I highly recommend when designing your dungeons that you use a specific monster exp budget. This could be the DMG recommendation (the daily cap for X players of Y level) or some other number that works better for you. Traps and other hazards can count towards this budget too depending on how dangerous they are.
This gives your dungeon consistency and balance to appropriately challenge your group.
HOWEVER. What if the players level up since you designed your dungeon? Or added a player? Now your dungeon might be too easy. Instead of going back and changing a bunch of stuff to make it harder and rewriting the documents for it, just slap a few global modifiers on it.
What the modifiers do is give the dungeon some sort of blanket property that makes it more challenging. No need to change around your dungeon.
So what might these modifiers look like? The two most basic ones are “Deadlier monsters” and “tougher monsters”
deadlier monsters: all monsters gain +2 to hit and all save DCs, and 25% more damage
tougher monsters: all monsters gain +2 AC and saving throws and +25% health.
These are the two that I would consider first, but afterwards you could do things like:
Resistive monsters: all monsters gain “X” legendary resistance charges.
Dungeon lair: at each initiative, the dungeon gets a set of lair actions on count 20.
Legendary actions: all monsters gain a set of legendary actions with “X” charges.
Magic suppression: Attunement limit drops to 2 and non attunement magic items cease to function (magically).
Miasma: Player gain “X” exhausting levels upon entering.
Sinister: long resting is impossible and gain half HP after short rest.
Hyper traps: traps deal extra damage and add more to the dungeon.
I like the idea of making monsters Deadlier or Tougher. That's a good idea. I can't say I care for any of the others.
Nothing with the word "Legendary" should be found under Tier 4. If you're already there, the monsters that need them already have them.
For Dungeon Lair, just what kind of actions? Legendary ones?
Magic Suppression is simply unfair and possibly cruel, players are limited quite enough by the Attunement rules.
Miasma, is horrible. The rules about exhaustion are quite brutal.
Sinister is overly so, Long rests are hard enough to get as is, and hit points hard enough to recover as well.
Hyper Traps begs the question of what traps are for. They are supposed to be a nuisance for the most part, just things to slow the players down.
To add to your list, how about using the Vision and Lighting rules? Do all of your player's characters have Darkvision? While there are no rules for this that I know, a light in the darkness can be seen from quite a way away, and that's a good excuse for monsters to start making Passive Perception checks. Enforce the Encumbrance rules, and hand out treasure galore in the form of precious metals, that's a kind of trap if you are looking for more traps to use. Use the rules for movement and make someone have to swim, climb, or fly.
Your traditional Dungeon is supposed to be dark, and dank, the smell of decay emanates from the walls, you can't see anything clearly, the wet walls and floors make thing slippery, and you stumble as you enter the Dungeon. Does that sound familiar to you? I think that's every bit as much a stereotypical description of a dungeon as having all the player characters meet up in a Tavern is so stereotypical. All you need is to enforce the existing rules, and maybe add Deadlier or Tougher monsters.
I'm on the fence about the idea of modifying your encounters to challenge a recently leveled party or one that has suddenly found a sidekick to help them out, or better still, another actual player at the table. On one side it sounds a bit like "punishing" them for becoming better at their craft or using available resources. On the other, I do see the need for providing level appropriate challenges for your players to interact with. Guess the biggest difference would hinge upon how or why this is being considered. Did the party intentionally hold off on seeking out this opportunity so they might be better capable, or is this just a symptom of them not getting to the previously prepared content that was maybe intended for them sooner in the campaign? Just my 2cp.
The first two modifications I use on a frequent basis. I find it useful to be able to tweak an encounter on the fly if it is looking like a cakewalk, or if it feels like we're headed for a TPK that wasn't telegraphed or wasn't intended to be as challenging as the dice let it be. Generally I'll only tweak the encounters by adding/removing 1-3 base monsters, or min/max monster hp as needed. On the rare occasion that I want a monsters to seem very brutal or deadly, I'll add one additional damage dice to their attack stats and maybe lower their overall hp. These also help with the tendency for some players to metagame as the stat blocks are more fluid and not the bog standard kit.
The remainder, I don't think would be well received unless agreed upon during a session 0, or other group consensus. They are rather brutal and restrictive, but could be well received in the right setting. I think that they would be great additions to a funhouse dungeon, or maybe a grindhouse or hardcore campaign. One where life is short, and cheap. They are reminiscent of Grimtooth's, specifically the idea of the Hypertrap. I would not recommend surprising your players with these unless there were a one-off reset mechanic when the party wipe happens and everyone rubber-bands back to the outside entrance of the dungeon complex just as they were before the premonition happened.
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“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
I like the idea of making monsters Deadlier or Tougher. That's a good idea. I can't say I care for any of the others.
Nothing with the word "Legendary" should be found under Tier 4. If you're already there, the monsters that need them already have them.
For Dungeon Lair, just what kind of actions? Legendary ones?
Magic Suppression is simply unfair and possibly cruel, players are limited quite enough by the Attunement rules.
Miasma, is horrible. The rules about exhaustion are quite brutal.
Sinister is overly so, Long rests are hard enough to get as is, and hit points hard enough to recover as well.
Hyper Traps begs the question of what traps are for. They are supposed to be a nuisance for the most part, just things to slow the players down.
To add to your list, how about using the Vision and Lighting rules? Do all of your player's characters have Darkvision? While there are no rules for this that I know, a light in the darkness can be seen from quite a way away, and that's a good excuse for monsters to start making Passive Perception checks. Enforce the Encumbrance rules, and hand out treasure galore in the form of precious metals, that's a kind of trap if you are looking for more traps to use. Use the rules for movement and make someone have to swim, climb, or fly.
Your traditional Dungeon is supposed to be dark, and dank, the smell of decay emanates from the walls, you can't see anything clearly, the wet walls and floors make thing slippery, and you stumble as you enter the Dungeon. Does that sound familiar to you? I think that's every bit as much a stereotypical description of a dungeon as having all the player characters meet up in a Tavern is so stereotypical. All you need is to enforce the existing rules, and maybe add Deadlier or Tougher monsters.
Hi Geann!
So, I'm glad you like the deadlier and tougher monsters. Those are the two I usually end up putting on, or one or the other. Only if the players badly out level the dungeon would I have one of those other ones on (along with deadlier/tougher).
Oh, and YES! I do everything you described. I run games on roll20 and use the dynamic lighting so the players only ever even see the dungeon through the lenses of RAW darkvison/light/etc. The dungeons are dank and dangerous like you said and the monsters are always sneaking in the dark and fighting tactically.
Hey Kaavel, I completely agree with you man. If the Players went and leveled up just to do this, I wouldn't use a modifier. But if I'm am just dusting off a dungeon I have made at some point, to throw at the players, If the dungeon is too low a level you can just bump it up with modifiers and run it the same way.
Don't need to change your documents.... (whole point of this thread)
I highly recommend when designing your dungeons that you use a specific monster exp budget. This could be the DMG recommendation (the daily cap for X players of Y level) or some other number that works better for you. Traps and other hazards can count towards this budget too depending on how dangerous they are.
This gives your dungeon consistency and balance to appropriately challenge your group.
HOWEVER. What if the players level up since you designed your dungeon? Or added a player? Now your dungeon might be too easy. Instead of going back and changing a bunch of stuff to make it harder and rewriting the documents for it, just slap a few global modifiers on it.
What the modifiers do is give the dungeon some sort of blanket property that makes it more challenging. No need to change around your dungeon.
So what might these modifiers look like? The two most basic ones are “Deadlier monsters” and “tougher monsters”
deadlier monsters: all monsters gain +2 to hit and all save DCs, and 25% more damage
tougher monsters: all monsters gain +2 AC and saving throws and +25% health.
These are the two that I would consider first, but afterwards you could do things like:
Resistive monsters: all monsters gain “X” legendary resistance charges.
Dungeon lair: at each initiative, the dungeon gets a set of lair actions on count 20.
Legendary actions: all monsters gain a set of legendary actions with “X” charges.
Magic suppression: Attunement limit drops to 2 and non attunement magic items cease to function (magically).
Miasma: Player gain “X” exhausting levels upon entering.
Sinister: long resting is impossible and gain half HP after short rest.
Hyper traps: traps deal extra damage and add more to the dungeon.
Just a few ideas there!
I like the idea of making monsters Deadlier or Tougher. That's a good idea. I can't say I care for any of the others.
To add to your list, how about using the Vision and Lighting rules? Do all of your player's characters have Darkvision? While there are no rules for this that I know, a light in the darkness can be seen from quite a way away, and that's a good excuse for monsters to start making Passive Perception checks. Enforce the Encumbrance rules, and hand out treasure galore in the form of precious metals, that's a kind of trap if you are looking for more traps to use. Use the rules for movement and make someone have to swim, climb, or fly.
Your traditional Dungeon is supposed to be dark, and dank, the smell of decay emanates from the walls, you can't see anything clearly, the wet walls and floors make thing slippery, and you stumble as you enter the Dungeon. Does that sound familiar to you? I think that's every bit as much a stereotypical description of a dungeon as having all the player characters meet up in a Tavern is so stereotypical. All you need is to enforce the existing rules, and maybe add Deadlier or Tougher monsters.
<Insert clever signature here>
I'm on the fence about the idea of modifying your encounters to challenge a recently leveled party or one that has suddenly found a sidekick to help them out, or better still, another actual player at the table. On one side it sounds a bit like "punishing" them for becoming better at their craft or using available resources. On the other, I do see the need for providing level appropriate challenges for your players to interact with. Guess the biggest difference would hinge upon how or why this is being considered. Did the party intentionally hold off on seeking out this opportunity so they might be better capable, or is this just a symptom of them not getting to the previously prepared content that was maybe intended for them sooner in the campaign? Just my 2cp.
The first two modifications I use on a frequent basis. I find it useful to be able to tweak an encounter on the fly if it is looking like a cakewalk, or if it feels like we're headed for a TPK that wasn't telegraphed or wasn't intended to be as challenging as the dice let it be. Generally I'll only tweak the encounters by adding/removing 1-3 base monsters, or min/max monster hp as needed. On the rare occasion that I want a monsters to seem very brutal or deadly, I'll add one additional damage dice to their attack stats and maybe lower their overall hp. These also help with the tendency for some players to metagame as the stat blocks are more fluid and not the bog standard kit.
The remainder, I don't think would be well received unless agreed upon during a session 0, or other group consensus. They are rather brutal and restrictive, but could be well received in the right setting. I think that they would be great additions to a funhouse dungeon, or maybe a grindhouse or hardcore campaign. One where life is short, and cheap. They are reminiscent of Grimtooth's, specifically the idea of the Hypertrap. I would not recommend surprising your players with these unless there were a one-off reset mechanic when the party wipe happens and everyone rubber-bands back to the outside entrance of the dungeon complex just as they were before the premonition happened.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
Hi Geann!
So, I'm glad you like the deadlier and tougher monsters. Those are the two I usually end up putting on, or one or the other. Only if the players badly out level the dungeon would I have one of those other ones on (along with deadlier/tougher).
Oh, and YES! I do everything you described. I run games on roll20 and use the dynamic lighting so the players only ever even see the dungeon through the lenses of RAW darkvison/light/etc. The dungeons are dank and dangerous like you said and the monsters are always sneaking in the dark and fighting tactically.
Hey Kaavel, I completely agree with you man. If the Players went and leveled up just to do this, I wouldn't use a modifier. But if I'm am just dusting off a dungeon I have made at some point, to throw at the players, If the dungeon is too low a level you can just bump it up with modifiers and run it the same way.
Don't need to change your documents.... (whole point of this thread)