Here's the map for level 1. The first handful rooms of the key are done - I'll probably need to post each dungeon level over the course of a couple of weeks.
I've also added a page in the navigation to keep various Harrow Home related posts organized.
I've also added a page in the navigation to keep various Harrow Home related posts organized.
It feels a bit linear, with few ways to move around... but perhaps that's intentional, in that i's supposed to be something of a "gatehouse" to the lower levels?
ReplyDeleteHarrow Home is structured as a series of mini lairs on each dungeon level, so even level 1 has 3 distinct areas - and you can see them in the upper left, upper right, and lower right quadrants. I'm confident the approach will work well in play.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, the intent for the upper levels is to provide a quick highway into the depths. I've found the utility of many ways to go up and down becomes far more important as the game progresses.
I think what Anders means is that there are almost no loops (only 1, actually) and this leads to a star shaped topology. This is not necessarily bad, and I see the point about lairs, but it is also nice to have a bit more connectivity as well. Maybe something like an undiscovered secret passage between a pair of the lairs, or some sort of meta-lair, like rat tunnels, would increase the complexity of the map and also provide adventurers with multiple approaches to any given lair.
ReplyDeleteIt also seems like there may only be one way down from the surface ruins, if I am reading the map correctly.
The main entrance from the surface is via the kitchen stairs to area 1. There's another entrance from the gatehouse to room 23, and a "secret" escape tunnel leading into area 32 (deep in the bandit lair).
ReplyDeleteThere are two other entrances from the surface - a well-shaft which bypasses the first level entirely, and a deep hole by the standing stones that leads far into the depths. I have a soft spot for letting first level guys descend to the 7th level of the dungeon.
The star schema analogy is perfect - that's very much how Harrow Home is going to appear. Most of the inter-connectivity between lairs (and the resulting alliances and conflicts) is vertical, not horizontal.