Dungeon Stocking (Optional)
5. Stock The Dungeon
“Stocking” the dungeon refers to assigning contents to each room. There are several possibilities; a room might contain a monster (which might or might not have treasure), an “unguarded” treasure, a “special” (something other than a monster, trap, or treasure; often a puzzle of some sort), a trap, or be “empty.”
The GM may choose the contents of any room, or may roll on the table below:
| 1d6 | Contents |
|---|---|
| 1 | Empty |
| 2 | Unguarded Treasure |
| 3 | Monster |
| 4 | Monster with Treasure |
| 5 | Trap |
| 6 | Special |
An unguarded treasure will generally be hidden (such as in a secret room, inside an unusual container, etc.) or protected by a trap (a poison needle in the lock of a chest, or a poison gas canister that explodes if the container is opened, or something similar); such a treasure might even be hidden and trapped! Again, some sort of saving throw should be allowed if a trap is used. It’s not a bad idea to hide a treasure so well that the player characters are unlikely to find it; don’t be concerned if they don’t. If you give away the location of all your unguarded treasures, your players will not appreciate it properly when they manage to find one by cleverness or luck.
A monster might be selected by the GM or rolled on the random encounter tables. It’s traditional that the first level (below ground) contains monsters of 1 hit die or less, the second level contains monsters of around 2 hit dice, and so on, but the GM may choose to arrange their dungeon in any way desired.
A monster with treasure might indicate a lair, or it might be a group of monsters carrying loot, possibly camping for some reason before moving on.
A trap is, obviously, some sort of device intended to harm the player characters, including such things as pendulum blades, hidden pits, spear-chucking devices, and so forth. See the Traps section, below, for more information.
A special might be a puzzle of some sort, such as a door that can only be opened by a combination (hidden elsewhere in the dungeon); or perhaps an oracle that answers questions about the dungeon (but possibly it lies). The classic “magic fountain” that randomly changes the ability scores of the drinker is another possibility; if this is done, some sort of limit should be imposed (such as, the device only affects a given creature once, or the device causes harm more often than it gives aid) to prevent abuse. In general, a “special” room is any room containing something that either interests or obstructs the player characters but is not a monster, trap, or unguarded treasure.
Empty rooms contain no monsters, traps, unguarded treasures, or specials. This does not mean that they are truly “empty”; a room might contain a fireplace, upholstered chairs, side tables, torch sconces, and curtains, and still be considered empty. Hide a treasure in a secret drawer in a side table, and it becomes an unguarded treasure room; in other words, to be empty there has to be basically nothing of serious interest to the player characters in the room.