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Dungeon

The document outlines the '5 Room Dungeon' framework, which serves as a storytelling structure for game design rather than a literal five-room layout. It includes essential elements such as an entrance, puzzle, setback, climax, and resolution, each with specific purposes to enhance player engagement and narrative depth. Additionally, it emphasizes that while not every encounter needs to follow this structure, incorporating these elements can improve gameplay experiences.

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54 views2 pages

Dungeon

The document outlines the '5 Room Dungeon' framework, which serves as a storytelling structure for game design rather than a literal five-room layout. It includes essential elements such as an entrance, puzzle, setback, climax, and resolution, each with specific purposes to enhance player engagement and narrative depth. Additionally, it emphasizes that while not every encounter needs to follow this structure, incorporating these elements can improve gameplay experiences.

Uploaded by

asheraryam
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Dungeon

#location , #dungeon

Mystic Arts: The 5 Room Dungeon is a Story Structure

Doesn't necessarily have 5 physical rooms, it serves as a framework


to satisfy essentials of story telling in game format.
Pick a theme to act as a coat of paint such as goblin dungeon, orc
camp, rat men in the sewers, kobolds with little dragons, spiders and
creepy crawlies, fay, aberrations, celestial, or even a multiplanar
bonanza.
The elements: entrance, puzzle, setback, climax, and resolution.
Entrance: The goal here is to answer the question: how come the
dungeon wasn't looted already. The entrance should be trapped,
hidden, or locked by a special key or ritual or hazard. e.g. When the
character touches the door, a spectre appears attacks the players.
Puzzle: This speaks to players interested more in story than combat.
If the entrance was a riddle or puzzle of some kind then you may want
to put a combat encounter here instead.
Example puzzle: a golden cup afixed to the stone altar with
instructions above the door frame next to door frame leading to the
next room. "To enter the crypt of Cryptus a gift of crimson must be
given. Spill the water of life and gain the blessing of the screaming
mass." Someone has to bleed into the golden cup and whoever does
it takes 1d6 necrotic damage and feels a strange sense of being
watched.
Setback: It's something that significantly halts the players' forward
progress. This room should make the players burn through some of
their resources so when they enter the final room they are wounded,
tired, or low on spells.
It can be a trap that springs in the faces of careless heroes or a twist
such as hostages that they came to rescue were cultists in disguise.
It can be a bunch of undead skeletons that rise up when players are
halfway across the room to surround them. One of them could have
the burning hands spell or firebolt, and another could have a greataxe
that does 1d12 damage.
Climax: Basically the boss battle. Put on the boss music, plan
tactically, and make it memorable. Go for the casters and the healers,
grapple the meat shields, and give the final boss some strange
abilities that'll surprise the players. Can have a twist like the boss
wants a duel, bargain, or monologue.
Resolution: The reward or the plot twist. The reward could be a
secret room with more loot in it. The plot twist could be an additional
boss battle if the first was too easy, such as the writing monster
emerging from the corpse of the cultist leader.
Even if there is no twist, there can be just a little complication like
trapped loot, a puzzle, or another fight.
The resolution is a good spot to seed future adventures. Tie the
adventure into the setting, with clues and hooks.
Sprinkle in something to steal and someone to talk to.
Not everything has to be a 5 room dungeon, entire sessions can be in
town or in dialogue or exploring.
However a lot of simple fights can be improved by adding 5-room style
elements. Example you approach the enemy bandit camp. The scouts
watching the perimeter are the guardians at the Entrance. There's a
wide clearing as a Puzzle that the players have to clear. The big fight
against the bandits that's the Setback. The Climax is when the bandit
chief comes out of the tent and now it's a boss fight. When it's all done
the Resolution is that the players loot the chief's tent only to find clues
about the real plan.

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