As a DM, when designing an adventure, how do you know what to choose at each step along the way?
Here’s an example of what I mean.
When I was a kid, I never really liked math class. The instructor would say, “In this situation, use this method” and I would sit there wondering, “How do you know to do that?”
When creating a D&D adventure, a new DM or even one with a bit more experience might have the same question come up in their mind: how do you know what layout to use in your map, or how do you know which theme or plot works best for the adventure, or how do you know which monsters to choose and where to place them?
That’s why I wrote this article. It’s more about why you make certain choices in the adventure design process than it is about the process itself. I’m going to walk through the adventure creation process, and as I go, I’ll describe my thought process and selection process so you can get a bit more insight about how to make your own choices when creating adventures.
After you read this article, I highly recommend checking out my other content for a more detailed example of the entire creation process.
“How to Write a D&D Adventure From Scratch (Step-by-Step)”
https://youtu.be/BF3VoeGGlMM
Let’s start at the top of the adventure design process. Step 1 is picking a theme. Will it be a recovery or rescue mission, will it be a quest given by royalty, will it be exploration of the unknown? These are a few of the common tropes or adventure themes we’re all familiar with.
Most dungeon master guides and rulebooks have lists and even random tables you can use to pick one. But assuming you don’t want to leave it up to the dice, you will probably be choosing the theme yourself.
I make my selection based on two criteria: First, is there some insight or inspiration provided by your group of players. For instance, have any of your players made a specific request, perhaps a sneaking mission or maybe a classic slay the dragon kind of adventure. In my experience, the players don’t tend to make overt requests like that, but it can happen.
You can also get inspiration from the character class make-up of the party. If the players are running multiple rogues, then a sneaking or infiltration mission makes sense. I had a group of teen players a while back that had multiple clerics, so I created a mission based around an abbey with a vampire lurking in the catacombs below it.
One tip to help you figure out what theme to choose is by looking at what your previous themes have been. Then pick something that you haven’t done yet with this particular group of players.
The final way you can decide which theme to choose is to look at a list of theme types found in your rulebook or dungeon master’s guide and see which one triggers your own interest. Which one seems like the most fun? I’ve found that if you, the DM, are enthused about an adventure, the players will subconsciously pick up on that enthusiasm and have even more fun because of it.
Okay, you’ve got your adventure’s theme figured out. The next step is choosing your setting. A great deal of how you make setting choices comes down to where the party is already based. Are they playing in an established world like the Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk? Or maybe they’re adventuring within a homebrew world you created? Unless you’re wanting to do some special one-shot where the world doesn’t matter, it’s generally a good idea to base this new adventure within the world the party is already located, and likely somewhere close or within reasonable travel distance to their current location.
But, D&D is a magical world and there are lots of ways for a party of adventurers to move around, sometimes over great distances. If you want your adventure to take place in an exotic location, you can also introduce a teleportation portal or pan-dimensional gate. That way the party can get there without having to travel there, if you know what I mean.
Your adventure’s location will be partially informed by the theme you chose. It doesn’t make sense to locate the adventure inside an underground dungeon if your theme is an escort mission between cities.
Location can be defined by the established milieu. If your party is headquartered in a small town at the base of a huge mountain, maybe your adventure can be set within an abandoned mine inside that mountain. The trick is to ask yourself, how is the location tied to the theme and how does the location support the main plot? Do they connect in a rational sense?
You’ve figured out your theme and plot, then chosen a location that supports it and ties into it. What’s next? Monsters!
Your choices for the main monster types or Big Bad Evil Guy in your adventure will largely be influenced by your previous choices in steps 1 and 2. What monsters make the most sense based on the location type you chose? For example, you probably won’t place frost giants in a hot and dry desert-type adventure.
As before, pick what makes sense based on the context. Use that mental approach to narrow down your list of available choices. Once you’ve got that figured out, ask yourself which monster types would be the most fun to play based on the party’s make-up?
Like I mentioned earlier about my group of players that were running several clerics, I knew right away that clerics shine brightest when going up against the undead. What’s a cool place for undead? It’s not hanging out in in the food court down at the mall, although that would explain a few things … I went with contrast and placed the undead directly beneath a place of holy worship, the abbey! That also gave me reason for the party to be there, to see the Abbot.
As you read along, you might pick up on a theme that underlies the method to this madness. It’s that it’s easier to edit than to create. So take inspiration from that maxim by using existing things and situations and places, and then basing your next decision off of that context.
You’ve picked a theme based on the party’s class make-up, or maybe honoring a player’s request, or even by picking something from the list of what they haven’t done. The choice of plot is an extension of that, not something brand new you grasp out of thin air.
Your location choice is an extension of your theme or the current location of the party. Even when you decide to do something completely “out there” to so speak, you’re probably thinking, “What’s the weirdest place I can locate their next adventure?” and perhaps subconsciously or even overtly making your choice as an opposite of where they’ve already been. Even in that case, you’re coming up with your idea based on something you already know.
Your choice of monster-types and BBEG is almost entirely determined by your choice of theme and location, not something you grab randomly from the ether. Every step along the way informs the next step down the line.
When it comes time to start drawing maps, you guessed it, your design should be informed or at least influenced by your choices in the process so far. The layout of a temple to a sun god in the middle of a barren desert will be very different than the map you’d draw of the wererat-infested catacombs under a palace inside a large city.
Making maps is fun, and doing it by hand was always my favorite part of adventure design when I was young. I’d actually start with the map as the very first step, although I will admit the adventures I created as a teenager lacked a certain coherence or plausibility that the adult-me later learned to honor.
Whatever your approach, pick a map type based on the location and monster type. The lair of a beholder will look very different than a kobold’s warren. Think about the monster types you’ve chosen and what kind of environment they’d choose to live in. Did they create their lair, or take it over? Abandoned dwarven mines are a common trope, but their layout can get sort of monotonous after a while. But, they’re classic for a reason.
Remember me talking about the abbey above some catacombs occupied by a vampire? I actually took inspiration from a real abbey built in the middle ages and drew the above-ground floor plan based on the real location. I created the catacombs underneath using an online random generation tool.
As you draw your maps, give thought to what each area will contain in terms of monsters, objects, magic, treasure, and such. This plays into the next step.
You’ve got your theme, location, monster types, and maps drawn, now it’s time to stock your dungeon. This entails figuring out what goes where and how it works.
You can go into as much or as little detail as you need, and that’s the key part: only include what YOU need. It’s a common issue with DMs, especially those new to the game, to prepare far more than is necessary. Like knowing what to pack when going camping, you learn over time what can stay home on your next trip.
Apart from that, how do you make the decision about what goes in each location? We’re talking room by room or chamber by chamber kind of detail.
Again, think about the setting. If it’s the underground tunnels beneath a city where the thieves guild is headquartered, think about what a bunch of thieves would have in their lair. They’d likely have traps on outer doors that they can easily bypass but unwelcome visitors would find most unpleasant.
Where would the lieutenants be quartered, and what would they have in their rooms?
If it’s a kobold warren, where do they post guards? Where do they eat and sleep? How do they get into and out of their warren? Did they dig it themselves? If so, where are the rock piles for excavated material, and where do they store their picks and shovels?
If it’s a shallow cave in the forest where a group of werewolves are laired, what paths lead to their lair and how do they defend it? Where do they stash any loot they acquire?
Let the purpose of who’s occupying the dungeon and the purpose of the dungeon itself inform what you place within its various areas. Do what’s plausible and sensible based on the context.
My biggest advice for this overall process is to remember two key points:
First, get inspiration from what came before. Don’t create. Edit and extend. Take what is existing, even if it’s just a simple idea or request, and shape that into what makes sense based on your needs and desires. Let what you’re working on now be informed by the decisions you made in prior steps.
Second, think about plausibility. This is fantasy, so things can and should be fantastical, but things should still make a certain sort of sense. The best word I can think of is verisimilitude. It helps the players be more immersed in the adventure if what they encounter makes sense based on the context of where they are and why they’re there.
A royal prince’s inner chambers would be very disjointed and perplexing to the players if it was made up of circular tubes at all angles like you’d find in a Beholder’s lair.
If you follow those two principles, I bet you’ll find the adventure creation process becomes much easier. And, I think the quality and enjoyment factor of your adventures will improve, too.