A Dungeon Dilemma

[Reaver25]

So I have a dilemma with dungeons. I didn't intend to do this, but almost every Dungeon I have ever created as a DM has been one dimensional. What I mean is that I don't make them complicated or difficult. They're easy to move through, the PCs blast through the encounters, and there's no puzzle or thought provoking section. Are all dungeons supposed to just be a grind the way I have done it? Please tell me there is more to it than this. I seem to have a writer's block when it comes to creating dungeons. What are some good dungeons you have come across as a PC, and/or what did you create as a DM?

I will let you know that it is 5e that I play. But I can probably do a modification or conversion to play something in the world in which we play.

So... what do your dungeons look like?

[hencook]

Type dungeon map on google, and bam, you'll get an idea of what everyone's dungeon maps look like (or at least the ones worthy to even be scanned, heheh).

When designing a dungeon, I always ensure a healthy dose of skill checks, "oh what fun it would be to have to balance across this deathly ledge if they wanted that trapped chest". Or like endurance check to run away from dat boulder.

Y'know. Unleash your inner Macally Culkin or whatever his name was in Home Alone. He'd be a good dungeon designer.

[Fearan]

My dungeons usually have reasonably challenging "main part" and one or two "pockets of doom" which are definitely not required for whatever quest the party is on, is not easy to reach, and basically are there to challenge excessive curiosity and/or underpreparedness. Sort of "secret levels" in videogames.
Other stuff to consider:
1) Probably the most important - the ecology of the dungeon - why it is even there and what purpose does each room serve. That pretty much defines possible monsters, hazards and treasures.
2) Can you incorporate some interesting mechanic in the dungeon? As in "There's something fishy here, find out, what's going on before it kills you". With such dungeon mechanics I like to challenge investigative skills of the characters for something more then just battle encounters.
3) Dynamic changes. Dungeons are not in temporal stasis - they can be changed in real time. This challenge "5-minute adventuring day" mentality. Did rival adventurers bypass part of the dungeon and took some loot for themselves, while your party was slumbering? Are the traps still working or were they sprung by previous explorers? Did the excessive fireballing of the players breach the cave wall into an underground lake? Etc etc.
4) Inspiration. Try to visit at least one actual cave - there are plenty of caves with open tourist routes. Honestly, after I went to an actual cave, I can't hold a maniacal grin, when people go into dungeons with two-handed swords and halberds.

Hopefully, this helps

[Koo Rehtorb]

Here's a thread full of some cool dungeons you can steal or use for inspiration!

https://www.burningwheel.com/forum/s...-the-Vinteralf

[Yora]

This is probably the best well known article on dungeon layouts, and for very good reasons, I very much recommend reading it. Basically it's all about making dungeons that allow multiple different paths through the dungeon instead of having just a single corridor that can be moved through in only one way.

If you're up for some longer reading, this is a very good article on encounters that are a lot more than just combat until all enemies are dead.
This is a pretty good guide to making rooms that are more interesting to fight in than an empty square hall.

[Dappershire]

You have a rare opportunity here...

Let your players blast through the next dungeon like usual. Never running into difficult traps, sneaking past barracks rooms filled with soldiers or monsters. Easy win all the way to the BBEG.

"You may have made it through my Dungeon of Despair, adventurers. You may have fought past my Legions of Madness, heroes. But now you face me! And I...*Click*...I have just activated all the traps at my disposal. Enjoy yourselves getting out." The sound of gears grind through the room, as far behind you, bells and gongs echo through the caverns. "And for the sake of your knowledge checks, I keep all my gold in a banking house." Sunglasses on, teleports out.

[JAL_1138]

I dunno how the 5e conversion in TftYP is going to look, but the all-time classic dungeon is the Tomb of Horrors. AD&D 1e version. Very little combat, almost all puzzles and traps.

The thing a lot of conversions to later editions and "inspired by" dungeons fail at is that the Tomb gave warnings and allowed for clever circumvention in most of its traps. Playing like a paranoid loony and having good puzzle skills could get you through it. If something horrible was about to happen to your character--for the most part; there are some brutal exceptions--it usually didn't depend on a die roll to save-or-die. To spoil one of the traps, but give an example, in one area the ceiling caves in, doing an almost-certainly fatal amount of damage. In a lot of "inspired-by" dungeons, this would probably be a save-or-die Dex save kind of deal. Be lucky with the dice or take a 5-gallon bucketful of d6es in damage. In the original ToH though, a round or two before the ceiling falls, there's a rumbling noise from above. If a player moves away from the area, they're safe--no luck with the saving throw needed. It tests player skill more than luck, for the most part. Most (though not all) of the puzzles are fairly logical, not depending on adventure-game moon-logic, but still requiring cleverness and/or caution.

The typical dungeon should probably not be quite so brutal as the ToH, lest your players revolt. But it's a good module to learn from.