Looking for Articles on the "use of the dungeon environment"

[DarrenGMiller]

Okay, this is my first thread start here. I am looking for any articles, online or in Dungeon or other sources, regarding the dungeon as a dynamic adventuring environment. I know I have seen a few of them, but cannot find them in a pinch when I need them.

What I am looking for is something that looks at the dungeon as an independent environment, not just a place to "crawl." There are some Necromancer Games products that have a brief article in the front and I have that (twice actually). I would like to expand upon this idea. Does anyone else here have anything thoughts? When my players think of an environment, they think of city or wilderness or village, but I think the dungeon (if large enough) is a viable "wilderness" terrain which is a living ecosystem. All of the creatures have their roles in the life of that environment. There is a food chain. I don't want my players to say, "Oh, a dungeon, I guess we have to clear it out to reach the objective." Realistically, if they went into a forest in search of an artifact, they would not have to go tree to tree and clear out the forest, so why is that so in the dungeon?

I guess am trying to accomplish a paradigm shift in my game and any help is appreciated!

DM

 

[DMH]

Dragon 211 has Ecology of the Dungeon. IMO it is the best article ever printed in that magazine and is exactly what you are looking for.

AEG's Dungeons is only slightly behind it in value.

152 has an article on mining that isn't what you are looking for, but may expand your options on dungeon building.

 

[Hand of Evil]

The thread I am posting is mostly DM Stuff but when taken as a whole is a great resource that you may find helpful.

http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?threadid=47525