Dungeon Narrative Checklist
Partly for myself but also for you guys, here’s a list of 15 questions to ask while you are designing a dungeon.
Narrative Impact
1) How does the dungeon impact the campaign narrative?
As the players make progress in the dungeon, what new information do they learn about the overarching story? Will this dungeon lead them to the next one somehow?
2) What is the players’ agency for going through the dungeon?
What reason do the players have to enter the dungeon other than XP and loot? What are the stakes and how important are they?
3) What moral questions are brought up in the dungeon?
How will the dungeon affect the players themselves? What choices must they make in order to succeed? Will the players be changed by these choices?
4) How are expectations subverted in the dungeon?
What makes dungeons exciting is turning things on their head. Whether it’s what you normally expect a certain creature to do or look like or where you expect traps to be placed, changing it can make the dungeon memorable, fun, and challenging for the players.
History of the Dungeon
5) Why was the dungeon created?
Who built the dungeon? Was it a fortress? Temple? Prison? Mine? What groups originally inhabited it? No one (except maybe Acererak) makes a dungeon for just giggles. It either serves defensive, offensive, religious, residential, or commercial use. Maybe the reason isn’t immediately apparent from its complexity.
6) How is the dungeon being used now?
Part of what makes a good dungeon is the passage of time. How are its latest inhabitants using it? Maybe a castle is being mined for materials, or maybe a mine has been turned into a defensive castle. Keep in mind the original purpose of the dungeon and reflect upon that. Both purposes should be obvious to the players after some time in the dungeon.
7) What rumors have spread about the dungeon? How did they spread?
Players need a way to be drawn to the dungeon, and this happens through rumors. How has the dungeon’s presence affected nearby areas? What creatures are known to inhabit it? What treasures were lost inside? What evils must be slain within? Furthermore, think about how rumors get out. Did some adventuring parties fail before you? Did something escape the dungeon?
Dungeon Denizens
8) What cultures exist in the dungeon?
Who or what lives in the dungeon and how do they cope with their environment? Do they have a structured society? Do they practice a religion? What art items do they create? What are they famous/infamous for?
9) What factions exist in the dungeon and what motives do they have?
Do those that live in the dungeon interact with each other? How do they get along? Why do they or don’t they get along? Some groups might not be on good terms with others, which can let the players take sides. A good example is the Sunless Citadel where the kobolds and goblins are enemies in the same dungeon.
10) What is day-to-day life like in the dungeon?
On a daily basis, what do its inhabitants do? Do the orcs have a patrol route? When do the kobolds reset traps? What time of day does the basilisk search for food? You don’t have to go into great detail, but it will help you when figuring out how the players meet the denizens. Except for maybe undead/oozes/plants, monsters don’t tend to sit in a room and wait for intruders. They have better things to be doing!
Dungeon Design
11) What is the story arc of the dungeon?
What is the beginning, middle, climax, and resolution of your dungeon? How does the dungeon change as the players progress? Things that change could include the environment, terrain, creatures, setting, or mood. Even the players and their goals can change midway through a dungeon. Maybe the dungeon denizens that were initially friendly hide an unforgivable evil in the dungeon. Now the players have to stop their initial allies.
12) What are the story beats of the dungeon?
Break down the individual story elements into one-sentence beats. Make sure they vary in drama, intensity, comedy, and length. In a dungeon setting, an easy way to do this is with the dungeon’s rooms. You can control everything the players encounter when separated into sections like that. And never underestimate the importance of empty rooms.
13) What is the expected path for the players to take?
How do you expect your players to traverse the dungeon? Where do they enter and exit? Which rooms do you believe they will investigate first? If you know their path, you can create more interesting encounters through a controlled setting. That being said, make multiple paths to get around the dungeon. Let some be secret and some out in the open. Let players thoroughly explore the space. But manufacture important story moments at “funnels” in the dungeon map where the player can only come from one direction.
14) Which rooms are optional and which are mandatory?
Players don’t have to explore every room or find every secret, but reward them with promising loot (potentially guarded by unique threats) if they do explore them. Know which rooms are absolutely necessary for completion or progression and make those rooms enticing to help ensure the players explore them.
15) Is each room and encounter unique?
Make sure the players have a decent variety of enemies to fight, or at least something that makes each fight unique. Equip similar enemies with different weapons, make one into a spellcaster, or include an environmental feature. Alter the shapes of rooms and pathways to add variety. Give each room a unique purpose, when applicable. The only times I might make rooms look the same is for dormitories or cells, in which case I would treat an entire hall as a “room.”
