On Dungeons, Part II
BA: "After the orc-lord captures you, he has you put in chains. You are taken down a long flight of steps to the 56th level of the dungeon, where you are handed picks and shovels. He tells you to construct level 57."
Brian: "I always wondered who built these things."
- Knights of the Dinner Table
In the last edition of Mere Chronicles, On Dungeons, I examined dungeons and dungeon-building in a general sort of way. In this essay, as promised, I will dissect one of my own dungeon levels. The subject will be the first level of The Cold Tower.
The Cold Tower was one of the later dungeons explored by the Heroes of Telemarch group. It was designed and gamed in the early months of 1994. The group at that time was large and powerful, consisting of about 14 characters and NPCs of an average of around 9th level. At the time, the group was exploring a vast underground area called The Hidden Realm. They had already explored part of the area over the preceding years, and were on a quest for loot and treasure in the unexplored portions. This made planting the "hook" for this adventure very easy; the group encountered a friendly dragon, and elected to stop and talk to it. All I had to do to lure them there was to have the dragon mention that the tower existed, and was said to hold great treasure.
The inspiration for the dungeon itself was my desire to create a dungeon with a different mix of monsters than the temperate-area selection I generally used. I had never done a really cold dungeon, and there were a lot of cold-dwelling monsters that I was intrigued by, but had never used. I did not think that I could lure the group into the subartic regions to the north, so I came up with a reason a very icy dungeon would exist underground. The hook was planted, and there we were.
Below is the map of the level, a faithful recreation of my original map, hand-drawn on 5 squares to the inch graph paper. It is followed by a typed re-creation of my notes. I have kept these exactly as I wrote them, cryptic abbreviations and all. The notes for each area are followed by my commentary about them. These comments appear in red.
The map:
The Cold Tower
Built around 1720 C.R. by Fracelle, an evil sorceress of great power. Fracelle was the offspring of a succubus and a frost giant. She shunned others and built the tower as a refuge and a retreat. There she refined her magic and practiced great cruelties. Most of her chill works survive, as does the witch herself, in cold sleep.
These five sentences really tell me all I need to know for design purposes. Fracelle was evil. Fracelle specialized in cold magic (as a result of her patrilineage). The tower is her refuge, and is designed to protect her. Fracelle was not human, and could thus afford to cast many spells, such as permanency and wish, that would destroy a human spellcaster if used in large numbers. What it translates to for the DM's purposes is that the place will be very cold, and very dangerous.
This paragraph is what I think of as the "premise" for the dungeon. After I have written the premise, but before starting on the rest of my notes, I always do some preliminary work. This consists of making an local area map for the dungeon entrance, and jotting down a list of some of the monsters and other things I want to put in the dungeon. These notes are very preliminary; some of the ideas I use, others I discard as I go, and new ones occur to me as the dungeon is built. Doing this not only tends to speed up the actual dungeon construction, it also helps me develop certain themes or ideas right from the start. For example, I knew before I designed a single room in this dungeon that Fracelle maintained ties to both the races of her parentage, frost giant and demon. While the giants and demons don't come into actual play until the lower levels of the dungeon, I started working on those themes on the first level (see rooms 23 and 24). This preliminary work helps make the dungeon a real place, and not just a collection of rooms and encounters.
General Notes: The tower is built out of white stone, 140' high - it tapers to a point in the last 30'. There are no windows or adornments, and only one doorway. The dungeon walls, etc., are made from whitish quartz-like rock, shot w/veins of clear crystal and brownish stone. The temperature is a constant 20 degrees (except where noted).
I always include a few general notes like this before I start in on the details. Sometimes they are much more detailed than this, but these suffice. Note that I do not give the diameter of the tower, only the height. That's because I can look at the map and see the diameter, and time pressures usually make brevity a virtue in building a dungeon. The only other comment I have, reading this, is why did I say "quartz-like" rock? Why not just say "whitish quartz"? I don't know. I was aware then, as now, that concrete descriptions are always better than vague ones, in any kind of writing.
The tower itself, by the way, though it is shown on the map, has no room number. The tower actually has six floors, but these are only accesible from deeper in the dungeon, so they do not count as part of this level. The corridor takes a bend and goes straight into the dungeon because the tower is built right up against a hill. This is indicated on my map for the tower and its surroundings, so I do not bother describing it anywhere in my notes for the level.
Level 1
1. Ice Stations, Please. The main part of the room is bare. There are elaborate traceries in the thick stone of the arches and pillars. Each of the 6 recesses is filled with ice, ea. preserving a different creature or creatures. These can be revived by traps scattered through the dungeon. They are: A) yeti (6), B) white dragon (1), C) remorhaz (2), D) cold snakes (4), E) cryohydra (1), F) frost giants (3)
This is a nasty little piece of work that I can't recall using in any other dungeon. Because of this chamber, the group is pretty much guaranteed to have a supply of monsters always at their backs. Note that having the monsters encased in very thick ice pretty much keeps them safe from a group that has figured out what's going on and wants to short-circuit it.
Note too that the chamber is slightly asymmetrical. I did this mainly to add visual interest, not for any practical reason. The "elaborate traceries" are not described; were I creating the dungeon today, with Kim and Lori among my players, I would make damn sure I was ready to answer questions about what the designs look like. Back then it was just dungeon dressing.
2. Trap! When trod upon this 10' area glows red from within, then fades. Within 5 rounds this will revive the yeti, who will begin stalking the party.
Yeti: AC6; HD 4+4; HP 24, 26, 14,26,19,21; D/A 1-6, 1-6 Claw hit for 20 hug 2-16, if surp. sv. vs par or be par 3 rnds
This is the first trigger for area 1. The description does not explicitly state this, however. I write these notes for myself, and I know what it does, so my descriptions sometimes contain these omissions.
3. Frozen Dinner. This room holds the body of a Shamion warrior, on his back with his chest torn out and missing. He is frozen solid, perfectly preserved. A sword-shaped outline in a pool of frosty red behind him marks where a sword lay.
Clever room title, eh? I love to put something like this near the entrance to a dungeon. It's so nicely atmospheric. The message to the characters is: you aren't the first ones to try this, and look what happened to the others. Don't say you weren't warned. The missing sword adds a little something for thoughtful players. The fact that it was taken implies something intelligent living in the dungeon, or perhaps it implies that the place has already been looted.
4. Cold Storage. Three lg. metal drums are stacked in the NE corner, ea. about 2' high. They contain brown mold, which becomes active when released. Also, 6 dilap. empty crates are piled loosely along the E. wall.
This is the sort of room that I classify to myself as a "not empty empty room". Almost all dungeons need storerooms; there are many ways to add interest to such rooms, and adding a lethal menace that doesn't count as an apex predator is one of my favorites.
5. Chilly Charnel. SW corner of this room is heaped w/ frozen troll waste - yellows, browns, blacks - completely odorless, but rather nasty. Above it, on both walls, is a frosty frieze of glacial mountains, well executed.
The main function of this room is to alert a group that there are trolls nearby. If a group has a ranger or a druid, this is about the same as putting up a large sign saying "There are trolls in the next room!" I could have put the trolls first and then the waste after, but I often like to let a group know what's coming, just to see how intelligently they handle the information. I like ambushes, but I also get a lot of pleasure out of seeing a group prepare and execute a well-thought out plan. I will also put clues ahead of an encounter if I expect the encounter to be difficult, and want a group to have an even chance.
The frosty frieze, other than being an awful pun strictly for my own amusement, is simply dungeon dressing. Players, however, can't assume this, and prudent ones will examine the walls for clues, giving me the pleasure of describing the crunchy frozen troll shit they are stumbling over in loving detail. Yes, I am a sadist.
6. Trolls on Ice. Here dwells a band of 10 trolls, not at all bothered by the cold. They won't go down to the lower levels (not without severe provocation, anyway) but fearlessly attack and eat everything they find on 1st level. They have a carelessly assembled heap of treasure, both valuable and valueless (they have no idea which is which).
Treasure: Lg. diamond ring (gold - 15 chips around central d. - 2800 gp); 700 drow gp; brass belt buckle; silver and onyx ring (300 gp); kneecap from Shamion armor; lovely silver goblet w/ lg. dent (400 [700]).
Trolls: AC4; HD 6+6; HP 28, 30, 28, 43, 29, 32, 39, 25, 36, 30; D/A 5-8, 5-8, 2-12
Rooms 3 through 6 constitute an "area"; a cluster of rooms that form a distinct sub-portion of the dungeon level. In general, I will not place more than one monster in such an area, for the obvious reason that one group would very quickly eat the other. Conversely, though, I will usually place an encounter in such an area, as I have discovered that if the players go too many rooms without an encounter, they begin to grow bored and restless. The brown mold in area 4 really doesn't count for these purposes; it's more like a living trap (and thus not subject to detection by the frickin' find traps spell, hee hee).
As far as encounters go, it's pretty straightforward. I describe what's there, where in the dungeon they roam, and under what circumstances they will attack. The treasure is nicely detailed. The "15 chips around central d." is my shorthand, by the way, for "15 diamond chips around a larger central diamond". I really love trolls - 10 of them is a fight for even a very strong group, and they can be found in any climate. Note that my notes don't mention their regeneration ability. That's another example of something I know so well that I don't bother to write it down.
7. The Ice Cave. This cave is entirely ice, avg. 10' thick over stone. Its floor is splintered, icicles of huge size hand from the ceiling. It is inhabited by 2 white puddings, wh/ can't be detected from further than 10'. They will attack anything entering the cave.
Below the surface, 5' down, near the back of the cave something will glint faint red in bright light. If excavated it will be a huge ruby affixed to a horrible, many-tentacled thing - a creature of the Old Ones. If dug up it will revive after 8 hours and go in search of the ruby-snatchers, attempting to destroy them, using guile, then force. The ruby is 6000 gp.
Puddings: AC8; HD9; HP 33, 49; D/A 7-28
The Thing: AC -4; HD 16; HP 82; D/A 3-18 x 6; MR 70%; telepathic (ESP), cause madness 3 x day, fear aura (10'); passwall; regen 2 hp/rnd; cause darkness; vent paralyzing gas (sv or par) in 20' cloud 2 x day; ventriloquism
Here we have my nod to John W. Campbell's classic short story "Who Goes There?" (filmed twice as "The Thing"). This is the part of the dungeon that those who gamed through it remember the best; this horrible thing slithering after the group intoning "Give the ruby!".
The monster is tremendously powerful, even compared to the strength of the group at the time. That's because this is not intended to be a battle encounter. I wanted to see what would happen if the group was faced with a monster that might defeat them, one they didn't have to fight if they were willing to give up the treasure. Players hate to give up treasure, they just hate it, so this encounter is essentially a squeeze between fear and greed. As it played out, the group finally did give the ruby back, and the thing departed, but only after the group had made several unsuccessful attempts to destroy or evade the monster. It made for some very interesting gaming that is still remembered, so I would have to say that the encounter worked.
8. Stone Shelf. Along W. wall of rm. is a stone shelf 3' off ground, 2 ½' deep. Above it in center is a frost giant's head (carved from stone) w/frozen trickling (well...) into basin. About 7' to S. of this is a secret panel in top - heavy pressure causes panel below to shoot out exp. and shatter (unless a creature is in the way - then 5-30 pts. damage). Within is an insulated compartment holding two pots. frost resistance.
The trap description is probably a little obscure to anyone who isn't me. What it is describing is a secret compartment on the wall above the shelf, right next to the ceiling. Pressure on the section of shelf beneath it will cause a stone panel right below the secret compartment (at waist height on a human standing on the shelf) to blow explosively outward.
This trap is not placed with the hope that anyone will actually be killed, but rather to force a group to work a little for the goodies inside. It would take a severely injured high-level thief to fall victim to this, and if severely injured thieves try to disarm traps, they deserve what they get. The little parenthetical "well" is me talking to myself, saying "Okay, so frozen water doesn't actually trickle, but you get the idea".
9. Bone Bits. Bone shards litter an otherwise empty room.
This is just a little dressing in an otherwise empty room, a way of foreshadowing the next two chambers. It also says that others have been here, they won this fight, but couldn't get any further. This helps bolster the impression that the dungeon is a dynamic place, and not just a static series of encounters waiting for the characters.
10. Bone Brigade. Here rest about 10 pretty beat-up skeletons, armed w/ motley weapons. They are programmed to attack, will pursue as far as next room. Their bones have been treated to be as hard as iron.
Skels: AC 0; HD 1; HP 2, 2, 1, 6, 1, 5, 1, 2, 7, 1; D/A 1-6
This is a good example of taking a standard monster and making a little change to turn the encounter into something the players do not expect. This technique is especially important with experienced players. Sometimes, in fact, experienced players can be lured in and deceived by their own expectations. In this case, even AC 0 skeletons were not a threat to the group, but the encounter serves as both a warm-up for the next room and as a reminder to the players not to fall victim to their assumptions.
11. Bigger Bones. This rm. is similar to #10, but it has 7 ogre skels. Along back wall hang 4 lanterns of elaborately cut crystal, each w/ soft internal radiance (value - 400 gp @).
Mon. Skels: AC 0; HD 4; HP 22, 14, 23, 20, 21, 15, 12; D/A 4-16
This encounter is a little more serious, but otherwise I really don't have much to add. I do like the treasure, though - unusual objects of great beauty are harder to think up than just saying "You find 1600 gold pieces", but are so much more satisfying to both players and DM.
12. Ice Curtain. A curtain of icy strands dangles across rm. here. Anything touching these is instantly frozen solid. Ice - burn damage will occur if any of the objects frozen is touched w/out protection.
Behind is an altar to the Big D. His twin heads dominate; the eyes are 1000 gp emeralds.
This can be evaded, but is nasty, nasty, nasty. There is no ice to flesh spell. Unlike the trap in room 8, this one is intended to be lethal. It is interesting to me that I actually wrote "Big D" rather than...than, well, you know. Some habits are hard to break.
13. Empty Room.
Every now and then an empty room is just an empty room.
14. Dungeon of Death. Room has battered old stool E. of door. Low, thick doors screen cells. The first has two wizened, frozen duergar of ancient visage. B is empty. C has scorched remains of a mind flayer. D has a specter, which will attack, but which will not leave the cell.
Specter: AC 2; HD 7+3; HP 35; D/A 1-8
Putting an undead creature in an old prison room is a motif I tend to use a lot. Note that this is a fairly dangerous encounter with no treasure at all. If a group figures out that the specter will not leave the cell, of course, they can destroy it easily.
15. Large White Beetles. Rm. is icy, burrowed by light-hating lg. white beetles (8" long) which will be dazed, then scurry out of sight. They are harmless.
What I'm really doing here is helping to provide a food source for some of the other creatures in the dungeon. The big white beetles are also unusual enough to provide some interest to the players, who can't be sure that this isn't something sinister.
16. Slide on the Ice. Ice-slicked stairs lead down to 2nd level. If trod upon by more than 100 lbs. weight, they snap abruptly into a ramp. It is very slick, and any creature on it will slide to the bottom, where a pit trap plunges it/them onto a bed of spikes 30' down (dam. 9d6). The trap is clever, but strictly mechanical.
I generally don't make stairs or ramps into traps. On occasion I will make an exception, though, as in this case. If I do it too often the players become over-cautious about them, which frustrates me a little because it slows down the game. By doing it rarely, my chances of catching them off-guard are increased. I do notice an omission here, though. A lot of wandering creatures would have been caught in this trap over the years, and that pit should be half full of bones. If I was building the dungeon today that issue would be addressed in my notes. The only reason I can think of for why I included that last sentence is that the group might have had some way of automatically detecting magic at the time, and I didn't want myself to give the trap away because of that.
17. Raven Mad. A branch on the W. wall, about 7' high, holds a lg. raven, wings outspread. It is frozen to its perch, in fact frozen solid, quite dead. It faces S. Rm. is otherwise empty.
This is here strictly for atmosphere. I thought the image was cool, and wanted to include it in the dungeon. Now that I think about it, ravens are a recurring theme in my campaign. I don't know why - I really don't spend a lot of time thinking about ravens outside of the game.
18. Stuff 'n' Mephits. A band of ice mephits have taken up abode here. They are currently engaged in torturing a hare to death, with shrill cackles and much glee. The chamber is littered with broken flasks, glass, crockery, a couple of despoiled paintings, and bits of small creatures. They have dice, cards, and numerous obscene phrases and pictures are etched on the wall - 'Be'taan sucks Eru's mace', 'Ki-Rins fart paladins', etc.
The mephits fight by hurling snowballs, w/razor like ice crystals, wh/hit for 1-2 pts. In addition, anyone hit must sv. vs. magic or be chilled w/the shivers (as a fumble spell) for 1-3 rounds. Their claws do 1-2, and anyone touching one takes 1 pt. cold damage.
Treasure: They have 150 sp wh/they gamble with
Mephits: AC 5; HD 3+1; HP 14, 18, 11, 17, 10, 16, 19; D/A 1-2
Before anyone says anything, I know that the "obscene phrases" are pretty lame. They're supposed to be; mephits do not exactly have a sophisticated sense of humor. I also have no idea anymore what the room title is supposed to mean.
This is intended as an annoying encounter, not a really dangerous one. In this case, it is annoying in every sense; mephits are really unpleasant. These incidental encounters serve several purposes. They add interest to areas of dungeon that do not contain major monsters. They can also drain PC resources ahead of the major encounters, because every point of damage lost or healing spell expended is a resource that they don't have available for the next big fight.
19. Quaggoth Keep. A band of shaggy quaggoths have taken up residence here, not really minding the cold. They have come to fear the trolls, but will attack human w/out fear - elves will be singled out w/fury. Their leader, Ghan, is a little brighter - he has an axe. The others attack w/claws. They have several bags of food and oddments (such as a broken lantern, an old boot, and an iron shield boss shaped like a mind-flayer.
Quaggoths: AC 6; HD 1+2: HP 8, 9, 8, 7, 3, 4, 7, 6, 4, 5, 8, 10, 4, 4, 6; D/A 1-4, 1-4
Despite the fact that this room almost touches the mephit room on the map, they are separated by a lot of corridor, so the quaggoths serve as the annoying/interesting encounter for their area. I always try to picture how things will look to the players as they are exploring and mapping. This isn't always easy, as I'm never sure just what route they will take, so I don't know what order they will encounter the rooms in. Dungeon levels that force the players to take just one route bore me, and chafe at the players, though occasionally there will be a very good reason to do a dungeon level that way.
At least I can explain this room title. I had recently read a fantasy novel by Andre Norton involving a group of D&D players who are shifted to their game world, called "Quag Keep".
20. Wrath of Ghan. This is Ghan's room. He has an old bed and a chest - it holds hunks of quartz, very pretty, but valueless. Heaped among it are a diamond (1000 gp) and several pieces of broken glass.
Ghan: AC 4; HD 3; HP 15; D/A 1-8
I really like the tactic of concealing something valuable amongst a bunch of junk. In my campaign, at least, it has been a better tactic for denying players treasure than putting it in an adamantium vault surrounded by deadly traps. My players know I do this, of course, so they often take the time to search things carefully, but if I don't overuse the tactic they sometimes give up too quickly.
21. Hall is for Heroes. This short corridor features ornate scrollwork around the doors - they look like snowflake patterns. Each door has a subtly different pattern. Mere decor.
Details such as this help to make the location vivid and real for the characters. The game, after all, takes place largely in the minds of the players. No two players will picture this exactly the same way, but they will picture it. Also, as I mentioned in the previous essay, it helps to fill a place with non-essential details, so that the players aren't sure which details to key on.
22. Sleighing Song. Pulled in here on rusted runners is a still-servicable sleigh, though the leather is cracked. It is white and gilt, with red seats. The harness and whip are hanging on the N. wall. Two stalls at back are empty, though one has a rusty bucket.
There are 2 studs hidden in the front of the sleigh (slay?). One causes saw-like blades (rusty) to spring out from under the thing. The other causes the sleigh to move by itself. It obeys verbal commands in the Underdark tongue.
This room is actually a puzzle room; the group gets a potentially valuable item if they can figure it out. Looking for and finding the studs is the easy part; figuring out what the second stud does takes some persistence and cleverness. Mental challenges are harder to think up than physical challenges, but I think any good dungeon should contain both. Some players have little patience with riddles of any sort, but some players delight in them, so I like to place a few of them, but not too many. If memory serves, the group did figure this out, and got some good use out of the item.
23. Ymir Trifle. In this room a huge statue of Ymir towers, a full 20' high. His axe is raised, and he looks fierce and noble. Diamonds gleam on the axe haft (4 - 1000 gp).
If disturbed, or proper phrases uttered, the axe will descend in huge strokes on whoever is before it. It attacks as a 14 hd, and each hit does 2d10+14 (16-34).
This room is not so much a trap as a way of introducing another monster without having to worry about the ecology of the level. Ymir, by the way, is the Lord of all frost giants. The significance of this statue will not yet be apparent to a group, but the frost giant theme develops as a group gets deeper in the dungeon, and this room also serves to foreshadow this development.
In another omission, I don't include any notes on how hard the statue is to knock out of action. While I don't remember how it played out, I was undoubtedly forced to make up those figures on the spot. I hate doing that, as it diverts my attention from running the adventure.
24. Mockyrie. The 3 S. arches are flanked by statues of beautiful succubii, who are carved in mockery of valkyries. They have horns, twisty spears, and obvious female and demonic features. The room otherwise holds only a dead ice beetle.
Again, this room foreshadows the other half of Fracelle's heritage, the demonic half. I like statues; they are nice decorations that can be trapped or animated to trouble players in many different ways. These are harmless, but the players can't assume that, of course.
25. Frozen Stiffs. This room holds two Shaemion figures, both solid ice, one w/ spear forward and the other w/hands thrown up in a warding gesture. They are Sardis and Lussiter, Shaemion explorers - they have been thus for about 2 years.
The players will have no idea how these two got turned into ice; they can't even be sure that they aren't some kind of ice sculpture. My notes don't explain it, either, though I was aware while designing this room that there would be things deeper in the dungeon that could turn flesh into ice. This room, then, is a warning to the players that this is possible, and that they should be on guard against it. I like to place warnings (though never explicit warnings) to the players ahead of doing something nasty and unusual. Clever players will be forewarned; the less clever will charge ahead regardless.
26. Art Gallery. This room is empty save for the six portraits that line either wall (though the 1st 2 on W. side are gone) and the large picture covered by blue velvet on the back wall.
In order, N. to S.:
West: 1) Frost giants dismembering a warrior, while ice wolves sniff at something fallen. 2) A ship, ghost-like, frozen crewmen on deck and ice thick on rigging, etc. 3) A succubus and a human mating - he is in agony, she in feral ecstasy. 4) A quiet, snow-clad forest.
East: 1) A white dragon in flight. 2) A band of humans losing to yeti (messily). 3) A city's wall being engulfed and caved-in by a glacier. 4) A frozen waterfall. 5) A grim castle courtyard, seen through a curtain of icicles. 6) Elaborate snowflakes, twisting through an endless void.
The rear portrait is a vista of endless cold glaciers and snow. It is magical - a gate to the para-elemental plane of ice. One can step through it (returning, or surviving, are different matters).
Paintings, or artworks in general, are things I really enjoy placing. It's actually hard to justify them in most dungeons, but I felt that in this case I could get away with it. I have also used them as gates and portals on several occasions. Artwork aside, the final painting turns this room into an interesting and potentially deadly trap (which, by the way, will not register as a trap to any means of detection, since that isn't its intention).
27. Conference Claw. Once a chamber of note, w/a huge stone (crystal) table dominating the center. Beautiful seats, 1 half-smashed, line the sides while at one end is a much larger, slightly raised seat w/a flaring back w/ice-crystal pattern carved into it. The arms are two bars w/white dragon teeth set between, like jaws.
Several bones (quaggoth) are scattered near the W. door. Part of the shaft of a weapon lies in the NW corner.
This room exists to add some interest to the area of corridors linking rooms 13-15 to rooms 19-26. Large dull stretches, as I've said, are something I try to avoid. Rooms like this, and like the art gallery in room 26, also give some clue to what the dungeon was used for by its original builder. I like the layout of this room, too, with the three entrances and the four surrounding corridors. In this case, I drew the room first, and when I went to fill in the descriptions the physical layout naturally suggested the room's original purpose.
Do you have any comments, questions, or responses to this article? Send them in! I'd like to hear them, and if there are enough interesting ones I'll add them to this page.
Ideas and contributions to future editions of "Mere Chronicles" are also being accepted.
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