Simple DnD Map

Feedback Summation & Response:

    For our project in level design, we've been tasked with creating a DnD introductory level through Roll20, a web-based platform for creating, hosting, and playing DnD sessions. For my tutorial level, I originally wanted a cyclical pattern, but immediately realized that a circulating level might not be the most cohesive for a tutorial area. I then attempted a natural-feeling cave with several rooms and corridors.

    After teaching my players- Angel Madueno (Ranger) and Magnus Marshall (Warrior)- how to use Roll20, it was time to begin. I soon realized that, as a regular user of Roll20, I was assuming far too much of their abilities in DnD. Things like ranged combat and multiple enemies would quickly overwhelm them, but despite the hardship, not once were both players incapacitated at the same time. First room was a key guarded by two skeletons. My players thankfully had the forethought to attack one each instead of ganging up on a single enemy. Though giving them the choice to do so would be nice for flexibility of gameplay, the players' base health is so low that literally even the weakest enemies could one-shot them. This fact poses a major hinderance on fostering any meaningful gameplay beyond picking off enemies one-by-one.

    The next room pit them against another skeletal swordsman at the same time as an archer. One player was incapacitated here due to a poor defense roll. This was expected to happen due to their low base health, so balancing wasn't much to blame in that instance. They then proceeded to the jump tutorial which went flawlessly and reportedly felt satisfying thanks to the lever objective acting like a reward rather than placing the pit in any normal hallway. 

    Moving forward, the players encountered their first tough enemy, a beefy archer with slightly higher stats. Between them laid a beartrap to further invite the use of ranged combat. As expected, they defeated the enemy while one of them was incapacitated in the process. Angel recommended flipping the first two archer encounters since they were incorrectly and unintentionally scaled backwards in difficulty. This change is apparent in the updated version as explained further along.

    After a short jaunt down a corridor, the players are met with a series of 3 labeled levers. Despite the fact the levers were labeled in order, they still insisted on flipping the first switch they saw- switch 2, ripped from the floor and sitting near the room's entrance, wire still attached. After quickly realizing what they were looking at, they started flipping the switches in reverse order (three, two, then one). Discouraged, they began overthinking and a slight air of schadenfreude began to wash over my conscience with humorous guilt. Eventually they understood the "puzzle" and proceeded forward. 

    Last came the boss fight. Here laid my biggest error- ignoring their limited health by adding 'ads' to the boss battle. Besides just fighting one tough enemy, I made the error of pitting them against the boss and an archer at the same time. The long ranged player missed their shot and was taken out by the archer. After being revived, the other player was taken out by the boss. The living player got a good shot in but was shot immediately after reviving the other player. The revive train ended when the close-range fighter finished off the boss's single remaining health point. Overall, they enjoyed the level, but a rework of ranged combat was noted by both players.

    

    Then came the rework:

    To really hone in on the difficulty scaling, I removed the second skeleton in the first room, helping to keep things much more simple. Next, I switched the bear trap room in and swapped the archer  for one with slightly worse stats to keep the learning curve simple. The trap remains present to enforce the learning of ranged combat. Then came the pit room, now featuring the beefy archer on the other end. I also made the pit two squares wide to really require a solid roll to traverse. Immediately following is the reworked barrel room, now a narrow corridor. I tried thinking of a better way to work it in until I decided that there wasn't enough to the room to make it unique, so it's been repurposed as a cluttered hallway. Beyond that lies the puzzle room. I didn't change the puzzle because I enjoyed how long it took them despite its simplicity. I've added a skeleton there to spice things up just a little more. Lastly is the boss room. The final key takes the place of the removed archer and the boss guards the path to it, forcing conflict. I also slightly lowered his stats to still pose a challenge without absolutely wrecking them both. How this plays shall be answered within the next test session!