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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 7900738" data-attributes="member: 29398">Depends on the dungeon and-or the PCs' reasons for being there, too.  As a starter adventure I've had parties go into (in theory) cleared-out dungeons with their goal being simply to map the place, as a training exercise.  Sure there's some minor monsters have moved in, but on the whole the place is mostly empty. (and yes, this is an unusual type of adventure) <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />If a dungeon has multiple bands of warring occupants, empty rooms could also represent a buffer between their territories.Ah, I think we're coming at this one from opposite directions.When I'm designing an adventure site my first thought is "what was its original in-fiction purpose" (or "why is it here"), followed by "what has happened to it since, if anything".  Only after that will I overlay any purpose I-as-DM might have for that area now, as in "this was once the main hall, it's the biggest room, so that's where the Ogres are gonna live".Agreed re the kitchen-dining example.  Servants' quarters ofetn weren't all that close to their work site - kitchen staff at a mansion who spend their days in the basement might have their rooms in the attic, for example; or even live in a detached barracks.Not a problem.If the players/PCs aren't thorough in their explorations, that's on them. All they need to do is map the flippin' place and they'll soon see the unexplored passages.My go-to example for this is the castle/dungeon part of L1 Secret of Bone Hill.There's about six different ways to get in to that thing, some obvious, some not so.  What this allows for is if a party gets beaten back from one entrance they can try another; and-or they can scout to find an entrance that at least appears less risky. (and as DM it's great if you want to run the module more than once over the years, as the choice of entries means no two parties will ever approach it the same way!)I'm not too concerned about the tactical advantages/disadvantages of each entry point - they are what they are and the players/PCs can approach them as they like.  They're not likely to have much information on what's inside unless something's telegraphed or (very rare IME) they're willing to spend the time to observe the place for a few days, thus making it quite intentionally difficult to make a "meaningful" choice* except by trial and error.* - other than obvious challenges such as climbing if, say, they decide to go in through a roof or high window.Example: in Bone Hill the obvious means of entry to the castle are through the front door or by scrambling through a big hole (or two?) in the wall around the back.  There's telegraphed dangers to the front-door option (obvious circular char marks left by the fireball-happy wizard in the place), but the hole option is also quite risky.  There's also upper windows you could go in; if memory serves there's also an entry through the roof; and at least one secret entry through an outbuilding direct to the dungeon below.Once inside, Bone Hill also has several loops both vertical and horizontal, though there are a couple of dead ends in the dungeon.</blockquote>

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