`

Sample file

1 Old School Hacks Vol. 3: Megadungeon Mayhem

A toolbox for building and improving your megadungeon

Developer & Author: Tim Bannock ​ Editor: Ken Carcas ​ Layout & Handout Design: Tim Bannock ​ Cover Graphical Elements: Elena Naylor ​ Cover Art: ​ Interior Art: Rick Hershey/Fat Goblin Games, Wizards of the Coast ​

Endless Pit, Tower Stairs : Publisher’s Choice Quality Stock Art © Rick Hershey / Fat Goblin Games ​ ​ ​

Acknowledgments: ​ Thanks to Frog God Games for creating Rappan Athuk , which rekindled my love of megadungeons, and to ​ ​ Wizards of the Coast for Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage , which proves that megadungeons transcend ​ ​ editions.

Special thanks to Ken Carcas for advice on the player handout and for recommending a stronger conclusion, which turned into a whole new chapter! And to Jeremy Forbing, who gave this series its name!

Extra special thanks to all the people who have supported my releases and who visit timbannock.com/rpg from time to time. I love D&D, but you are the reason I do this.

Version 1 (2/1/2019)

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, , the dragon ampersand, and all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon SampleMasters Guild. file

All other original material in this work is © Tim Bannock and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Table of Contents

Introduction 1 3. Escaping the Megadungeon 20

1. Fundamentals of the Megadungeon 4 Using This Chapter 20

Getting In & Out 4 It’s Not For Everyone! 20

Light, Terrain & Verticality 5 Setup 20

Light 5 Save Points 21

Terrain 6 Choose Your Destiny 21

Verticality 7 Flee 21

Fantastic Features 8 Backtrack to Save Point 22

Functional Effect 8 Negotiate for Hospitality 23

Regional and Lair Effect 9 Send the Search Party 24

Environment-Affecting Spells 9 Immediate Evac: Spell or Item 25

Tracking Time 9 Fortify A Camp - A New Downtime Activity 25

Dungeons & Dragons Time Tracker 9 Establish An Outpost 25

Time Sinks 10 Fortify A Camp 25

Option: Stuck Doors 12 4. Concluding Your Megadungeon 28

Random Encounters 12 The Setting 28

Option: Reaction & Initial Attitude 13 The Bad Guy(s) 28

Variant: Morale 14 BBEG Narrative Considerations 29

Optional & Variant Rules 15 Strategy & Tactics 30

2. The Megadungeon Experience 16 The Reward 31

Connections to the Dungeon 16 The Denouement 32

Why Adventure? 16 Dungeons & Dragons Time Tracker 33

Character Connections 16 Motives, Goals & Connections 34

Fleshing Out Your Character 16 Anatomy of Combat 35

Variant: Dungeon Bonds 17

Experience Point Awards 17

Variant: Treasure & Interaction 18

Over Combat

Variant: Milestone Checklist 18 Sample file

Megadungeon Mayhem

end of a session to get out of the dungeon without Introduction having to play through backtracking, mapping, and other "chores" of the megadungeon experience. It's a Welcome to Megadungeon Mayhem, the third book ​ ​ great framework for running one-shots with a clear in the Old School Hacks series! Like the previous ​ ​ endpoint or providing future adventure cues while two guides, this book isn't just a simple conversion still wrapping up any single delve into the dungeon. of older edition rules or a treatise on It's not for everyone, but there are definitely "one-true-wayism." It is instead a deep-dive into the features that can be applied to nearly any game, mechanics, guidelines, tropes, and options that can with a little tweaking. take the elegant system and succinct presentation of the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons to all Chapter 4: Concluding Your Megadungeon is all ​ ​ ​ new levels. It is informed by the past, but there is a about having a good ending to your megadungeon. concerted effort to use modern game design and The bulk of it speaks to how to create and utilize a experienced at-the-table-play to bring something great Big Bad End Guy, or BBEG for short. interesting to shake up your campaign, modify the Functional tips are provided for ensuring the tone of your sessions, present new challenges to players -- as well as their characters -- are your players, and help you do all of this confidently. emotionally invested in the potential end game of the dungeon environment they’ve been trekking What's In This Book through for months or even years of game time. This particular Old School Hack contains the following: References This book uses the following abbreviations: Chapter 1: Fundamentals of the Megadungeon includes a detailed discussion of the features that Abbr Book Abbr Book make up most megadungeon environments, COS Curse of Strahd PHB Player’s Handbook providing guidance on how to shake things up and DMG ’s PTA Princes of the keep it interesting. A time-tracking tool is provided Guide Apocalypse along with plenty of ways to use it, making time EPC Elemental Evil Player’s TYP Tales from the spent in a megadungeon a critical component of the Companion Yawning Portal game's tension. Finally, random encounters are GGR Guildmaster’s Guide to VGM Volo’s Guide to Monsters given two new optional rules to give DMs a little MM WDH Waterdeep: Dragon juice for improv, creating a unique play experience Heist every time the adventurers delve into the dungeon! MTF ’s Tome WDM Waterdeep: Dungeon of Foes of the Mad Mage Chapter 2: The Megadungeon Experience talks OTA Out of the Abyss XGE Xanathar’s Guide ​ about the player's side of megadungeons. to Everything Specifically, it provides a new look at Bonds so that the adventurers have plenty of reason to keep Every monster, trap, hazard, magic item, reward, or revisiting a given dungeon. Additionally, a new spell will have a reference included. When this system is presented for awarding experience points, book references products from the Dungeon providing both in- and out-of-character motivations Masters Guild, the names appear in full. for interacting with a dungeon environment over and over again. Monsters, traps, and hazards are denoted like this: red dragon. ​ Chapter 3: Escaping the Megadungeon is a unique ​ set Sampleof rules that "game-ify" episodic play. This file system governs having the PCs make a choice at the

1 Megadungeon Mayhem

Magic items (and special rewards like blessings and Spells are denoted like this: magic missile. In stat ​ ​ charms, DMG Chapter 7) are denoted like this: blocks, spells don't use colored or bolded text, so potion of healing. they instead look like this: detect magic. ​ ​ ​

Any other rules reference is in bold. ​ ​

Sample file

2 Megadungeon Mayhem

Sample file

3 Megadungeon Mayhem

Useful lists of existing material are compiled for

Chapter 1: ease of reference, and optional rules and variants

are provided to mix things up. Fundamentals of the

Pack your rations, pop open your wineskin, and Megadungeon grab your ten-foot pole: we're about to dive in!

Megadungeons are unique in that the 'mega' portion of their name requires you -- the DM -- to really Getting In & Out think in terms of variety. Justin Alexander popularly coined the phrase

"Jaquaying the Dungeon" when he wrote about how

On the one hand, the dungeon environment is Jennell Jaquays -- designer of the some of the most perhaps the perfect training course for running a lauded non-TSR adventures like Caverns of Thracia, ​ ​ collaborative roleplaying game; it's basically a flow , , and others -- ​ ​ ​ chart of stuff that happens, and it lays out in an stressed the use of multiple paths into a larger orderly fashion specific challenges. A DM doesn't dungeon complex and between each of its levels. It need too much if any worldbuilding outside of that, boils down to several easy concepts that should and assuming the dungeon has some encounters inform all megadungeons, and most -- though not that are different than others, you're good to go. If all -- of the levels within it (remember that variety every room is square and has 3 goblins in it, you can also sometimes come from constraints). may want to rethink the design (if you made it), or pass on that adventure (if you're about to buy it). Have multiple ways into the dungeon, empowering

player choices. Although a campaign can start with ​ But on the other hand, that need for variety in one cave entrance to the dungeon, having multiple rooms and monsters (and treasures and traps and so entrances that reach different areas gives players on) is magnified a thousandfold when it comes to a choices of how to revisit the dungeon. Additionally, megadungeon. Because it conceivably has many they can choose to spend time attempting to control levels (5 or more) and dozens of encounter areas per the surface world near different entrances and exits level (preferably several dozen, otherwise is it really or building a keep at higher levels to ensure a a MEGAdungeon?), balancing 'has a strong theme' specific entrance is locked down, for example. and 'has lots of interesting encounters' becomes very difficult. It's best to err on the side of Have multiple ways into the dungeon, so players

'interesting encounters' even if the ecology of the can skip stuff they might grow bored of. Restocking ​ dungeon doesn't make much sense by having such dungeon levels a couple times is great, but you can a menagerie of creatures. This isn't a science only do so much. Skip the boring stuff by giving dissertation, it's a game. players opportunities to find different routes

leading to different areas of the megadungeon and

In order to achieve optimal variety, this chapter is get around the need to revisit the same area over going to give you the nuts and bolts of what makes and over again, especially once it's been cleared out a megadungeon tick from an adventuring more than once. perspective, such as:

❖ how do adventurers delve into it Have multiple paths to different levels of the

❖ what sorts of things might they stumble dungeon. Many of these reasons have been ​ upon expressed above.

❖ what might kill them and how

❖ what can you use to stock it with Have multiple paths to different levels of the Sample file interesting stuff dungeon, because environmental hazards, traps,

and burrowing creatures will certainly create them. ​

4 Megadungeon Mayhem

Different paths in and out of the dungeon, or to and interact with the environment of the megadungeon from different levels, are a natural consequence of in every pillar of play. Functionally, they need to creatures like purple worms, bullettes, elementals, account for cases where darkvision out to 60 feet is and powerful spellcasting critters that can too limiting (what good's a longbow's range in a manipulate the environment. Traps like slides, pits, massive cavern if you can't see anything?), how teleporters, collapsing tunnels, etc., also are a quickly they can move with the Dash action when natural connection to levels above and below the trying to flee a purple worm, and whether or not it's current one and are a perfect place to add hidden wise to bring their minotaur buddy into the tunnels, secret doors, or other access routes. claustrophobically cramped meenlock tunnels.

Have the occasional path from the surface or "early" Light levels of the dungeon to far deeper levels, because Light is hugely important because we humans are powerful creatures might want to spread their so dependent on it. It's also easily ignored as a influence over the surface world. There are stories ​ resource or factor because there are innumerable of Castle or Castle Blackmoor featuring a playable races that receive darkvision. Yet it's literal elevator to different levels of the dungeon important to note that even dim light is near the center of the complex. An accessible problematic; disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) vertical shaft is a perfect means to access different also translates to -5 on passive Wisdom (Perception) areas because it's a real-world thing; that's how scores, which could be the difference between being many mines work. If your dungeon features surprised or not. Darkvision doesn't often extend factions that want influence over the surface world, beyond 60 feet, and that limits nearly every it only makes more sense for them to have a quick non-thrown ranged weapon and a massive chunk route to the top so they can avoid all those nasty of area affecting spells. traps they placed on Level 2.

Megadungeons are dark places, and Consider multiple methods of movement to and phosphorescent fungi don't grow everywhere... from various areas of the dungeon or surface world

-- teleportation spells, portals, teleportation circles, ​ ​ ​ ​ Light Sources divination spells that allow viewing of specific Below is a table featuring common light sources, places -- especially during higher level play. If this ​ their illumination range, and the duration they last. dungeon is for character levels 1 through 8, maybe you can ignore this advice, but high-level play Durations marked with an asterisk (*) denote items virtually guarantees teleportation, clairvoyance, that burn 1 flask of oil for fuel. crystal balls, and so on are in play. Even low-level play may feature portals and teleportation circles. Source Light Duration All of these sorts of things affect how characters Candle Bright 5 ft, dim +5 ft 1 hour move between levels or answer whether or not they can gain intelligence about different dungeon Torch Bright 20 ft, dim +20 ft 1 hour levels. They are also great tools if you have various Lamp Bright 15 ft, dim +30 ft 6 hours* warring factions within the dungeon (how do they Lantern, Bright 60 ft cone, dim 6 hours* cope if the more powerful creatures can just bullseye +60 ft teleport to an area that they've previously used Lantern, Bright 30 ft, dim +30 ft 6 hours scrying on?). hooded

Light Bright 20 ft, dim +20 ft 1 hour

Light, Terrain & Verticality Continual Bright 20 ft, dim +20 ft Until

Sampleflame filedispelled The trifecta of light, terrain, and ceilings/vertical space determine precisely how the adventurers Daylight Bright 60 ft, dim +60 ft 1 hour

5 Megadungeon Mayhem

Terrain Terrain matters a lot in a megadungeon. Most playable races have a speed around 30 feet, and they only rarely include climb speeds or fly speeds, which can be hugely important in these settings (see more about this under Verticality, below). When the terrain combines to be both difficult terrain (not every surface was crafted by master dwarven architects and becomes tight quarters or forces a character to crawl or swim), their speed goes down markedly. Many monsters will use this to their advantage.

In areas of difficult terrain, consider adding creatures that aren't affected by it. This could be as simple as hand waving it; "these monsters have grown accustomed to traversing the rubble and thus don't treat it as difficult terrain." But much better is to use creatures that fly over it, burrow through it, or have a climb speed to use the walls instead.

In areas that are cramped, use small creatures.

If a medium sized creature has to squeeze to get ​ ​ through a tunnel (PHB Chapter 9), a goblin's

Nimble Escape feature comes in doubly handy.

Small, vertical shafts that spiders can climb through are super-deadly to the average adventurer, and if you add an area of webs ​ (DMG Chapter 5), a low-level encounter can still be incredibly effective against adventurers.

Useful Lists

Most importantly, terrain can be as much a danger as any monster. You don't even need combat to put the adventurers at risk of losing tons of hit points or being afflicted with debilitating conditions.

Below are lists of useful hazardous terrain features and other environmental effects that come in handy in a megadungeon:

Sample file

6 Megadungeon Mayhem

Dungeon Hazards Other Effects & Features

Feature Source Feature Source

Brown mold DMG Ch. 5 Fear and horror effects DMG Ch. 9

Green slime DMG Ch. 5 Faerzress OTA Ch. 2

Webs DMG Ch. 5 Fungi of the OTA Ch. 2

Yellow mold DMG Ch. 5 Flora and fauna of Chult TOA Appendix C

Crystal clusters OTA Ch. 2 Madness DMG Ch. 8

Gas leak OTA Ch. 2

Horrid sounds OTA Ch. 2 Verticality

Verticality is a feature that's extremely important in Lava swell OTA Ch. 2 dungeons, though you won't always find references Muck pit OTA Ch. 2 to ceiling height in every module. Bummer! A good Rockfall OTA Ch. 2 shorthand is to just assume corridors are twice as

Sinkhole OTA Ch. 2 tall as they are wide, and rooms three times their

Steam vent OTA Ch. 2 shortest dimension.

But let's talk in terms of making it an interesting

Wilderness Hazards aspect of play! First and foremost, low ceilings can

Feature Source create situations where creatures have to use the

Squeezing into a Smaller Space rules (PHB Chapter Desecrated ground DMG Ch. 5 ​ 9), or need to be prone (PHB Appendix A) and/or Frigid water DMG Ch. 5 ​ ​ crawling (PHB Chapter 8). Especially high ceilings Quicksand DMG Ch. 5 ​ affect ranged attacks (perhaps inflicting long range

Razorvine DMG Ch. 5 disadvantage) and spells (perhaps causing enemies

Slippery ice DMG Ch. 5 to not get hit by area affecting spells because they

Thin ice DMG Ch. 5 are not within the vertical dimensions of the spell's

area of effect). Monsters that can fly or climb

should almost always employ those abilities in the

Traps most advantageous way, given that most player

characters cannot do those things, or simply don't Feature Source do those things when traveling normally through a Collapsing roof DMG Ch. 5 dungeon with the rest of their party. Pits DMG Ch. 5, XGE Ch. 2

Falling portcullis XGE Ch. 2 Above all (see what we did there?), verticality

should come into play in megadungeon design. Pit

traps and slides should lead somewhere; in many

Diseases cases, they often lead to a lower level of the

Feature Source dungeon, not just a dead end. Natural caves or the

paths created by burrowing creatures should not Cackle fever DMG Ch. 8 conform to clear dungeon levels and elevations, but Sewer plague DMG Ch. 8 should instead be an opportunity for lots of ability Sight rot DMG Ch. 8 checks to move safely through them, hazards,

Mad monkey fever TOA Ch. 2 modes of travel between dungeon levels, and so on.

Shivering sickness TOA Ch. 2

ThSampleroat leeches TOA Ch. 2 And a beholder's lair, o r a drafilegon's lair? Come on!

Multiple shafts looping back onto different levels,

7 Megadungeon Mayhem

high terraces, cover via stalactites, and piercers or Functional Effects ropers hanging out on the bottom side of ledges to Here's a list of functional environmental effects … attack folks trying to scale up the walls...that stuff pick one, and then justify its existence through writes itself! Depicting this on a battle map with some sort of descriptive creativity: miniatures can be challenging, so consider ❖ Area of magical, impenetrable darkness, or investing in LEGOs, stackable terrain you print out where light sources have their area halved. on cardstock, foam core or other craft materials ❖ Winds (DMG Chapter 5) that might from the Dollar Store, or simply rely on the theater extinguish light sources. of the mind combat and the Targets in Areas of ❖ Winds that travel vertically. ​ Effect rules (DMG Chapter 8). ❖ The terrain changes every X rounds, ​ creating areas of cover, areas of difficult

Optional Rule: Compression terrain, and/or areas that Medium and/or

First of all, remember that you can use the Small creatures have to squeeze to get above-mentioned rules to great effect in low ceiling through. areas (squeezing, prone, and crawling). ❖ Simple environmental effect: all saves have

disadvantage; all creatures benefit from

Secondly, consider an optional rule for changing haste or suffer from slow; all creatures areas of effect: Compression. In areas with low suffer the poisoned effect while in the area. ​ ​ ceilings and/or especially narrow corridors, the ❖ The terrain is normal, but effects of lighting area of effect of most spells, as well as abilities like or sound become distracting, either turning dragon's breath or some sort of energy projection, it into difficult terrain or requiring a become compressed and spread further because successful Strength (Athletics) check when they cannot reach their intended area of effect on at using the Dash action to avoid falling least one dimension (vertical, usually). Multiply the prone. area of effect by 1.5, rounding down and ❖ Extreme heat or extreme cold (DMG conforming it to the nearest 5-foot increments Chapter 5). when using a grid or battle map to ensure only 'full ❖ While in the area, characters suffer from squares' are affected. horror or fear effects (DMG Chapter 9).

❖ Negative or positive energy (saps Hit Dice

Notably, a rule like this should impact abilities like or provides healing). dragon's breath or spells like fireball or stinking ❖ Smoke or fog that causes characters to ​ ​ ​ cloud, but not the radius of torchlight or the light change direction sharply. ​ ​ spell. That said, magic doesn't have to be logical, so ❖ The following things that are normally go ahead and include the area of effect of all spells stationary are mobile: if you want. ➢ boulders

➢ torch sconces

➢ windows Fantastic Features We already mentioned that dungeon complexes of ➢ furniture square rooms are boring, and mentioned lots of ➢ doorways ways to change things up. But one of the most ❖ The following things that normally rest on useful tools in your Dungeon Master's toolbox is the ground float in the sky: your creativity; come up with stuff that the players ➢ rocks haven't seen before. This is easier said than done, ➢ islands though, so let's add some supplemental tools to that ➢ water flows up toolbox to help make it a little easier. Sample file

8 Megadungeon Mayhem

alternative movement modes like flight or wall Regional and Lair Effects The following creatures have lair actions and crawling, and so on. regional effects described in their entries: use these as inspiration for cool things to do with the Tracking Time environment: A major component of the original vision of ❖ Aboleth (MM) ​ dungeon crawls is that time is a resource. Random ❖ Archdevils (MTF) ​ encounters, which historically didn't award as ❖ Dragons (MM) ​ many experience points as gathering loot, happen ❖ Balhannoth (MTF) ​ at set intervals. Fuel for light sources runs out at set ❖ Beholder (MM) ​ intervals. Spell durations aren't as long as you'd ❖ Demon Lords (OTA) ​ want them to be. Trudging around a dungeon and ❖ Elder brain (VGM) ​ getting an accurate map takes time, and if you're ❖ Elemental Princes (PTA) ​ quick about it, that means you aren't stealthy, and ❖ Githzerai anarch (MTF) ​ those bugbears over there are listening for ❖ Hags (VGM) ​ intruders… ❖ Halaster Blackcloak (WDM) ​ ❖ Ki-rin (VGM) Below is plenty of discussion on how to keep the ​ ❖ Lich & demilich (MM) time element handy as a tool for pacing, giving ​ ❖ Merrenoloth (MTF) some encounters room to breathe and at other ​ ❖ Morkoth (VGM) times piling on the problems if the party is too ​ ❖ Storm giant quintessent (VGM) cautious and slow. Most importantly, we've ​ ❖ (COS) included the Dungeons & Dragons Time Tracker at ​ ​ ​ ❖ Vampire (MM) the end of this guide in order to really play up that ​ aspect of dungeon crawling. It's good for a player to

Environment-Affecting Spells take on the role of Timekeeper (see Old School ​ The following list is a sampling of spells that affect Hacks Vol. 2: Player Roles), or you can tack it on ​ a sizable area or a contained environment. Use your DM Screen and do it yourself, but if the them as the basis to make a specific dungeon room players can't see it, they don't necessarily know how or section of a corridor act differently than the (or if) it affects them. Maybe tack it on the players might expect: player-facing side of that screen.

❖ Cloudkill (PHB) ​ ❖ Control weather (PHB) ​ Dungeons & Dragons Time Tracker ❖ Darkness (PHB) Some notes on using the time tracker: ​ ❖ Daylight (PHB) ❖ It's portioned out into 10-minute intervals ​ ❖ Fog cloud (PHB) (called turns to use a phrase from old ​ ❖ Hallow (PHB) school versions of D&D) that add up to one ​ ❖ Hallucinatory terrain (PHB) pie, which is an hour. ​ ❖ Incendiary cloud (PHB) ❖ There's 24 of those in a day, and there are ​ ❖ Maddening darkness (XGE) 10 days displayed, giving us the Forgotten ​ ❖ Reverse gravity (PHB) Realms version of a week: the tenday. ​ ❖ Silence (PHB) ❖ A 10-box tracker running along either side ​ ❖ Stinking cloud (PHB) at the top can be used for whatever you ​ want: individual minutes, combat rounds,

Additionally, consider how mundane dungeon ammo, rations, or whatever. features might be changed by these effects if they ❖ A gaggle of rules references are found on Sample file have been around for a long time. Fungi might only the bottom, and everything is either grow on the ceiling, creatures may have developed directly pulled from the noted source or has

9 Megadungeon Mayhem

been extrapolated from the text (such as the consequences. The consequences are all bundled

Typical Tasks section and how long those here as "time sinks." Time sinks are things that take

take). time to do but can be worth doing.

You'll note that under the Light Sources (PHB Ch. 5) Mapping, Stealth & Movement section, the light sources note their areas of light. B Mapping on its own is useful in a megadungeon ​ stands for bright light and D stands for dim light; setting, but not always necessary; this should be a ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ most light sources have an area of bright light and group decision, and should depend as much on how then an extending area of dim light, which is much "homework" people are okay with as it does always noted as +X'; thus, a torch has bright light on how often you employ teleportation tricks and out to 20 feet and dim light extending an additional other methods of confusing the characters'

20 feet. knowledge of where they've been and where they're

going. (More discussion on this can be found in Old ​ Useful abbreviations for making notes on the sheet: School Hacks Vol. 2: Player Roles.) ​ ❖ E = random encounter roll

❖ T = torch A great way to handle mapping without needing

❖ L = lantern grid paper and exacting room dimensions is to have

❖ B = bullseye lantern the party's mapper use "flowchart mapping." Just

❖ S(abbrev.) = spell put a number 1 in a circle somewhere near the

middle of a piece of paper as your entrance into the

You might write something like "S(enh abil)" for dungeon, draw a line for a corridor attached to it, enhance ability or "S(light)" or even just LS for the and then a 2 in a circle to designate the next room, ​ light spell if you find yourself tracking that more and so on. On a facing page, write a brief key: "#1: ​ often than other spells. Whatever works for you. Entrance. Killed 3 goblins. A 4th fled and raised the

alarm. We might be in trouble." You can even be

Here's a picture of one in use by way of example: forgiving and give them the actual number of the

room from the adventure map; players may pick up

on secret chambers if they find their numbering

and exploration can never dig up that elusive Room

7A, and in some gaming groups, that's okay.

Characters likely see and understand their

environment in ways that can't be easily described

as DMs and players, so it's not necessarily

metagame thinking if the players pick up on these

queues. If your group thinks that is metagame

thinking, though, by all means, don't feed them the

"real" room numbers.

Regardless of whether you have players map and

how you do so, one thing to keep in mind is that

stealth and movement are going to impact how the

characters understand their environment. Pay

Time Sinks attention to the pace the party travels at through

To make tracking time a truly useful element of the dungeon as they explore chambers and get into gameplay, you need things that are going to push encounters (see Map Travel Pace, DMG Chapter 8). ​ ​ the players towards making choices against their This affects time in very obvious ways, but it also Sample file best interests; you need rewards and you need

10