Why Dungeons?

I have pondered some of the more ethereal aspects of running games in the last few days. Today I would like to focus on a more concrete issue, that of the use of dungeons in fantasy gaming.

Why dungeons? The question is actually a bit deeper than it firsts appears. The easiest, and most basic answer is that the Dungeon is a clear depiction of an adventure flowchart. A GM can look at the dungeon and see where the choices of the PC's lead them. If they took the passage on the right, the come into contact with the group of goblins in room 1 and if they took the left passage they encounter the pit trap that is 20ft down that hallway. In this way, it is one of the best ways for a new GM to get started, as it provides an easy way of seeing how your adventure progresses.

This can lead to the darker side of dungeon use, however. That of an overly controlling GM. It is easy to see the dungeon as a structure that forces the players to proceed in the manner that the GM wants, and can make the players feel trapped. This is why I very rarely use dungeons that lock the players in. On occasion an escape dungeon can be fun, the obvious deprivation of player's free will can end up making them resent the adventure. And running an adventure that the players resent will never be fun for anyone.

Beyond the metagame meanings of a dungeon, there are several thematic meanings of dungeon adventures. The first is a sense of history. A well done dungeon adventure should provide hints to the history of the campaign world through the answer of at least two basic questions: Who built the dungeon? and Why was it built? Huge underground dwellings are not made by accident and the GM can communicate a lot about his game world by thinking about how it came to be. The easiest way to do this is the descriptions of the artwork in the dungeons. A simple carving on a wall or door can communicate more about the campaign world than a whole discussion with an NPC.

The second thematic idea of the dungeon is that of the unknown. We are beings of the senses, and in our normal lives our vision is paramount. However, in a dark, dank dungeon with twisted passages, that vision is limited. When we limit the senses of the player characters it enhances the sense of danger in the situation, which will make the characters more on edge and involved with the story. Between that and the sense of wonder at the possibilities of battles and wealth hidden beneath the world, a dungeon can prove to be a place of endless adventure for the party.

The third, and most subtle, use of a dungeon is to reinforce the importance of the player characters. In most dungeons, the player characters will be on their own. It is by their skill alone that they will succeed or fail. Forcing that sort of self reliance will remind the players that they are the heroes of the game, and that it is their great deeds that will change the world.

As I have shown, the dungeon is a time honored and useful tool in the arsenal of a GM. However, like all tools it cannot be overused. When the mighty undercities of the campaign world are entered with the same bored feeling of entering a general store, you are doing something wrong. But large dungeons in the midst of a campaign filled with a varied set of adventures can bring a great deal to the table, and be an adventure that is talked about for a long time afterward.