tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post8108508906794342017..comments2024-03-25T21:52:03.310-05:00Comments on Hill Cantons: Designing UndercitiesChris Kutalikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01414743509426875792noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-52591475026885677552012-05-30T10:42:24.354-05:002012-05-30T10:42:24.354-05:00Well I was imprecise "doing it right" is...Well I was imprecise "doing it right" is not meant to be "doing it correctly" (whatever that may be), but "doing it in a interesting and satisfying fashion".Chris Kutalikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01414743509426875792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-15402320515261090852012-05-30T03:01:37.574-05:002012-05-30T03:01:37.574-05:00For a minute there I thought you were telling us t...For a minute there I thought you were telling us that space elves and serpent women were part of the deep background of the Hill Cantons...?<br /><br />I like what you're doing here but my melodramatist's brain wants to reverse the whole process. Why do you want undercities in your game - what do they do for you? Are they deniable underworlds - sub rosa connections for criminals/grey markets/subconscious desires and urges which the surface can't live with or without? Are they completely secret, honeycombs in the foundation of reality? Are they sealed Tutankhamen's Tombs waiting for the PCs to open? Doors into the dungeon dimensions?<br />In every one of these cases I would rather use the Lost writers' method and discover them together with the players as we drill down. About the only time I would want to start at genesis is if the whole city, upper and under, is a giant balkanized Jacquays dungeon.richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13517340075234811323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-11780587115803072822012-05-30T01:20:32.133-05:002012-05-30T01:20:32.133-05:00I live near a city which has an undercity that can...I live near a city which has an undercity that can be explored (and there are guided tours, of course). It does happen that the streets are raised on occasion, but only in particular circumstances (in Seattle, because of frequent flooding).<br /><br />This post is timely for me, as the home city of the campaign setting on which I am working is one that has layers of ancient cities underneath. I haven't yet worked out who built the lowest layers, but those look like some intriguing inspirations.faoladhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03691952430041394614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-85125796341757863012012-05-29T21:09:26.476-05:002012-05-29T21:09:26.476-05:00"miles and miles of “empty space”"
I..."miles and miles of “empty space”"<br /><br />I'm sure this is where you are going with point crawl. But, one way to tackle this (both in how can I possibly start and how can I possibly finish) is to map areas, locations, centerpieces. Linked together via hand waves. Add a set of "random locations" for the long boring stretches and when players go where they shouldn't (i.e. places you haven't mapped yet.<br /><br />Dumping "Doing it right", is the first step in Hex/Dungeon/etc crawl.Norman J. Harman Jr.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01319655075997712313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-44072336622382365522012-05-29T16:02:27.407-05:002012-05-29T16:02:27.407-05:00"Were they displaced or did they just evolve ..."Were they displaced or did they just evolve historically?"<br /><br />I'd add for purposes of gaming--were they displaced at all or are they (or their descendants) still living in the undercity?<br /><br />A few more questions:<br /><br />How easy is the undercity to travel in? How much of it is exposed? How much of it does the average citizen know about? How easy is it to access? How many access points are there? How well preserved is it?John Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15768771014487413321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-26877935181668926062012-05-29T14:24:05.428-05:002012-05-29T14:24:05.428-05:00Exactly :)Exactly :)migellitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17106614212764056058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-9032485343168350572012-05-29T14:23:43.075-05:002012-05-29T14:23:43.075-05:00Those are awesome pics of Derinkuyu. I like all th...Those are awesome pics of Derinkuyu. I like all the multilevel balcony/gallery shots. That's exactly the sort of thing I tried to accomplish in my old Caves of Chaos re-work.migellitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17106614212764056058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-72541262434937894762012-05-29T13:07:40.521-05:002012-05-29T13:07:40.521-05:00Some inspiration.. http://www.slideshare.net/james...Some inspiration.. http://www.slideshare.net/jamesfurlo/underground-city-of-derinkuyu<br />Seems like (rightfully so) most are stone-cut cities; which are the only structures that would support that much weight on them for centuries.Peter Robbinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03528363130629385152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-87764538211964820012012-05-29T13:00:55.004-05:002012-05-29T13:00:55.004-05:00I was working on something like this in my Fenrecz...I was working on something like this in my Fenrecz campaign, where the titular city was built on top of old versions of itself, inspired by the Undergrounds of Seattle and Portland, among others.<br /><br />I'm curious to see where you go with the next post and I suspect it will be similar to what I came up with, where points of interest in the Warrens were separated by sections of convoluted tunnels/staircases/roads that essentially acted as wilderness areas, with places that needed to be mapped using Zak's neighborhood layout system from Vornheim (which wound up being a little more 2D than was called for; although it served its purpose). What I didn't implement was a system for getting lost.Thomas M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13248298143309606444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-79810195582079746132012-05-29T12:30:06.008-05:002012-05-29T12:30:06.008-05:00Where's the fun in that? It may take some fina...Where's the fun in that? It may take some finagling with imaginative reasons for why there is so much larger strata between, but I think it's mostly worth it for the dungeoneering feel.Chris Kutalikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01414743509426875792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-70196635900361873022012-05-29T12:28:01.533-05:002012-05-29T12:28:01.533-05:00Oucha, the longer the gap widens between when I st...Oucha, the longer the gap widens between when I stopped being a professional editor and my current lackadaisical state, the sloppier I seem to get. <br /><br />Yes, I've played How to Host a Dungeon. It has it's own metric though, one hardwired with its own setting assumptions (and mini-game). I was looking for something more freewheeling and specific to the kind of undercity I want to design.Chris Kutalikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01414743509426875792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-90129918034644168052012-05-29T12:13:18.014-05:002012-05-29T12:13:18.014-05:00Thanks Chris - this helps free my mind up a bit. I...Thanks Chris - this helps free my mind up a bit. I think I'm always a bit hampered in such endeavours by my archaeology background; realising that most such cases in our own world only have a few feet to show for each layer, as they are all basically smashed.migellitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17106614212764056058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1389986049507804094.post-89055198182502726982012-05-29T12:00:20.689-05:002012-05-29T12:00:20.689-05:00I hope you will take a look at Tony Dowler's &...I hope you will take a look at Tony Dowler's "How to Host a Dungeon" game. He addresses many of the same considerations.<br /><br />Also, in your second paragraph, I think you want "razed," not "raised." In ditlana, a city is not lifted up, it is torn down and rebuilt.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10885440226478178206noreply@blogger.com