Dungeon Triangles
He loves her, but she's still wondering if her old boyfriend would have been a better match...
Now put them all in separate rooms of a dungeon.
Applying It
Lets say you've planned a little six room dungeon. There's a temple on the hill with a massive skeletal hand in the crypt below (it's a giant monkey's paw).
You have this one cool scene, but you don't know how to stock the dungeon.
Let's take a little list of Monster / Monster / Treasure / Treasure / Hazard / Empty
We'll count the Skeletal God-Hand as one of the treasures, perhaps with loads of gold scattered around as offerings.
And what temple is complete without a priest? There's one "monster." A priest who ensures sanctity and silence so that the hand can not be used improperly.
Now we have one point on the triangle, and we ask, "what two things are here that invoke opposite emotions in the priest, and why?"
- Disgust // Adoration
- Love // Hate
- Fear // Hope
- Envy // Generosity
- Grief // Joy
- Apathy // Obsession
Now of course, we should almost always avoid the obvious choice.
Lets say we rolled a 1 for the priest. We might say he adores this God-hand, but what if he is disgusted by it? Even hates it! Then what could he love, which seems a strange thing to love? Perhaps a monstrous brother of the cloth, twisted by a desperate wish.
The Hands of God
An old temple sits atop the hill. The locals say two priests lived there for many years, until one died. Now, it seems an ogre has taken up residence, hunting beasts in the forest and terrifying locals, and who knows what it has done with the other priest?
- The Narthex - a statue of a massive hand, palm up, holds water and small golden fish.
- Doors to 2 and 4
- Fish - Lawful, swimming in perfect twining patterns.
- The Belltower - Creaking stairs lead up into a dusty belltower. Bones litter the bottom step.
- Stairs - 1-in-6 to snap, alerting Brother Deson. Lead to 3.
- Bones - Large game, deer, boar.
- The Belfry - a massive bell. Broken rails. Straw.
- Lair! Deson [4 HD Ogre, priestly robes] is here. He sits in silent meditation, but will fly into a rage if noise is made.
- Scriptorium - a desk and shelves for scrolls. A bed along the far wall.
- Lair! Brother Savin is here on 3-in-6. If not, he is in 6. He is a level 5 Cleric, and can cast spells through silent hand-motions. He lives in guilt for making the wish that cursed his fellow minister (give him the strength to survive this illness), he survived, but the fever changed his mind, and the wish gave him strength too much. Savin will not tolerate noise above a whisper within the temple, and may even call on his brother if he feels threatened.
- Scroll Shelves - Contain scrolls of cure wounds, and an illuminated holy scroll, Savin's life work, which would be worth a small fortune. Behind the shelves is a hidden path to 5.
- The Stairwell - Stone stairs lead into the earth. The air grows cold and clammy, and a sickly smell crawls up from far, far, below.
- The God-Hand - hundreds of gold coins surround a ten-foot tall massive skeletal hand. It holds up a single finger. Anyone who makes a wish here will cause the finger to curl, the hand to close, and the wish to be granted, though always with a painful twist.
- Savin - If Savin is here, he will attack anyone else who enters on sight, beginning by casting Silence on the room, which does not effect his own spell casting here.
I hope this random little thought can inspire some interesting dungeons for you!