Dungeon Ecology 101

And so begins our fair journey into the land of fantasy, for an exploration of the concept of dungeons and their workings. In order to understand these underworlds, we must first start with the basics.

What is a dungeon and why would we care?

A dungeon is a generic term used to describe any dangerous enclosure. In our real world, there are many places that fit this description. Unfortunately, they are not true dungeons. You see, a true dungeon not only has danger, but a reward usually in the form of gold pieces, treasure, gems, jewelry and magic items. Why else would an adventurer go in? In our world, perhaps the closest thing we have to adventurers and treasure is archaeologists and their digs. Not quite as exciting as a paladin in field plate wielding a holy avenger.

So, why should we care?

If you like the real world of desks and paperwork, you shouldn't care. If you hate this world and like to make up a silly world of halflings, demons and elves to hide in, then you should care very much, because dungeons are the foundation of any fantasy world. I cite examples:

Moria - for those of you born with permanent stuck-uppity literary tastes (or worse, no desire to read), Moria is a giant dwarven stronghold, long abandoned and inhabited by foul things, in J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy. Now, as far back a Beowulf there have been dungeons, but Moria is probably the prototype upon which many of the vast underground complexes found in today's fantasy gaming worlds are based.

The Labyrinth at Knossos - Greek Mythology. Lots of dungeons in there, but who can top a maze with a Minotaur in the middle!!! Come on! Plus Greek Mythology has some serious academic cred. Makes your gaming knowledge look believable and serious.

The Underworld - Found in many cultures, but for variety we can talk Egypt. Think of Isis venturing into the darkest of caves to find the entrance to the underdeep land of the dead to win back the thighbone of her lover, Osiris, to bring him back to life. The highlight of any campaign: resurrection!

The Grail Chapel - Depending on which Arthurian Legend you hold as canon, this is sometimes a cave, sometimes a hidden church, or sometimes and edifice in Petra that somehow leads into a series of traps with convenient word puzzles to save you. Whichever, there's no doubt that the Holy Grail was hidden in a dungeon and guarded by the living dead.

So, you see, dungeons leap out of legend and into the fantasy gaming world with irresistible force. Dungeons are the bread at the feast of gaming. Sure, you can have grand sweeping battles afield, or treks over mountain and under bough, but without dungeons, your players will have nothing to sop up the delicious dregs of your role playing soup.

Let's delve a bit deeper (pun completely intended, but with a very serious purpose) into the practical gaming definition of a dungeon. It has to be enclosed. That means, walls and a ceiling. No roof or walls, then it's ruins. Ruins are good, but they are usually just careless landmarks leading to proper dungeons. Can their be windows? Good question, sword wielder. Yes their can be windows. However, windows should always have some sort of devious purpose which makes the dungeon crawler feel better, but end up worse. Cursed windows serve this purpose well..

Dungeons need danger. What kind of danger? Good question, oathkeeper. Traps and enemies. Traps are any hidden device or structure that does something detrimental to the hero. Good traps do not kill, but merely take away prized possessions or vital stats or limbs. Traps that kill end adventures quick. Better to prolong the magic with traps that would, disarm, un-level, or harm the player. Enemies are hostile creatures, men, women, plants, spirits, mummies (or mummae, if you prefer), and other nasties that are alive or undead, but capable of fighting, eating and giving chase. All enemies should be hell bent on killing the players at all times. Some may use trickery, but players will see through the ruse and just attack enemies anyways, so most times it's better to just jump them right away. Example:

Parth Begallion is an 8th level fighter illusionist. he has seen many a dark day underneath the ground fighting the denizens of evil with his wand of fury and his great mace of cleaving. He encounters an old man sitting on a petrified stump in the middle of the stonewood, a local chain of dungeons filled with an underground forest. Parth sees the old man, who waves kindly to him and beckons him over.

"Okay, what is the old man wearing?" Parth's player asks. "Does he have a staff? What color are his eyes? I'm looking for scars. Do I sense any evil from him? I cast know mind, but I do it secretly so he doesn't know I'm casting a spell. Does he notice I'm casting a spell? Ah! He has spellcraft and must be a wizard! Why would an old wizard be sitting in the middle of the stoneforest waving nicely at me??? I attack."

You see, in the player's mind, anything alive in a dungeon is evil. That's true, because if it is alive... why would it choose to live in a dungeon? It has to be evil.

Okay, so after the enemies and traps are resolve, what be the reward? Come on. Dungeons aren't player magnets because they've got sexy legs. What's in it for them? Usually, magic items and treasure will suffice. In some high fallutin campaigns, characters have feelings and crap and so we can have the old 'vengeance' or 'quest for knowledge' or 'free the slaves' type reward, but it's not usually a good idea. Players, no matter how good their intentions upon entering a dungeon, will feel ripped off without treasure. But how much? Enough for repairs, lodging and a few slaves. Give one to three magic items per player, mostly potions and you're good.

And of course, always leave one item or clue on how to find the next dungeon.

Well, now that you now a bit about dungeons, we can move on to some of the more important questions concerning dungeon ecology. Questions like:

How did the dungeon get there?
Why did the enemies move in?
How do they survive there when players clearly could not?
What don't enemies fight each other, only players?
How did the treasure get there?

All in due time, my intrepid friends...

Until the next lesson, be at peace and rest in safety for the night. For no evil passes the doors of this Inn. I think.

Murk