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The Sparse Key Technique Every DM Needs

Tenkar's Tavern

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Old-school dungeon and hexcrawl keys can feel brutally short: “Broken shrine. Rats.” “Haunted monument. Treasure buried.” And if you’ve ever stared at that and panicked, you’re not alone. The trick is realizing those sparse entries aren’t missing “read-aloud text”—they’re meant to be run as prompts at the table.

In this video, I give you a simple, fast method to expand any dungeon key or hexcrawl key into playable content without writing paragraphs. You’ll get a clean 3-line expansion (first impression, interaction, consequence), a reliable two-sentence read-aloud approach, and a “key card” format you can prep in minutes. I also walk through a haunted monument mini scenario so you can see how it plays when the party investigates something you didn’t pre-plan.

If you’re doing OSR prep and want more practical tools for dungeon keying, hexcrawl procedures, and running the table smoothly, hit subscribe.

0:00 The problem with sparse dungeon and hex keys: Why DMs panic
1:12 The Three-Beat Procedure: Impression, Interaction, and Consequence
2:11 Expanding the "Haunted Monument" hex crawl example
4:03 Applying the procedure: Creating interactive handles for players
4:37 Establishing the escalation: Using timing, reactions, and reveals
5:20 Two-sentence read-aloud: Why less is more for immersion
6:32 The "Lead-Out" technique: Linking hexes to factions, dungeons, and town plots
7:48 Read-aloud is orientation, not lore: Avoiding "info-dumping" traps
8:58 The "Three-Bullet" prep method for dungeon rooms and hexes
10:33 A concrete walkthrough of the "Broken Shrine & Rats" dungeon key
12:31 The DM's Cheat Sheet: Creating a procedural index card for every encounter
16:00 The magic of hex crawl procedures: Letting player curiosity drive the story

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#OSR #DnD #BXDnD #OldSchoolDnD #Hexcrawl #DungeonMaster #DMTools #DungeonKeying #RPGPrep #TabletopRPG #SandboxCampaign #DungeonsAndDragons #GMAdvice #TTRPG #MinimalPrep

20 Comments

@TenkarsTavern Creator 7 months ago Pinned

if you’re staring at the clock, here’s the ten-minute version you can scribble before game:
1. Name it in two words (Haunted Obelisk, Blood Well, Sunken Camp, Whisper Cave)
2. Pick one strong image (one thing they’ll remember)
3. Pick one physical handle (dig, climb, open, pull, push, drink, read)
4. Pick one danger response (reaction, trap, alarm, curse, collapse, pursuit)
5. Pick one reward that matters (loot is fine; lead is better)
6. Pick one timer (dusk, patrol, noise, weather, exhaustion, wandering monster check)
7. Pick one link (points to town, points to dungeon level, points to faction)
If you do those seven, you can run almost anything written in old-school shorthand.

@TheLyricalCleric 7 months ago

I think these 3x5 card ideas are also good for the busy DM during the week—have a stack of 3x5 cards at work and stick a couple in a shirt pocket while you’re working. Write on them during a break, give yourself something to do besides scroll on your phone. You can even go advanced and roll out a bunch of card ideas un-fleshed-out, just a couple words on top or a couple rooms of a dungeon, then pick one up when you’re bored and need a brain break. Design that room, that hex, that location. Fill it with ideas and then stick it in a finished pile. When it comes time for game, pick the ones you want; or, if you’re daring, pick one at random!

@chaddickhaut140 7 months ago

What I like about prompts like "haunted monument" is that you can go any number of directions based on what best serves your game. Is it a mournful ghost longing for closure? Is it a malignant specter looking for victims? Is it actually the hideout of a troop of goblins who are playing to local legends to give themselves a little breathing room (subverting the expectation of supernatural goings-on)? Is it a cult's hideout, and they're faking the haunting to give them time to unearth the idol to the elder gods (double subversion)? You could have the same hex serve different purposes in different campaigns.

@Marcus-ki1en 7 months ago

"Hmm, I poke it with a stick..." (the universal situation check)

@josephpilkus1127 7 months ago (edited)

Sir, you pack a lot of great stuff into 15-20 minute videos...well done, as always! I will pen this again for others, as I know that I've written this you in the past...this is good info/advice for any RPG...keep it simple...from D&D any flavor, Top Secret, Traveller, etc. Don't plan too far ahead and most of what you need can fit onto a handful of index cards.

@trevynlane85 7 months ago

Good sources of inspiration for atypical keys is the Resident Evil games and the Zelda series. Using magic items or distinctive treasure items as keys can make for interesting ways to challenge the party without combat.

@swiggityswootin3562 7 months ago

Found you a few days ago, love the wisdom you're sharing with us. I'd love to play at your table, seems like it'd be a blast.

@NemoDtwenty 7 months ago

Rapidly becoming one of the best Dungeontubers. Love the channel

@mr.pavone9719 4 months ago

Risus Monkey published a series of random word charts on his blog for Dungeons, Wilds and Weird West settings. It's 12 lists with 20 words each. Roll a d12 and a d20 to seed your spaces and ideas. It quickly feeds your imagination without you having to spend a lot of time on it or you can use them as a means of prepping in advance.

@Calibur95 4 months ago

Liking the OSR style advice. I've started carrying the mindset into my 5e games and my players seem to be enjoying it.

@Jim-yk9if 7 months ago

What can I say? The hits just keep on coming! Thanks!

@DireWolfWS 7 months ago

Your videos make me a better OSR DM!!! Thank you for the content!!

@leodtoro 7 months ago

Thanks Tenkar!! I want to learn how to run a sandbox in a more OSR-improv-adjacent way, and your videos help immensely. They show that prep doesn't have to be daunting or overbearing if I embrace the mindset shift and a certain level of uncertainty. Forgive me for comparing, but I'd easily place you at that level of great channels that have really helped me along the way (with little to no fluff, just the straight advice!): channels like MCDM, Bandit's Keep, Earthmote, etc
Keep on keeping on!

@greatoldoneschannel 7 months ago

Good stuff. Judges Guild was good for tables to use as random seeds. Thanks for this.

@mrnixon2287 7 months ago (edited)

Brilliant! Appreciate you sharing your tools and XP. Im leveling up with each video I watch!

@EruditeDM 7 months ago

Great advice @ET. Thanks

@TwinSteel 7 months ago

🥳🫂👍🏿

Strong work 💪🏿

@hashishi9 5 months ago

Thanks, this was helpful. A bit verbose, but you explained the point clearly. I'm about to start running BECMI for my old friends after a loooong time (30 years at least), so I need all the help I can get :D I was mostly player anyways, but the itch has been for running for a decade now I think :)

@tomdulski6616 7 months ago

some very good ideas here

@VioletDeliriums 7 months ago (edited)

This is awesome! (1) what do they sense? (2) what can they do? (3) what are the consequences of doing the things?... If you really don't know how to handle the consequences, I would offer on more tool, what I call the "2d6 Oracle" ("oracle" is borrowed from solo gaming tools).

A good model is on p. 17 of "Dungeon World" RPG where you use the 2d6 bell curve and put "success (or something good) but with some negative cost" as 7-9 result. (the most likely results on the bell curve). Anything below is a fail/something bad and anything above is success/something good. You could use a more refined 2d6 Oracle broken up further, making result 2 really bad, and 12 really good (like a BX Munster Reaction Table). I make these kinds of tables all the time for specific things that I as a DM don't necessarily know and don;'t want to be a full dictator of what happens. It forces me to think about what are the most likely results and best and worst case outcomes of a given situation. I like it because then even I (as DM) doesn't know how the story goes, especially for big things, or things that I just don't know that I feel like randomizing (say, faction play).