Occasionally I find an absolute gem on Drivethrurpg. And this time I did. And I want to share it with you. And as it is a pay what you want file… you can have it too. For whatever you feel like paying. Tricks, Empty Rooms & Basic Trap Design is that gem.
It is written by Courtney C. Campbell from Hack & Slash Publishing. He also runs an excellent blog that has a great deal of other valuable information for dungeon masters of all editions. The blog itself is fantastic. While it may not have the color and flash of some other blogs. The information there is pure gold. You can find a link to the blog here at Hack & Slash.
The product itself has no great color images to use as my cover. Hence the rather plain looking cover to this article.
This product discusses an important subject in dungeon design. The empty room. Empty room? You say? Exactly.
The product goes on to point out that the random dungeon generation tables set out in the AD&D 1st Edition Dungeon Master Guide on page 171 makes a startling suggestion. It is a suggestion that most dungeon masters probably have ignored in designing their own dungeons. And I am equally as guilty. Table V. F. states that 1-12 out of 20 rooms in the dungeon should be empty. If one rolled a 13-14 it should have a monster only. On a 15-17 a monster and treasure should be present. On an 18 something special should be present or stairs up or down. On a 19 a trick or trap would be in the room. And on a 20 treasure alone should be present (but not necessarily in plain view).
Now obviously these tables were designed by Gary Gygax for random generation of a dungeon. But the meaning is kind of clear. Most rooms in a dungeon should be unoccupied.
So what is in all of these rooms? That is what this product is about. It also goes into great detail about trap design and trick design. There are extensive tables and lists to help you in creating ones specific for your dungeon.
What I like Tricks, Empty Rooms & Basic Trap Design
What don’t I like about it? In fact, I should change this, to what I love about this product. Because it is absolutely perfect in just about every way. The lists and tables provided are extensive. Using this product can only improve a dungeon master’s design.
Empty rooms are boring. How can one make them more interesting? Why should rooms be empty at all? These questions are answered and more in this product.
It is a pay what you want product. That means it is basically available to anyone who wants it whether they can, or are willing to, pay for it. Try it for free. Pay something if you love it. I suspect that once you read it you will fall into the latter category. And no… I had nothing to do with producing this fine work. I just found it be accident.
This product provides extensive tables and lists which can be used to make unique tricks and traps for your dungeon. These lists are far in excess of those lists provided in the Dungeon Masters Guide (for any edition). These ideas are not system specific. So you can easily use them in any edition of Dungeons and Dragons.
What I do not like about Tricks, Empty Rooms & Basic Trap Design
Very little. It could probably use a little more artwork. Like a fancy cover or something. There actually is a little art in it. But not a lot. Other than that I cannot think of a thing negative to say about it.
Would I recommend Tricks, Empty Rooms & Basic Trap Design to others?
Absolutely. I think every dungeon master (other than those perhaps that intend to use only modules for their campaigns) should get a copy and use it. And it is pay what you want. So try it now for free and then decide if you want to contribute something to the author. I think that you will once you read it. I do not know the author but if he produces products like this you cannot go wrong getting them if they are pay what you want files.
Would I use this product with my own players?
I intend to. I wrote a product a while back that incorporates many of these ideas called Malcon’s Tome of Treachery. But this product includes many things that I had not considered at the time of that publication. A link to this product can be found below:
Tricks, Empty Rooms & Trap Design
