CAGD 270 - Simple DnD Map v1

Simple DnD Map v1

On Tuesday February 6th, Ben Ward (Mage) and Hunter L-E (Ranger) playtested my Dungeons and Dragons map. I had not played DnD very much beforehand, and I have never made a map before. For my playtesters, my level was not much of a lesson in DnD. Hunter regularly plays DnD outside of school, and this is the second time Ben has taken this course.

The complete map. Notice the multiple paths. '!' and '?' are enemies, and the star is the boss.

What Went Right

Since the rules of the game were simplified for this assignment, I did not have much trouble making the board. I made sure to include different paths the players could go through. If you went the route to the left, there are a lot of pitfalls, which makes it more advantageous for more magic-oriented characters.

The boss was well balanced, given the rules. While fighting, the dragon initially had the advantage, and brought Ben’s health to zero. Once he was revived, they were able to defeat it. (I did choose for the dragon to skip a turn, and also focus on the person with highest health, but it seemed like it made for a good experience).

What Went Wrong

The tiny graph paper grid was an issue. I made it so 4 squares made 1 unit of space. I thought the pieces the players brought in would be smaller, but they were much larger than the units I made. Counting the spaces was difficult, so Hunter and Ben just moved as they pleased. This did not hinder gameplay, but next time I do plan on making the grid larger and more clear. I will most likely buy a DnD grid.

The enemies were weak. The boss was well-balanced, but every time the players attacked any other enemy it died immediately. None of the enemies were ranged, so none of them had a chance to attack the players. This made the pre-boss gameplay not much of a challenge. The players did mention they liked the even distribution of enemies, which made each room a little interesting. While this map was meant to be a tutorial, there could have been more of a challenge.

The jumping mechanic was not clear in the rulesheet, so players were unsure whether or not they made a jump. Either way, if players did not make the jump roll, they could easily roll again the next turn-- and again, until they make the jump.

The main path to reach the finish was perhaps too obvious, since I was not hiding the exit. Also, there is not much of a purpose to explore the left side of the map. The only reason they did the first time around is because they do not know what is there. This means, if players played the map again they would know to ignore the longer route.

A picture of the map completely covered.

How I Could Improve My Map

I could have added a couple of different game objects, like weak/strong locked doors, keys, and treasure chests. Furthermore, I could make use of walls more during fights. Hunter had pillars in one room, which served as a shield against ranged enemies. I thought it would be a good idea. For example, I noticed that ranged characters were very strong against my enemies. Adding a wall could allow the enemies to seek shelter behind the walls, forcing the players to move closer. Adding these things to the level could make exploring areas meaningful and enemies more challenging.

The game did not take much time to complete. It might have taken ten minutes. (I was not keeping track). Compared to Hunter’s and Ben’s levels, mine was the shortest. This tells me I could have added more content to level.