I would love to hear more discussion about "dungeon" design. If you happen to discuss where the corpse-grinder goes also, so much the better.

Well, the suggestion box is an unusal place to start this thread, but it is an interesting question.

Being a child of the sixties, it used to mean a vast labrynth from air shark to zombie. But now days, I'll always go for the theme such as a goblin warren or a minotaur lair. If I want a unusual collection of critters and rival politics, I'd work up an undercity or similar environment where two or more groups are in a power struggle for resources or territory.

My favorite 'dungeons' have always been super villian bases. It allows me to put some of that architect knowledge to good use (like making sure there are enough toilets for the minions.)
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TAZ

I think he meant he wanted to hear it more on the podcast.. not so much as start a thread discussion But Im sure a thread discussion will be helpful as well if they dont get to use it as a topic in any soon to be upcoming podcasts.

[face palm] Duh! I'll blame it on a lack of coffee.
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TAZ

A gaming buddy of mine (who also runs) have had this discussion a bunch. mostly from the angle that we want a dungeon/lair/hideout to have some sense of prupose to it. I mean if you look at some D&D maps that's a lot of goblin slaves to build a corridor that leads to a large room with nothing in it of practical use. Agreed the ogre now living in it is its use but what was it before? Dining hall? Barracks? Vomitorium? Or there's a dozen little room on the level for no purpose other than to house monsters & treasure BUT if that's your bag then fine.
How many old maps just had these huge underground complexes that 80% of which served no practical purpose? Why is this a secret passage? Who puts a throne room in the heart of a dungeon meant for imprisonment & torture? Ok, a sick sumb!+c# of a Nazi Zombie Bugbear.
Ok, so practicality is my point & I just had an idea for a pulp style adventure: The Search for Hitler's Archie Bunker.

I love pulp stuff. That would be a great title. I believe the practicality of the seemingly useless large room underground is left open to the imagination of the DM or GM. As I have played under plenty of DM's who lack imagination, I can see where those such as yourself would want a further explanation will not get it. One of the DM's got so fed up of us asking about what the room was for before the current owner occupied he TPK'd us, but I digress.

I guess Im saying, if you are running it, then its what you make of it. If its a module, make it up as you go, cause some of those lack imagination too!

Long Ashes!

If you want to learn how to design cool dungeons, start playing Dwarf Fortress.

My dungeon crawls have gotten awesome ever since I started fooling around with that game.

To expound on this thought - the game really does make you think about how you'd actually design a fortress, because it puts constraints on you when you play. It forces you to put in workshops, farms, wells, bedrooms, dining rooms, storage rooms, burial chambers, and all sorts of other things that you probably wouldn't consider if you just dreamed one up on your own.

Its easy to come up with the mundane stuff, like walls and moats and drawbridges and keeps and all the rest; but DF forces you to consider numerous details. Its also the gift that keeps on giving - your dwarves will create all sorts of fantastic loot and decoration ideas. You can look at individual wall and floor carvings, for instance. Some are loaded with all kinds of made-up unique history.

Your dwarves will create all sorts of weird legendary objects that will range from everything like wooden barrels or marble chairs to more traditional RPG fare like swords and gauntlets and breastplates and whatnot.

I guarantee it'll add punch to the game when your players come across dozens of interesting tidbits, like the masterwork birchen bed in the golden chamber once used by Baron Urist Nomdastot which has images of the bear Umungosmust Lomuslospu rending helpless goblins during the glory days of the fortress carved into it; especially since they already found the the grisly dungeon chamber where that must have taken place.

I doesn't hurt that it'll provide locations of the remains of deadly traps and levers. Machines that could throw a cage or a crushing stone their way, or flood the place with water or magma, or collapse a section of the cavern... all sorts of nasty things to put the "adventure" in adventuring party.