How To Run A Dungeon Crawl

The old school dungeon crawl can seem a slog to players accustomed to modern playing styles. But I think you can adapt this classic style to any group.

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[freddaniel]

Dungeon crawling is the essence of D&D as I recall. It's still my favorite part of the campaign whether playing or running.
You make some very good suggestions that are apropos whether it's modern or OSR. Keep the pace moving, include variety and roleplaying and challenge the players as well as the characters.
Cheers!

[georgelaiacona]

In my own video about Megadungeons, I mention that anything, really, can be considered a megadungeon if you loosely define it. A good dungeon has multiple entrances/exits. Factions inside make it more believable, but there are real abandoned tombs/ catacombs that have a good dungeon flavor. So, one faction could be the Undead. Always needs to be some major prize at the bottom to reward players for slogging it out. A good megadungeon doesn't need to be explored all in one fell swoop - trips back to town to offload prizes and load up on supplies should be possible. BUT, the dungeon changes while you are gone. Nature abhors a vacuum. Previously uninhabited rooms now contain something. It's a living thing then. Now, this is a bit of work on a DMs part, but for me, it's lots of fun and keeps me on my toes. Great video. Love your stuff.

[carlosvillanueva]

I miss the rapid run, slog dungeons. You contract to scout an ancient dungeon where a hoard of goblins have held up over winter. After you begin your mission, you hear a large force enter the dungeon soon after you've entered. If you scout them, you find it's a hostile force in overwhelming numbers, like Tucker's Gnolls & Hyenas, and they have come to destroy the goblin hoard. But, you know Gnolls if they find you, they will eat you. So now the dungeon is more of a runaway while hoping you don't get delayed by resident gobliniods.

[SmittyGonBass]

Have a group of 5e players who mainly do high concept dramatic campaigns. When our current game wraps in January, they are wanting to mix it up with me jumping into the DM chair for some old school style dungeon crawls. I am going to switch to Shadowdark and run a mini campaign that ties together six dungeons into a single story.

[jamesbreeden]

Great video, my brother! I wish you a wonderful holiday season

[gendor]

I can see a lore-reason for a dungeon crawl to be similar what was mentioned: We need the Plot-device, please go get it.
But, the reason for the dungeon is that is exist in a different realm, and the entrances are portals to various places, maybe they open/close at random, maybe it has something to do with the moon or sun on those odd realms, so yeah, there can be a goblin tribe right next to a tribe of goblin-eating cactus plants who grows on stone walls. Because the portal opened, let them in and now they're stuck there for now.
The reason why the dungeon is also only opened now is because it was buried, since before nobody knew how it worked, and even today it can be certain death to not enter without some map and idea to follow, risking getting lost can leave you anywhere, so the entrance portal was buried for ages so that random monsters wouldn't come through into the village.

[z-manwuvsgirrafes]

Ive ran plenty of dungeons and I think the best way to make it fun at the table is with turn structure. That doesn't mean to limit the options the players have, but let 1 person do 1 thing for any given 10 minute turn. Searching? 1 turn. Combat? Might only take 30 seconds, but the recovery included takes 1 turn. Moving so many feet through corridors? 1 turn. Older editions of dnd and OSR systems tend to have these codified rules and it really makes it easier to keep the pacing and ensure that each character does *something* without trying to fit *everything* into a harder to follow timeline

[Marcus-kien]

Your "young you" map looked much like the old blue ink kit that used to come in the D&D boxes. A slog is OK, but I have always been in the camp that says the dungeon layout should have purpose, and a layout that makes some sense, or at least has a reason for why it is laid out that way. Fun house layouts are fine for a one shot, but who would ever build something like that, especially if all the dungeons in your world are that way. There is nothing wrong with symmetry in a layout, there are plenty of ways to close off or block access in areas.

[sologamer]

Just saw your video so first time watcher and i subscribed instantly. Anyway I normally don't run dungeon crawls i.e. mega dungeons. Well it so happens my current campaign expressed interest in doing one. So i changed the campaign natrative for it. For a reason to go into the dungeon I am using a disappearance of a vip. We are currently on floor one. Used some anime as inspiration like Sword Art Online. To break up the monotonous tone i am designing each floor as a different biome. Each floor will focus on different monsters. Floor one is goblins. Floor 2 will be insects. I plan on having a massive city on floor 6 to help with supplies. This is new to me but the experience is refeshing. Thank you for the video and i look forward to more.

[cragland]

great advice in general. personally, procedural play has helped my osr games a lot. i basically took the "always on initiative" rules from shadowdark and put them in my b/x game. the structure helps players act cautiously and encourages them to work together during each dungeon turn. oh and putting a few factions in the dungeon never hurts.
i enjoy resource management as a DM and as a player quite a lot, but that's just me. i understand it's not for everyone.

[JudgeShadowfoot]

First like and First Comment! I'm currently running the goodman games OAR Temple of Elemental Evil using DCC rules. We have a party of 6 and they have just started exploring the second level a couple sessions ago and we are in session 22. They are having a blast and one player loves drawing maps so I have been giving him room and hallways sizes and directions and just watching his drawing for any major mistakes due to my descriptions. He has made a few errors in size causing rooms to overlap a bit, but for the most part done a great job. But that's mapping in a dungeon when you are underground for days at a time. 2 of the original 5 characters are still alive and the module has claimed 8 characters so far.

[jamesrizza]

Just read through The Temple of Elemental Evil to get a good idea on how to make a dungeon crawl. It touches on all your points, reason, purpose, factions and history.

[VentsongeGaming]

The video is quite interesting, however A few things are ringing some bell in my mind, and that it take the issue partly from the wrong angle imo, assuming running megadungeon nowaday have to solve the issues from 40 years ago, but those issue have been solve for over a decade now ( from abstract inventory tracking with slot or revamp of some item weight to easy the math)

The issue is, old way to run a dungeon isn't about the character's story specifically, it's about their story in THIS place.
The reality of a good megadungeon is, you have to see as this mega dungeon as like a super weird megacity/country, with Factions that interact between each other, some are old and maybe here from the begining or so, some other could be new arrival.
The issue is people hear "Megadungeon" and think : oh that's just hack'n'Slash and no, that's how Kids run megadungeon. A good Megadungeon is just as rich as any other campaign setting, cause that's what a Mega dungeon is, it's an old school style Campaign setting.

A lot of exemple exist, Most recent Megadungeon published (like Barrowmaze, Highfell, Stonehell, Rappan Atuk or, god save us all, Arden Vul are so rich on lore and situation that they could put some 5e/PF2e campaign setting to shame... and you could have ALL of them in your homebrew world (the megadungeon by Greg Gillespie are in fact set in the same world, as should be the 2 last he plan to do)

Lastly, If people really want to run a megadungeon with a concept of XP fror gold (old school style), I'll warn that not tracking equipement is an issue, cause part of the story is to Go in there, take the loot and get the hell out without ending up dead. And the tool you have at your disposal and how many ration/arrow/torches you have is a big deal, it handle the time pressure element of a good dungeon delving adventure. If you have no more torches, no more rope, 3 arrow left, and a band of Goblin tracking you to get back the treasure you and you friend just stole before them... you're in a lot of trouble, and that as much of an epic story than any dragon fight. The story of how you tricked the goblin out of you path to get the treasure and manage to get out without any light source... if you managed to survive.

[NemoDtwenty]

Mapping on grid paper wasnt fun to me, even back in the early 80s. A lot of the early dungeons were meant to just challenge the kid with the graph paper.

However, even the other dungeons made no damn sense. If you are building something undeground, obviously an expensive way to build, and decide you need abother room, why the hell would you dig 60 or 80 feet and THEN add the next room?

[ericjome]

I like mystical fountains or shrine as a goal. Record of Lodoss Wa just has it as a shortcut. LotR too. Or a tomb or memorial where you commune with ancestors instead of despoil them.

[NemoDtwenty]

I always thought underground gigantic dungeons made almost no sense. Caves, mines, maybe smaller catacombs makes sense and that is generally what I use.

[AndyReichert]

I NEEEDED this video. I love dungeons.

[michaelriggs]

Dungeon crawls, especially shorter ones, very much have their place. Got to mix it up

[krispalermo]

Fantasy dungeons are just that, .. fantasy.
Most historic catacombs were just mined out mineral mines that cities were built near or on top of.
Also of note, unless the mines were dug out of rocky foothills above the water table, they flood. Mined ore tunnels are at a bunch of odd slop angles rarely lay out in graph paper sq right angles.

Now for the Roman account of spreading the use of concrete, take the concept of mote and baily.
Location built near a water source above the flood line if lucky. Building basements or what remains of them are regarded as Ruin dungeons. Interesting enough the foundation of lay stone and first level structures were daub & wattle that was brick or stone stack mason with arch ceiling vaults cover in cut/flake slat stone and concrete plaster. Later dirt was pack around the mason ground walls follow with the first story/ second level was built on top.

Cute little European house set on top of a ten ft tall hill with a dry basement storage.
Manor house or hamlet/ small village with walled granaries. The second & third floor with roof falls in and covers the .. ground floor .. flag stone floor leading to a packed earth/ water filter of sand, gravel, and charcoal. so parts of the basement ceiling cave in or you have oak trees growing on top.

Area shape as a square or rectangle of multiple buildings. Leading to basement after basement surrounding a center courtyard. Usually just a single level where you walk out at the base of the mote, think of those two-story houses where the half basement is the car garage drove in at street level. With slightly upward sloping front yard. From street level it looks like a one-story house but from the backyard it is a two-story structure.

2.) Above ground partial dirt cover field stone root cellars. Or storm cellars ...
First wave hunter & gather, or early farmers-built field stone root cellars later abandoned with tree growth coverings later get named as local Fairy Mounds. As for burial mounds are just mass graves from battles to stop migrations. Rarely will you find a burial mound with a stone stack interior that you can do an over hand down arc sword swing.

Now to say you Have a stack stone circle hut dome with a 9ft high ceiling that you can have a good sword fight in with room diameter of 15ft to 20ft wide. That can hold multiple human scale stone/brick bergs coffins. Then the location can hold a two-level goblin lair with bunks and storage racks. Holding more than a few goblins. But for Forest Gnomes standing barely 2ft high, then that is a 3level living space.

base on the 12 to 15ft hill side with a 20 to 30ft base footprint with trees growing on top, anything could be Under Hill at that point.

3.) Survival horror, cave crawl with slick sloping floors and deep dead falls as leg breakers. Up & down sink hole chimney to fall into the black or monsters to reach down and drag up victims to feed on. Risk panic and need hard hats or bang your head on the ceiling resulting in fatalities.

a.) First story, cavemen/stone age gathers exploring and find some .. horror, .. or they get Lost in the Dark and they become the caves first victims and monsters/ghosts that prey on later adventures.

b.) Later wave of explores find the Pit, and went mad and started to cult worship the mad spirits of the cave system.

c.) Stander adventure fair, clean out cave system of Morlocks, orcs, or some other devolved tribe of cannibals. WotC3e 4th-level cleric spell Call Lesser Planar Ally at 8th-level cleric spellcaster, so the cave system has a few of 8hd outsiders of whatever twist monsters you want.
Set up for multiple TPKs.

Other than stander Hp, have PC make multiple dexterity vs grapple and strength checks to keep from being pulled to their deaths. Flip a coin or rock, paper, shears best five out of seven wins grapple, and suffer a few levels of exhaustion/Hp till you catch your breath.

Play up the stress, each hour PC roll wisdom, roll under .. save they gain 1point of temporary wisdom or fail lose a point of temporary wisdom. Once their score reaches 1 .. they panic scream and the Dark cave system mock screams back at them. Then everyone in the part rolls vs Fear spell effect.
Roll coward in fear, or neck break speed to get out of the cave system. Roll to get Hopelessly Lost.

If the PC gains enough temporary wisdom points equal to their stander wisdom score, make note their overall wisdom increase by one point. If the PC temporary wisdom reaches zer0, they lost one permanent point of wisdom and gains a Flaw and needs 1d6 weeks to recover from the cave system experience with cleric help.

[macoppy]

Dungeons are soap opera sets with bloodshed. Two factions opposed to the PCs and their kin, one a potential ally.