For some time now I've noticed that the array of PC characteristics in D&D (and its many OSR clones) tends to match its pattern of encounters. That is, if you take STR, DEX, and CON as combat stats, then half of the stats--and, by extension, roughly half the rooms in a small dungeon, or half the encounters topside--will concern themselves with combat. DEX and INT suggest that a third of encounters should involve skill or knowledge, while WIS and INT suggest that a third should involve perception or puzzle-solving, while the lone social stat of CHA suggests that one encounter in six was expected to involve talking and negotiation. Your percentage among encounters may vary, of course, but it certainly seems that if social encounters were supposed to be a major feature of the game, they'd have either added a second or third social stat (as the Storyteller system does, which is very much a social game), or ignored Charisma altogether, as Into the Odd does. (In Into the Odd, the players apply--perforce--their own intelligence and social skills to various situations, so those aspects are not statted.)
At any rate, it occurred to me that you could extend this reasoning further and write a six-room dungeon based on making sure that each one of the six stats was primarily used in at least one room. And it would bear no small resemblance to John Four's classic Five-Room Dungeon or Goblin Punch's Seven Point Dungeon Checklist. I'm going to take this thinking out for a trial run. Please bear in mind that these are very rough divisions--especially since all nonmagical combat involves an inseparable combination of STR, DEX, and CON, so I'm generalizing a bit.
Anyway, here are the rooms a 6-stat dungeon needs, in no particular order.
STR: The Minion Fight--a minor battle where a weak creature (or group of same) harries and bothers the party, probably with some secondary effect like poison (CON save) or dazedness (INT save), or whatever fits the theme of the dungeon. The fighter should totally slaughter them, while the less armored characters absorb the special effect damage.
CON: The Boss Battle or Major Hazard--a major creature that requires high STR to crush or high DEX to dodge, but in either case requires high CON to outlast. The CON room could also just be any hazard you like: a flame jet, an acid pool, a pit trap, darts from the wall. This room costs hit points.
DEX: The Obstacle to Climb, Evade, or Unlock. Though of course magic (WIS, INT) can also help out here. Presumably this is something like a high wall, a locked door, or a rickety bridge. The obstacle can also be a creature, but it should be the sort of creature encounter that encourages some non-combat thinking: a ghost no one can hurt with weapons, an ooze that resists most damage, a sleeping basilisk, etc.
INT: The Puzzle or The Weird Machine to Play With. So classic! And of course, as above, this could simply be a trap that is obvious, and the puzzle is trying to figure out a way to get past it. This is another area where magic (WIS, INT) can help, but sheer reasoning and risky experimentation are the most fun part for OSR games, and this is its happy place, whether it's a weird ancient glowing series of crystals or just an alchemists's old case of unlabeled potions.
WIS: The Hidden Thing You Ought to Notice, or The Undead Menace, or The Test of Goodness. Any room where you could ask, "Would a cleric or druid be extra helpful here?" This could even be an empty room for players to rest and heal up in. But I love Goblin Punch's notion that there ought to be one thing in every dungeon that the players probably won't even find. That goes in this box, as does a quiet moment where the players have a chance to interrogate their drives and purpose. Note that if there's an undead menace here, looking at the other rooms will tell you if you need minions, a boss, or some third midlevel thing like a shadow or wight.
CHA: Someone or Something to Talk To or Negotiate With. Dialogue livens up every dungeon. Success helps you avoid a hazard, or gives you a valuable item or a temporary follower.
What I like about this system is that it's like the Five-Room Dungeon, but has a sixth room that acts as a sort of utility outfielder you can slap on if the adventure's running short. (When I make a dungeon, I always look for places where I can stick an optional room.)
Note also that you can easily design a 6-room dungeon to test MULTIPLE stats in every room, layering one set of six atop another arrangement of the same six, which i how I prefer it. To my mind, two or three rooms out of six ought to force the players to make a distinct choice. Like, do you swim across the lake using STR or walk along the bottom of the water using CON (but you have to remove your armor or drown), or hop across on the giant lily pads using DEX (which can't support heavy armor, and which means the goblins on the other end of the lake can see you coming and start shooting). And of course, at least one monster in a particular dungeon room (STR, CON) ought to be smart enough to converse with (CHA) or be tricked (INT).
Finally, it strikes me that making a six-room dungeon in this fashion also makes it possible to map it to the colors of a Rubik's cube, as suggested in Five Torches Deep. Red is a little monster (STR), blue is a big monster (CON), green is a puzzle (INT), and so on. I'm going to try this out. Till next time.
