Advice for Dungeon Creation/Running

Hey there everyone! So I'm grappling with an issue right now in regards to the games I run on Roll20, and that's the issue of how I should handle dungeons. The way I see it, I have a couple of options and I'm trying to figure out which one works best. So firstly, there's the option of mapping out the whole dungeon in Roll20, setting up dynamic lighting for it all and then having the players move their tokens out of any kind of initiative order. The second option, as I see it, would be to map out the dungeon on a room to room basis, using the map for encounters that are inside of an initiative order. The last option would be to use Roll20 purely for dice rolling/character sheet management and keep the rest as Theatre of the Mind. I started out using the first option, but as time went on it seemed like having the players drag and drop their tokens through the dungeon corridors could detract from the immersion, and the task could become tedious after a while. Not to mention it's also the method that required the most setup, but I'm not really too concerned about that. Now I find myself using the second option, but this method also has problems. Sometimes, the encounter in the room can be taken beyond that room. For example, the party might find themselves falling back into the corridor outside, or even to the previous room, and it's in these situations that building the whole dungeon as one map could help. Does anyone have any advice on how they run things, or if there's an alternative method that I could try out? Thanks in advance :)

I personally love setting up whole big dungeons with lighting and effects, but it can be a lot of work. I actually find having the players move their tokens through a dungeon helps with immersion. They get to discover what's around the corner. Make sure you have the "blocks movement" and "update on drop" options for the dynamic lighting so they can't just pick up their tokens and search the whole dungeon. Also remind the players that they can move their tokens with the arrow keys when moving, it makes them feel more like they are in control. Plus picking up and moving tokens can cause players to get stuck in walls at times. Truth is though there is no right answer, just what is right for you and your group.

Ed S. said: Plus picking up and moving tokens can cause players to get stuck in walls art times. Wow! I didn't know that. That's awesome. Perhaps for the second option you could extend your dungeon rooms on the fly as needed? I don't know if you're using only roll20's drawing features or using tiles from the marketplace, but a couple quick lines using the polygon/line feature to create a hall way shouldn't be too hard just to show the layout of the battle. If I were a player I would be happy with that. It might not be the most immersive option, but it might be a good compromise.

Ed S. said: Truth is though there is no right answer, just what is right for you and your group. Ed gave the right answer.  :) I would add also that it depends on the game that you are playing.  In my 5e game, I map everything out ahead of time, and players move tokens through the predetermined dungeon.  When I play Dungeon World, which is more improvisational, mapping everything out ahead of time actually is a hindrance, so I used Roll 20 to post pictures to the tabletop for mood setting, and then used the drawing tools to draw out encounter areas on the fly as needed, and tokens to demonstrate fictional positioning. Another thing that you could do is create the encounter maps outside of Roll 20 and import them as tokens which can then be slapped down as needed (several art packs have quick encounter maps that can be used for this purpose).  You can have these ready, and if the battle moves beyond what you've mapped, you can quickly slap down a map tile and keep moving. Good luck!

I use a combination of approaches. If you want to have one big dungeon map, I would suggest not having a lot of long, narrow corridors. Those can be tedious for groups. You could alleviate that somewhat with the Marching Order script (available through one-click), which allows you to designate a leader token, which all other tokens will follow. It can be a little quirky, but for long, segmented movemnt that is not on the turn order, it can really speed things up.If I know that I have an encounter that will be purely role-play, I will often find a painted scene through a google search and move the players to a Theatre of the Mind page, usually with appropriate music. You can do a hybrid of map movement and encounter spotlighting, by simply describing the areas of the dungeon they are going through and dropping vision tokens as you reveal newly explored areas. Then only actually move the tokens when combat threatens. Eventually you will develop a style that works for your group.

Another option we use is that I (the DM) manually move the 'lead' token and move it to a corner, or good stopping point, describe what they see, ask if they do anything other than continue, then move it to the next corner/stop point and repeat. When combat starts, I find the other PC tokens and drag them to where the fight is.  As DM we can easily drag the tokens through walls whereas the players cannot (assuming you have that option set, which most games do). Works well for us.  Faster, yet lets them 'see the dungeon' as it develops.  The only issue is traps, of course.  But that's always an issue unless they move step-by-step...

I have found that suddenly switching to step-by-step movement in Roll20, as opposed to around a table top, is a clear signal to players that there is a trap/illusion/hidden monster... Players. :/

keithcurtis said: I have found that suddenly switching to step-by-step movement in Roll20, as opposed to around a table top, is a clear signal to players that there is a trap/illusion/hidden monster... Players. :/ Those players are quite wily