Constructing a Better Dungeon

From 1st Edition AD&D DMG. 
Also a case study in why you don't split the party.

Almost nothing short of a pop culture reference can pull a game group out of the moment than a nonsensical dungeon.  Why are there orcs, goblins, giant beetles, and a wight living in these trees?  Is there a food chain or pecking order here or was this the result of randomly selected from dice rolls on a table a la the original printing of B1: In Search of the Unknown.  Oh good, the giant beetle has a magic scroll and the goblins had a magic sword that they didn't use because it's too nice?



As I noted in my Evolution of Dungeons and Dragons post the original adventures like B2 (The Keep on the Borderlands), X1 (The Isle of Dread), and I1 (Dwellers of the Forbidden City) felt like a collection of random encounters.  In the case of B2, there's 10 caves filled with kobolds, goblins, orcs, hobgoblins, gnolls, and much, much more!  It didn't make any sense.

How do you go about correcting this story-telling aberration?

Logic and science!  *Boo!  Hiss!*

By injecting realism into your fantasy world, you'll make it more believable which, in turn, can keep everyone focused.  In my opinion, one of the difference between good and bad fantasy is world-building.  The cheap Conan knock-offs tend to skimp as much on story as they do on clothing for the women.  Another area is going for unnecessary laughs (see the original Dungeons and Dragons movie for plenty examples of this).  Actually, don't see it - it's terrible.  Wrath of the Dragon God, the semi-sequel, which has the production values of a SyFy special, while not great, was better if only for trying harder and providing a better questing story line and some better, albeit still generic, characters.

Taking world-building down to the smallest level your adventure/dungeon needs to stand on its own in the world as well as fit into your larger world.  I'm using dungeon as a default term for adventure location.  It could be a mansion, a town, a cavern, or a ship; the ideas hold true throughout.

Some things to consider for a more realistic dungeon

Fitting into the Larger World

How does this dungeon fit into the local area and the world in general?  Does it make sense if your dungeon located in the middle of the desert is full of lizard men?  Would Efreeti live in an ice cave?  If you're in a low magic world, does having a dungeon with a bridge made of light summoned by a magical flute fit in?

This also leads into the legends and stories of the area?  Why have the undead haunted the marshes for as long as people can remember?  Why has the local township not tried to burn down the orc settlement?  Who was the lich before he took over the castle on the cliffs?  Being able to drop mysterious hints and clues about the area, even if incorrect, helps build the story of the land.

Dropping hints is probably more effective than laying out the whole story.  The players may connect dots that aren't there that could lead to new adventures or even a better story arc than you had planned out.

Food Chain  

If there's a random collection of monsters - who's eating whom?  Is this a closed ecosystem?  Or is this a cave or series of caves where hunter/gatherers can leave to find food and water?  If there's a river nearby, maybe stock some rooms with barrels or skins full of water and crude fishing equipment for humanoids like goblins.  Have fish remains in trash piles or moved outside to help show what's being eaten.

If the monsters are eating each other, maybe have some traps laid out by the smarter ones to catch the other ones.  If the goblins are constantly being hunted by the owlbear, have them skittish to the sound of claws on ground or it's hooting and screeching.

In an area where's the constant battle and death maybe it makes sense for there to be a carrion crawler or lots of rats.  Both are content to leave the living inhabitants alone knowing they'll make more food for them eventually.

Pecking Order

If there's multiple types of humanoid monsters what's the pecking order?   Have the orcs enslaved the goblins who in turn bully the kobolds?  Why don't the stronger enemies wipe out the weaker ones?  What makes them co-exist when there's probably a finite amount of resources available?

The goblins realize there's not enough food to go around and are starting to look out for their own survival.  By talking to the goblins, maybe you could get them to agree to help you take care of the orcs in return for them leaving the area.  Maybe slaughtering (or intimidating) the kobolds will speed up the goblin's willingness to negotiate.

Wandering Monsters/Random Encounters

From 1st edition AD&D DMG
This is what Dwarven Siri looks like

Within a dungeon, I don't think there should be "random" encounters.  If anything, there should be encounters that happen in random locations.  The monsters confronted here are part of the ecosystem.  Eliminating some monsters means numbers in other rooms need to be changed or their personal effects are somewhere else.

Likewise traps and such should be situated as it would make sense as part of the defense of a lair.  This also means there needs to be a way around the trap by the trap setter.  The covered pit doesn't extend all the way to the walls so you can creep along the edges.  Or there's handholds in the wall that the kobolds use to climb across.  As you think about your dungeon - could this area be traversed by children?  Are there children in the dungeon (see Mundane items below)?  Is there another way in and out that they use?  

Time Evolution of the area

What's the history from the time the area was built?  Who dug the caves or were they naturally formed?  The crypt was empty when the knight and his family were buried there - what moved in first?  How did it survive?

How did the evolution of the dungeon affect the world outside it?  Maybe there's a large boom town of adventuring types and the merchants catering to them near the entrance to the dungeon where the riches of an ancient king is buried.  Along with the honest folk is a seedy underworld of criminal activities including prostitution, extortion, and gambling.  Hey Paladin - get your lawful good on here.

Maybe the vampire's curse to blot out the sun over his domain has led most plant-life to die so the animals and people are underfed and have to travel great distances to get supplies.  The local population has dwindled to the stubborn and those who the vampire forces to work for him.  There's a lot of abandoned buildings and its hard to get information or supplies.  People are afraid of newcomers as the vampire tends to attack those who'd try and usurp his rule.

Mundane items

From module U2: Danger at Dunwater

Along with the fantastic and magical don't forget the mundane.  Where do the monsters sleep?  Do they have straw mats, beds, or a pile of furs to sleep on?  Is this just a war band or are there non-combatants (the proverbial women and children)?  Where are they?  Do the children have toys or pets?  Many of the adults should have some trinkets of minimal value to add flavor (colored rocks, a crude carving, a necklace made out of bones, etc.).  Goblins, orcs, etc. are evil creatures but humanizing them could make for a more memorable experience than just making them a source of XP and GP.

For humanoids place kitchens and areas used for toilets (it can be outside the dungeon - but have the area known).  Where do they put the trash (bones, non-edible items, scraps of skin/leather that can't be used, broken equipment)?

How is the area lit?  Does it need lighting or do the occupants have darkvision?  What about the originally builders?  Are there still sconces on the wall?  Have the kobolds draped artwork or bodies from them?

From D&D Basic rule book

Store room for food, weapons, water, firewood, oil, etc.  If this is a little colony, they'll have stuff with them.  Do they have a stash of stolen goods?  

Where are the leaders?  Do they have their own quarters or do they share with the rest of the clan?  Are their accommodations nicer?  Do they have tapestries and other stolen works strewn about?  Have they "improved" the art with their own additions?

Do the inhabitants have prisoners or slaves?  Where and how are they kept?  As an aside, slavery in any form is abhorrent.  The use of it in games may be for flavor but if so, I think it's the DM's duty to allow the players to free all the slaves.  The idea of players having their own slaves is disgusting and is not something I'd ever allow (historical accuracy or not) regardless of the potential role playing opportunities.  If the player wants to be an ex-slave; that's part of their story and is acceptable.

If the dungeon was fabricated by the inhabitants, they should also have tools like picks, axes, hammers, and shovels as well as tools for sharpening and repairing the tools (or a pile of broken tools if they just steal what they need).  If the dungeon is carved stone, there should be tools for carving, bowls for mortar, and debris from chiseling the blocks.  For all construction, there should be debris be it piles of dirt and rocks, left over lumber, etc.

Guards and dungeon life

Example of Gnolls on guard duty with wine
From 1st edition module UK3: The Gauntlet

The goblin king has three guards with him.  All the time?  That means he has at least six (two sets on twelve hour shifts - hey nobody said goblins were easy to work for).  When does the king sleep?  Are the guards in the room with him or outside?  What happens when the gnolls on guard duty overnight find a few flagons of wine?

When not working or sleeping, where do the monsters go?  What do they do?  Are they out hunting?  Humanoids may have different areas for living and sleeping.

Unlike MMO's where everything is always happening, regardless of the sun's cycle, your dungeon should have a natural cycle.  What's up during the day and what's up at night?  Underground, those hours can get funny because it's always dark.  But most animals, including the PCs, need sleep.  The room you just cleared out may have the guards on the other shift returning at some point...

Limiting the Size

This may be counter-intuitive, but a smaller or more sparsely populated dungeon may be better than the underground lair of a tribe of orcs that's three hundred strong.  Using empty rooms and hallways atmospherically can be as powerful as silence in music.  It provides a powerful contrast.  Room after room filled with monsters becomes boring after a while, especially if each combat is relatively challenging.

Look to the old BioWare games Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale for proof of this.  IWD felt like a non-stop slog against the forces of evil whilst BG is fondly remembered as having a better story.  Both feature a lot of combat but I don't recall ever groaning "there's more orcs?" while playing BG.  In fairness, I did enjoy the story of IWD although it's linear nature tends to dampen the replayability.

You should give opportunity to sneak past patrols or avoid traps.  Allow the characters some freedom to express themselves with weapons sheathed.  The party sneaking around a full dungeon adds a layer of excitement and danger that empty halls do not.  Find the balance that works for your players, including changing it up on the fly as needed.

Making it memorable

Lastly, to make the dungeon memorable as well as realistic, don't forget to add some flavor.  This could be hieroglyphs or cave paintings from the original inhabitants or a more recent addition, including graffiti.  Maybe there's some webbing and an old opened cocoon that hints at what's ahead or what used to live there.

If there's to be a climatic battle, make that final room something special with interesting terrain or other memorable features.  Maybe it's a large tiered cavern providing dynamic areas for the battle.  Maybe the skirmish starts on a rope bridge over a chasm.  Maybe it's a chase through a trap laden labyrinth.  Maybe the princess is tied to an alter and a giant snake is approaching from its burrow in the temple carved into the stone behind her.  As long as the elements make sense in the story of the area, it'll add to the excitement.  

Having a final battle that's just your turn, my turn until it ends is boring and not very epic.  This sword fight between (Captain) Jack Sparrow and Will Turner in the first of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie shows how terrain, parley, and pacing makes an excellent adventure.  Same with the Battle of the Mounds from Conan the Barbarian where strategic use of the terrain (and the script) allowed two to battle against many.  

What are some ways you like to see dungeons come to life?   Do you remember any epic dungeons that felt like real places?  Did you ever have an adventure that could've been epic but it fell flat?