How to Build a Dungeon

So, you're finally ready to take that next step and become the master of your own dungeon. You've got your location and you've got your finances... but what comes next? Just how do you make your dungeon everything that hardy adventurers have come to expect... and a few things that they haven't. A successful dungeon will bring parties from all over the world, all hoping for a chance at treasure and glory.It's your job to make them work for it.

Things You'll Need

• Land
• Building tools such as shovels, chisels and carts for rock
• Blacksmiths and iron workers (well supplied)
• A troop of slaves for the manual labor (orcs or goblins work well)

Instructions

What Kind of Dungeon?

1. Decide decide what kind of dungeon you want. This decision will have an impact on all others that you make. Do you want your dungeon to be the damp kind, with water dripping in the distance and moss growing from the walls? Or maybe you prefer the dry, desert cavern look. Maybe a medieval dungeon or worked stone or even a foreboding labyrinth of frozen, icy silence. Before you decide, remember that the kind of dungeon will dictate what kind of creatures will live there; you won't have any success keeping an ice dragon in a dungeon full of fire pits and torches!

2. Create the rooms of your dungeon. This can be simplified if you're lucky enough to find a system of underground caverns that suit your needs, but it's also where you might need a lot of hard work and heavy labor. (This is also where the goblins and orcs come in extremely handy.) Draw a layout on a piece of paper first; it'll make your life easier down the road. The more planning you put into it, the easier it'll be. Don't forget that the laws of physics don't apply to dungeons--you can make as many levels as you want, and not have to worry about the lower levels caving in.

3. Start room by room. By the time you've reached this point, you should have a pretty good idea of what's going where as far as jails, traps, treasure rooms, monster lairs and extras such as the ever-popular mad scientist's lair. Start with one room at a time; this will keep the mess to a minimum, and it'll be easier to keep everyone on track. Now is also a good time to start thinking ahead. For example, make sure the dragon's lair is big enough to house her comfortably and the water elemental's underground lake has plenty of circulating water and the fire elemental's lava pit has a fresh supply of oxygen to keep him healthy and happy. Any problems can be dealt with now, instead of when you start populating your dungeon.

4. Move in. Once you have all the rooms finished, start moving in. Introduce a small monster population in each area you would like to see ripe with life. Also, it's never a bad idea to also introduce species harmless to whatever adventurer might wander in, but that will help keep your monsters in check. Rats, bats and snakes are always excellent food supplies for the more animalistic type of monster. If your dungeon is leaning toward the more exotic, special considerations need to be made. A properly balanced dungeon ecosystem will keep your monsters healthy but hungry for more.

5. Place intriguing baubles around the dungeon. There should always be a few rooms with enough baubles to keep the adventurers going deeper. While they don't have to be the most mind-blowing treasure, make them shiny and light-weight.

6. Greet your guests. Once you've got your cavern and your monsters, give it a while to get that true dungeon ambiance. That smell only comes with time. In the meantime, start to advertise. A bug in the ear of one warrior in a tavern can do wonders for your popularity. Then, just sit back and wait!

Tips & Warnings

• Remember, you want your dungeon to be unique. Every adventurer has been through dungeons with kobolds, but how many have been through dungeons with kobolds that have been genetically engineered to regrow limbs? Make it a challenge, but not so challenging that they give up and turn around when they've just gotten in the door.

• Don't forget the little touches that make a dungeon special, like algae in the water and old bloodstains on the walls.

• If you're going for secrecy, don't forget to get rid of your designers. It only takes one to ruin the whole thing.

• You've got the traps...don't forget the hero disposal units.

• Pay careful attention to the placement of monsters. There's nothing worse than going down into your dungeon and finding out that the orcs have eaten all the gnolls and the flesh-eating worms have eaten all the orcs. Re-populating your dungeon can be costly and time-consuming.

• Don't put any treasure in your dungeon that you can't bear to part with. It's almost a guarantee that you're going to meet your match in a particularly determined or particularly suicidal hero.