How to Solo Play 1e Appendix A Dungeons

You don't need an oracle for solo play

Dec 06, 2023

When learning the core rules of 1e D&D, I took the time to learn how the Appendix A dungeon generator functioned, and further worked to align it with the order of steps a player may take if they were playing solo. That is to say, how to play in a way where I only need to roll on tables for details once it is necessary to reveal the information. This leaves the dungeon staying as much of a mystery as possible, so that I can made decisions with only the information a player (or character) would have. While this process is written for solo play, it can work equally well to guide a DM through running an Appendix A dungeon for their players.

In this process I prioritize RAW, and citations are included wherever possible so that you can look it all up yourself. Where the rules are vague, they are left equally vague here. Clear rules for wandering monster checks are absent. The example dungeon adventure has a 1-in-6 chance of an encounter every 20 minutes, but this interval is not strongly prescribed by the rules, so use it as a suggestion for how to handle random encounters in your own dungeons. In addition, remember that a wandering monster check can be made any time the party makes loud noises.

Two liberties or assumptions are taken in the following procedures:

First, many suggestions for procedure derive from the example dungeon adventure that is provided in the DMG. You may decide just how much that information is transferrable to other dungeons. Making only a half-filled, 4 entry random encounter table per floor, for instance, derives from the example dungeon, but is only a suggestion I make for the enhancement of solo play (as opposed to knowing what all monsters are present on a floor from the start). Building up the table as you encounter more monsters is therefore derived from the rules, but is not strictly prescribed by them.

Second, the order in which the party (and thieves specifically) are anticipated to interact with traps is of my own estimations, allowing trap detection and disarming skills to cleanly fit into the solo play experience. This leads to my main disclaimer:

These orders of procedure are simply suggestions, with the goal of allowing you as much of a RAW experience of an Appendix A dungeon crawl as possible. You must defer to the rules of the DMG when adjudicating any situation, and prioritize that over whatever steps I’ve described here. This is intended to be more of a checklist and guide, to help keep the experience smooth and interesting.

I begin with an explanation and reasonings of the procedure. At the end, I include a “Quick Reference”, which is more handy to use when actually playing. All references are to the DMG unless noted otherwise.

Preliminary Setup

Establish marching orders for 5' (single file), 10' (3 abreast), and 20' (6 abreast) wide spaces.

Create wandering monster tables for each level reached, with room for at least 4 entries per list. (p94) If inhabitants are known, include them in the list, and if none are known, I suggest filling out only one or two using Appendix C (which you probably see signs of upon entering the area). When an empty entry is rolled you have discovered a new inhabitant, use Appendix C (p175) to fill out that entry. A dungeon level may have multiple random encounter tables, for thematically differing areas on that level. (p94)

Keep a key for each level, especially for rooms, chambers, and other encountered features, even if they are only partly known (eg. a door implies a room exists on the other side). Information may be later discovered about rooms and chambers, so leave some space for future notes.

An upper level map is expected to be provided by the DM, withing which the entrance down into the first room of the dungeon will be located. (p169) Rolling on the outdoor encounter table may help determine what currently lives there. (p169)

Help set the stage by rolling up the dungeon atmosphere with Appendix I: Dungeon Dressing (p217). Air currents, odors, and air quality imply a lot about the dungeon. Many more tables within Appendix I can help dress the areas you explore, and it is left as an exercise to the reader to determine when best to use them.

Mapping & Procedure of Play:

Always begin in a room, in the center of a sheet of graph paper, with stairs leading down into it (p169). In this process, you will reveal the map as you explore it, within the limitations of the random generation process. Use the party's sight radius (torchlight, infravision, etc) to determine when to reveal new areas.

Entering a Room or Perceiving a Chamber:

Roll room or chamber size (p170 V.)

Roll number and location of exits (doors for rooms, 30' passages for chambers) (p171 V.C., V.D.), if secret doors are indicated, note this on the room key to roll for later.

Roll room or chamber contents (p171 V.F.), if treasure is rolled, note this on the area key to roll for later. If a monster is rolled (p174 Dungeon Encounter Matrix), there is likely an encounter, where surprise indicates superior positioning of the surprising party.

Exploring a Room or Chamber:

Casual examination and mapping of a 20'x20' area takes 1 turn. (Honor system here, since you're already mapping the area.) If treasure is present, roll to see what it is contained in (p171 V.H.). If additional protection is desired, 1-8 indicates a trap (p171 V.I.) and 9-20 is concealment (p171 V.J.). If trapped, note this in the area key for now, and reveal its nature later. The manner of concealment may prevent your party from being able to access the treasure at this time.

If there is nothing to be searched, casual examination reveals all there is to note about the room, and thorough examination is unnecessary (p97).

Thorough examination for 1 turn reveals the specific locations and amount of treasure itself (p171 V.G.). Thieves are assumed to use their skill to detect and disarm traps at this point (p97), otherwise traps will certainly be sprung in this process (p171 V.I.).

Retrieving treasure prior to thorough examination, or if done hastily, yields only a fraction of that room's treasure, and certainly springs any traps (p171 V.I.). If the total amount of treasure is unknown, roll it now (p171 V.G.), so that the weight can be determined.

Secret doors:

If the room contains secret doors, 1 round per 10'x10' area will account for time spent tapping on floors and walls to discover their locations (p171 V.C., V.D.).

Discovery of secret doors does not mean access to the door mechanism has been discovered (p97). Discovering the mechanism is a 1 in 6 chance per turn of thorough examination, or a 2 in 6 chance for elves and half elves (p97).

Listening at a door:

1-in-12 chance there IS a monster (with or without treasure), and only the monster may be surprised in the subsequent encounter (p173). Proceed as normal (p173), noting that even if no monster is heard, there may still be a monster in the room.

Attempting to open a door:

Doors are hard to open for player characters, but generally not so for other inhabitants of the dungeon (p97). Most doors are 8' wide, permitting up to three characters to attempt to open it at once, while a 3' door permits only a single character at a time. Attempts to open a door take time (1 round?), make considerable noise (wandering monster check?), and may be repeated (PHB p9). Chance to open the door depends primarily on strength (PHB p9), where a success from any character opens the door. Chances may be halved for very heavy doors (p97), and may require two or three simultaneous successes to open a locked door (p97). Exceptional strength may allow a single character to open a locked door, though only one such check can be made per character per door (PHB p9). Metal doors will usually be locked, necessitating a lock spell or similar means most of the time (p97). Wooden doors, usually metal bound, require a turn to hack down, and require at least 3 checks to see if monsters are attracted by the noise (p97).

Upon opening a door:

Roll space beyond door (p170 II.), including width of passage for such results (p170 III.A.)

Upon perceiving a (30') passage:

Roll periodic check (p170 I.), side passages indicating branches (30' in each direction, p170 III.), always rolling width of the side passages (p170 III.), and turns indicating 30' further in the direction rolled (p170 IV.).

Timekeeping of Dungeon Exploration (p96-97)

Base movement rate translates to 1 square per 1 factor in a turn (10 minute period).

Traveling along a corridor and mapping its length takes 1 turn per 90’, assuming a base move of 9”.

Examination and mapping of a room or chamber will require about a 10 minute period.

DOOR - search for traps - 1 round

DOOR - listen for noise - 1 round

ROOM - casual examination & mapping of 20'x20' area - 1 turn

ROOM - thoroughly searching after initial examination - 1 turn

SECRET DOOR - simple tapping of floor or wall of 10'x10' area - 1 round

SECRET DOOR - thorough examination for means to open in 10'x10' area - 1 turn

Quick Reference