6 Ways to Add Interest to Your Dungeon
By: Jesse C Cohoon
Many times people think of dungeons as these static
things that monsters inhabit, but if viewed as an interconnected, alive system that
opens up many more possibilities than would ordinarily be possible.
1. When designing dungeons, remember that enemies
move around. But don’t limit their movement to just one area. Keep in mind
that sound travels, and a battle in one area, attract enemies coming to the
scene from different areas, and in the heat of the battle, PCs may find
themselves surrounded by enemies in battle where they can neither move forward
nor retreat until the situation changes.
2. Add varying types of obstacles and ways of
conquering them. In the Zelda franchise games, there are lots of puzzles,
many of which are solved by blowing up obstacles or fake walls, pushing blocks/
rocks, swimming, activating switches in a specific order, and accessing areas
that they need some sort of protection/ alteration to enter. In each of these
cases, Link had equipment to help him out: gloves to give him strength,
earrings to allow him to withstand heat, special armor that allowed him to swim
underwater and the like. In Zelda: Skyward Sword, the hero gets a Batman-esque grappling
hook type weapon that allows him to be pulled to walls, stationary helicopter
type units, and ivy covered rock facades.
But just because the players
don’t have the proper equipment/ powers doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be allowed
to enter such areas, but they may face difficulties in getting around / damage
while in such areas. For instance in an area without the proper heat protection
equipment, a person may get damage while in extremely hot or cold areas.
3. Allow different areas to be opened up as
the players get more powerful. Just because a party went through an area
doesn’t mean that there aren’t more secrets to be discovered. There may be
hidden passages, areas blocked by monsters that they didn’t fight (or
circumvented), underground areas that they have to have digging claws to get
to, or areas that were previously too high for them to reach. When characters get “fly,” “passwall,”
and “reduce/enlarge” abilities (either through their equipment or by spells),
the dungeon has an entirely different feeling.
4. Change the dungeon in a significant way.
This is a classic in video games. Some changes that you can make are: having
the dungeon flood, it on fire or filled with smoke, upside down, or even
portable (for instance a dungeon in a giant robot or on a dragon turtle) Other
changes that you might not have thought of are: filled with quicksand, time
shifted (thank you Zelda: Skyward Sword,) collapsing, overgrown, and vastly changed
monsters. Even changing the climate changes the dungeon. For instance, having a
previously hot area change to freezing changes the dungeon.
5. Change up the situation. Instead of
seeing a dungeon as a thing where characters enter the dungeon and maim/ kill anything
that is threatening, and loot their enemies, the dungeon could be a thing of a
peace keeping party where negotiation rules the day, an espionage mission where
the characters need to be stealthy so as not to get caught, or a rescue mission
where they have to be careful who they kill, otherwise they may end up killing
the party that they’re trying to save.
6. Plan in layers. The best dungeons have
multiple layers: from deep underground or underwater reaching up many stories
in the sky. Having puzzles that span these levels, clues for the
story-behind-the-story, and boss battles the enemies of which are massive (both
in terms of scope, but in terms of the number of participants), makes your
dungeons truly epic!
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