How do I git gud at making dungeons?
Think about what the structures were before they were dungeons.
Research the blueprints of old temples, cities, etc.
Think of how time and the elements have affected them
Think about how the various inhabitants over the years have changed, customized, destroyed, or altered them
Maybe it was an ancient temple dedicated to a water goddess, but in the five thousand years since its construction, the land has become an arid waste, and all the mechanisms that require functioning waterwheels to operate don't work, and the PCs need to find alternate means of moving various parts of a megastructure around.
There are literally several books called "Dungeon Masters Guide." You might even own one.
What do you think they are for?
>>46440608
add lots of encounters, add some interesting fluff you can expand into a quest, add cool traps, give the dungeon an organic feeling, and by organic i mean make it feel as though it had been around for ages and things actually happened there
>>46440690
>D&D
Sorry, I only play good games :^)
Make a lot of dungeons
Get feedback, both in terms of actively asking your players what they liked/didn't and by observing them to see what engauged them.
Apply feedback while learning about your audience so you can eventually filter out the useful feedback from the platitudes and the things that they SAY they want but actually make the game less fun.
>>46440690
If you read all of these, cover to cover, regardless of edition, you would have all the advice you would ever need to be a great dungeon master.
>>46440608
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave#Types_and_formation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trophic_level
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle#Common_features
>>46440608
steal ideas
Read a few books
>>46443090
>>46443108
>>46443254
>>46440608
Remember that one memorable encounter is worth a dozen trash battles. A dungeon with five interesting rooms will be more exciting than a dungeon full of useless or nondescript rooms with the same basic encounters in them. Consider the layouts of real buildings, how people actually build fortifications, and then simplify the design down. Include some secrets and whatnot, and try to consider it in terms of some of the action games you've played. What vidya can you recall that had interesting, flavorful level design? How can you pull that out of there and apply it to your game?
It's really just that, a little simulation, a lot of simplification, no small amount of taking inspiration from things you've played through instead of designing, and looking at it from the player's perspective.
Ignore every post ITT that's about ecology and realistic dungeons, make something fun instead.
>>46443499
Like those are mutually exclusive.
>>46443108
Confusing as fuck for 20 minutes
Now I love you, man
>>46440608
Look up the 5 room dungeon concept. It's a really great and easy way for a beginner to frame their dungeon design. You can also find a lot of examples to steal ideas from.
Design a functional building. Design a purpose for each room that would actually be useful in a structure that people regularly inhabited.
>>46440608
Don't minit yourself to conventional conceptions of a dungeon as being even in a particular locale.
A "Dungeon" is a series of events during which there are irregular breaks and many enemies and hazards.
A "Dungeon" could just as easily be an open desert dotted with sinking ruins and scrub, or being ambushed and trapped in your hotel room.
>>46443527
It's not about it being mutually exclusive though, it's about priorities - you're running a game for your friends, you're all there to have fun. So, for me at least, making sure the players are having fun is the highest priority (although what players find "fun" is going to vary massively from group to group and from player to player).
Plan out an encounter in the dungeon. Ask: is it likely to be fun? If yes, start judging it on the other criteria you've set out. If no, rework it until the answer is yes. It's about guiding principles, making sure the stuff you're creating is fit for the purpose, before tinkering with the incidental stuff. Of course you can have a realistic dungeon with a thriving ecology that's fun, but if it's not fun, then it's probably not going to go down well.
Always respect the rule of cool sometimes things may not be exactly allowed by strict rules or they might require team work feats or any number of other things but if it's cool the let your players try it, set corrosion ding roles for them to make but they are heros of myth and legend give them stories they will be able to reminisce over even after your whole campaign is over.
Steal layouts from video games. Rotate and reassign the room functions them.
Nobody has ever spotted that half my maps, when drawn on grid paper, are just GoldenEye levels.
>>46440746
>great dungeonmaster
>good dungeon
Two things bruh
Keep your dungeon simple, players usually dont want to be stuck in a labyrinth.
Or do build a labyrinth and get them stuck, the dungeons design should match your intentions
>>46440608
Bad DMs imitate. Great DMs steal.
