That is to say, did you ever use the floorplan of a building or other construction that actually exists or once existed, as the floorplan for a dungeon?
If so, which?
Bonus points if you post the floorplan.
Yes, all the time, not necessarily as dungeons per se, but as encounter areas, but I'm doing sci-fi usually, not fantasy.
Though I have used fortresses and castles as well.
I did it a couple of times. I remember when I went to a museum (in some 19th century castle), and took their floorplan to use for an adventure. What I noticed, is that real buildings' floorplans don't make for better / more useful maps, and in fact even the contrary. Furthermore, players don't see any difference whether the DM uses such a floorplan or if they use one they drew by themselves.
On the other hand I once did something that my players much appreciated. I designed, and then drew on a large sheet of paper (for use with the minis), a temple featured in the first Conan movie. The one dedicated to Set, that Conan and his accomplices enter after climbing a tower, then going down and killing a giant serpent that will eat a drugged maiden. I did the adventure the closest possible to what was seen and happened in the film. My players enjoyed it very much.
Both in fantasy, and in superhero, games.
It helps to be a Civil Engineer, and have lots of Architect friends.
Yeah I used to do that all the time when I was in college. Lots of places that I knew real well and could just drop right into a game. Even though the other players were at the same school they didn't catch on, except when I used the library, because it had a particularly strange layout.
Building, no. But I used the photograph of the medieval quarry tunnels under Paris in Jean Gimpel's "The Medieval Machine" as the inspiration for an adventure involving kobolds in a copper mine.
I did the cliché of a demon-infested Sanitarium (à la Silent Hill) for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. The floor plan was based on some 17th century "hospital" (can't remember the name, it was a while ago). At the time I thought it went so-so, but afterwards my players admitted to me that they were actually kind of freaked out! Probably my greatest success as a GM (I mostly cringe at all my failures so... yeah).
Used mobile home floor plans for apartments in cyber punk and the nursing home I worked at as a hospital / ruin in Gamma world.
both worked well.
I'd sketched out the floor plan of Cincinnati Union Terminal once for a pulp game, but I lost the plans a long time ago.
Yes, using floor plans for a lot of other things, and vice versa.
Way back in the day, early/mid 90s, I used the layout of the middle school and high school here in Starke as a dungeon.
All the time.
Far easier than drawing a map.
This map of Dubrobnik gets a lot of use - http://www.dubrovnik-travel.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Dubrovnik-OldCity-Map.gif
So does this map of Mount St Michel - http://www.pitt.edu/~medart/menufrance/msmplan.html
This map of Sienna - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Map_of_Siena_by_Matheus_Merian.jpg/701px-Map_of_Siena_by_Matheus_Merian.jpg
Or these czech castles - http://www.agm-geo.cz/en/ukazky_zamky1.html
I got hold of a lot of architects plans of shopping malls and office blocks years ago and make maximal use of them for modern and cyberpunk games.
Now I tend to just generate maps from memory as the party go based on buildings I know reskinned but only cos I am lazy. If they have the technical ability to get hold of a floorplan in advance I will give them the floorplan.
Yes, I used the layout of my college for my Robot Warriors game. Terrorists had taken over the school and the PC team had to bust in and take them out.
One time I had the deck plans for a cruise ship and planned on a "Die Hard on a ship" scenario (this was before Speed 2) but never completed it.
For a "dungeon?" Don't do dungeons.
In my campaign generally? All the time.
In Warwik City alone, the Temple of the Twins is St. Sophia's Cathedral in Novgorod. The great manor house of the val Wanryns is Breteuil Castle. The Cathedral of Refulgent Light is the interior of St. Louis' Cathedral Basilica. The "Golden Pavilion" of the Amanthdrea Tea Garden is the Grand Palais in Paris. The Great Portal of the city's Grand Canal is the Holy Pool of Urfa in Turkey. The royal castle is the Maisons Laffitte. The University library is the Radcliffe Camera in Oxford. The city Bourse is the old Irish Parliament house. And so on.
Swear to heaven, Wikipedia is God's gift to GMs.
Jannet had me using the steam tunnels under both universities she went to as part of a dungeon floor plan. I posted a few examples over in a seperate thread.
I've used the street plans of my hometown and the high school floor plans for Gamma World sessions.
Not as a dungeon as such, but I've used the blueprint and drawing of the Minoan Palace of Knossos as a location. Not coincidentially, the location I've used it for was a fantasy version of the actual Minoan Palace, in a game of Mazes & Minotaurs. Yes, there was also a labyrinth.
Oh, and this was NOT the Tomb of the Bull King (an excellent M&M adventure that also uses the same blueprint), but an adventure of my own.
(http://bowenplace.com/travels/crete_2011/history/01f_knossos_illustration.jpg)
(http://www.athenapub.com/11mcd03.GIF)
Yes, mostly when playing more modern games. I use warehouse floorplans all the time. Much easier than creating my own ;)
I've also used an office building once, where the PCs had to infiltrate to get the goods, and then had to set up a defensive perimeter as they were attacked.
I've also use real life natural cave formations for my dungeons. The one at the bottom right of this image is from an actual cave formation. I happened to think it looked really cool, so I used it.
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-9hQlA-hICkQ/Uvqz7Usc4SI/AAAAAAAAATI/8D9ZxJNOOL0/w612-h792-no/mappreviews.jpg)
Quote from: Premier;760971Not as a dungeon as such, but I've used the blueprint and drawing of the Minoan Palace of Knossos as a location. Not coincidentially, the location I've used it for was a fantasy version of the actual Minoan Palace, in a game of Mazes & Minotaurs. Yes, there was also a labyrinth.
Oh, and this was NOT the Tomb of the Bull King (an excellent M&M adventure that also uses the same blueprint), but an adventure of my own.
Shame the reconstruction was so ham-fisted. A reconstruction of what it would have been like next to the original would have been far more interesting.
Quote from: Sacrosanct;760993I've also use real life natural cave formations for my dungeons. The one at the bottom right of this image is from an actual cave formation. I happened to think it looked really cool, so I used it.
Is that...Carlsbad Caverns?
It's pretty awe-inspiring today, even if they don't play "Rock of Ages" on Halloween Night anymore...
Cissbury Ring (http://www.sussexarch.org.uk/saaf/cissbury.html) in the UK has flint mines. I've used this as a game map (http://www.sussexarch.org.uk/saaf/cissmine2.gif) before.
Good floor plans for modern buildings can be surprisingly elusive.
Quote from: BarefootGaijin;761163Cissbury Ring (http://www.sussexarch.org.uk/saaf/cissbury.html) in the UK has flint mines. I've used this as a game map (http://www.sussexarch.org.uk/saaf/cissmine2.gif) before.
Very interesting.
But I can't unsee your sig now.
Of course I do but I run Mage the Awakening so it's expected. What isn't is stacking your encounter areas and/or hidden worlds on top of them. Instant dungeon or even megadungeon.
Supernal verges are your friend much like dead or wild magic zones for Dnd.
Quote from: Shipyard Locked;761166Good floor plans for modern buildings can be surprisingly elusive.
I'll give you a tip -- land court records. I don't know the case in New York state, but in Massachusetts, plot plans and floor plans are often filed as part of land court registries, and you can get copies pretty cheaply. Blueprint sized too.
Or you could do something twenty times simpler. A thought just occurring to me, I went to Google Image and typed "architectural plans." Just go try the same. 'Nuff said.
I would love to get a precise layout of the Tokyo Metro, including station layouts, walkways, tunnels, stairs etc. I could use it as a megadungeon!
Neat stuff! I've certainly used some castle maps in my Albion campaign.