Stocking Gaps.

 Dungeon Stocking Procedures.

Stage Design, Men Constructing Building in Cave

Antonio Giuseppe Basoli, Italian, 1774–1843

Currently I am working on two projects that involve dungeon stocking. One is still theoretical, but the other is actively in use. In both cases I have identified that I do not always know what goes in dungeon rooms. Sure, I might instantly know a terminal room is a tomb or a bedroom for a specific character. But often I end up with rooms that are initially empty and want for a little more. Other times an exploration site has been previously cleared out but I am interested in re-stocking.

So I've created a few procedures, with this caveat. If you already know what's in a place, don't apply this. That means both if you've already established what's there and if you logically know "oh, so-and-so would have moved in here with so-and-so gone," don't roll. Your understanding of the game world will always supersede the lossy tools that exist to fill the gaps. 

These procedures are directly inspired the AD&D DMG and Telecanter's Spell-like Effects Spur. I recommend both.

Stocking a Site.

Once you have a map of a location and an understanding of what the site is overall you will likely have a few rooms that you do not know how to stock. If there's only a small number, consider your needs first. Does the site have enough valuables? Is it dangerous enough? Is there something to talk to? Start by bolstering those numbers. 

My music themed sub-dungeon lacked treasure, so I tacked on a workshop and asked myself what valuable thing could be in there. Bang, easy stocking.

However, sometimes you only have a few room concepts (here's the naiad prison, here's the ghosts boudoir, but the other twenty rooms....) and you want a spur towards stocking. That's when I might roll on the stocking-spur.

    1-in-4: Something interesting to read or look at.

    1-in-6: Something dangerous.

    1-in-8: Something useful.

    1-in-10: Something fucking weird.

    1-in-12: Something valuable.

    1-in-20: A connection to another floor or a dungeon exit. 

This allows us to roll a handful of dice and at a glance look for ones to see what might be in a room. Not thematically, but merely in a practical and utilitarian sense. Like all spurs and spark tables it doesn't really do much work for us, but it can ease the distribution of site elements. This table in particular results in 42% of rooms being empty, but that works for my purposes. If you hate empty rooms (and you shouldn't), changing it to 2-in-X for all dice would lower the number of empty rooms to 15%.

It's also quite easily variable in numerous ways. Is your dungeon more dangerous? 2-in-6 or 1-in-4. Do you want more trap and monster rooms rather than combining those elements? 1-in-6 for monsters, 1-in-6 for traps. Do you know your dungeon has some rooms which are flooded? 1-in-8 for a water leak. 

You can include sub-tables. Your setting has eight schools of magic? Maybe you roll a d8 to determine the associated magical school when you roll something weird. You have multiple floors? Maybe you roll a d4 to determine which floor a connection goes to. 

But just do it as deep as you need to. Often you will spur one room and it will result in the adjacent few rooms being stocked based on it. Never roll on a spur table if you can already answer "what's here".

Re-Stocking.

When I want to identify if an adventure site is repopulated and I don't already know the answer I identify the amount of in-game time a standard refresh would take. For me, this is often a week but you might prefer a month. For each "refresh" window that has passed while an adventure site is unsecured (there are unlocked, unhidden, or untrapped exits) I would roll a d6, and if there's a one, someone new has moved in.

Whenever someone moves in, I assume they always bring valuables, will lock logical doors, will take the most comfortable safe space they can reach from the entrance, and will trap at least one of the entrances if they are intelligent. 

A reaction roll is sufficient to establish their relationship with other site denizens if I don't already know their relationships. I don't need to be told the relationship between the lizardfolk and the cannibals if I've seen it elsewhere already. 

When it comes to who, first ask "who is closest who is looking for a safe place to live and stash their stuff"? If there's an obvious answer, congrats. If not either roll on a regional encounter table or use a variation of '3-in-6 intelligent, 2-in-6 animal, 1-in-6 magical/weird' as a spur towards what it could be. Most questions can be answered by considering the world but a tool is often useful.

Review.

If you are doing this preparation in advance, I recommend that your next step is reviewing the results. Is it way off the distribution you like? Do you have illogical rooms next to each other? Can they be combined or shuffled? Returning mentally to the spurred process will reveal the gaps and burrs randomization has introduced like, "Wait, why is there something valuable in the room just outsde the orc's barricades? Maybe it should be specific to that, and therefore I need to hide it."

We benefit from considering the fictional world to have some elements absent our judgement, which spurs assist with, but they are dumb tools. You can't just nail up the drywall without measuring before and spackling after, to use a metaphorical aid. 

Stair Worms aka Mimic Exits aka Gullettes.

Stage Design, Grotto

Pietro di Gottardo Gonzaga, Italian, 1751 - 1831

Stats for B/X D&D

# Appearing: 1 (10% to find a breeding pair locked end to end to form a larger spiral.
HD: 7 (25)

Appearance: A damp tunnel of grey stone, the faint scent of bile and halitosis hanging in the air. From the outside, bivalve like muscles cling to stone, interlinked around exposed organs.
Voice: Occasionally gurgles and groans from its hidden organs behind the stone-like tooth plates lining its interior.
Wants: To eat, to mate.
Morality: irrelevant. 
Intelligence: crocodilian but even dumber.

Armour: As plate from the interior, as unarmoured on the exterior.
Move: .2x normal. 
Morale: 8
Damage: 4d6 crushing peristalsis and salivary enzymes inside, 2d6 clumsy thrashing outside.

Gullettes position themselves inside existing stairs or passageways to replicate their shape and consume those who pass within. A dwarf will recognize their unnatural nature on a 2-in-6 and the stone-like plates lining its interior have a higher pitched tone than they should otherwise. When it attacks from surprise you may wish to give your players an opportunity to make a breath weapon saving throw. Or not. 

Treasure: Possibly the undigested remnants of prior meals, metal objects likely bent or crushed, jewels cracked, coins scuffed.