Empty Rooms, and what do they mean?

[Wik]

In earlier incarnations of D&D, random dungeon design tables suggested the majority of rooms in a dungeon would be, in fact, "empty", with perhaps only a few pieces of dungeon dressing kicking around.

Conversely, in 4th edition and Pathfinder, empty rooms are much less common. Pathfinder specifically states to "avoid empty rooms" as they "Clutter the map", whereas 4th edition published adventures very rarely have empty rooms at all (as dungeons are really just strings of encounters).

Sandboxers and "simulationists" love them, as they give the setting an "air of versimilitude", while "gamists" and the like avoid them because "they're just a waste of time better spent doing something".

Some GMs have empty rooms be precisely that - rooms devoid of any features. Others jump on the chance to throw in a bit of detail and occasionally reward exploratory/curious PCs with clues or small treasures.

Where do you stand on the issue? Do you use a lot of empty rooms? What do you think their role (if any) is in D&D? Does this opinion change depending on what side of the GM screen you are on?

And, most importantly, what are some of the most interesting "empty" rooms you've come across in your gaming career?

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I want my players to explore places that feel like the whole place is being used. Not every room in my home has a person in it, my dungeons, castles, keeps, towers, manors, cavern systems, mausoleums, all get empty (of encounters) rooms.

If it is an ancient ruin being reoccupied by something else, then there will even be empty room with nothing in them but maybe an occasional wall carving . . .

 

[Jack7]

To me what occupies a room should be more a function of the building/design itself rather than being dictated by a version of the game.

To me it's a matter of what is the locale used for, who occupies it, how much space do they need, did they build this for their own purposes, squat in an empty space, or take it from someone else? Who owns it, why, and how many owners are there and what is its actual function, to me that tells me if the room will be empty or not, and how many empty areas there are in a particular space or area.

So to me that's how I figure about empty rooms. Of course you've always got the Tomb of Horrors empty versus really empty.

If a room is truly empty I'm not sure there's a lot that can be done with it, unless it seems strategically located around or in a set of rooms that are far more dangerous, challenging, or menacing.

I've used a lot of seemingly empty rooms to good effect. And of course just because a room is empty doesn't mean it can't seem menacing to the players. If described in a certain way or if it is located near a dangerous area.

A few of the best "empty rooms" I've designed or played in (not all were "empty" empty:

There was a room that everyone in the party saw as completely empty except for a thief who kept seeing mirrors on the walls. But instead of seeing his own reflection or that of his party he kept seeing another party and what they were doing (which was creepy). Unknown to the first party there was a competitor party in the same dungeon. But the first party was spooked by the one guy who kept seeing things through otherwise invisible mirrors and I never explained why he saw what he saw or why.

There was an empty room that was really a Tesseract.

An empty room that was a gimbal.

An empty room in which various sounds could be heard and odors smelled but other than that nothing happened. Yet players often think stuff like that must mean something.

An empty room in which they kept hearing ticking but could never discover the source.

A room with some dinosaur bones that convinced them there was a dragon nearby. There wasn't, but one of the occupants had discovered the bones while excavating another area.

A room that was empty but if you walked to the very center of it you could see through every wall and into other parts of the dungeon.

A room with tapestries in it that if you stared at them awhile would animate and play out different scenes, and if you pulled a thread from the tapestry it would start to weave itself into a new tapestry with monstrous figures that would animate and leap from the tapestry and attack the party.

And an empty room that if the lights were extinguished it acted like a planetarium and star chart room (which allowed them to chart their position).

 

[Stormonu]

I think empty rooms have their place. They can help to build dramatic tension because you can't alway count on something beyond every door. Even apparently-empty-but-has-its-own-little-story rooms can be fun to put before characters to encounter or bypass as they see fit.

The best example of incorporating empty rooms comes in Castle Ravenloft. The original module had several areas that were empty; it helped to create the atmosphere of an abandoned/haunted castle. After several empty rooms, the party would often lower their guard, giving Strahd a perfect moment to attack by surprise. Likewise, if the party buffed up with spells and whatnot before entering the room, they might break to find ... nothing there.

The new version - Expedition to Castle Ravenloft is so crammed-packed with encounters beyond every door it becomes nauseating. It's like too much topping on a treat. You know something is waiting for you just on the other side of the portal, and it becomes prudent to buff, ready and brace before knocking the door in. Yeah, there's great ideas for encounters, but it gets a bit repetitious knowing every...door...hides...an...encounter.

 

[SnowleopardVK]

Sometimes I put in rooms that are apparently empty only for something to spring out and attack. Then again I also make actual empty rooms. It keeps the players on their toes.

One of my group's biggest problems is charging into things while forgetting to check for traps, ambushes, and other factors they can't immediately see, so a little paranoia to slow them down is a good thing I think, and rewarding them when they remember to be cautious helps build the habit.

 

[haakon1]

I agree with all that's been said.

In my campaign, empty rooms are there for a reason that fits the locale.

Some examples that I recall in a goblin fortress we played through recently (using a WOTC module for 3.5e that I modified to fit my campaign):

1) The bedroom of the goblin shaman. The room is empty (except for two minor undead who take a flick of the wrist from the party cleric to destroy harmlessly) because the shaman on a trip. "Treasure" here includes minor gear he didn't need for the trip, and notes about why he went -- his disatisfaction with the new leader of the dungeon and his hope that the goblins who now control the Caves of Chaos (due to earlier action in the campaign) will help oppose this strange new force.


2) The storage room. Stored travel rations for several thousand hobgoblin days. Also, carpentry tools, torches, bandages, barrels of oil, and 5000 arrows. Who owns all this stuff, and why did they put it in this minor dungeon used by hobgoblin bandits?

It's all foreshadowing for the Red Hand of Doom module, of course! My idea for large food and weapon caches being found as a clue is from the history of the period leading up to the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War.

For game purposes, in editions that were not obsessed with preventing the 15 minute workday, abandoned rooms provided the possibility that the PCs could rest -- which was sometimes a good idea, and sometimes not, as I run it.

The other game purposes, as mentioned, is it keeps the players guessing before they open a door -- you can't assume you should buff before each door, because there might be nothing there, and often it tales several minutes to determine if a room is REALLY empty and pointless, or not.

But finally, I go back to the common description of war that I've heard many times: "Days of sheer tedium, punctuated by seconds of pure terror". So empty rooms are a way to build in verisimilitude and amp up --or amp down -- the level of paranoia and stress for the PCs.

"Quiet, too quiet" is a place that can be fun to go.

 

[Stalker0]

As has been mentioned, it depends on the setting.

In a castle, does it make sense to have a few empty storage rooms around? Sure.

In a dungeon, does it really make sense that someone built a big room and then did nothing with it? Less so.

 

[[OMENRPG]Ben]

I don't really ever build dungeons or castles or encounter maps that don't actually have a real, in-game, in-setting purpose. For example, I wouldn't build a castle strictly for the players to explore and wonder what went into all of these rooms, I build a castle that has a history and past and current occupants.

Sometimes there are multiple objectives and multiple groups that are motivated for various reasons; this is why I tend to get away from the classic "dungeon" feel. Almost all of my encounters are built into a real setting somewhere in the world, and often the players can pick the time and the place where they will engage; while similarly the bad guys can use whatever tactical space if they have the home-field advantage.

If things have a logical reason to exist, then I put them there. If the players are trying to explore a massive keep that once housed thousands of soldiers, artisans, courtiers, aristocrats, and other laity, but now is occupied by a group of one hundred mercenaries, there are certain chokepoints and rooms that will be more significant that the mercs will occupy as opposed to randomly strewn throughout some adventure module map.

But, of course, designing a place to be massive simply for the sake of being massive is a waste of everyone's time, unless the group really thinks exploring massive places is fun.

 

[Agamon]

If you really want to mess with the players' heads, don't just stop at empty rooms, go for the complete empty dungeon.

When they start giving you the WTF looks and comments, just smile evilly, roll a couple dice and chuckle.

 

[Starfox]

Empty rooms are a disincentive to buff up and cast detect spells before every door. Plot wise, they generally suck. I rarely use them; as other have said the use of a room should depend on plot and verisimilitude, not tactical consideration. I find empty rooms exaggerate the 15-minute adventuring day.