Dropzonetoe  | 22 Aug 2013 4:34 p.m. PST |
I am building a dungeon and have a building block – what rooms would you expect to see in a traditional dungeon. Thanks
dzt |
| BrotherSevej | 22 Aug 2013 5:09 p.m. PST |
Torture Room, Guards Room, Storage Room, Kennels, Armory, Dead-body Dumping Room, Latrines? (LOL), Prison Cells… |
| 45thdiv | 22 Aug 2013 5:12 p.m. PST |
Well I recall the 10' by 10' room with the dragon in it from the early D&D games. :-). But you probably mean something a bit more realistic. Who is the dungeon built for? Was t an old dwarf strong hold that fell to the dark shadows? Maybe an old abandoned mine that was converted to a lair? Thinking about who owned it and who is living there nw can give you some interesting options. Even toss in some hidden rooms that contain lost treasures from the former inhabitants. You need sleeping and eating rooms. Store rooms and kitchens. The big boss room. A weapons room. Maybe a wise hermit's lair or such. Just some thoughts. Matthew |
| Battle Phlox | 22 Aug 2013 5:17 p.m. PST |
Library, laboratory, temple/shrine, workshop/smith, stables/kennel |
| skippy0001 | 22 Aug 2013 5:22 p.m. PST |
Look at screenshots of Skyrim, game maps of other fantasy computor/console games. Some old strategy books of Oblivion may be on line or cheap, their architecture changed the way I design my own dungeons.
Don't forget intermittent lighting, airshafts, barrels and boxes of looted supplies, scattered skeletons, was it a previous installation that something tunneled in from a cavern complex?
I had a idea for a fantasy version of Area 51 somewhere… |
| Rubber Suit Theatre | 22 Aug 2013 5:35 p.m. PST |
How to Host a Dungeon: PDF link This is for generating a dungeon with a history in a "Gygaxian naturalism" sort of way. Should inspire all sorts of potential areas. |
79thPA  | 22 Aug 2013 7:11 p.m. PST |
Possibly a kitchen or food prep room of some type. |
| Ancestral Hamster | 22 Aug 2013 11:31 p.m. PST |
As others have noted, think about what the dungeon was originally. For example, I used an abandoned monestary as a setting. The province had first had a succession war followed by a plague and the survivors had relocated to more central and secure areas of the kingdom. The area started to revert to wilderness and former holdings such as the monestary were occupied by orcs and other human-hating creatures. So the monestary would have its orignal buildings and layout, but with the rooms used differently. With this approach, you can grab interior maps of various historical locales and turn them into dungeons. |
| Zardoz | 23 Aug 2013 1:55 a.m. PST |
Well, technically a dungeon would only comprise of cells, a guard room and a torture chamber. Unless you're talking about the horrifically artificial 'D&D' dungeon full of 10ft square rooms each with a different monster / trap in them for some unplausible or random reason.
But I would hope you're talking about a ruin or some other building complex like a temple, castle or natural casve system (as others have pointed out). |
| Only Warlock | 23 Aug 2013 6:40 a.m. PST |
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| snurl1 | 25 Aug 2013 3:08 p.m. PST |
Is your dungeon to be currently occupied/ in use by its original owners? Or is it an abandoned ruin? Or could it be a labyrinth designed specifically to test the meddle of would be warriors and wizards, or possibly to house monsters?
The answers to those questions should help suggest possible room ideas and layouts.
The lair of a Lich would be filled with traps and defensively designed areas.
The basement of the local tavern would have many store rooms and possibly rooms used by the local underworld for nefarious purposes. |
