Larian Studios Forums Divinity: Original Sin 2 Divinity - Original Sin 2 - Game Master Large Scale Dungeons

Hi all,

New poster and fairly new to modding generally. I know this is the GM Mode board but I was wondering how other GMs handle large dungeons in game.

Im trying to convert a D&D module into DOS2 and I've got no problem sitting and mapping a whole floor out on one map, though I expect it would be enormous which could either give the players too much info, since the FOW seems to be pretty limited and/or could be demanding performance wise. Since GM Mode seems to focus one small maps, how have others handled larger sprawling dungeons and their design?

Each room and it's corridors as one map? Splitting the floor into sections or just putting the whole thing into one huge map? It'd be helpful to hear any feedback.

Thanks

I'm currently converting a campaign myself and this is a difficult topic. For now I'm avoiding big dungeons, solely for the reason that players can just pan and see everything, which spoils all the fun in a dungeon experience.

Yes, Larian! Can we please get fog of war in GM mode? I feel it is crucial for the game experience.

I'm thinking I might just need to do rooms as separate maps and use vignettes with unmarked drawn maps to see where players want to go next, or to just put corridors attached to the rooms down so they can't see the actual attached rooms. A bit of an awkward way to do it, really. But that's what I get for trying to convert ToEE.

The GM mode in-game currently does not have any large maps and it's difficult creating larger scale battlefields, dungeons or cities as a result. There's people on the Steam workshop creating bigger maps, so there's always that option. Or you could download the D2 engine and create a map from scratch just as you like it. Apparently the editor will also allow you to place down a proper fog of war.

I haven't dabbled in any of it and am currently only sticking with the actual GM mode and the constraints it poses, so I can't comment on the rest of the options.

A semi-solution I'm using at the moment is to hide things from players by placing a group of characters into an encounter and deactivating it. This makes them invisible to the players (but also, annoyingly, makes them into invisible walls, so you can not place on in a doorway and expect players to be able and walk through it). When the adventurers arrive into the room, you can activate the encounter, revealing the hidden characters. It's a workaround for the fog of war, although it does create a bit more work for the GM and, like I've mentioned, comes with its own downsides.

I would love a fog of war switch in GM mode.

Yeah, I've been using the D2 engine to make the maps (I'm finishing up a large Hommlet map at the minute) but dungeons seem to be a trickier beast to figure out. The other issue is that as far as I am aware the visible area when fog of war is active seems pretty huge.

I might have to play around a bit to see what works and what doesn't but hoped that someone else was as foolish to tackle building an expansive dungeon in DOS2 for use in GM mode. Depending on what happens I might try a few configurations for the map and feedback what I end up doing here.

What I have been doing as a temporary workaround while we wait for a "fog of war" is while yes, they can just pan and see the rooms etc. Keep the enemies in the rooms as separate encounters and deactivate them. Pause when they enter the room, possibly add a vignette for RP descriptions etc activate the room encounter and unpause. They players have almost no advantage from what I would consider cheating which is the point of a fog of war.