d100 - Some More Specific Concealed or Secret Doors

Another Random Table Resource to assist Referees with those often-under-specified Secret Doors. Some Dungeon Maps neglect to describe them in their Keys, so all one has to work with is just the S marked on the Map. Unlike my previous table, which mostly features the Triggers/Methods of Opening that might lean more to the *Magical* side, this one tends to focus a little more on Concealed or Hidden Routes of a more Mundane Nature, often leaning on Furnishings and other Fixtures that might be found. Though as you will see, I couldn’t quite contain the urge to add in a few of those useful Clues/Tells and Operating Instructions into some entries.

d100 - Where is that Treasure Hidden?

As another elaboration to assist with Dungeon Stocking duties, here is a Table I’ve put together of some potential locations to secrete the occasional “Hidden Treasure” that can show up during the process. Many of the entries here also include a bit of “Dungeon Dressing” as well that might help provide ideas for rendering the space in addition to any other contents placed.

Usually when I am stocking this sort of thing, I may include a few subtle Clues or other Tells, but sometimes it has been secreted so skillfully that it might take more thorough investigation of the environment to reveal it. For this reason, I usually don’t factor in these rewards for the purposes of determining whether or not a Dungeon has “enough” Treasure: Those hidden Troves are just a bit of a bonus to reward diligent exploration.

d100 - Sacred Shrines & Alien Altars

Strange Shrines or other quasi-Religious Fixtures are sometimes useful for dressing up Dungeons or Wildernesses. This table has a hundred ideas for them, broadly decorative in nature on the surface. However, should you prefer to make these a bit more interactive, I often find that assigning them a Spell, usually from the Cleric List, and preferably one of the Reversible ones, can be quite fun. If attempts are made to disturb or desecrate, it might cast the Reversed Version of the Spell, targeting the intrepid interferer. If proper supplication or careful consecration takes place, perhaps the Shrine will deign to grant a boon (in the form of the Positive version of the Spell in question.)

Some common Candidates come to mind for this:

1. Cure/Cause Light Wounds
2. Light/Darkness
3. Purify/Putrefy Food & Water
4. Remove/Cause Fear
5. Bless/Blight
6. Cure/Bestow Blindness
7. Cure/Bestow Disease
8. Remove/Bestow Curse

As a lark, I recently took a stab at providing Reversed versions of all the Cleric Spells in B/X (with some BECMI Padding for symmetry) so there might also be some amusing ideas here:

In my ancient Shrines Series I mention that repurposing the Turn Undead Check can also be useful for this function: The Cleric (perhaps more familiar with such things than other Classes) may be able to make a Turn Undead roll (target = level of the Spell) to successfully activate or deduce the function of a given Shrine/Altar. Failure could trigger consequences of course.

d100 - Magical Pools, Fountains, or Springs

In the NOTES FOR THE DUNGEON MASTER section of B1 – In Search of the Unknown, one of the pieces of lovely advice Mike Carr recommends is “A room of mysterious pools” and ever since seeing how Players interact with these in those very early games, I’ve endeavored to try to include them in my Dungeons, Hex Crawls, and other places where they might present themselves.

Sometimes beneficial, other times baleful, they occasionally result in Character Improvement outside of the standard scope of the rules, but this reward is seldom without Risk. Experienced Players are sometimes rightfully suspicious of these, so I make sure to have some “non-magical” water features crop up from time to time as well. Things seldom aren’t as they seem in the Mythic Underworld however, so the ones found in Dungeons or other Dangerous Places are often the most interesting in terms of their effects. They are always an excellent choice for those “Special” results that crop up during Random Room Stocking.

As with all my tables, these entries can be tailored to taste: perhaps you would prefer to add a Saving Throw to mitigate harmful effects (or even make Failing a Save a requirement for benefiting from the positive ones, that’s always fun!) or more randomness to the chances of applying the effect or durations intimated here. Decide if they are a “Single Use” or what could potentially occur on subsequent sips. Some become more akin to “Tools” that might be creatively used to solve problems or address challenges. Others make for memorable and more persistent changes to the Characters themselves. As with Traps and other Hazards, it’s often prudent to try to telegraph things a bit if possible, and some of these entries have that sort of minor detail included. Occasionally it might be possible to divine the nature or properties of these mysterious reservoirs in other ways (I particularly enjoy planting Rumors associated with them, and imparting the local denizens with more specific knowledge about their effects is always grand), but sometimes it’s down to just the joy of adjudicating experimentation on the Players’ part.

More potential options can always be found by re-purposing some of my other tables: Unconvetional Potions is one I sometimes use for these, and Magical Mishaps & Calamitous Curses sometimes is a good fit as well. Maybe they grant the Character daily use of a Convenient Cantrip or have side-effects akin to my Herb & Plant Generator? Being able to “Re-skin/Re-use” my prior prep in this way is something I often like to do.

d100 - Handy Hallways & Curious Corridors

When designing Dungeons, Referees often spend plenty of time developing descriptions and dressing for Rooms and Larger Areas, but sometimes the connections between these places can receive a little less love. Here are a hundred potential tidbits for those occasionally under-distinguished Corridors. This table could be useful for communicating an overarching “theme” of construction, or just serve as a spur should further descriptions be warranted when prompted. While I wouldn’t necessarily roll anew for each Happy Hallway, a periodic shift in description can sometimes go a long way to make a place feel more alive or lived in. I suppose in a more mysterious and Mythic Underworld, these sorts of sudden shifts would be right at home.

A gentle word of warning though: Should your table consist of canny and cautious players, sometimes any attention given to these Poor Passageways (no matter how minor!) is viewed with utmost suspicion, and while none of these entries were designed to telegraph Traps or feature intrinsic Hazards, I’m sure that some prudent Players might decide otherwise and expend valuable time investigating or exploring when presented with features like these. Should this lead to additional Resource Consumption, or even a Wandering Monster’s appearance from dawdling in Dangerous Places...that would be another matter.

For additional Dungeon Brainfood, qq.v.:

• A Hundred Clues & Tells for the Tersely Detailed Trap
• Dungeon Noises & Sounds
• This Secret Door Opens
• Fancy Furnishings & Fusty Fittings
• Instigative Scenery & Interactive Décor
• What's At The Bottom Of This Pit?

d100 - What's At The Bottom Of This Pit?

Decided to go ahead and round out this particular Table that has been lingering on my list for a spell. Sometimes those Pitfalls and Pit Traps don’t really receive much more attention than a Saving Throw after all.

See also: One Hundred Clues & Tells for the Tersely Detailed Trap, and I often find myself sometimes sprinkling a bit of Random Impedimenta down there as well.

A Hundred Clues & Tells for the Tersely Detailed Trap

See Also: d100 - This Secret Door Opens...

So often in Modules and Published Adventures, Traps are tragically under-telegraphed. Oftentimes, they are at least properly indicated on the provided maps/grids with a “T” and we might see a terse description of their primary function/effect (often in the form or Recommended Saving Throws), but seldom are there any telltale indicators that can be used to foreshadow these dangers.

I prefer to assume competency with Adventurers. The characters are well aware that these locations full of Treasure that they’ve found themselves exploring are fraught with perilous dangers, even if the Players might be more cavalier in terms of their approach. In addition to threats from Monsters, Running out of Resources, Getting Lost, or even the Dungeon Itself, the fact that “Other Dangers Exist” stares right up at the Players from the character sheet in the form of those deliciously evocative Saving Throw Categories. If the characters are moving at those relatively tortoise-ish Exploration Movement Rates, then I assume that they’re doing their level best to be not only Quiet (preserving Surprise Chances where applicable), but also Careful.

Naturally, anything out of the ordinary should justifiably “spook” someone in these environments. But it can be a bit of a balancing act not to “under” or “over” describe details associated with a potential Hidden Hazard or Disguised Danger. Sandwiching them within long-winded descriptions of set dressing is sometimes used tactically to obfuscate them, but I’m generally not much of a fan of this kind of “Buried Within The Boxed Text” approach. I instead prefer to proffer opportunities for Questions about the environment, consistently encouraging information gathering (and not just in “potentially consequential situations”) so that there’s always an active dialog and exchange of information concerning the surrounds. These clues can serve as something more akin to these sorts of “answers” or “expositions” to close those gaps in the minds’ eye when approaching a new area. After all, most Traps are only rarely utterly undetectable, especially those that fall into these more expansive “Room Trap” categories (as opposed to devilishly concealed “Device” Traps which are a separate animal in my mind).

Another approach I lean heavily on is the Trap Activation chances (2-in-6 by default in B/X and OSE, but often handwaved or ignored sadly). While this can sometimes be adjusted for the context of a particular Dungeon, it’s still something I like to leave to chance rather than assume a foregone conclusion. A musty Crypt, unopened for eons is likely less well maintained (1-8) than say, the Thieves Guild Mistresses’ private Treasure Vault (5-6). But situations like these go hand in hand with the unexpected, and I like that to apply to all Players, including the Referee.

Trap Activation is very useful, because it’s a lot like an additional Saving Throw and really does a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to addressing some of the misconceptions about the perceived lethality or wantonly antagonistic nature of the older versions of these games. But more importantly, this failure to spring can serve as an additional indicator to provide those Clues/Tells or additional details concerning Trap Triggers. These Clues can also serve as a prompt or justification for consuming Time Resources by engaging the Search Procedures.

Not everyone runs Traps the way I do, and that’s perfectly fine 😊. Sometimes the fun for me is in overcoming the obstacle or acquiring information by interacting with the environment rather than in maliciously concealing information. But at the very least, Clues such as these can be a wonderful way to ground the consequences of actions in the shared imagined space rather than having ufortunate outcomes seem arbitrary or unjustified in their application. Sometimes in Play, these pieces get put together retroactively, but that still generally results in a more satisfying conclusion for most victims than the more cutthroat and capricious Gotcha! style Trap.

That’s enough waxing philosophic for now! Here are the Tables:

d100 - Fancy Furnishings & Fusty Fittings

One can never have enough ideas for room dressing and decoration. I tend to treat even those “Empty” rooms when stocking as an opportunity to convey a bit of background or provide some potential resources/tools for canny Players to exploit. Seldom is such a room actually “Empty” as in utterly swept bare, wall-to-wall, with nary a dust bunny or fixture in sight. “Empty” to me just means devoid of Monster, Trap, Treasure, or Special.

After a few individuals reached out to me asking if I had any tables for Furniture (to gussy up Haunted Manor Houses and such), I figured I could whip something together that might be useful. Here’s a quick table with a bit more than 100 different ideas, as well as some positive/negative adjectives that might spruce up descriptions a bit. Although this is geared more for home furnishings, I’d be just as likely to try and use this with Dungeon Dressing honestly, and sometimes like to try to use the randomly generated contents of a room to try and interpret its function (prior or otherwise) when stocking.

These might even be extended and embellished a bit further with some of the entries on my Jewelry Generator or Table of Smells, and I might eventually throw together a perchance generator for them.