I created the game session I ran this weekend in one hour. I’m running Kingmaker in Pathfinder 2e. No spoilers but they’re dealing with the “gnome” shortly after dealing with the mitflicks. The game assumed a straight up fight with the gnome. Initially I laid the encounter out on a map and just moved on from there. But it kept nagging at me that it was just kind of “meh.” That was when it hit me: The Tunnels of Trial.
Stuck on my head for a few hours before game was the Skekeis saying “Trial by Stone!” And I played around with it for a bit and I decided that the kobolds should have something similar. Hitting a rock is not exciting. Instead, they have tunnels and monsters in it to settle their disagreements. “But isn’t that going to just kill kobolds?” I asked myself. Then I realized, no it won’t. It will teach kobolds to work together. And that’s it. Kobolds with a disagreement that cannot be reconciled are shoved into the Tunnels of Trial and are not allowed out that side. Instead it goes out the other side. By that time, the disagreeing kobolds will either have survived together, learning to put aside their differences to think about mutual survival and this the survival of the clan before whatever is their issues.
That was it. That was the moment I decided to throw out my prepared encounter, with one hour until game started. So there I was rapidly scanning the bestiaries looking for level appropriate, underground monsters. First came Blindheim and a cave fisher (B2). These level 2 monsters count as 20 XP each for a group of level 4 players. But then I realized, the players aren’t alone. They have the gnome and some of his lieutenants with them. So I can put in more. Again, they’re supposed to work together. So yeah, I can put in more than normal. Next room: something terrifying to the players. A basilisk. One quick read over the abilities to make sure I knew how it worked. Next room: Bears sound good. Why? Because they were two pages after the basilisk. Two of them is about right, and done.
The map was one I had previously imported into Fantasy Grounds and added a grid and layer mask for emergencies just like this. All I had to do was choose which map and start adding encounters.
So how can you create a dungeon in one hour:
1) Have a Map Library in your Campaign
What saved me this session was preparedness. If I had to pick out the map from my library, make sure the size was good, import it, add the grid all before figuring out what is in it, etc, I would have been in serious trouble. By having the map done, I just needed to pick the one that would work for my needs. Emergencies like this happen to us all. Preparing for when–not if–they happen will save you as well.
2) Pick Monsters that Generally Fit, Not the Perfect Monster
You can spend a very long time looking for the perfect monster. But if you only have one hour, you don’t have the luxury. Instead, look for monsters that fit the theme. I chose Blindheim because they were decently close to level, underground monsters, and most importantly ones I happened to find quickly. Since a group of monsters are kind of boring, I added the cave fisher to vary up the encounter. Also, cave fishers are only a few pages after blindheim.
Notice how all the monsters are at the beginning of the alphabet and thus the beginning of the books. So yeah, I didn’t go too deep in those books when creating this dungeon. But I didn’t have to. Custom monsters are for bosses, not average monsters of their kind. Which brings us nearly to the next point.
3) Decide and Move On
As a member in good standing of the Overthinkers Club, I have a serious problem with going back and second guessing my decisions. But with game in one hour, I didn’t have the time for such indulgences. Instead I just plowed ahead with the decisions I made. Was it my best game session? No. Was it my worst? Definitely not. Heck, I’ve spent weeks prepping sessions that didn’t go that well.
Have you had a frantic Dungeon Creation session like that one? Tell us in the Comments
Download our supplements at DriveThruRPG.
Jon Brazer Enterprises 