Cinematic Dungeon Design #1: Monsters Fight the Light

While running dungeons for my players, I like to remind the party that they're trespassing.

Because it's easy to forget, right? At the D&D table, we're all in our comfort zones, munching Cheetos and drawing mosaics on our pajama bottoms with the dusty orange residue.

But to the goblins, the giant insects, or the incel ogre (who won't stop pushing his 'non-political' agenda on us), they're the ones coming into someone else's home uninvited.

And in most dungeons, they're coming in with something the average cave-dwelling resident hopes to avoid: light.

Shadowdark is a great system (period) for this, because the darkness carries a lot of danger, and if the torches go out, it's a problem. I frequently make my monsters attack the torchbearer like they broke into my home and dragged me to a social gathering.

Motivation is one of my favorite parts of dungeon design. Everything the party meets - yes, even feral things - should have motivation. A hungry enemy is a dangerous one. But fear? That's enough to make a cat tree a bear.