4 ms·
I've recently gotten back into first edition D&D (AD&D) and had overlooked for years that there's a whole dungeon generation "algorithm" in the back of the book
by tunesmith 5y ago
I've recently gotten back into first edition D&D (AD&D) and had overlooked for years that there's a whole dungeon generation "algorithm" in the back of the book. I've started to use it to play "solitaire", which I've learned is a fairly popular thing to do for old DMs that enjoy practicing their DM skills (you roll up your own group and pretend they're making their own choices). What's fun about it is that the dungeons it generates are crazy. Diagonal passageways, varying passage widths, stairways that might go down multiple levels and then come back up, rooms that are only accessible by traveling to other levels temporarily, etc.
The other thing that is interesting is that the order of generation is based off the party's choice of what door/passage to explore next, so it's very much intended to be generated during actual play.
I've thought more than once it would be fun to work up a tool to generate that dungeon on demand, to just press a button each time a choice is made and then watch it animate.
- lakkal 5y agoI used to DM games sometimes using those random charts from the AD&D DM Guide. It was a lot of fun. The players (who knew what I was doing) always tried to figure out the purpose of the labyrinth based on what what developed.
- cableshaft 5y agoYou might be interested in "Four Against the Darkness". It's a solo pen and paper dungeon crawler with dungeon generation. You just need to get a couple of paperbacks to play. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/197097/four-against-darkness https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/197097/four-against-dark...
- HelloNurse 5y agoThe exact title is "Four against Darkness" (usual abbreviation "4AD"). Highly recommended.
- tunesmith 5y agoWow. That looks wildly inventive. I'm more interested in the DMG version just to practice my DM skills, but I totally understand the appeal.