Dungeon Master'sGuide

RulesSupplement

CampaignSourcebook

CatacombGuide

TSR, Inc.

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Table of Contents

Introduction 3Logistics of Play 4Styles of Play 8Pacing and Theatrics 17Uses of Judgment 33Creating the Campaign 51Creating the World 53Maps and Map Making 75Creating the Adventure 84Making NPCs Live 92Dungeon Settings 101The Dungeon Campaign 106Generic Dungeons 113

The Great Pyramid 114The Primitive Temple 116The Modern Temple 118The Limestone Cavern 120The Beehive Fort 122The Castle on Moors 124

Typical Map Symbols 126Forced Perspective Map Grid 127

Written by Paul Jaquays and William W. ConnorsEdited by William W. Connors and Warren SpectorBlack and White Art by Thomas Baxa, Valerie Valusek, and George BarrColor Art by Keith Parkinson, Dean Morrisey, and Jeff EasleyGraphic Design by Linda Bakk and Dee BarnettTypography by Gaye O'KeefeCartography by Dave SutherlandSpecial Thanks to Douglas Niles and Kim Mohan

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®1990 TSR Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Distributed to the book trade in the United States by Random House Inc. and in Canada byRadom House of Canada, Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors.Distribution in the United Kingdom by TSR UK Ltd.

This product is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any repro-duction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibitedwithout the express written permission of TSR Inc.

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Or YOUR IMAGINATION"

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Introduction

The dungeon master's task isnot an easy one. On his shouldersrests the' responsibility for thewhole game. It is the DM's job tomake sure that everyone, himselfincluded, has a good time whenthey play the AD&D® game. If youare an experienced DM then youare sure to know that there aretimes when this task is so daunt-ing that you wonder why youdidn't stick with a safe hobby likestamp collecting.

The AD&D 2nd Edition Player'sHandbook and Dungeon Master'sGuide give the referee everythinghe needs to set up and run a role-playing game—they are the tools.In this book, we will share with youa wide array of tips and techniquesfor weaving the tales of adventure,which fill your active imagination,into games which will grab the at-

tention of your players.If you are new to the fine art of

dungeon mastering, you will findthat the information in this bookcan make you seem like a prowho's been doing it for years. Ifyou are a pro who's been doing thisfor years, you'll find hints to helpyou get the most out of your exist-ing campaign.

The first section of the Cam-paign Sourcebook and CatacombGuide provides information on set-ting up a gaming group. We'lltouch on a number of points rang-ing from good gaming manners (Ibrought the soda last week! It'ssomebody else's turn!) to dealingwith disruptive players. After all,part of being a good dungeon mas-ter is managing relations withyour players!

In the second section we'll offer

advice on how to pace the eventsof your games, set up campaignworlds, make better game maps,and reduce the amount of timeyou must spend to make ready fora game. In addition, we've in-cluded a section on making NPCsmore realistic and important inyour campaign.

Thirdly, we've included chap-ters about what it is that sets adungeon based campaign apartfrom a wilderness campaign. Here,you'll find tips on making the mostout of those gloomy passages thatrun beneath the surface of eventhe most pacific nation.

Tb close out the book, we presenta number of maps for use by ref-eree's when time is tight. Unlikethe tradition "hole in the ground"dungeon, however, each of these issomewhat—unusual.

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Chapter i: Logistics of Play

Designing a game world andplotting out the dynamic storiesand spine-tingling excitementthat takes place in it requires agreat deal of imagination andmore than a few creative skills. Yetthe job of the DM doesn't endthere. A good DM not only has tomake a good adventure, he has torun a good adventure session andmake decisions about his worldthat even the best rules can neveradequately cover. The latter tasksgo beyond mere creativity and en-ter into the realm of social eti-quette and administration.

Gaming EtiquetteWhile one does

not necessarily need to knowwhich side of the plate a salad forkgoes on to successfully entertaingamers, good gaming sessions,like other types of social gather-

ings, depend on having both theplayers and the DM observe anumber of basic, but greatly ap-preciated courtesies. The DMshould follow these "rules of eti-quette" and encourage his playersto heed them too.

Be Prepared

Probably the greatest mistakethat a DM can make prior to agame session is to fail to prepare.Proper preparation can besummed up in two words, studyand organization. Nothing spoils agame more quickly than a DM whohasn't studied his material before-hand and doesn't know the gist ofhis adventure, if not all the details.

Take the time to organize mate-rial in a logical manner. If playersask questions or go off in an unex-pected direction, the DM shouldknow where to find that informa-

tion without spending an hourlooking for it.

Hosting a Game

It is not the DM's responsibility toprovide a place to play. Nor shouldhe be held responsible for bringingthe food and drinks or even sched-uling the time for the game andcalling the players. That responsi-bility should be shared among theplayers, the DM included. Often, itshould be enough that the DM pro-vides the adventure.

However, the DM is responsiblefor setting up before a game, eventhough the game may take place insomeone else's home or in a publicplace such as a lounge in a collegedormitory. If possible, he should bethe first to arrive and should havehis game materials in order beforethe players arrive. If the game willtake place in a public area, the DM

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(or another player) should take itupon himself to secure a play areain advance, one that will accom-modate the players and, just as im-portantly, not disturb others whomay wish to use the facility.

The game session host shouldensure that a clean play area andenough seating is available for allanticipated players. If at all possi-ble, arrange for the DM to be seatedat a separate table in the gamingarea. It's very important that theDM keep his game notes and mapsout of the players' sight.

Courtesy to the Host

At the end of each game session,clean up the play area, regardlessof whether the game is played in astudent lounge or at a player'shome. Toss out food and drink con-tainers (don't make the host re-sponsible for returning emptybeverage containers). Sweep upany mess. Offer to help put awayexcess chairs, books, tables, min-iatures, etc. Failure to do so mayresult in your having to find an-other place to play next time.

Courtesy to Others

Every time a roleplaying gameoccurs in a public or semi-publicplace (such as in a school cafeteria,a dormitory lounge, or a studentunion), the players and DM in-volved become ambassadors forroleplaying games at large. Peoplewill judge the players, the AD&D®game, and all roleplaying games ingeneral based on what they see. Ifan adventure is exciting or disap-pointing, players often get loud,possibly even downright rowdy. Tosay that loud noise or uncouth lan-guage can disturb others is an un-derstatement.

A wise DM will encourage hisplayers to keep verbal expressionof excitement or dismay ("What doyou mean he's dead! He's 16thlevel! He can't be dead!") to con-versational decibel levels.

Prerolling CharactersWhenever possible, create new

player characters ahead of time.Prerolling new player charactersbefore the day or scheduled time ofa game session is a small butgreatly appreciated courtesy.Character creation, especiallywhen any type of background de-velopment is involved, takes time.If the DM waits until the game ses-sion to roll up new player charac-ters, valuable game time is wasted.Instead of playing the game, theother players must find ways toentertain themselves until the DMis ready to play. In this regard, theDM runs the risk of losing his play-ers to whatever has distractedthem.

Opening CeremoniesAllow the players to get comfort-

able. This is a social time, friendlyconversation relaxes players andgets them ready to play. Don't rushthe start of the game. Give theplayers a chance to discuss theprevious game session, go overmistakes, plan strategies, and de-cide on spells. If possible, have thisactivity take place at someplaceother than the gaming table. An-nounce when the game is to startand request that non-essentialconversation end.

RefreshmentsRefreshments are something

that everyone should provide forthemselves, or better yet, bring to

share. As stated before, this is notthe DM's responsibility. Com-monly, refreshments are acknowl-edged "junk foods:" soda pop,peanuts, pretzels, cookies, andchips of all kinds, including thefour basic gamer food groups: caf-feine, sugar, salt, and carbohy-drates. In deference to good eatinghabits and in an attempt to avoidpear-shaped bodies, try to balancethe type of snacks provided. Forlong game sessions, suggest aheadof time that the players come pre-pared to participate in some formof deliverable food (like pizza).

Allow breaks for eating and, ifpossible, keep food and drink awayfrom the gaming table. Don't letfood disrupt the game or become adistraction.

DistractionsAnything that doesn't add to the

playing of the game will detractfrom it. Where possible, eliminateall outside distractions. It is diffi-cult to concentrate on roleplayingwhile a ball game or loud music isgoing on in the background. If aplayer can't concentrate on thegame because he is more inter-ested in a distraction, suggest thathe leave and let other players en-joy the game.

For some gamers, young chil-dren (particularly their own) canbe a distraction. If young childrenmust be present during the gamesession, the players may wish tocontribute towards the hiring of ababy sitter. The resulting peacemay be well worth the price!

Be Kind to the DM

Accept that the DM is the finalauthority in the game. Don'tcheat, even if it means a character

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buys the farm (dies). Don't play fa-voritism games. Accept a charac-ter's death' calmly, don't belabor it.The DM is human (really, it's true!)and will make mistakes. If a mis-take is fatal, ask the DM to changehis decision in good grace, withoutrecriminations. Be sure to compli-ment the DM on a good game!

Be Kind to the Players

Be Fair. Assume they are notcheating if they haven't beencaught at it. Let the players maketheir own decisions. Don't manip-ulate their characters as if theywere part of a navel or railroadthem into choosing predeterminedpaths. Don't punish them for be-ing clever. If they avoid or foil thebest trap in the dungeon, then re-ward them for it. Don't try to killoff the characters of unpleasantplayers or punish them if theymiss a play session or have to leaveearly. Compliment players onclever actions. Ask their opinionson obscure rule interpretations.Treat players with respect, regard-less of whether they know therules or not.

The Administrative DMPart of the job

of being a DM has nothing to dowith actually running adventures.What follows is a look at situationsa DM may encounter betweengame sessions, or that may com-plicate the way he runs his world.

One World, Many DMs

What happens when severalpeople in a group want to DM andeverybody wants to keep the sameplayer characters in each world?One solution is to share the world.

Most worlds are going to be bigplaces. It should be a simple mat-ter for each DM to take a part of theworld, say a major country or wil-derness area and continue to fleshit out and run adventures there.The player characters then physi-cally travel from place to place, ad-venturing in the area controlled bywhomever is DMing that session.

It can work and it can be fun.Still, drawbacks exist. Any secretinformation about a character,such as special abilities or inde-pendent actions that are usuallyshared only between a player andthe DM soon become commonknowledge as each player in turntakes over the duties of DMing.Second, the characters will end updoing a lot more travelling thanmight be realistic or reasonable.

A better solution might be toshare the world, but have differentplayer characters in each DM'scampaign. This allows for theeventuality of teaming up playercharacters from different cam-paigns for particularly difficultmissions, but keeps characters pri-vate.

One Player, Many Characters

Nowhere is it carved in granitethat each player shall play but onecharacter. If it suits the needs ofthe game, allow as many charac-ters per player as the DM sees fit.Many players and DMs find it con-venient to have multiple charac-ters. If one hero is off on anunfinished quest, his backup char-acter can go on another adventurein the same world.

If a player is competent enoughto play each character as an indi-vidual (rather than elements of agroup mind), he may even playmore than one character within a

single adventuring party. This istricky, but extremely useful whenthe number of players is far lessthan the number of charactersneeded for good adventuring.

In such situations, both the play-ers and the DM must keep in mindthat even characters controlled bythe same player will not freelyshare or give up personal belong-ings. The player is encouraged toroleplay the personna of each indi-vidual character. If a player insistson playing his characters "out-of-character," remove one (or more)secondary characters from hiscontrol and make them into DM-controlled NPCs for the remainderof the adventure.

Visitors from Other WorldsIt happens to every DM and

every campaign at least once. Anew player joins the group andwants to bring Sigimund, his 14thlevel chaotic good barbarianfighter/thief with him. How shouldthe DM decide the matter? Thereare no hard rules and it can be atough call. Several "rules ofthumb" can be applied to help theDM make his decision.

First, ask to see the incomingcharacter's record sheet and anyapplicable notes. Everything thecharacter possesses should be de-tailed here.

If the incoming character's expe-rience level is much higher thanthe rest of the characters, do not al-low the transfer. Stripping a play-er's favorite character ofhard-earned (or otherwise) experi-ence can only cause grief. Tell himthe character must "wait in thewings" until the other PCs reachhis power level, and have the newplayer create a new character.

Either disallow characters with

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