Consider Removing Doors From Your Dungeons (Dungeon Design Tips)

We've all had that moment in a dungeon crawl where we find ourselves at a door, asking whether or not to open it. After all, doors represent the possibility of risk. It might be trapped. There might be an ambush on the other side of it. There might be a hoard of treasure. Or it might just be an empty bunkhouse, a derelict kitchen, or a broom closet.

However, doors also serve another purpose we don't often think about as Game Masters... they segregate the arenas where things take place. After all, ask yourself when was the last time a monster opened the door instead of the player characters? When was the last time something occurred  that drew enemies, curses, or even allies from beyond this current room/location when there were doors present?

While doors have their uses, this week I want us all to consider what might happen if we take a few of them off their hinges, and ask how that would change things in the games we run.

This entry was inspired by the post Doors Are Terrible by Manowaffle.

Consider, for example, the archway and its implications.

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What Happens If You Remove The Doors?

Consider, for a moment, the humble door. At its most basic, this door represents an action sink; it typically takes some kind of resource for someone to open the door, leaving them unable to use more of their turn (especially if an ambush occurs or a trap goes off once the door is open). It also, as has been mentioned, functions as a kind of boundary (in our minds, if not on the board). Because yes, we might be academically aware that the thin, wooden door isn't going to stifle the sound of a barbarian's roar of bloodlust, or the blast of the gunslinger's weapon, but nine times out of ten it doesn't matter how raucous the combat is. As long as no one opens the next door, nothing is going to come to where the party is because it's out-of-bounds in our minds. Sure, monsters might hear a commotion, but they'll just set up an ambush behind the door, and wait for the party to come to them.

Who knows what the hell is behind these doors?

Now take a moment, and ask yourself what would happen if you put your players in a dungeon that didn't have doors in it... or at least had significantly fewer doors. Perhaps there were once doors, and they've rotted out in the dank. Maybe the doors were smashed out during a previous siege, or maybe the location merely has grand archways that never had doors in them at all. You might have hanging curtains for privacy, or even chains and beads, but nothing really separating one room from another.

Do you have that image clearly in your head? Good. Now ask yourself what kind of dynamic movements this lack of doors offers for your game.

Take your traditional setup for a dungeon, where the party comes in from the south to a big, square room that has additional doors to the north, west, and east. Think of it almost like entering a dungeon in Legend of Zelda. Instead of just dealing with whatever the threat in this main chamber is, unconnected from anything else, your party is now acting in an organic environment. Can they sneak past the goblin guards in the main room, angling themselves into the side chamber? If they begin combat, what will it take to draw the interest of any other forces in the complex? What kind of patrols of monsters exist that they have to be concerned with?

And, most importantly, how will the party (or their enemies) use these open doors to their strategic advantage?

Does the paladin stand in the doorway behind his tower shield, protecting the ranger while they ply their bow? Does the rogue duck into the shadows, sneaking from one archway to another to stab unsuspecting foes in the back, or to fire their crossbow unseen? Does the dynamic space make the ability to shape the battlefield with illusions, smoke bombs, or other forms of concealment more powerful? Does the party genuinely have to contend with size restrictions, using narrow spaces to thwart larger foes, or grappling with smaller enemies who retreat into crawlspaces that leave bigger characters easy prey?

These are all questions we don't really think about when we're sectioning off the parts of a dungeon in our minds, and constructing specific arenas that have specific, laid-out challenges for our players to deal with. But when we open up the entire dungeon, and treat the whole thing as one, connected, Rube Goldberg device that's ready to go off with movements the party can only partially stop, it can become a much greater challenge.

So Where Should There Be A Door?

Now, it's perfectly possible to build an entire dungeon without a single door in it. After all, hallways, thresholds, stairs, and other locations are still perfectly viable locations for traps, ambushes, and so on. However, doors do still serve a valuable purpose, and there are several places they should be. But their presence should feel organic, rather than taken for granted. For example:

- Exterior Doors: These doors keep out invaders as well as the weather. Whether the doors are huge, like castle gates, or relatively small like postern doors, these are meant to be serious barriers that are not overcome lightly.

- Security Doors: Typically found at a choke point, think of the sort of doors you'd find at the entrace to a cell block in a prison, or for gaining access to a deeper part of a castle or fortress. These doors are meant to be defensible, and difficult to pass through without a key, the proper tools, a spell, or some combination thereof.

- Vault Doors: The ultimate door, a vault is the highest possible security. Whether it's defending some great treasures, or it's keeping unfathomably dangerous beings locked away, these doors are typically strong enough that you can't just smash through them with brute force even if you have time to try. They require a combination, answers to a riddle, or even proper spells to open.

Now, other than these big three categories, ask yourself why interior doors are necessary in a given location. Because if access is meant to be free and easy (such as between the back and front of a shop or a tavern), then chances are good there will just be a curtain, or at most a swinging, batwing-style door. The doors of an inn are likely to be closed off to give guests privacy, and the doors of a prison are locked and barred to prevent escape. But will the huts and cottages in a village even have interior doors? Or exterior doors, for that matter? Would an aging castle exposed to the elements for centuries still have doors now, even if it once did? What need for privacy would a crypt have, especially if there was nothing valuable buried inside the vaults? Would a place meant to be open to the public, like a church, have more than a handful of doors to ensure only specific people could easily access specific locations?

Again, whether a door does or doesn't belong on the map is a choice that's ultimately up to you. However, it is worth stopping to ask how we let the presence of doors funnel us into one-challenge, one-arena thinking, which can make an RPG feel far more like a game, and far less like an unfolding experience for your players... good or bad.

However, if you do want to have doors in your dungeons, consider using some of the following resources:

- 100 Doors To Find In A Dungeon (as well as a Pathfinder version)

- 100 Secret Doors To Find In A Dungeon (which also comes with a Pathfinder version)

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Alternative Adventures: 6 Adventures That Aren't Your Average Dungeon Crawl

Being a DM isn't easy. You have to craft the towns, assign the bad guys, remember all the DCs, recall where the traps are, and a dozen other things over and above managing the roving pack of murderous kleptomaniacs that make up the average party. With all those details fighting for your attention, it's easy to get stuck in the same rut time and time again when it comes to the challenges your party is actually facing.

Put another way, what's the challenge this time? Is it a combat slog, or a dungeon crawl?

Maybe this time it's a combat slog IN a dungeon crawl!

As a player who is also a DM, I know how hard it can be to come up with adventures that feel unique. Even if your story is original, the pieces that make it up can cause it to feel a little bland, and a bit samey. So consider, if you will, using some of the following scenarios I wrote for Kobold Press if you want to spice up your game, and throw your players for a bit of a loop.

Also, if you're looking for a specific campaign to run, you might want to check out the first installment from TPK's Critical Hits series, False Valor! It's by yours truly, so give it a look.

#1: The Heist

What's the DC on this thing, again?

Most adventurers are out for loot, but most of the time we pretend that's just a side benefit. We're really here to fight tyranny, or save the town, or slay the dragon. Not so with the Heist. You're here expressly to steal something, and you can't just kick in the front door to take it. You need to assemble a team, come up with a plan, and go after the treasure Ocean's 11 style.

#2: The Hunt

We have confirmation on the target. Take him down!

It's one thing to go toe-to-toe with the Bloodcut Gang, but it's a separate challenge entirely if they escaped from confinement a week ago and you have to hunt them down before you can draw steel. Whether your party are bounty hunters who have to bring them back alive, or just a group empowered by the law (or perhaps an extralegal organization), you have to find the target, trail them, and only once you've found them can you kill, capture, or otherwise decide what to do with the object of your quest.

#3: The Infiltration

So... how long have you been guarding the Baron?

The Hangmen are one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in the country, and their leader has never been seen without his iconic black hood. No matter how many of the gang are killed, though, the leader remains at large, recruiting more people to fill the ranks. So if you want to eliminate him, you need double agents to get close to him. That's where the party comes in.

#4: The Mystery

This note should give us some insight to the killer... "should" being the operative word.

Sometimes things happen that are inexplicable. A man was murdered, and the killers are still at large. A great treasure has gone missing, and they need to know how it was stolen. A man's wife vanished into thin air, and he needs to know where she went. You may not have to throw a single punch, but the mystery can engage characters of all classes, and from all walks of life.

#5 The Escape

No one gets out of Black Gate, boy. Not alive, anyway.

Sometimes the party is put in a place they don't want to be. Whether it's the dungeons beneath the Red Citadel, or in the caved-in warrens of the Rat Tunnels, they need to get out. That means they have to band together, and pool their resources, if they expect to escape the walls, and the inevitable pursuit that will come afterward.

#6: The Diplomatic Mission

Must not insult the ambassador... must not insult the ambassador...

Most parties have used Diplomacy at some point, but rarely is that their entire mission. War is expensive, though, and most organizations would rather operate in peace than waste valuable resources. So if the party can negotiate a truce, their services will be in high demand. And make them targets for assassination.

Hopefully folks enjoy these 6 pieces of DM advice! That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday post. If you'd like to support Improved Initiative, head over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page today, and pledge $1 a month. This buys you my undying loyalty, and gets you some sweet swag in the bargain. Lastly, if you haven't followed me on Facebook, Tumblr, or Twitter yet, now would be a great time to do just that!

The Search For The Mummy's Mask Part Five: Who is The Forgotten Pharaoh?

When last we left our intrepid adventurers, the Desert Falcons had stemmed the tide of the rising dead before it could consume the city of Wati. With the immediate threat dealt with, they found themselves in possession of an ancient pharaoh's death mask, and surrounded by the corpses of all the people who could have told them what it was and what it did. With no help to be had in town, and the massive column of black stone traded to the crystal dragon for safekeeping, we set off to find out what eldritch powers had been unleashed... before they come to find us.

If you missed the previous arc, here's a lit of the installments:

Part One: The Desert Falcons, and The Littlest Pharaoh
Part Two: Undead Children, and Resurrected Puppies
Part Three: Enemies on All Sides
Part Four: Fight Night at The Necropolis
Part Five: Who is The Forgotten Pharaoh?
Part Six: No Harm Ever Came From Reading A Book...
Part Seven: Needle in a Haystack
Part Eight: Lamias and Genie Lords
Part Nine: The Mind of The Forgotten Pharaoh
Part Ten: The End of The Forgotten Pharaoh

All caught up? Lovely! Because we're on our way to Tephu...

All Your Answers Can Be Found in The Library

The Desert Falcons left Wati at their backs, and went to the city of Tephu. While not the size and grandeur of the capital city, Tephu is a bustling center of culture, commerce, and intrigue. Most importantly, though, Tephu has an ancient library. A library which may have the answers to our current quest.

Death masks... death masks... what dynasty is it from, do you know?

Upon arrival in the city, the first thing we do is find a comfortable inn with a suite of rooms to let, and which provides hummus. Properly armed with snack food, tea, and curiosity, we enter the library to start our digging. The assistants help us in finding books, bringing volumes to a study nook. Moloch, mostly enveloped by a wing-back armchair, digs through tales of dark times, and the powers of necromancy which seem related in some way to the mask. Caladral dusts off historical treatises on the lines of kings, trying to connect what we know about the death mask to the ancient funeral rites. Meanwhile Mustafa is curled up on a floor cushion, his attention flitting from one volume to another. Books float in front of him with the snap of a finger, the pages turning as he browses through religious tomes, searching for the connection between the faiths of ancient Osirion and this forgotten king.

We don't find much. There's some oblique references to someone known as the Sky Pharaoh, and that he may have held power during the time of a forgotten kingdom when cities floated in the sky. Not much to show for two days worth of digging.

While the academics are flexing their minds, Umaya settles in to wait, occasionally reading from a rare volume of dwarven myths and fairy tales. The Littlest Pharaoh occasionally joins her, enjoying the exotic stories. Ra'ana, impatient with the reading and occasional hums of curiosity, explores the library. She finds, with no surprise, that the area open to the public is limited. To travel beyond a certain point, we would need to be granted specific access by a higher power. Either that, or face dire consequences for trespassing.

Getting That VIP Pass

Since we need to get into the rare books section, and we'd really rather not call down the wrath of whatever is guarding that section of the library, we decide to try and get access legitimately. Caladral puts out some feelers, and manages to call in a favor from the Order of The Blue Feather. As a result, we are given a meeting with Mumonofra, one of the Ruby Prince's personal advisers. She agrees to see us on her personal pleasure barge, and we all immediately step out of our comfort zones.

Our hostess, if she wore a little less makeup, and was a lot cuddlier.

Mumonofra makes it quite clear early on that she has no interest in our goals, or in providing us with aid; not unless she finds us entertaining. Given that we're a group of scholars, warriors, exorcists, and historians, being entertaining is really not our strong suit. So, though we do our best to capitalize on what little fame we have, and to share tales of the great crystal dragon who helped us defeat and army of the dead, that simply wasn't flying. After about half an hour or so, we are asked rather brusquely to depart.

Thoroughly disheartened, and with tensions riding high, we retreat to our rooms to try and find another patron to give us the access we need. Fortunately one of the city's crime lords, the infamous Viper, has heard of our plight. We're given a meeting, and told that arrangements could be made for us to plead our case with the head librarian. We do so, after paying a fee of gratitude and parting with treasures to cement our good relationship with our new friends in low places. The next day, early in the morning, we're shown in to meet the head librarian. She's harried, and already seems to have her mind on her next appointment. We plead our case, and point out that when we asked Mumonofra for help, we were summarily dismissed.

That got her attention. Because it seems that all we had to do was mention the self-indulgent noblewoman didn't want us to gain access to the deeper stacks. Spiting Mumonofra seemed to be enough of a reason for us to be given the keys. Of course, it didn't hurt that, once we knew we were in good company, that we expressed our honest opinions of the day on the barge.

What Happened Next?

As we were handed the talismans and passkeys that would allow us into the older sections of the library, we were warned. Those places were dangerous. Some of the books were haunted, and sections of the library were guarded by both curses and creatures. We should be wary, because while the keys would get us past some threats, it was by no means safe.

And, if we wanted to, the library would be quite grateful if we did away with some of the... less necessary defenses that had outlived their usefulness.

Want to know what strange dangers we found in the stacks? Tune in next time for part six!

That's all for this week's Table Talk installment. If you like it, share it with your friends! If you have your own stories you'd like to tell, don't be shy. I'm happy to feature other folks in this section from time to time. If you'd like to support Improved Initiative, then drop by The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page and donate $1 a month. It's a small amount, but it gets you some sweet swag and helps me pay my bills on time. Lastly, if you haven't followed me on Facebook, Tumblr, or Twitter yet, well, why not start today?

Obscure Belts Look Like Something Adventurers Would Wear on a Dungeon Crawl!

Have you ever stopped to consider the role that belts play in an adventurer's life? From sword and gun belts, to the baldrics that keep their treasures secured, there's a reason fantasy mercenaries and sci-fi explorers always seem to be a little strapped-in.

If you'd like something that looks this cool while still being practical you should check out Obscure Belts.

Do you have what it takes to unlock The Enigma.

Obscure Belts was started in 2005, and the company's stated goal is to make belts that are truly different. Unlike other fashion designers who will just change the buckle, Obscure Belts is dedicated to making a complete product that is unlike anything you've ever seen before. The brain child of Bryan Schultz, these belts capture the imagination in ways basic, practical belts simply don't.

Seriously, check out their collection!

I ran into Obscure Belts at this past C2E2 2015, and my brain immediately started building character concepts to represent each belt design I saw. It's only through a miracle that I managed to walk away from their booth with nothing more than a brochure. Still, I found these belts unique enough that I wanted to tell my readers about them, and provide a signal boost for a company producing something so unique just a few hours north of Chicago.


As always, thanks for stopping by Improved Initiative, and if you'd like to support this project just stop by The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page and become a patron today! In order to keep up to the minute with all of my updates make sure to follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter as well!