I'm new to adventure design, and this has always stumped me: how do I populate the dungeon i just made? What monsters are typically found in dungeons, and WHY are they found in dungeons? If a powerful wizard creates a dungeon to protect his research, he could summon or capture a varitable menagerie of magical beasts and outsiders. But what if the dungeon is no longer serving its original purpose (like if adventurers cleared it out decades ago)? What if the dungeon's creater is on a budget?
In short: What types of monsters are good to put in dungeons?
Nice answer, Dudemeister! And even if that is a non-answer, Kthulhu, you've given me a search term I can use ("dungeon ecology"). None of my searches got me any meaningful results because I didn't know what exactly to search for. Thanks, guys!
Depends greatly on the dungeon and what the 'theme' of it is.
What's the entry point? What does it look like? Is it likely that things would just 'wander' in, or did the fighter and his monstrous merc army wander in escorting the Wizard to do whatever wizardly things wizards do in a hole in the ground, and you aren't running into the creatures 'homes' as much as a camp.
For a 1 - 3 level 'Cave complex' dungeon.... I'd suggest working out what Big Bad is, then working out either what can work WITH Big Bad and what it wouldn't care about, but might want to be there.... Eg. If the big bads are a tribe of Kobolds, then what might they domesticate, what might they bring with them as pets or companions. Potentially to changes things up, there might be a room or two that the Kobolds haven't reclaimed and they just don't go near (and regularly send sacrifices into to make sure that the Giant Spider or whatever that is in there doesn't feel the need to go exploring).
Which segues into the next 'layer' of approach.... if you have multiple levels to the dungeon, you don't necessarily need to have everything harmonious. If you have kobolds on level 1, but you want drow on level 4, that's fine.... No reason why the kobolds need to go deeper, and the Drow might enjoy having the kobolds there as a distraction so people don't get as concerned... as long as the Kobolds have well understood that they don't go past this stairway or their internal organs will become distressingly... external. Put in some bogey men legends in the Kobold tribe (assuming anyone captures a kobold alive) of the dark shapes that ghost up from the caverns below and murder everything between them and the exit (Which is actually a drow raiding party going out for a wander).
Anything that might seek shelter there.
Whoever built it in the first place.
The restless dead who perished inside.
Adventurers.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I usually run 3 basic types of dungeons: natural dungeons, inhabited dungeons, and planned dungeons.
Natural dungeons are simply populated by opportunistic creatures, and have a functional (though sometimes short-lived) ecosystem. There is a top predator of some kind, but it/they are not numerous, with various weaker things to be eaten. At the bottom of the food chain there are typically rats and vermin, while in the middle there may be larger animals or monsters. There are often molds, fungi, and various natural hazards and obstacles, too. Treasure is haphazard: there may be a natural deposit of gems or the gear of adventurers who came before and lost their lives.
Inhabited dungeons are currently occupied by intelligent beings, usually in a society of some sort. Goblins in a mine, kobolds in their lair, etc, or anyone doing something unsavory that would be best kept away from the prying eyes of innocent lawful good villagers. These beings tend to construct traps, they may excavate and furnish rooms with specific purposes (armory, nursery, latrine), they likely pool and guard their treasure, and they have probably dealt with any major predators that would be a threat to them - though sometimes this is as little as capturing it or locking it in a section of the dungeon they don't need. Depending on their tastes, they may have dealt with vermin, molds, etc, or they may be pests that they wish they knew how to deal with - or hell, they may even like their dungeon that way. Often these creatures are essentially squatting in a structure that someone else built - an ancient dwarven city, the ruins of a temple from a forgotten ancient civilization, etc. They likely have to turn to outside sources of food, but savage species of baddies (your orcs, goblins) can sometimes weather incredibly harsh conditions with a little good-old fashioned cannibalism.
Planned dungeons are occupied by monsters on someone's behalf. This is your typical situation where a powerful BBEG has employed or struck a deal with some creatures, or made or otherwise enslaved them, using them as guards, fodder, etc. Such a dungeon is built to suit the master's purposes and may be little more than a maze; unlike inhabited dungeons, which are primarily homes and bases of operation, these dungeons are built with intruders in mind. There probably isn't any significant ecological stability and creatures aren't able to sustain themselves without being fed or delivered supplies. As a result they may be in bad shape if their master doesn't care for them all that much - or they may be very well cared for if their master is the doting type. Constructs and undead are nice and low-maintenance. Loyalty may be an issue; sometimes intelligent occupants can be convinced to turn on their masters (though they're equally likely to doublecross the PCs if an opportunity presents itself). These dungeons are the most unpredictable, as almost anything could be in them, just around the next bend. Traps and hazards are planned, and probably tailored to be harmless to the occupants, but lethal to intruders (water and gas hazards in a dungeon populated with undead, fire traps among creatures with fire immunities).
Most fantasy RPG dungeons are an arbitrary collection of monsters designed to provide challenge for the invading adventuring party.
If you want to come up with a "plausible, ecologically sound" dungeon you're going to have to figure out what the dungeon's economy and food chain is.
You can use underground rivers or lakes as a way to have water and seafood, fungal growths for "plants" and a wide variety of cavern dwelling monsters or animals to round out the lowest order of the food chain. Then you can have goblins, kobolds, lizard folk or pretty much any other sort of low level monsters as farming or hunting the things that live in the dungeon, and higher level monsters living off the lower level ones.
It's really totally up to you, including how plausible you want it to be.
I'm new to adventure design, and this has always stumped me: how do I populate the dungeon i just made? What monsters are typically found in dungeons, and WHY are they found in dungeons? If a powerful wizard creates a dungeon to protect his research, he could summon or capture a varitable menagerie of magical beasts and outsiders. But what if the dungeon is no longer serving its original purpose (like if adventurers cleared it out decades ago)? What if the dungeon's creater is on a budget?In short: What types of monsters are good to put in dungeons?
Hmmm...
Insects, spiders, scorpions, etc., swarms or giant types...
Slimes, molds, Gelatinous Cubes...
Goblins (and related), Minotaurs, Orcs, Ogres, Trolls...
some Dragons, Giants...
Undead, Demons, Devils, Elementals, Golems...
Snakes, lizards, Basilisks...
Adventurers, bandits, cultists...
Thats just the surface, no pun intended. But it works well for one, doesn't it?
Things that don't need a normal ecology, things that dwell naturally underground, things that have a reason to be there...
A lot depends on the size and "connectedness" of the dungeon. How big is the environment, in short. Once a "dungeon" has been emptied / abandoned it will fill with opportunistic and naturally occuring (for the environment) inhabitants.
Knowing the origin and "history" of the dungeon help. Was it a mine, a city, a fortress, a refuge, is it naturally occuring (caves / caverns) or was it excavated. Who built it. Why. What happened to it. I have massive mega dungeons in my campaign settings as well as small one time ones. Have fun with it. Be logical, to a point, and have it fill the nich you need.
I found this instructional video. Enjoy. ;-)
Undead computer programmers.