As a GM, the solutions are all about providing more information:

#Sounds and Trails

When they examine their choices, give them hints what lies down each passage. A part of the dungeon in use by kobolds looks different from one in which there is a gelatinous cube, and again different from one used by necromancers.

If you tell them at a junction "Down the left corridor, you can find small markings scratched into the walls at waist-height and strange chittering sounds in the distance; in the left corridor you notice how the floor looks unusually clean of debris and dust, and the stairs ahead echo faintly with the sound of people chanting", you turn the meaningless choice of left/right/down into a meaningful one.

Architectural Details

On a weaker level, the same can be done even in the absence of monsters. The path to a crypt is very different than the servants' stairs leading up to the feast hall. Thus, by giving them more explanation of what their choice of paths looks like than just "Corridor left, corridor right, stairs down ahead", you give them something to work with. However, the information "Am I walking into what used to be a crypt or into what used to be a feast hall" can often not be enough to actually give meaning to the choice. This becomes easier when you combine it with the following technique to give that information more impact:

#Maps and Rumors

Just because part of the dungeoneering experience is the exploration doesn't mean the characters aren't allowed to have any prior information about the dungeon. In fact, some vague info about points of interest can turn aimless wandering around into a meaningful expedition: The colonial explorers weren't just wandering around south of Egypt for no reason, but because they were looking for the source of the Nile.

By giving them rumors, especially about treasure, like "The 3rd Lord of Castle Strahd is said to have been buried with his entire wealth somewhere in this dungeon", you can give the players something to look for. Now, the choice between heading down into a crypt and up into the feast hall is clearly meaningful: the promise of treasure for heading into the crypt makes if qualitatively different from the feast hall.

Similarly, you can use maps as clues and as part of treasure to pique their interest. If they find a hastily scrawled note about the location of the switch on the statue of Anubis that opens the secret door behind it, the players will start looking for such statues.

#The Actions of Enemies

Since an encounter should be more than just a swap into combat mode and whopping at enemies in a blank room, as a GM one should never ignore how the choices of other dungeon denizens are affected by the environment.

For example, if a chamber says "2 Kobolds", and has exits leading to a room with more kobolds, another one with a gelatinous cube and one full of necromancers, then it shouldn't be hard to contextualize that as two kobolds guarding the door to their lair to prevent the cube they just saw slithering by earlier from going down there.

The effect doesn't have to be big, but it gives things impact and information. When the PCs enter the chamber, those two kobolds will probably also be surprised, have to first pick up their shield to get ready, and one might shout down a warning the passage they are standing in front of. None of that greatly changes the gameplay of the ensuing fight, but it is very different in terms of information conveyed than "Two kobolds stand in the middle of the room. Put down your minis here near this door."

As a GM, the solutions are all about providing more information:

Sounds and Trails

When they examine their choices, give them hints what lies down each passage. A part of the dungeon in use by kobolds looks different from one in which there is a gelatinous cube, and again different from one used by necromancers.

If you tell them at a junction "Down the left corridor, you can find small markings scratched into the walls at waist-height and strange chittering sounds in the distance; in the left corridor you notice how the floor looks unusually clean of debris and dust, and the stairs ahead echo faintly with the sound of people chanting", you turn the meaningless choice of left/right/down into a meaningful one.

Architectural Details

On a weaker level, the same can be done even in the absence of monsters. The path to a crypt is very different than the servants' stairs leading up to the feast hall. Thus, by giving them more explanation of what their choice of paths looks like than just "Corridor left, corridor right, stairs down ahead", you give them something to work with. However, the information "Am I walking into what used to be a crypt or into what used to be a feast hall" can often not be enough to actually give meaning to the choice. This becomes easier when you combine it with the following technique to give that information more impact:

Maps and Rumors

Just because part of the dungeoneering experience is the exploration doesn't mean the characters aren't allowed to have any prior information about the dungeon. In fact, some vague info about points of interest can turn aimless wandering around into a meaningful expedition: The colonial explorers weren't just wandering around south of Egypt for no reason, but because they were looking for the source of the Nile.

By giving them rumors, especially about treasure, like "The 3rd Lord of Castle Strahd is said to have been buried with his entire wealth somewhere in this dungeon", you can give the players something to look for. Now, the choice between heading down into a crypt and up into the feast hall is clearly meaningful: the promise of treasure for heading into the crypt makes if qualitatively different from the feast hall.

Similarly, you can use maps as clues and as part of treasure to pique their interest. If they find a hastily scrawled note about the location of the switch on the statue of Anubis that opens the secret door behind it, the players will start looking for such statues.

The Actions of Enemies

Since an encounter should be more than just a swap into combat mode and whopping at enemies in a blank room, as a GM one should never ignore how the choices of other dungeon denizens are affected by the environment.

For example, if a chamber says "2 Kobolds", and has exits leading to a room with more kobolds, another one with a gelatinous cube and one full of necromancers, then it shouldn't be hard to contextualize that as two kobolds guarding the door to their lair to prevent the cube they just saw slithering by earlier from going down there.

The effect doesn't have to be big, but it gives things impact and information. When the PCs enter the chamber, those two kobolds will probably also be surprised, have to first pick up their shield to get ready, and one might shout down a warning the passage they are standing in front of. None of that greatly changes the gameplay of the ensuing fight, but it is very different in terms of information conveyed than "Two kobolds stand in the middle of the room. Put down your minis here near this door."

The solutions are all about, as a GM, providing more information:

#Sounds and Trails

When they examine their choices, give them hints what lies down each passage. A part of the dungeon in use by kobolds looks different from one in which there is a gelatinous cube, and again different from one used by necromancers.

If you tell them at a junction "Down the left corridor, you can find small markings scratched into the walls at waist-height and strange chittering sounds in the distance; in the left corridor you notice how the floor looks unusually clean of debris and dust, and the stairs ahead echo faintly with the sound of people chanting", you turn the meaningless choice of left/right/down into a meaningful one.

Architectural Details

On a weaker level, the same can be done even in the absence of monsters. The path to a crypt is very different than the servants' stairs leading up to the feast hall. Thus, by giving them more explanation of what their choice of paths looks like than just "Corridor left, corridor right, stairs down ahead", you give them something to work with. However, the information "Am I walking into what used to be a crypt or into what used to be a feast hall" can often not be enough to actually give meaning to the choice. This becomes easier when you combine it with the following technique to give that information more impact:

#Maps and Rumors

Just because part of the dungeoneering experience is the exploration doesn't mean the characters aren't allowed to have any prior information about the dungeon. In fact, some vague info about points of interest can turn aimless wandering around into a meaningful expedition: The colonial explorers weren't just wandering around south of Egypt for no reason, but because they were looking for the source of the Nile.

By giving them rumors, especially about treasure, like "The 3rd Lord of Castle Strahd is said to have been buried with his entire wealth somewhere in this dungeon", you can give the players something to look for. Now, the choice between heading down into a crypt and up into the feast hall is clearly meaningful: the promise of treasure for heading into the crypt makes if qualitatively different from the feast hall.

Similarly, you can use maps as clues and as part of treasure to pique their interest. If they find a hastily scrawled note about the location of the switch on the statue of Anubis that opens the secret door behind it, the players will start looking for such statues.

#The Actions of Enemies

Since an encounter should be more than just a swap into combat mode and whopping at enemies in a blank room, as a GM one should never ignore how the choices of other dungeon denizens are affected by the environment.

For example, if a chamber says "2 Kobolds", and has exits leading to a room with more kobolds, another one with a gelatinous cube and one full of necromancers, then it shouldn't be hard to contextualize that as two kobolds guarding the door to their lair to prevent the cube they just saw slithering by earlier from going down there.

The effect doesn't have to be big, but it gives things impact and information. When the PCs enter the chamber, those two kobolds will probably also be surprised, have to first pick up their shield to get ready, and one might shout down a warning the passage they are standing in front of. None of that greatly changes the gameplay of the ensuing fight, but it is very different in terms of information conveyed than "Two kobolds stand in the middle of the room. Put down your minis here near this door."

As a GM, the solutions are all about providing more information:

#Sounds and Trails

When they examine their choices, give them hints what lies down each passage. A part of the dungeon in use by kobolds looks different from one in which there is a gelatinous cube, and again different from one used by necromancers.

If you tell them at a junction "Down the left corridor, you can find small markings scratched into the walls at waist-height and strange chittering sounds in the distance; in the left corridor you notice how the floor looks unusually clean of debris and dust, and the stairs ahead echo faintly with the sound of people chanting", you turn the meaningless choice of left/right/down into a meaningful one.

Architectural Details

On a weaker level, the same can be done even in the absence of monsters. The path to a crypt is very different than the servants' stairs leading up to the feast hall. Thus, by giving them more explanation of what their choice of paths looks like than just "Corridor left, corridor right, stairs down ahead", you give them something to work with. However, the information "Am I walking into what used to be a crypt or into what used to be a feast hall" can often not be enough to actually give meaning to the choice. This becomes easier when you combine it with the following technique to give that information more impact:

#Maps and Rumors

Just because part of the dungeoneering experience is the exploration doesn't mean the characters aren't allowed to have any prior information about the dungeon. In fact, some vague info about points of interest can turn aimless wandering around into a meaningful expedition: The colonial explorers weren't just wandering around south of Egypt for no reason, but because they were looking for the source of the Nile.

By giving them rumors, especially about treasure, like "The 3rd Lord of Castle Strahd is said to have been buried with his entire wealth somewhere in this dungeon", you can give the players something to look for. Now, the choice between heading down into a crypt and up into the feast hall is clearly meaningful: the promise of treasure for heading into the crypt makes if qualitatively different from the feast hall.

Similarly, you can use maps as clues and as part of treasure to pique their interest. If they find a hastily scrawled note about the location of the switch on the statue of Anubis that opens the secret door behind it, the players will start looking for such statues.

#The Actions of Enemies

Since an encounter should be more than just a swap into combat mode and whopping at enemies in a blank room, as a GM one should never ignore how the choices of other dungeon denizens are affected by the environment.

For example, if a chamber says "2 Kobolds", and has exits leading to a room with more kobolds, another one with a gelatinous cube and one full of necromancers, then it shouldn't be hard to contextualize that as two kobolds guarding the door to their lair to prevent the cube they just saw slithering by earlier from going down there.

The effect doesn't have to be big, but it gives things impact and information. When the PCs enter the chamber, those two kobolds will probably also be surprised, have to first pick up their shield to get ready, and one might shout down a warning the passage they are standing in front of. None of that greatly changes the gameplay of the ensuing fight, but it is very different in terms of information conveyed than "Two kobolds stand in the middle of the room. Put down your minis here near this door."

The solutions are all about as a GM, providing more information:

#Sounds and Trails

When they examine their choices, give them hints what lies down each passage. A part of the dungeon in use by kobolds looks different from one in which there is a gelatinous cube, and again different from one used by necromancers.

If you tell them at a junction "Down the left corridor, you can find small markings scratched into the walls at waist-height and strange chittering sounds in the distance, in the left corridor you notice how the floor looks unusually clean of debris and dust, and the chairs ahead echo faintly with the sound of people chanting", you turn the meaningless choice of left/right/down into a meaningful one.

#Architectural Details

On a weaker level, the same can be done even in the absence of monsters. The path to a crypt is very different than the servants' stairs leading up to the feast hall. Thus, by giving them more explanation of what their choice of paths looks like than just "Corridor left, corridor right, stairs down ahead", you give them something to work with. However, the information "Am I walking into what used to be a crypt or into what used to be a feast hall" can often not be enough to actually give meaning to the choice. This becomes easier when you combine it with the following technique to give that information more impact:

#Maps and Rumors

Just because part of the dungeoneering experience is the exploration doesn't mean the characters aren't allowed to have any prior information about the dungeon. In fact, some vague info about points of interest can turn aimless wandering around into a meaningful expedition: The colonial explorers weren't just wandering around south of Egypt for no reason, but because they were looking for the source of the Nile.

By giving them rumors, especially about treasure, like "The 3rd Lord of Castle Strahd is said to have been buried with his entire wealth somewhere in this dungeon", you can give the players something to look for. Now, the choice between heading down into a crypt and up into the feast hall is clearly meaningful: The promise of treasure for heading into the crypt makes if qualitatively different from the feast hall.

Similarly, you can use maps as clues and as part of treasure to pique their interest. If they find a hastily scrawled note about the location of the switch on the statue of Anubis that opens the secret door behind it, the players will start looking for such statues.

#The Actions of Enemies

Since an encounter should be more than just a swap into combat mode and whopping at enemies in a blank room, as a GM one should never ignore how the choices of other dungeon denizens are affected by the environment.

For example, if a chamber says "2 Kobolds", and has exits leading to a room with more kobolds, another one with a gelatinous cube and one full of necromancers, then it shouldn't be hard to contextualize that as two kobolds guarding the door to their lair to prevent the cube they just saw slithering by earlier from going down there.

The effect doesn't have to be big, but it gives things impact and information. When the PCs enter the chamber, those two kobolds will probably also be surprised, have to first pick up their shield to get ready, and one might shout down a warning the passage they are standing in front of. None of that greatly changes the gameplay of the ensuing fight, but it is very different in terms of information conveyed than "Two kobolds stand in the middle of the room. Put down your minis here near this door."

The solutions are all about, as a GM, providing more information:

#Sounds and Trails

When they examine their choices, give them hints what lies down each passage. A part of the dungeon in use by kobolds looks different from one in which there is a gelatinous cube, and again different from one used by necromancers.

If you tell them at a junction "Down the left corridor, you can find small markings scratched into the walls at waist-height and strange chittering sounds in the distance; in the left corridor you notice how the floor looks unusually clean of debris and dust, and the stairs ahead echo faintly with the sound of people chanting", you turn the meaningless choice of left/right/down into a meaningful one.

Architectural Details

On a weaker level, the same can be done even in the absence of monsters. The path to a crypt is very different than the servants' stairs leading up to the feast hall. Thus, by giving them more explanation of what their choice of paths looks like than just "Corridor left, corridor right, stairs down ahead", you give them something to work with. However, the information "Am I walking into what used to be a crypt or into what used to be a feast hall" can often not be enough to actually give meaning to the choice. This becomes easier when you combine it with the following technique to give that information more impact:

#Maps and Rumors

Just because part of the dungeoneering experience is the exploration doesn't mean the characters aren't allowed to have any prior information about the dungeon. In fact, some vague info about points of interest can turn aimless wandering around into a meaningful expedition: The colonial explorers weren't just wandering around south of Egypt for no reason, but because they were looking for the source of the Nile.

By giving them rumors, especially about treasure, like "The 3rd Lord of Castle Strahd is said to have been buried with his entire wealth somewhere in this dungeon", you can give the players something to look for. Now, the choice between heading down into a crypt and up into the feast hall is clearly meaningful: the promise of treasure for heading into the crypt makes if qualitatively different from the feast hall.

Similarly, you can use maps as clues and as part of treasure to pique their interest. If they find a hastily scrawled note about the location of the switch on the statue of Anubis that opens the secret door behind it, the players will start looking for such statues.

#The Actions of Enemies

Since an encounter should be more than just a swap into combat mode and whopping at enemies in a blank room, as a GM one should never ignore how the choices of other dungeon denizens are affected by the environment.

For example, if a chamber says "2 Kobolds", and has exits leading to a room with more kobolds, another one with a gelatinous cube and one full of necromancers, then it shouldn't be hard to contextualize that as two kobolds guarding the door to their lair to prevent the cube they just saw slithering by earlier from going down there.

The effect doesn't have to be big, but it gives things impact and information. When the PCs enter the chamber, those two kobolds will probably also be surprised, have to first pick up their shield to get ready, and one might shout down a warning the passage they are standing in front of. None of that greatly changes the gameplay of the ensuing fight, but it is very different in terms of information conveyed than "Two kobolds stand in the middle of the room. Put down your minis here near this door."