About dungeon names
Expect descriptive site titles that swing between English and French, from "The Chaotic Chambers" to "le Labyrinthe de Jade", with the occasional misdirection like "Caverns of the Gentle Tiger". Names of this shape belong on a torn map handed to the party at session start. Choose an ironic result when you want players second-guessing what waits on level three.
How dungeon names are built
Dungeon names split between an English form and a longer French one. The English route gives Caverns of the Gentle Tiger (a chamber noun, of the, an adjective and a creature) or the short The Chaotic Chambers. The French route, drawing on the largest banks here (a 284-entry adjective bank), builds La Salle des Fers Béni des Dieux and La Galerie Basse des Ossements Hagard.
Caverns of the Gentle Tiger
Caverns (chamber noun) + of the + Gentle (adjective) + Tiger (creature)
La Galerie Basse des Ossements Hagard
la Galerie Basse (vault word) + des Ossements (phrase) + Hagard (adjective)
The Chaotic Chambers
The + Chaotic (adjective) + Chambers (chamber noun)
Naming notes
The English templates draw on 19 chamber nouns, 74 adjectives, 51 creatures and a 243-entry adjective bank. The French templates use vault words, phrases and the large adjective banks. The of-the-adjective-creature template names a delve after a creature entry. Label outer rooms with plain English forms and the sealed depths with the French ones.
Questions about dungeon names
- What forms do dungeon names take?
- An English form (Caverns of the Gentle Tiger, The Chaotic Chambers) and a longer French one (La Galerie Basse des Ossements Hagard) built from the largest banks in this set.
- Does the name hint at what is inside?
- It can. The of-the-adjective-creature template names a delve after an entry from the 51-entry creature bank, useful for tagging a dungeon with its boss.
- How do I vary a crawl's labels?
- Use plain English forms for outer rooms and the French forms (Ossements, Caveaux, Fers) for the sealed depths.