Building a Dungeon Topic
 

So I'm using the adventure location topic category. Does anyone have any suggestions or experience adding dungeon rooms as snippets?

Specifically, how do you handle numbering and sectioning?

I created a dungeon topic which I uses as both the overall dungeon and for each level.

I handle numbering by giving each dungeon a unique ID "RA" for Rappan Athuk, and then then is the level number being at least 2 digits for dungeons 10-99 levels deep.

So RA-03 would be level three of Rappan Athuk where as RA-03C would be alternate level three known as c.

Then I would use each room number on the map with that as a prefix.

Room 10 would be RA-03-10.

This is how I have done it and it works well.

I also add the room encounter to the level which is added to the dungeon, so I have a hierarchy of content as well.

Does this help you at all?

Yes, it does. Thanks!

Do you use a separate snippet for each room or a section? Also, which snippet type do you use for the rooms?

Things have changed a lot from the early design of what I had done, but this is the topics I would use:

Series (Storyline)
- Adventure (Storyline)
-- Section (Storyline / Location)

Adventure Path example

Council of Thieves (Storyline)
- AP28 - Book 4: The Infernal Syndrome (Storyline)
-- AP28-2 - Part 2: Siege of the Folly (Storyline)
--- Ruined Building (Dungeon / Location)
---- Room # (Scene)
----- Jerusen (Individual)

Module example

Rappan Athuk (Storyline)
- Wilderness (Region: Geography)
-- Entrance 1 (Dungeon / Location)
-- Entrance 2 (Dungeon / Location)
-- Entrance 3 (Dungeon / Location)
--- Room # (Scene)
---- Special characters (Individual)

Is this any better :)

I am rebuilding some of my settings to match this as it made more sense than the origonal setup I had.

Each room location is a separate topic, not just a separate snippet. This allows you to put links onto your maps.

I use the maps as a primary driver for location based stories or adventures.

Wilderness, city or location

This is a perfect example, thanks so much!

And like taxboy and farling mentioned, if you have a map you can link the dungeon levels also via the map it will increase your chances of finding the right things.

With multi level dungeons, you can either have them all at the same level or chain them off the previous level by making it the parent topic.

I prefer the flat all dungeon levels are on the same level, but I understand why some would like to have them in a hierarchy.

And to top it off you can show how all the levels are connected via plots that you can add some extra notation to and works well as a high level map of the dungeon and or area.

Though plots are also great for showing the main choices for a storyline, plus planned encounters.

I've got a dungeon that is a series of rooms separated by corridors.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...pleDungeon.png

As you can see in this sample, room 3 is connected to room 1 by corridor B, and to room 4 by corridor D.

I'm thinking that topics for both rooms and corridors, but how to represent doors? Would snippets be best?

Say...

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...4-29202501.png

What'cha think?

For doors, why not just put the brief description in the flag that you can put onto the map?

I use the direct text of the map flags to show the difficulty to open locked doors.