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The Dungeon is a basic concept in role-playing games (RPGs) that has been around since their conception. "Dungeon" refers to an (usually in-door) area filled with traps to avoid, creatures to defeat, and treasures to collect. Dungeons are often labyrinth-like with dozens of rooms to explore. Needless to say, they are quite dangerous.
Dungeons are excellent places for gaining levels quickly and for testing a character's abilities without being forced to think too much - a style of adventure often called a dungeon crawl. They often serve as an outlet after a long and complicated underlying storyline. Even in games which prefer to focus on role-playing and character interaction, dungeons might appear from time to time.
Origin
The origin of dungeon as a term for an adventuring environment originally came into use with Dungeons and Dragons, a fantasy RPG that was first produced in the 1970s. The game provided a framework of rules, sample creatures, and characters, all modeled after an underground abandoned dungeon environment. Subsequent versions were released that provided rules and sample creatures for all environments, but the term "Dungeon" stuck.
Why Dungeon?
The reason dungeons were used so much in fantasy games was because of their ease of play. A small network of rooms underground keeps a player's options fairly limited, and simplifies thinking and planning for both the programmer/creator and the player. It also provides an atmosphere that we are not accustomed to, creating more of a sense of adventure. One last reason was that dungeons could have many rooms all containing different things, providing for a possibility of very large dungeons that players could explore for hours.
"Dungeon (games)"