3D Dungeon crawls

[6mmfan]

I've been recently inspired by a Necromunda table which folds out to form a multi level board, and this reminded me of some of the classic GW displays boards, especially in the earlier era. eg this classic Heroquest diorama



It made me wonder if it is possible to play a dungeon crawl game using a multi dimensional board, instead of the the usual flat pieces laid out on a table (nothing wrong with those I have plenty of those games already) But the idea of a 3D board would be cool visually and perhaps easier to store/transport.

However this will through up some challenges with the game play and scenario design. LOS, movement and monster spawning could get interesting, but if done well I think it could add another dimension (pun intended)! Has anyone tried this before? I could adapt the vertical rules from a game like Mordhiem but I wonder if this would be too clunky.

The necromunda "table" is here if you haven't seen it before.

[beefcake]

I especially loved the space hulk multilevel board of the same style.
I toyed with doing something similar to this with my 3d printing business. Making a multilevel board and you rem9ve the layers as you reach further down. Kind of like the original Diablo game.

[DS615]

I especially loved the space hulk multilevel board of the same style.
I toyed with doing something similar to this with my 3d printing business. Making a multilevel board and you rem9ve the layers as you reach further down. Kind of like the original Diablo game.

I have also played around with that style, but you run into problems if the players aren't on the same level, or start going back and forth between levels.
You can make it work, but it's a little intensive.

[ced1106]

Battle System's "Dungeon Terrain" was designed for multi-level dungeons, albeit more like collapsed structures, rather than separate layers. Makes for a good miniature skirmish game with elevation, than multi-level dungeoncrawl. Will be available retail, or can be Late Pledged through the Maladum KS.

[Elbows]

I don't mind a little verticality in my dungeons - would like a bit more if it was easier to manage.  However, stuff like the "Necromunda in a box" always strikes me as a bit...one-trick pony?  More amusing than necessarily useful.  I see playing on it over time becoming tiresome, etc.

I think it's a little more of a gimmick than a solid dungeon plan.  However, if you don't do a lot of dungeon crawls, maybe it's a good little hobby side project you want to whip out once every few years.

[6mmfan]

Battle System's "Dungeon Terrain" was designed for multi-level dungeons, albeit more like collapsed structures, rather than separate layers. Makes for a good miniature skirmish game with elevation, than multi-level dungeoncrawl. Will be available retail, or can be Late Pledged through the Maladum KS.

Someone else mentioned on a different forumMaladum. I had a quick look at the rules and the climbing and jumping rules are pretty basic and as you mentioned, it only seems to cover elevations and not multi levels.

[6mmfan]

I don't mind a little verticality in my dungeons - would like a bit more if it was easier to manage.  However, stuff like the "Necromunda in a box" always strikes me as a bit...one-trick pony?  More amusing than necessarily useful.  I see playing on it over time becoming tiresome, etc.

I think it's a little more of a gimmick than a solid dungeon plan.  However, if you don't do a lot of dungeon crawls, maybe it's a good little hobby side project you want to whip out once every few years.

Yeah I can see that it could be a bit samey. I haven't started this project but my initial thoughts were to have modular components so that the dungeon layouts can change.

[ced1106]

Archon's lighter plastic and connecting game tiles makes additional floors more feasible. I've seen pics of them used to display miniatures vertically.

However, game tiles only connect adjacently, so may need a size of cardboard or whatever if you have a particularly large upper floor?

You can sorta see how I used a room for a second story, although the game tiles underneath were used as support, not as a room for an encounter.