Toilets in the Dungeon

Eliminating bodily waste is no laughing matter when living in an underground complex. This partially explains the large number of toilets found by the players in the Montporte Dungeon--a total of 22 toilets found so far between 12 rooms on 2 levels. I am not interested in trying to explain the technology or the logistics of all of these little stone thrones...I merely wanted to create a sense that someone had once lived there and those someones were concerned about hygiene. While flushing toilets are a modern invention, toilets are not all that uncommon in ancient ruins.

Megadungeon Hall of Fame: Jaquaying the Dungeon

A "Jaquayed" Keep

I was late to the game in discovering Justin Alexander's excellent blog, The Alexanderian, which means that I initially missed out on his series, Jaquaying the Dungeon, which was posted in 2010. Justin invents the word "Jaquaying" based on the game, dungeon, and adventure design principles of Jennell Jaquays (formerly Paul Jaquays).

Justin does a fantastic job of systematizing Jaquays' approach to designing highly interactive, dynamic, and complex gaming environments. These dynamic gaming environments, in turn, provide for interesting strategic and tactical options for players that stand up to repeated play. The essential design element is to provide multiple options and paths so that game play is non-linear (Melan offers similar conclusions in his analysis of some classic D&D modules in Dungeon Mapping, another Megadungeon Hall of Fame article).

Homebrew dungeon and adventure design often focus on (1) genre; (2) cool, unique atmospheric elements; or (3) rationalizations as to why the dungeon or other physical environment exists. All are important, but what often is missed is how the dungeon will be experienced by the players in terms of an adventure path and geographic decision-tree. Justin's series provides an instructional corrective to this omission.

You can read Justin's seven part opus for yourself:

• Jaquaying the Dungeon [Part 1]  
• Jaquaying the Dungeon–Part 2: The Jaquays Techniques 
• Jaquaying the Dungeon–Part 3: The Philosophy of Jaquaying 
• Jaquaying the Dungeon–Part 4: Jaquaying the Keep on the Shadowfell  
• Jaquaying the Dungeon–Part 5: Jaquaying for Fun and Profit 
• Jaquaying the Dungeon–Addendum: Dungeon Level Connections 
• Jaquaying the Dungeon–Addendum, Part 2: Tips & Tricks

The Dungeon 3: Creating Meaningful Choices in a Dungeon-Centered Campaign

Tabletop RPGs can be thought of in many different ways. Simulation, Theater of the Mind, and Improvisational Fiction are just a few examples that come to mind. Besides thinking of it as a game and entertainment (mainly so I don't take it too seriously), I tend to thinking of role-playing games as cooperative decision making Making cooperative decisions implies having meaningful choices or options. In running a dungeon-centered campaign as a GM, I have found creating meaningful choices for players to be my biggest challenge.

"Meaningful" is the key word in meaningful choices. In a dungeon, options, choices and decisions abound as the players make decisions about doors, stairs, and corridors. Every section of map is a "Let's Make a Deal" of decisions to be made by the players ("Are you going to take Door #2 or what's behind the curtain?"). Player movement in a dungeon often reminds me of Brownian Motion (here is the cartoon version)...or for those with a more statistical bent, the Monte Carlo Method (here is the cartoon version). Or, to put it simply, movement and exploration is often a random exercise. It may be fun for a few sessions, but most players and GMs will tire of that kind of play.

The GM Side of Things
As I said, the my biggest challenge as a GM in running a dungeon campaign is creating meaningful choices for the players. I try to meet this challenge in a couple of ways:

• Design: I try to design the dungeon so that the physical layout invites thoughtful decision-making. I confess to having little expertise in how to do that, but I try anyway. I found Justin Alexander's (The Alexandrian) series, Jaquaying the Dungeon, to be particularly helpful.
• Information: The players need information about the dungeon...enough to engage them in exploration but not so much as ruin the suspense. I do this through role-playing (not every encounter is with an enemy), written documents, bits of architectural detail, and encounters. I have not been using random encounters, although a lot of encounters are improvised. I treat every encounter as a clue to the nature of the dungeon. Rob Conley (Bat in the Attic) has a neat blog post that I found helpful in this regard, Other Knobs to Play With. 
• "Campaign Mindset:" In running the Montporte Dungeon campaign, I have been thinking of it in terms of a regular campaign, not a traditional smash and grab dungeon of yore. There is a complex history, factions, geography, and an economy. Because the dungeon had been sealed, the players had almost no information going in so the campaign does include the usual dungeon exploration. But I am really trying to work in opportunities for role-playing and for getting involved in a more complex relationship with the dungeon denizens than I have had in the past with my other dungeon-centered campaigns.

The Player Side of Things
In a dungeon campaign, the GM has a lot to do and they are key to its success. However, players can make or break a dungeon campaign. The Montporte Dungeon campaign is my third dungeon-centered campaign and I found that dungeons can create ADHD in even the most focused players. Players can do their part in making a dungeon campaign a success by:

• Staying Focused: Whether it is a goal(s), a direction, a plan, or something else, players can keep things interesting for themselves by identifying a focus or purpose and attempting to stick to it. It is helpful for both the GM and players when the party has a purpose, even if it is short-term.
• Regular Review: Given the myriad of choices that the average dungeon level provides, players can help themselves by regularly reviewing what has happened and where they want to go. Given the time off between sessions, regular review is a must to staying focused.
• Organizing: Lots of things fall into this category...having a regular marching order, posting a guard while searching for secret doors,  and keeping information organized.
• Investigating: This includes geographic exploration, capturing foes and interrogating them, and questioning the friendly folk (if they can be found).
• "Campaign Mindset:" Think beyond killing stuff and taking the treasure. Not that this is a bad thing, but expand your character's motivation as you would do in a non-dungeon campaign.

If you have run a successful dungeon-centered campaign, what has worked for you?

Dungeon Design: The Sixth Way

This post represents a correction from a brain fart while writing the previous post. While writing that post, I could remember only four of the five paths I use for dungeon design. All I could remember was the Architect DM piece. While I like that bit of info, it wasn't a part of what I had intended to write. Here is what I originally intended to include as one of my Five Paths For Dungeon Design:

The 5 X 5 Method: This allows the GM to create some plot, setting and thematic connections for the players to follow while allowing players to make significant choices as to where they are going and how they will play. Basically, the GM identifies five different quests, locations, factions, etc. In turn, each of these five quests/locations/factions/etc has five episodes, modules, or actions associated with them.You can find a the 5 X 5 Compendium here (with links to a number of blog posts and articles) but the original article (here) and an an example of how this method was applied to The Temple of Elemental Evil (here) gives a nice overview of how this method can help to plan a dungeon campaign.

Five For Friday 10: Five Paths For Dungeon Design

Designing a megadungeon as the basis for an extended campaign is a daunting task. To start with, it is a huge time suck. And, even you put in a buttload* of time, the finished product might not support extended play. While there are no magic bullets, perfect shortcuts, or foolproof methods, there are some design tools and methodologies that I have found helpful. I use them as paths for dungeon design.

I have these in, what seems to me, a logical order. However, in practice I do jump around between them to plan ahead, solve problems, organize my thoughts and do whatever it is I need to do to come up with a fun playable dungeon design.

• The One Page Dungeon: Here is a modular approach, popularized by Stonehell Dungeon (which utilizes a Two Page Dungeon) and a string of One Page Dungeon contests. Basically, the dungeon is mapped out in 300' X 300' modules (or similar size) with the map and the map key fitting onto one page (or two pages). Here are some early posts from Sham's Grog `n Blog (here and here), ChicagoWiz's RPG Blog (here), and The Society of Torch, Pole and Rope (here) that provide more detail and insight.
• The Architect DM Series: This series of blog posts on Critical Hits are not profound, but they do serve as a good reminder that a dungeon is a physical space underground (two sample posts here and here). I try to include basic engineering elements, such as columns. More importantly, it is a good reminder to have lots of "black space" or solid rock to physically support the rooms and passages. Part of this is my own personal dislike of dungeons that have no apparent means of support the roof (you know, those dungeons where every space on the map has been used (like Gary's map pictured here). My undergrad degree is in geophysics, so I feel a suprising need to have structural integrity in my dungeon (but at the same time, I don't worry about what dungeon critters eat...go figure).
• Map Flow/Decision Tree Approach: I wasn't sure what to call this approach to dungeon design. "Melan," in a now-classic thread post, analyzed a number of TSR/WotC adventure modules, by looking at the pathway(s) available to player characters as they physically moved through the module (you can find Melan's text here). While he restricted his analysis to modules (with smaller dungeons), his thoughts and observations have helped me think through how player characters move through space. I have found it particularly helpful in giving players opportunities for decision-making based upon the physical layout of the dungeon.
• Node-Based Dungeon: Another way to diagram and plan dungeon areas, factions, and encounters. Keith Davies has several posts on his blog, In My Campaign (you can read some of his node-based dungeon posts here, here, and here). Dungeon of Signs also has this post. [Update 3/8/13: Keith added links/landing page for his Node-Based Dungeon posts; you can find it here]
• The Dungeon, the Underdark, and Beyond: I am a big fan of the Underdark concept. I love the idea of underground cities, complexes, and sites connected by stairs, rivers, passages, and portals (like this and even this).

What approaches, tools, publications, or methods have you found helpful for dungeon design?

*Thanks to the Happy Whisk for providing me with this useful unit of measure.