Empty Rooms Aren't Empty
And a Doomed project
This Week’s post looks at what to do with nothing.
As so many have said before, an “empty room” doesn’t need to be a literal empty room. Instead, it’s just a room that doesn’t (currently) contain a monster, treasure, or trap.
When you need an empty room, roll d6 instead.
1: Safe Room
Somewhere typically safe to stop for a rest. Perhaps it can be made safe with a little work, or something in here keeps enemies at bay.
Examples: empty vault, hidden shrine, watchtower with retractable ladder
2: Danger Room
There’s something dangerous in here, but it’s not a monster or a trap. It’s easy enough to avoid, but the danger is there if combat breaks out or the players want to set a trap.
Examples: hazardous machinery, walkway over snake pit, geothermal vents
3: Info Room
You can get useful knowledge here, most typically about another element of the dungeon.
Examples: scrying pool, abandoned diaries, cave paintings
4: Tone Room
This is just here to set the tone of the dungeon, or the specific area this room inhabits.
Examples: mass grave, baroque chapel, filthy living quarters
5: Nature Room
Nature gets everywhere, and this room is especially overrun with it. Nothing too hazardous, just life getting on with its own business.
Examples: bird colony, fungal patch, rock pools
6: Supply Room
Nothing useful or valuable enough to be considered treasure, but a room full of stuff, typically mundane things.
Examples: ramshackle kitchen, spare parts storage, uniform wardrobe
Elsewhere
Mythic Bastionland is now available on itch and DTRPG as the release pdf with full art.
Explorers Design asks whether combat is really a fail state in OSR style play.
Soul Graft Games shares some incredible creations for The Doomed.
Coming Soon
Over on Patreon I return to Alpha Complex.
I recently ran Paranoia, my third time through a very loose scenario that I’d prepared, using my hacked version of the current edition.
All three sessions went well, and I think the most recent attempt was the most successful. I thought it might be worth picking out a few lessons I should take from that.
Expect the full post here and on the blog next week.
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Nice article about what to with an empty room.
Excellent article! As a DM, I always struggled with “an empty room” - I always felt that someone built this dungeon, castle, crypt for a reason- why go to the expense of an extra room? I always love visiting castles (mock castles in the US) and military forts- although some of these rooms are currently empty, I would wonder what were these rooms originally before the tourists got here. What was the room’s purpose? What clues were left behind, over the years, that the explorer/ adventurer could now piece together for discovering this room’s original purpose? A few clues from a by gone day may provide insight to a secret door and what adventures lay beyond!