Tips when building Dungeons.
- Thread starter Shadus
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Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
Google "How to Host a Dungeon" and look at the free PDF. It's a solo game for telling yourself the history of a dungeon and, even with the free version, it's hard not to create a dungeon with real depth and history and multiple themes you can pull from.
But, more basically, remember that your dungeon has a past. It was not created as a container for XP and treasure. Someone built it, for a reason. They may be gone now, and if so, traces of them remain, even if someone else has come in -- and if they've come in, they've made it their own in some fashion as well. An old enough dungeon will have gone through this multiple times, and each has the potential to bring a whole lot more to the table.
Write the history of your dungeon before drawing it and then go back and revise the history as you build the dungeon. Pull elements from the history in as room elements or just as window dressing or as the source of that XP and treasure.
But, more basically, remember that your dungeon has a past. It was not created as a container for XP and treasure. Someone built it, for a reason. They may be gone now, and if so, traces of them remain, even if someone else has come in -- and if they've come in, they've made it their own in some fashion as well. An old enough dungeon will have gone through this multiple times, and each has the potential to bring a whole lot more to the table.
Write the history of your dungeon before drawing it and then go back and revise the history as you build the dungeon. Pull elements from the history in as room elements or just as window dressing or as the source of that XP and treasure.
Imaginative traps - ones that don't have a DC attached but are puzzles
Dead ends - always important - nothing erks me more then liner dungeons without good reasons.
Keep them guessing - throw the first one at them early, later have them walk into a sand-pit room, vent in floor loose ceiling and have nothing happen....
Something they don't expect - Dungeons are mostly traps and Monsters, make yours a little different....some skill challenges, some diplomacy...
Again make it more then generic lair no.32 - If it has a feel and at atmosphere you'll find yourself enjoying it more....and so will the players....
Dead ends - always important - nothing erks me more then liner dungeons without good reasons.
Keep them guessing - throw the first one at them early, later have them walk into a sand-pit room, vent in floor loose ceiling and have nothing happen....
Something they don't expect - Dungeons are mostly traps and Monsters, make yours a little different....some skill challenges, some diplomacy...
Again make it more then generic lair no.32 - If it has a feel and at atmosphere you'll find yourself enjoying it more....and so will the players....
Oddly enough, in my years of D&D, we've build very few dungeons. Mostly because of the time investment required to design something really good. That said, I tend to take ideas from games like Zelda when making a dungeon. Little puzzles that allow the party to progress and that make combat a bit more interesting.
I've had rooms that are completely frozen over that include huge constructs encrusted in ice along with some object that the PC's want within it. A grate in the ceiling is covered by some large object over head with the occasional droplets of water falling from it. On the second floor of the dungeon, directly above this room, the PC's will come across a room with a hot-spring and a statue in the middle of it. Moving the statue causes the water to flow down in the room below granting access to said object and allowing the construct boss to threaten them.
I also use a lot of puzzle style combat in my dungeons. For example: A room in which monsters are endlessly summoned to maintain a maximum of 3. The goal for the PC's is to kill each enemy within an area of the room where an emblem lies. The fresh blood will activate the emblem and prevent that spawning point for enemies. Repeat until all three zones are closed off.
One I intend to use in my upcoming campaign is a room with a large fan sucking the creatures towards it. On the fans initiative, it will pull all creatures 3 squares closer to it. Creatures who get stuck in the fan will take very high single target damage as per the DMG each round. When a creature dies by the fan, its suction is reduced to 2 squares of pull, then 1, then it is disabled. With the fan stopped, the PC's can continue between it's blades and progress through the dungeon.
I've had rooms that are completely frozen over that include huge constructs encrusted in ice along with some object that the PC's want within it. A grate in the ceiling is covered by some large object over head with the occasional droplets of water falling from it. On the second floor of the dungeon, directly above this room, the PC's will come across a room with a hot-spring and a statue in the middle of it. Moving the statue causes the water to flow down in the room below granting access to said object and allowing the construct boss to threaten them.
I also use a lot of puzzle style combat in my dungeons. For example: A room in which monsters are endlessly summoned to maintain a maximum of 3. The goal for the PC's is to kill each enemy within an area of the room where an emblem lies. The fresh blood will activate the emblem and prevent that spawning point for enemies. Repeat until all three zones are closed off.
One I intend to use in my upcoming campaign is a room with a large fan sucking the creatures towards it. On the fans initiative, it will pull all creatures 3 squares closer to it. Creatures who get stuck in the fan will take very high single target damage as per the DMG each round. When a creature dies by the fan, its suction is reduced to 2 squares of pull, then 1, then it is disabled. With the fan stopped, the PC's can continue between it's blades and progress through the dungeon.
As others have said, you need to consider a) who built the dungeon and b) what was it built for? That will go a long way toward designing your dugeon (particularly the dungeon dressing) and will even help give you your size for the dungeon.
Once that is done, ask yourself a) who currently lives in the dungeon and b) what are the goals of the current occupant?
Often the creature currently living in the dungeon is not the same as the creature who built it (think of Moria in Lord of the Rings). These two questions will then tell you how to modify your original design (orcs might try to deface images of Moradin or Corellon for instance) as well as give you information for how to play your monsters. If your dungeon boss just wants to be left alone for instance, it may be content to just let the PCs go if they don't bother it, or it might be open to diplomacy, etc.
Once that is done, ask yourself a) who currently lives in the dungeon and b) what are the goals of the current occupant?
Often the creature currently living in the dungeon is not the same as the creature who built it (think of Moria in Lord of the Rings). These two questions will then tell you how to modify your original design (orcs might try to deface images of Moradin or Corellon for instance) as well as give you information for how to play your monsters. If your dungeon boss just wants to be left alone for instance, it may be content to just let the PCs go if they don't bother it, or it might be open to diplomacy, etc.
Thanks for all the Ideas. To be clear, I was wanting help more with layout and geography. Story telling is one of my finer skills, it's just that the background details seemed to be dull (Your in a cave. It has rock walls... very cave like...). It also, despite finding interesting monsters that fit story and challenge-wise, the geography made combat 2 dimensional. For the most part, I found a tool that should help me out with this in the future.
None the less, I'm still interested in general brain storming process when thinking up a dungeon. (btw, I'm using the term dungeon loosely to describe a place where PCs find adventure. So it could be an actual dungeon, or a forest, and etc.)
None the less, I'm still interested in general brain storming process when thinking up a dungeon. (btw, I'm using the term dungeon loosely to describe a place where PCs find adventure. So it could be an actual dungeon, or a forest, and etc.)
OnlineDM
Adventurer
I admit that I'm more of an encounter builder and less of a world builder.
My latest adventure takes place in caverns. The party begins with a fight in a multi-level cave, then navigates through some winding tunnels. They find themselves in a trapped room with runes carved onto the floor, then a dead end with a secret door. From there, they find their way to a different multi-level cave with a giant crevasse and a narrow bridge where another fight ensues. Beyond that chamber is a cave filled with unusual mushrooms. Finally, they end in a massive cavern with a magma river, a ziggurat, floating platforms, bridges and side tunnels.
There is no map for the cavern system. This is a combat encounter, a skill challenge, a combat encounter, an antechamber, and a combat encounter.
I focused on building cool combat encounters that could all take place in a cavern. I didn't focus at all on linking them all together in a sandboxy way.
This is a linear adventure, meant to be run at a gaming store or convention as a one-shot. Thus, the exploration comes via a skill challenge rather than mapping.
This works really well for me and gives my players cool encounter areas. But I didn't exactly build a dungeon - I built an adventure with cool locations.
My latest adventure takes place in caverns. The party begins with a fight in a multi-level cave, then navigates through some winding tunnels. They find themselves in a trapped room with runes carved onto the floor, then a dead end with a secret door. From there, they find their way to a different multi-level cave with a giant crevasse and a narrow bridge where another fight ensues. Beyond that chamber is a cave filled with unusual mushrooms. Finally, they end in a massive cavern with a magma river, a ziggurat, floating platforms, bridges and side tunnels.
There is no map for the cavern system. This is a combat encounter, a skill challenge, a combat encounter, an antechamber, and a combat encounter.
I focused on building cool combat encounters that could all take place in a cavern. I didn't focus at all on linking them all together in a sandboxy way.
This is a linear adventure, meant to be run at a gaming store or convention as a one-shot. Thus, the exploration comes via a skill challenge rather than mapping.
This works really well for me and gives my players cool encounter areas. But I didn't exactly build a dungeon - I built an adventure with cool locations.
AbdulAlhazred
Legend
You can certainly use overall geography as a help. Dungeon in a floating earth mote for instance. In mine I had it work in reverse, the PCs sneak in a back door on the underside and work their way up, although they did have the option to start on the top and play it out a bit differently.
Another dungeon was an ancient ruined dwarf city, which was all built around a massive shaft that extends down endlessly (and never was fathomed) with each level being reached by crossing bridges or negotiating ramps and stairs within the shaft. Some of the easily accessible levels had been later colonized by goblins, and at some point an evil wizard built a hideout and laboratory in one area. The players especially liked the maze with the invisible walls and gelatinous cubes, for some definition of 'liked'
There were lots of fun bits of old architecture. Another feature was the ventilation system infested with Jermlaine. They LOVED that!
Another 'Dungeon' is the Forest of Grin, which is infested with goblins that are actually helpful if you're nice to them. The ogres, shadow panthers, owlbears, and "Old Thousand Foot" were a bit less friendly... There are various old tombs and ruined forts. Another big aspect of that were the areas that the treants and dryads got bothered about when the PCs wandered into them. That and the swamp in the middle of the forest with the Black Dragon (with a lair that connects to the Shadowfell). I made it so that whenever the players go back to that area at different levels they can find something challenging to deal with but lower level people can usually avoid the worst spots until they're ready (hence the goblins).
Tactical locations, frankly I consider their mundane aspects, but my first consideration is how fun will it be to adventure in? Bridges, pits, balconies, etc. Then I consider the exploration phase of the story and how the PCs will be able to make meaningful choices. So I'm going to lay out corridors and whatever other avenues for moving around based on those considerations. You can then dress it up to explain why those things are where they are. I figure a realistically logical location that makes a bad story is just a bad story.
Another dungeon was an ancient ruined dwarf city, which was all built around a massive shaft that extends down endlessly (and never was fathomed) with each level being reached by crossing bridges or negotiating ramps and stairs within the shaft. Some of the easily accessible levels had been later colonized by goblins, and at some point an evil wizard built a hideout and laboratory in one area. The players especially liked the maze with the invisible walls and gelatinous cubes, for some definition of 'liked'
There were lots of fun bits of old architecture. Another feature was the ventilation system infested with Jermlaine. They LOVED that!Another 'Dungeon' is the Forest of Grin, which is infested with goblins that are actually helpful if you're nice to them. The ogres, shadow panthers, owlbears, and "Old Thousand Foot" were a bit less friendly... There are various old tombs and ruined forts. Another big aspect of that were the areas that the treants and dryads got bothered about when the PCs wandered into them. That and the swamp in the middle of the forest with the Black Dragon (with a lair that connects to the Shadowfell). I made it so that whenever the players go back to that area at different levels they can find something challenging to deal with but lower level people can usually avoid the worst spots until they're ready (hence the goblins).
Tactical locations, frankly I consider their mundane aspects, but my first consideration is how fun will it be to adventure in? Bridges, pits, balconies, etc. Then I consider the exploration phase of the story and how the PCs will be able to make meaningful choices. So I'm going to lay out corridors and whatever other avenues for moving around based on those considerations. You can then dress it up to explain why those things are where they are. I figure a realistically logical location that makes a bad story is just a bad story.
