Organizing Dungeon Events

I love events as part of the 'random encounter' tables.  They can add so much to a dungeon

• evocative sights and sounds
• clues as to what is happening
• tension builders
• NPC encounters
• faction play
• and whatever else you can think of

In the Gigadungeon Sorrow there are

• Levels: you know and love them already!
• Layer: these are a discrete collection of dungeon levels (although there may only be 1 level)
• Regions: a collection of layers that have a common thread

In the end, I've got multiple tables. Let's look at one set of tables

Lost Haven Events - things that could happen anywhere within the Lost Haven Region
Catacombs of St. Brigit Events - for just that Layer, which is in Lost Haven, which is in Sorrow
The Gauntlet - events for the Gauntlet Layer within Lost Haven within Sorrow
and so on

                                           Art by Alex Mayo

PLAYERS: DON'T READ PAST HERE : POTENTIAL SPOILERS

So from the bottom, let's look at Events in the Catacombs of St. Brigit: a simple 1d6 table:

1. Chanting - the prayers and enthusiasm of the nearest congregation can be heard
2. Rustling Dead - any nearby dead groan and shudder
3. The Crypts Grow - a new chamber of the crypts is added to the map
4. Filth - Raiments are soiled, holy symbols dirtied
5. Cold Sensation - as Wentworth spies on the party
6. Cries of Pain - the echoes of St. Brigit are heard, volume based on proximity

Each has a description and sub-tables/rules where appropriate and are contingent on other events. For example, if the party deal with Wentworth, he will stop spying on them and that event no longer exists (treated as No Event).

Lost Haven is a Region, so I've created two tables for it - major and minor events. Minor Lost Haven Events are designed more around adding context and flavor

1. Strong scent of the City
2. Sounds of the City
3. Sounds of the Bitter Storm
4. Pillbug corpse removers
5. Gnomefolk working resetting a trap
6. Swarm of sewer/dock rats/lizards come flooding past the party

Major Lost Haven Events have more specific things ralted to them - aspects that can and likely will start to change the game and how players interact with things.

1. The Star Wizards spy on the crew
2. The Lore Seekers want what something the crew has
3. Meekum's Devils looking for a sucker
4. Nearby faction arrives
5. A new sub-level blooms nearby (Threat +{1d3})
6. Monster

The Star Wizards, Lore Seekers, and Meekum's Devils are specific factions within the Lost Haven region.  Nearby faction could be any of those or one from a neighboring region come exploring. Sub-levels are "temporary" mini-layers that have better loot but more danger. and the Monster entry are specific monsters - unique ones that are seriously bad - that wander Lost Haven.

Sorrow Events don't exist as a separate table. Maybe in the future, but there are already a shitload of things going on and that might make it too chaotic. As the players engage in exploration, though, the events tables can and will change and these changes, that are effectively sorrow-wide events - can be reflected in the regional event structure.

So when do I roll on these tables?
Check it:

Each Layer has a random encounter table (rolled every 20 minutes).  Two examples:

Catacombs of St. Brigit (1d12) 1-2: Monster Encounter 3-4: Evidence of Monster 5-6: Events 8-12: Nothing

The Gauntlet (1d10) 1: Monster Encounter 2: Evidence of Monster 3-4: Events 5-10: Nothing

Then in both cases, the Events Sub-table looks like this:
Events (d6)
1-3: Local Event
4-5: Minor Regional Event
6: Major Regional Event

How Does this Play in Real Life?
Pretty well! Here is a random sample over a 6 hour stretch:
1:00  ---
1:20 Evidence: Lair
1.40 ---
2:00 Event, Major Lost Haven: Nearby faction arrives - Halls of Pain
2:20 ---
2:40 ---
3:00 Encounter: Lair (Tombs - Cadaver Collector  x2)
3:20 ---
3:40 Event, Catacombs of St. Brigit: the crypts grow
4:00 ---
4:20 ---
4:40  ---
5:00 ---
5:20 Evidence: Lair
5:40 ---
6:00 ---
6:20 ---
6:40 ---

While engaging in their usual exploration and rooms and encounters and whatnot, they will

1. Find clear evidence of the nearest monster lair (or of the nearest monster if there are no lairs left) - then again which could be a different lair or even the same one depending on where they are and what they get up to.
2. Major Lost Haven event - encounter a faction from the Halls of Pain region.
3. Have an encounter with creatures from the nearest lair (or 2 Cadaver Collectors if there are no lairs left).
4. be witness to the Catacombs growing and expanding, which should scare the pants off them >:)

This might not seem like a lot, but the party has been in this Layer two sessions now and already had two of the catacombs specific events - based on our groups rate of play, they should definitely encounter all of them and a few more Lost Haven events.