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Is there a standard or default frequency for wandering monster checks in an underground dungeon?
This concerns both dungeons of my own design, and existing modules either by TSR or Judges Guild that do not specify an encounter frequency for the dungeon.
This answer presumes that the only material you are using as a reference are the PHB, MM and DMG.
How did I come up with that answer from the DMG? (I hear people wonder) The 1e DMG is, as you pointed out in a comment, organized in a counter-intuitive fashion.
You'll find under City encounters the following text.
Check for encounters every three turns as normally, or otherwise as desired. (p. 190)
Where was the 'normally' covered? Nowhere in the AD&D three core books1, though "once per turn" was "normally" for the original game (see below). It is in the Holmes Basic set, which was meant to be a stepping stone to AD&D:
At the end of each three turns the Dungeon Master can roll a die to see if a wandering monster has come down the corridor. A roll of 6 means that "something" has come strolling along. (Holmes, p. 10)
If one didn't get the Holmes Basic Set before getting AD&D, one can be excused for not knowing what the "normally" referred to.
Walking back to 'keeping track of time' in the DMG we find:
It is essential that an accurate time record be kept so that the DM can determine when to check for wandering monsters, and in order to keep a strict check on the duration of some spells ... On occasion a party may wish to hole up for a long period perhaps over night ... this does not exempt them from occasional checks for wandering monsters, though the frequency may be moderated somewhat, depending on conditions ...
Maddeningly, for those looking for a concrete answer, a periodicity was implied ...
When a random encounter is indicated by the periodic check ... (p. 174)
... but there isn't a hard and fast rule in that section on random monsters, and it refers you to your own table/chart in that passage as well. While that implies that you may be best served by making your own chart and periodicity, it does not require it.
The 1e AD&D DMG does not give you a hard and fast rule. Don't let that be an obstacle to play. Throughout the 1e AD&D DMG, the author expends a significant amount of text providing guidance to the DM. I'll distill into a simple principle: do as you will, you are the DM.
And it works (the DM arriving at their own rolling frequency). Well, it worked for me for some years when I was running and playing in AD&D 1e dungeons.
An example of when the DMG suggests more frequent checking:
If wooded doors are broken down by axes and the like, it will take some time -- a full turn {ten minutes} is usual -- and require at least 3 checks to see if nearby and / or wandering monsters are attracted by the noise. (p. 97, Doors)
You will note that this check includes both the wandering/random monsters, and any monsters you have already placed in that area of the dungeon that you expect to be able to hear a door being destroyed by ax blows. (The section on pages 96 through 100 give some interesting examples of how the author expected play to flow. It's worth another read ...)
A lot of AD&D was written with the core assumptions of playing Original D&D (three little books in a box, 1974) as an embedded assumption. In Volume III, Wilderness and Underworld Adventures, it says this:
Wandering Monsters: At the end of every turn the referee will roll a six-sided die and see if a wandering monster has been encountered. A roll of 6 indicates a wandering monster has appeared. (p. 10)
In the first five years that I played D&D and AD&D (1975-1981) that was "normal" in a lot of the dungeon crawls I participated in. The OD&D styles bled into AD&D in most cases. In play, the "unless the DM says otherwise" was as common as any predictable periodicity. We also saw some DMs make it "one check per hour" {one roll per six turns} but that may have just been local practice.
None of the above precludes using a check for random monsters whenever you feel that it is appropriate. With published adventures, some have a guide on the frequency of random monster checks, and some don't.
1 Every third turn became "normally" in the time between OD&D got published and the AD&D DMG got published, and was captured in Basic D&D(Holmes) as noted above. In the instructions to DMs in the In Search of the Unknown module that accompanied the Basic set's fourth and fifth printings (1979), Mike Carr gives this guidance to DM's:
Every third turn of adventuring, the DM should take a die roll for the possible appearance of wandering monsters at the indicated chances (which are normally 1 in 6, but which may vary depending upon location and dungeon level). Some occurrences (such as noise and commotion caused by adventurers) may necessitate additional checks. (p. 4)
Why do I bring this up? Mike Carr was the rules editor for the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide (among other game products) and had played in both Arneson's and Gygax's home campaigns. He began working for TSR in 1976, and was there for the evolution of the game from OD&D (three books plus supplements) through Basic D&D (Holmes) to AD&D. The module was included with the fourth and fifth printing of the Holmes basic set in 1978 (published before the AD&D DMG while that tome was being completed). Part of its stated reason for inclusion was that it was "... especially designed as an instructional aid for beginning dungeon masters ..."
That module was not explicitly published for use with AD&D (though we ran it under AD&D with no problems) except that Basic D&D was supposed to lead the players and DMs to Advanced D&D if we are to believe what is written in the Holmes rule book.
Carr's point on "normally" being one check per three turns bears a striking parallel with the "normally" I mentioned from the AD&D DMG (Which he edited. My copy has him signing off as editor on page 2, 15 May, 1979). It also reflects what is in Holmes.
It's reasonable to believe that in the evolution from OD&D to AD&D, the Wilderness and Underworld Adventures "once per turn" became (in practice) "every third turn" and that this play-testing change came about in parallel with the development of the sequel editions of D&D once the "three little brown books" were overhauled and updated to account for the many changes that had taken place since their initial promulgation.
