I finished up the first draft of my dungeon design advice for new DMs (or those new to old school style gaming) today. I'll work on the Wilderness design section next, and let this section sit for a while before I read over it and make some edits. For now, though, I'm pretty happy with what I've got down.
While I was writing up the chapter, I did take a break and re-read the advice Mentzer gave in his Basic Set, which is how I learned to do it. My section isn't as concise as his, but it explains about more dungeon types and gives more of the rationale behind dungeons both as game elements and as part of the fictional fantasy world. I don't give as many specific examples of traps and specials, but in the age of the internet, I'm not to worried about needing to do that. I was more focused on the how and the why of these types of encounters, along with monster and treasure stocking, and general dungeon design for different purposes.
It's six pages long (A4 size). The section headings are:
Dungeon Creation
I. Types of Dungeon
II. Megadungeons
A. Dungeon Levels
B. The Megadungeon as a Setting
C. The Mythic Underworld
III. Scenario Dungeons
IV. Lair Dungeons
V. The Purpose of the Dungeon
VI. Drawing Dungeon Maps
VII. Stocking Dungeons
A. Wandering Monsters
VIII. Traps
A. Types
B. Triggers
C. Effects
D. Hazards
IX. Specials
A. Secret Doors
X. Unguarded Treasures
XI. Dungeon Dressing and Sensory Information
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