Geomorphs for the Temple of Chaos Divided and beyond.

Introduction to Geomorphs

I first encountered the idea of geomorphs in the AD&D 1st Edition Dungeoneer's Survival Guide with its appendix at the back. There were other products that reinforced this idea, including an old TSR pack of geomorphs and then the AD&D 2nd Edition Dungeon Builder's Guidebook. Although one could create geomorphs from any shape (and the DSG showed triangular and hexagonal geomorphs) I have always found square ones to be simplest to do and best suited to mostly-orthogonal dungeons. 

Art by Jeff Easley

The idea of geomorph tiles is that you can arrange them in almost any combination to create many different overall maps, rather like lego bricks. I tend to go for geomorph sizes that have an odd number of 10ft squares along any one side so there should be a 10ft square in the middle of each edge. This makes a common connection point between two geomorphs. Although one could have 2 connections or more per side, this decreases the likelihood of any two geomorphs linking up smoothly. A good geomorph system should allow for tiles to be rotated or flipped for a wider range of permutations. 

The size of a geomorph should be considered. The larger geomorphs can be impressive and complex, effectively dungeons in their own right. But it then becomes harder to create each one. Conversely smaller ones are easier to create but may lack character, seeming more like dungeon tiles than significant sections of dungeons. 

page 119 of the Dungeoneer's
Survival Guide, cartography by
Dave Sutherland

My prefered size is 190ft x 190ft square with a single connection at the centre of each side. This is what I have used for my megadungeon The Temple of Chaos Divided. In fact I would go so far as to say that megadungeons are the best use of geomorphs, followed by the Underdark/Shadowdark. An underground area where a single map, regardless of how large, may not be enough to detail all the encounter areas, is the best place for geomorphs. 

So should the DM assign monsters and other contents to a geomorph? Once the DM has decided what dungeon they are using the geomorphs for, yes of course, But a set of geomorphs is clearly  not bound to any one dungeon, even a megadungeon, therefore whatever the DM places in rooms in a geomorph for one dungeon, the same geomorph can be reused with completely different contents and inhabitants, not just in other dungeons but even within the same dungeon. Although a DM can create custom geomorphs for specific scenarios, this does somewhat defeat the idea of geomorphs being re-arrangeable and resuable. Actually, a custom geomorph created for one particular set of encounters the DM has in mind usually can be reused with quite different encounters, though it is possible the PCs will recognise the distinctive layout. 

Geomorphs can contain ways of going up or down, such as stairs, chutes, ladders or even just holes to drop down. However, I personally rarely use these as it is something else that needs to line up on the geomorph it is connecting to. This is why with the Temple of Chaos Divided has its central hubs which include the main stairs going up and down. The geomorphs attach to the edges of the hubs and so do not require ways of getting to the next level (though they can if the DM wants, and two of the examples below do have stairs). 

Some sample geomorphs

Despite my initial intentions, I have not added contents to these geomorph tiles as I believe this would distract from their purpose. If you want, you can fill them with monsters and treasure by careful design or by random rolls. I've tried to keep these relatively generic, suitable for a range of different dungeons, although they are all clearly created by intelligent creatures and not suitable for huge or larger creatures given their 10ft wide corridors.