Shadowdark: Stocking A Dungeon Example

[Reynard]

NOTE: This would have just gone in the Shadowdark General thread but the author of that thread decided to lock me out with two way ignore.

I am prepping my 4 session "West Marches" style convention game for next weekend at TotalCon. Part of doing so is stocking small dungeons for the PCs to explore, using the random dungeon method in the Shadowdark core rulebook as a foundation. I thought it would be be fun, and potentionally informative and/or helpful, to show the process step by step for those that have not done it before. I very often recommend this method when folks ask what a good short module for Shadowdark is. Rather than run a official one pager or convert an OSR or classic module, GMs should consider rolling up a quick dungeon instead. It takes little time and creates something unique, surprising even the GM. You could do this on the fly, but I prefer to prep it ahead so i can tweak a few results to make a better experience.

I always start with a @Dyson Logos map because they are awesome and fit Shadowdark very well. In this case I am going to start with The Dread Warren map -- mostly because I love the way it looks, as well as if feeling generic enough to accommodate whatever nonsense the dice and my whim come up with.

 

[Fenris-77]

The trick is have it feel like real, lived-in space with layers of history. I mean you don't need a ton of that for a dungeon this small, but you want some. I'd probably stick with the generation method you have and then see what occurs to you that might make good linkages between rooms, or history, or whatever. A nice dose of evocative moments would be nifty too.

 

[Reynard]

NOTE: My printer is having issues (SHOCKING, I know), so I am switching to a different map I had printed previously: Bloodied Axe Shrine.

 

[Reynard]

Anyway.

The dungeon stocking method is on page 130 of the Shadowdark book. Since I am using a pore-drawn map, we will skip the size and type rolls, and instead roll Danger Level and Room type for each of the ten rooms. Here I roll a handful of 10s on the paper, and then move each die to the closest room before consulting the tables. This map has 10 rooms plus 2 significant passages so I will roll 12d10, plus the Danger Level d6.

Here is the initial roll:

 

[Reynard]

But I made a couple adjustments for better flow:

 

[Reynard]

The "story" of the con-campaign is that the Moonless Vale appears once every 1000 new moons (80ish years) for one month, disappearing again at the next new moon (the vale has a new moon the whole time). It travels from world to world, so there are all kinds of crazy things in the vale, from monmsters to mutants to magic to tech to even stranger things (no Vecna though).

As such, each adventure site is completely unique. In order to get a sense of what this place is, I am going to roll the two !! boss monsters first and see what we see.

Note that this is a Deadly site, from the d6.

Boss monster #1 (near the entrance is a d6=5="Guarded by Minions"
Boss monster #2 (the Axe room) is a d6=1="Physically Strongest."
Oh. Interesting.

In order to get some inspiration, I am going to roll a random page in the monster list for each. There are 71 pages of monsters in the SD book, so if I roll 8d10-7 it should do.

For boss monster #1 I roll 44, which puts me on page 237: nagas and nightmares. I think Boss #1 is a bone naga worshiped by (roll=31=page224) Guards. Okay.

Boss #2=39=page232=Manticore (since it is supposed to be "physically strongest."

Okay, now a story of this placed is coming together. I think the manticore has moved into the dungeon and "taken over" from the naga worshipping cult of soldiers. They are at a bit of a stalemate, perhaps. But lets fill out the rest of the rooms before I go too far.

 

[Reynard]

Looking at the map, I think I am going to change the solo monster outside the Axe chamber where the manticore lairs to a minor hazard. I rolled a 3, so a stuck or locked barrier. The door to the east is stuck, and if the PCs force it open before investigating the axe chamber, they will alert the manticore to their presence.,

Since we are here, what sort of trop lies in the room beyond. I rolled a 1 and a 4: a crude mechanical trap. Checking on page 114 and rolling 3 12-siders, I get a falling block set off by a tripwire that does 3d10/unconscious. There will be some enticing faux treasure on the altar in the alcove, and foolish explorers can be crushed by a ceiling block falling. it is crude, so detecting it will not be hard, but also it can be avoided but not disarmed without serious ingenuity.

Who made it and why? Let's see who the mob monsters are in the adjacent southeast corner room: roll=33=page226=harpies. This place is starting to give archaic Greece vibes. Interesting. A group of harpies (being vulture like scavengers) followed the manticore in and have been hoping to catch some cultists to eat. That gives me an idea: the thing on the altar is not a faux treasure, but an actual piece of the bone naga (a fang? the skull?). If the guards get it, they can reanimate their "god" which can then defeat the manticore.

So what is in the other corner? Roll=49=page242=Pegasus! Perhaps this creature was captured by the cult before the manticore came in, and was meant as a sacrifice to the Naga god. Now the harpies want to eat it, too. Maybe the party can free and befriend it, or free it and "sell" it to the harpies?

 

[Reynard]

There are two more solo monsters.

the one in the northwest corner room is a roll=27=page220=gibbering mouther. The cultists can't get past this creature.
the one in the room in the south hall is a roll=30=page223=grey ooze, just for some classic dungeon fun. it lurks nearly invisible hoping to dissolve some tasty flesh.

Finally, there is the secret treasure vault off the bone naga room. We will forego the roll, since we know it is hidden. Instead, lets head over to page 272 and roll twice on the Treasure 4-6 table (because both the bone naga and the manticore are level 6 creatures):

Roll 1=63=dragonbone crossbow carved as a roaring dragon.
Since this place has been Greek coded, let's change that to be a crossbow stylized like a manticore that will fire the manticore's barbs!

Roll2=49=a minotaur hoof with a golden horseshoe (50gp). Perfect for the theme!

I will roll treasure for everything else at the table during play based on the creature's level, if the PCs manage to secure it.

 

[Reynard]

The annotated map:

 

[Reynard]

Obviously, I have fleshing out and clean up to do, but in general that is the process. it took longer here because I was documenting. Generally it takes between 45 minutes and an hour. Sometimes I will roll up the monsters totally from scratch, or mutate them, per the rules. Other times I might modify the initial die results more to create more hazards and traps than monsters.

Not only does doing it this way create some unique sites and adventure possibilities, it is just plain fun to do.