Dungeon Room Index: Armories

(Last time I did Great Halls)

This entry is a little shorter (but don't worry, I've already got another in the pipeline!).

This time I'm going for Armories (and "Arsenals" etc.--rooms with weapons and armor and that sort of thing).

The rooms:

Arming yourself

An armory is perhaps a little less exciting than some of the rooms I've covered in that it's generally far more utilitarian than a library, for example. Even so, there is plenty of interest in including an armory in your dungeon. 

An armory is great stage for interesting loot. Armor! Weapons! Handheld, or large scale like a ballista or cannon. Everything from a sword to a crossbow or even a pair of nunchaku, mundane or magical! Maybe even a bag of black powder; something more exciting than your conventional weapons found on any equipment table. Most objects in an armory may be found rusted or useless, but amongst the clutter is much opportunity for finding something helpful, or at least something interesting.

Many foes could be found in an armory. A room full of equipment is ripe for all manner of Animated Objects, like swords, spears, or suits of armor. It's also a good place for former soldiers: skeletons and ghosts. Even unusual creatures like Mimics. Of course, an interesting way to make your armories stand out might be to start from an entirely unexpected creature and ask "how would they shape this armory into a suitable lair?"

Lastly, since armories sometimes feel like a glorified storage closet for a particular niche, I think that makes them a great place for hidden things. What better place to hide the entrance to a secret chamber than a cluttered armory?

Room Notes

Simple, utilitarian

An armory doesn't have to be special. Just a room with some racks for weapons and armor and that sort of thing. Barrels are a good repository for weapons as well. Unlike some of the other rooms I've done, I somewhat expect an armory to have a much lower ceiling (usually). It's a good contrast; some rooms are towering and expansive, and some are claustrophobic. Remember, an armory need not be pristine: more often it may be full of rust and cobwebs.

Smithies

It makes sense to me that a room dedicated to armor and arms is a good place for a smithy. Whoever built this room is likely to want a place for repairing and sharpening equipment. That means a hearth, a bellows, an anvil and a slack tub for quenching hot metal. Perhaps other tools; I don't actually know a lot about smithing! Ha!
Heavy weapons "Armories". "Arsenals". Same difference. Throw some cannons and ballistas in there. (Just make sure the doors are big enough to get them out.) And some barrels with black powder. Seriously, explosives are fun.

Decorated

While armories strike me as pretty utilitarian, that doesn't mean nobody would ever make them a bit more decorative. Inasmuch as some people at some times venerate war, I think it reasonable that the armory could be a little more elaborate. I added some decorative statues here, perhaps wearing pieces of ornamental armor.

Thinking differently

The first is a giant's armory: everything is just scaled up. Add a dash of Mausritter to your not-Mausritter game! High shelves with many nooks and crannies, barrels the size of small houses, daggers like Final Fantasy swords. A large door for the main entrance, but also a small tunnel offshoot where I imagine smaller servants came and went.
The second is more an experiment in "how weird could the shape be?". I find I often turn to different room shapes as a short hand for different fantasy species and their architectural aesthetics. (e.g. if humans are prone to square rooms, perhaps dwarves like diamonds; this may not stand up to scrutiny, but consider it a starting point)

Example encounters

Since this entry is a little shorter, I feel obligated to offer a little more. Here's a variety of encounters that could take place in an armory:

• Animated objects. Yes, yes, a suit of armor that ambushes you. But what about a suit that wraps around a player and controls them? Or what about a magical suit of armor that's afraid of conflict and ditches you as soon as you enter combat? What about a sort of armor-golem, composed of odds and ends from several broken suits of armor? Flying swords and spears and so on, but what about an animated cannonball, like a bludger from quidditch? Or a grappling hook that behaves like a long snake?
• Undead. Skeletons are the lowest hanging fruit; soldiers still hanging around--ghosts, too. Are they simple aggressive skeletons defending a post, or is it a long dead janitor who keeps the room tidy and doesn't take kindly to people moving things? How about a floating skull wearing a favorite helmet that patrols endlessly, and only interferes when it's helmet is stolen? (It's a very fancy helmet, of course.)
• Fire spirits. Any room that has a hearth is a good place for such things. Think Calcifer from Howl's Moving Castle, keeping the coals alive in perpetuity, or perhaps offering a boon to anyone that offers fuel for the flame (perhaps at an interesting cost!)
• Creepy crawlies. If it has too many, segmented legs, it's a creepy crawly. (My favorite genre of fantasy creature!) I'm thinking something like a decorator crab hiding among the clutter, adorning it's body in bits of plate and shields. Maybe it's holding a sword. Perhaps that giant's armory has a giant hermit crab using a giant's helmet for it's shell. Or, you know, just put some spiders in there.
• Metal eaters. A classic Rust Monster may just be a creepy-crawly, but what about other weird things that feast on metal and rust? Maybe that's how a mimic got in here: it eats things then it turns into them. (Gives a whole new meaning to "you are what you eat"; what happens if it eats you? That should be unnerving.) Maybe dwarves eat metal in your setting--that would explain why they're so into mining--and this vagabond has found it's way into a veritable candy shop.