For those have run it, is Barrowmaze high magic? Can I convert it to a lower magic dungeon?

High magic varies from person to person.  What is an example of a product you consider high magic?

Quote from: Psikerlord;999581For those have run it, is Barrowmaze high magic? Can I convert it to a lower magic dungeon?

Not particularly for a given area. But it is a big place so cleaned out it is quite a haul.

Quote from: EOTB;999586High magic varies from person to person.  What is an example of a product you consider high magic?

I would call it high magic if there are lots of magic traps, lots of fantastic monsters with magical abilities and lots of magic treasure. I can swap out treasure easy enough, and ignore traps, but monsters can be trickier to substitute and still make sense.

Quote from: estar;999591Not particularly for a given area. But it is a big place so cleaned out it is quite a haul.

hmm yeah I'm liking the sound of this for a drop in "default adventure location" for a sandbox campaign. Something the players can always go back and explore if they wish. I wouldnt think we'd get anywhere near running the whole thing or even half of it, just little snippets probably, whatever locations the players find interesting. Off to the internet for more research!

Quote from: RPGPundit;999058Yeah, dead ends are pointless.

I would agree that dead ends have the potential to be pointless, but they can also be an important part of making a dungeon challenging, especially if you're tracking resources and making wandering monster checks.

For example, in my megadungeon, I have a lots very long passageways (that extend way beyond torch light) and spiraling/switchback passageways (that effectively negate torch light). Sometimes these terminate in dead ends, sometimes they terminate in dead ends with secret doors and sometimes they terminate in visible doors. When the party comes across one of these passages, they have to decide if they want to risk the resources (torches for light, hit points and magic in the case of wandering monster attacks) to see how the passage ends and, if it's a dead end, whether to spend more resources checking it for secret doors. All the while, the resource clock is ticking.

mazes generally contain dead ends, and they have a 'point': if you can't figure out where you should go, you are trapped. In game terms, complex networks of tunnels having dead ends burn time and therefore resources and expose you to the risk of dangerous and usually un profitable wandering encounters. And often traps.

I am the author of Barrowmaze and The Forbidden Caverns of Archaia.

I would be happy to answer any questions I can.

I prefer a low magic game myself, and feel both games reflect that approach.

Quote from: Kiltedyaksman;999707I prefer a low magic game myself, and feel both games reflect that approach.

Glad to hear it!

Quote from: Greentongue;999254How can you have something hidden in a back corner if there are not "back corners"?
A dead end also has the advantage of reducing the number of directions an attacker can come from.
=

In my experience, they're mainly to have players use up time.

Quote from: Larsdangly;999675mazes generally contain dead ends, and they have a 'point': if you can't figure out where you should go, you are trapped. In game terms, complex networks of tunnels having dead ends burn time and therefore resources and expose you to the risk of dangerous and usually un profitable wandering encounters. And often traps.

Mazes? Yes.
Caves? Sure.
Basements? Not so much.

Quote from: Larsdangly;999675mazes generally contain dead ends, and they have a 'point': if you can't figure out where you should go, you are trapped. In game terms, complex networks of tunnels having dead ends burn time and therefore resources and expose you to the risk of dangerous and usually un profitable wandering encounters. And often traps.

And they are super boring and a waste of time. Bonus!

Players do a fantastic job "using up time" all on their own.

In an layered environment (added to over multiple generations) deadends are completely plausible.

I am going to Barrowmaze this thread and raise it from the dead.

I purchased both the PDF and the hard copy (thanks). I intend on using this in Fantasy grounds Unity (64 bit so we can image the entire map) and >>> going to covert it as much as I can to Pathfinder 2E. Many of the monsters and really the loot will likely be lost as this new system is extremely tight on resources and numbers.  A monster 4 levels above the party is nigh untouchable even with a nat 20 as have the -10/+10 crit system.

Much of the old school flavor may be lost. I remember my 1rst edition days, those were lethal indeed.

Has anyone played the 5E conversion and did they enjoy it? I have zero experience with 5E.

I went from 1 to 2 to 3 to 3.5 to pathfinder and never touched 4.0 or 5.0.

To the author, thank you for your hard work~!