majmalphunktion wrote on Mar 18^th, 2014 at 8:13am:

Not just a dungeon, a module brought to frickin' life!   Epic.

majmalphunktion wrote on Mar 18^th, 2014 at 8:13am:

Tomb of Horrors, made like the real pen 'n paper experience.  To quote Heavy Metal, "he dies, she dies, everybody dies."

As the game stands, there are multiple paths to awesome characters.   First, skill - some people are just plain good.  Second, grind.  You can TR/completionist your way to awesome.   And finally, pay to win.  An unfortunate creep-in, +5 supreme tomes and XP stuff mean PTW is here and here to stay.

What I'm suggesting is Tomb of Horrors, with the actual horror.  Dialed up to the point where at least one of the above is the price of entry.

The game already has "this quest is challenging," so DDO has always understood that there are some people who want a greater challenge.  What I'm suggesting is take one of the most brutal modules ever, bring it to life, and give the OCD crowd something to do.  Literally, dial it up to the point where you have to say "This quest is fatal.  Few, if any, are expected to survive."  And by few, I mean party wipe is normal.  At least 50% of the time.

Consider basic game theory - if you can't lose, you can't win.  There is no such thing as win without the risk of loss.

Give the best something they're actually afraid of.   This means yes, many won't even try it, or never be able to.  Probably most.  People role play because in real life they're not heroes.  But there is a certain contingent that plays hard, and the TR/completionist/PTW crowd needs something that bites back.

A must?  Threats have to be randomized.  No one should be able to memorize this run.  Play for real or go home.

Tomb of Horrors, with horrors.  The game needs a suicide booth.

P.S.

And what reward should someone get for finally completing this insanity?  Nothing.

If you actually have the crazy skills/time/cash to win this run, the last thing you need is more gear.   No, the prize for this run is purely cosmetic.

My suggestion would be permanent scarring, ala dragonmarks.  And something visibly non-trivial - for tactical purposes, folks tend to scroll way out, and if you've survived this, people should know.  Like burn marks, or partial necroscopy.  With 'better' marks for norm, hard, elite, where elite is perhaps a 1 in a 100 completion rate.  Even with repeat winners.

I would even make the marking so intense that it persists, lightly, on TRs.

HairyO wrote on Mar 19^th, 2014 at 5:47pm:

You are of course correct.  People would ask the first day they with their 'uber' chars couldn't solo it.

I am suggesting a line in the sand module, one where they simply say "no."  PUGable, maybe.  Solo-able no.  And I'm someone who's 90+% solo, so take the hint.  I would hate this, but it's what the game needs.

HairyO wrote on Mar 19^th, 2014 at 5:47pm:

That would never be a stopping reason. Greyhawk? ToH is super easy to change to FR.

What about:
Undermountain
S4: The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
S2: White Plume Mountain
Dungeonland

tsojcanth was one of the very first i ever played ...pretty clasic one. I died at bodak:)

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/map_0503lostcaverns.jpg

majmalphunktion wrote on Mar 19^th, 2014 at 8:27pm:


White Plume Mountain was one I remember enjoying. Never played S4.

But really, random mobs and random traps... keep the players on their toes. If they dont have a trapper then everywhere they go they will be wondering if they are about to explode - or summon a red alert amount of mobs.

Mobs and bosses which have far more options in terms of attack and defence.

And more LONG dungeons !

The Oracle wrote on Mar 19^th, 2014 at 4:46pm:


^ This.

I really like the raids/quests that use the non-quest areas as dungeons/maps, such as Chrono and Battle for Eveningstar.

How awesome would it be to have a Korthos Rescue Mission with Epic Misery's Peak? This time, you fight to break the snowy curse on Korthos and duke it out with the dragon.

majmalphunktion wrote on Mar 18^th, 2014 at 8:13am:


Tomb of Horrors.  Do it.

majmalphunktion wrote on Mar 20^th, 2014 at 9:08am:


Random traps in dungeons, like the 3 doors in HH are cool. Random "step-on-me beartraps" are not.
Semi-random levers are ok. Random room placement is not.
Random boss sounds very interesting.

Everything is old skin dude, just with idiotic smoke effect to cover that up.

They break the crystals once you prep them

I like my wolf pup cosmetic 

Specifically having the shadow up in there when everyone is hunting shadows can just be an unnecessary irritation though :

majmalphunktion wrote on Mar 19^th, 2014 at 8:27pm:

None of that is Dark Sun.