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Dungeon Master Basics - How to Build a Dungeon
by Phil Tucker
It's in the job title, and as such, you owe it to your players and yourself to run a dungeon adventure at least once. But how to go about it? Dungeons are much more than just holes in the ground, they're the chthonic realm of monsters and beasts, the final retreat of outlaws and necromancers, they're deathtraps and fortresses, wild caverns linked by rushing rivers and filled with endless potential for traps, encounters and battles. So how do you go about building your own dungeon?
The first thing you have to decide is your dungeon's raison d' etre. What is it, why is it there? What is it being used for? Do you want it to be a series of natural caverns that have been put to use, or something man made and artificial? If you're going the natural direction, then you can throw in a lot more randomness into the mix, picking all sorts of wandering monsters and physical features that a more ordered society or system would clear out and put to rights. So think large, think random, think fun and dirty. What sort of monsters might take up in a random series of connected cave? A small tribe of goblins, a dire bear, ropers and rust monsters? What sort of physical dangers might there be, pit falls and collapsing ceilings, slick floors and rivers? You can just string together a series of caves and tunnels and right there you have your first dungeon, all ready to rock and roll.
But for the discerning DM, you're going to want to put a little more oomph into your creation, and won't want to settle for a random mixture of caverns and tunnels and critters. No, you want an organizing intelligence behind it, a mastermind or leader that's orchestrating the whole shebang, pulling the strings and holding it all together. Wizards are the all time favorite dungeon mastermind dwellers, retreating from society to lick their wounded egos and plan all sorts of megalomaniacal plans from the safety of their subterranean retreats. Plus they have the power to make the impossible happen in the dungeon, from magical traps to summoning all kinds of fantastic creatures to ward and protect them. If you want to truly let your imagination rip, then you can't beat a powerful mage with an eye for incredible interior décor and a penchant for henchmen in fancy uniforms.
So once you have your mastermind (say a wizard, but it could be an orc warlord, a drow prince, whatever floats your boat), you then have to think things out. What are they trying to achieve? Are they stockpiling weapons and forces so as to launch a raid on the surface? If so you're going to want to reflect that with barracks and troops. Are they protecting a tomb, hidden treasure, or some other secret? Then your dungeon will need to be set up as a defensive fortress. There needs to be some governing logic to your setup, and from there you can work out all the particulars, thinking it through, step by step, as to what your mastermind wants, and how he's going about achieving it.
About the Author
If Conan the Barbarian were around today, he'd no doubt do a combination of PX90 and the Insanity Workout. It would take a truly superhuman will to accomplish that kind of murderous workout combination. Curious about them? Click on one of those links to learn more!
Dieselboy - The Dungeonmaster's Guide (1 of 4)
Dieselboy - The Dungeonmaster's Guide (1 of 4)
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