Any examples of "realistic" dungeons?

[FoxWander]

I'm looking for examples of realistic, well thought out dungeons. What I mean is- dungeons that actually make sense for what they are supposed to be. As opposed to a random collection of rooms in an interesting layout with traps for the sake of traps that should have logically killed any monsters dwelling in the dungeon long ago... which, btw, would already be long dead as they have no steady food source (other than inept adventurers), no comfortable place to sleep, not to mention no place to even go to the bathroom!

A friend of mine ran us thru a dungeon awhile back that was, most assuredly, a fun little dungeon crawl (ok, actually a BIG dungeon crawl) however, it made absolutely no sense. It was ostensibly a temple complex but, although we were attacked by guards on several nights, there were no barracks anywhere for such guards to live/sleep/eat/crap in. There was also no safe way for the temple residents to even move around without getting killed by the numerous, lethal traps. It was, as I said above, a random collection of rooms yadda-yadda.

Now don't get me wrong, I said it was a fun adventure... it just lacked any kind of "realism"- you know what I mean. I'd like to see a dungeon complex that actually makes sense. Something that has...
- a way for the people living there to get around without triggering the traps
- traps laid out only in areas where traps would be- around the treasury, inner sanctum, secret areas, or magic widget thats being guarded.
- some way for the dungeon denizens to actually survive there! A food supply, living quarters, recreation, etc.
- some kind of room layout that doesn't come of as "a random collection of rooms..."
- miscellaneous found treasure in locations that make sense for whatever critter it came from
- treasure that actually makes sense for whatever critter it came from

I've seen a few dungeons and such like this but they were so few I can't actually recall them now. So help me out- have you seen some good dungeons like this? Have you MADE a good dungeon like this? I'm sure the fertile minds of ENWorld can come up with a decent list that can stand as examples for aspiring dungeon crafters.

 

[jdrakeh]

Baron Sukumvit's infamous Deathtrap Dungeon (as it appears in the original Fighting Fantasy books, anyhow) makes sense in that it is specifically designed as a challenge for heroes. The creatures, traps, and items in Deathtrap Dungeon have been carefully selected by the Baron to test even the mightiest adventurers. Deathtrap Dungeon is the original 'makes sense' gauntlet run.

 

[demiurge1138]

For an Eberron game, I made a "dungeon" that was a den of rebellious goblinoids ruled by a barghest. The really deadly traps were only placed near the barghest's personal den and on the door of his lieutenant's private quarters, with protective pits well outlined with a series of hidden scaffolds so that the goblins could get around them. There was a pantry, kitchen and midden in addition to a simple barracks, and an infirmary (which was primarily used as a maternity ward, goblin women being so fertile). Since the goblins had no clerics, an expert with ranks in Heal acted as doctor. The most valuable treasure in the dungeon was a wand of scorching ray that did 1 point of fire damage per round to anything touching it - the doctor used it to cauterize wounds. And, of course, was the lump of copper owned by "Muffin", the tribe's pet dire wolf - Muffin took the copper looted by the goblins, and none of the goblins wanted to go and take it from him.

I had a lot of fun with that one.

Demiurge out.

 

[wingsandsword]

Every time I run a dungeon in one of my games, I make sure it's like that, to the point I plan all these things out myself. It's time consuming and it means I don't use dungeons very often, but I get lots of compliments from players when I do.

I've given thought to writing out some of these dungeons in electronic format and putting them online, but I wondered if anybody would be really interested.

 

[Arrgh! Mark!]

The WoT campaignbook Prophecies of the Dragon has one dungeon of note.

It's basically a city so old it's half sunk into mud. All the fun of poisonous fumes, crawling through collapsed passageways and pools of stale water.

The only "Traps" were natural ones that one might expect to find. the only "Wandering Monsters" were intelligent creatures with a very good reason to be there.

I found it rather refreshing to be honest. The players were keen for awhile, but when asked for their opinion they only thought it was "okay". I think they got a bit bored of caving and being swept into underground lakes.


They much prefferred the crumbling tower as they climbed scaffolding and fought bad guys.

When I say "Dungeon" I mean "place where encounters roughly happen in the order I predicted them too." this place might be anywhere. It doesn't neccesarily include it being the place where the BBEG holes up.

One dungeon I ran the BBEG didn't even live there. It really was a complex filled with secret doors (So guards could get in without triggering traps), dangerous monsties in rooms they shouldn't have gotten into, and so on.

This was because he set it up to fool stupid adventurers that he lived there. He actually had quite a nice manor house in a nearby city.


When you make dungeons, make it interesting first and then make sure it fits the setting. It should then be fine.

 

[JamesDJarvis]

do some reading (or at least web browisng) about "real world" dungeons.

here are some miscelaneous links for you to get started with-
http://www.thebanmappingproject.com/
http://www.sauderzone.com/ubtlinks.htm
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-72434
http://turkey.rdricketts.com/uncity.html
http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/photo_galleries/cappadocia/photopages/011.html
http://www.infiltration.org/drains-catacombs.html
http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-conflicts-periods/vietnam/tunnels.htm

 

[Mishihari Lord]

All of my dungeons have been like this since I got past age 12. Unfortunately, I've never published so this probaby isn't much help for you.

I strongly prefer putting the extra work into a dungeon to make it "realistic" as you used the term. It lets the players use their brains to overcome challenges rather than their raw abilities, as in "There's gotta be another way out of this cave. That griffon wouldn't fit through the doorand it had to be eating something. Maybe it will take us around the dragon so we don't have to fight it."

 

[Henry]

I try to do this when planning dungeons, but as for published, it's really hit and miss. It's easy for a designer to forget to put in an outhouse here and there.

Believe it or not, some of Goodman Games' dungeon crawl entries (Aerie of the Crow God comes to mind) are pretty well designed in terms of logical consistency.

 

[Crothian]

In most dungeons there are secret doors and hallways to green rooms for the monsters. But as a player you weill never find them.

 

[The Shaman]

The Lost Abbey of Calthonwey was like this - above ground was the ruined abbey, with rectory, chapel, and so on, and below ground were shrines, catacombs, and the like, along with a series of natural caverns.

I love this adventure for any number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that if you just used the map and the room designations, you had a functioning monks' stronghold. It heavily influenced all of my own dungeon designs, as did visits to some real world ruins to see what a 'real dungeon' looks like.