D&D 5E Running a randomly-generated dungeon one-shot

[PieAndDragon]

If you already have a way of filling out the layout of the dungeon then I would use that. Give your players some rationale for using the cards such as legends of a dungeon which shifts and warps because of dimensional rifts / chaos magic / attentions of the Lady of Pain.

You might also consider a theme of some sort for the dungeon, for which there are some great tables in the 5E DMG.

For filling out the dungeon rooms I can offer up 5 Generators for filling Dungeon Rooms

You might also consider some sort of time pressure such as someone who is following them or a rival group / organisation also exploring.

 

[Fanaelialae]

I've decided to run a one-shot for the group I play in. The only DMing experience I've had so far was running a one-shot dungeon crawler that I designed myself, which went pretty awesome... But with one adventure under my belt, I can't really call myself experienced.

Anyway, after letting ideas run in my head for a while, I've decided to get a card deck made of dungeon rooms, with each card connecting to any other card, so that each time the party finishes a room, one of the players will randomly draw a card, and they will continue to the next room.

Problem is, I'm not really sure how to make it work yet. Story-wise, I think I'll fit the adventure in Sigil, so it will make the thing both more convincing and will add a nice twist (having the doors open under unique conditions, having each room themed differently), but mechanically, I'm not sure what elements should remain constant (how many rooms, what to have in each room, etc), and what should be random, and so on.

I know, it's not even a question, and random dungeons are not a simple thing... But if any of you have any ideas or experience with that sort of thing, I'd love to hear what you people have to say.

Thanks!

Here's a system for generating random dungeons which can be used on the fly or in advance. All you need is a standard deck of cards and a bunch of 6 sided dice.

https://koboldpress.com/howling-tower-cardtography/

 

[Quickleaf]

Honestly, you're right. However, I won't become an experiencd DM anytime soon. I don't really have time to DM at the moment (honestly, I barely have the time to be a player recently), so gaining lots of experience is not going to be so possible.

So, when I do have the time to run something, I prefer to make something unique instead of running a pre-written adventure. Sure, it's probably a better idea, but this is probably not going to happen. Last time I wrote an adventure from scratch (well, I did watch Colville's videos and asked a few question online, but that's mostly it), and while it did have some faults, it went great. If I something up... It's not the end of the world, my friends will live with it. If it ends up being good, however...

You don't have time...

...so you're going to design an adventure of your own? and with a rather complicated format to boot?

Not sure I follow that logic; maybe you're saying that all published adventures you know of take longer than one night's session?

I have done a "random" dungeon set in Mechanus using The Clockwork Maze with a bit of editing & printing onto cardstock. However, "random" can easily devolve into boring or frustrating for players. So, while the layout was randomized (and would change on a cycle behind the PCs), I treated it more like a puzzle, with clues scattered throughout on how to escape the maze & reach the PCs' destination.

 

[RoiC.]

You don't have time...

...so you're going to design an adventure of your own? and with a rather complicated format to boot?

Not sure I follow that logic; maybe you're saying that all published adventures you know of take longer than one night's session?

I have done a "random" dungeon set in Mechanus using The Clockwork Maze with a bit of editing & printing onto cardstock. However, "random" can easily devolve into boring or frustrating for players. So, while the layout was randomized (and would change on a cycle behind the PCs), I treated it more like a puzzle, with clues scattered throughout on how to escape the maze & reach the PCs' destination.

I don't have time to be a DM on a regular basis, but now I'm going to have a few weeks off, so it leaves me a bit of time to design an adventure.

Is the dungeon you mentioned inspired by the one in Planescape: Torment? Because it kinda gave me a few ideas, but I've always felt it was too random to be fun. I'm actually trying to figure what puzzles I can fit in, and how.

 

[Quickleaf]

I don't have time to be a DM on a regular basis, but now I'm going to have a few weeks off, so it leaves me a bit of time to design an adventure.

Is the dungeon you mentioned inspired by the one in Planescape: Torment? Because it kinda gave me a few ideas, but I've always felt it was too random to be fun. I'm actually trying to figure what puzzles I can fit in, and how.

Loosely inspired by. Notes were on a laptop drive that crashed and couldn't recover them.

Basic idea was the PCs were trying to find a NPC/villain's lair on Mechanus, but the portal they took led into the Clockwork Labyrinth. The labyrinth changed every 5 minutes, and when it did gravity went haywire. Various numerical clues were hidden in the gears & machinery. Random encounters were with rogue modrons & other planewalkers trapped within, along with traps set by the NPC.

The puzzle was deducing that they were actually traversing the surface of a cube with a distance distortion effect & gravity on each face. Each time gravity shifted was the six faces getting scrambled around a lodestone at the cube's center. The numerical clues actually were the pattern the shifts went through.

Once PCs figured out the pattern, they could deduce a void on the map (we used map & minis) where a room should be – that was the escape portal.

 

[Skyscraper]

I'm sorry to, like some others before me, digress from your original question, but humbly, may I suggest that you reconsider your approach?

RPG's, including D&D, are fun when the story is interesting and engaging for everyone. Trying to make sense of stuff that is randomly assembled into a dungeon during your game sessions might seem like a good idea when you think about it, but it's highly unlikely to yield a pleasant gaming experience for your players or yourself. You're just adding a layer of difficulty to something that is already very challening: running a fun and engaging game as a DM.

If you have a bit of time to prepare as you suggest in your recent post, then I suggest the following:

1) find a story background that you wish to set up, i.e. what happened up to now and what problem needs to be solved for the players.
2) populate this story background with protagonists: NPCs, allies, monsters. Make up a couple of factions among them. Have enemies exist, that the players can play against each other. Take notes of all of this, with character names. Don't make up character names on the spur of the moment, it shows and it sucks
3) Use pregenerated stats if you can, for instance exclusively taken from the Monster Manual if you own it. Stats don't really matter in the end, meaning it doesn't matter which you pick, but you'll need them and having them handy will help the flow of your game.
4) See what locales would be fun for this story to take place in.
5) Google "dungeon and dragons maps", go to "images", and pick something that fits. You'll find a fine map to fit your purpose. Like stats, maps are useful if you have them handy and prepared in advance.
6) run your game

Making the game fun for your players will be much easier if you have this kind of preparation. The time you should put is not on random maps or creature stats, but on story. That's what the players will remember. But you need maps and creature stats, so get those that are available online or in books you have.

And if you think you can manage to make a random dungeon fun and engaging, think about how awesome your game would be if you prepare for it instead!

As my (now deceased) father used to say, somewhat ironically: the best improvisations are still the ones that are prepared.

Anyway, those are my two cents.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Lidgar]

If you need to stock the dungeon with random encounters, here is another resource (for low level play).

 

[transtemporal]

I thought of using it, but it loses the gimmick of making up the dungeon as we go.

Oh I see. Personally, I'd go for a over-the-top, light-hearted tone. If it's humorous and a bit silly, the players can overlook the incongruity of a room of sharks next to a lava pit of devils. The abrupt changes in direction become a narrative strength rather than a jarring annoyance.