Enough information should be present for a GM to answer most basic questions about the dungeon, and no more. Worrying about the minutia of dungeon design is time spent not crafting exciting encounters and flavoursome dungeon levels and encounters. Realism is good to a certain extent, but realism for realism’s sake is pointless. It should all make sense (to a certain extent).It essentially answers loads of tricky questions about how and why certain monsters came to be in the dungeon. This link provides tremendous design freedom to include strange, ancient monsters crawling up from the lightless depths in search of prey. The megadungeon should have one or more links to the Ebon Realm. Wherever possible, the PCs should enjoy freedom of movement through the dungeon and not be forced down a set path. Rather, the complex’s layout enables the PCs to pursue multiple paths through the dungeon, exploring different areas, sub-levels and levels as they choose. Players should have meaningful choices: This doesn’t mean the party get to choose which door to use to get to the villain’s throne room.A dried up well shaft, flooded passage or chasm are all good examples of other connections. Secret & Remarkable Connections: Not all connections between levels and sublevels should be a standard staircase.Not all should proceed only to the next level some may provide access to multiple levels or may miss one or two levels out (for example a connection might exist between levels 1 and 4). Some connections should be hidden or secret. The more access points there are, the easier it is for dungeon denizens to move about and the more choices the players have. Access points between levels often serve as choke points. The PCs should have freedom of choice to decide which parts of the megadungeon they explore. There should be multiple connections between levels and sub-levels.Some may be secret while others may provide a relatively safe haven for explorers. Sub-levels may only be accessible from one normal dungeon level. Sub-Levels: Smaller, self-contained areas, sub-levels enable the GM to inject different kinds of flavour or monsters into the dungeon.
A level dominated by a mad alchemist who has no connection or relevance to the greater dungeon is bad flavour. For example, a sub-level of twisted natural passageways home to degenerate and feral derro seeking a way down to a deeper level is an example of good flavour. This flavour shouldn’t be unnecessarily odd just for the sake of flavour. Each level (or sub-level) has a distinctive flavour.Some dungeons may go up not down or could run for miles and miles at roughly the same depth. However, it is better restated as the further from the main entrance you go, the greater the danger and greater the rewards. The deeper you go, the more dangerous it is and the greater the rewards.Entrances set in the midpoint of the dungeon provide access to dungeon levels both above and below the entranceway. While all might not be obvious (secret entrances are cool) most should be easy to find by all but the most blinkered explorer. Multiple Entrances: There should be several different ways of getting into the dungeon.Name: The megadungeon should have a cool, flavoursome name.When designing a megadungeon, keep in mind the following criteria: Layout & Design Detailing such a locale is a gigantic undertaking. Over the last forty years, countless dungeons and hundreds of megadungeons have graced GM’s campaigns all over the world.
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