Last week I got to play the first level of Castle Mistamere, the first adventure that the Red Box edition of Dungeons & Dragons (BECMI) gives the aspiring Dungeon Master. You can read about the impact of that experience in my last post.
Today I want to share my experiences in preparing Level 2.
I’ve been following the advice given in the Red Box of Dungeons & Dragons pretty much to the letter – doing it by the book, so to speak. This has been a revelation and a joy, although sometimes overcome by my desire to side-track myself and run down other avenues of preparation.
In short, what I’ve discovered is a number of reasons why you should consider running D&D in the way described in the basic set. I want to share those reasons with you now.
What The Basics Involve
Becoming a Dungeon Master is a process, like any other learning process. You have to learn how to play and then run your first game. From there, you need to learn how to build dungeon adventures. Although there has been a strong temptation for me to start creating a setting to place that first dungeon within, the Dungeon Master’s Rulebook steers me to ignore that temptation.
You’ve got some players and they’ve made their first foray into Castle Mistamere – the first adventure we talked about in the last article. They’ll poke around the ruin of the castle and find some treasure. If they’re like my group, you’ll find that there’s enough in that small first level to keep them quiet for a couple of sessions. Eventually, of course, you’ll realise that the players will want to go down one of the stairways.
The next step in becoming a Dungeon Master lies in learning to stock a dungeon level. On page 11 of the Dungeon Master’s Rulebook, you’ll find a single paragraph of advice and two short lists of things you are encouraged to use. There is also a sample map of the level ready to be stocked, found on page 13.
The task is to use the map to stock the dungeon by following the advice and using the systems in the remainder of the rulebook. It’s a journey that, until I took it, I never realised the power that lie in making it.
Interpreting the Map
The first lesson lies in interpreting the map. I don’t just mean the process of looking at the map and understanding the physical layout; I mean taking the lists of permitted creatures, the knowledge you have of Level 1, and the background of the story to weave together your own interpretation of that Level 2 map.
For me, the first elements that I resolved were where to place the creatures geographically. By way of example, and because I doubt it’s too much of a spoiler, lets take the Kobold lair: for me, it makes sense to place that in close proximity to the Kobold watchers up on Level 1. I also felt that any Undead should be located so as to be in closer proximity to the Undead creatures that I view as having “leaked” into Level 1.
Those in place, I found myself considering the placement of other groups of creatures… and then realising what I was learning. Without much effort, I had created three zones of different groups of monsters on Level 2. I had also learned that dungeons should be arranged with competing groups of creatures that might be welcome points of interaction for the players.
Clever players might exploit the tensions between different factions in the dungeon; they might also just notice the boundaries between the groupings and choose to use them to their advantage. One monster group, for example, might be afraid of another; if you are fleeing that first monster group, you could withdraw into the other group’s territory for a while. That kind of stuff takes very little effort from the Dungeon Master.
Another aspect of this zoning was that some of the traps and other details of the dungeon level start to make more sense if they reinforce the territorial nature of the monsters. A trap, for example, might be placed with the intention of slowing down a raid from one group into the other’s territory… and the Player Characters are falling foul of it by becoming invaders themselves. This gives some internal logic and consistency to the dungeon level.
Placing the Special Monsters
The basic advice for Level 2 of Mistamere pre-selects the “special monsters” for you. Your job as a new Dungeon Master is to place them on the map. As I mentioned above, this is a process that requires a simple bit of logic and creativity. The next step is to shape those zones into specific encounters and detailed rooms.
I decided on the specific rooms zoned to each creature “faction”. For example, I gave the Kobolds several rooms and established a border between them and other groups of creatures. Once this was done, it became easy to place several groups of monsters and even a trap or two; all was aimed at giving the special monster zones some sense of internal consistency.
In a couple of cases, I decided to use the “Random Stocking” tables on page 47 to determine which rooms had additional treasure. Other than that, I simply placed the creatures and established what each room’s treasure content might be from the monster details given. For example, Kobolds get some copper pieces per head and the lair as a whole has a larger stash of coins to protect too.
What I learned here was that there is a lot of creative space in giving areas of the dungeon thematic elements – such as with my Kobold lair. Players would quickly recognise that they were in a specific area because I repeated certain dungeon dressing elements in each of the rooms. I enjoyed creating these details, though, and had forgotten how much fun there is to be had in taking the time to properly stock a dungeon.
Random Stocking
From there, I chose to try the random stocking tables. In the past, I have shunned random tables as the tool of lazy Dungeon Masters. How wrong that attitude is: there is nothing lazy about it!
First of all, I noticed that the random tables divide the rooms into four types: empty; trap; monster; special.
Pages 47-48 give lots of simple examples of both traps and special locations, all of which I found helpful. In simple terms, I got to fill in the rest of the map with interesting elements inspired by the tables… but always interpreted by myself, using the context of this dungeon and some logic.
I think that refusing to use the tables limits your imagination because, somehow, random elements spur thoughts that otherwise might never occur to you.
The second thing I noticed was the true value of the simplest table of all: the Random Treasures Table on page 47. Each room has a chance to hold a treasure, over and above any a monster might provide. In truth, this table generates some rich pickings… and inspired a few extra treasures even when the dice fell the way I didn’t want them to.
Random treasure distribution in no way stops you from placing anything you fancy in the dungeon. What it does do, however, is make that distribution fair for the instances when you don’t particularly care about the specific value of the find. Ultimately, the tables speed up your preparation by removing unnecessary thought and channeling your effort into the cool ideas you have along the way.
Interesting Details
Some rooms got created from the mishmash of ideas generated from random tables. For example, one trap result combined with a specific physical location to inspire a quite graphic scene of destruction that hints at previous events in the dungeon: why is there a body under that large rock? why are the walls all scorched like that?
As I stocked the dungeon, I found myself creating the story of the place… or at least a loose version of certain recent events. This made the dungeon interesting and spurred me to add still more details to the notes. Not too many details, mind you… but several extra bits of interest. All of that makes me want to share my dungeon with the players: I want to see how they interact with it.
The details also began to prod out ideas for Level 3. By the time I had stocked Level 2, ideas were flowing for what might lie beneath. Given that the guidance back on page 11 is spartan, the ideas sparked for what lie another level down were always welcome. I even found myself chuckling as I typed up my notes… is this what it should feel like to be a Dungeon Master?
Final Points
Along the way, I’ve begun to appreciate a few elements of the rules that I had tended to dismiss on first reading. These include the rules for forcing doors, the monster reaction table, and the wandering monster tables.
Stuck Doors
Some doors are stuck and need to be forced. I found myself deciding on some of these as I stocked the dungeon. One example was to make the door sticky as a deterrent to entering an otherwise potentially deadly room. I appreciate this simple rule as a way to keep the players on their toes and to add some tension.
Locked doors cannot be forced, though, and this distinction is another element that I am growing to understand: want to give the thief (or wizard with the Knock spell) their moment in the spotlight? There’s at least one way to do it.
Monster Reactions
Can’t decide how the monsters should react to the Player Characters? Not especially bothered either way, but want to add verisimilitude to the experience? Use the Monster Reaction Table to determine how those beasties react.
Options other than “fight!” led me to consider how the monsters might handle a threat. Do they need to negotiate? What would they offer the players? If they need to flee, where would they withdraw to? What’s the point at which it becomes a true fight for survival in defending the lair?
Don’t under-estimate the value of that table to make your life as Dungeon Master simpler… but also to challenge you to think.
Wandering Monsters
Oh, and yes… use wandering monsters. I learned that it’s fun to make up your own short table for this using the guidance in the rules. I also learned that I don’t need to slavishly obey the results, just to use the table as an aide memoir for what’s down there.
All In All…
Stocking level 2 was a blast. It took me around 2 hours to complete, with some additional time put in on reading the notes and guidelines the first time around. I wasted far longer getting side-tracked with questions like “what’s out there around the imagined town or village and this dungeon?” Once I sat down and stocked that sucker, well, then I learned loads about what it means to be a Dungeon Master.
Yes, if we play another few sessions then it’ll become important to know what’s in the village and the wilderness around. But one thing I grasped today is that, given the way potential players of D&D can be, I might not get that far unless I take the time to make the first adventure really cool for playing.
Baby steps, young Dungeon Master, baby steps: if they keep playing, eventually you’ll find that they’ll need you to give them a journey to a new place of adventure. Stocking Level 2 is the means by which you figure out what writing a dungeon is really about.
Game on!
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