| Traps and Treachery, Dungeons, and Being a Fair DM |
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| Written by The Wizard | ||||||
| Monday, 29 May 2006 | ||||||
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I've been running a campaign for my group for the last month or so, primarily focused on big battle war stuff. Now that they're a little more familiar with my world and DM style (I don't normally DM the group), I've decided to branch out a bit more. The Kender's copy of Traps and Treachery has helped this immensely. In a couple hours of flipping through the book, and applying some of my own creativity, I'd thrown together a dungeon for the group to run around in, and they ended up having a blast with it. While it is more the Kender's place to write a proper review of this book, as it is his, there are a few things I'd like to say about it, and the use of dungeons in your game. 1) This isn't a book to let every player in your group read, at least not all of it. A DM must exercise caution about this, because much of the book details traps, puzzles, and riddles that lose their edge if one or more of the players already know about them. 2) Traps and Treachery describes a bunch of dungeon and general adventure content, but in designing a dungeon you still need to maintain your own style. The book doesn't tell you how to create an adventure so much as it gives you things to put in one. So, use your imagination for how the elements given in this book, as well as your own trap and puzzle ideas, might be connected to form a dangerous (but fun) playing experience. 3) Listen to your group. If they seem to enjoy thinking their way through problems, be sure to include some puzzles in your next dungeon. Or, if dodging traps and skulking past guards is more their style, then lay those things in their way. Don't pander completely to your group's whims, of course, or you might ruin the surprise and wonder of an unexpected adventure; instead, just be sure to keep their likes and dislikes in mind. 4) Above all, gaming is about fun. It is the job of the DM or GM to ensure everyone is having fun, though this can be a hard job. Mix up the contents of your dungeon to include elements that everyone can enjoy. If you have a player or two that don't like dungeons in general, but you feel it is necessary to have one, find a way to insert clues to the larger adventure to help make it feel connected to the world as a whole. Imagination is key!
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