Tho I'm currently running a campaign with my friends online via roll20 that mostly consists on "Dungeon of the Week" delves, since we're all fans of dungeon delving.
The idea is to play from levels 1 to 20 of D&D Next; tho we are using the playtest right now, we plan to keep using some classes the package brought even tho we'll have to wait till August for the PHB (Yeah, pretty much I'll homebrew the Druis and some Warrior Paths when Basic comes in a few days).
But I'm more bussy doing two things that will serve for a future campaig that needs a lot of prep:
- Making Templates of Pathfinder Classes converted to Next Playtest ruleset so I can "complete" them when Basic details some of the important progression rules.
- Building a "Metroidvania" Inspired Mega Dungeon (I need a lot of help with this and I'll ask it here later).
That, combined with the fact I will have college classes from 2:00pm to 7:30pm, that I have to do volunteering for my curriculum, and work practices for my graduation papers, I'll have a lot in my hands.
We play once every two days and I've improvized some fun stuff, however it's way harder to improvise combats, puzzles, traps, erc and place them on a thematic dungeon (Castle Ruins, Surrrealist Desert Temple, Lava Caves, etc).
I'm also a lazy DM; I don't spend more than 1 or two hours a day prepping. I feel more relaxed building the mega dungeon as I know I'll play it in 4 or 5 months, but knowing I'll play today with the guys makes me lazy since we all get hyped for what will happen next and I spend more time thinking on the plot points than in the adventure itself, since I'm quite a "linear story teller"; I just make a convulted mess if I improvise multiple paths.
So, tho I know and use a vast array of random dungeon generators like donjon, Dyson's and else, I still just use them simply for structure since sometimes the options they present for dungeon populating are basic, very basic (I know I'm supposed to use them to imagien what else to fill in but that's my problem, I'm just extremely lazy).
Any ideas?
Best Answer
This is my recipe for making and/or creating random dungeons. I used it a few times back then, and we all really enjoyed it, but being 3 years after my last D&D campaign it hasn't been used in a long time.
Anyway, let's dive into details, shan't we?
Generate a random and empty dungeon
This is pretty much the easiest part. You already know some dungeon generators. With a few clicks you can give certain aspects, like the amount of doors, the corridors and the like. The map looking cool and inspiring by itself can help you later, but it is by no means mandatory. It will be made inspiring later.
Roll some dice and get the monsters
I used this technique for 3.5e so some tweaking might be needed, but the basic principle remains the same: You roll a few dice to get the page-numbers of the monsters you'll use. It doesn't matter what monsters you've got, you'll explain it to yourself later. Some of them will be common and known while others will be strange, unexpected, and uncanny. This is good, they won't know what to expect, and they will be surprised.
Then place them in the dungeon. It can be done randomly or you can do it manually. Placing them is much less work than it seems. I usually create groups of similar monsters together, like an area of orcs or a corridor full of doors to rooms where demons dwell. A friend of mine once put similar monsters away from each other.
Why they live together in the same dungeon
This is the most important part. You've got your orcs and demons and oozes and the like, why haven't they tried to kill each other? Why are they even there? Think for a second and explain it to yourself. I usually write about a sentence or two for each monster.
or
This sort of thing will create some history for your dungeon, explain far more than first meets the eye and can become quite interesting for the players if they'll want to investigate it. Furthermore, it will eliminate the feel of the randomly-designed dungeon.