Rules for exploring dungeons, both natural and man-made.
Contents
Time & movement in dungeons
When not engaged in combat, movement in dungeons is normally at exploration speed. This means that characters are moving relatively carefully, watching their footing, looking around, taking note of the features of their surroundings, etc. Moving at this speed (or slower) is necessary in order to retain a sense of the dungeon layout. (Characters that move through an un-explored dungeon at a faster pace cannot pay enough attention to their surroundings to map the layout.)
Exploration speed is equal to twice the character’s normal move speed per minute. (For example, a character with a normal move speed of 30 feet would move 60 feet in one minute when moving at exploration speed.) Note that a group of characters exploring a dungeon together moves at the speed of the slowest member.
The above assumes that the characters are moving through relatively narrow corridors, tunnels, passages, hallways, etc. Exploring large chambers or caverns takes more time, as follows (numbers given are guidelines):
| Diameter of chamber | Time to explore |
|---|---|
| up to 20 ft. | 2 minutes |
| up to 60 ft. | 5 minutes |
| up to 120 ft. | 15 minutes |
| up to 200 ft. | 30 minutes |
| up to 300 ft. | 60 minutes |
Difficult terrain
Most natural caverns have uneven floors, slopes, loose rubble, cliffs, and other terrain features that make movement difficult; likewise, moisture or running water can make floors and walls slippery, and climbing perilous. Worked dungeons are usually relatively easy to traverse, but sometimes (especially if the location is a ruin or otherwise altered from its original state) may also offer obstacles to movement. Difficult dungeon terrain typically reduces movement speed (and thus also exploration speed) by half.
Stealth in dungeons
Characters may make an effort to proceed quietly and avoid disturbing their surroundings, which limits them to moving at one-half of their normal exploration speed. The chance to be surprised by unexpected encounters is halved. Characters may make Stealth checks to further reduce their odds of being detected by dungeon denizens.
Note that searching for traps while moving stealthily imposes a −5 penalty on both the Stealth check (to avoid detection) and the Perception check (to find traps).
Searching for traps
Dungeon-delvers who suspect the presence of traps may proceed carefully, while probing the way ahead with a pole, testing uncertain surfaces before putting weight on them, closely examining suspicious bits of scenery, and otherwise attempting to discern the presence of traps. Doing so greatly slows the characters’ progress, but allows Perception checks to be made to detect traps.
It takes 5 minutes to search a 60-ft. section of hallway for traps (taking 10). It takes an hour to search it meticulously (taking 20, with no chance of failure). Searching a typical (20-foot-square) dungeon room for traps takes 10 minutes; to search the same room meticulously, 2 hours. (For larger chambers, to find the time required to search the chamber for traps, multiply the time needed to explore the chamber by 5; to find the time required to search the same chamber meticulously, multiply the previous result by 12.)
As with normal exploration, difficult terrain or other reductions to movement speed also affect the time that it takes to search an area for traps.
“No-contact” searching
It is possible, but very difficult, to conduct a search (either for traps, or for anything else) without physically touching anything; however, it may sometimes be prudent to do so. Such “no-contact” searching methods impose a −10 penalty on Perception checks to search.