GM Tips: For dungeon crawls that drive story, make dungeons matter. Here's how (for any TTRPG).

Everyone's making awesome dungeons right now for that dungeon jam thing and I love seeing it so I thought I’d try to supplement and complement all that dope shit. I can’t make a dungeon as well as any of those folk but I do wanna give a shot to talking about making one of those dungeons matter - not just those but any that you are using.

In so many ttrpgs, dungeons are often reduced to obstacle courses filled with traps and monsters that a party has to get through to get loot. But what if your dungeon was more than a backdrop for combat and loot? By giving your dungeons meaning and tying them into the world or larger narrative, you can elevate the player experience and make their choices feel truly significant. Let’s talk about having your dungeons mean something and get your dungeon crawl hit just as hard emotionally as it does mechanically. 

1. Tie the Dungeon to the World

Start by asking: Why does this place exist? Is it a relic of a fallen empire? An abandoned temple to a forgotten god? A prison with something still alive inside tucked away by a terrified community?

When your dungeon has context within the larger world, it becomes more than a location - it becomes a piece of history the players are uncovering and actively engaging with. 

Let Decisions Have Weight

Your dungeon should give players meaningful decisions. Not just tactical ones—narrative ones.
The choices they make - what to preserve, what to dig up, what to destroy, what to learn - all of that matters because it’s not just some random building - it has relevance based on the first bit. So in interacting with your setting, what does it mean if they accept the guardian’s offer? Do they leave something untouched, or take it and risk the consequences?

Their choices - whether to explore certain areas, decipher old scripts, or retrieve lost artifacts - become part of engaging with the setting, not just the dungeon. 

Make Decisions Have Consequences 

Building on this - now that you have a relevant place where choices matter, these decisions shouldn’t vanish at the next town. They should create ripple effects - changing alliances, unlocking new threats, or earning unexpected allies. Did they ally with the guardian of the dungeon or destroy it? Did they defile an ancient altar for treasure or respect its spiritual meaning even if they didn’t understand it? Perhaps they released an imprisoned creature that now becomes a powerful ally. These decisions should have ripple effects that extend beyond the dungeon itself, potentially influencing future encounters or even changing the world.

So to close - your dungeon doesn’t have to be ultra serious or humourless to be meaningful. But it should matter. To your world. To your players. That’s the real magic of a well-designed dungeon. Even though it can be a tale as old as time, it can be made to feel fresh and exciting if it matters.