The Dungeon d100s: Structures

(An Italian translation of this post is available on Dragons’ Lair)

This table focuses specifically on cartographic prompts. The goal is to add both visual interest to your maps, and functional differences to your dungeon. It’s is challenging to clearly communicate lines on paper when my only tool is words, so I must thank Elias Stretch and PresGas for both taking a pass on this doc to ensure it was comprehensible. Thanks are also due to Dyson Logos, whose maps I studied extensively while filling out the back half of this table. I’ve also used clippings of his maps for the illustrations in this post. (Specifically: Coolant Processing Facility, Dwarven Mines, and Kins River Cave.)

The Dungeon d100s
1 – Themes
2 – Structures
3 – Rewards
4 – Doors, Floors, Walls, & Ceilings
5 – Factions
6 – Locks & Keys

Bonus – Auto-roller, at Liche’s Libram.

d100 Dungeon Structures:

1. Layout is mirrored on one or more axis. (Roll a d6?)
2. Layout is shaped like something, such as a dog, an axe, a word, a hand, etc.
3. Layout must conform to the shape of some object the dungeon is built within, such as an outcropping of stone, a titan’s skull, a colossal statue, a world tree, etc.
4. Layout is open concept, with many mini-dungeons all connected to the same central space, or with dungeon spaces being separated by distance and low visibility (mist, woodland) rather than by walls.
5. Layout is a rising or descending spiral. For example: a path carved around the outside of a steep hill, or around the edge of a quarry.
6. Layout combines both natural and constructed spaces.
7. Layout is built in and around some more ancient construction, so that two or more distinct architectural styles are evident.
8. Layout has been modified by amateur dungeon denizens digging out new corridors and chambers, knocking holes everywhere, and getting around on ladders and rope bridges.
9. Layout includes rooms or corridors which overlap one another while nominally being on the same level of the dungeon. (i.e., the same sheet of graph paper).
10. Layout includes varied room shapes which serve as indicators of their contents. For example, circular rooms might always contain magical traps, octagonal rooms might be claimed by a specific faction, etc.
11. Layout is built in and around a massive corpse of some kind. A neolithic mega crab, a dead titan, a cosmic snail shell, etc.
12. Laid out as several separate clusters of dense dungeon, connected to one another by long corridors.
13. Layout adheres to a certain regular structure. Perhaps a grid of broad corridors forming “blocks” of square dungeon space between them, or the dungeon could be a connected set of geomorphs.
14. Layout includes an exploration bottleneck. A single corridor or room at which all the dungeon’s tangled pathways converge before opening up again on the other side.
15. Layout is separated into 2 or more disconnected parts, such that delvers must pass through non dungeon space to reach different areas of the same dungeon.
16. A river flows through the dungeon. It may have been intentionally incorporated into the construction, or the result of a natural disaster which broke the original layout.
17. There’s a pond, lake, or even a sea contained within the dungeon. It may have been intentionally incorporated into the construction, or the result of a natural disaster which broke the original layout.
18. There’s one or more geysers in the dungeon, which erupt with hot water from time to time. They may have been intentionally incorporated into the construction, or the result of a natural disaster which broke the original layout.
19. The dungeon contains a pleasant hot spring.
20. The dungeon is replete with wells, fountains, or other constructed water features.
21. There’s a body or a river of some hazardous liquid in the dungeon: lava, acid, mercury, etc.
22. There’s a body of some entrapping liquid in the dungeon, such as quicksand, thick mud, or tar pits.
23. Some significant portion of the dungeon is underwater. (20% + [d8×10])
24. Dungeon has a water level which rises and falls dramatically. It may be due to tides, artificial cycles, or controlled by some accessible mechanism.
25. Numerous small pools of fetid standing water pockmark the dungeon’s layout, breaking up its spaces.
26. The dungeon abuts a beach, opening out into a hidden cove that is not otherwise accessible. Perhaps with a secret dock, and further dungeon rooms to be found on a nearby island.
27. Many half walls, fences, or barricades break up the dungeon’s spaces.
28. Many boulders, pillars, or statues break up the dungeon’s spaces.
29. Large furniture such as shelves, tables, couches, or beds break up the dungeon’s spaces.
30. Trees grow in the dungeon, breaking up its spaces. The dungeon may have been built around them, or they may have broken the dungeon’s original structure
31. The dungeon has moving parts, such as a room which rotates, slides laterally, or moves up and down like an elevator.
32. Many passageways are unusually narrow, requiring explorers to walk sideways, or remove bulky equipment.

33. Connections between areas are sometime spatially impossible. Corridors looping back on themselves, or doors leading to the other side of the dungeon, etc.
34. Vertical movement from level to level is accomplished by some means other than stairs. Climbing ropes, fireman’s poles, ramps, ladders, elevators, levitation chutes, etc.
35. Greased slides, escalating ladders, trap doors, or elevators create one-way passage to higher or lower dungeon levels.
36. Some passages are only accessible by swimming underwater.
37. There are many more stairs than necessary. Stairs everywhere. Hallways go up and down, doors enter rooms above or below ground level, etc.
38. There is a train, trolley, a system of teleportation pads, warp pipes, or other rapid conveyance through the dungeon
39. There are meandering, tangled hallways between rooms, perhaps with dead ends.
40. There are multiple paths up and down between each dungeon level.
41. Dungeon contains a broad staircase, or grand promenade.
42. Dungeon contains one or more rickety bridge.
43. Dungeon contains one or more gap which is crossed by something other than a bridge: a rope, a chain, a basket on a rail, etc.
44. Dungeon contains one or more balcony, which may look out over a different part of the dungeon, or over some exterior space.
45. Dungeon contains one or more sky bridge, connecting two dungeon spaces by walking over a different part of the dungeon, or over some exterior space.
46. The spaces intended to be inhabited are criss-crossed by traversible sewers, air ducts, or maintenance tunnels.
47. Some areas on the same level do not connect directly, and can only be accessed by traveling through a different level.
48. Main hallways include alcoves, perhaps originally intended for small statues or sitting spaces.
49. There’s a natural cliff face in the dungeon. There are rooms above and below, with no intended means to get between them save climbing.
50. Dilapidation has left several of the dungeon’s non-load-bearing walls weak and easy to knock holes through. Doing so is noisy, and leaves clear sign of passage.
51. The entrance cannot be used as an exit.
52. Dungeon’s entrance is a small dock, only accessible by boat.
53. The entrance is in some public and relatively safe space. The presence of the dungeon might be unknown to most folk, or it may be a landmark which everyone steers clear of.
54. The entrance is inside the ruins some structure which has long since been razed to the ground.
55. The entrance requires a perilous climb, preventing quick egress. Perhaps up a cliff, down a well, through a smoke stack, down a crevasse, etc.
56. The entrance can only be accessed by traversing an inhospitable environment. Perhaps it is deep in a swamp, hidden in a desert, behind a waterfall, or at the bottom of a lake.
57. The entrance is at the center of the dungeon, with rooms radiating out in every direction.
58. There is more than one entrance to this dungeon. (Roll 2d4?)
59. Dungeon includes obvious and useful entrances which are locked from the inside. One must open them by entering first through the most difficult entrance.
60. Immediately upon entering the dungeon, characters have access to d6 + 1 levels. Perhaps via a central staircase or elevator.
61. The dungeon has windows, or even whole walls open to the outside. These are likely in areas with a high elevation, and inconvenient as an entrance.
62. The dungeon includes a connection to the underdark, hell, the hollow earth, or some other new world with its own limitless adventuring possibilities.
63. An easily destructible wall could create an exit from the dungeon. It is not obvious from the outside, and may even open into some bustling populated space.
64. The dungeon intersects with d6 structures which are currently in use, but exist apart from the dungeon. For example, the dungeon may grant access to a secret door or peep hole into someone’s home.
65. Part of the dungeon exists in “duck blinds.” For example, the dungeon might connect to several buildings in a large city which appear normal, but in fact have no real entrances.
66. Part of the dungeon’s original construction was never completed, leaving inconvenient dead ends, cranes, scaffolding, etc behind.

67. There are secret doors which connect non-secret areas. Their purpose is to enable quick and subtle movement, rather than to hide treasures.
68. There are secret doors which are only accessible after falling into a pit trap.
69. There are false doors, used to frustrate explorers, or disguise traps.
70. There are traps designed to separate parties into two or more groups.
71. There are hidden observation spots, where certain areas of the dungeon can be observed unobtrusively.
72. There are many curtains or tapestries, some of which simply hang against the wall, while others have doors, shelves, or passages hidden behind them.
73. There’s at least one secret door which is clearly called out by the architecture. For example, stairs leading up to a dead end, or a group of doors with an obvious blank spot.
74. Dungeon includes many small storage closet sized rooms.
75. Dungeon includes a section where instead of walls, the rooms and hallways are bounded by a hazardous drop, a lake of fire, or some other hazard.
76. Dungeon includes walkways around the upper edges of its spaces, perhaps serving as the corridors of an upper level, or firing positions for archers.
77. Dungeon contains some space where the elevation changes are drastic enough to justify topographical contours.
78. Dungeon includes a patio, breezeway, gazebo, or other partially enclosed space.
79. Dungeon includes areas so dilapidated that they are prone to collapse if not traversed carefully. The ceiling may fall in, or the floor may fall down, etc.
80. Dungeon contains an area clearly meant to be protected or secret, which has long since been forced open.
81. Above ground levels include towers, keeps, or other enclosed structures which extend upwards from larger levels below.
82. Dungeon includes an exterior garden or courtyard space, no less dangerous to explore than its interior spaces.
83. Dungeon contains a space within it which is so large that play ought to switch to overland travel rules while traversing it.
84. Dungeon contains a large space with individual structures, and perhaps even roads built inside of it.
85. Dungeon contains an “outdoor” space, such as a garden, woodland, farmland, or a grassy plain. How does this space fit and thrive within a dungeon?
86. Dungeon is the only way to gain access to a real outdoor space, such as an enclosed valley lush with fertile soil and bounteous plant life.
87. Dungeon contains a settlement as safe, prosperous, and welcoming as any village the party might encounter on the surface.
88. A crevasse intersects multiple spaces throughout the dungeon. It might be 10 feet deep and easy to get through, or it may be a great bottomless chasm that only a skilled engineer could bridge. The dungeon may have been intentionally built around it, or it may have been opened up by an earthquake which damaged the dungeon’s intended structure.
89. Dungeon contains gaps (either intentionally constructed, or the result of damage) which are deep and wide enough to hinder progress. They must be jumped, bridged, swung or flown across, or bypassed by some other creative means.
90. Dungeon contains spaces which are completely inaccessible via normal means due to collapse, or other dilapidation.
91. Dungeon contains raised sub-areas, such as a stage, pulpit, natural ledge, or plateau. The upper and lower parts of the room might be connected by ramps, stairs, or ladders. Alternately, they may not be connected directly at all.
92. Dungeon contains lowered sub-areas, such as gladiatorial arenas, holding pens, or sacrificial pits.
93. Dungeon contains windows into spaces which are not quickly or obviously accessible from where they are visible. (“window” here being a euphemism, since breaking glass would be easy to do.)
94. Dungeon contains one or more rooms which intersect with multiple levels.
95. Dungeon contains one or more rooms with no physical connection to the rest of the dungeon. How do you get there?
96. Dungeon contains a ship. The stranger it is for a ship to be here, the better.
97. Dungeon is at least partially reclaimed by nature. Spaces exposed to sunlight have been broken apart by growing trees and other plants.
98. Dungeon contains a large space where the ‘rooms’ are platforms suspended from the ceiling above a deadly drop.
99. The roof of the dungeon is accessible, and includes its own creatures, treasures, tricks and traps. Climbing to it from the outside would be difficult, but probably not impossible.
100. Dungeon includes some spaces with air currents strong enough to be dangerous. They may be natural, such as a walk along a cliffside path, or produced artificially by fans or magic.

Also, America delenda est.