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A dungeon room doesn’t need a monster, NPC, trap, combat encounter, or treasure to be interesting. Plus, empty doesn’t have to mean nothing is there.
Empty rooms create atmosphere: Strange smells, old bloodstains, abandoned weapons, rotting food, or other signs of decay tell a story.
Empty rooms provide clues: Evidence of previous occupants or recent activity can foreshadow the dangers and perils that are yet to come.
Empty rooms change the pace: If every room contains an encounter or treasure, players come to expect them, and the dungeon grows monotonous. Quiet rooms create uncertainty and make dangerous rooms more surprising.
An empty room doesn’t have to be an uninteresting or boring room. An empty room can help set the tone or even help build the world. Using random tables to fill the rooms with mundane items also makes the dungeon feel real, as if the space was lived in or at least occupied in the past.
The last push to finish the office has stretched out a bit, but a full reveal is coming soon. I promise.
Be sure to check out The Broken Empires. I created some random tables for it! (Created by Trevor from above.)
In honor of the release of the Second Edition, I’ve cut the prices on The Great Book of Random Tables: First Edition.
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