Underdark Dungeon Design
Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2022 2:11 pm
I recently rolled up an Underdarker with a goal to do each and every writ and comb through every dungeon I could find, just to see what all was out there.
I haven't quite finished that goal, but my god am I impressed. I can see why when I rolled up my first UDer that I was advised to stick primarily to grind loops for leveling speed, but when speed isn't a concern, the dungeons are just plain cool. I love the little fixtures and little pop-up messages that provide emergent storytelling; I feel like I understand why these people are choosing to hole up in these weird locations. I love the behavior of the NPC enemies and their scripted lines. And I can't state enough how much I love the boss on the top level of the Slaver's Tower (I won't say why, because it was so awesome to discover it in the moment, but it's a beautiful use of mechanics for the benefit of story).
I know the majority of this content is old news to people, and probably a lot of the creators are no longer on the Arelith dev team, but I still wanted to say something. A lot of thoughtful work went into it all, and it shows.
I haven't quite finished that goal, but my god am I impressed. I can see why when I rolled up my first UDer that I was advised to stick primarily to grind loops for leveling speed, but when speed isn't a concern, the dungeons are just plain cool. I love the little fixtures and little pop-up messages that provide emergent storytelling; I feel like I understand why these people are choosing to hole up in these weird locations. I love the behavior of the NPC enemies and their scripted lines. And I can't state enough how much I love the boss on the top level of the Slaver's Tower (I won't say why, because it was so awesome to discover it in the moment, but it's a beautiful use of mechanics for the benefit of story).
I know the majority of this content is old news to people, and probably a lot of the creators are no longer on the Arelith dev team, but I still wanted to say something. A lot of thoughtful work went into it all, and it shows.