Need a quick Forest 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 woodland environment:
Forest Dungeon Location Table
| d12 | Location |
|---|---|
| 1 | Within an open glade clearing surrounded by staggering trees |
| 2 | Nestled in a comfortable grove populated by quiet critters |
| 3 | Built below a large canopy of thin trees whose leaves let through bits of sunlight |
| 4 | At the base of a hollow with a trickling stream running past it |
| 5 | Centered within a druidic circle denoted by etched stones and flourishing flora |
| 6 | In a fungal region where flora is coated in colorful glowing symbiotic mushrooms |
| 7 | Buried in a thorny thicket of tangled vines and overgrown weeds |
| 8 | By a rushing river with a few long trees offering precarious passage across |
| 9 | On a small island amidst a wide woodland lake housing a cryptic creature |
| 10 | Surrounded by dense trees whose canopy blocks out light, illuminated by glowing insects |
| 11 | Within a cragged mountain pass covered in thriving trees growing up the sides |
| 12 | In a charred barren glade formed by unnatural flames into a perfect circle |
2. What is the Dungeon’s Purpose?
The following table determines the builder’s purpose for this dungeon:
Forest Dungeon Purpose Table
| d12 | Purpose |
|---|---|
| 1 | The dungeon provides shelter for thieving bandits fleeing the law |
| 2 | The dungeon offers a foothold for a faction fighting the defenders of the woods |
| 3 | The dungeon seals away a primordial force of nature craving rampant floral growth |
| 4 | The dungeon is a sanctuary for rare and dangerous beasts that call the forest home |
| 5 | The dungeon sires vile plant creations twisted by dark magic to drink human blood |
| 6 | The dungeon is a mercantile outpost for underground trade far from prying eyes |
| 7 | The dungeon claims a portion of the forest for a tyrannical warlord |
| 8 | The dungeon was once a hideaway for nobles fleeing a revolution |
| 9 | The dungeon stakes ownership over the woodland denizens through beguilement |
| 10 | The dungeon protected a dark master from magical observation through natural wards |
| 11 | The dungeon was a camp for mercenaries offering their blades for the right price |
| 12 | The dungeon hid a rare resource from a hungering villain who never found it and perished |
3. What is the Dungeon’s Structure?
The following table determines a general structure you can use to build your dungeon:
Forest Dungeon Structure Table
| d12 | Structure |
|---|---|
| 1 | An overgrown castle with flora bursting from the walls and towers |
| 2 | An outpost surrounded by tree-top rests for archer guards |
| 3 | Interlocking trees forced to grow into walkways and buildings |
| 4 | A network of carved tunnels within a gargantuan and ancient tree |
| 5 | A stone fortress with a drained moat and raised drawbridge |
| 6 | A thriving market for woodland denizens and travelers run out of tents and wagons |
| 7 | A monastery run down by time and overgrowth, stained glass shattered |
| 8 | An eerie cabin with dark secrets hidden below its cellar |
| 9 | A woodland village built across the treetops and tunneling below ground |
| 10 | An abandoned lavish mansion repurposed for villainous activities |
| 11 | A woodland cemetery with a central mortuary leading to a crypt below |
| 12 | A massive watchtower stretching out of the canopy into the sky |
4. Who Currently Resides in the Dungeon?
The following table determines what kinds of creatures reside in the dungeon:
Forest Dungeon Creatures Table
| d20 | Creatures |
|---|---|
| 1 | Humanoids taking refuge from the law in their woodland dungeon |
| 2 | Wood elf assassins offering their services to take down royalty and elite |
| 3 | Goblin merchants and mycologists specializing in deadly agents |
| 4 | Fey creatures siphoning emotion from any that spend too much time near them |
| 5 | Demons held in the dungeon by a mystical spell maintained by the forest life |
| 6 | Devils plotting how to both burn the forest down and end as many lives as possible |
| 7 | Plant and undead hybrids grown out of a necromantic curse plaguing the region |
| 8 | Constructs coated in plant life having been inactive for several decades now reawakening |
| 9 | Beasts who call the forest home |
| 10 | Harpies hunting from the treetops and returning to the dungeon to hide their trinkets |
| 11 | Gnomes gone mad having consumed too much of an odd hallucinatory leaf |
| 12 | Hobgoblins plotting a major assault on a shipment of weapons coming to the woods |
| 13 | Vegepygmies growing violent as outsiders deforest their forest |
| 14 | Yuan-ti expanding their influence to slowly take over the region |
| 15 | Orc entrepreneurs strategically planning the culling of the woodlands for resources |
| 16 | Centaurs using the dungeon as a sanctuary on route to a astrological event |
| 17 | Earth elementals sharing a slow, symbiotic life with the flora around them |
| 18 | Giant spiders who’ve coated the dungeon in thick webbing to capture larger prey |
| 19 | A green dragon and their green kobold lackeys hunting travelers carrying gold |
| 20 | A green hag death coven ruling over the woodlands with an iron fist |
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:
Forest Dungeon Ordinary Rooms Table
| d10 | Ordinary Room |
|---|---|
| 1 | Kitchen dotted with potted herbs used fresh alongside ample food and drink |
| 2 | Storage room holding cleaning and pruning supplies |
| 3 | Infirmary with cabinets full of herbal polstices and natural remedies |
| 4 | Prison cells overgrown with roots of trees above, full of healthy worms and bugs |
| 5 | Vault hosting treasured gems behind a sturdy oaken door with a magical ward against fire |
| 6 | Bunks, sturdy and comfortable, floor dotted with mud and plant debris |
| 7 | War Room with maps of the woodlands highlighting hideouts and trade routes |
| 8 | Dining hall hosting grand platters for large game and ample seats for guests |
| 9 | Bathroom with a deep toilet hole going into a cavernous waste pit below |
| 10 | Lounge decorated with relaxing wide couches and wide windows looking into the woods |
Forest Dungeon Extraordinary Rooms Table
| d8 | Extraordinary Room |
|---|---|
| 1 | Dark altar to a monstrous three-headed beast whose purpose is unknown |
| 2 | Arcane laboratory studying growth spells with sigils grown into voracious vegetation |
| 3 | Puzzle room with odd colored flower pots and unique plots for planting |
| 4 | Library containing tree-formed bookshelves with delivery branches that retrieve books |
| 5 | Conservatory containing magnificent lively plant specimens hungry for people |
| 6 | Temple to a hunt god decorated with the skulls of the forest’s greatest predators |
| 7 | Hatchery protecting 2d6 green dragon eggs nestled within vegetable leaves |
| 8 | Insect mounds housing symbiotic insects that are fed unruly prisoners |
