Per the previous blog, this will go into the steps of how to make your dungeon stand out, taking the steps detailed one at a time. The first is, the theme of the dungeon!

If you've ever played any kind of RPG or game, you can probably name the most common ones of the top of your head. It's the water temple or the fire dungeon or the wind... fish. Zelda has a rather exhaustive list of [theme] [location]s to go around.

Simplistic themes are fine and should be used, but don't feel bound to just elements or broad subjects like that. Any kind of description that helps you narrow down what should be found there is what you're looking for. "Vampire" is just as workable as "lightning" in this instance. It's entirely there to help you determine what should be put in here.

The first determination of the theme should be your campaign. It would be wildly inappropriate for the party to enter a fire dungeon if they're in the tundra.

Next, what mood do you want to instill in the party? Excitement? Dread? This is determined when you're crafting the theme for the dungeon and should be kept in mind as you start to fill it out with rooms, encounters, lore, and everything else.

Picking a theme can be as fast or slow as you want. If you're not sure of what to do, just smash words together until you find something you're interested in. Have fun with it!