Nine Dungeon Design Secrets

Ойындар

Subscribe to the Questing Beast newsletter to enter the giveaway: bit.ly/Glatisant
Support the channel on Patreon: bit.ly/QBPatreon
Watch other DnD advice videos: bit.ly/QBAdvice
Jaquaying the Dungeon: thealexandrian.net/wordpress/...
For further Dungeon Design theory, go to the link and scroll down to "Dungeon Design": questingblog.com/resources/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My RPGs (PDF): bit.ly/QuestingBeastPDFs
My RPGs (Print): bit.ly/QuestingBeastBooks
Newsletter: bit.ly/TheGlatisant
Patreon: bit.ly/QBPatreon
Amazon recommendations: amzn.to/3RwpZzU
Questing Beast merch: bit.ly/QBMerch
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My blog: bit.ly/QuestingBlog
Must-read blog posts: bit.ly/OSRposts
The best RPG blogs: bit.ly/OSRblogs
What is the OSR?: bit.ly/PrincipApoc
Send a review copy or advertise: bit.ly/ContactQB
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
QUESTING KNIGHT PATRONS!
fikle
The Threshold Team
SonOfSofaman
John Eternal
James Endres
Carl Flippin
Roll Stats
Minty
John Case Tompkins
Gianfranco Bux
Fil Kearney
Eric from Bloat Games
Dwayne Boothe
Darren Brum
Dan Webb
Christian Lindke
Ardashir Lea
Alex Dzuricky
Aaron Seymour
Joshua Blair
Bill Piper
Chris Ritner

Пікірлер: 172

  • @QuestingBeast
    @QuestingBeast3 жыл бұрын

    Patrons vote on what books to review and get to watch videos first: bit.ly/QBPatreon Keep up with the Old-School RPG scene with the Questing Beast newsletter: bit.ly/Glatisant Download my RPGs and adventures: bit.ly/QBDTRPG My favorite RPG-related products: amzn.to/30kfamM

  • @RichardKurbis

    @RichardKurbis

    3 жыл бұрын

    One of my players favorite dungeons was one where it was a puzzle in the middle (multiple gemstones to be uncovered and inserted) and a dungeon that circled around the puzzle so their choices were clockwise or counterclockwise... the dungeon wasn't circular in shape but the network revolved around the central puzzle.

  • @frankmueller2781

    @frankmueller2781

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@RichardKurbis Sounds vaguely familiar......almost as if a Wizard I once knew had been there?

  • @pedrobastos8132
    @pedrobastos81323 жыл бұрын

    It would be cool if, after doing this series, you made a livestream of yourself making a dungeon, sorta like the ones where you read the DMG

  • @rolanejo8512

    @rolanejo8512

    3 жыл бұрын

    Hear hear. I love your map videos. A dungeon video would be awesome.

  • @carrotsongRPG

    @carrotsongRPG

    3 жыл бұрын

    I came here to say the same thing!!

  • @connorshartle3383

    @connorshartle3383

    3 жыл бұрын

    Have you watched his videos where he DMs Mazerats?

  • @KartoffelnSalatMitAlles

    @KartoffelnSalatMitAlles

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@connorshartle3383 where?

  • @connorshartle3383

    @connorshartle3383

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@KartoffelnSalatMitAlles on his channel he has a playlist called Sunday Dungeon Crawl, which has 3 videos of him running games. Check them out!

  • @HomeOnTheEdge
    @HomeOnTheEdge2 жыл бұрын

    SAVED YOU A CLICK: Multiple entrances and exits @ 1:11 The reason why the dungeon was built, its history @ 2:40 Levels (floors) @ 3:30 Loops and linked areas @ 4:46 Verticality, think in three dimensions, use mezzanines and balconies @ 6:13 Secret areas / doors / passageways (consider giving clues) @ 7:15 Variety in room shapes and architecture @ 8:22 Tactically useful areas (chokepoints, bridges, rubble, rough terrain, chest-high-walls, furniture) @ 9:41 Spying opportunities (thin walls, areas that reward stealth, chatty guards, echoes) @ 10:44

  • @leonielson7138
    @leonielson71383 жыл бұрын

    The party is hired to explore a dwarven mine that has gone silent. 1. Multiple Entrances: The main gates are barred from the inside and can't be opened, so the party must either find a crevasse or enter through the cemetery (which has a few low-level undead wandering about, and one higher level undead that they should run from). 2. Why was it built?: Dwarves have been mining here for centuries, long before elves or any other race settled in this area. Most believe that it's more cultural than anything else, but the longest lived races (elves and gnomes) know that they craft adamantine weapons and armor here, and their greatest come here to spend their last life energies creating a magical weapon or armor. 3. Levels: The first underground level has temples to the gods that have been improved and expanded on over time. Below that are the workshops and storage spaces, living quarters, and finally the active mine. It would be good to note that these levels were once themselves active parts of the mine, and when the vein was chased to its end the dwarves repurposed the tunnels as they chased other veins. 4. Loops: In order to get around the dwarves put in lifts and slides that would allow them to move people and material to the various levels by the most efficient path possible. As the veins branched out these routes became more elaborate and convoluted. 5. Verticality: Occasionally they would find large deposits, and would mine out large rooms that spanned multiple levels so that they could get at the adamantine from all sides. Balconies look in on these rooms, and they might also be converted into temples of one god or another. 6. Secret Areas: There is a dwarven god of secrets, his followers keeping dark rites meant to hide things from the divination of the other priests. In the higher levels these might be rooms where dwarf children can hide in the case of an emergency, or a rally point for defenders full of additional weapons and potions. 7. Variety in room types: Dwarves like geometrical patterns, but they are also individualists, so no two rooms should be identical. 8. Tactically useful areas: Choke points, bridges, galleries, in the undeveloped portions of the mine these should be natural formations, but elsewhere they should have been planned by the dwarves to defend their homes. Originally these would have been defenses from the wild creatures of the world, or the elves. Lower down (near the bottom of the mine) the defenses should shift from keeping things from coming in from above to keeping things from coming in from below. 9. Spying opportunities: Deep in the Underdark a group of Duergar were following other veins of adamantine up to its source, and eventually their tunnels intersected with the Dwarves digging from the top down. A war between the two groups ensued, and victorious the Duergar took their captives down to their section to use as slave labor. If the party can be stealthy enough they can spy on the duergar and learn what their plans are, were the captives are being held, or about other dangers within the mines.

  • @miloklassen3792

    @miloklassen3792

    2 жыл бұрын

    This is awesome. I might have to use (steal) this! I'm not asking for permission bcs I would do it anyway!

  • @davidtauriainen9116

    @davidtauriainen9116

    Жыл бұрын

    Number four made me think of a dungeon designed like Chutes and Ladders. Not as linear, mind you, but with nonsensical chute connections and various ladders. For a mine, easily explained as chasing the ore veins.

  • @keithvanboskirk7327
    @keithvanboskirk73273 жыл бұрын

    loops allow the monsters to cicle around behind you. DM: What is your marching order. PC mage: I am in the back. DM: (smiles!!)

  • @paulh3892

    @paulh3892

    3 жыл бұрын

    🤣

  • @spudsbuchlaw

    @spudsbuchlaw

    3 жыл бұрын

    Mages in the middle!

  • @AuntieHauntieGames
    @AuntieHauntieGames3 жыл бұрын

    I have been a dungeon master for 29 years come May, and this is one of the first DMing videos that has taught me something new or something that I had not already previously considered. Excellent dungeoneering advice.

  • @justicebrewing9449

    @justicebrewing9449

    3 жыл бұрын

    It is indeed. As he talked I thought back to the different adventures early on like keep on the borderlands, a very loopy dungeon, and into the unknown, a very flat you can only go this way kind of dungeon. White BlueMountain also comes to mind. Three paths, but each is a railroad. Then I thought about the ones I made and realized how to dimensional they were back in the day

  • @alextrollip7707

    @alextrollip7707

    2 жыл бұрын

    It's a humbling experiences hearing people who have had more experience in a skill that I've been alive. It's such a cool thing that it's been running for so many years and seems to just be getting more popular as we go along.

  • @alamos52
    @alamos523 жыл бұрын

    Ben -- *whispering* I understood your secret message about having multiple entrances/exits to a dungeon. We're going to get you out of there, man!

  • @QuestingBeast

    @QuestingBeast

    3 жыл бұрын

    Everything is fine here. I'm definitely not trapped in a pocket dimension.

  • @visinclair3766
    @visinclair37663 жыл бұрын

    I love running wizard’s towers and ‘dungeons’ which are derelict ships, empty towns, ruins, etc. Basically dungeons but with different, more thematic flavor to the locations.

  • @Bluecho4
    @Bluecho43 жыл бұрын

    Another aspect of dungeon design to consider is that many dungeons are or were also the living spaces of the creatures that currently or formerly inhabited it. This will dictate layouts of rooms, as well as what you find in them. First, any dungeon space meant for habitation by living, organic creatures (current or former) is going to have rooms dedicated to satisfying their needs. Does your dungeon have a place to prepare or store food? Does your dungeon have general storage, and/or storage for valuables? Does your dungeon have places for creatures to sleep? Does your dungeon have places where social creatures can relax and socialize? Does your dungeon have a privy (bathroom)? Even brute, anti-social monsters may have locations they leave food (or bones), or out-of-the-way places they defecate. And the undead can often be found in places where they formerly lived, even if they aren't using all of its facilities for that purpose. All of the above also give good locations for where PCs may discover enemies at rest or in compromising situations. Second, loops and connecting rooms will naturally be accounted for simply because a space's builders wanted it to be easy for their own people to get where they're going. A privy, for instance, is less than useful if an NPC needs to trek around the length and width of a dungeon just to use it. And both patrols and alerted guards need to be able to get to where they're needed easily. For defensive purposes, things like traps or choke points are going to be localized to certain parts of the dungeon. Before the dungeon opens up again in places convenient for its inhabitants/builders. So when it's said "don't make the dungeon linear", it's for diagetic reasons as well as ones related to game design. Third, wherever possible, give rooms features that PCs can "play with". These can be tactical, such as a chandelier over a mess hall that a PC can swing from, or a stack of barrels a PC can break loose to have them roll over enemies. They could be puzzles to solve to get more loot, like a riddle directing someone to an NPC's secret stash, or a combination lock. Or it could simply be objects or features that will accomplish a certain effect if interacted with, good or bad. Things like an alchemist's lab with a number of unmarked bottles of liquid, or bubbling basins full of same. Or a caged demon, willing to make trades for all sorts of things, including "intangible" ones like memories or one's curiosity. Or a shrine to a god, saint, nature spirit, or eldritch horror, that may provide blessings or even a summoned ally for the right offerings. In these kinds of cases, there are answers that are more or less helpful, but none that are "right". The players can just interact with it, and see what happens.

  • @Baulderstone1
    @Baulderstone13 жыл бұрын

    Another benefit to adding verticality to a dungeon is that it makes old school thieves much more valuable. It's common to criticize thieves in old school D&D for their low skills, but even 1st-level thieves have amazing climbing skills (87% in B/X, for example). When you make your dungeons out of flat levels on graph paper, you deny thieves the ability to use their best class ability. Adding verticality allows them lots of options when it comes to both exploration and combat tactics.

  • @xaosbob
    @xaosbob3 жыл бұрын

    I'd love to watch you do your process with a sample dungeon. Watching you draw things out, telling us your thoughts and ideas for each element, and giving (especially new) DMs a tangible demonstration of the principles at work. Perhaps as an epilogue to this series?

  • @georgelaiacona111
    @georgelaiacona111 Жыл бұрын

    Fantastic! A Time Bandits map on the back wall! Secret areas in the dungeon are great. The main story is only part of the dungeon. Extras can be gained from "side quests" in the dungeon that don't matter for solving the original problem. Leaves things for the players to go back for.

  • @merlinmystique
    @merlinmystique2 жыл бұрын

    man you don't know how much I appreciate your channel, I've been a DM for 12 years but only now, after a 2 years break from D&D, I'm coming back again to it with a new "conscience", reflecting more about the game and the essential aspetcs of it. your channel really helps me a lot to focus on certain dimensions of the game, it's a great job you do, thanks! also, I'm very interested in vintage and Old School fantasy also, so your videos are really perfect to gain a better knowledge on that

  • @mindcogs
    @mindcogs3 жыл бұрын

    On the topic of 'loops' in a dungeon a helpful analogy can be a suburban street layout; we find sections of interconnected streets typically designed for ease of movement (grids) mixed with long avenues or roads (linear) conforming to the local terrain (literal railroads, bridges, tunnels). If your dungeon has a comparable mix of openly navigable rooms (streets) and occasional railroaded sections (avenues) players will feel a sense of reason or purpose or narrative to the place.

  • @xKeeganxxx
    @xKeeganxxx2 жыл бұрын

    I'm proud of my secret areas as well. My mentor taught me that you can reuse them if left undiscovered.

  • @tylersitar
    @tylersitar3 жыл бұрын

    Perfect timing! Creating my megadungeon as I watch

  • @Candyapplebone
    @Candyapplebone10 ай бұрын

    “The level of the dungeon should correspond to the level of the character” dude i never thought about it this way! This will make building my encounter tables so much easier!!

  • @Bluecho4
    @Bluecho43 жыл бұрын

    Verticality in a dungeon is also useful for practical reasons. The way I run games, if we're not doing theater of the mind, I'll be drawing the layout of the battlefield of dungeon on butcher paper that comes with a grid pre-printed. It's a very cheap way of making environments. However, one of the things I noticed is that you end up with very small areas of coverage, relatively speaking, since the paper is only so wide. If there are multiple vertical levels, though, I can "cheat in" more dungeon area by having the rooms play out over multiple sheets.

  • @danielrowan4716
    @danielrowan47163 жыл бұрын

    Great content. Dovetails nicely with the Tricks /Traps post. I like to throw in elevators, movable rooms, secret / concealed doors in the floor or ceiling. I’m running a dungeon crawl as party of Dwellers of the Forbidden City with a teleportation room that allows the party to move throughout the underground complex of a step pyramid.

  • @TheK5K
    @TheK5K3 жыл бұрын

    An excellent video Ben! As an experienced DM (read: old as) I'm about to start creating the first megadungeon I've done in a long time. These tips and tricks have helped me clarify how I can elevate it beyond the mundane.

  • @vicmaverick5740
    @vicmaverick57403 жыл бұрын

    On the note of Verticality in dungeons (which they are right to note is far too often ignored) I was playing a lot of CONTROL lately, which does an excellent job of adding natural vertical progression to its gameplay, and noted that, as in Morrowind (another master of vertical dungeon design) with it's dreaded Clifracers, the game utilized flying enemies to naturally draw the players attention to these elevated avenues. I think, moving forward as a DM, I will attempt the same, and utilize flying enemies within dungeons to automatically draw the players eye upward to see that grapple point or platform far above.

  • @granttrain3553
    @granttrain35533 жыл бұрын

    The point about information was a really strong one. I have been building a mega-dungeon for 2 years and I have been gathering the worlds wisdom on the subject. I also am not a fan of too much combat, my dungeon is VERY puzzle heavy. This video has helped it along thank you.

  • @Samurai_Punk
    @Samurai_Punk3 жыл бұрын

    WOW! Just great. Straight to the point and not a word wasted. Thank you.

  • @davidm6387
    @davidm63873 жыл бұрын

    What I'm doing for the short roguelike I'm making, and I might do once in actual D&D for the lols, is put stairways very close to each other (like in the same room) so players can descend as quick as they want. So you can enter the dungeon at lvl 1 and immediately try racing to the bottom floor to get wrecked by dragons and liches etc.

  • @edwardromero3580
    @edwardromero35803 жыл бұрын

    I’m subscribed here because I love your reviews, but I’m digging your dungeon design videos too. It’s a nice change of pace.

  • @BTsMusicChannel
    @BTsMusicChannel3 жыл бұрын

    1:13 Multiple entrances/exits...You can also take the Mines of Moria approach where going through the dungeon is a just another choice in how to get from one area on the world map to another. They might choose going through the dungeon as an alternative to other routes because it is a faster path, thought to be safer, or in some other way a better choice than other routes. In game terms, travel from one place to another becomes a dungeon crawl rather than a hex crawl.

  • @MadHeart-rw9xh
    @MadHeart-rw9xh3 жыл бұрын

    This kind of video is just what I need these days. I've been trying to design something I could actually sell as a product, and a dungeon seems like the perfect thing, but it also seems like such a difficult undertaking...

  • @frankmueller2781

    @frankmueller2781

    3 жыл бұрын

    Do it out of love for the game first. If you've got the talent enough that you find people asking about your work, then go for the cash.

  • @connorkennedy1794
    @connorkennedy17943 жыл бұрын

    I adore this series you've been covering, and I particularly appreciate this video. You covered some really great points and the concrete examples were particularly inspirational and useful. I've found hiding doors encourages exploration and adding loops or portals develops a more complex map with more opportunities for interconnected regions to interact. Plus some of the most fun my players had was going off script with a vertical climb down the inverted chimney of a fireplace in an upsidedown room I added on a whim...the eldrich being they found down there left an impression.

  • @B00Radl33
    @B00Radl333 жыл бұрын

    I just found you4 videos and I think you give the best advice for experienced GMs. Keep making content I love it

  • @RemedialHappyMan
    @RemedialHappyMan3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for making this, I'm not exaggerating when I say that I've been looking for more information on actual dungeon design for months now and there's surprisingly little actually published or made on the subject for how prominent the play space is in a game like Dungeons and Dragons. There's plenty of advice on "making the dungeon a living breathing place" or "giving the dungeon a reason for existing" but there's very little actual information about the craft of laying out a dungeon and making it fun to explore. The actual gameplay effects of the size of rooms, line of sight, where to place encounters and other things that might categorize a topic like level design in a video game is surprisingly almost void from every single dungeon masters guide and a lot of supplemental materials and products. Really the main source of learning available is just reading modules and running sessions. It's incredibly weird to me that the subject hasn't had a more thorough analysis or examination that's more readily available.

  • @dirtymick01us
    @dirtymick01us3 жыл бұрын

    This is a great vid with a lot of good points. I really like what you said about if the players are going to make meaningful decisions, then try to give them the info to do so. That is one thing that I am constantly challenging myself to do better for my players...to varying degrees of success, of course. I try to be more cognizant when delivering my descriptions or narratives so that they are presented in a way that they not only set the atmosphere, but are also useful to the players. I try to give them some agency to really explore the space.

  • @eloyc4245
    @eloyc42453 жыл бұрын

    Excellent video, Ben. I’m loving this series!

  • @Emohawk707
    @Emohawk7073 жыл бұрын

    I’m about to run what I think is the final session, the boss fight, of a dungeon that has taken the players about 8 weeks to get through and they’ve been loving it. It’s only a 3 story dungeon with 3 small mini bosses and a bunch of goobers, and now the final boss. There’s been plot and loot and NPC’s they’ve discovered. I came here looking for advice on running my next one, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I’ve covered most of these things with this dungeon without even realising it. I’ll have to do more of the same and try and Improve on what I have already, thanks for the video! (Also the dungeon in question is actually a modern day general hospital that was transported and used as a portal to a shadow realm by a demon, but that’s not important... unless it goes to show you that you can be creative and think outside the box when it comes to the design question of “What is this place?” And theme things around that).

  • @mingramh
    @mingramh3 жыл бұрын

    This is great advice, I have been playing for a long time and have not thought about some of these tips. Thanks!

  • @ChrisWillhelm
    @ChrisWillhelm3 жыл бұрын

    Your videos have always been good and informative, but you videos from the last couple months here have been fantastic.

  • @Postmann88
    @Postmann883 жыл бұрын

    Great video. Lots of great tips. Look forward to checking out more of your Dungeon material.

  • @twi3031
    @twi30313 жыл бұрын

    this is incredibly informative. I haven't thought about some of these tips before. namely the first one. right off the bat, multiple entrances challenged my idea of how a dungeon should be designed. I'm curious to discuss that topic more.

  • @williamlee7482
    @williamlee74823 жыл бұрын

    One dungeon that's a good way to start beginning characters off in is a sewers system of the city they start in . You can use monsters such as goblins or kobolds along with giant rats , slimes and other things that would be in a sewer system . That way the players don't have to travel at all to explore a dungeon plus there are many entrances for them to enter in . It's a very simple starting dungeon for the players plus by completing it and driving off or killing the monsters the city can award them a house or warehouse for them to use as a base of operations that isn't out of the ordinary and would make sense along with a small amount of gold something like 500 to be divided between the characters

  • @mendacii9391
    @mendacii93913 жыл бұрын

    You just made my next dungeon much more impressive, and I'm absolutely subscribing. Thank you!

  • @raystinsky
    @raystinsky2 жыл бұрын

    I watched several of your videos the other day. I can't remember which one talked about putting each room or section on one page, but I've been stalling on prepping Keep on the Borderlands after years away from DMing. Yesterday I started page breaking every section, and the big blank space on undeveloped portions of the module was really freeing. There's blank space for notes as developing on the fly if needed. Thanks.

  • @VitorRedes
    @VitorRedes3 жыл бұрын

    The Tomb of Nine Gods (Tomb of Annihilation) is an amazing Dungeon with almost all of this features. IMO.

  • @4saken404
    @4saken4043 жыл бұрын

    Side note on info gathering - especially for 5e: Don't forget doors. If everything is just an open corridor someone could easily scout the whole dungeon with a familiar. All it takes is even a single door to potentially thwart one. Bear this in mind when making a dungeon because failure to do so can easily lead to a very boring session.

  • @jasonGamesMaster
    @jasonGamesMaster Жыл бұрын

    I'm about to enter the one page dungeon jam, and this has helped me crystallize some ideas i had. thanks!

  • @andreazaltron6850
    @andreazaltron68503 жыл бұрын

    remember to put doors against that floating eye spell xD great content as always Ben :)

  • @Battleguild

    @Battleguild

    3 жыл бұрын

    Or an Anti-Magic Zone at major crossroads within the dungeon. Maybe it was placed by an excessively paranoid wizard. It would keep out several types of divination/conjuration spells out, and combat there would function differently when there's no magic.

  • @UrsaFrank
    @UrsaFrank3 жыл бұрын

    Are you going to be covering Dungeons designed with "Theater of the Mind" battles and exploration? Or just the minitures and maps type designs which are the norm I've seen it done before and I have some idea's myself but it's something rarely spoken about

  • @fluff_thorrent

    @fluff_thorrent

    3 жыл бұрын

    Ooh yeah, a video on pointcrawl dungeons would be excellent!

  • @UrsaFrank

    @UrsaFrank

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@fluff_thorrent Oh that's what they're called! I never heard anyone say it by name before Haha but yes I did mean pointcrawl dungeons

  • @dafrca
    @dafrca Жыл бұрын

    I very much enjoyed this video. I like the list you shared and agreed with all nine as important.

  • @Aarongorn
    @Aarongorn3 жыл бұрын

    Nicely done. Some really good tips here. Thanks!

  • @user-lo2jd9ij2q
    @user-lo2jd9ij2q3 жыл бұрын

    Great video and great advice! Thank you, Ben.

  • @IanBoyte
    @IanBoyte3 жыл бұрын

    This is one of your best videos yet!

  • @DiogoNogueiraXP
    @DiogoNogueiraXP3 жыл бұрын

    This series is amazing and very informative!

  • @Jeremy_Days
    @Jeremy_Days3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you very much! This was very helpful for much more than dungeons.

  • @torenatkinson5708
    @torenatkinson57085 ай бұрын

    5:54 this (and multiple entrances) is called Jaquaysing the dungeon, pioneered by Jennell Jaquays (rest in peace) - not the 's' in Jaquaysing 4:26 signposting the danger level and letting the players choose how much danger they want to put themselves in is good in theory, but really tames the experience of dungeoneering, which - in my opinion - *should* be dangerous and should be scary and unpredictable. Clearing the tavern basement of rats is the safe option, once the adventurers plum the depths of an ancient ruin, all bets are off. To quote Kirk... "risk is our business"

  • @Teneombre
    @Teneombre3 жыл бұрын

    The alexandrian is always a good resource ! nice video

  • @analeigholdeworlde4178
    @analeigholdeworlde41783 жыл бұрын

    This helps so much. Thank you!

  • @AegisTheAeon
    @AegisTheAeon3 жыл бұрын

    i'm not a DnD fan, but this tips will help me a lot to design dungeons for my mod for Minecraft, Thanks! ♥️

  • @sebbonxxsebbon6824
    @sebbonxxsebbon68243 жыл бұрын

    Great video for beginning to advanced DMs.

  • @PersonsandPen
    @PersonsandPen3 жыл бұрын

    Love the helpful info, packing my next dungeon with these ideas. :-)

  • @RobertWF42
    @RobertWF423 жыл бұрын

    In my current dungeon I'll allow my players to overhear the goblin guards at the entrance having a cryptic conversation: "Left...right...right...left". Once the players defeat the guards & enter the dungeon they'll see four levers on the wall, or maybe a 2x4 pattern of black & white tiles on the floor. I'm hoping they'll figure out the guards were sharing the daily code to disarm or get past the intruder trap. :-)

  • @DUNGEONCRAFT1
    @DUNGEONCRAFT13 жыл бұрын

    Great episode, Ben!

  • @zombielandiii2711
    @zombielandiii27113 жыл бұрын

    Very helpful, thanks !

  • @Mystic-realm
    @Mystic-realm3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for taking the time to post this video, always appreciate your insight. We wish you good fortune in the adventures to come! Frederick & Jennifer - Mystic-Realm

  • @misomiso8228
    @misomiso82283 жыл бұрын

    You should do one of these on the 'five room dungeon'. That's helped me icnredibly with Dungeon / adventure design.

  • @pseudolemon8272
    @pseudolemon82723 жыл бұрын

    it would be kinda cool if you could do timestamps when you do these "list" videos so people can skip if some don't apply to them

  • @nolansheridan196
    @nolansheridan196 Жыл бұрын

    I'm curious on your thoughts about a boss lair though. To me, the big bad isn't going to choose a big hideout that's full of ways to get in, because that means they're going to need more minions to defend each of those entrances. I like the idea of multiple entrances for a random dungeon dive, but I don't know that it makes much sense for like a Goblin King to have eight entrances into his stronghold that I'll lead to different places, some of which might be very close to his actual throne room. I think it's okay to have a 1 entrance lair, so long as the layout of the lair itself isn't just one twisty path. Leave lots of options for players to travel down, with false ends, random finds, etc. I wouldn't call it railroading to say that in mind only has one entrance, or a cave only has one opening.

  • @paulh3892
    @paulh38923 жыл бұрын

    Having a linear dungeon route is perfect for a one shot, but for a continuous game I agree that your dungeon should be more of a sandbox.

  • @nickhoc8853
    @nickhoc88533 жыл бұрын

    Thank you so much for this

  • @Alberaan
    @Alberaan3 жыл бұрын

    Nice video! Could I suggest that for future videos on the topic you could show visually some examples? A simple drawing could do in most cases

  • @LJ-gu2dj
    @LJ-gu2dj2 жыл бұрын

    Amazing and insightful advice QB. Players need choices and clues, and the dungeon should have at least 2 aspects; what was it originally designed for? And what is it currently being used for?

  • @vicmaverick5740
    @vicmaverick57403 жыл бұрын

    While Beast is absolutely correct to warn off making "Tree Shaped Dungeons" a suggestion that I might make for new DMs looking to incorporate multiple lessons mentioned here is, take a single aesthetic (ancient temple / abandoned fortress / forgotten sewer) and choose that for your initial Tree Shaped Dungeon, then, put paths between these branches, with short, sections of a different aesthetic, so at to imply additions added over time, modifications made by previous occupants. A rough hewn and erratic passageway that winds it downward into a twisting warren that, hey!, connects the two traditionally carved mine shaft of Path 1 and Path 4 is a pretty neat way to create that network It will intrigue your players simply by defying the aesthetic of the dungeon. Everyone is innately curious where a new path will lead. potential, forward

  • @jacenchrisbaker
    @jacenchrisbaker3 жыл бұрын

    I would love to see a video of your favorite RPG books and how you use (or have used them) in your own games. I also want to know where you got the sick Sigil poster...

  • @QuestingBeast

    @QuestingBeast

    3 жыл бұрын

    Printed it myself from a high res image I found online. If you google around you'll probably find it.

  • @hrnekbezucha
    @hrnekbezucha2 жыл бұрын

    I'm not a dungeoneer but this is very helpful info.

  • @RobertWF42
    @RobertWF423 жыл бұрын

    I like the idea of players learning information or gathering items in one part of the dungeon that become useful later on in the adventure. The simplest example is players finding a key chain on the dead Orc captain containing the key to unlock the shackles of prisoners found deeper in the dungeon. Or perhaps the Orcs keep a half-starved troll locked up in a cell. Once it's freed, the hungry (and very angry) troll will first go after the mob of Orcs chasing the party. This works especially well if there's a loop or secret door in the dungeon so that the troll and pursuing Orcs cross paths. :-)

  • @capunhowdy
    @capunhowdy3 жыл бұрын

    I like your D&D closet

  • @QuestingBeast

    @QuestingBeast

    3 жыл бұрын

    The correct term is "Inner Sanctum" thank you very much

  • @fredslipknot9
    @fredslipknot93 жыл бұрын

    Hi Questing Beast! I have to know, where did you get that map on the wall behind your right shoulder? It looks so cool.

  • @user-fd7jv8pk5n
    @user-fd7jv8pk5n3 жыл бұрын

    love it!

  • @kalleendo7577
    @kalleendo7577 Жыл бұрын

    Awesome!

  • @Jack_OLanterns
    @Jack_OLanterns3 жыл бұрын

    I see Forbidden Lands back there but no review of the book. This is a book I would love to see your take on. Because Free League has an awesome engine, but it's tough to move on from the B/X clones out there. Specifically Sine Nomine's work. Also, quick plug for that company, be mindful of Sine Nomine's Worlds Without Number Kickstarter popping up soon on October 5th 2020, its gonne be big. edit: also noticed a particular book is missing back there, a certain beautiful black book we all eyeballed a week or so ago. Hmmm... gonna make an announcement soon?

  • @Jack_OLanterns

    @Jack_OLanterns

    3 жыл бұрын

    Rich McGee I think the magic system and the death spiral have me really nervous to commit sessions to it. I’ve got players who like d20 and d100 and I’m chomping at the bit for a new system for the freshness of it. But I don’t think Forbidden Lands is it. Still, getting Ben’s take would be super helpful at maybe pushing a short campaign.

  • @Elric54
    @Elric543 жыл бұрын

    Great advice, thank you! Where did you get that map of Sigil?

  • @QuestingBeast

    @QuestingBeast

    3 жыл бұрын

    Printed it from a high res image I found online

  • @DragonCreature1
    @DragonCreature13 жыл бұрын

    Where did you get the Sigil map? So cool

  • @Belly6815
    @Belly68153 жыл бұрын

    Great vid dude. Brilliant bedrock for starting a dungeon build

  • @DaeranAngelfire
    @DaeranAngelfire2 жыл бұрын

    Where can I find that amazing map of Sygil you have there?

  • @rangereric18
    @rangereric183 жыл бұрын

    Straight line dungeon idea: the straight line is just the entrance. If you climb up or dive down below, that's where the real dungeon is. Hallways and doorways that split off from the vertical climb or twisting, mazelike corridors and chambers if you climb down below the statting point.

  • @barker262
    @barker2622 жыл бұрын

    G’day Questing Beast, just wondering what you have on the wall beside and behind you? And where I could look for such items as well? Haven’t see anything like them here in Australia. Cheers

  • @CEllis1036
    @CEllis10363 жыл бұрын

    New subscriber here. Question where did you get awesome map of Sigil on Wall to your right?

  • @seangriffin2040
    @seangriffin204021 күн бұрын

    The Portal Map from Time Bandits

  • @TheAnthery
    @TheAnthery Жыл бұрын

    Did you ever make more videos in this series?

  • @DennisNeijmeijer
    @DennisNeijmeijer3 жыл бұрын

    I'm going to use a swamp as my dungeon in my coming session. Walls of poisonous gas and thick mud. And lots of stinky monsters before getting to the hag boss they have been chasing.

  • @tristencovarrubias4950
    @tristencovarrubias49503 жыл бұрын

    Holy Crap, Batman!!! Where’d you find that giant map of Sigil??

  • @ostravaofboletaria1027
    @ostravaofboletaria10273 жыл бұрын

    Could you perhaps make a video on how to map a dungeon as a player during play? As a DM I want to make more introcate dungeons but my players don't know how to map it for themselves and neither do I really.

  • @QuestingBeast

    @QuestingBeast

    3 жыл бұрын

    One trick is to just draw the shape of the room on a white board or something. But only draw one room at a time. Players would have to keep track of how the rooms are connected and related to each other via your description.

  • @davidrose7938

    @davidrose7938

    3 жыл бұрын

    Questing Beast that is really great advice!

  • @connorkennedy1794

    @connorkennedy1794

    3 жыл бұрын

    Try showing them how to draw a flow chart or point map with lables. It simplifies the map down to the all important connections between rooms and is still useful for navigation. You won't get the detailed geometry with this approach though.

  • @JLittleBass
    @JLittleBass3 жыл бұрын

    Is that the map from Time Bandits behind you?

  • @hurricaneputz
    @hurricaneputz3 жыл бұрын

    I cannot find any resources on how to log and stock a dungeon. Where can you point me to find that information?

  • @johnathan9443
    @johnathan94433 жыл бұрын

    Do you have any advice on mapping vertical spaces in dungeons? My party is exploring a huge tower that has fallen on its side. The entire map is mostly vertical space. Currently I am using two maps at once. One maps out the floorplan in a traditional way, and the other maps out whatever room or corridor they are in from the perspective of standing on the wall. It's working pretty well, but my players occasionally get disoriented trying to think about the floorplan on its side.

  • @UrsaFrank

    @UrsaFrank

    3 жыл бұрын

    That's a really cool idea! Given the chance I'd probably try to do this as an isometric map with the tower's original floors being drawn as back walls on the map

  • @genaro192
    @genaro1923 жыл бұрын

    This is so dark souls haha, love it

  • @vagabundorkchaosmagick-use2898
    @vagabundorkchaosmagick-use28983 жыл бұрын

    I don't understand multiple entrances. How do they work? What's the benefit of multiple entrances against only one entrance?

  • @abdulrahmanreijerink
    @abdulrahmanreijerink3 жыл бұрын

    Could you provide examples of some dungeons that meet these criteria.

  • @alfarrarjr

    @alfarrarjr

    3 жыл бұрын

    Try the Forge of Fury. It meets most, if not all of the QB's criteria. frpworld.com/downloads/senaryolar/adnd/Forge_of_Fury.pdf

  • @0chuklz0

    @0chuklz0

    3 жыл бұрын

    Take a look at the classic dungeon, Keep on the Borderlands for a decent example of connected natural cave system.

  • @abdulrahmanreijerink

    @abdulrahmanreijerink

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks. I'll dig through my boxes and see if I still have a copy of Keep on the Borderland.

  • @abdulrahmanreijerink

    @abdulrahmanreijerink

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@alfarrarjr thanks. I've never seen anything D&D post 90s and I've just gotten back into B/X, I'll look through that tonight!

  • @arthurmarques6191
    @arthurmarques61916 ай бұрын

    love it! your channel inspired me to write a dungeon crawl for DnD adventurers league

  • @flyrefi
    @flyrefi3 жыл бұрын

    Shoot, what is that starmap thing behind you? I know MCDM used it as a prop on the Chain but it’s from something else originally

  • @sequoyahwright

    @sequoyahwright

    3 жыл бұрын

    That is the map from the film Time Bandits (1981). It is a "timeless" classic by genius visionary director Terry Gilliam.

  • @VestedLemon
    @VestedLemon3 жыл бұрын

    Anyone else notice that his cadence and delivery is the same as Matthew Colville’s?

  • @VestedLemon

    @VestedLemon

    3 жыл бұрын

    It’s like their words are a boulder rolling down a hill and they’re behind chasing it rather than guiding it at their own pace, just an observation.

  • @boredomaster
    @boredomaster2 жыл бұрын

    If an area isn’t found, the secret area could be recycled in subsequent dungeons until found.

  • @Belly6815
    @Belly68153 жыл бұрын

    Your office in the background is totally nerd bad ass!

Келесі