tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post7596241086242648456..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: Wilderness GritAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-41821365407551557992015-12-19T16:10:59.706-07:002015-12-19T16:10:59.706-07:00"I feel intrinsically that the wilderness sho...<i>"I feel intrinsically that the wilderness should be </i>different<i>..."</i><br /><br />It should feel different, but only insofar as keeping <i>the dungeon</i> special, right? Overland travel only differs in how far out those thick, comforting black lines are, doesn't it? The travelling sphere for a party seems infinite in overland travel, but even if the party can see miles across a valley, it's still just a room with stuff in it, described and interacted with to varying degrees depending on the DM's and the party's interest at the exact time they all intersect. There's a reason that dungeon play happened first, and happens first, generally: everyone has to prove to themselves that they can handle a limited amount of material <i>within</i> the lines before they're made to vanish past the horizon. <br /><br /><i>"...a mystery of what the dungeon represents and who (or what) is at the heart of it. The wilderness has to include that same reasoning"</i><br /><br />I think this exact statement supports my point that the overland is just a very large, (hopefully) detailed set of rooms. To get to your point, though, there would be a degree of universality to signs of game and signs of game trails, allowing for Sage abilities or whatnot for tracking, but the details (camp sigils meaning 'big brutes that way', etc) might be obscured or revealed by cultural factors ("All the desert folk seem to use this symbol for 'trading post'", etc).Mujadaddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07698839746240695386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-15097401213575435142015-12-19T01:20:44.056-07:002015-12-19T01:20:44.056-07:00Hi Alexis,
I like your direction for this. The wil...Hi Alexis,<br />I like your direction for this. The wilderness should be a substancially different subgame structure from the dungeon rather than just reskinning it. Online it seems that the dungeon crawl structure has been reused for social adventures, mystery solving, point crawl.<br /><br />How the wilderness is interesting and difficult depends on what the PCs want from it.<br /><br />Would the gameplay be defined specifically by player goals? A Dungeon crawl is usually explore & room clearance with simple goals of treasure search and monster/trap neutralising/avoiding. What would it be for wilderness?<br /><br /> To find water, shelter, food for survival. Find a place (a path for an army to advance or bandit stronghold) or a thing (resources for exploitation), find someone or hide/escape. To get through it as fast, discreetly, safely as posible. To acclimatise or learn how to live in that environment. To hunt/trap to earn cash. To establish contact/trust with a group for trade, information or alliance.<br /><br />Each of these seem to require a really different structure and approach.<br />Looking forward to see how you tackle this.<br />K<br />kimbohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12961382206655820923noreply@blogger.com