This week’s “10 Questions about…” is different from the others in the series and is more focused on the TTRPG side of world-building/playing than story related.
When exploring a dungeon or other location, there are aspects to the environment that will be repeated multiple times, like walls, or doors.
It can save time early on to establish what a “standard” door (or other repeating feature) is, establishing its height, width, material and so on.. Then, when you deviate from this standard you can say something “It looks like a standard door but this time is twice as wide”, alerting those who encounter it that maybe, just maybe there is something important about this particular location.
Based on all that, this week’s questions/prompts gives you 10 aspects or other things to think about when defining what a standard door is for your location. This set of questions could also be applied to windows as well.
- Height
- Width
- Depth/Thickness
- Frame and how the door opens
- Condition + colouration
- Primary construction material and resistance to damage
- Lock details
- Handle and/or opening mechanisms, including hinge
- Extra features (such as a spy hole or post slot)
- Location, such as the middle of the wall, edge and so on
Bonus – Any traps or security present and how effective or deadly they might be.
The ongoing & growing list of world-building prompts & questions can be found HERE.
What world-building topic would you like to see next time? Let me know in the comments below or on social media like Twitter.
