Dungeon Dressing: Stairs
Stairs come in many shapes and sizes, including steep, gradual, precipitous and spiral. Stairs in dungeons don’t even have to be made of stone—some can be of wood, bone or other magical or fantastical substances.
You can download this material for free as a .pdf and .txt file by hitting the button at the bottom of this post. You do not need to give us your email or set up an account.
If you enjoy this article, sign up to the Sunday Supplement—our weekly newsletter—so you don’t miss any other free GM's Resources!
Major Features
The staircase has a low roof—characters over 5 ft. tall must duck or bash their head on the ceiling.
The stairway has a high ceiling.
One wall has empty torch sconces set along its length. Several of the sconces are bent as if hit with considerable force; two are missing.
Small niches in both walls once held candles. The niches are now empty but for dust and small puddles of hardened wax.
A small niche pierces the ceiling. The niche is the remains of a long-since tripped trap that once contained several vials of oil. The step below the niche depresses slightly when stood on1.
Each stair is engraved with a different letter. When put together the letters spell out a message from the dungeon’s designer.
The stairs descend directly over a natural cave. A Large creature (or a particularly heavy Medium creature) causes a portion of the stairs to collapse into the cavern below.
The stair’s risers are particularly low, meaning there are many more individual steps than normal.
An iron handrail is set into the stair’s left-hand wall.
The staircase has an iron handrail set into the right-hand wall.
The staircase has a half-landing halfway down.
The staircase has several half-landings spaced equally along its length.
A small wall niche provides space for a guard to lurk. A stone seat is carved into one of its walls.
Elaborate scrollwork decorates each step.
The carved mark of the master mason responsible for building the stairs decorates every third step.
Carvings of ferocious, mythical beasts decorate the stair’s ceiling.
A prayer for the dead is carved into one wall.
At one point, the ceiling drops by several feet; tall characters must duck to traverse safely.
The staircase intersects a small, dry natural cavern. The cavern intersects the stair’s ceiling.
An iron bannister runs down the middle of the stairs.
Minor Features & Dressing
Phosphorescent lichen grows on the walls, providing illumination as a candle.
Dust covers the steps; footprints can easily be made out (perhaps providing clues to what lurks below).
A smear of charcoal shows where a previous explorer extinguished a torch.
A torn and slashed belt pouch lies on the stair. It is old, mouldering and empty.
Faint splatters of old, dried blood decorate the stairs.
A smear of chalk indicates where a message has been rubbed out.
A broken spear shaft (lacking its tip) lies on the stairs.
A previous explorer has scratched into the ceiling the message, “Beware the Corridor of Columns.”
An old spray of arterial blood “decorates” part of one wall and the ceiling. Given the size of the stain something probably died here.
One of the stairs is badly chipped as if something had repeatedly struck it with a heavy object.
A torch sconce juts from the wall, at a drunken angle.
Part of the stairs is scorched and bits of stone are melted, as if subjected to intense heat.
Light rubble from the ceiling or walls covers some of the stairs.
Heavy rubble from the ceiling or walls covers some of the stairs. Great cracks pierce the walls and ceiling.
Cobwebs cover the ceiling; many small insects are caught within.
Brownish-green mould grows along one wall.
Phosphorescent fungus grows in clumps on the stairs, giving off sickly yellow light equal to a torch.
The partial skeleton of a humanoid lies amid its moulding equipment. The unfortunate is missing its head and left arm.
A torn and empty backpack has been upended over a torch sconce.
Obscene graffiti daubs one wall. The graffiti shows humanoids of an appropriate type for the dungeon killing and mutilating their racial enemies (or humans if the race has no traditional foes).
Credit
This is a short system-neutral extract from GM’s Miscellany: Dungeon Dressing. The book is available in 5e, System Neutral and Pathfinder 1 editions. The OSR edition will be available in early 2023.
Get the Free Download
Download this post by hitting the button below—you’ll get a zip file containing a lightweight one-page PDF and a superlight text file for your digital GM’s folder or virtual tabletop (VTT).
If you’ve found this resource useful, please let me know by leaving a comment. And also leave a comment if you have a suggestion to make this kind of post better.