Dungeon designing advice from Jennell Jaquays
Aug 31, 2021 19:17:00 GMT -5
Admin Pete, hengest, and 1 more like this
Post by arjen on Aug 31, 2021 19:17:00 GMT -5
In preparation of a dungeon design workshop I did a few years I thought to reach out to one of my favorite dungeon/adventure writers, game designer and artist: Jennell Jaquays, who started producing the d&d fan-magazine, the Dungeoneer, in 1976 and afterwards worked for the Judges Guild, where she wrote 2 awesome adventures: Dark Tower and the Caverns of Thracia (the latter I'm running again tonight), and later still for TSR. She was gracious enough to write me a nice reply which I can't keep from you (posted with permission); enjoy:
Hi Arjen:
My history in making games and game adventures goes back to my childhood.
My inspiration came from building worlds with blocks and playing out elaborate stories with small plastic figures, usually with my younger brother. And then of course, there were the board games we designed as kids, and worlds we created for our toys by gluing sheets of copy paper (used, printed side down) edge to edge and then drawing cities and secret lairs on them for our toys to explore.
My inspirational source material came from comic books of the 60s and 70s, stories of Greek, Norse, and Egyptian Mythology, legends of King Arthur and Robin Hood, early fantasy fiction like the Lord of the Rings, Fafhrd & Gray Mouser, Conan the Barbarian (and other REH heroes), Elric of Melnibone, and of course, John Carter of Mars and Carson of Venus (and other ERB heroes).
My college degree was in art (equivalent of both a major and a minor before I graduated), which included an appreciation for architecture and ancient art history through archaeology. I also took writing classes and classes on popular literature (was considering an English minor at the time, but it focused on becoming an English teacher, not a writer).
As far as design goes, I began with thematic ideas and then made maps that seemed interesting to me. The contents of the maps were often created well after the map was laid out.
Some themes were pervasive in my maps:
* Make play spaces where the layout and design of the encounter areas affected play (not just geometric shapes on a map).
* Allow multiple paths through a play area
* Fill them with interesting characters, not just hit points with names, abilities, and attack values.
* Create a sense of organic development of an area. Rarely were large architectural projects designed and completed by one creator. They tended to grow piecemeal over time, changing in style, or function, as needed by those who occupied them at the time.
* Buildings (and other spaces) tend to be repurposed over time if they are occupied long enough and not destroyed by calamity of man or nature.
* Create settings for stories without plot or main characters, not the stories themselves. Suggest what might happen, but understand that RP gaming is about letting players create the stories about their characters, not forcing them through the GM’s storylines.
Obviously some of that may not have been in the forefront of my mind at the time. I simply did what felt natural to me. Others have analyzed my work and defined some of what I did. Other insights have come over a lifetime of making play spaces … yet were still present in those early works.
I can point you at a three-part blog post written by Justin Alexander several years ago called Jaquaying the Dungeon (it should be “Jaquaysing the Dungeon” but I quibble). He refers to me by the name I wrote the books under.
thealexandrian.net/.../rolep.../jaquaying-the-dungeon
Best of success to you on your workshop.
Jennell Jaquays
Hi Arjen:
My history in making games and game adventures goes back to my childhood.
My inspiration came from building worlds with blocks and playing out elaborate stories with small plastic figures, usually with my younger brother. And then of course, there were the board games we designed as kids, and worlds we created for our toys by gluing sheets of copy paper (used, printed side down) edge to edge and then drawing cities and secret lairs on them for our toys to explore.
My inspirational source material came from comic books of the 60s and 70s, stories of Greek, Norse, and Egyptian Mythology, legends of King Arthur and Robin Hood, early fantasy fiction like the Lord of the Rings, Fafhrd & Gray Mouser, Conan the Barbarian (and other REH heroes), Elric of Melnibone, and of course, John Carter of Mars and Carson of Venus (and other ERB heroes).
My college degree was in art (equivalent of both a major and a minor before I graduated), which included an appreciation for architecture and ancient art history through archaeology. I also took writing classes and classes on popular literature (was considering an English minor at the time, but it focused on becoming an English teacher, not a writer).
As far as design goes, I began with thematic ideas and then made maps that seemed interesting to me. The contents of the maps were often created well after the map was laid out.
Some themes were pervasive in my maps:
* Make play spaces where the layout and design of the encounter areas affected play (not just geometric shapes on a map).
* Allow multiple paths through a play area
* Fill them with interesting characters, not just hit points with names, abilities, and attack values.
* Create a sense of organic development of an area. Rarely were large architectural projects designed and completed by one creator. They tended to grow piecemeal over time, changing in style, or function, as needed by those who occupied them at the time.
* Buildings (and other spaces) tend to be repurposed over time if they are occupied long enough and not destroyed by calamity of man or nature.
* Create settings for stories without plot or main characters, not the stories themselves. Suggest what might happen, but understand that RP gaming is about letting players create the stories about their characters, not forcing them through the GM’s storylines.
Obviously some of that may not have been in the forefront of my mind at the time. I simply did what felt natural to me. Others have analyzed my work and defined some of what I did. Other insights have come over a lifetime of making play spaces … yet were still present in those early works.
I can point you at a three-part blog post written by Justin Alexander several years ago called Jaquaying the Dungeon (it should be “Jaquaysing the Dungeon” but I quibble). He refers to me by the name I wrote the books under.
thealexandrian.net/.../rolep.../jaquaying-the-dungeon
Best of success to you on your workshop.
Jennell Jaquays
