So I'm running Dungeon of the Mad Mage and my party got lost in Level 2. Every session they go around in circles! I need some ideas to help my party through the dungeon level before my party gets too frustrated. I thank you for any advice given!
I also love d̶̡̼̥̻͙̣̼̿͂͐͘ę̴̢̨̛̼̙̤̻̞̠̗̳̝̦̹̹̦͍̉̏͛̽͠͠sţ̵̢̼̹̭̖͔͎̞̪͇͚̞̇̀̇̀̒͂̇̍͊̏ru̸̮̭̪̠͆̑̍́̈́̑̾̒̑̂̕ͅc̶̢̜͓̮̩͎͕̄́͑̃̈͋̈͌̑̽͠ͅͅţ̵̢̼̹̭̖͔͎̞̪͇͚̞̇̀̇̀̒͂̇̍͊̏io̵̪̭̞̗̝͙̝̬̥͕̒ͅn̸̨͖̳͓͍̜̬̗̪̜̪̗̺͆̏̆̊́̈́̿̎̅̈͠͝͝ in my campaigns! In other words, i'm an evil DM.
Maybe let them use survival checks to find a route or have them mark the walls with charcoal or chalk to know where they have been. Back in the old days, we also used to have one of the party use graph paper to map out things.
Maybe let them use survival checks to find a route or have them mark the walls with charcoal or chalk to know where they have been. Back in the old days, we also used to have one of the party use graph paper to map out things.
My party already tried mapping, but the party's navigator drew the map wrong so that's one of the main reasons they got lost in the first place! But marking the walls and floors doesn't seem to shabby.
I also love d̶̡̼̥̻͙̣̼̿͂͐͘ę̴̢̨̛̼̙̤̻̞̠̗̳̝̦̹̹̦͍̉̏͛̽͠͠sţ̵̢̼̹̭̖͔͎̞̪͇͚̞̇̀̇̀̒͂̇̍͊̏ru̸̮̭̪̠͆̑̍́̈́̑̾̒̑̂̕ͅc̶̢̜͓̮̩͎͕̄́͑̃̈͋̈͌̑̽͠ͅͅţ̵̢̼̹̭̖͔͎̞̪͇͚̞̇̀̇̀̒͂̇̍͊̏io̵̪̭̞̗̝͙̝̬̥͕̒ͅn̸̨͖̳͓͍̜̬̗̪̜̪̗̺͆̏̆̊́̈́̿̎̅̈͠͝͝ in my campaigns! In other words, i'm an evil DM.
Just because they fail a check doesn't mean they fail it so bad they get stuck in perpetuity eventually you can clearly tell them that their map is wrong even though the check was bad. Going in circle once or twice is already punishment enough for a failure. It's also sometimes important to tell players to make a check even if they dont ask to do a check. Lots of actions imply a check and in this case trying to get through a maze could imply some kind of investigation or looking for signs which would lead to a check passive or otherwise.
That said there are allot of things the players could do.
marking the corridor
double checking their map
investigating how they could have been lost for so long ( i.e they may surmise they've been travelling too long). This could even be a passive check.
Spotting something they've seen before. This could be a passive check.
I havent read this adventure yet but there is a rule in the DMG for Becoming Lost, it could be an idea to follow this course of action and put them on a path that lead elsewhere (roll for random one if multiple options) when they eventually suceed....
Meaning they could be wondering for hours or days if recurrent failed check would to happen (judgement call if they should roll with disadvantage) until they find a different path leading to usage of food and water as well as potential encounters...but the time spent (excluding new encounters) in real life would be minimal..
This would also open the door for players to roleplay being pissed at the PC navigator, not the player...
how jumpy is the party? would they react poorly to running across a meandering Xorn who, if i asked politely, might give directions or even point out the error in their map? perhaps the elemental creature had been mistaken for a rock as the party passed a few times and they decided perhaps they could use a clue in exchange for a bit of treasure.
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unhappy at the way in which we lost individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
tell them you don't like features disappeared quietly in the night: providefeedback!
You could offer them a talking carving. They come into the same corridor, and they hear someone say "You're lost, aren't you?", and have it mock them lightly but offer to tell them they way to go to get out, and perhaps sa "And whatever you do don't take the fifth door on the left in the right hand corridor or you'll end up going to the next floor down!, thus giving them the clue they need to get out of the loop.
If you can see their map, you can tell them what they've gotten wrong as well just by the time they've spent working on it wilst they're lost.
Even though it doesn't really make sense according to mythology, minotaurs are great at navigation. You could have them come across a minotaur who has been dwelling in the labrynth for a long time. He could easily point them the right way, maybe as payment for something like a fine china glass.
Even though it doesn't really make sense according to mythology, minotaurs are great at navigation. You could have them come across a minotaur who has been dwelling in the labrynth for a long time. He could easily point them the right way, maybe as payment for something like a fine china glass.
It could be allot of fun to make a deal with a demon to get out of a maze which leads to a player summoning or getting turned into a minotaur.
So I'm running Dungeon of the Mad Mage and my party got lost in Level 2. Every session they go around in circles! I need some ideas to help my party through the dungeon level before my party gets too frustrated. I thank you for any advice given!
I'm a bit confused as to how something like this might happen. It probably isn't fun for the DM or for the players. The DM is in charge of the game and the characters have skills like Survival that are intended to help resolve situations where they might be lost or searching for a trail.
Dungeon of the Mad Mage isn't so large that characters would be lost indefinitely. Even if a player drew a map wrong, one of the other characters would likely notice eventually that they had passed that particular junction of tunnels several times. In addition, even if the players don't think of it, the characters might mark walls as suggested above or they could just walk through the maze keeping their hand on the left wall - eventually, you will find a way out. All of these things are part of the survival skill that the characters have access to.
The only way a party gets lost in a dungeon is if the DM decides that is what they want to have happen. If you are having trouble with this, then you DECIDE that the party will find their way out, narrate that discovery and tell the player the error they eventually discovered in their map. The DM doesn't need to do anything more than that.
If everyone’s rolled poorly you could have them come across a map on a corpse that contradicts an early ‘mistake’ on your PCs map - this would help them realize they need a reset of sorts. I also like the ‘deal with a devil’ approach, or simply having them roll so badly on something they get lucky. For example, they roll bad and go down a certain route - its filled with traps etc but at the end it leads them to a passage that joins up with where they were trying to go. They take a lot of hits or effects but still get to where they need to in order to progress - after all, the route is trapped for a reason…
So I'm running Dungeon of the Mad Mage and my party got lost in Level 2. Every session they go around in circles! I need some ideas to help my party through the dungeon level before my party gets too frustrated. I thank you for any advice given!
So all my games are theater of the mind...
Unless the party ventures into a cave or maze. Then I upload it to Roll20, and fog of war areas they've not been in; but leave fog of war off if they explored an area.
I was recently in a game, where we got lost in the caves, ... and you could feel the players getting frustrated. Because we couldn't - as players - remember the way out, because it'd been two weeks (or more since we played) - however, our characters had only been in the cave for 30 minutes. So the disconnect between player and character was in this case, horrible.
So I'm running Dungeon of the Mad Mage and my party got lost in Level 2. Every session they go around in circles! I need some ideas to help my party through the dungeon level before my party gets too frustrated. I thank you for any advice given!
Monsters: Brathkal
Weapons: Sword of Ni , Bow of Ni
Spells: Zone of Ni
I also love d̶̡̼̥̻͙̣̼̿͂͐͘ę̴̢̨̛̼̙̤̻̞̠̗̳̝̦̹̹̦͍̉̏͛̽͠͠sţ̵̢̼̹̭̖͔͎̞̪͇͚̞̇̀̇̀̒͂̇̍͊̏ru̸̮̭̪̠͆̑̍́̈́̑̾̒̑̂̕ͅc̶̢̜͓̮̩͎͕̄́͑̃̈͋̈͌̑̽͠ͅͅţ̵̢̼̹̭̖͔͎̞̪͇͚̞̇̀̇̀̒͂̇̍͊̏io̵̪̭̞̗̝͙̝̬̥͕̒ͅn̸̨͖̳͓͍̜̬̗̪̜̪̗̺͆̏̆̊́̈́̿̎̅̈͠͝͝ in my campaigns! In other words, i'm an evil DM.
Maybe let them use survival checks to find a route or have them mark the walls with charcoal or chalk to know where they have been. Back in the old days, we also used to have one of the party use graph paper to map out things.
My party already tried mapping, but the party's navigator drew the map wrong so that's one of the main reasons they got lost in the first place! But marking the walls and floors doesn't seem to shabby.
Monsters: Brathkal
Weapons: Sword of Ni , Bow of Ni
Spells: Zone of Ni
I also love d̶̡̼̥̻͙̣̼̿͂͐͘ę̴̢̨̛̼̙̤̻̞̠̗̳̝̦̹̹̦͍̉̏͛̽͠͠sţ̵̢̼̹̭̖͔͎̞̪͇͚̞̇̀̇̀̒͂̇̍͊̏ru̸̮̭̪̠͆̑̍́̈́̑̾̒̑̂̕ͅc̶̢̜͓̮̩͎͕̄́͑̃̈͋̈͌̑̽͠ͅͅţ̵̢̼̹̭̖͔͎̞̪͇͚̞̇̀̇̀̒͂̇̍͊̏io̵̪̭̞̗̝͙̝̬̥͕̒ͅn̸̨͖̳͓͍̜̬̗̪̜̪̗̺͆̏̆̊́̈́̿̎̅̈͠͝͝ in my campaigns! In other words, i'm an evil DM.
Just because they fail a check doesn't mean they fail it so bad they get stuck in perpetuity eventually you can clearly tell them that their map is wrong even though the check was bad. Going in circle once or twice is already punishment enough for a failure. It's also sometimes important to tell players to make a check even if they dont ask to do a check. Lots of actions imply a check and in this case trying to get through a maze could imply some kind of investigation or looking for signs which would lead to a check passive or otherwise.
That said there are allot of things the players could do.
I havent read this adventure yet but there is a rule in the DMG for Becoming Lost, it could be an idea to follow this course of action and put them on a path that lead elsewhere (roll for random one if multiple options) when they eventually suceed....
Meaning they could be wondering for hours or days if recurrent failed check would to happen (judgement call if they should roll with disadvantage) until they find a different path leading to usage of food and water as well as potential encounters...but the time spent (excluding new encounters) in real life would be minimal..
This would also open the door for players to roleplay being pissed at the PC navigator, not the player...
how jumpy is the party? would they react poorly to running across a meandering Xorn who, if i asked politely, might give directions or even point out the error in their map? perhaps the elemental creature had been mistaken for a rock as the party passed a few times and they decided perhaps they could use a clue in exchange for a bit of treasure.
unhappy at the way in which we lost individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
tell them you don't like features disappeared quietly in the night: provide feedback!
You could offer them a talking carving. They come into the same corridor, and they hear someone say "You're lost, aren't you?", and have it mock them lightly but offer to tell them they way to go to get out, and perhaps sa "And whatever you do don't take the fifth door on the left in the right hand corridor or you'll end up going to the next floor down!, thus giving them the clue they need to get out of the loop.
If you can see their map, you can tell them what they've gotten wrong as well just by the time they've spent working on it wilst they're lost.
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Even though it doesn't really make sense according to mythology, minotaurs are great at navigation. You could have them come across a minotaur who has been dwelling in the labrynth for a long time. He could easily point them the right way, maybe as payment for something like a fine china glass.
It could be allot of fun to make a deal with a demon to get out of a maze which leads to a player summoning or getting turned into a minotaur.
I'm a bit confused as to how something like this might happen. It probably isn't fun for the DM or for the players. The DM is in charge of the game and the characters have skills like Survival that are intended to help resolve situations where they might be lost or searching for a trail.
Dungeon of the Mad Mage isn't so large that characters would be lost indefinitely. Even if a player drew a map wrong, one of the other characters would likely notice eventually that they had passed that particular junction of tunnels several times. In addition, even if the players don't think of it, the characters might mark walls as suggested above or they could just walk through the maze keeping their hand on the left wall - eventually, you will find a way out. All of these things are part of the survival skill that the characters have access to.
The only way a party gets lost in a dungeon is if the DM decides that is what they want to have happen. If you are having trouble with this, then you DECIDE that the party will find their way out, narrate that discovery and tell the player the error they eventually discovered in their map. The DM doesn't need to do anything more than that.
If everyone’s rolled poorly you could have them come across a map on a corpse that contradicts an early ‘mistake’ on your PCs map - this would help them realize they need a reset of sorts. I also like the ‘deal with a devil’ approach, or simply having them roll so badly on something they get lucky. For example, they roll bad and go down a certain route - its filled with traps etc but at the end it leads them to a passage that joins up with where they were trying to go. They take a lot of hits or effects but still get to where they need to in order to progress - after all, the route is trapped for a reason…
So all my games are theater of the mind...
Unless the party ventures into a cave or maze. Then I upload it to Roll20, and fog of war areas they've not been in; but leave fog of war off if they explored an area.
I was recently in a game, where we got lost in the caves, ... and you could feel the players getting frustrated. Because we couldn't - as players - remember the way out, because it'd been two weeks (or more since we played) - however, our characters had only been in the cave for 30 minutes. So the disconnect between player and character was in this case, horrible.
So I'd recommend Roll20. You can use it for free.
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