Chapter IV:
Dungeons, Towns and Wildernesses

Dungeons

Not all OSRIC adventures involve dungeons—but many will. Dungeon design is an art rather than a science, and can be surprisingly satisfying. The purpose of the following sections is partly to help a harassed GM, or one short of time, to create areas of a dungeon randomly, and partly to give some indication of what kinds of challenge are suitable for which parts of the dungeon.

A dungeon or other adventure setting is more than merely monsters and treasures. The clever GM will draw the players into the world by serving as their eyes and ears. Compare and contrast the following statements:

Example #1: “Your party travels down the 60 ft corridor without incident and arrives at a locked door.”

Example #2: “With the thief scouting for traps in front of the party, you proceed slowly down the corridor. The guttering torchlight throws eerie, flickering shadows upon the walls, revealing darker stone and cruder workmanship than that of the previous level. Unfortunately the torchlight doesn’t shed enough light to see to the end, all you can see by the yellow flame is the corridor continuing on into the darkness 40 ft away. A faint current of icy cold air blows into your faces, carrying with it a dank and mouldy smell as the thief pauses for a moment, looking at something on the damp stone floor before continuing. As you pass by you note the badly dented helmet he was examining. It appears damaged beyond all use. From somewhere behind comes the faint sound of slithering—perhaps the sound of one of the many pests inhabiting the lower levels of the dungeon, or is it something more? After travelling about 60 ft, you arrive at a solid looking door, its heavy wood beams solidly bound with rusting iron. The slithering noise has ceased, for now.”

Both passages describe the same 60 ft trek down an empty corridor to a door. Compare the dry and somewhat terse language of the first with the complete involvement of the player’s senses contained in the second: the GM describes what the characters see, smell, and hear. They have arrived at the door and are very likely wondering what may be prowling the corridor behind them, just outside of the range of their puny torches. It’s a harmless pest, but the players don’t know that; the GM is simply telling them what the characters hear. Now contrast the two door descriptions. The players go from a rather bland statement about the door being locked, information to which they should not yet have access, to almost seeing the patches of rust on the sturdy iron bindings and wondering if they will easily get through the door.

It is about this method of filling out the dungeon with sensory input for the players that this section of the OSRIC rules speaks. It is called dungeon dressing and, as we saw above, dungeon dressing can elevate a mundane trip down 60 ft of corridor from an interlude into an experience. Tables are provided for random generation or, as always, the GM may pick and choose specific items for maximum effect. Note the tables are best served in areas otherwise lacking features of note. That is to say, the nuances of your carefully crafted sights, sounds, and smells may be lost upon the party battling for their lives against a horde of skeleton warriors. Although random tables are included, results should still be edited for a degree of consistency.

Air Currents Table

d%	Result	d%	Result
01-05	slight breeze	70-75	still, cold air
06-10	damp slight breeze	76-85	still, warm air
11-12	gusting breeze	86-87	slight updraft
13-18	cold current of air	88-89	strong updraft
19-20	slight downdraft	90-93	strong wind
21-22	strong downdraft	94-95	strong gusting wind
23-69	still	96-00	strong moaning wind

Odours Table

d%	Result	d%	Result
01-03	acrid	66-70	putrid
04-05	chlorine	71-75	rotting vegetation
06-39	dank and mouldy	76-77	salty wet
40-49	earthy	78-82	smoky
50-57	manure	83-89	stale, foetid
58-61	metallic	90-95	sulphur
62-65	ozone	96-00	urine

General Table

d%	Result	d%	Result
01	ashes	61	leather boot
02-04	badly dented helmet	62-64	lantern
05-06	bent iron bar	65-68	mould
07	bits of hair or fur	69	pick handle
08	blunted javelin head	70	pole or rope (broken)
09	bones	71	pottery shards
10-19	broken arrow	72-73	rags
20	broken bottle	74	rats
21-22	ceiling damp	75-76	rubble
23-24	corroded chain	77	sack
25-26	cobwebs	78	scattered teeth or fangs
27	copper coin, bent	79	scratches on wall
28-29	cracks in ceiling	80	slime on ceiling
30-33	cracks in floor	81	slime on floor
34-40	cracks in wall	82-83	slime on wall
41	cracked flask	84	spike
42-44	cracked hammer head	85	sticks
45-49	dagger hilt	86	strap (shield or armour)
50	dripping water	87	straw
51	dried blood	88	stones
52	dry leaves and twigs	89	sword hilt
53-55	dung	90-91	torch stub
56	dust	92-93	wall damp
57	floor damp	94-95	water (puddle or trickle)
58	food item	96	wax drippings
59	fungi	97	wax blob or candle stub
60	guano	98-00	wood

Noises

d%	Result	d%	Result
01-05	bang or slam	50-53	knocking
06	bellow or bellowing	54-55	laughter
07	bong	56-57	moaning
08	buzzing	58-60	murmuring
09-10	chanting	61	music
11	chiming	62	rattling
12	chirping	63	ringing
13	clanking	64	roar or roaring
14	clashing	65-68	rustling
15	clicking	69-72	scratching or scrabbling
16	coughing	73-74	scream or screaming
17-18	creaking	75-77	scuttling
19	drumming	78	shuffling
20-23	footsteps ahead	79-80	slithering
24-26	footsteps approaching	81	snapping
27-29	footsteps behind	82	sneezing
30-31	footsteps receding	83	sobbing
32-33	footsteps to the side	84	splashing
34-35	faint giggling	85	splintering
36	gong	86-87	squeaking
37-39	grating	88	squeal or squealing
40-41	groaning	89-90	tapping
42	grunting	91-92	thud
43-44	hissing	93-94	thumping
45	hooting	95	tinkling
46	trumpet sounding	96	twanging
47	howling	97	whining
48	humming	98	whispering
49	jingling	99-00	whistling

Furnishings

d%	Result	d%	Result
01	altar	50	kettle
02	armchair	51	loom
03	armoire	52	mat
04	arras	53	mattress
05	bag	54	mural
06	barrel	55	oven
07-08	bed	56	pail
09	bench	57	painting
10	blanket	58-60	pallet
11	box	61	pans
12	brazier	62-64	pedestal
13	bucket	65	pegs
14	buffet	66	pillow
15	bunks	67	pots
16	barrel	68-70	quilt
17	cabinet	71	rug
18	candelabrum	72	rushes
19	carpet	73	sack
20	cask	74	sconce
21	cauldron	75	screen
22	chandelier	76-77	sheet
23	charcoal	78	shelf
24-25	chair	79	shrine
26	chest	80	sideboard
27	chest of drawers	81	sofa
28	coal	82	spinning wheel
29	couch	83	staff
30	crate	84	stand
31	cresset	85	statue
32-33	cupboard	86	stool
34	cushion	87-88	table
35	dais	89	tapestry
36	desk	90	throne
37	fireplace with wood	91	trestle
38	fireplace and mantle	92	trunk
39	firkin	93	tub
40-42	fountain	94	tun
43	fresco	95	utensil (cooking etc.)
44	grindstone	96	urn
45	hammock	97	wall basin and font
46	hamper	98	wardrobe
47	hogshead	99	wood billets
48-49	idol	00	workbench

Religious

d%	Result	d%	Result
01-05	altar	56-58	offertory container
06-08	bell	59	paintings or frescoes
09-11	brazier	60-61	pews
12	candelabrum	62	pipes
13-14	candles	63	prayer rug
15	candlesticks	64	pulpit
16	cassocks	65	rail
17	chime	66-67	robes
18-19	altar cloth	68-69	sanctuary
20-23	columns or pillars	70-71	screen
24	curtain or tapestry	72-76	shrine
25	drum	77	side chair
26-27	font	78-79	stand
28-29	gong	80-82	statue
30-35	holy symbol	83	throne
36-37	holy writings	84-85	thurible
38-43	idol	86-88	tripod
44-48	incense burner	89-90	vestry
49	kneeling bench	91-97	vestments
50-53	lamp	98-99	votive light
54-55	lectern	00	whistle

Torture Chamber

d%	Result	d%	Result
01-02	bastinadoes	49-50	pillory
03	bell, huge	51-54	pincers
04-06	bench	55-56	pliers
07-10	iron boots	57-58	huge pot
11-15	branding irons	59-66	rack
16-20	brazier	67-68	ropes
21-22	cage	69	stocks
23-26	chains	70-71	stool
27	chair with straps	72-75	strappado
28	clamps	76-78	straw
29-31	cressets	79-80	table
32	fetters	81	thongs
33-35	fire pit	82-85	thumb screws
36	grill	86-88	torches
37-38	hooks	89-90	"U" Rack
39-43	iron maiden	91	vice
44	knives	92-93	well
45	manacles	94-96	wheel
46	oubliette	97-99	whips
47-48	oil	00	whip, cat-o-nine tails

Alchemy Lab

d%	Result	d%	Result
01-03	alembic	54	magic circle
04-05	balance and weights	55	mortar and pestle
06-09	beaker	56	pan
10	bellows	57-58	parchment
11	bladder	59	pentacle
12-13	bottle	60	pentagram
14-16	book	61	phial
17	bowl	62	pipette
18	box	63	pot
19-22	brazier	64	prism
23	cage	65	quill
24-25	cauldron	66-68	retort
26	candle	69	stirring/mixing rod
27	candlestick	70-71	scroll
28	carafe	72	scroll tube
29-30	chalk	73	sheet
31	crucible	74	skin
32	cruet	75	skull
33	crystal ball	76	spatula
34	decanter	77	measuring spoon
35	desk	78	stand
36	dish	79	stool
37-38	flask	80	stuffed animal
39	funnel	81	tank container
40	furnace	82	tongs
41-44	herbs	83	tripod
45	horn	84	tube, container
46	hourglass	85-86	tube, piping
47-48	jar	87	tweezers
49	jug	88-90	vial
50	kettle	91	water clock
51	ladle	92	wire
52-53	lamp	93-00	workbench

Container Contents

d%	Result	d%	Result
01-03	ashes	49-56	liquid
04-06	bark	57-58	lump
07-09	bone	59-61	oily
10-14	chunks	62-65	paste
15-17	cinders	66-68	pellets
18-22	crystals	69-81	powder
23-26	dust	82-83	semi-liquid
27-28	fibres	84-85	skin or hide
29-31	gelatin	86-87	splinters
32-33	globes	88-89	stalks
34-37	grains	90-92	strands
38-40	greasy	93-95	strips
41-43	husks	96-00	viscous
44-48	leaves

Personal and Miscellaneous

d%	Result	d%	Result
01	awl	51	fuel oil
02	bandages	52	scented oil
03	basin	53	pan
04-05	basket	54	parchment
06	beater	55	pitcher
07	book	56	musical pipes
08-09	bottle	57	smoking pipe
10	bowl	58	plate
11	small box	59	platter
12-13	brush	60	pot
14	candle	61	pouch
15	candle snuffer	62	puff
16	candlestick	63	quill
17	walking cane	64	razor
18	case	65	rope
19	small casket	66	salve
20	chopper	67	saucer
21	coffer	68	scraper
22	cologne	69	scroll
23	comb	70	shaker
24	cup	71	sifter
25	decanter	72	soap
26	dipper	73	spigot
27	dish	74	spoon
28	earspoon	75	stopper
29	ewer	76	statuette or figurine
30	flagon	77	strainer
31	flask	78	tankard
32	food	79	thongs
33	fork	80	thread
34	grater	81-84	tinderbox
35	grinder	85-86	towel
36	hourglass	87	tray
37	jack (container)	88	trivet
38	jar	89	tureen
39	jug	90-91	twine
40	kettle	92	unguent
41	knife	93	vase
42	knucklebones	94	vial
43	ladle	95	wallet
44-45	lamp or lantern	96	washcloth
46	masher	97	whetstone
47	mirror	98	wig
48	mug	99	wool
49-50	needle and thread	00	yarn

Clothing and Footwear

d%	Result	d%	Result
01-02	apron	47-48	kirtle
03-04	belt	49-50	leggings
05	blouse	51-54	linen drawers
06-08	boots	55-58	linen undershirt
09	buskins	59	mantle
10-12	cap	60	pantaloons
13-16	cloak	61-63	petticoat
17-18	coat	64-70	pouch or purse
19	coif	71-74	sandals
20	doublet	75-76	scarf
21-22	dress	77	shawl
23-24	frock or pinafore	78-79	shift
25-26	gauntlets	80-83	slippers
27-28	girdle	84-86	smock
29	gloves	87-89	stockings
30-31	gown	90	surcoat
32-34	hat	91	toga
35	habit	92-94	trousers
36-39	hood	95-96	tunic
40-41	hose	97	veil
42-44	jerkin	98-99	vest
45-46	kerchief	00	wrapper

Food and Drink

d%	Result	d%	Result
01-02	ale	39-42	mead
03	apricots	43-46	grain meal
04-05	apples	47-56	meat
06	beans	57	milk
07-10	beer	58	muffins
11	berries	59	mushrooms
12	biscuits	60-62	nuts
13	brandy	63-64	onions
14-18	bread	65	pastries
19	broth	66	peaches
20	butter	67	pears
21	cakes	68	peas
22-24	cheese	69	pickles
25	cookies	70	pie
26	eggs	71	plums
27	fish	72-74	porridge
28	shellfish	75	prunes
29-30	fowl	76	pudding
31	grapes	77	raisins
32	greens	78-80	soup
33	gruel	81-82	stew
34	honey	83	sweetmeats
35	jam	84-87	tea
36	jelly	88-89	tubers, roots
37	leeks	90-95	water
38	lentils	96-00	wine

Seasonings

d%	Result	d%	Result
01-15	garlic	56-58	pepper
16-50	herbs	59-85	salt
51-55	mustard	86-00	vinegar

List of Formal Room Names

Antechamber	Entry-	Secret-
Armoury	Gallery	Seraglio
Audience-	Game Room	Shrine
Aviary	Great Hall	Sitting Room
Banquet-	Guardroom	Smithy
Barracks	Hall	Solar
Bath	Hallway	Stable
Bedroom	Harem	Storage
Bestiary	Kennel	Strongroom
Boudoir	Kitchen	Study
Cell	Labouratory	Temple
Chantry	Library	Throne Room
Chapel	Lounge	Toilet
Cistern	Meditation	Torture Chamber
Class-	Observatory	Training
Closet	Office	Trophy Room
Conjuring-	Pantry	Vault
Corridor	Pen	Vestibule
Court	Prison	Waiting Room
Crypt	Privy	Water Closet
Dining-	Reception	Well
Divination-	Refectory	Workroom
Dormitory	Robing-	Workshop
Dressing Room	Salon

Trap Generation and Placement

The trap generation chart below is not an exhaustive list. In fact, a quick perusal of this chart should readily produce several variations on the themes presented herein. It should also be noted that some traps can be combined to great effect. For instance, a spiked pit trap might trigger a swinging log to “help” the players in. Use your imagination.

There are various possible trap levels appropriate for different situations, as follows:

Nuisance: A hidden trap door with a 10 ft drop.

Hazardous: A hidden trap door with a 10 ft drop onto spikes.

Dangerous: A hidden trap door with a 10 ft drop onto poisoned spikes (for extra nastiness, have the pit lock shut after the victim falls in).

Fatal: All the above plus a 10 ton stone block the exact shape of the pit that drops down from the ceiling into the pit.

Trap Placement

Generally traps should be suited to the dungeon level on which they are situated and the potential treasure they guard. Thus a trap on the first dungeon level that leads to an area infested with ferocious but poverty-stricken monsters should be nuisance, while a trap on the sixteenth dungeon level that protects a pair of dragons’ treasure hoard while the dragons are out hunting should be fatal.

Intelligent creatures that live near a trap will always have some means of avoiding or disarming it—whether this be an alternative route they habitually take or some mechanical or magical means of bypassing it. If they use the trap to protect their lair, treasure or young, they will maintain the trap to the best of their ability (perhaps cleaning away bloodstains or other evidence of its existence, for example). And if the player characters learn to bypass the trap, intelligent monsters may try to find a way of making it effective again—perhaps by moving it or adding additional features, according to their ability and resources.

When placing traps, think about their purpose in the game and the effect they will have on playing style. Traps are there to increase the risk of dungeoneering and to encourage skilled play; good dungeons have a judicious mixture of monsters, traps and roleplaying encounters.

let’s consider two OSRIC GMs. One likes to use many traps, some of which cause instant death with no save, while another prefers to use much fewer traps and always permits a saving throw.

The first GM’s players will adapt. They will move slowly and carefully through the dungeon, and may have summoned creatures or created zombies move ahead of them to trigger any traps they might encounter. They will tend to capture prisoners and question them under charm or some similar magic about the dungeon environment, and evil aligned characters may use captives like mining canaries. The pace of play will be slow owing to the characters’ caution.

The second GM’s players will tend not to be thieves. They will move more rapidly through the dungeon to try to achieve surprise against any foes they might encounter, and the game will have a more heroic feel to it.

Decide which style of game suits you and your group and design traps in your dungeons accordingly.

Random Trap Generation Table

d%	Result	d%	Result
1-2	acid spray	51-52	oil-filled pit with dropping lit torch
3-4	bolt, crossbow	53-54	pit trap triggered by false door
5-6	bridge, collapsing	55-56	pit with dropping ceiling block
7-8	bridge, illusory	57-58	pit with locking trap door
9-10	caltrops drop from ceiling	59-60	pit, 10 ft
11-12	ceiling block drops behind players	61-62	poisoned bolt, crossbow
13-14	ceiling blocks drop in front of and behind players	63-64	poisoned caltrops
15-16	ceiling block drops in front of players	65-66	poisoned spear, ballista
17-18	ceiling block drops on players	67-68	poisoned spike pit
19-20	ceiling block seals players in room or area	69-70	portcullis drops behind players
21-22	elevator room	71-72	portcullises drop in front of and behind players
23-24	elevator room, deactivates for 24 hours	73-74	portcullis drops in front of players
25-26	elevator room, one way	75-76	rolling stone ball, height and width of corridor
27-28	falling door	77-78	scything blade, ankle-high
29-30	flame jets	79-80	scything blade, neck-high
31-32	flooding room	81-82	sliding room changes facing or location
33-34	gas, blinding	83-84	spear, ballista
35-36	gas, fear	85-86	spiked log trap
37-38	gas, flammable	87-88	spiked pit
39-40	gas, sleep	89-90	spring-loaded pile-driver disguised as a door
41-42	gas, slowing	91-92	stairs fold flat into a sliding chute
43-44	greased chute	93-94	stairs collapse
45-46	lightning bolt	95-96	teleporter
47-48	log trap, swinging	97-98	trip wire
49-50	obscuring fog	99-00	wire, neck high

Tricks

Tricks make something harmless appear dangerous, or make something dangerous appear harmless. Create an expectation but fulfil it in an entirely extraordinary manner: an expensive diamond ring resting in a sturdy lead coffer, or is it? The ring is a well made but worthless trinket, the box is solid gold painted to appear as lead. This is the essence of the trick. Use the two tables below to generate random tricks. The first table will generate a mundane object commonly found in most dungeons, and the second will provide an unexpected attribute.

Features Table (d%)

d%	Feature	d%	Feature
1-3	altar	51-53	monster
4-6	arch	54-56	mosaic
7-10	ceiling	57-60	painting
11-13	container*	61-63	passage
14-16	dome	64-66	pedestal
17-20	door**	67-70	pillar/Column
21-23	fire	71-73	pit
24-26	fireplace	74-76	pool
27-30	force field	77-80	room
31-33	fountain	81-83	stairway
34-36	furnishing	83-86	statue
37-40	idol	87-90	tapestry
41-43	illusion	91-93	vegetation
44-46	machine	94-96	wall
47-50	mirror	97-00	well

*Any: jar, box, coffer, chest, barrel, vase, casket, etc.

**Any door: secret, concealed, valve, arch, etc.

Attributes (d%)

d%	Feature	d%	Feature
1	ages	51	increases Dexterity
2	animated	52	increases Intelligence
3	anti-Magic	53	increases Strength
4	appearing	54	increases Wisdom
5	asks	55	intelligent
6	attacks	56	invisible
7	changes class	57	laughs
8	changes minds from one body to another	58	magnetic
9	changes sex	59	makes younger
10	collapsing	60	moves
11	combination	61	null gravity
12	dances	62	one way
13	decreases charisma	63	opposite alignment
14	decreases constitution	64	pivots
15	decreases dexterity	65	plays games
16	decreases intelligence	66	points
17	decreases strength	67	poison
18	decreases wisdom	68	polymorphing
19	directs	69	random alignment
20	disappearing	70	randomly acts
21	disintegrates	71	reduces
22	dispenses coins	72	repellent/repulses
23	dispenses counterfeit coins	73	resists magic
24	dispenses counterfeit gems	74	reverse gravity
25	dispenses counterfeit jewellery	75	reverse wish fulfilment
26	dispenses counterfeit magic item	76	riddles
27	dispenses counterfeit map	77	rising
28	dispenses gems	78	rolls
29	dispenses jewellery	79	shifting
30	dispenses magic item	80	shoots
31	dispenses map	81	sings
32	distorted depth	82	sinking
33	distorted height	83	sliding
34	distorted length	84	sloping
35	distorted width	85	spinning
36	electric shock	86	steals
37	enlarges	87	suggests
38	enrages	88	suspends animation
39	false	89	symbiotic
40	flesh to stone	90	takes
41	foretells	91	talks
42	fruit	92	talks in poetry and rhymes
43	gaseous	93	talks nonsense
44	geas	94	talks very intelligently
45	gravity decreased	95	talks, spell casting
46	gravity increased	96	teleports
47	greed inducing	97	unusual colour/texture/ material
48	hovers	98	variable gravity
49	increases charisma	99	wish fulfilment
50	increases constitution	00	yells and screams

Example of use: Gina the GM needs a trick to round out a dungeon map. Taking her trusty d% in hand, she rolls a 37 on the feature table and a 55 on the attribute table. This yields a result of idol, intelligent. She decides the room will contain a carved idol which holds the mind and soul of a long departed adventurer. The idol knows something of the surrounding dungeon rooms but not much else. Depending on how the party approaches and treats with the idol, it may relate some of its knowledge to them.

Gina decides to roll a second trick for a different room and rolls a 25 then 31, which yields a result of fireplace, dispenses map. She places an unlit fireplace in the room in question that has a rolled up map of the next level down hidden among the logs stacked neatly within.

Random Dungeon Generation

This GM aid is designed for on-the-fly dungeon generation when a gaming session takes an unexpected turn. It can also serve to spur the imagination when one’s artistic abilities fail and can even be used for solo play. The following tables should be appropriate for everything from one level side-quests to generating add-on levels for the GM’s own mega-dungeon. The GM is advised to freely “fudge” the die roll if an impossible result is generated. If the tables dictate a room which will not fit in the available space, for instance, then either resize the room or reroll. Remember at all times the random dungeon generator is an aid rather than a hard and fast set of rules. For the purposes of this table OSRIC defines a room as having exits which are closed by a door or other portal, whereas a chamber has open exits such as archways.

How to create a random dungeon:

1. Roll or pick a starting area on Table 1. If the pre-generated starting areas are used, skip to step #6. If an empty starting area is desired, then skip to step #7.
2. Roll room shape and size on Table 2(a) or Table 2(b).
3. Roll number of exits on Table 5.
4. Roll for location of room exits on Table 6.
5. Roll direction for chamber exit passages on Table 7, or what lies beyond the door for rooms on Table 20.
6. Roll contents for room on Table 8, consult sub-tables for content as indicated.
7. If no particular table is indicated, the corridor continues for 30 ft. Then check Table 18: General.

After the room is completely resolved, begin rolling up the various corridors and rooms generated in step #4 using the steps above as a guideline.

Table 1: Starting locations (1d6). Use this table if you are starting from scratch. If you already have a starting location go to Table 7: Exit Direction, Passage or Table 19: Behind the Door; as appropriate. If you wish to begin your dungeon with a more standard starting room result proceed to Table 2: Rooms & Chambers.

Table 1: Starting Area Shape (1d6)

Die	Starting Area	Die	Starting Area
1	Use area 1	4	Use area 4
2	Use area 2	5	Use area 5
3	Use area 3	6	Use area 6

Table 2: Rooms & Chambers (1d20)
Table 2(a): Room

Die	Room Size	Die	Room Size
1	10 × 10 ft	12-13	20 × 30 ft
2-4	20 × 20 ft	14-15	20 × 40 ft
5-7	30 × 30 ft	16-18	30 × 40 ft
8-10	40 × 40 ft	19-20	Special*
11	10 × 20 ft

*refer to Table 3: Special Rooms or Chambers.

Proceed to Table 5: Number of Exits

Table 2(b): Chambers

Die	Chamber	Die	Chamber
1	10 × 20 ft	11-13	20 × 40 ft
2-4	20 × 20 ft	14-15	40 × 50 ft
5-6	30 × 30 ft	16-17	40 × 60 ft
7-8	40 × 40 ft	18-20	Special*
9-10	20 × 30 ft

*refer to Table 3: Special Rooms or Chambers.

Proceed to Table 5: Number of Exits

Table 3: Special Rooms or Chambers (1d20)

Die	Shape	Die	Shape
1	Cave	11-12	Oval
2-6	Circular*	13-14	Special**
7-8	Hexagonal	15-17	Trapezoidal
9-10	Octagonal	18-20	Triangular

*Roll 1d20: 1-6 room has a pool (see Table 15: Pools), 7 room has a well, 8-11 room has a shaft, 12-20 proceed to Table 4.

**GM’s discretion. Freehand draw an unusual shape, or pick a standard room as needed for mapping needs, or reroll.

Proceed to Table 4: Approximate Size Table for Unusual Rooms

Table 4: Approximate Size Table for Unusual Rooms (1d20)

Die	Size (sq ft)	Die	Size (sq ft)
1-3	500	11-12	3,250
4-6	1,000	13-15	4,000
7-8	1,500	16-20	Reroll*
9-10	2,500

*Roll again and add result to 1,000 sq ft. If 15-20 is rolled a second time, increase base square footage to 2,000 and reroll. Each subsequent roll of 16-20 adds an additional 1,000 sq ft until a result of 1-15 is obtained.

Proceed to Table 5: Number of Exits

Table 5: Number of Exits (1d20)

Die	Room Area (sq ft)	# Exits	Room Area (sq ft)	# Exits
1-4	< 500	1	> 500	2
5-7	< 500	2	> 500	3
8-9	< 500	3	> 500	4
10-12	< 1000	0*	> 1000	1
13-15	< 1500	0*	> 1500	1
16-19	Any	1d4	Any	1d4
20	Any	1**	Any	1**

*Check for secret doors: any section of wall close to another mapped room or passage has a 25% chance of a secret door, otherwise this room/chamber is a dead end.

**This result switches things up a bit. If rolling for a room exit, this result calls for a passage. If rolling for a chamber exit this result indicates a door.

Proceed to Table 6: Exit Location

Table 6: Exit Location* (1d20)

Die	Location	Die	Location
1-4	Left Wall	13-16	Right Wall
5-12	Opposite Wall	17-20	Same Wall

*If a passage or door placement per the above table would open into a previously mapped space, roll 1d20. The door will be moved to the opposite wall on a 1-10, the door remains where it is but is a secret door on an 11-15, the door remains where it is but is a one-way door on a roll of 16-20.

If Passage, Proceed to Table 7: Exit Direction, Chamber Passage. If Door, Proceed to Table 20: Behind the Door

Table 7: Exit Direction, Chamber Passage (1d20)

This table is for use with passages (which exit a chamber). For doors, consult Table 20: Behind the Door.

Die	Direction
1-16	Straight
17-18	Left 45 degrees*
19-20	Right 45 degrees*

*If passage cannot bend in the direction indicated, bend the passage the other way. For example, a left 45 degree bend would become a right 45 degree bend.

Proceed to Table 22: Passage Width

Table 8: Chamber or Room Contents (1d20)

Die	Result
1-7	Empty
8-11	Monster (determine randomly)
12-17	Monster and Treasure (refer to GM monster tables and see Table 9: Treasure)
18	Stairs (see Table 13: Stairs)
19	Trick or Trap (see above)
20	Treasure (see Chapter VI: Treasure and Table 9)

Proceed to Table 9: Treasure Container

Table 9: Treasure Container (d20)

Die	Container	Die	Container
1-2	Bags	11-12	Pottery Jars
3-4	Sacks	13-14	Metal Urns
5-6	Coffers	15-16	Stone Containers
7-8	Chests	17-18	Iron Trunks
9-10	Large Chests	19-20	None, loose

Optional, or 50% chance: Consult Tables 10 and 11. Treasure amounts are determined on Table 12.

Table 10: Treasure Guards & Wards (1d20)

Die	Treasure
1-2	Blade scything across inside
3-4	Contact poison on container
5-6	Contact poison on treasure
7	Gas released by opening container
8	Explosive runes
9-10	Poisoned needles in lock
11	Poisoned needles in handles
12	Poisonous insect or reptile living inside container
13	Spears released from walls when container opened
14	Spring darts firing from front of container
15	Spring darts firing from top of container
16	Spring darts firing up from inside bottom of container
17	Stone block dropping in front of container
18	Symbol
19	Trapdoor opening in front of container
20	Trapdoor opening 6 ft in front of container

Table 11: Treasure Hidden By or In (1d20)

Die	Hidden by or in
1-2	Behind a loose wall stone
3-4	Illusion to change appearance or hide item
5-7	Invisibility
8-11	In a nearby secret room
12	In an ordinary container in plain view
13	Inside or under trash or dung heap
14	Non-magically disguised
15	Secret space under container
16-17	Secret compartment in container
18-20	Under a loose flooring stone

Table 12: Treasure Amount (1d20)

If the treasure is guarded by a monster, roll twice and add 1 to each roll. Otherwise roll once at no bonus.

Die	Result
1-5	2d10 × 100cp
6-10	2d10 × 100 sp
11-13	2d8 × 100 ep
14-15	1d4 × 100 gp
16-17	2d10 × 10pp
18	Gems/Jewellery—roll 1d8, 1-5 = 1d3 gems, 6-8 = 1 jewellery
19	Roll 1d8, 1-5 = no treasure, 6-8 = 1 magic item
20	1 magic item

Results from this table should be multiplied by the level of the dungeon concerned. So if the party is on the third dungeon level and the d20 shows “13,” they will receive 3d4 × 100 gp rather than 1d4. If the party is on the fifth dungeon level and a magic item is rolled, the party actually receives 5 magic items. The GM should adjust any extreme results to keep them proportional.

Table 13: Stairs (1d20)

Die	Result	Die	Result
1-5	Down 1 level	12	Chimney up 1 level, passage continues
6	Down 2 levels	13	Chimney up 2 levels, passage continues
7	Down 3 levels	14	Chimney down 2 levels, passage continues
8-9	Up 1 level	15-16	Trap door down 1 level, passage continues
10	Up to a dead end	17	Trap door down 2 levels, passage continues
11	Down to a dead end	18-20	Down 1 level into chamber

>Table 14: Caves (1d20)

Note: The lowest levels of dungeons are often composed of caves and caverns. Use this table for caves and roll for exits on Table 5.

Die	Cave
1-5	Cave 40 × 60 ft
6-7	Cave 50 × 75 ft
8-9	Double Cave: 30 × 30 ft, 60 × 60 ft
10-11	Double Cave: 30 × 50 ft, 80 × 100 ft*
12-14	Cavern 100 × 125 ft*
15-16	Cavern 125 × 150 ft
17-18	Cavern 150 × 200 ft*
19-20	Cavern 300 × 400 ft**

*Roll on Table 15: Pools.

**Roll on Table 16: Lakes.

Table 15: Pools (1d20)

Die	Result
1-12	No pool
13-14	Pool
15-16	Pool, monster
17-19	Pool, monster, and treasure
20	Magic pool, go to Table 17: Magic Pools

Table 16: Lakes (1d20)

GMs should note the opportunity to use aquatic or amphibious monster encounters.

Die	Result
1-12	No lake
13-15	Lake
16-17	Lake, monster
18-19	Lake, monster and treasure
20	Enchanted Lake*

*Lake serves as a portal to special area such as a temple on the Elemental Plane of Water or other remote and exotic location. If no map is prepared the GM should treat this as a result of: lake, monster, treasure.

Table 17: Magic Pools (1d20)

In order to learn the secret of a magic pool, adventurers must actually enter the water.

Die	Result
1-8	Roll 1d20. Pool turns gold pieces into platinum pieces (1-12) or lead (13-20); after doing this once, pool is non-magical.
9-15	Characters in pool will either lose (01-50 on d%) or gain (51-00) 1 point from a randomly-determined attribute. Roll 1d6: 1=strength, 2=dexterity, 3=constitution, 4=intelligence, 5=wisdom, 6=charisma. One time only effect, each character checked separately for loss or gain and affected characteristic.
16-17	Talking pool, will grant 1 wish to any characters of like alignment and damage all others (1d20 points). Wish must be used within 24 hours. Roll 1d20 for pool’s alignment: 1-6 LG; 7-9 LE; 10-12 CG; 13-17 CE; 18-20 TN.
18-20	Transporter pool. Roll 1d20: 1-7 back to surface; 8-12 elsewhere on level; 13-16 1 level down; 17-20 many miles away for wilderness or outdoor adventure. This one can be especially fiendish if not all characters in the party are standing in the pool.

Table 18: General (1d20)

Die	Result
1-3	Chamber. Roll on Table 2(b): Chambers. Check again on this table 30 ft after leaving chamber
4	Continue straight, check this table again in 50 ft
5	Dead End, check for secret doors as per Table 6: Exit Location
6-10	Door. Consult Table 19: Door Location, if result is not a straight ahead door result check this table again in 30 ft
11-14	Side passage. See Table 21: Side Passages, check this table again in 30 ft
15	Stairs. Go to Table 13: Stairs
16-19	Turn. Consult Table 24: Turns and check this table again in 30 ft
20	Wandering Monster, re-roll on this table to determine monster location and approach

Table 19: Door Location (1d20)

If door indicated is a left or right door, roll 1d20 again. On a result of 1-3 there is also a door on the opposite side.

Die	Result
1-6	Left
7-12	Right
13-20	Ahead

Table 20: Behind the Door (1d20)

This table is for use with doors that exit a room. For passages, consult Table 7: Exit Direction, Chamber Passage. Always check width of corridors on Table 22: Passage Width.

Die	Result
1-3	Side door: parallel passage. Door straight ahead: 10 × 10 ft room
4-8	Straight passage
9	Passage 45 degrees left
10	Passage 45 degrees right
11-18	See Table 2(a): Rooms
19-20	See Table 2(b): Chambers

Table 21: Side Passages (1d20)

Die	Result
1-4	left 90 degrees
5-8	right 90 degrees
9	left 45 degrees (d6, 1-3 ahead, 4-6 behind)
10	right 45 degrees (d6, 1-3 ahead, 4-6 behind)
11-13	passage T’s
14-15	passage Y’s
16-19	four-way intersection
20	five-way intersection*

* usually two passages along the x-axis, two along the y-axis, and one diagonal.

Table 22: Passage Width (1d20)

Die	Width
1	5 ft
2-13	10 ft
14-17	20 ft
18	30 ft
19-20	See Table 23: Special Passages

Proceed to Table 18: General

Table 23: Special Passages (1d20)

Die	Result	Die	Result
1-7	40 ft wide*	16-19	river***
8-12	50 ft wide*	20	chasm****
13-15	stream**

* There is a 50% chance that the passage contains a single or double row of columns. If a double row, there is a 10% chance the columns support a balcony or gallery above.

** Determine passage width via an additional roll. The stream bisects the passage. It will be bridged 75% of the time.

*** Determine passage width via an additional roll. The river bisects the passage. It will be bridged 50% of the time or have a boat 25% of the time (50% chance the boat is on the player’s side).

**** Determine passage width via an additional roll. The chasm bisects the passage and is a long sheer drop (nominally 100 ft). It will be bridged 50% of the time or have a narrower spot suitable for jumping across 25% of the time.

Table 24: Turns (1d20)

Die	Result
1-9	left 90 degrees
10	left 45 degrees (d6, 1-3 ahead, 4-6 behind)
11-19	right 90 degrees
20	right 45 degrees (d6, 1-3 ahead, 4-6 behind)

Using the Random Dungeon Generator for Solo Play

OSRIC is not really designed for solo play, but it is possible to use this random dungeon generator for such a purpose.

Start with Table 1: Starting locations in the middle of a sheet of graph paper. Use the charts from the OSRIC random encounters section to resolve the various monster encounters and generate treasure. You can appeal to your friends at your local gaming club or on-line for sealed information to use with special encounters and areas.

To resolve listening at doors, roll 1d12 and treat a result of 1-5 as a monster encounter. Use Table 8: Chamber or Room Contents but treat any result as including a monster encounter. Otherwise, any monster encounters rolled should be ignored unless the creatures would be silent (undead, bugbears, etc.).

ESP, scrying, and other means of magical detection can be resolved in the following manner. A roll of 1 on 1d6 indicates a monster in the area being checked. Roll the encounter using the relevant GM table and ignoring any monster type not detectable by method of detection used. If a 6 is rolled, the player should reroll when entering the room. If a 6 is rolled again a non-detectable monster is encountered and player’s chance to be surprised increases by +1.

Stocking the Dungeon: You may wish to use the “Random Encounters” section that follows to stock your dungeon, or you may wish to design specific areas without reference to random tables. Many GMs use a mixture of the two methods, with designed areas surrounded by randomly-generated areas.

The degree to which dungeon “ecology” matters is up to the individual GM. Some GMs give thought to food sources, water sources and latrine facilities; others do not bother. The authors recommend the following golden rule: Dungeons don’t have to make sense, but they do need to be full of variety. Having said this, a little thought on the placement of creatures doesn’t go amiss—if there’s some logic behind the dungeon, then it’s easier for skilled players to work out what’s going on and use it to their advantage, and rewarding player skill is an important aspect of the OSRIC system.