Page 296 - Dungeon Master's Guide

might slumber on the first level of a dungeon, a pall of
smoke and the sound of its heavy breathing filling the
chambers near its lair. Clever characters will do their
utmost to avoid the dragon, even as the party's brave
CHAMBER CONTENTS thief makes off with a few coins from its hoard.
Not all monsters are automatically hostile. When
Once you have a sense of the purpose of the various
placing monsters in your dungeon, consider their
dungeon chambers, you can think about the contents
relationships to nearby creatures and their attitudes
of those areas. The Dungeon Chamber Contents table
toward adventurers. Characters might be able to
allows you to randomly roll contents for a chamber, or
appease a hungry beast by offering it food, and smarter
you can choose contents for specific areas. If you choose
creatures have complex motivations. The Monster
contents, be sure to include an interesting, colorful
Motivation table lets you use a monster's goals to define
assortment of things. In addition to the contents shown
its presence in the dungeon.
on this table, refer to "Dungeon Dressing" later in this
For large groups of monsters encountered across
appendix for additional items and elements to fill rooms.
multiple chambers, motivation could apply to the entire
In the Dungeon Chamber Contents table, a "dominant
group, or each subgroup could have conflicting goals.
inhabitant" is a creature that controls an area. Pets
and allied creatures are subservient to the dominant
MONSTER MOTIVATION
inhabitant. "Random creatures" are scavengers or
nuisances, usually lone monsters or small groups d20 Goals d20 Goals
passing through the area. They include such creatures 1-2 Find a sanctuary 12-13 Hide from
as carrion crawlers, dire rats, gelatinous cubes, and rust 3-5 Conquer the enemies
monsters. See chapter 3, "Creating Adventures," for dungeon 14-15 Recover from a
more information on random encounters.
6-8 Seek an item in battle
the dungeon 16-17 Avoid danger
DUNGEON CHAMBER CONTENTS
9-11 Slay a rival 18-20 Seek wealth
dlOO Contents
01-08 Monster (dominant inhabitant) RANDOM DUNGEON HAZARDS
09-15 Monster (dominant inhabitant) with treasure
Hazards are rarely found in inhabited areas, because
16-27 Monster (pet or allied creature)
monsters either clear them away or avoid them.
28-33 Monster (pet or allied creature) guarding treasure
Shriekers and violet fungi are described in the
34-42 Monster (random creature) Monster Manual. The other hazards on the table are
43-50 Monster (random creature) with treasure described in chapter 5, "Adventure Environments."
51-58 Dungeon hazard (see "Random Dungeon
Hazards") with incidental treasure DUNGEON HAZARDS
59-63 Obstacle (see "Random Obstacles")
d20 Hazard d20 Hazard
64-73 Trap (see "Random Traps")
1-3 Brown mold 11-15 Spiderwebs
74-76 Trap (see "Random Traps") protecting treasure
4-8 Green slime 16-17 Violet fungus
77-80 Trick (see "Random Tricks")
9-10 Shrieker 18-20 Yellow mold
81-88 Empty room
89-94 Empty room with dungeon hazard (see "Random
RANDOM OBSTACLES
Dungeon Hazards")
Obstacles block progress through the dungeon. In some
95-00 Empty room with treasure
cases, what adventurers consider an obstacle is an
easy path for the dungeon's inhabitants. For example,
MONSTERS AND MOTIVATIONS
a flooded chamber is a barrier to many characters but
See chapter 3, "Creating Adventures," for guidance on easily navigated by water-breathing creatures.
creating encounters with monsters. To foster variety Obstacles can affect more than one room. A chasm
and suspense, be sure to include encounters of varying might run through several passages and chambers,
difficulty. or send cracks through the stonework in a wider area
A powerful creature encountered early in the dungeon around it. An area of battering winds that emanates
sets an exciting tone and forces the adventurers to from a magic altar could stir the air less dangerously for
rely on their wits. For example, an ancient red dragon hundreds of feet in all directions.
APPENDIX A I RANDOM DUNGEONS