What happens in a BDSM dungeon?

Answer 1

All sorts of things, depending on what the players are into. Bondage is usually part of the action. Humiliation and various tortures are also common. The underlying idea is what Pat Califia calls a "power exchange" in which two (or more) people who would normally be equals agree that one of them will relinquish power -- authority, decision-making, even physical control -- to another person.

Role playing is common: Master/slave, Guard/prisoner, Captor/captive, Teacher/student, Officer/enlisted man (or woman), even Parent/child.

It's important to understand that this is an adult game. There are a few underlying rules: usually, participants agree on a signal or set of signals to indicate that a limit has been reached and things need to stop or cool off.

There is an implicit understanding that the Top -- the person who has the power -- will respect the bottom's limits, For example, a limit may be "no marks," "no blood," "no fluid exchanges," "no blindfold," etc.

The Top should also be able to deal with emergencies: fainting, pulled muscles, panic, etc. A Top should be willing and able to call emergency services in the event of a crisis, and tell the truth about what's been going on so first responders will know what to do.