PDA

View Full Version : Dungeon Building Help?



Beholder1995
2008-11-21, 08:10 PM
It's been a while since I DMed for my group, and I've finally decided to get off my butt and start a campaign. I know what I want, and have figured out everything.

Except the dungeon.

Basically, what I have in mind is an all-iron dungeon. Think... a bit like the Mustafar facility in Revenge of the Sith, only... old. And underground. And, well... fantasy. Anyway, the baddies the PCs are after have fled into the mountains and occupied this ancient armored bunker buried deep in the mountainside, but it was pretty hasty, so they've only secured a direct route into their large room a few levels down. So there'll be monsters, traps, etc. in the majority of the dungeon. I know I want a large entrance room, a series of passages and side rooms, and the main bad guy HQ room a few levels down. And a room chock full of Monty Python references... er... don't ask about that one. Anyway, I have these scraps of a whole dungeon in my mind, but I just can't seem to put them all together coherently and/or properly on a grid. And when I do it just looks... wierd. Up to this point, all my dungeons have been small, with only a few rooms. This one, again, I know what I want, I just... can't put it together.

So, my fellow DMs, I ask you, do you have any suggestions as to how to put together a decent dungeon?

afroakuma
2008-11-21, 08:17 PM
Not certain what's troubling you - overall layout? I can image up a quick concept for you, if you'd like. How many levels? How long/complex? How many minibosses?

Beholder1995
2008-11-21, 08:42 PM
Not certain what's troubling you - overall layout? I can image up a quick concept for you, if you'd like. How many levels? How long/complex? How many minibosses?

Just putting it all together, really. I'm thinking four levels, not... too complex. My party has a tendancy to go off on tangents... >_>... as for minibosses... probably none.

afroakuma
2008-11-21, 09:13 PM
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W2BfQMQ1JYk/SSdqaWBk3uI/AAAAAAAAAAc/2KEekpXAVAM/s400/basic.bmp

A very basic dungeon level. You can insert doors, traps etc. as you choose. Current scale is 8x8 including borders. You can see the main hall, and several portioned-off areas that could be barracks quarters.

Thurbane
2008-11-21, 09:17 PM
Just be sure the dungeon doesn't get infested with rust monsters! :smallbiggrin:

For the layout of the dungeon, why not borrow some inspiration from Wizards map-a-week archive: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/arch/mw

afroakuma
2008-11-21, 10:33 PM
A copy with more detail:


http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W2BfQMQ1JYk/SSd0GRjt-HI/AAAAAAAAAAk/IUqLzCu45QY/s400/more+detail.png
Legend:
• Green marks doors.
• Pink marks secret doors.
• Yellow lines denote locked doors.
• Red tiles contain staircases.
1: The main entry hall of the ancient bunker. Somewhat tarnished over time. Sentries observe from room 2.

2: An observation point with a secret door for quick entry into the main hall. Guards have been stationed here to impede pursuers.

3: Old armament stockrooms. Some still contain weapons and armor, although most are obsolete or warped to uselessness. A Large monstrous spider lurks in one of these rooms.

4: These rooms have been appointed for clergy. Enemy casters are presently occupying them, using them as study retreats.

5: Closets. One closet contains a moth-eaten cape fastened with a magical brooch.

6: An indoor sparring room, flanked by the chimneys of the iron foundry ovens below. The air in this room is definetely warmer than the rest of the bunker. A few bored guards toy with some of the old sparring dummies.

7: The access hall to the next level. Other than the space between the sparring room and the mess, the entire hallway is festooned with traps. An elaborate razored iron pit trap, a 20-ft. diagonal shaft, has been carefully reset by the fleeing enemies.

8: The mess hall has a secret door facing the main hall to allow guards a speedy response to foes. If any guards from areas 1, 2 or 6 raise an alarm, forces from the mess will rush out to assist. Hardtack and three water barrels are stored here along with two tables, some chairs and crude wooden cups.

9: The kitchen has a fair-sized stove, a cauldron, several cabinets and an impressive selection of knives. A barrel of salt pork and several boxes of dried fruit and vegetable rations are strewn around the dirty forks and plates.

10: The guards' quarters. The floor captain, who doubles as the cook, keeps his door locked. The guards use the rooms in shifts, so 12 men are effectively supported in the four remaining rooms.

11: The head caster's room. Usually kept locked, with a locked secret door to access the altar room.

12: The altar room of the temple area of the bunker. The dais of the altar can be rotated via a hidden lever to reveal a ladder down to a safer area.

13: The heavily secured room with the stairs to the next level, where two archers wait.


For example.

Beholder1995
2008-11-22, 09:21 AM
:smalleek::smallbiggrin:

Wow. Just... wow.

TheCountAlucard
2008-11-22, 08:00 PM
And a room chock full of Monty Python references... er... don't ask about that one.

What about that one? :smalltongue:

Perhaps when you lay out the dungeon tiles for that room, you can reassure your players that, "it's only a model." :smallbiggrin:

seedjar
2008-11-22, 10:28 PM
I've only designed a few dungeons, but the majority of them have been like this. I suggest you come up with some purpose or mechanism behind the place, and design the layout with that in mind. Why is this dungeon armored and all iron? Is it a fortress or a factory?
I designed one standalone encounter that was a giant underground bakery-dungeon where the PCs and various hoards of low-level monsters were the ingredients. There was a sand trap at the top where victims fell through, and at about the same level were caves shut off from the surface that stayed consistently cool, which served as the larder. The deepest portion of the dungeon held lava flows which powered the ovens. A conveyer belt and utility system was threaded through the caverns to move things about and power the various cooking appliances (and also for players to experiment with.) The cavern leading up to the giant boss critter was a packaging room. (The patron/master of the dungeon was a little off-kilter and demanded that the grisly product be presented to him in decorative tins.)
Separate the design of the dungeon from the encounters you want to run with it. You can facilitate any sequence of events you want by careful backstage work, but things like the layout and motif of a dungeon are what the players see. I think it's best not to tip your hand by designing straightforward maps with obvious tactical functions. Players expect a fight and will scrutinize your designs thusly; by focusing on other ideas you can take them off-guard. But, you may not be compelled to put as much thought into the matter as I usually do, in which case there's always the random map generator.
~Joe

WhiteShark
2008-11-22, 10:39 PM
Hey afroakuma, that's awesome work. What do you use to make dungeon map images? I've always wanted to do that, but it always seems to take more work then just doing it on graph paper.

afroakuma
2008-11-22, 10:46 PM
I use a little Japanese program called iDraw; it has a unit grid function that is great for squares and suchlike. I used to use it for making sprite animations.

I'm going to need to find a decent image host if I keep those up, though. :smallbiggrin:

rayne_dragon
2008-11-22, 10:56 PM
I find dungeons often look weird because they're usually laid out sort of haphazardly or at random. I find if I think about how someone would rationally or logically plan a building it looks a lot more reasonable. People tend to group things together in certain ways, such that sleeping quarters tend to be grouped together and rooms that have a related purpose are next to each other - like dining and kitchen rooms. Just think about what the people who designed the dungeon had in mind when they built it and how any later users have altered the rooms for their use. You may also want to consider aesthetics. I notice D&D dungeons frequently are mostly asymmetrical, whereas most real buildings are more symmetrical, although not perfectly so.

afroakuma's map, while looking a bit odd to me, is pretty well thought out in my opinion (but where's the bathroom, or at least somewhere to throw the waste from the kitchen and mess hall?), especially given a military outlook in it's design.

edit - I'd like to say that I think the map is great, I'm just a bit of a picky perfectionist when designing dungeon maps. I hope I haven't come across as being overly critical.

afroakuma
2008-11-22, 11:03 PM
Convert one of the equipment rooms or the closet just outside of the sparring area into a latrine.

afroakuma
2008-11-23, 08:17 PM
A second floor, if you'd like:


http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W2BfQMQ1JYk/SSnyLTTrbsI/AAAAAAAAAAs/FY_WVh_VqUg/s400/level2.png
Legend:
• Green marks doors.
• Pink marks secret doors.
• Yellow lines denote locked doors.
• Red tiles contain staircases.
1: A trapped hallway used by fleeing enemy forces, connected to the first level's room 13. Two archers wait at the foot of the stairs, and sentries observe from room 2.

2: An observation point with a secret door for quick entry into the corridor. Guards have been stationed here to impede pursuers.

3: Four archers watch over this entry annex, which has a map carved into one of the iron walls. Part of one wall is broken, revealing stone behind. The hallway between areas 3 and 4 has been set with several traps.

4: This is a hasty assembly hall, with a raised podium at one end. Two archers, a caster and a ranger with two trained hounds defend the stairs to the next level.

5: A washing-up area with a small desk used to catalogue requisitions.

6: The iron foundry, with several ovens and smithing anvils set up. Two large carts of pig iron sit near the doors to area 9. A hammer of crafting (+4 synergy bonus to Profession (blacksmith)) lies at the master smith's anvil. An inquisitive rust monster from area 9 occasionally wanders in here, but rarely feels the urge to snack.

7: A mess area for the smiths to rest between work. An otyugh tired of fighting for its dinner below has taken up temporary residence here, enjoying the filth and the decayed food. It will likely need to move on in a month.

8: The handcrafting room, with stocks of silver, gold and a few jewels. A few magic scrolls from which the bunker's casters could enchant masterwork weapons are in a locked, trapped chest.

9: The major ramp leading down to the ore-cracking ovens and the iron mines. A rust monster from the mines occasionally ventures up from the lovely amounts of pig-iron out of curiosity.

10: The armory stock, which contains two magic weapons in addition to multiple quivers of arrows, a crate of arrowheads and piles of weaponry, shields and armor.

11: Quarters for blacksmiths, soldiers and the cooks. Two of the rooms are latrines. These are shared quarters usable in two shifts each, supporting twenty men.

12: The soldiers' regular mess hall. Occasionally used by the founders, miners and blacksmiths.

13: The main kitchen for the entire bunker. Two dedicated cooks worked in tandem with two kitchen helpers (from other duties) to provide food.

14: The pantry. Contains some usable rations, along with a thick roll of healer's wrappings (as potion of cure light wounds, with 6d4 uses.)

15: The quarters and staging area for the floor captain. Has a secret door to access the podium in area 4. The captain had a map of the whole bunker, and his +1 buckler rests on his mattress.

16: The great hall; used for larger assemblies and as the mess hall for a full contingent.

17: The drop area for hiding casters from area 12 on the first level. The altar's ladder leads to this area, which has a lever to re-engage the concealing platform.

18: The trick chamber, which is trapped, is meant to deceive pursuers into the hallway to area 21. The door has an ice trap triggered via the handle.

19: The true hallway to the casters' facilities. It is magically lit with enchanted iron torches. During a lockdown, if either door is opened, a heat metal trap targets every metal object in the hall, including the walls, ceiling and floor.

20: This is the dining area, study and lounge for the casters of the bunker. All of the casters knew how to access and avoid lockdown and operate the secret door to the main hallways.

21: A meeting and research area for the casters and the bunker command. Lockdown is operated via a black crystal orb in this room, which the fleeing foes have been trying to find so that they can gain full use of the facility's defenses. The head caster's research desk contains a trio of scrolls and a pair of wands. Various potions are contained in several cabinets. An unlit fireplace is surrounded by a recessed conference area.

22: The casters' library. Among the educational tomes and magical treatises are assembled a few scrolls. Information on the bunker's magical defenses is assembled on the table in the center.

23: The head caster kept a bedchamber on the second level.

afroakuma
2008-11-24, 04:37 PM
A third floor:


http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/qq194/afroakuma/level3.png
Legend:
• Green marks doors.
• Pink marks secret doors.
• Yellow lines denote locked doors.
• Red tiles contain staircases.
• Blue tiles link out of the area.
1: The third floor main western hallway. Saw a lot of traffic from foundry workers and soldiers. Magical torches line the walls, and a regional map of the bunker is displayed on one wall.

2: Two redoubt rooms from which to observe the passage (area 3. They have bolt holes and levers to operate the traps in the corridor.

3: This corridor, which can be sealed off with two strong doors, penetrates deep into the mountain's base, leading to caverns that are home to some dangerous creatures. As such, the retreating enemy forces pulled out of the west third level. The corridor could not be fully closed, so teams of soldiers used to defend the passage.

4: Quarters for soldiers staffing the western corridor redoubts in area 2. A small room in back holds four orbs of silence, which emit 10 ft. radius silence constantly. Soldiers use these orbs to get sleep so close to the ramps, mine and foundry ovens.

5: The cart ramp. Here ore is brought up from the mine and pig iron is carted up to the smiths.

6: The massive foundry hall has several carts full of ore waiting. Huge coal-fired ovens aid the founders in cracking ore to reveal crude iron. A family of rust monsters lives here. The father likes to adventure up to the smithy on the second floor from time to time.

7: A drawoff room from the assembly hall (area 4 of the second level) for those who work on the lower levels or supply the reserve garrison. Also contains the secret door via which the senior staff could travel quickly between the three lower levels. The retreating enemy band was unaware of this secret door, but has stationed four stealthy attackers in the shadows of this room and taken all but one of the magical torches with them.

8: Previously a public hall for the bunker's reserve garrison, this room is warmed by pipes from the foundry ovens, as is the great hall above. The room is pitch black. An enemy caster is supplying a small force of foes with darkvision, and they have set up four small ballistas and a greased floor. This impromptu redoubt is expected to keep foes away from the fourth floor.

9: Another observation room for guards, this one was not found by the fleeing enemies.

10: An equipment room. Various goods, shields and arrows are stocked here.

11: The secret descending hall for the senior staff.

12: The mess hall serving the third floor's garrison.

13: A pantry and kitchen, both also serving as stockrooms.

14: This hallway leads to a pit trap that drops to a large otyugh's lair in the caves below. It is used to dump food and personnel waste.

15: A separated room with the main stairs to the fourth floor. An ambitious cloaker from the caverns prowls this area, having seen a large number of humanoids go past a few days ago.

16: Quarters for garrison soldiers, cooks and foundry workers. One soldier had an ioun stone in his possession. Another died and became a ghoul, who still remains in his room, having seen the cloaker.

17: The floor captain's quarters. Though spartan, under the rug he has hidden a glove of storing and an artistic ivory carving worth 500 gp.

18: The bunker commander's antechamber, accessible only from the fourth floor. The enemy leader has found and occupied this room.

19: The bunker commander's quarters. His diary mentions a portable hole, which the enemy leader is desperate to find so that he can escape the dead end when alerted.

20: This secret closet area contains the bunker commander's portable hole, among other personal items.

21: A meeting and research area for the casters and the bunker command. Lockdown is operated via a black crystal orb in this room, which the fleeing foes have been trying to find so that they can gain full use of the facility's defenses. The head caster's research desk contains a trio of scrolls and a pair of wands. Various potions are contained in several cabinets. An unlit fireplace is surrounded by a recessed conference area.

afroakuma
2008-11-26, 12:47 AM
And the last:


http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/qq194/afroakuma/level4.png
Legend:
• Green marks doors.
• Pink marks secret doors.
• Yellow lines denote locked doors.
• Red tiles contain staircases.
• Blue tiles link out of the area.
1: This long ramp was used to bring ore and traded coal up to the foundries from the mine.

2: The mining operational center. A few desks and some smithing equipment demarcate the foreman's post. A subterranean troll was lurking in this area recently.

3: The mineshaft proper, descending into the depths of the mountain. To the west, a trade shaft was opened to deal in coal from an underground race.

4: The main lower level hallway for garrisoning the important officers during a siege, and also for defending the lower levels against incursions by subterranean threats. This hallway links to area 15 on the third floor and connects two floors of garrison quarters with stockrooms and the conference room. The enemy forces are using this area as their last stand, and occupy every room in this area.

5: Garrison soldiers' quarters. Used for first responders or for those taking shifts defending the fourth floor access points. All rooms are currently in use by enemy troops.

6: Storerooms for iron rations, hardtack and weaponry. The enemy have gotten to these.

7: The floor captain's quarters. A belt of giant strength +1 hangs from one corner of the mattress. The room is not in use since it is locked.

8: The war conference room, with a secret door to the scouting tunnel. Levers to operate the physical trap defenses for the corridor into the underground are maintained here. An enemy caster, an enemy lieutentant and three grunts occupy this room.

9: The scouting corridor. Enemy forces maintain a cowardly runner in this hall for delivering messages.

10: The defensive staging area against incursions from the underground. A dead otyugh lies in one corner. This is the last stand for the core enemy forces, consisting of two archers, four fighters, a barbarian and a caster. Three of the fighters are at half HP or less.

11: Prep and sleep rooms for garrisoned casters. Currently occupied by a caster and a rogue, both in critical condition.

12: The antechambers for garrisoned defenders. Several crossbows are mounted on the walls and the chambers are sparse. The eastern chamber's door shows signs of having taken a beating from the other side.

13: The front line room. A Large evil dragon has taken up residence here, and forced enemy troops back into the back chambers.

14: This hallway is reserved for access by senior staff. It links the secret staircase on level 3 and the assembly halls on level 2 for the senior staff to move about quickly.

15: A room containing commanders' trappings and a briefing desk, used by senior staff who are exiting to one of the upper levels or to area 4. This room was breached from the outside by the enemy leader and his team, giving a +4 bonus to checks to find the secret door.

16: A washing-room for the senior staff. A choker has taken this room as its hiding spot. It has been ignored by enemy forces.

17: This conference room was used by senior staff when conferring with under-officers; it was as far as said officers were allowed to enter into the senior staff's complex. One of the enemy commander's lieutenants has retained two men and is searchign this room.

18: The bunker's stockade of magic weaponry and wondrous items is here. The door was locked and magically trapped. A skeleton outside indicates that the enemy attempted entry but was repulsed.

19: The massive operations hall for the senior staff, serving as a reception area for foreign dignitaries. Currently occupied by the enemy leader's remaining allies.

20: The bunker commander's private ready room for receiving guests personally. The enemy commander accessed this room and the staircase beyond, leading to the command quarters nestled at the heart of the third floor.

21: The secret hall to the bunker commander's private sanctum. Lined with magical torches.

22: Reserve quarters for the senior staff in times of danger. Accessible only via a well-concealed hallway, which the enemy have not found.

23: The second-in-command's secret emergency quarters.

24: A dining area for emergencies, connected to a pantry and latrine.

chronoplasm
2008-11-26, 02:02 AM
Personally, I like to keep my dungeons small but have my players backtrack a lot. It creates a better feel of immersion and exploration IMO and it cuts down on the number of maps/tiles you have to use.
For example, why make the entryway and the boss room separate rooms? Maybe the players find the boss in the entrance room after they do something?
For example, I once had the players cross a strange bridge into an ice dungeon. When they turned on the heaters, all the ice thawed releasing enemies from their frozen tombs. It turns out that the strange bridge they first encountered when walking in was actually an Ooze popsicle. It woke up and attacked them as they were leaving.

I suggest that you might want to keep some degree of realism in your dungeon to help the players suspend their disbelief (where to the goblins poop?) but balanced off with abstraction to make things more interesting.
A good bunker doesn't actually make a very good dungeon. A good bunker should be easy to navigate, but a good dungeon should be difficult, so you need to find some way to abstract things.
My suggestion is magnetism.

This dungeon is made of iron, right? Why not make the walls and ceiling magnetic? Magnetic dungeons are fun to design. You give the players more surface area to explore without increasing the number of rooms they have to explore (and thus cut down on the number of maps you have to draw). It can be quite elegant and fun if done correctly.

afroakuma
2008-11-26, 08:56 AM
Personally, I like to keep my dungeons small but have my players backtrack a lot. It creates a better feel of immersion and exploration IMO and it cuts down on the number of maps/tiles you have to use.
For example, why make the entryway and the boss room separate rooms? Maybe the players find the boss in the entrance room after they do something?

Having a final retreat point to use depending on how circumstances play out with other encounters makes the boss encounter more dynamic, since he could be in any number of places. The last boss room has a portable hole for the final escape, should he be able to find it.


I suggest that you might want to keep some degree of realism in your dungeon to help the players suspend their disbelief (where to the goblins poop?) but balanced off with abstraction to make things more interesting.

There are suggested latrine areas and a waste dumping corridor leading to an otyugh's pit. Also mess halls, pantries and weapon storage rooms on each floor.


A good bunker doesn't actually make a very good dungeon. A good bunker should be easy to navigate, but a good dungeon should be difficult, so you need to find some way to abstract things.

The abstraction here is that, although the main bunker is easy to navigate (there are large wall maps everywhere, arterial corridors and a central staircase system to quickly pass between the three lower floors) the bunker isn't being used in its ordinary fashion, which means the players must explore to find the escaping enemies. Also, the side areas for casters (the first two levels) and senior staff (the fourth) are separate from the main dungeon, as is the mining area towards the bottom.

Beholder1995
2008-11-26, 09:52 AM
Wow. This is all absolutely incredible.

But... ah... I already made one myself. :smallredface:

http://img37.picoodle.com/img/img37/3/11/26/beholder1995/f_Dungeonlayom_e097a4e.gif
This actually came about when I was just doodling on a piece of graph paper on the same day I started this thread. Up to that point, I had never tried a 'zoomed out' view of a dungeon concept. So I tried to do this one sort of isometrically, (you'll have to tilt your head to see it properly), and I realized I absolutely loved the way it looked and went over it with a ruler and harder pencil. Those diagonal halls are stairwells going down, I might add.

So in any case, I managed to graph the whole of 'level one' into four sheets of graph paper, and I had a dungeon that I really liked.

Now I just need to figure out what the heck the rooms are for. Now, don't fret over living quarters- this is only level 1 of 4.

afroakuma
2008-11-26, 09:54 AM
*shrug* Fair enough.

Beholder1995
2008-11-26, 10:02 AM
Are you really mad?... >_>...

afroakuma
2008-11-26, 11:00 AM
Nope. Just means I can retrofit it and use it myself.

Beholder1995
2008-11-26, 11:29 AM
Huh. Okay.

I still appreciate it, though.

afroakuma
2008-11-26, 11:33 AM
No trouble at all!

If you ever actually want one, just ask.

valadil
2008-11-26, 11:51 AM
I usually get stuck on making the dungeon make sense. Especially if it's an overly magical dungeon. What I've started doing is what you described in the first post - just coming up with a list of rooms/hallways. I throw these at the players as needed and fit them on the map as we play.

Beholder1995
2008-11-26, 12:01 PM
No trouble at all!

If you ever actually want one, just ask.

Well, what I was looking for were really just tips and such.

I didn't expect someone to go and make a full-blown dungeon for me.

afroakuma
2008-11-26, 12:16 PM
Above and beyond is way more fun.

Vagnarok
2008-11-26, 12:49 PM
Wow this thread has some really great work guys. As a newer DM I sometimes find that my dungeons are "designed too well". Basically, they're so symmetrical and thought out that they lose all sense of realism. There are some really good examples here to follow though.

One idea that you might consider: Lately I've found that my dungeons turn out better if I design them as compact and complex without having function in mind. Then when I'm all done with the floor layout, I go in and try to make it a functioning base for whatever lives there, and during that process I can edit rooms for size and shape if need be.
This process creates the feeling of "It really seems like the people who built this area didn't know what they were going to use it for..." that I find myself thinking so often. It makes the world more human and imperfect, which I think is an important aspect of realism.

Tacoma
2008-11-26, 06:23 PM
I like to think of how the original users would have used the place, starting from the first excavations. Most dungeon complexes would not have been mapped and planned all at once and built in one shot.

For example, a group of dwarves might start out by building exterior buildings to live in and then mine into the mountainside. They'd dig a switchback kind of tunnel so invaders can't just run straight in, followed by a large room. They'd move their living spaces in as they carved out side passages that had bedrooms and workshops off of them. Dig a level up and a level down and replicate what you had before, with that large central room and side corridors branching straight off.

But then the large main room was converted to an interior trade area where foreign merchants would come, so they weren't tromping through the whole fortress. So you have to dig out an actual dining room and meeting hall elsewhere. And you want your underground farms to be decently close to your kitchens and dining hall. You don't want your bedrooms right next to your workshops because of the noise.

They add big doors and traps to the entry hallway. They have to dig out a garbage pit where they'll throw all their waste. They need a couple wells that preferably connect to some kind of underground water source. And guard stations at the entrance and the place where water comes in. They need emergency drainage for the water systems and probably for the farms too. They start mining out exploratory tunnels to find valuable ore deeper in the mountains.

Maybe eventually they start digging an actual transit tunnel that will link up with a larger tunnel system that the dwarves maintain to move goods, armies, and immigrants around.

The dwarves might dig deep enough to access geothermal heat to run their forges and mills. Of course you need lower guard stations in case something comes up.

With all these guards you probably have a formal military now, so you need barracks. Probably you'd want to build a rear bunker where people can flee in a last ditch defense, which mirrors your outer defensive works and contains your long-term stockpiles of weapons and supplies.

You're going to need somewhere secure to put all this treasure you've been gathering - whether in the form of trade goods, metal you've smelted out and made things with, art objects you've carved from stone or wood or bone.

You're probably also out in the countryside chopping down trees and hunting wild animals. You probably maintain those outer buildings for travelers to stay in so they're not inside your fortress. These would also include your lumber mill and butchering / tanning facilities.

Dwarves tend to be religious, right? So you'll probably have priests who want a full temple carved out of the mountain underground. You need priest quarters and libraries, a private worship area for the priests, a place for the holy font for making holy water.

Maybe the Dwarven Wizards prefer to work together around a central group of libraries, laboratories, and workshops devoted exclusively to them. Add their quarters and probably a lounge just for them because they probably don't want to wag beards with every unwashed furnace operator, right?

Speaking of holy water, you need a brewery and the associated facilities. You need storage space for the beer, wine, and liquor and quarters for the Booze Master.

You should start allocating nicer quarters for the nobles, both those who live here and visiting dignitaries from other cities. The leader of the city needs really nice quarters, probably an office. You'll need offices for the accountant, quartermaster, chief engineer, architect, etc.

You can have guard animals, too. Probably natively subterannean ones, but maybe others like war dogs. You need kennels where they'll be born and grow up and be trained, and in guard stations you'll need places for them to be tied up. And quarters for your Animal Trainer.

Then there's the armory, which should be in a central place where everyone can access it but each guard station has its own complement of weapons and armor.



I guess the process is a lot like everyone else's except you're approaching it as if the place is evolving under the intentions of the people who originally made it. Once they leave and it becomes a wild dungeon each room is repurposed by its new inhabitants. Act like you're playing a strategy sim game settling the joint.





Another option is looking at well-designed buildings in reality and in other games. For example, if any of you play Enemy Territory, you'll know what I mean when I say the levels are designed very well for team vs team FPS fighting. You could seriously use the map where the Allies are trying to destroy the coastal defense gun that the Axis have as a standard "bunker design". It includes everything except a toilet, kitchen, and larder and you can add those off the barracks. And they're really interesting maps too!