u/TheDungeonArchitect

A stone edifice emerges from the murky depths of the swamp. Built in ages forgotten, it protrudes from the fog abandoned--half sunken into the sludge and snaked in vines and ivy. The marsh-men were wicked, cunning, and very rich, if the stories are true. What remains within this ancient pyramid? You must brave the curse of the Mummy to find out...

The Mummy's Curse is a one page dungeon designed for four to six third level characters, suitable for up to one night of gaming. Packed with traps and monsters, Dungeon Masters can adapt it as they need to fit their party. Let the adventure begin!

You can get this adventure, four issues of the Dungeon Almanac, and so much more by joining our Patreon for free today!

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Harken adventurers!

Below is the fourth issue of the Dungeon Almanac Volume I, a release from the Architect discussing different elements rumored to be in the Dwarven Dungeon. In this edition, the Architect ruminates over ancient dwarven recipes and crafts, examines the dangerous pestilence of invisible stamina leeches, and urges adventures to take care around dungeon staircases--for not all are as mundane as they seem.

The Architect humbly presents his notes, annotations, and eyewitness accounts for explorers and lorekeepers alike. He has been hard at work compiling adventures and lore to show you soon!

You can get Issue IV (as well as I-III) for free by joining our Patreon today!

What now is dead once lived--or so the tales say. At the center of a dry, barren wasteland stands a crumbling temple to a slumbering goddess, whose wicked magic once made the rivers flow and harvest plentiful. Yet her protection came with a terrible price. Who dares to march where the echoes of doom still sound?

Echoes of Doom is a one page dungeon designed for four to six third level characters, suitable for up to one night of gaming. Packed with traps and monsters, Dungeon Masters can adapt it as they need to fit their party. Let the adventure begin!

You can get this adventure, the Dungeon Almanac, and so much more by joining our Patreon for free today!

After years of playing the game, players have learned that Trolls need to be burned by fire, Gargoyles need magical weapons to hit, and Rust Monsters should be avoided at all costs by metal-wearing or wielding heroes. They know how many hit dice an Ogre has, the damage potential of a Giant, and the chances of contracting a disease from Giant Rats. It cannot be avoided. Or can it? We have all done it. We have all created new monsters to challenge the players. Something that makes them stop in their tracks and reevaluate their life choices as an adventurer. As a Dungeon Master, it is fun to watch. As a player, it can be either very exciting, very terrifying, or both.

I have had to create many new monsters for the Dwarven Dungeon project. Despite combing through the three monster tomes, which provide excellent encounters for characters of all levels, there is just not enough diversity for hundreds of rooms per character level. You can only fight so many groups of Giant Rats, Kobolds, Giant Centipedes, and Orcs before things feel stale. Not only that, I believe there needs to be a variety of monster types (stationary, reactionary, ambulatory, and wandering) to make a dungeon feel alive without everything bumping into each other on a regular basis.

Stationary monsters, as the name implies, are monsters that do not move. Molds, plants, mosses, a few slimes, and some rock formations are examples of creatures in this group. They generally feed on rats, insects, and the occasional kobold or adventurer that wanders too close. They don't have treasure of their own, but there could be items left over from previous victims. There could also be treasure associated with the creature itself. An alchemist might pay hefty rewards for its remains. The Yellow Musk Creeper or the Invisible Stalker, which was summoned to protect a certain room, is a good example of a stationary creature.

Reactionary creatures exist in an area, like a door, barrel, bed, or alcove, but only attack if that particular area is disturbed. Monsters could roam past them daily without violating their space. These creatures will hunt for small insects, rats, moss, or decaying matter to feed on, but reactively attack creatures that disturb them. Giant Centipedes that lair in old barrels and attack creatures that move the containers, or web-building Large Spiders that attack if their webs are disturbed, are examples of reactionary monsters.

Ambulatory monsters have a lair in the dungeon, an actual room where they are encountered, and possibly contingency options when noise, light, or combat occurs nearby. These monsters keep treasure, though the amount can vary dramatically from a few coins to a massive horde. There can be signs of their existence near their lair, such as broken doors, corpses, bones, battle standards, or humanoids turned to stone. Monsters of this type might know the location of stationary and reactionary encounters and avoid them. If they are attacked and survive, they might move out of the dungeon, taking their treasure with them, or relocate to another area in the dungeon with their loot in tow. Humanoids of all kinds, Basilisks, and Huge Spiders could be considered ambulatory monsters.

Wandering encounters are just as it sounds, wandering. They do not typically have a specific room in the dungeon as their lair, and they do not carry treasure. They are wandering hazards that should be avoided or else risk burning hit points, spells, and resources for little reward. Anything can be considered a wandering monster, from a Stirge or Giant Bat to a Kobold or Ghoul. Because I believe wandering monsters must be finite, at least until the dungeon gets restocked over time, each monster on my wandering monster list has a number encountered per roll and a total quantity, or a maximum limit to the number that can be encountered in the dungeon. Once all the wandering encounters have been battled and defeated, the level is clear of wandering hazards. But sometimes, I have caveats. For example, I might have a special spider room that contains Huge Spider eggs. Until that room is discovered and the eggs are destroyed, there is no maximum limit to the number of Huge Spiders that can be found wandering on the level. Once the eggs are ruined, the Huge Spider event is removed from the wandering monster table. Destroying the spider eggs might even be a quest given by a patron to earn the characters a reward or XP boon.

It should be noted that some monsters may fall into one or more categories, depending on their motivations. You might have a dungeon room with five Ogres hoarding treasure and a wandering monster list that contains three Ogres encountered one at a time per encounter. If the characters encounter a wandering Ogre and kill it, there would only be four Ogres left in the room. If the characters find the room first and defeat the five Ogres, the Ogre entry would be removed from the wandering monster list.

Creating new monsters is a fun element of being a Dungeon Master. Just remember to keep them relatively fair and reasonable. Making things overpowered or impossible to kill will not provide the fun and entertaining gaming experience you are looking to create. Making new monsters that force the characters to stop and think about what they are fighting could provide some really enjoyable moments of gameplay. And those are the moments that the players will remember.

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You can learn more about the Dwarven Dungeon and get updated with new projects for free on our patreon @ www.patreon.com/basementgamesrpg

Somewhere deep within the foggy, vine-choked Meritiin jungle is the burial shroud of the legendary chieftan Golthranix--his treasure still clutched in his cold, dead grasp. You have come many leagues to stand before the giant stone head guarding the entrance to his tomb. What tricks and traps await ye, unwary explorers? Only time will tell: for no one else has lived to know.

Raiders of the Lost Tomb is a one page dungeon designed for four to six third level characters, suitable for up to one night of gaming. Packed with traps and monsters, Dungeon Masters can adapt it as they need to fit their party. Let the adventure begin!

You can get this adventure, the Dungeon Almanac, and so much more by joining our Patreon for free today!

Harken adventurers!

Below is the third issue of the Dungeon Almanac, a release from the Architect discussing different elements rumored to be in the Dwarven Dungeon. The Almanac is a collection of information and ideas rooted in the massive 14 level deep AD&D Dungeon for DMs to use in their own pursuits. In this edition, the Architect contemplates Thelsberry's patron possibilities, recounts an explorer's experience with the dreaded Rust Bugs, and prepares adventurers for the perils of the struggles, rivalries, and alliances of humanoid tribes.

The Architect humbly presents his notes, annotations, and eyewitness accounts for explorers and lorekeepers alike. He has been hard at work compiling adventures and lore to show you soon!

You can get Issues I, II, and III for free by joining our Patreon today!

Harken adventurers!

Below is the third issue of the Dungeon Almanac, a release from the Architect discussing different elements rumored to be in the Dwarven Dungeon. In this edition, the Architect contemplates Thelsberry's patron possibilities, recounts an explorer's experience with the dreaded Rust Bugs, and prepares adventurers for the perils of the struggles, rivalries, and alliances of humanoid tribes.

The Architect humbly presents his notes, annotations, and eyewitness accounts for explorers and lorekeepers alike. He has been hard at work compiling adventures and lore to show you soon!

You can get Issues I, II. and III for free joining our Patreon today!