Dungeons and Dragons adventures can take place in an enormous variety of locations, but the original classic is the dungeon. From ancient tombs to deep caverns to the ruins of an abandoned underground city, dungeons are a great place to set adventures.
They allow the Dungeon Master to put some limits on the player’s exploration, and the best dungeons give players a veritable playground to explore. There are hundreds of pre-built dungeons out there, but many DMs enjoy the challenge of building their own from scratch. Creating good a dungeon is one of the most rewarding things a DM can do, but it is no easy task.
10 Be Thoughtful About Map Layout
One of the biggest things to consider when building a dungeon is the physical layout of the place. The best dungeons have multiple routes to explore, whether because they were built that way or because time has taken its toll and created extra passages. Making sure that the map has a good mixture of dangerous rooms and safe places to rest is important, especially for larger dungeons. D&D is fundamentally a role-playing game, so the story that will be told on the dungeon map should be a priority.
9 Think About The Ecosystem
The best dungeons contain living, believable ecosystems, with all the denizens interacting with each other in somewhat realistic ways. A party of adventurers walking into one room to find a dozen orcs, only to find a demon in the next and a dragon in the next might start to feel like the place is disjointed. Instead, all of a dungeon’s denizens should have a reason for being there, which should be communicated in their behavior, placement, and equipment.
8 Decide On A Unifying Theme
Building a dungeon is an opportunity for a DM to give themself some limits. One great way to exercise creativity is to decide on a unifying theme for a dungeon and build all the rooms, obstacles, and treasure around that theme.
Perhaps a ruined city was once home to dwarves, so all the houses are small, it is patrolled by ancient clockwork creations, and filled with ancient dwarven gold. Setting a theme can also allow DMs to throw in a deliberate subversion, like a wandering demon in the ancient dwarven city.
7 Make Exploration Active
It’s easy to build a dungeon by putting together a series of rooms and filling it with monsters. But if each room consists of simply kicking down a door and killing monsters, then the dungeon will quickly become boring. Giving opportunities for players to be active by including stealthy monsters, traps, locked doors, and other hazards will help players feel like they are actively exploring a space, not just running a gauntlet.
6 Balance Realism With The Cool Factor
Broadly speaking, there are two ways to design D&D content. One is to build from a totally logical, realistic place. This can help make a world that is believable, but it can also lead to things feeling dull. The other way is to go totally from what seems cool, going purely on what would make the coolest choice at the time. This makes for an exciting game, but it can fail to stand up to scrutiny. The best dungeons land somewhere in the middle, with enough realism to make the place feel right, but with enough cool stuff to keep it exciting.
5 Give The Dungeon History
Dungeons are often old places, and it is important to illustrate that in monster choice, treasure, and even architectural design. A good way to achieve some history is to imagine what a place looked like when it was built, then slowly move through time.
Perhaps a small river digs a larger and larger chasm, or another party of adventurers fell to the wall of darts trap a hundred years ago. Thinking about a dungeon’s history can be a great way to give players hints about what lies ahead and overall contribute to believability.
4 Look To Video Game Dungeons
A great place to look for inspiration in designing D&D dungeons is video games. Tons of video games are renowned for their dungeons, perhaps most notably the Legend of Zelda franchise. Video game dungeons serve a different purpose, especially since many of them are built for just one player, but they can still provide excellent insights in terms of enemy placement, room design, puzzles, and traps.
3 Intersperse Realistic Rewards
It can be easy to get caught up in placing monsters and traps while designing a dungeon, and then maybe put a bunch of loot at the end. This is fine for shorter dungeons, but longer dungeons, especially if they might take several sessions, should have treasure throughout.
Not only does this help with believability, it gives players a slow steady stream of rewards for their hard work. This is especially true for items like healing potions, as they will help the characters survive to the end.
2 Know The Characters
When designing any D&D adventure, it’s important to think about every character’s backstory and every player’s preferences. This can be especially important in dungeon design, as players will have a lot less freedom as to where to go and what to do. One of the most obvious things to do is to tie a dungeon’s design and purpose into the overall arc of the campaign.
1 Have Fun
Designing a dungeon is one of the most fun things a Dungeon Master can try. There are infinite ways to go about it, so every DM can find the way that suits them best. While there are lots of things to keep in mind, the best way to ensure the process is fun and productive is to have fun. Cracking open books to find weird monsters, playing old video games to find cool traps, and sifting through art books to pull cool scenery from are all great ways to have a great time building dungeons.
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