25:34.335-05:002012-03-25T09:25:34.335-05:00Hilarious. I too find it funny all the little sill...Hilarious. I too find it funny all the little silliness we occupy our times with in regards to our games. For me it is halflings, short, chubby, hairy footed and in no case ever do they look like midget elves. I open a rule book and see it either has no halflings (the horror!!!!) or has some twisted nonsense (such as primitive cannibal halflings) and I am done with the book.matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04998881232495777586noreply@blogger.com