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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Shallown" data-source="post: 2725942" data-attributes="member: 1368">I like dungeon bashing and clearing out some cavernous area but I seldom use them in my campaigns anymore. Logic has somewhat sapped the fun out of dungeon bashing for me as a GM. As a player logic is not needed as much since I am more willing to suspend that type of thinking.I think the most important part of dungeon design is know what came before and why it is like it is now. I think in one of the DMG's or books on dungeons there was a picture of a room as it was then a picture of it as it would have been as a dungeon. It made me think of the history and ideas that go into a dungeon environment. I know 99% of the time the players may never know what the dungeon was before or its history but it is important for the GM to have a rough sketch as it helps breath life into it, at least for me.In my last campaign I had several story arcs and each ended in a dungeon setting. I define dungeon as an area of restricted movement and choices for the PC's.  Here are the highlights.Small bit of campaign background. It was based post a humanoid/undead war about a year after so lots of areas were war torn and abandoned and packs of humanoids still roamed as the kingdom reestablished itself.First serious dungeon was the players coming across an abandoned temple to teh god of metal/mechanics/technology and crafting. In the Temple were kobolds who took it over. Lots of kobolds with magical and mechanical traps that were part of the temple, levers and thing-ambobs abounded. Players set about clearing the place only to discover that the kobolds worshiped this god and were more or less the new clergy/keepers of the church. The players spent some time making up for slaughtering the gods worshipers.Next was the dungeon under an elven library that had been the first eleven palace. So they had to sneak in (with help) to rob the tomb of the first elven king. So I had lots of undead and traps. When they discovered the first elven king was actually a drow they were surprised and the fact he was intelligent undead so they could talk with him was also fun. Also I love using undead spiders as well.Next major dungeon was a sunken mechanical crab designed and operated by gnomes. The crab was built to hide the artifact that powered it by taking it away with some gnome guardians. The Sub was magically powered by this artifact (the players needed) Unfortunatelythe artifact was powered by life energy which was in abundance in the city were the crab was built. No one noticed losing a 1/4 hit point a day to the artifact but once it moved out of a prime feeding ground it stopped working sending the blue crab sub to the bottom of the ocean. It also sucked energy of all sorts so it left a 2 mile dead spot on the ocean with no vegetation, fish etc. The second function was of the artifact was to channel the energy to power things it was designed to power a dimensional gate, was then used to power a sub then it used its power to evolve life on the sub after it sucked all the Gnomes dry. The plants in the hydroponic area became vegepygmies who are immune to electricity and the many electrical defenses inside the crab, The golumn helpers/assistants evolved into clockwork horrors and the dead gnomes formed a Bone naga who inhabited the engine room with the artifact.The self contained environment worked out well and was logical to me. I liked designing it and it allowed me to envision the dungeon and bring it even more to life for my players.The last major dungeon was in an abandoned dwarven city that had been overrun by a black dragon and drow. Unknown to the characters as they gear up to fight these things that the city had since been over run by demons and the black dragon was actually a shadow dragon that took up residence nearby. The players had to move through the city while fighting off demons to get to the dwarven vault then make their way through the vault. All the passwords an traps in the vault were designed to be challenging for anyone but dwarves who would be able to make it through with less effort. It was fun to see everyone thinking in the dwarven mind set as the penetrated the 7 traps/doors/puzzles of the vault. Hopefully this gives some insight into what dungeons can be to some GM's.Later</blockquote>

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