[D&D] Newb DM seeking Dungeon-Crafting advice

quiet_banshee

Hey folks,

So after my tabletop gaming group's usual DM stepped down from the role to pursue other... pursuits... I made the decision to dust off the ol' Core Rulebooks for 3.0 (the only version that my group could reach a consensus on) and claim the title of Dungeon Master. Things initially went rather well... four players rolled up fresh characters and launched into a horror-based, post-spellplague Forgotten Realms campaign. The're all deeply into the story and the game itself, and the first adventure went very well. At any rate, the players have worked their way through the first half of their latest adventure and are basically just about to start the main dungeon proper during our session tomorrow.

I'm pretty happy with the dungeon as I've built it... it's got, to my mind, just the right amount of traps and monsters n' such (I even managed to sneak a riddle in there). But now, swelling with pride as I look over the lovingly hand-crafted grids and terrain for what is essentially an elaborate machine designed to kill my friends, I just realized that perhaps this board would be able to share some tricks. I'm sure quite a few of you have designed a dungeon or two in your day... what kinds of tricksy, devious, lethal places have you encouraged your players to traipse into with the gleam of treasure in their hungry eyes?

I guess that's all just a roundabout way of asking if you guys can offer any advice to someone who has just contracted Dungeon Master Disease.

A propos of nothing, the party involved in this particular adventure is made up of a wizard and ranger, both moon elves, a dwarf fighter, and a human druid.

And just one specific question. I've been tweaking the dungeon's final boss, who I have right now as a 6th-level sorcerer. I worry that I may have made the boss (who is accompanied by a respectable grouping of undead peoples) encounter into a death trap for the party, who are all 3rd level. What wisdom can y'all share in regards to keeping boss encounters challenging but not too challenging?

Thanks, and I apologize for what I can only assume is a glaring newbness xD

Auralynx

The main thing in drawing up an enjoyable dungeon is to make sure there's more than one possible route through it. If there's only one path to be on, it's not really a dungeon, after all, and people enjoy the opportunity to scout ahead and go "Nope, not that way." Plus, if things are looking too easy, this gives the bad guys a path or paths to react to the players along.

Following immediately on that suggestion: if possible, be willing to hack your map such that the really cool encounters come up regardless of where people go or at dramatically appropriate moments. There's nothing like drawing up a room with a golem disguised as a structural feature with an elaborate secret door that will attract their attention first and draw them into range... and then having them not go there. When I was running an extended Undermountain-type game I tried never to be more than a session ahead of my group in terms of having a hard-prepared map, but I was usually making notes and doing statblocks as they came to me, for later use.

Personally, I like to think back to Metroid and Castlevania when designing dungeons and try to create floors or areas with strong and obvious themes. This is the fire area, this is the insect area, this area is ruled by a hag and her monstrous spawn, etc.

quiet_banshee

Auralynx wrote: »

The main thing in drawing up an enjoyable dungeon is to make sure there's more than one possible route through it. If there's only one path to be on, it's not really a dungeon, after all, and people enjoy the opportunity to scout ahead and go "Nope, not that way." Plus, if things are looking too easy, this gives the bad guys a path or paths to react to the players along.

Following immediately on that suggestion: if possible, be willing to hack your map such that the really cool encounters come up regardless of where people go or at dramatically appropriate moments. There's nothing like drawing up a room with a golem disguised as a structural feature with an elaborate secret door that will attract their attention first and draw them into range... and then having them not go there. When I was running an extended Undermountain-type game I tried never to be more than a session ahead of my group in terms of having a hard-prepared map, but I was usually making notes and doing statblocks as they came to me, for later use.

Personally, I like to think back to Metroid and Castlevania when designing dungeons and try to create floors or areas with strong and obvious themes. This is the fire area, this is the insect area, this area is ruled by a hag and her monstrous spawn, etc.

Thanks! Aside from the solid advice, your post was really useful for identifying ways to 'think like a DM'. And the Metroid/Castlevania thing will definitely come into play as I design my next one

Killer Avacado

Another thing to remember, and that is one of the most difficult things to get 'right', is that your PC's are going to screw up your plans. Always. Every time. Guaranteed.

That glaringly obvious clue? It will go over their heads.

That irresistible carrot to lead them to the next stage? It will be ignored.

Perfect trap lovingly created but totally survivable once they notice XYZ? Yeah, no XYZ will be apparent to them.

In short, always be ready to change things on the fly. The cool part about planning out awesome encounters is that if the PC's don't actually meet the encounter then you get to re-use it! Congratulations, you've just made your next session that much easier!

I was running a game where the PC's fought what was going to be their nemesis. They got lucky and as he was trying to make a get away and a lucky crit from an arrow took him out. Said nemesis suddenly became an agent for the real nemesis (that I had to make before the next session). They never knew the difference.

Also, be wary of assuming that random dice rolls are going to go a certain way. If you hinge an entire encounter on one character making one specific roll you're setting yourself up for frustration. Think about games like Fallout, where there are a LOT of ways to accomplish each task and you'll be well on your way to running a great campaign.

Also, make their opponents believable. Nothing is more stupid than the PC's finding a healing potion on a dead bad guy if said bad guy had an opportunity to use the potion before it died. Make your world make sense and it'll be a more rewarding experience for everyone.