Dungeons: Iconic Settings for TTRGs

As a Game Keeper one of my favorite design projects is building vibrant and interesting dungeons. Places that both feel real to players as well as challenging to their characters. There are numerous types of dungeons, and many more frameworks to describe them. 

An essential part of many fantasy rpg’s, dungeons may be the most basic adventuring environment. These underground mazes, caverns, and catacombs are typically filled with traps, puzzles, and monsters, making them a challenging and exciting environment for players to explore. 

As an enclosed zone, a dungeon can be used to tell interesting stories. Utilizing a combination of environment, creatures, artifacts, and encounters the lore can be discovered and explored. A Keeper can use this lore to further flesh out their game world and the overall campaign. Running an adventure focused on a dungeon can be easier than other environments. The enclosed nature of a dungeon helps keep players on a limited path. This helps a Keeper plan where and what the players may interact with. They can generally be sure that their carefully designed encounters will be experienced. 

While there are as many dungeons as dungeon creators, there are a few basic archetypes to start from. Picking one and fleshing it out is a good place to start when designing an adventure. 

Caverns: These are probably the most basic. Dungeons that have been created by nature, such as caves or underground rivers. They are more organic and less structured than classic dungeons, making them more unpredictable and challenging.

Ruins: These may be the remnants of once-great civilizations that have fallen into disrepair, or something mor recent fallen to strife. Players may find artifacts and treasures that offer valuable insights into the history of the world.

Catacombs: These dungeons are typically used for burials or religious rites. They are often filled with undead creatures, such as zombies and skeletons, and traps that guard the tombs of long-dead kings and queens.

Strongholds: These are dungeons that serve as the lairs of powerful villains, such as evil wizards, dragons, or cult leaders. They are often heavily fortified and guarded by minions, making them a significant challenge for players to overcome.

Intentional Dungeons: These are quintessential dungeons, created with the intention to be a dungeon. From a wizard’s maze to a minotaur’s labyrinth these dungeons are crafted to be confusing and treacherous. Filled with winding corridors, secret rooms, and traps at every turn. Players may encounter various monsters, from goblins and skeletons to trolls and dragons.

Creating a logical living space is an essential aspect of creating a well-designed and effective dungeon in Dungeons and Dragons. The dungeon should have a clear purpose and function beyond being a location for adventurers to explore. The layout and contents of the dungeon should make sense within the context of the world, and flow naturally. Considerations like the need for water, providing food for creatures, and thinking about how different rooms and corridors connect, should be considered to create a realistic and immersive environment.

Environmental considerations play a significant role in creating a realistic and engaging dungeon. Dungeons should be dynamic environments that change and evolve over time, depending on the creatures and hazards within them. Environmental hazards should be incorporated, such as lava flows and geysers in a volcano-themed dungeon, or quicksand and poisonous plants in a swamp-themed dungeon. These environmental elements make the dungeon feel more real and will increase the immersion level of the players.

Providing creature comforts in a dungeon is essential to create a realistic living space for the creatures that live within it. Food, water, and shelter are the basic necessities that need to be addressed. The layout of the living spaces should make sense based on the type of creature and the level of intelligence they possess. Intelligent creatures may create their own living spaces and areas for communal activities like sleeping and eating. 

Creating a logical living space in a dungeon is essential to creating an immersive and engaging environment for the players. Considering environmental factors like water, food, and shelter, as well as creature comforts and traps, are all important aspects of creating a vibrant, realistic dungeon. By incorporating these elements, players will be drawn more deeply into the game and enjoy their experience more.

When designing a dungeon it is important to keep in mind the purpose, function, and theme of the location. These should be kept in mind as an adventure is created. They will help to create a cohesive adventure space. 

The purpose of a dungeon will usually be the reason it was created. Why is it there? Who built it, if anyone? What is the surrounding terrain like? Answering these questions will help settle its role in a larger world. 

For function the Game Keeper needs to determine how the dungeon exists currently. How do the creatures live in it? How are its resources used? What natural elements could be a concern? 

Lastly, a theme may be chosen to pull the other elements together. Could the dungeon tell a story of loss, betrayal, hope, or something else? Giving the encounters and creatures there a short arc can add a lot of flavor to any story told there. 

Dungeons can serve as wonderful storytelling tools. They can be a versatile device for advancing a campaign's narrative. They are a great location to showcase key plot points in a campaign’s story. 

Using a dungeon effectively, a Keeper can craft a compelling and immersive experience for players. Through exploring the dungeon, players can uncover important information about the game world and the story.

The Game Keeper should consider the historical context of the dungeon when designing it. Weaving in threads of the campaign in with the location’s history. Using plot points to showcase current story beats.