Need a quick desert dungeon? You can follow this five-step random generator to create an entirely random dungeon shell you can fill in and personalize until your heart's content!
The entries are deliberately somewhat vague to allow more GMs to use them, as they’re open to incorporating varieties of monsters with varieties of challenges on most outcomes.
While these reference monsters from D&D, the results can work at most fantasy RPG systems beyond D&D.
1. Where is the Dungeon?
The following table provides you options for where the dungeon is within a desert environment:
Desert Dungeon Location Table
| d12 | Location |
|---|---|
| 1 | Half-buried in a sea of sand dunes |
| 2 | Atop a formation of massive rocks jetting from the sands below |
| 3 | Centered in wide salt flats |
| 4 | Hidden within the flourishing oasis life sprouting out past the dunes |
| 5 | At the base of a dried lake bed, ancient fish skeletons dried out in the sun |
| 6 | Between three buttes with odd cracks and crevices connecting the three around it |
| 7 | Within a rocky chasm stretching off out of eyesight in both directions |
| 8 | Buried next to a reaching hoodoo with a lone cave entrance leading to it |
| 9 | Built below an enormous sandstone arch visible for miles around |
| 10 | Within a bustling trade bizarre complicit with the dungeon’s activities |
| 11 | In a valley encased within a ribcage of an ancient behemoth |
| 12 | Hidden within a perpetual sandstorm illusion |
2. What is the Dungeon’s Purpose?
The following table determines the builder’s purpose for this dungeon:
Desert Dungeon Purpose Table
| d10 | Purpose |
|---|---|
| 1 | The dungeon provided refuge for its creator to perform horrible rituals away from law |
| 2 | The dungeon’s location was inhospitable for others, making it a perfect hiding place |
| 3 | The dungeon was a military outpost for a war centuries ago before being abandoned |
| 4 | The dungeon offers access to rare resources buried within the sands |
| 5 | The dungeon acted as a hub for black-market dealings made beyond most governance |
| 6 | The dungeon required an intense amount of heat to perform magical rituals |
| 7 | The dungeon is built near ruins of older societies for ease of plundering |
| 8 | The dungeon keeps an ancient undead monstrosity unconscious, acting as a seal |
| 9 | The dungeon brokered peace among nomadic peoples into a united war front long ago |
| 10 | The dungeon was a sacred location where a spell went sour and conjured a monster |
3. What is the Dungeon’s Structure?
The following table determines a general structure you can use to build your dungeon:
Desert Dungeon Structure Table
| d10 | Structure |
|---|---|
| 1 | A monumental pyramid or ziggurat built in honor of ancient rulers |
| 2 | A sandstone watchtower weathered by storms and nearing collapse |
| 3 | A fortress made from resources ferried in long ago weathering away |
| 4 | A citadel with a long ornate scorpion tail rising from the base acting as a belltower |
| 5 | An ornate palace with a mix of illusory and real traps and monsters defending it |
| 6 | A dried, wrecked ship from a time when water ran here retrofitted into a bustling hub |
| 7 | A series of rooms carved into stone and earth interconnected in a labyrinth below |
| 8 | A crypt built below a gargantuan statue of a humanoid with a monster’s head |
| 9 | An ancient library of preserved scrolls and books maintained by haunting spirits |
| 10 | A massive tunnel supported by beams digging into the earth from an enormous wurm |
4. Who Currently Resides in the Dungeon?
The following table determines what kinds of creatures reside in the dungeon:
Desert Dungeon Creatures Table
| d20 | Creatures |
|---|---|
| 1 | Humanoids using the dungeon as protection from the harsh heat and sandstorms |
| 2 | Blue kobolds caring for a blue dragon egg they seek to raise into a new overlord |
| 3 | Goblinoids hiding out between caravan raids |
| 4 | Elves isolated from their society for extreme rituals seeking to perfect their form |
| 5 | Undead, ruled over by a mummy lord, who hunt sand-scarred bodies to reanimate |
| 6 | Fey using illusions to draw in thirsty survivors to their demise |
| 7 | Demons bound to an ancient ritual site by a mysterious curse |
| 8 | Devils collecting desperate souls that make deals for water and food |
| 9 | Dwarves seeking a treasure buried within the sands to forge a world-ending weapon |
| 10 | A celestial angel using the sun as a holy weapon to purge non-believers from the realm |
| 11 | Gnolls who embrace the hostility of the environment and revel in the suffering it causes |
| 12 | Orcs planting a flag in territory they seek to expand their empire into |
| 13 | Fire, earth, and air elementals ravaging the region by amping up natural disasters further |
| 14 | Giant desert beasts who’ve turned the dungeon into a nest |
| 15 | A blue dragon who stores their trove in beautiful glass chambers |
| 16 | Gnome engineers possessed by a dark spirit using their tools to delve for an ancient evil |
| 17 | A mad beholder who blasts illusory duplicates of itself it can’t help but create |
| 18 | Cactus-folk plant creatures given sentience by an ancient druid seeking to end humanity |
| 19 | Thri-kreen using the dungeon as a temporary trading outpost |
| 20 | The dungeon is eerily empty, protected by magical and mundane traps |
5. What Rooms Are in the Dungeon?
Consider either rolling as many times as you’d like ahead of time to plot out the dungeon, or rolling as the players progress through where the new doors may lead. There are two options: an ordinary rooms table, for when you want the players to explore some mundane options, and extraordinary rooms for when you want to spice things up a bit.
The following tables can be rolled on to determine what rooms the players encounter as they progress:
Desert Dungeon Ordinary Rooms Table
| d12 | Ordinary Room |
|---|---|
| 1 | Storage containing reserves of water and other fluids kept away from the sun |
| 2 | Kitchen with a low, hot stone oven and ample bins of rare spices |
| 3 | Housing with hammock bunks and other bedding laid over a tight, dry space |
| 4 | Dining chamber, long and narrow, with seats carved out from the walls |
| 5 | Study with a lone window overlooking the vast expanse of sand and rock |
| 6 | Stables running low on food and drink for the exotic and dangerous mounts within |
| 7 | Recreation room with gambling tables illuminated by low-hanging lamps lit with rare oils |
| 8 | Armory loaded with tools for fighting a monstrous creature in the sands |
| 9 | War room with detailed maps of the region and attack plans covering the walls and tables |
| 10 | Vault built within a stone case marked by ancient runes that magically protects it |
| 11 | Foyer with ample spare wraps and coverings for traversing the desert |
| 12 | Prison exposed to the extreme elements as punishment |
Desert Dungeon Extraordinary Rooms Table
| d8 | Extraordinary Room |
|---|---|
| 1 | Ritual chamber surrounding a mysterious orb that is ice cold to the touch |
| 2 | Scorpion pit kept to execute prisoners or defectors |
| 3 | Theater with a show being put on by animated skeletons commanded by magic |
| 4 | Sacrificial altar that opens a portal to a realm of nightmare creatures, broken |
| 5 | Sandstone statues lining the walls of a long tunnel descending into the ground |
| 6 | Embalming station with restraints and sickles to perform horrific operations on the living |
| 7 | Nest of insectoid eggs, each nestled in a chewed-out section of wall |
| 8 | Fight pit with a chained desert monstrosity, tormented and violent |
