Time Issues in a dungeon


Dungeon Magazine General Discussion


In many situations, the monster/npc tactics in a dungeon go like this:
"If fight goes bad, one of npcs breaks off and alarms the evil fraction leader. Leader then assembles remaining forces and retreats to XYZ for last stand".
Sometimes, especially when my players run out of spells (or use spells harshly), they just simply go to sleep in a safe room or use spells like "rope trick" to get out of sight. The logic says, that the villain leader won't just wait in XYZ forever and probably will go to search for PCs or do some other intelligent decision. If this "sleep break" happens at the end of session, I do have time to adjust the tactics to this non-standard situation, but if it's in the middle of a session, I have quite a hard time to quickly get some kind of devious plan the villains do, while PCs are resting. And I don't like the idea "uh boys, smalltalk for 15 minutes, I have to think a little bit what next".
How do you guys solve such issues? Do you prepare in advance, improvise or do something else?


I'm running Life's Bazaar right now, and I've got pretty much the same issue. The dungeon is simply too tough for a low level party to clear out in one go. After their first forray into Jzadirune, I figured the dungeon would be 'on allert', at least for the first day or so.

In the case of Jzadirune, there are three groups of creatures in the dungeon, located in three different sections of the dungeon. The skulks in the southern part, the dark ones in the eastern part, and the 'assorted less intelligent bunch' in the western and northern part. I basically left the last section as it is. I figured the skulks and dark ones would not enter that section anyway. For the other two groups, I set up two different ambushes. One in the skulk's den, and one in the illusionary forest. Both area's can be accessed from different directions, making it easier to flank the party.

In the Dark one's case, the dark stalkers had the added bonus of being able to use his fog cloud to give the creepers concealment. Then I sent in waves of creepers in to the party, gining them flanking bonusses and therefore sneak attacks. In all, this made the encounter quite deadly, and I almost ended up with a TPK. Which is good. Teach them to be more carefull next time.

For me, this required no more preparation than looking up all the stats distributed across the different rooms. I think most of the other stuff you have to do anyway. Figure out who goes where, the ecollogy of the dungeon, how they react to intruders etc. Once you have that down, improvising the rest is a piece of cake.


Improv is definately the key, but it can be tough for DM's that haven't practiced it a bit. In my normal campaigns that I create, almost everything is improved, except the main story and how it flows, but improv also gives me an advantage with PC decisions. If they do something that I hadn't anticipated, which they usually do (*shakes a fist at the sky*), then I quickly think about how it affects the story and what *would* happen. Whether it'z a potential ally becoming undead, because they abandonned them out of mistrust; or, an ambush later, because the compound was on alert. Villians don't like it when their nefarious plots are discovered by heroes, and even an accidental visit can make them a bit paranoid and on guard. I totally agree with Chef about the ambushes...

Considering your unique situation, the leaders of the fighting unit would see that their lack of pursuit meant that they either weren't prepared and were at a disadvantage, or would expect them to set up a defensive situation for an ambush themselves. Those NPC's have a greater knowledge of the dungeon, tho. So, if you see that they have a way of getting around to attack from more than one entrance, that'z a plus, and a surprise to the characters (especially in their weakened state). It helps them get to the soft middles and rears of their part (mainly casters). Whatever was their main focus to achieve victory in the first battle, they will try to find a way to exploit it in the 2nd... They have the benefit of previously fighting them (unlike most monsters in a dungeon that die or are never seen again), and can use that knowledge to their advantage. If they are badly weakened, they may even fall back more, or get reinforcements somewhere else before the attack--but be careful with low lvl chars... they're a bit fragile :P

If you think that they would form a counter-attack against the PC's, role-play with them about setting up camp, throwing in a few creepy bits about shadows flickering on walls and some bit... Something easy that doesn't require much thought and promotes role-playing between the players (so that they'll distract themselves... (also, asking what people are doing as they are getting ready to rest makes them talk a bit as you think and covers the fact that you are thinking of what the NPC's will do)) Think fast, but you don't have to think too hard. And remember, you can always draw it out a lil bit by taking the order they take watch and playing with the chars a bit, describing random noises or delusions, while u set urself up... You won't make your players wait and the game will go on (only it involves more role-playing); and, you will buy yourself some time without looking suspicious. :)

The biggest key with improv and it'z greatest advantage is that it tends to allow the players control that you can't get by leading them by the reins... Just because an adventure says that so-and-so retreats to this room, doesn't mean that'z the only option. The easiest path to take in a pre-made adventure is to follow it explicitly, but that'z not always the best option,--because no matter how hard the original author tried to anticpate PC actions, they can't anticipate them all. Only you as DM have the ability to flesh them out completely and to make the decisions neccessary for your game.

And for any advanced DM's out there, try this one... Next time you have a fresh campaign or a bunch of people who want to play but you have nothing planned... Ask them what they want... Some simple one-line plot hook, and then build on their idea and flesh it out thru improv... It starts out slow, but booms fast; and, it'z a guarantee to get ur players to role-play. When they see an idea that they collaborated together end up turning into a campaign, they will love it.

It'z a nice change of pace if you're the Chaotic-type DM :P


I try to prepare a few generic tactics in advance that can be applied to any number of situations. Examples might be "Hunt down PCs", "Set up ambush", "Set up rotating patrols", "Build defenses", or even "Clear the heck out," which rarely happens. :-) For each of those, come up with a basic description of what happens if it goes into effect. For example, for "Set up ambush," the creatures will set up an ambush in Room X with forces waiting in Rooms Y and Z to come charging in once the players attack the "sleeping" foes in Room X, but if more than ten hours go by and the characters haven't shown up yet, then the plan changes to "rotating patrols". It takes a couple of minutes more preparation, but it can help when the characters change plans or do something unexpected. Not that that happens all the time or anything... ;-)


Just to clearify, I didn't mean any concrete situation, but I have to admit that I was inspired by Maure Castle, level 2 and 3.
Another issue with my party is, that everybody starts to pay attention when I ask "So guys, what're you doing?". Of course I use this phrase now and then so they really don't know if it matters or not, but still they always get suspicious :-(
The camping is one of good ways to do ambushes, because usually fighters need to get out of armor to not get penalised next day so it's quite easy to hit them, but my party usually uses Rope Trick, which looks like it's hard to overcome (if even possible).


I used to have the "so what are u doin'?" prob. The way out of that is to play with them a bit without asking them directly. Describe the scene a bit and when someone says something, play on that some. Make them feel like you are just role-playing the scene out. If you do that alot they'll start role-playing more and will be caught off guard more. Win-win. hehe Players are really sensitive to DM cues, and if u make it seem like there's something up, or fall into a pattern, they'll notice. Just mix up the way u do things a bit. If one of them have a cohort, or if there's an NPC traveling with them, have them pipe in and talk some to get them responding; and, right when the conversation is going well, surprise them with something--whether it'z an attack or just something that makes them feel there's going to be one (and then don't). It will slow your game down some for a bit, but eventually you can break your habit and theirs. Usually works pretty fast, too. If u make sure to move with the mood you want to set, you shouldn't have a prob with them becoming too paranoid--unless you want them to be paranoid LOL. Make sure to balance out the tension with a period of feeling safe. After you do that a few times and they get used to that pattern, hit them with an exciting event in a calm moment to jumpstart them. Just don't over-use it.

This ended up entirely too long LOL.... *shuts-up*


I find that what to do with the NPC’s in case of a party “retreat” really depends on the dungeon and what its purpose is. In a “static” dungeon that just has creatures using the area as a home base, the comings and goings of a party won’t really disrupt much. However, in a “Dungeon” where the NPC’s are intelligent - one might assume that if a high level baddie discovers that part of his lair has been ransacked and there are bodies of his hirelings lying about he might do a lot of things – the most amusing of which is just leave! Order his men to grab anything of value and get the hell out. Leaving traps behind is fun. Most PC’s for some reason tend to think of previously cleared rooms as “safe”. Let the PC’s go through the deserted lair and describe the dust marks where they can see that things have been quickly dragged away. Fun to watch the frustration that the place is empty! Have the villain scrying on the place so he can get a look of who raided his place - maybe an adventure hook will develop because the PC’s now have to hunt down the person who keeps sending assassins to take care of the party that wrecked his house.

Leave some sort of clue about where the villain is now holed up – or just let the bad guy return after a sufficient absence – with the appropriate reconnaissance to verify that it’s “safe” to do so.

Or, if the baddie wants to have fun – let him use the players retreat time to prepare appropriate spells and have his forces gather in wait. A TPK is not unjustified when your villain has a brain.

Not that you want to kill the players, but it is much more satisfying for the players if you keep them on their toes - an intelligent foe is a much more satisfying victory. For that matter, the party’s tenacity might just impress the villain that he resists the desire to kill them outright and tries to sway them to his side. Or at least “have them for dinner” on neutral ground to get to know his enemies. A charming villain introduces many shades of gray to a campaign that can have lasting repercussions.

This works best in home games where improvisation is really easy to implement. If you are running through a published adventure, you have to rely on the writer to have allowed for the situation OR implement something like the above, and be prepared with how it will change the nature of the adventure – sometimes being more “realistic” can really screw up a module. ;)

As a side note - An amusing thing to do if a PC gets turned to stone / killed – AND left behind by well meaning friends who intend to return to transform / raise them. Have the bad guy take the body and use it as a trophy (ala Han Solo in carbonite) or have the villain transform / raise the dead party member for purposes of interrogation / torture and see how your adventure transforms!

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