For once it is the author, not the judges, having trouble getting
started. For, when it comes to ideas for improving the
dungeons, the possibilities are endless. So, in order, I will try to
deal with the following areas: Entrances, Traps, Treasures, Mapping,
and Monsters. Again I hope this article will help your
judging improve; good castles are always in demand.

ENTRANCES
When judges of D & D, new and old alike, think of an entrance
to the dungeons, the greater percentage think of an old
ruined castle somewhere outside their town. And many of this
same group have the mistaken impression that there is only one
entrance to every dungeon. Both these ideas are wrong. True, the
famous Game of Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz is built around and
under Greyhawk Castle, but this is far from being the only entrance.
Besides the castle, I have discovered an entrance through
an old dry cistern and another entrance that is under a pool of
quicksand, and even an entrance in a simple hole in the ground.

In other games I have discovered the dungeons were under
the town, or under the town guards’ barracks, and even under one
of the peasant’s hovels. So as far as entrances go, it makes no difference
where you put it or how you disguise it, as long as the
dungeons are good. But the entrances can make the castle even
more interesting.

TRAPS
The most Fun involved in planning a new level is laying out
“friendly” little traps for the players to find. These should be
evenly spread out in the dungeons, (if concentrated in one area,
the players will eventually ignore that part of the dungeons, and
good traps will go to waste) and not used too often: players tend to
stop adventuring in games that have more traps than treasure.

Traps don’t always have to be harmful. Sometimes it’s
possible for a trap to also be a treasure, depending on a die roll. A
good example of this is a party, upon entering a room in the
dungeons, finds a pile of bones in one corner. Discovering
nothing else of interest, the leader decides to take the time to
reconstruct the skeleton. Once put together, the skeleton can do
1 of 4 things; attack, serve the party until destroyed, lead to
the nearest unguarded treasure, or lead to his master, who happens
to be a high level Wizard. Or the skeleton can do
nothing, except take up a lot of Time, in which the judge can roll
dice for more wandering monsters.

One of the most popular types of traps is where the treasure,
or the chest it is in, is the trap. Various traps can be placed on the
treasure so that when touched or removed from its chest the party
can be transported, with or without the treasure, or take so many
dice of damage (the number of dice depending on the amount of
gold pieces, or the rarity of the magic) or have the item explode.
Or the magic that is in the treasure can be intelligent so that it
keeps on trying to get back to its real owner. And when it comes
to treasure chests, the author uses the following table . . .

01-50	A normal chest
51-00	Trap on the chest, go to the following table
-	-
0-30	1-4 spring loaded daggers fire when chest is opened
31-50	Same as above, but the daggers are poisoned
51-65	Poisoned gas released when chest is opened
66-75	When chest is opened, it acts as a Mirror of Life Trapping
76-85	Exploding chest, if opened the chest explodes doing 2-7 dice
86-90	When chest is opened, an enraged spectre comes out
91-95	All members within 5’ lose 1 level of experience
96-98	All members within 5’ lose 1 magic item
99-00	Intelligent chest, act as if chest is a 2nd-9th level Wizard, including spells <2.>

                16a

Other traps can be intelligent gold pieces; they have the
nasty habit of screaming when taken from the room they were
found in, which draws all sorts of monsters, or throwing themselves
en masse at whoever makes the mistake of opening the
chest they are in. The damage caused by the gold can vary. Or
even more discouraging is finding out that after fighting a red
dragon and losing half the party they have won 60,000 chocolate
centered gold pieces; real value being about a copper piece each.

James Erdman of the S.L.W.G.A. came up with a very interesting <slwga=x>
trap. How would you like to be in a basically lawful party
intent on doing some adventuring under the ruins of a castle
only to find it guarded by a kingdom of dwarves? And when the
leader of the party tries to parlay with the dwarvish leader he
discovers that this dwarf kingdom happens to be chaotic, and
willing to kill the whole party at the drop of a copper piece. In
many castles you can find creatures that just don’t seem to be of
the right alignment. This makes for highly interesting playing, for
it causes the player to be much more careful than they normally
would have to be.

If you are having trouble finding new traps, go back to your
Sword & Sorcery type books and you will be surprised at how
much usable material there is when one looks closely. (For example
see Clark Ashton Smith’s story “The Weird of Avoosl
Wuthoqquan” in his book Hyperborea)

TREASURE
It’s always fun to create and use treasure that throws a party
of adventurers into indecision. A personal favorite is Monster
Gems. Monster Gems are magical gems worth 500 GP
each. They are magical in the fact that when commanded, the
gem will turn into a monster. (Roll die as if rolling for a wandering
dungeon monster.) The trouble is that the owner might get
anything from a kobold to a red dragon. Now the PC
has to decide whether giving up 500 gold pieces is worth
the chance of getting a kobold or goblin. (Which only stays a
week, like all monsters created from Monster Gems. Also when
the monster is killed, both monster and gem are destroyed.)

Thanks to members of the S.L.W.G.A., especially Marc
Kurowski, whose magical item is next, I can offer the following
magic to add to your list.

Hobbits' Pipe:
This seemingly ordinary clay pipe is really a wondrous
magical item. When common “pipeweed” is smoked, the
pipe will give the user the ability to blow multi-colored
smoke rings at the rate of 4 per turn, and these smoke
rings will go wherever ordered by their creator. (Moving at
4” per turn, though high winds will disperse them, and
lasting 1-6 turns.) At first, this seems like a worthless
ability. Consider: An Evil High Priest attacks a party of 3,
one of which owns a Pipe. He lights it, and sends smoke
rings around the E.H.P.’s head, blinding and confusing him
so that he can’t use his spells. (Which the party was all too
happy not to catch on the chin.) Magick pipeweed (which is
highly rare and only grown in the gardens of Wizards) may
be smoked in this pipe and certain advantages will accrue.
These will be enumerated below. Usable 3 times a day.

Pipeweed of Tranquillity:
The smoke from this pipeweed will cause all hostile
creatures to refrain from attacking, NPCs
of the smoker’s party will have a +1 added to their
morale. Range: 6” radius, duration: 3 turns plus 1-4 turns if
used in a Hobbits’ Pipe.

Pipeweed of Stoning:
The smoke from this weed will cause any creature within
range to be turned to stone, saving throws allowed. Range:
6”. Note however that on any given turn there is a 25%
chance that the wind or something will be blowing the
wrong way and the smoker will get stoned. A Hobbits’ Pipe
decreases this chance to 10%.

Pipeweed of Illusion:
The smoke from this pipeweed will act as a Phantasmal
Force spell. Naturally this won’t work in a high wind or
drafty corridors. If used in a Hobbits’ Pipe the spell will
last 1-4 turns longer.

Pipeweed of Acapulco
It’s easy to see all the fun a judge could have with a PC
who happens to accidentally smoke this: causes
the smoker to treat everyone as his friend, stands around in
a stupor, not attack and defend at minus 3. Lasts 2-12
turns. If smoked in a Hobbits’ Pipe, allow saving throws.

Ring of Magic Missiles:
A magical ring that holds 10 Magic Missiles which can be
fired 2 at a time. It can be recharged. It takes 2 magic
missile spells to replace every 1 in the ring.

Bag of Infinite Wealth
A magical bag that turns base metals into gold at the rate of
100 GP/day.

Helm of Forgetfulness:
Appears to be a Helm of Teleportation but when it is worn,
all things are forgotten. Saving throws are allowed; if <the> saving
throw is made then there is only a partial memory loss. Intelligences
from 13-15 have a -1 on their saving
throw, 16-18, -2.

Ring of Infravision:
Same as an Infravision spell except it works as long as the
ring is worn.

Other types of treasure that you can throw at your players
are: the magic of a Staff of Wizardry put in a ring; an Unholy
Sword, which is just the opposite of a Holy Sword; a Wand of
Fireballs shaped to look like a dagger; an idol that answers Yes
and No questions once a week; a monster that when killed turns
into a pile of gold pieces (500-3000 G.P.); or an incense burner
that when lit its smoke acts as a Crystal Ball (remember to only
allow the players to use the incense burner in an area with no
drafts, otherwise the smoke will be too dispersed to work).

MAPPING
I’m not going to describe how to map out a level, since this
has been done already by the authors of D & D in their D & D
Volume III entitled “Underworld and Wilderness Adventures.”
What I do plan to do in this section is give some ideas on areas,
levels, etc.

One of the most interesting adventures I’ve ever had dealt
mainly with the idea of what would happen if a knight in shining
armour was suddenly transported aboard the “Santa Maria” on
its way to discover America. To carry this idea further, you can
create all sorts of strange areas; have a Wizard suddenly find himself
on the Normandy Beaches on D-Day, a Patriarch who finds
himself as a stowaway on the nuclear powered U.S.S. Nautilus on
its shakedown cruise, or even a Lord who finds himself on the
banks of the Little Big Horn and sees a column of blue-clad
cavalry figures riding towards him.

One type of area I personally like to work with (and the
players in my game shiver at) is underground rivers, lakes, seas,
or a combination of the 3. This also allows for islands where
special monsters and treasures can be placed so they are hard to
get at. (How many parties carry boats or rafts with them?)

Naturally, with an area as big as a lake, sea, or river, characters
are not going to be able to journey across (or down) in 1 or
2 turns, so special monster tables will be needed:
-

1	Men (see sub-table 1)
2	Giant Fish (5-30) 6’-24’
3	Giant Serpent (1-4) 10’-60’
4	Crocodiles (4-24) 3’-18’
5	Flying Monsters (see sub-table 2)
6	Beach Monsters (see sub-table 3)
7	Giant Water Snakes (1-6) 6’-24’ <cf. Giant Sea Snakes>
8	Nixies (3-30)
9	Mermen (5-50)
10	Dragon Turtles (1-4)
11	Whirlpool (lasts 1-10 turns) 10’-120”
12	Wrecked Ship/Raft (see sub-table 1 for occupants, if any)

-
Sub-Table 1

1	Heroes
2	Thaumaturgists
3	Swashbucklers
4	Magicians
5	Evil Priests
6	Myrmidons
7	Enchanters
8	Superheroes
9	Sorcerers
10	Lords
11	Wizards
12	Evil High Priests

-
Sub-Table 2

1	Dragons
2	Balrogs
3	Wraiths
4	Gargoyles
5	Wyverns
6	Spectres
7	Chimeras
8	Vampires
9	Cockatrices
10	Manticores

-
Sub-Table 3

1	Giant Crabs
2	Giant Leeches
3	Men (see sub-table 1)
4	Giant Snakes
5	Dragon Turtles
6	Crocodiles

Then there are areas like the Pool of Endless Ogres, where
one ogre comes out of the pool every turn that adventurers are in
the cavern the pool is in. Or the Room of Gems, where three turns
after the gems are taken out of the room 50% turn into orcs and
immediately begin to attack the party.
 

The favorite books of the judge can be turned into parts of
the castle, or worlds that adventurers can be transported to, like
Larry Niven’s Ringworld, Tolkien’s "Moria," Clark Aston
Smith’s Hyperborea, Arthur Conan Doyle’s Lost World, or Fritz
Leiber’s "Newhon."

Certain parts of maps, or even single rooms and corridors,
can give parties problems even though no monsters are present.
Like a 10’ x 10’ room that shrinks people down so that they seem
to be in a 200’ x 200’ room. Once they cross the room they are
given back their true size. (This is designed to drive the mapmakers
in the party crazy.) Or a room maze that has transporters
everywhere that transport the players back to the center of the
maze. Or even a room that has seemingly unguarded treasures
that when touched, activate secret doors that allow hordes of
hobgoblins to attack the unsuspecting players.

Actually any sort of maze, whether room, corridor, or stair
maze, is fun for the judge and a headache for the players. The
major problem with mazes is getting the players into it. One
suggestion is to simply transport the party into the middle of the
maze. Or you can have an escaping orc with a valued magic item
run through a one-way door. When the party follows, they find
out that they are in one end of the maze, with the exit on the other
side.

When it comes to ordinary monsters for guarding normal
treasures, D & D, Greyhawk, Blackmoor, and the Creature
Features in The Dragon have everything you need. But when it
comes to those special treasures, then look to the fantasy writers
like H.P. Lovecraft and his gods and demi-gods to help you. Or
the terrible sand worms of Frank Herbert’s Dune. And if you
can’t find enough in the field of fantasy, then check out the science-
fiction writers of today. Like Larry Niven’s “Puppeteers,”
Dickson’s “Dorsai,” H.G. Wells’ Martians, or the creatures and
peoples of the Star Trek Series. (How would you like to be
walking down a corridor in the dungeons and be transported to
another strange looking corridor, on the “Starship Enterprise”?
With a tall humanoid with pointed ears saying “Highly
illogical”?) Or even worse is not using fiction at all, but fact. In
other words your players could find the Bermuda Triangle and
what causes it!