Skip to main content

Building a Dungeon is like Decorating a Christmas Tree

Happy Holidays to friends and readers!  Today I thought I would share a Christmas tree inspired method for building a dungeon.

When decorating a Christmas tree, one starts with a natural structure -- the tree.  The tree is grown (or made to resemble) a natural form.  Over top of the tree, we add lights as a structure to pull our view from the bottom to the top of the tree, highlighting all the character we will add in between.  Next we add garland to spread the lighting more diffusely and to add color.  Then we add ornaments that give us points of interest on the trees.  Some may be generically the same, while others are unique.  We add tinsel over the ornaments to increase the twinkle.  Finally the tree is topped with a special angel or star to finish the look.

In our dungeon, we also need to start with something natural.  What was this area originally?  Was it an underground mine?  Was it a prison?  Was it a series of smugglers caverns?  Whatever the original purpose of the area was, will give use the basic layout, size of rooms, and how they were originally used.  This is the tree part of our dungeon, that we would usually sketch out.

Like the lights on our tree, we need something for our dungeon to draw us into the dungeon, pull us through it, and help us cover the whole thing from edge to edge.  For this we need to build a bit of lore.  Why would anyone come to this dungeon now?  How would they enter or exit the dungeon?  What obstacles would cause the adventurers to search through the dungeon areas?  From this we start to add entrances, exits, obstacles, and some idea of a goal with perhaps subgoals for specific areas.

Garland is next as a way of diffusing the light throughout the tree.  By this, we mean to soften the edges of our previous step.  We ask other questions like who is using this dungeon now?  What are they using it for?  How would this have changed the original dungeon?  What would have been added, removed, or stolen?  How would time have changed things?  All of these details let us start to fill in interesting details that may either add to our original view of how the dungeon will be played or may further complicate how it might be played.  This step is often the most fun for players because it adds detail that isn't necessarily related to the main story arch.  This type of detail gives the dungeon a real feel because not everything defined is important.

Ornaments come next, and the ornaments of a dungeon are it's encounters.  Now we're breaking out our books of monsters, traps, treasures, and puzzles.  In some dungeons you may have repeated random encounters or encounters of the same type.  In others, the encounters may be all unique.  Keep in mind that encounters are a snapshot of the state of the dungeon that need to be connected to the dungeon's structure and story.  They should make sense.  The dungeon should have either symbiotic or predator-prey relationships between it's inhabitants.  These relationships can even be used to make more complex multi-faction encounters.

To add the final sense of realism to the dungeon, we add the tinsel, the little details for flavor.  The details should be things to make the dungeon memorable.  The should capture all of the senses.  Examples can be smells, textures, light levels, feel and temperature of the floor and walls, elevation changes, drafts and breezes.  Statues, books, furniture, and non-encounter creatures can also add to the full picture.

Finally, much like we top our tree with an angel or star, we need to top off our dungeon with a boss encounter.  The encounter ties back to the goals, structures, and other encounters to complete the picture.  The boss encounter should be a challenging fight and should reward the players with critical information, a critical plot piece, or some valuable treasure.

Tying all of these pieces and parts together, much like a Christmas tree, will bring a wonderful thing to life that will give your gaming group hours of joy.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

5E Starting Gold and Equipment for Higher Levels

The DMG has a rough recommendation for starting gold and equipment for higher levels, but with my groups running one-shots, we wanted to nail it down to level by level. Here's my DMG-inspired table. Generally I allow equipment to be traded in during character creation for half book value, where applicable. I also, as a GM, offer to make custom magic items for players who can't choose. A list of magical items by rarity can be found here  with stats available in the DMG. I also generally allow players to buy healing potions (2d4+2) for 50gp and greater healing potions for 250gp (4d4+4). PHB items are available at book cost at creation. I do not allow other equipment to be purchased except in game. This is generally based off the "high magic" campaign. Level Starting Gold Starting Equipment / Magic Items 1 - 160gp  OR Standard starting equipment 2 210gp Standard starting equipment 3 285gp Standard starting equipment 4 365gp Standard sta

Rules for Flying Creatures in 5E

I'm not one for just throwing my players willy-nilly into something new without an idea of how it would work.  Flying races are on the horizon for one of my games, so here are my clarifications for flying creatures: A flying creatures requires a minimum space of at least 3 times their height in all directions in order to flight. For example, a 6 ft tall flying creature requires a room to be at least 18 ft in all dimensions before they can fly in it. A flying creature can attempt to grapple a creature.  If the the target or grappler are flying, grapple attempts are at disadvantage. If neither are flying, grapples are per RAW.  The state of flying or walking is determined by the last square you have moved.  To change between walking and/or flying, you must use at least 1 space of movement.  Movement rules per RAW apply (PHB pg 190 "Using Different Speeds") A successful grapple check by a flying creature can allow the flying creature to potentially carry the creature

Exploiting Weakness in D&D 5e: A Guide for the Evil Plotting GM

I wrote a similar article to this on Pathfinder, and though this is a pretty evil topic, it has been of use to a lot of folks out there.  So, now, I think, is the time to start a similar article for D&D 5e.  This will be a living document to be updated with suggestions and more information as I find better methods. In general, 5e is a lot more challenging for a GM, because the classes are reasonably balanced and because the game mechanics don't have a lot of scale over the 20 levels. Here's a general list of things to increase the difficulty for the party: Increase the number of foes and the CR (ignore the book CR system if it isn't offering a challenge) Spells against the PCs low saves.  A high level sleep spell, for example, could take out a party with no elves. Drag out the opportunity for the long rest.  After 2 short rests, the 3rd battle of the day is tough. Hit the most vulnerable PC first. It almost always forces another teammate to take an action to a