Ooooo, another door!
I wonder what’s behind here!
Oh, come on, I think we all know what’s
behind the door.
Yeah, exactly!
Something else to stab, of course!
Indeed, it seems like every dungeon we go
into is the same.
And behind every door is something else to
fight.
Yeah, and I don’t even know why we’re
in this dungeon.
I don’t know, but I thought we were here
to buy kitty snacks.
You guys, what difference does it make?
You’re all just going to kill everything
anyway and take their stuffs.
Well that’s because you’ve trained to
do just that.
Maybe you should mix things up from time to
time.
Yeah, no kidding.
Do you know how SICK I get of having to kill
everything all the time.
It’d be nice to meet someone I could just
talk to for once.
Oh no, that’s not good.
Somebody broke our rogue!
Welcome to the DM Lair.
I’m Luke Hart, and I’ve been a dungeon
master since high school.
On this channel I give practical dungeon master
advice that you can implement at your table.
Today in the Lair I’m going to go over the
seven steps I use when I create homebrew dungeons
and adventures for my Dungeons & Dragons games.
Now, I’ll list these seven steps in the
order I usually do them, but feel free to
skip around if that works better for you.
And along the way, I’ll be giving some PRO
TIPS for making your dungeons more interesting
and fun for your players.
Also, on this Friday’s live stream, here
on YouTube, we’ll be creating a short D&D
dungeon together.
So, today we’ll talk about theory, and this
Friday we’ll put it all into action!
And by the way, if you’d like a free template
that you can use when making your dungeons
and adventures, my RPG Adventure Template
is available now on DriveThruRPG.
It’s “pay what you want” so you can
snag it for free, or toss me a little something
to help support all the free content I create
for the D&D community.
Link below.
#1 Determine the Storyline
The first step to making a dungeon or adventure
is decided what the main problem is, what
the central tension is.
Why do your players’ characters even need
to go into the dungeon to begin with?
I mean, why not just stay home and knit booties
for the grandkids?
Or whatever it is your players’ PCs do in
their downtime…
Because knitting booties, you know, is kind
of …yeah...
Why?
What’s wrong with knitting booties, huh?
Lots of fine people enjoy knitting in their
downtime
Yeah, Fat Cat could actually use some booties
to keep her paws warm in the winter.
Okay, yeah, so uh, anyway, if you’re stuck
on creating the storyline or central tension,
and have no idea where to begin, I usually
get my inspiration for an adventure or dungeon
from the Monster Manual, Volo’s Guide to
Monsters, or Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes.
Basically, I just get all hopped up reading
about different monsters and their lore and
then that inspires me to create a dungeon.
Once I find some creatures I want to throw
in a dungeon and make an adventure out of,
I ask myself a few questions: What do these
creatures want?
And what are they doing that is causing problems
in the game world?
Answering those two questions is the foundation
for creating an amazing Dungeons & Dragons
adventure that your players will remember
for years to come.
For instance, let’s say an evil hag wants
to corrupt children and steal their souls.
Well, she could go out and just kidnap them,
but that’s a little obvious.
Instead, how about she disguises herself as
a kind old lady in town that passes out candies
to children?
Now, the candies are delicious and have no
obvious side effects, but they slowly turn
the children more and more evil.
It starts with mean pranks, and then intensifies
into something much worse.
And then, when a child commits some horrible
atrocity, its soul then belongs to the hag.
See?
That’s a problem in the game that needs
resolving.
That’s an adventure your players could go
on: find out what’s corrupting all the local
children and put an end to it.
And there could be a dungeon—the hag’s
lair full of her cruel fey minions—that
the players need to delve into.
Now, this step DOES require creativity, but
the more you exercise your brain and your
mind, the better you’ll get at it.
My suggestion is to put in the effort and
work at this.
Don’t take short cuts like going to Facebook
or Reddit and querying the “hivemind”
there for ideas.
That will only inhibit your own ability to
come up with ideas for your own awesome dungeons
and D&D adventures.
#2 Pick Some Monsters for the Dungeon
Now, yes, you’ll probably already have done
this a little bit as part of determining the
storyline, but now’s the time to find some
more baddies to stick and the dungeon and
flesh things out a little more.
Who’s working for the main villain of the
adventure?
Have you even found a creature to be the main
villain yet?
And why are all these creatures and monsters
in the same dungeon?
Are they working together?
Are there different factions in the dungeon
that have an uneasy alliance that the players
might take advantage of, pitting one against
the other?
Will the players walk into a dungeon with
different sides at war with each other?
You see, as I’m picking out my monsters,
I’m asking myself all these questions.
This helps me flesh out the details of the
dungeon and ensure that the dungeon makes
sense.
I feel like many old school dungeons just
had tons of monsters crammed into the different
rooms, but there was no rhyme or reason to
it.
If the players ever stopped to ask “why?”,
there’d probably be no good answer.
And, honestly, a dungeon like that feels kind
of lame to me.
So when you choose monsters for your dungeon,
make sure that the dungeon ecology makes sense.
That is, there’s a reason all the monsters
are there in the dungeon, coexisting together.
#3 Develop Important NPCs and Locations
I like to flesh out some details about the
important NPCs and locations my players will
come across in the dungeon or on the adventure.
For instance, let’s say the dungeon is near
the halfling town of Undercliff just east
of Waterdeep, and there’s a good chance
the players will go in the town.
Well, I should probably have some basic information
about that town developed shouldn’t I?
Now, I’m not necessarily going to build
out an entire town, but I may want to know
some basic facts.
Who’s the mayor?
What’s the main lively hood of the people
there?
And the name of the local tavern, of course.
Just one?
We really should have at least a few, don’t
you think?
You know, basic stuff that’s likely to come
up if the players go there.
And then, let’s flesh out some NPCs, perhaps
the main villain of the dungeon and any other
important NPCs the players will come across.
How about that hag who’s stealing children’s
souls?
Well, I had better know her name at minimum:
Granny Mathilda Tichwillow.
And I should know what she looks like, her
basic mannerisms, her goals, what motivates
her, and perhaps a flaw that could be used
against her.
I do the same sort of basic outlining for
any important NPCs in the adventure or dungeon
itself.
#4 Make the Dungeon Already!
Okay, maybe up until this point you’ve been
thinking, that’s all great, Luke, but I
thought we were talking about MAKING DUNGEONS
here.
So, why all the foreplay?
Why not just get straight to the point?
Because, young padawan, you don’t bake a
cake without first reading the recipe and
buying the ingredients.
– Do padawan’s bake cakes?
Aren’t they just Jedi Knights in training?
Or did Disney screw that up, too?
Eh, whatever, you get the point though…
Anyway, let’s create the actual dungeon,
eh?
And any good dungeon—or castle, or building,
or whatever—usually starts with a map.
And a quick side note on terminology before
we go on: pretty much everything is a dungeon
in my mind.
Anything with ROOMS made of four walls, a
ceiling—and preferably a floor—connected
by CORRIDORS, is a dungeon for the purposes
of this conversation.
Call it a hidden tomb, an ancient temple of
a forgotten evil god, the castle of the incredibly
beautiful princess who must needs be rescued,
or the rat-infested cellar of the local grocer:
those are all dungeons in my book.
Okay, back to maps because a good dungeon
needs a good map.
And the best advice I can give you for creating
a good dungeon map is STEALING IDEAS FROM
OTHERS.
That’s right, I am advocating theft!
Creativity feeds on creativity, so when I’m
looking to make a map for a dungeon, I start
with a quick Google search for maps.
Just type in “D&D map”, press enter, and
then go to the “images” tab – and you’re
all set.
Just browse through the maps, maybe refine
your search for sewers or temples, and then
when you find something you think looks cool,
use that for inspiration.
Now, usually, I prefer not to copy a map exactly
as I find it, instead I like to make tweak
it and make it my own.
And, honestly, a lot of times the map I finally
end up creating looks very little like the
map—or maps—that inspired me, and that’s
perfectly fine.
I went to Google for inspiration, not to steal
a map.
Unless, of course, I did…
Then, once you have your map created, you
just need to place all your monsters and the
villain in it, and write up some brief descriptions
for all the rooms.
Oh, and if you need help deciding what each
room should be, or the different kinds of
furnishing or appointments to place in it,
Appendix A: Random Dungeons of the Dungeon
Master’s Guide has some awesome lists to
help get the creative juices flowing.
And, as you are fleshing out the details of
the dungeon, here is a quick-fire lists of
things you’ll want to consider placing in
your dungeon to keep things interesting, dynamic,
and fun for your players:
Puzzles; traps; exploration opportunities
such as secret doors and passages; social
interaction scenes where players can have
talky-talky moments instead of just combat;
red herrings intended to throw your players
off; and interesting twists on overdone motifs
or clichés.
When you include these sorts of things, your
dungeon becomes far more interesting and fun
for your players than just room after room
of bad guys to fight.
Now, the encounters and the boss fight are
still incredibly important, of course.
Those are the things that drive many players
to actually play the game, so I wouldn’t
skimp on those either.
In fact, I have an entire Encounter Building
playlist with lots of information about making
fun and exciting encounters for your players,
and I have a two-part How to Make a Perfect
Boss Fight video, too.
I’ll throw links to those down below for
you.
#5 Create the Plot Hook
Okay, you got a great idea for a storyline.
You picked out the perfect villain and some
awesome minions to go along with her.
And you created an entire dungeon for your
players to explore, with puzzles to solve,
traps to overcome, and baddies to defeat.
Well, all of that work is for NOTHING if you
can’t motivate your players to actually
go to the dungeon and go on the adventure.
This is where the PLOT HOOK, or inciting action,
comes in.
When I create a plot hook, it consists of
two things: a statement of the problem to
be solved, and a reason for the players to
go solve it.
The Lord of Rassalantar approaches you and
tells you that children in the town are behaving
oddly and are going missing.
He wants you to figure it out and put an end
to it.
Okay, but what’s in it for us?
Fat Cat needs his kitty treats you know.
That’s right, we’re not a charity around
here, you know.
Yeah, he says he’ll give you 100 gp.
How’s that?
Oh, that sucks.
Count me out.
Yeah, that’s a little light, Mr. “Lord
of Rasslantar”.
Can’t you do better?
And bear in mind that not all players are
motivated by the same thing.
Sometimes just doing the right thing will
do the trick, but other times promises of
gold, treasure, and even magic items may be
needed.
Whatever it is, make sure you’re including
something that will appeal to your player’s
characters.
I often use an NPC to deliver a plot hook—you
know, your standard NPC quest giver—but
it doesn’t have to be an NPC.
Maybe your players find a mysterious letter
under their door, or a message scrawled on
a bathroom stall.
I don’t know, use your imagination!
#6 Create Some Random Encounters
As a “just in case” measure, I like to
create a handful of thematically appropriate
random encounters that I can use for the adventure.
I might need them, for instance, when my players
take a short rest—or long rest—in the
middle of the dungeon and I need some extra
baddies to throw at them.
I’ll pick monsters that fit with the theme
of the adventure and are appropriate for their
level, of course.
#7 Create the Resolution
What happens when your players are done with
the dungeon and have defeated the villain
or otherwise accomplished their goal?
Do they receive a reward from an NPC?
Does their favor with a faction increase?
Whatever it is, flesh that stuff out.
Having a satisfying resolution ties an adventure
up nicely and can even serve as the segue
for the next adventure or dungeon.
Don’t forget to pick up my free RPG Adventure
Template on DriveThruRPG, and if you’d like
some free D&D adventures I’ve created using
that very template, swing by my site, thedmlair.com.
Let me know the steps you take when you make
a dungeon.
Next week I’m going to rant a bit about
a nerve some folks struck while commenting
on a previous video of mine—yeah, that should
be fun!
But until then click here to hear my ten tips
for making a D&D adventure.
And until next time…
Let’s play D&D!
