Based on the type of game I've outlined previously, and the basic structure of a Soulsbourne game, our direction becomes apparent. A themed mini-dungeon.We'll call it a region, I guess. String enough of those together and you have a proper Souls adventure. But how do you build one of those basic units? What's in a good mini dungeon-delving adventure? How to capture the feel of exploring the shadows of Anor Londo, or summiting the monumental Castle Lothric and looking over the parapet to all the regions you have conquered so far? Hmm. We'll get there, but here are the basic ingredients (I argue) we should use to make our cake.
REGIONS:
When designing a region, tell the story of the boss. DS does this with the location itself, enemy encounters, items found there, and an NPC tied to each boss. We can do basically the same. Through that lens, the players will learn about the setting and also feel rewarded when they learn something that will help them in the final encounter.
Consider Aldritch, the Devourer of Gods in Dark Souls 3. He ate his own children and became so powerful that he was made a Lord of Cinder. He is tied, in part to the Cathedral of the Deep. Here are scenes that give us information there: chained giants wallowing in a pool of filth from eating sacrifices (fight), bloated priests of the deep keeping watch over their patron's now empty coffin (fight), a teddy bear which reveals where he's run off to now (item), and Anri of Astora (npc). Anri, with her partner Horace, once children of the horrific maneater reveal the disturbing tale and seek to slay the slug-like monstrosity.
2-3 encounters + Boss
I want a game that I can sit down and play in about 2 hours if necessary. In my experience encounters will take quite a lot longer than you expect. It's also few enough that I can create them quite quickly. Note that I do not mean fights, here. Maybe "scenes" is more appropriate per the discussion above. The players will inevitably turn a random box in a corner into a scene all on their own, but this is a good number to plan on ahead of time.
Now, some of these ought to be intended fights. This is a souls game. What do the monsters say about the setting or the boss? What mechanic should they foreshadow so the pl*yers have fair warning? I recommend putting a brand new enemy in isolation if it is particularly dangerous so the players get some practice, then scaling up from there. Try to avoid placing them randomly.
Why are there priests in the cathedral of the deep? What are they doing there? Why do they guard an empty coffin?
3+ bits of lore or clues about the boss
Aftermath of a battle, the flavor text of the boss, a warning left by a previous adventurer for those who come after. Include some information about who the boss is/was. Why are they here? What twisted them and took their humanity? Who were they before? What do they want? How do they tie to the setting at large? What faction is related to them? What fate do they want to avoid? Give clues and plenty of them. The boss is the main character of the region and all the flavor will come from them and their story. The story of the boss is the story of this location. What does the teddy bear say about the foul Aldritch?
1 rescuable NPC
The rescuable NPC is a key component of the unifying hub for these otherwise disparate game sessions. Imagine a Firelink Shrine that populates with NPCs you were there to rescue and a few that were befriended and helped by the other hapless souls wondering the Veil'd World. It gives a sense of unity to the players beyond we all happen to be dead.
It also can be a way to offer advancement to the PCs and put sources of knowledge around that they can interact with. Due to the fairly sparse lore, having a friendly face around to ask questions of is valuable and it will be fun talking to NPCs others found and getting their story.
Give the NPC:
- 1 area of knowledge due to a tragic past with that thing: They know about the boss in this region, the next region over, the larger setting component, a certain faction's history or current state
- 1 useful ability the PCs may be interested in: blacksmith, can teach sorceries of some kind, makes potions, will run off and find things for you, will come along as a hireling
- 1 thing they need before they will meet up with the PCs at the base: They are locked in a cage and need a key, they lost their armor, they won't leave without their loved one's wedding band, you must prove your worth to them, you must prove your humanity to them, they need to lay a husk to rest
PCs do not gain abilities in Through the Veil without finding items, spells, weapons that grant them. Managing inventory, preparing for the challenges ahead with limited item slots is going to be part of the fun, so we need to give PCs hard choices about what to bring along. That means cool stuff. Maybe several is a better number than 1+. As with everything, this is an opportunity to tell a bit of the story.
Items which contain a spell are valuable and the easiest to create. Roll a spell and put it on something semi-interesting. Books (spellbooks) are fair game, but looking up something old and interesting is better.
Also, a souls game required interesting weapons. Or flavorful themed magic items. Seriously, I'm giving you all my best GM secrets rn. And by GM secrets I mean links to other great blogs. I'll post some cool swords I'm working on soon as well.
1+ bit of findable lore
Put those lore sentences in the world, otherwise why did we write them? The uncovering of secrets is its own reward and a type of loot very underrepresented in most dungeons. This is in addition to the lore about the boss and this specific location. What can you learn about the world as a whole? Is there a bit of information here that will help in another region?
This could also take the form of a key or item which will help in another area. Link this area with the outside world. In general, the fewer clues you have, the more obvious they should be.
1+ extra passage or additional optional encounter
Something out of the way, potentially unrelated to the main theme of the dungeon. This ties the broader world together and is a good place for overlap between factions or to insert that one interesting encounter you didn't have a place for.
0+ other NPC (provide information about region, offer a quest, offer aid, become rival, merchant of sorts)
Someone to talk to is crucial, even in a combat-oriented game. Even well-designed and interesting combat becomes a slog if enough of it is strung together. Rather than a rescuable NPC who requires something from the PC and has some useful skills for the PCs, this can be more open-ended and be included on the fly to adjust pacing.
0+ cryptic message left by those who came before
One of the best parts of Soulsgames and a free opportunity to troll.
0+ openable persistent shortcut
This is particularly important in longer dungeons and in this TTRPG format. Repetition is much more acceptable in video games than TTRPGs. To address this, put a loop back to the beginning just before the boss, or nearby. Also, as players respawn after failure, change the encounters slightly. Swap out an enemy, change numbers, locations etc. The place is alive after all and we want to avoid a slog at high cost.
Mapping the Region:
I hate making my own maps. Here are options I recommend:
- Take a map from Trilemma Adventures and re-skin as needed
- Have ole' Don Jon do it for you. You only need 10 rooms tops, some of them empty.
- yep two recommendations I guess. You just need a smallish map with some crossing and random connections.
Then,
- Place major encounters/scenes including the boss. Preferably make the environment where fights may occur dynamic.
- To fill the rest of the minor spaces, make two lists. Locations (a shrine, sewer passage, ritual chamber, balcony, grand stair case) and the minor encounters (wandering enemies, npcs, scenes which tell a tale). As the PCs enter the next room, pick something off the location list and a minor encounter and boom, there's the room. This randomness will make the area fresh if parts need to be repeated, eases prep, and keeps you surprised.
more rooms than you need. 3 or 4 are good boss rooms.
OR
So while writing this I saw this post about designing dungeons in a circle. Doing so solves a ton of problems for the specific type of game this is! Take one of the following structures from this graphic copied from the linked post and put the bonfire at the start and boss at the goal. Add rooms and branches for the other encounters and you're done.
This is a great recipe! I'm excited to give it a try.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to hear how it goes!
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