Saturday, April 19, 2014

Up and Down

Traditionally dungeons have levels and as they go deeper and deeper into the ground they get get a higher numbered level. So if they go up do the levels still go up?

Maybe level up should be stories or floors just like in a building. Of course ypu gp that route and some folks are going to be afraid to walk up to the second floor when only 1st level.

What do you call the starting level of a dungeon that goes up and down?Entry level, 0-level, ground level ?
Each of those have some issues, a really big dungeon should have multiple entry points and they should allow one to bypass whoel levels from the outside so "Entry Level" might not be pleasing for all. 0-level is already taken for push-over normal men. Ground level really only works if the startign level is on the ground.

What's in a name and how can we have that mean something when going up or down?

7 comments:

  1. Castle Triskelion starts out at the Ground Level and the upper stories are first floor, second floor, etc. Down is either a sub-level ("Lower Level", "The Cellars", "The Sewers") or Dungeons Level 1, Dungeons Level 2, etc. ascending in number as you go deeper.

    http://castletriskelion.blogspot.com/

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  2. Floors in UK/USA differ in having ground floor then 1,2,3 etc or start by naming ground floor as 1 - so should dungeons do similar? Always 1st level is the first proper level but entry would be a gate house, crypt or temple on top not part of dungeon proper

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    1. Most U.S. buildings start on the 1st floor but every now and again you'll find one with a ground floor. To trip things up you'll find one with a mezzanine floor once in a while and the numbering may or may not be consecutive.

      Maybe a good name for an ntry level would be gateway or threshold ?

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  3. pretty nice blog, following :)

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  4. If I'm numbering a dungeon where you enter in the middle[1] how I do it varies.

    Most often I just accept that the entry is on 'level 4' or whatever and number from the end that makes more sense. It's not like I'm using it for anything but keeping track of what order the maps go in and which room descriptions apply.

    If, for some reason, I need a numbering system that the players are going to see: I use whatever makes sense for the structure and who/whatever built it.


    [1] As opposed to using descriptive terms. e.g. Down to the 'dungeon' then the 'catacombs' and finally 'the crypt of a strange man'.

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  5. Ground floor is first, and count up as you go up higher stories. First level under ground is B1 (basement 1) and the numbers become larger as you delve deeper; B2, B3, B4.

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    1. Or use the UK convention and set the ground floor/main entry level as Ground (or Entry level). Levels above that are upper levels U1, U2, U3... the levels below Ground (or Entry level) are B1, B2, B3...

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