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Offer Secret Paths in Dungeons or Overland Journeys

by Mike on 4 December 2023

Good dungeons and overland travel paths offer choices to the characters. We make such scenes interesting not by forcing one direction but by offering meaningful choices to take one path or another.

One of the easiest ways to expand options is to include a main path and a secret path. If the characters seek to infiltrate a hobgoblin fort, they can fight their way in through the main gate or they can sneak in through the abandoned sewers below. If they're traveling through the Shadow Realm, they can stay on the main path of the Archer's Walk, or they can take the shorter and hidden path along the Cliffs of Mother Matrede.

A secret path not only offers an alternative path but information as well. A secret path means staying hidden but perhaps running into unknown dangers. Hidden paths make the players feel good because they've discovered something – something other people don't know.

And here's a real dirty trick for you – players almost always pick the secret path. Secret paths are unique and cool. Main paths are typical and boring. Players still have the choice of one over another but the lure of the secret path is almost always too good to pass up. It's worth having a rough idea what would happen if the characters went down the main path but more useful to assume the characters take the secret one.

When you're planning a journey across the wilds or building a dungeon down in the depths, add secret paths. They'll excite your players and give them the feeling of getting a leg up on the challenges they face.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

This week I posted a couple of YouTube videos on Pacing in D&D – Prep or Improvise? and Build a Goblin Town – Shadowdark Gloaming Session 13 Lazy GM Prep.

Last Week's Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy RPG Talk Show (also available as a podcast) in which I talk about all things in tabletop RPGs. Here are last week's topics with time stamped links to the YouTube video:

Patreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer questions from Sly Flourish Patrons. Here are last week's questions and answers:

RPG Tips

Each week I think about what I learned in my last RPG session and write them up as D&D tips. Here are this week's tips:

Print or share pictures of NPCs with names and titles.
Draw and share maps of cities, towns, and settlements noting important locations and landmarks.
Have encounters in your back pocket that go against the potential flow of the adventure such as combat encounters for mostly roleplay sessions or upward beat NPC interactions in dungeons.
Set up larger "situations of situations" where characters can choose many locations or factions to follow or thwart.
Have locations of light in the darkest cities.
Let the characters' reputation precede them.
Offer paths and clarify gameplay styles. Negotiate your way through city streets or fight monsters in the sewers.