D&D Maps
September 29, 2021
Simple DnD Map v3 Feedback
Who played my map (Chosen Classes)
Emily Vadney (Ranger),
Tucker Holmes (Warrior)
What went right?
On my level I had various mechanics the players had to adjust to. I designed my level after a Panopticon and had the perimeter of the level lined with jail cells. The players were able to understand that they could enter and leave the jail cells at ease. I also added a mechanic that the players would have to avoid the gaze of the Warden. All of the cells were numbered and at the end of the player turn the gaze would move the next three cells in view. The players were able to understand and navigate all the additional mechanics to the level with ease.
What went wrong?
While the players were able to understand and use the new mechanics effectively the players played the level in ways I didn’t expect. I was using the gaze of the Warden as a means to control the movement of the players. I started the gaze of the Warden at the opposite side of the map to give players a chance to understand how it moves across the map. Starting the gaze at the bottom of the map did allow the players to understand how it moves across the map but because it was so far away the players didn’t feel the pressure from it and split their party to explore.
I also added a guard station with a guard with it’s back turned to the door. My idea was that as the guard station is the first thing the players would see they would investigate the room and learn about checkpoints and pick up some items. But the players decided to explore the map without entering any of the guard stations. The guard stations were also critical to the map completion because each guard station had a button that would allow the players to reach the Warden in the center of the map and fight him. So because the players were avoiding the guard stations they would not have been able to complete the map.
I also found that the scale of the map may have been too big, allowing for the players to wander and complete their turns without interacting with the guard stations or the prison cells. The players did enter some of the prison cells but managed to enter only cells that were empty. I filled a majority of the cells but with my random distribution of prisoners some cells were left empty so the player wouldn’t be overcome with enemies. The size of the map also caused the players to spend most of the playthrough just exploring and not interacting with any of the events I’d scattered around the map.
How will I improve my map?
The first thing I would improve on my map would be to scale down the size of the map. Scaling down the size of the map would help to cut back on the time required to complete the map. Reducing the map scale would also allow for the players to explore the entire level quicker so they can make choices on how best to complete the level. I would bring the prison cells closer to the Warden’s tower so that the gaze of the Warden would cause more pressure on the players. Bringing the prisoners' cells closer and starting the Warden’s gaze closer to the player start point would force them to hide in prison cells sooner which would cause the player to engage in battles earlier on. Next I would start the game by explaining that the objective is activate the switches in guard stations to beat the Warden. I would also start the Warden’s gaze closer to the players to better control the direction of movement of the players. While the players were unable to complete my map the feedback from observing how they approached the map is valuable for further iterations.
September 22, 2021
Travis Wilson (Warrior, Mage) What went right?
After my initial playtest I focused on balancing the map and changing the layout. Making both changes vastly improved my map. I changed the boss room from the right side of my map to a more central area for the player. While playtesting my player chose to go a different direction than he did during the previous playthrough. After finding the boss they said they enjoyed the changes to the position of the boss room. The boss room move made more sense to the player and was easier for them to find than their initial playtest. I also lowered the amount of mobs around the map to better balance the difficulty of the map. My player did lose while playing this iteration of the map but did say that overall they felt it was better balanced than their previous playthrough. The strength of the goblins overall I felt was balanced during the first playthrough so I didn’t change any of the stats of the goblins with the exception of the boss. On the boss mob I added one point to its defense stat. I wanted the boss to feel more like a boss and less like the mobs around the map but with more health. Making this minor change to the boss did achieve the effect of making it feel different and stronger than the other mobs around the map. The final change I made to the map was to add hazards to the different paths. I added some grey squares that represent a crevice in the floor. I added crevices on both routes of the path that the player would have to overcome. I felt adding crevices would utilize the jump or float mechanic and better introduce the player to all techniques available to them. My player tester also felt that adding the crevice made the map more thematic than it was previously. What went wrong? The only aspect of my map design I felt went wrong was grouping three goblins together right before the boss. I want a build up in difficulty right before the boss so I added more mobs as if they were guarding the boss. But when the player arrives they end up fighting more mobs than they have previously while exploring the map. I balanced the map so the player fights either 2v1 or has one enemy per hero. Keeping the mob count in the favor of the player helps the player to progress through the map successfully. When the player approaches the boss room it's the first time the player is at a number disadvantage. The player was able to overcome this disadvantage but they lost one of their characters during this fight which ultimately lost them the map overall. While the player had a fifty fifty chance of winning or losing at the end I do feel that the loss of their character led to them losing the map. How will I improve my map? I’m very pleased with the design of my pathing and the balance of the mobs in the map. Going forward I will be adjusting the mobs guarding the boss room so the player isn’t at a number disadvantage before fighting the boss. I would also like to add more details to the map to give it a better atmosphere and theme. I added some dead bodies around the map to give the player a sense that others have tried and failed to overcome the goblins. But other than the crevice in the ground there's very little to indicate that the map is a cave. I’m going to add some rocks and give the map some roughness to help convey the feeling of being set in a cave.
September 15, 2021
Simple DnD Map v1 Feedback
Who played my map (Chosen Classes)
Travis Wilson (Ranger, Rogue)
What went right?
The player was able to successfully traverse my DnD map and defeat the boss. The goblin enemies the player encountered they were able to successfully defeat. The dungeon map I designed has branching pathways both leading toward the dungeon boss. Initially the player split their party to explore the map. But as they progressed and encountered enemies they realized the monsters were too difficult to defeat with one character alone. After realizing how strong the monsters were they quickly regrouped their party and continued their way through the dungeon. I placed short branching pathways with an enemy at the end to allow the player to explore more than just the main path. Creating these short ending paths help give the map a more organic feel instead of a path the player is pushed along.
The main focus of my DnD map was to allow the player to become acclimated with the combat system. There were numerous enemies around the map but never so many players would be overwhelmed. Initially the player began attacking enemies by using one character to attack an enemy while using the other to attack another enemy. While this approach did work they were progressing very slowly. The player then decided to take advantage of the Ranger’s ranged attack while using the Rogue to block the progress of the enemy. Once the player switched tactics and utilized their character classes they were able to progress at a much faster pace.
What went wrong?
The enemies were a bit too strong. The player was able to beat the enemies but they had to utilize the advantages of their characters to do so. If the player would have continued attacking enemies with one of their characters at a time they may have died. I also didn’t anticipate the player would split their party early into the dungeon. I designed the dungeon so that the player would have options of which way to go that would ultimately end in the boss room. I created this dungeon design with the expectation that the player would choose one path or the other to progress. I didn’t expect them to choose both paths. As the player chose both paths to progress the difficult enemies became a benefit. The player quickly grouped their characters to overcome the difficulty of the enemies in the dungeon.
Striking a balance in which the progression for the player wasn’t too easy but also not too hard was difficult. The enemies throughout my dungeon were challenging to overcome which made the boss monster feel a bit too weak. The player struggled with the enemies around the dungeon because of the quantity of them. But as the player approached the boss I’d placed it alone. The player was able to overcome the boss with very little difficulty. Also while the location of the boss room was at the end of both paths there was asymmetry in the location of the boss room. The earlier short offshoots of the dungeon path prevented the player from checking the offshoot that was the boss room. Once they discovered the offshoot for the boss room they decided to choose the path that led them back to the beginning of the map. The player was able to find the boss room but they explored most of the dungeon before finding it.
How will I improve my map?
Going forward I will add more mechanics the player can utilize to complete the dungeon. I would like to add a chasm so the player will either have to jump over it or use some magic. Using other mechanics will vary the gameplay so the player isn’t only fighting monsters over and over. I’ll also add more symmetry to the location of the boss room. The paths of the dungeon I’ll keep asymmetrical but the path leading to the boss room will be at the middle point of both paths. I’ll also open the play space on the map to make it more apparent that there is something different leading to the boss location. The enemies need to be rebalanced. I need to make the enemies on the way to the boss not so difficult they make the boss seem easy. But I’ll also need to increase the difficulty of the boss so it seems like a challenge in comparison to the enemies along the way.
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