Page 99 - Dungeon Master's Guide

C HAPTER 5: ADVENTURE ENVIRONMENTS

ANY D&D ADVENTURES REVOLVE DUNGEON LOCATION
around a dungeon setting. Dungeons
dlOO Location
in D&D include great halls and tombs,
01-04 A building in a city
subterranean monster lairs, labyrinths
05-08 Catacombs or sewers beneath a city
riddled with death traps, natural
caverns extending for miles beneath the 09-1 2 Beneath a farmhouse
-urface of the world, and ruined castles. 13- 16 Beneath a graveyard
. ot every adventure takes place in a dungeon. A 17- 22 Beneath a ruined castle
:ilderness trek across the Desert of Desolation or a 23-26 Beneath a ruined city
arrowing journey into the jungles of the Isle of Dread 27-30 Beneath a temple
can be an exciting adventure in its own right. In the 31-34 In a chasm
great outdoors, dragons wheel across the sky in search 35- 38 In a cliff face
f prey, tribes of hobgoblins pour forth from their grim 39-42 In a desert
·ortresses to wage war against their neighbors, ogres 43- 46 In a forest
plunder farmsteads for food, and monstrous spiders 47-50 In a glacier
op from the web-shrouded canopies of trees.
51 - 54 In a gorge
Within a dungeon, adventurers are constrained by
55-58 In a jungle
:ails and doors around them, but in the wilderness,
adventurers can travel in almost any direction they 59-62 In a mountain pass
please. Therein lies the key difference between dungeon 63-66 In a swamp
and wilderness: it's much easier to predict where the 67- 70 Beneath or on top of a mesa
adventuring party might go in the dungeon because the 71-74 In sea caves
ptions are limited- less so in the wilderness. 75-78 In several connected mesas
illages, towns, and cities are cradles of civilization 79-82 On a mountain peak
n a dangerous world, but they too offer opportunities 83-86 On a promontory
· r adventure. Encounters with monsters ·might seem
87-90 On an island
Jlllikely within a city's walls, but urban settings have
91 - 95 Underwater
· eir own villains and perils. Evil, after all, takes many
96-00 Roll on the Exotic Location table
·orms, and urban settings aren't always the safe havens
.hey seem to be.
This chapter provides an overview of these three EXOTIC LOCATION
environments plus a few unusual environments, taking d20 Location
:-ou through the process of creating an adventure
Among the branches of a tree
ocation, with plenty of random tables to inspire you.
2 Around a geyser
3 Behind a waterfal l
DUNGEONS 4 Buried in an avalanche
- me dungeons are old strongholds abandoned by the 5 Buried in a sandstorm
• lk who built them. Others are natural caves or weird 6 Buried in volcanic ash
..airs carved out by foul monsters. They attract evil cults, 7 Castle or structure sunken in a swamp
onster tribes, and reclusive creatures. Dungeons are
8 Castle or structure at the bottom of a sinkhole
o home to ancient treasures: coins, gems, magic
9 Floating on the sea
-ems, and other valuables hidden away in the darkness,
10 In a meteorite
ften guarded by traps or jealously kept by the monsters
ll On a demiplane or in a pocket dimension
· at have collected them.
12 In an area devastated by a magical catastrophe
B uiLDING A DuNGEON l3 On a cloud
14 In the Feywild
-·:hen you set out to create a dungeon, think about its
15 In the Shadowfe/1
-· tinctive qualities. For example, a dungeon that serves
16 On an island in an underground sea
- a hobgoblin stronghold has a different quality from
an ancient temple inhabited by yuan-ti. This section 17 In a volcano
ys out a process for creating a dungeon and bringing 18 On the back of a Gargantuan living creature
- to life. 19 Sealed inside a magical dome of force
20 Inside a Mordenkainen's magnificent mansion
JU NGEON LOCAT ION
' ou can use the Dungeon Location table to determine
DUNGEON CREATOR
.he locale of your dungeon. You can roll on the table or
A dungeon reflects its creators. A lost temple of the
oose an entry that inspires you.
yuan-ti, choked by overgrown jungle plants, might
feature ramps instead of stairs. Caverns carved by a
CHAPTER 5 I ADVENTURE ENVIRONMENTS
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