Holy shit, how do I make dungeons interesting?
I'm going to DM for the first time (5e) and I just realized I don't know how to create dungeons.
The players were going to explore an abandoned mine in the forest filled with low level tree monsters to find out what's awakening them. Except it's fucking boring. What do I do?
Throw an NPC in that offers them a crazy choice so the PC's need to discuss it thoroughly
>>46657853
Your mine isn't just straight tunnels, is it?
Try thowing in some caverns, waterfalls, staircases, rope bridges, abandoned machinery, unexploded explosives, cave fish, artificial crevices for workers to run to when using explosives, old lamps, that sort of thing.
>>46657853
Think about how the trees could be strange/creepy.
Think about why the mine was abandoned.
Look up pics on google image like the one in your OP, use those for scenes.
>>46657853
It's a condescending sounding advice to give, but think longer and harder. Nowadays we are prone to seek something to copy from amongst various easy sources, but through is throughout our lives we have absorbed so much material and ideas. Really force yourself to work, that way you can make a basic framework that is your personal style and you train yourself. Only when you have some basic things seek inspiration.
That said, here are some ideas for the dungeon nonetheless:
>very high room (stairwell/elevator shaft?) with long hanging roots, when disturbed they pull their victims up barnacle style
>tunnel with an incline, tree monsters cause a small landslide of debris whenever they uproot, endangering adventures further down the tunnel
>sudden growth closes tunnels
>weird tunnel section that looks like hollow tree trunk
>giant termite colony, possibly endangers support structure
>pile of rubble, out of every piece of ore grows a little bonsai tree
>treemonster with golden fruit
>webbed cage, when investigated player is jumped by skeletal canary animated by vines
>floor collapses and dumps players into deeper layer
>flooded section, danger of getting stuck on inanimate roots underwater
>the direction of air flow suddenly changes
>bad air makes adventurers feel exhausted
>lootable everburning torch... if you can bring it back with you through a flooded section, that is.
I think the more important question is, why do you think that "making dungeons interesting" is remotely what a new DM should be concerning himself with?
How about, you know, learning how to DM first?
>>46659536
I'd, say that is part of learning to DM.
>>46659426
Another thing is mixing combat, environmental challenges and little curios.
>skeleton half buried under cave in, holds a note with last words, real classic
>skeleton half buried under cave in, holds a note with last words, comes back to life and tries to attack, but is still stuck, not so classic
>glowing stones illuminate room and promote plant growth
>you hear movement in the walls (it's a monster/it's a parallel mineshaft with working dwarves/it's a parallel mineshaft with working kobolds)
>there are two sizes of tunnel in this complex
>after burning some treemonsters, the room is full of choking smoke
>with some light repairs the waterwheel that powers the elevator could work again
>Hm, prison cells seem unusual for a mine...
I need a seed for a dungeon that could be:
>vaguely egyptian themed (optional)
>inside of a large city
>possibly involved the local Great Wall somehow
One of the PCs already stated that they weren't going into any sewers after another PC considered looking for trouble there.
>>46660971
The local monarch wants to reinforce this great wall against imminent invaders. His court mage devises a plan to inscribe the wall with protective hieroglyphs, that spell out an abjuration over the entire wall length. The only spell of this form and magnitude is rumored to have protected the ancient city of [Egyptian ruins]
>>46657853
So most people are giving advice for your particular scenario, i'm just gonna throw out some general dungeon building tips.
What makes a dungeon different from the rest of the world?
>A dungeon is never safe, it is full of danger with few places to run, and lots of places for threats to hide.
>Keep the players aware of the danger by having them hear sounds, voices, shuffling in the distance, scratching inside the walls.
>Tell them to roll listen occasionally even though you really don't have anything planned for them to hear. If a player with exceptional listen rolls a 20 on the dice you might as well just throw him a bone and tell him he hears something. But anything shy of that and they don't hear anything.
>Roll the dice yourself for no reason and then just carry on, if they notice that you just rolled and didn't say anything it always makes them nervous.
>>46661572
A dungeon is like a present that your players are trying to unwrap.
>From the first room you need to set a theme for the dungeon. This room either contains a weak threat that will be easy to beat but be similar to the rest of the threats in the dungeon, a piece of lore that they can retrieve easily to fill them in on what is going on here. Whatever is in this room it needs to give them a taste of whats to come, the real meal comes later.
>as they go along they should collect little tidbits of story and lore that they can piece together, but save any big reveals for the end.
>Enemies should not be too frequent, and should not be too rare, there is a good mix that will make your players happy. Enemies should not be very difficult, no players should be at risk of death from a monster until the end.
>Traps, every dungeon needs a few, even if it simple, and easy to diffuse or avoid there simply needs to be some, these are the real sources of fear, these are what really keeps the party on their toes, while I would advice against killing them with monsters before the final boss, you want there to be at least one trap that is very likely to kill if it actually works, just make sure that they know about the risk of traps before they come across the particularly deadly one.
>Loot, this is why they are here in the first place isn't it? So remember to hand some out. They should always leave the dungeon a lot richer than when they entered, this way they look forward to the next one. Just make sure you save the good loot for the final room.
>>46661658
The final room is the present underneath the packaging.
>This room contains whatever it is that the party entered the dungeon for.
>Too bad it also has the biggest meanest and deadliest encounter in the whole dungeon.
>This is the boss, whether it is a swarm of lesser enemies or one very powerful one, this encounter can seriously fuck the party up.
>Any big lore reveals that are plan either be in this room, or be the reason they are entering this room.
>This room also has the best loot, this includes the mcguffin of the quest, an intelligent item or two, a big pile of gold, the kidnapped princess.
>an addendum for magic items, you could have the player find the magic item before this room and then get to test it on the boss, they will really like that.
>this room does not need to be the end of the dungeon, they don't have to leave as soon as this room is cleared, but anything they do after this point should just be tying up loose ends. Most parties after dealing with the boss will probably no longer be in good fighting condition and just want to leave.
>for the most part, this room is the capstone, and should always be designed to make a good memory.
As a final note, don't make a dungeon drag on too long, a couple sessions max. The party will get bored and start wishing for a change of scenery. Only a really kickass final room can make up for a dungeon that drags on too long.
>>46661658
>>Enemies should not be too frequent, and should not be too rare, there is a good mix that will make your players happy. Enemies should not be very difficult, no players should be at risk of death from a monster until the end.
If there isn't a challenge, what's the point? Trash combat just wastes everyone's time.
>>46661658
>>Traps, every dungeon needs a few, even if it simple, and easy to diffuse or avoid there simply needs to be some, these are the real sources of fear, these are what really keeps the party on their toes, while I would advice against killing them with monsters before the final boss, you want there to be at least one trap that is very likely to kill if it actually works, just make sure that they know about the risk of traps before they come across the particularly deadly one.
This is also bad advice, there shouldn't be traps unless the dungeon builders had a logical reason for putting them there. No one's gonna put traps in his home.
>>46662131
>There shouldn't be traps unless the dungeon builders had a logical reason for putting them there.
That's a fair point, you should absolutly not have out of place traps or anything for that matter in a dungeon, unless of course the very purpose of the out of place thing is that it's out of place, then you have a story to tell.
Using OP's mine as an example the folks that made the mine probably wouldn't be putting traps in their mine, but perhaps it's new denizens have as a means of protecting they're stuff. But of course they know how to get around them if they need too.
I would argue though that if you can't put traps in the place you picked to be a dungeon than you probably shouldn't use that location as a dungeon. Just because of how effective a means of scaring the party traps are.
>If there isn't a challenge, what's the point? Trash combat just wastes everyone's time.
That's why I said find a happy medium. A good little brawl that scuffs everyone up and gives the healer something to do keeps up a sense of danger and attrition. But you don't want the sorcerer wasting all his spells before the boss right? These fights are better left quick. The monsters might deal enough damage to feel threatening but they crumple quickly so the fight doesn't last very long. Perhaps an enemy retreats and pulls the party further into the dungeon. Heck even a lone archer up on a balcony or a ledge can be really good. He shoots at the fighter who is silly enough not to have a ranged option, forcing the ranger to deal with it. Perhaps his arrow has been tipped with a poison the rogue just so happens to have an antidote for, but now that antidote is gone and the party suddenly realizes they are vulnerable. Trash enemies can be really good if used correctly.
>>46657853 (OP) see >>46659536
Dungeon building is useful, but there are many higher priorities for a new referee.
Design your dungeon as a building, then implement it as a dungeon.
With a few exceptions (caves, etc.) any given dungeon serves a purpose besides being full of enemies.
Usually the enemies are living there, too. So [design it as a structure that serves a purpose to it's inhabitants].
Then use [that] information to explain monster habits and room contents.
Some dungeons are repurposed structures (cave populated by bandits, ancient tombs now crawling with monsters).
In these cases, you design the structure with the original purpose in mind, [then decide how the new inhabitants have been making use of it's layout].
Then, like in simpler situations, you use [that] information to explain monster habits and room contents.
>>46657853
What IS awakening them?
>>46659426
Seconding this. Think longer and harder. It's always good to be longer and harder.
Ask why a lot. Why are the trees being awakened? Then ask why again. And again and again. What circumstances exist to make tree awakening a valid move? Why do those circumstances exist? And so on. Keep asking why until you come up with an idea on how to use it. This is how settings feel integrated and connected.
>>46663713
There's a crystal deep in the dungeon that's wildly releasing magic from the feywild into the nature around. My BBEG put it there, he is testing his magic.
>>46662131
>This is also bad advice, there shouldn't be traps unless the dungeon builders had a logical reason for putting them there. No one's gonna put traps in his home.
What you really need to do is challenge 'what is a trap'. Change the context. No, having a trip wire that fires bolts from walls down some random hall where nobody would actually set such a device is silly. But a trap doesn't HAVE to be something that a specific person set.
The purpose of a trap is to have an encounter that is not just another monster, yet is dangerous. Its purpose is to enhance the feeling that the dungeon in and of itself is a dangerous place to be.
Hallways ready to give out and collapse, yet look stable unless inspected (find traps, perception, whatever) function the same way. Toxic plants that function as traps.
You basically want character 'action' causes 'trigger' causes 'bad thing' that can be prevented/disarmed/bypassed by character 'action'. It does not have to be made intentionally by anyone. A wall ready to collapse, trees ready to fall, even monsters that may attack, can all be set as traps while not being intelligently designed.
