D&D 5E (2014) summarizing dungeon travel

[pukunui]

Hi all,

In Chapter 8 of the PHB, it talks about using a scale of minutes to track movement in a dungeon environment. It goes on to talk about how, in particularly large dungeons and cave networks, the DM can summarize movement between encounters, eg. "After killing the guardian at the entrance to the ancient dwarven stronghold, you consult your map, which leads you through miles of echoing corridors to a chasm bridged by a narrow stone arch."

I'm planning on running a series of set-piece encounters as a sort of tutorial dungeon for my group, but I don't want to string just one room after another with nothing in between ... but at the same time, I'm not sure I want to map out all the in-between bits.

So I'm looking for advice and examples from my fellow DMs. What do you guys do when you don't want to map out an entire dungeon complex? How do you summarize travel in a dungeon environment between set-pieces? Got any tips?

I'm looking for descriptive phrases. Maybe a few non-combat encounters. Strange and wondrous things. Anything to keep the "in between" bits from becoming stale and/or confusing.

In case it matters, the environment I'm envisioning is loosely based on the ancient temples and caves from the Dragon Age: Origins Urn of Sacred Ashes quest.

 

[iserith]

Hi all,

In Chapter 8 of the PHB, it talks about using a scale of minutes to track movement in a dungeon environment. It goes on to talk about how, in particularly large dungeons and cave networks, the DM can summarize movement between encounters, eg. "After killing the guardian at the entrance to the ancient dwarven stronghold, you consult your map, which leads you through miles of echoing corridors to a chasm bridged by a narrow stone arch."

I'm planning on running a series of set-piece encounters as a sort of tutorial dungeon for my group, but I don't want to string just one room after another with nothing in between ... but at the same time, I'm not sure I want to map out all the in-between bits.

So I'm looking for advice and examples from my fellow DMs. What do you guys do when you don't want to map out an entire dungeon complex? How do you summarize travel in a dungeon environment between set-pieces? Got any tips?

I'm looking for descriptive phrases. Maybe a few non-combat encounters. Strange and wondrous things. Anything to keep the "in between" bits from becoming stale and/or confusing.

In case it matters, the environment I'm envisioning is loosely based on the ancient temples and caves from the Dragon Age: Origins Urn of Sacred Ashes quest.

A kind soul has been moving my content from WotC to enworld. So here you can find a reworking on Cragmaw Cave that I did which made it more abstract. You may be able to get some ideas from this. Of particular note is the manner in which I tied travel pace and choice of route to the weight of the random encounter chart and threat meter.

My preference in such a situation is to offer the players a choice of two or more areas to explore by offering clues as to what can be found there if they head in that direction. After all, an uninformed choice isn't a very meaningful one. So keep that in mind when describing the environment.

Finally, you can always do a little collaborative storytelling and ask the players to help you describe the trip from one destination to another, even suggesting minor challenges they have overcome along the way.

 

[SuperZero]

If it's a natural cavern, areas between could require climbing, or crawling, or squeezing through narrow passages, and maybe sometimes there's areas that are just inaccessible to anything bigger than a cat.

In a constructed dungeon, maybe there's an old room that was used by previous inhabitants for some grand purpose that's not in use now, and clearly hasn't been occupied for a very long time.
Of course, they might want to explore/search that unless they're in a big hurry.

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

The walls are roughly finished, carved from the rock with what looks like some haste.

The walls are smooth and finely carved and the corridor roof meets in a central apex not unlike the prow of a boat - at intervals you can see sconces for torches and everywhere there are cobwebs in the corners.

As you descend, the tunnel becomes rougher and the walls are noticeably wet, your torchlight picking out speckles of light in the natural stone. The air is chill and damp and (character in metal armour) you can see moisture beading on your breastplate and the rim of your shield. Occasionally you hear the plink of droplets of water - once or twice (another character) finds a droplet has fallen down the neck of your tunic.

It appears that this area was used as a dwelling - you can make out a crude painting of a family of (monsters appropriate) made at around waist height, apparently made by children.

In the wall to one side of the doorway, you see a small rounded hollow has been carved out with a roughly-hewn seat. On the floor in front of this you make out a pattern of lines scored in the flagstones, two horizontal lines bisected by two vertical lines. You can see the pale outlines of the last game of tic tac toe that was played by the (apparently bored) guard that sat here. The circles won.

 

[Azurewraith]

I would just give a description of where they were passing through maybe throw in a few checks for preception keep them on their toes

 

[Unwise]

You don't need them all to be non-combat encounters. You can have hand waved combats. "You come across a bunch of kobolds, they fight with unusual ferocity, you soon realise they are protecting their lair/nursery. Do you take the long way around or push through their lair as they fight to the last to protect their eggs/kids? Does anybody speak Draconic?"

I tend to do a lot of narrative things of this nature for high level PCs. It makes a place feel both populated but also not heroic enough to bother playing through. It changes the question from "do you manage to kill them before they kill you?" to "Do you kill them? Why? How?".

I tend to fill dungeons with "enemies" going about their daily life, so the PCs would kind of feel like dicks for killing them for no reason. So they come across a bunch of troglodyte warriors who are protecting a bunch of females that are carrying large baskets of mushrooms and water. Or they come across a fights between two groups that they don't like, like drow and duergar. They just walk on by, or mop up survivors.

 

[Quickleaf]

So I'm looking for advice and examples from my fellow DMs. What do you guys do when you don't want to map out an entire dungeon complex? How do you summarize travel in a dungeon environment between set-pieces? Got any tips?

I'm looking for descriptive phrases. Maybe a few non-combat encounters. Strange and wondrous things. Anything to keep the "in between" bits from becoming stale and/or confusing.

The first paragraph sounds like you're looking for approaches, philosophies, and methodologies.

The second paragraph sounds like you're looking for specific descriptive phrases that you can read like read-aloud text, random non-combat encounters, and tricks/wondrous things like those listed in the DMG's tables.

Which are you really after?

 

[pukunui]

Which are you really after?

More the latter, I guess, but I think I'm good now. I'm probably going to scrap this dungeon. It's just not really coming together for me.