Random Dungeon Generator

While creating stories that involve dungeons, mazes and other structures, a Narrator often spends more time planning all sorts of halls, corridors, traps and dungeon details than creating the story itself, wasting time that could be used to improve the story plot or to describe better the ambient and the secondary characters.

If you are a Narrator and don't want to spend time on dungeon planning or if you need to use a small dungeon ambient in the middle of and adventure, you can use this simple system. It requires only the Fate Deck used during the game and a piece of paper. It will allow you to create complete dungeons, with traps, monsters and all sorts of corridors!

How to create a random dungeon

  • Shuffle the Fate Deck and draw a card
  • Read the card aura and use the Dungeon Table below
  • Read the card suit and use the Monster Table below (optional)
  • Read the card suit and use the Trap Table below (optional)
  • Draw another card for each part of the corridor you want to add, and repeat steps 2 to 5

Step One: Shuffle the Fate Deck and draw a card

The initial step. Using the information on the given card, the Narrator is able to create a new dungeon from scratch. After drawing a card, go to Step 2.

Step Two: Card Aura - Dungeon Table

During this step the Narrator will find out how many ways the first corridor leads to. It is important to decide if there are monsters or traps on this corridor. Find out the card aura color and check the table below:

Dungeon Table
  Simple corridor, one way only   Right or left corridor, two different ways   Crossroad, three different ways

Before proceeding with the next 2 steps, the Narrator must decide if he will set monsters or traps on the corridor. If in doubt, consider the card number; if it's even, use the Trap Table; if it's odd, use the Monster Table. The Narrator should not use these tables if he/she doesn't intend to place these elements on the corridor - if none of the tables is used, skip to Step 5, drawing one card for each way.

Step Three: Card Number - Monster Table

After deciding that the corridor you are designing has a monster, use the card number to decide the type of monster. If you dislike the result, pick another one you think it's more suitable, or go to the next step. Note that, on the table, no fixed monster names are given, just examples for the Physique values listed. The Narrator must decide, based on the value given and on the dungeon type, the type of monster or its quantity.

Monster Table
1: No monsters 2: Physique 10 (An Aurak Draconian) 3: Physique 32 (4 Zombies)
4: Physique 6 (3 Kobolds) 5: Physique 24 (A Troll) 6: Physique 38 (2 Ettins)
7: Physique 16 (4 Hobgoblins) 8: Physique 28 (A Wyvern) 9: Physique 44 (4 Brutes)
10: Physique 50 (A Young Adult Dragon)

The correct way of using the table is this: the Physique value given is the total among all creatures found. For example, drawing a 2 (Physique value 10) allow the Narrator to use an Aurak Draconian, 3 goblins or 2 ghouls. Although the Physique value for some of the examples is not exactly 10, the Narrator may consider a difference of up to +/-3 points.

Step Four: Card Suit - Trap table

If you prefer to have a trap instead of a monster in the corridor, read the card suit and use the table below. It gives one suggestion of each kind of trap, but you are free to create your own traps, depending on what dungeon style you want to create.

Trap Table
Arrows or Shields: Agility traps (arrows, darts, pits)
Helms or Swords: Physical traps (blades)
Moons or Orbs: Magic traps (fireball)
Hearts or Crowns: Traps that involve willpower and wits (a fear wall)
Dragons: Pick any trap above, but make it twice as deadly

Step Five: Draw another card(s)

This step is similar to the first step, but you draw as many cards as the ways you opened on Step 2 (or if you want to draw a card just for the path chosen by the party, feel free to do it). Read each card using the Tables above, and repeat the procedure as many times as you wish.

Good adventure!

 


Optional Rules and Online Resources


Dragonlance, Dragonlance: The Fifth Age, Dragonlance logo, SAGA Rules System, TSR, TSR logo, and all the characters and rules © TSR, Inc. All rights reserved. This is a fan page, for fans. I am not linked to TSR, except as a Dragonlance fan. All articles © Marcelo Sarsur. Feel free to use the characters and rules listed here for personal use only.

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