#sample dungeon

[oldschoolfrp]

Holmes’ sample dungeon below Zenopus’ tower:  Room S -- Spiral Staircase is straight out of every other Conan cover painting (from the first Basic D&D rulebook by J Eric Holmes, 1977)

[oldschoolfrp]

The sample dungeon from Holmes’ 1977 D&D basic rules, often known as Zenopus’ Dungeon -- available as a free PDF on WotC’s official D&D website.

It can be run as a simple room-by-room dungeon crawl, but there are a number of good design ideas for inspiration like one entrance leading to multiple hidden exits.  It includes many potential hooks for new adventures, which makes it a great first session to start a sandbox campaign if the party follows one or more of those leads.

Who are the NPCs who were turned to stone?  Who built the previous ancient city with some enormous dungeon rooms, and are there more hidden levels below?  Who are the pirates and what else are they up to?  The pirates have abducted at least one person from town, so I’ve had them be part of the slavers network from the A1-4 series of modules.

I also use this dungeon as a benchmark for trying new editions of the game, comparing how the rules handle different types of encounters.  The thaumaturgist can die quickly in 5th ed if he faces a party alone, but a handful of goblins might be a problem if they outnumber the party.

The PDF also starts with the archaic example of play in which a designated “caller” speaks for the party, which reflects the way some DMs handled large groups in early campaigns.