In the midst of your flagging adventure, a tunnel can take you to new worlds of opportunity… or danger!! What are you waiting for?
Tunnels are excellent transitional devices to get characters into wild and wacky narrative situations, whether they are natural, manufactured, magical, divine, free, guarded, secret, celebrated, grand, hidden, safe, dangerous, beautiful, or terrifying!
Here are some ideas to spark your creative writing or roleplaying game! Enjoy!
Tunnel Types
- deep tunnel, mine, channel, under a river,
- chasm, abyss,
- burrow, den, hive, nest,
- manufactured, man-made, constructed, carved, excavated, concrete, reinforced, dungeon, escape tunnel, sally port,
- secret tunnel, clandestine,
- natural, limestone erosion, natural cave,
- border tunnel, tollway, passage, network, connector,
- magic, spellcraft, divine, supernatural, alien,
- shaft, duct, airway, tube, viaduct,
- hidden behind a panel,
- covered above ground tunnel, tunnel bridge, covered bridge, space station tunnel,
- tunnel to nowhere, dead end.
- arched, vaulted,
- branched,
Where might your tunnel go?
- another country, region, realm, kingdom, nation, jurisdiction, ward, area, zone,
- out, in, away, into, down, up, around, through, over, under, between, through, circumventing, circumscribing, spiraling around, on top of, beneath, in front of, behind, near,
- freedom, liberty, openness,
- under a fence, below a guarded border, beneath a lake,
- out of prison, into the cop shop, military command center,
- secret society, hidden tribe, nest of rebellion, ancient library,
- your friend’s house,
- another room, the den, the locked room,
- sanctuary, sanctum, shrine, temple, church,
- alternate universe, parallel world, lower plane of existence, heaven, a stratum of hell, realm of darkness, negative space, spider god’s empire,
- hideout, fort, camp, retreat,
- magical hovel, spiritual shack, oracle’s hut, shaman’s hearth,
- guarded community, higher echelon of society,
- ghetto, slum, lower class zone, red light district,
- forbidden area,
- secret lab, restricted ward of an asylum, closed hospital wing,
- nowhere, nothingness, wasteland, barrens, death,
Tunnels may be…
- locked, barred, gated, closed, welded shut, magically protected, blockaded,
- guarded by: soldiers, sentinel, robot, construct, golem, magic field, magic being, angel or demon, spirit, auto-canon, a full regiment, police, riot police,
- toll, pay, free,
- public, private,
- forbidden, restricted, cordoned off,
- reinforced, upgraded, well-structured, safe,
- hidden behind a giant boulder, magical illusion, advanced forcefield, energy field, secret door,
- gilded, expensive, carved, ornate, royal, noble, grand, elegant,
- crumbling, rotting, decrepit, abandoned, derelict, failing, leaking, broken, unsafe construction,
- trapped, rigged, triggered, jerry-rigged contraption, booby trapped, greased, poisoned,
Characters at a Tunnel
- protesters, sit-in participants, rioters, angry mob,
- guard, police, sentinel, sentry, watchman,
- toll operated,
- traveler, adventurer,
- bum, hobo, beggar, leper, homeless person, tramp,
- busker, juggler, acrobat, performer, singer, dancer, musician,
- crier, newsman, town crier, news stand merchant,
- merchant, peddler, hawker, trinket seller, souvenir peddler,
- snack seller, noodle counter, cafe operator,
- druggie, meth-head, crack whore, pimp,
Stuff in and around Tunnels
- flea market, market, black market, farmers market,
- dust, dirt, grime, must, mold, muck, gunk, rust, stones, rock, rubble,
- waste, garbage, loose papers, wrappers, scrap,
- urine, feces, used needles,
- gas, vapor, odour, smell, steam, smoke, water, stagnant water, sewage, seepage,
- sign, map, directory, warning, caution, post, pole, arrow,
- painting, art, grafitti,
- footprints, tracks, trail,
- railroad tracks, train, mine track,
- ticket booth, toll booth,
Notes and Ideas for Tunnels
- A tunnel could house a vibrant, thriving community of its own, full of merchants and peddlers, street kids, drug dealers, convicts, street performers, refugees, scavengers, black marketeers, and so on. The storytelling possibilities are endless, as “above ground” society mixes with the “tunnelers” – police detectives, commuters, Red Cross workers, civil servants (toll operators, transit workers, repair crews, and so on).
- A side passage, roughly formed branches off a main corridor. Where does it go and what (or who) can be found in there?
- For a sci-fi twist add an interplanetary space-time tunnel that moves people from world to world. Imagine the clash of technology and culture that could be explored! And the resources to be exploited!
- Create a magical tunnel in your fantasy world that moves characters from realm to realm. Invent some great spell components that can activate (or deactivate) it and populate it with epic guardians and beings.
- Tunnels can be a physical manifestation of the philosophies and world views that separate people of different nations, cultures, or families. Use a tunnel metaphorically or figuratively as a powerful allegorical tool.