dungeons – Rashundai Games

2024 in Review: Our Journey at Rashundai Games

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

It’s already been two weeks since the world leveled up from 2024 to 2025. In another two weeks it will be a year since this blog has gone public with the first post. This will be a brief review of what this site achieved, what it didn’t, and what I hope it will achieve this year.

tl;dr

More frequent posting of shorter articles in 2025
Dungeon 24 continues on irregular schedule
At least 3 new Dungeon series articles planned
Whole new exciting series coming soon
Finally some game analyses!

Goals set and met

My goal when I started with this blog was at least one post per week. That changed to two per week with the addition of Dungeon 24. Which should get us at 104 posts total. And that’s not counting various random acts of writing I thought I would be committing.

There are 13 published posts on the site in 2024, far less than I expected. I’ve been quite optimistic, as I thought to have enough topics to cover, which was and still is true. What I didn’t have was the time to write all the longforms I envisioned. I am used to working with sources, citing (or at least checking) everything, polishing the language and revising if needed. When I publish something I want to be able to stand up for my work. The schedule I set for myself was rather unrealistic, as I’ve learned.

Dungeon 24

My apparent nemesis, the Dungeon 24 challenge. I stated in the beginning that this type of challenges isn’t really for me, and I was right. I managed for a few weeks but after that I started getting more and more behind the schedule. The last update was in September and it should cover the first half of March. I have more in my notebook, but couldn’t get to processing it for the blog.

The Round Tower by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, 1761. An imaginary dungeon sketch.

Nevertheless I will continue with the dungeon this year until there are at least 365 rooms. There are still ideas I want to put in there, and I don’t want to leave it unfinished. It also serves as a laboratory and test tube for the Dungeon series of articles on this blog. The frequency of the updates will be irregular, same as with the other article types.

There’s one other thing worth mentioning. The article with the most views in year 2024 was the introductory post to Dungeon 24. Somehow my site is the number 3 result on Google, which is nice, I guess. I would rather have traffic for my other work, but if it helps people get to the site, it’s fine.

Dungeon series

I consider the Dungeon series the current flagship of the blog. The articles published so far offer my views on different aspects of dungeon design and functioning. In the three published articles I have discussed dungeon size and megadungeons, the way dungeons should and could be explored, and the Palimpsest dungeon concept. Dungeons, in their many forms, are an integral part of TTRPG experience for many, regardless of the system or setting. So far I’ve concentrated on fantasy settings, but many of the ideas presented in the articles should be useful for other types of settings as well. Anything can benefit from solid internal logic instead of theme parks composed of unrelated challenge sequences.

I have two more articles in various states of completion, that should be ready this year. In one I will elaborate on the Palimpsest dungeon concept. The other will deal with bringing life to the dungeon. At least three more exist as outlines on my to do list. These will deal with stuff like level interconnectedness and verticality, if that’s a real word. More topics will surely progressively arise from other activities, including the ill-fated Dungeon 24.

Different topics

Apart from the Dungeon series I managed to write three articles providing summaries of a certain topic. Each deals with a different area – settings, items, and general theory.

In Frozen Horrors I described a setting type notable for combining harsh environmental conditions and isolation with horror themes. I actually wanted to make several updates with more works, but didn’t find the time to do the necessary research. There are still movies, books, and video games that could fall into this sub-genre. Not all are suitable to take inspiration from, but that’s up to the readers of course.

Slingshots part I was a summary of this toy/weapon in various media. I’ve been particularly focused on how slingshots are explained and presented – viable weapon or novelty? Again there are other media that could have made the list, and I’m slowly working on an update. There will also be a Part II sometime this year, although it’s not a priority. It will deal more directly with the application of slingshots in your games and settings. I think an article on slings is in order as well, as a comparison between a real weapon that killed people on the battlefields versus what is a modern improvised weapon at best.

The article on using video games as a resource is a sort of necessary introduction to a type of article I plan on adding to the repertoire. As mentioned in the post itself, these won’t be game reviews as known from gaming blogs and magazines. Things like hardware requirements, controls, or replayability won’t matter as much as storytelling, ideas, and inspiration potential for your tabletop games.

What to expect in 2025

This year there are going to be some changes. There is a lot I still have to learn and fine-tune. So far I focused on longforms that required some research and thought on top of the idea and writing. This led to very sporadic updates. My goal is to be more active, so in addition to these longforms I will be posting shorter posts. Likely true blog posts with various thoughts and ideas that I might elaborate upon in the future.

I haven’t published any playable material, yet. There are several class options for D&D on my table I’d like to see finished, so these will have priority. Some need only cosmetic changes so they come in a nice package. Though it’s the contents, not the form, that matters, I wouldn’t want to publish it as bland text files. Other systems like 2nd edition Pathfinder and Mörk Börg will also receive some attention when possible. Unlike theory, which I believe to be mostly universal, different systems allow different supplements.

The main focus of the blog will remain on theory, as I intended from the beginning. For the longforms the Dungeon series will remain the main theme, so expect more in that vein. I have a few other avenues that I would pursue. Some I have outlined above, such as a follow-up to the article on slingshots. I also want to start another series of articles focused on different materials. Some that are readily available in most settings, some that are rare. I have some possibly controversial takes that might not suit everyone, but I very much look forward to exploring these ideas.

I will try to publish a few of the video game analyses I advertised. So far I haven’t finished any of those, even though I have a few in process. This year I plan on finishing at least some game articles. One hot candidate would be Arco, a fine RPG with a captivating Mesoamerican setting. Do check it out!

One of the menu screens. All rights reserved to Franek, Max Cahill, Bibiki, Fáyer, and their publisher Panic.

Final remarks

It would probably be a good thing to set concrete measurable goals for this year, though I am reluctant to commit to precise numbers. I think that with less focus on longforms and more shorter posts I could get at 30 articles this year. There will be the Dungeon series articles, and a new series that I’m keeping as a surprise until the first article is ready.

I also want to put more effort into promoting the site, so that it gets a little more life. For example the Frozen Horrors article had 3 likes out of only 4 views. This tells me that people find the stuff I write interesting if they find out about it.

With this in mind I would like to ask again to share the articles you like. We all have our networks and your sharing is the best way for the blog to spread. This is the kind of feedback I need to improve the site. That and the comments. Please take a moment to write down one or two sentences about what you liked, or even where you disagree. Having constructive discussions under the posts would be wonderful.

I would like to wish you all a fruitful and satisfying year 2025. May you achieve your goals and have lots of fun with TTRPGs or any other hobbies you have. Also take care of yourselves and your close ones, stay safe through the year!

Dungeons: Palimpsest Dungeon

What is a Palimpsest Dungeon, why make one, and what can it offer? How to make one, even? All this and more can be found in this article.

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

This post is part of a series analysing several aspects of one of the recognizable parts of the TTRPGs we all love – the dungeons. The posts can be read in any order and they will be cross-linked when necessary. Throughout the series (and also elsewhere) “dungeon” is used as a technical term and can be used to describe any clearly defined environment containing multiple non-random encounters. These include natural caves, mines, keeps and castles, crypts, temples, ships and other vehicles, and many others.

This part will be about a concept that lends depth, complexity, and also integrity to your dungeon designs. What is a Palimpsest Dungeon, why make one, and what can it offer? How to make one, even? All this and more can be found below.

Palimpsest

One idea I strongly encourage is “palimpsest dungeon”. This paraphrase of the “palimpsest landscape” concept from historical geography or landscape archaeology seems perfect for creating interesting multi-layered dungeons that make sense. A “palimpsest” is a manuscript that had it’s original writing removed by scraping or washing and then overwritten with new text. Remains of the original text can be sometimes deciphered either by eye or by using modern recovery methods.

In landscape archaeology landscapes are viewed as results of successive actions by humans that have shaped the land. These activities include agriculture, construction, warfare, funerary and religious practices, and resource exploitation. Sometimes the old is removed, sometimes reused in a different way. This may be conscious and deliberate, or accidental.

A good example of palimpsest landscape would be a great barrow, where a warlord’s remains are interred. Rites are conducted on the site for a few generations. A thousand years later the warlord is long forgotten, and the local ruling class starts burying their dead around the barrow. Though of a different religion, they raise a shrine on top of the barrow and observe their own traditions there. After a generation the land is conquered and the conquerors strive to replace the religion present in the region. They remove the shrine and build their own on top of the barrow. After some events it becomes a site of pilgrimage, and a small temple complex is built surrounding the barrow. During construction some of the graves are unearthed and removed, but those untouched by foundation ditches remain. Eventually the site becomes abandoned, its purpose forgotten. New settlers come into the region and a small hamlet sprouts around the windmill built on a convenient mound.

Researchers “read” the landscape from the present backwards. Same as would a visiting party if they arrived in the hamlet described above. You on the other hand have to go from the beginning, setting the layers upon each other as you would a layer cake. With parts of layers missing, pockets of different stuff, and strange combinations. While you better not serve a cake like that to your birthday guests, your party should find it much more intriguing than a 20-centimeter high corpus of sponge.

Palimpsest dungeon

The same principle can (and should) be applied to dungeons. The “typical dungeon”, a complex of underground rooms and corridors, usually isn’t encountered in its original state. The mines were abandoned and overrun with monsters, goblinoids conquered the dwarven city, the once peaceful crypt has been taken over by a necromancer, etc. The layer encountered by the PCs is at least the second one, if not third or fourth. Even in a functioning dwarven underground city there might be parts that lay on top of older layers – old mine tunnels reused as fungus plantations, in turn overrun by mushroom-loving lizardmen.

Having more layers gives you depth on one hand, enabling more complex backstories, but also more options regarding the exploration of the dungeon. Old unused passages might offer shortcuts if found, burrowing monsters might create connections where there were none. Ancient temple underneath a crypt/monster lair/mine is an often used trope. And it makes sense.

Places are often settlet or used for a reason (no surprise there). That reason often stays valid for centuries, whether it’s military importance, environmental features, logistics, or anything cultural. On the surface, when we’re talking landscape, it’s obvious – hills, natural harbours, fertile fields, all these make sure a location will be settled again and again. With dungeons it’s similar. Natural caves will have their climate and water systems that make some areas more hospitable than others. Artificial dungeons were dug out and built with a specific purpose in mind, and this can be seen also by later inhabitants, even if used differently. Prison cells are effectively bedrooms, just not very comfortable. With some work a prison block can be used for living, especially if the beings living there are not too picky.

You might have already guessed that by creating all these layers you are in effect creating a series of dungeons with a common framework, but different contents. Not only it’s a fun exercise, you can also use these in different campaigns or with different groups.

Before you start making a palimpsest dungeon you probably have a few layers in your mind, possibly the latest one and the first one, or the most significant one. For a castle ruin it would be the present ruined state and the most interesting phase of its occupation, though there might be many different phases you want to take into account. Next you want to ask yourself questions such as “What happened between this and this?” or “How did it come to this?”, “What preceded this?”. During this process you might come up with further events leading to more layers.

Or not, not every dungeon needs to be multi-layered. Some dungeons in the sense of this article series aren’t meant to be palimpsests. You could treat a spaceship, or even a seafaring ship as a dungeon, and it would probably have just a single layer. Unless we’re discussing some kind of generation ship, or the Ship of Theseus. A tomb that’s been sealed since the burial also needn’t have more layers. It could be untouched by robbers, monsters, or anything else. The important thing to keep in mind is, as always, logic and consistency.

Keeping track

When designing a palimpsest dungeon it’s easy to lose yourself in all the layers. Especially in more complex and expansive dungeons it wouldn’t do to just note somewhere what the two or three layers are – you might have tens of layers, some only present in one room, others common for the entire dungeon.

One way of keeping track is by labeling layers with a numerical code and making diagrams when necessary. You can find inspiration in the Harris matrix archaeologists use when describing contexts. Do you need to? Absolutely not, particularly not when you’re just preparing a one-shot dungeon for the Friday session with your friends. You might consider using stuff like this if you’re going to publish the dungeon, or if the dungeon is going to appear more than once in different scenarios.

a schematic showing different layers of a multi-layer "palimpsest dungeon" — Dungeon matrix for the Muddy Frog Camp, a dwarven mining and trading settlement.

Above is the matrix for a functioning dwarven settlement. Read from the bottom it shows the history of the site in chronological order. From top to bottom the order in which the party might uncover the past is shown. A more detailed overview will have its own article. Right now I can see that when creating the mine section of Muddy Frog Camp, I can use different layers from its past to flesh it out and create interesting encounters and environs. Traces of human mining activities, monster and animal bones, remains of animal enclosures. Creating the matrix (and past of the site) didn’t take that much time, but you can probably see the benefits already. The layers do not represent fixed time periods, one might span five centuries while another merely a few years. Some might also be invisible in the record, for example the mushroom farm or pond in our example, while others might leave a lasting and very clearly distinguished. The more permanent built-up areas such as the temple or goblin fortress are an example of lasting marks.

It is also possible to create a room by room matrix, and depending on the size of your dungeon, it might be a really extensive task. Again, if you’re going to publish your work, or reuse the dungeon in different phases of the campaign or different campaigns, it might be worth the time and effort. Otherwise the dungeon matrix above should be more than enough to help you create and keep track of your dungeon.

Conclusion

Palimpsest dungeon is a concept based on palimpsest landscape. Both describe the results of different consecutive periods of activity in an area, that build upon and sometimes replace the past activities. This creates a multi-layered environment that has depth, consistency, and a logical structure. The layers might be easily readable or only faintly detectable, both cases being useful for creating history and narrative.

To help with keeping track a “dungeon matrix” is proposed – essentially a diagram showing the layers of the palimpsest dungeon and its key characteristics. It is also possible to make a more detailed room-scaled matrix, but in many cases this leads to diminishing returns, as the amount of time and effort required would be inadequate to the benefits.

The terms “dungeon palimpsest” and “dungeon matrix” will be used on this site in future posts, so I hope you paid attention and that the explanations were sufficient. A post dedicated to the model Muddy Frog Camp is on the way, in which I will try to provide a more detailed overview of the whole process of planning, designing, and recording of the dungeon. Hopefully you found this article stimulating, I will be glad for any comments here in the comment section, or wherever you saw this shared. As always, thank you for reading, and if you liked the article, please share it on your social media!

Dungeon 24: Underground canal

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes (7 with room descriptions)

There hasn’t been an update for some while now, as life and work got in the way during summer. My Dungeon 24 is still alive though and I will post new parts of it when possible. We’re about six months beind the schedule, which should be fine as long as I change the pace to three rooms per day instead of one.

Last time we explored an abandoned temple of some forgotten pastoral cult. There was a breach in one of the alcoves with the sarcophagi of the priests opening into a natural cavern of some sort leading north. The other end of the cavern opens into a room in a style different than the small temple complex left behind, more similar to the upper level. Potentially deadly surprises await in both the natural cave and this maintenance cabinet of sorts.

Behind the cabinet a spacious corridor opens, consisting for the most part of a water canal. The place seems to be some sort of access hub, with a ladder leading both up (II/59) and down, stairs for canal access, several doors and corridors. There is a bridge spanning the waterway that seems to be fortified by makeshift barricades. The canal itself continues a long way in both directions, with the current slowly moving westwards.

The floor so far. Goatherd temple in the south connected by a semi-natural cavern with the canal in the north.

South of the bridge there is a door opening into a short corridor with three more doors. There is an elevator lobby with a gaping pit where the elevator should land (the elevator being stuck one level above), infested by slugs from below. A strange room with a pool of disgusting water and similarly disgusting tubs and vats is behind the door across from the elevator room. Draining the pool into the canal reveals the remains of several spiky creatures, apparently long dead.

The last room on this side of the canal is locked. Opening the door requires the key or significant skill with mechanical locks. Behind the door is a relatively well equipped laboratory with plenty of alchemical apparatus, glassware and ceramics. Specimens spread the tables hint at a naturalist inclination of the occupant of this room.

Rooms

Narrow natural cavern with high ceiling, both ends dug through by clawed limbs, heaps of rubble line the walls
- E: One of the rubble heaps is a lurking rock slime, might attack loners or stragglers
Small maintenance room, in SW corner a hole leading to natural cavern III/7
- decrepit furniture – round table with 2 chairs in SE corner, several shelves and supply crates
- E: one of the crates hides a sleeping juvenile otyugh – it is not immediately hostile but will defend itself when disturbed, running away through broken door to the north if things get ugly
- T: 10-foot pole with a hook on one end in one corner; acid-resistant cloak under the otyugh
Access and maintenance section of the underground canal
- ladder leading up (II/59) & down
- pump for the fountain above (II/58)
- stairs leading into the canal
- the canal is around 20 ft. deep, water is about quarter depth (5 ft.) and murky, odd stones, pieces of construction wood and other refuse stick out here and there from the slow but steady westward stream
Bridge over the canal with barricades placed on both landings, alternate sides
- T: Behind the barricade on the N side a half-full oil lantern can be found
Elevator room
- control panel is broken, the elevator itself is stuck one level above, blocking the shaft upward
- the shaft downwards leads one level down after 30 ft.
- counter in NE corner, behind a shelf with remains of stamps and ink bottles
- the whole room is slimed over
- E: at any time 1d4 large and 1d10 small slugs are crawling all over the room, entering from below, not hostile
- T: 2 usable intact stamps and a full ink bottle on the shelf
Large room with a pool and several vats and tubs of varying sizes
- pool connected to the canal by a pipe, there is a lock mechanism operated by a wheel – needs a bit of oil but operable
- the pool is 10 ft. deep, half-filled with stinking soupy water, clumps of mold floating on the surface
- when the lock is opened the pool is drained into the canal and the remains of 6 cave urchins appear, all dead for some time
- the tubs and vats contain mostly disgusting fluids of greenish or yellowish tint, only one contains a skeleton of a small humanoid covered in strange bite or claw marks all over the bones
Locked (DC 35) laboratory, mostly intact and possibly still in use, with oil lamps ready to be lighted around the room
- counters around most of the room, 3 large tables in the center
- on one table a dissected slug, one other occupied by a large tentacle
- floor grill in the middle of the room leads down one level to the sump

This is it for the southern side of the canal. Next update will look behind some of the doors that can be seen across the waterway. I’m keeping the descriptions quite vague for now, but there should be a picture slowly coming together. After all this is done, I will compile everything together with more explanations and a lot detailed descriptions.

As always thanks for reading this far, feel free to comment and share or your favourite social networks, and don’t forget to follow us so you don’t miss any updates!

Dungeons: Size matters

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

This part will be about dungeon size. Why does it matter, what should it be based on, and what other aspects of gameplay should be based on it. And of course I will mention megadungeons as well.

The Crypt of a Church with Two Men Sleeping by Hendrick van Steenwijck the Younger.

Dungeon scale

How large should a dungeon be? Obviously that should correspond with the needs of your story and plot, but let’s say you have that figured already. Then the size depends on the dungeon – a small local monastery will be different from a regional centre of an order, as will an emperor’s tomb differ from that of a struggling merchant. Some places should be smaller than people expect, while others are often imagined too simplistically.

Often used as dungeons are various underground settlements, whether it’s a dwarven delve, or a goblinoid den. The space required would depend on the social structure of the inhabitants, and the range and scope of activities present. Though it is by no means a rule, more (economically) complex societies usually take up more space. In less complex societies there might be little to no distinction between communal areas, food preparation areas, work areas, and sleeping quarters. Your primitive goblins might occupy a couple of natural caves with only one of them different from the others, taken by their leader. In contrast a dwarven delve would have many separate sections with different purposes, and you probably wouldn’t find a craftsman preparing food in the same room he works in. Even a workshop could have multiple rooms or even levels, and of course housing could range from Spartan-style cubicles to lavish many-roomed residences. Fifty goblins might take up three to four caves, while fifty dwarves might use three to four rooms per unit just as housing (family or individual). Best keep that in mind when designing settlements.

What about tombs? It really depends on their purpose, among other things. When a tomb serves only to inter the remains of a deceased person, you don’t need a lot of rooms – maybe one burial chamber and some room(s) for burial goods, even though these can take up a lot of space in some cases. It is different if the tomb is a place where rituals are still performed – the number of rooms can grow if you have to accomodate the living as well as the dead. Below is a map of the Valley of Kings, where you can see the plans of each tomb. A more detailed interactive version can be found on this great site.

Map of the Valley of Kings with miniature tomb plans — Map of the Valley of Kings in Egypt with miniature tomb plans. All rights reserved to Journey to Egypt and/or other respective owners.

With this we get to temples and shrines. Again a temple needn’t consist of a great number of rooms. A main room (think nave in churches, or naos in Ancient Greek temples) is quite enough for many forms of worship. Often some additional rooms such as a shrine or sacristy will be present. If the temple is part of a monastery, the room count will be significantly higher – a monastery for 15 monks can easily have around 70 rooms, including spaces like gardens.

Plan of a Carthusian monastery — Plan of the Lapis Refugii Carthusian monastery in Slovakia. For the descriptions and lots of other information visit the site. All rights reserved to Kláštorisko, c.a. and/or other respective owners.

Room categories

Let’s say you make a dungeon with 20 rooms and only three are vital to the quest, and maybe another five you can imagine as optional. In a very simplified treasure hunt the three would be the key room, the guard room and the treasure room. You have to get the key, then defeat the guard and then take the treasure. Along the way you would find optional rewards or encounters. But there should be more rooms than those, simply because that’s how it would be. In a castle there would be living quarters, kitchens, dining rooms, bathrooms, armories, storerooms, music rooms, libraries and studies, workshops, and a whole lot more that needn’t be part of the quest. But they of course could be. An enemy from an important room might flee to an originally unimportant one, but now the bathroom has purpose as well. More rooms also means more potential for exploration, which some players might find more interesting than encounters.

It surely is a lot of work and it might seem like a waste of time if you don’t even plan on the party visiting the extra rooms. But like in the #Dungeon23 and #Dungeon24 challenges, rooms don’t have to be described with twenty sentences each. Simple “pantry” or “servant bedroom, empty” will do, and you can always come up with something should the need arise. If the room wasn’t important in the first place, you needn’t make it too much detailed all of a sudden. Random charts and generators could help, but they make things, unexpectedly, random. So not for everyone and every setting.

When preparing a dungeon it is wise to note which rooms will be essential (main quest), which will be optional (side quests or bonus loot, lore, etc.), and which rooms are there because it makes sense, but they don’t have much to do with your adventure.

Room effectivity

Sometimes five well-crafted rooms offer more than three dozen dull ones. The amount of time the party spends on one room will of course vary. We can call this “room effectivity”. The important thing is to focus on productive time, i.e. time spent progressing with the plot, learning about the world, obtaining gear or resources. Not all combat encounters are productive, although they certainly can increase the time spent in a room.

Non-combat encounters increase room effectivity nicely. A prisoner in a cell, or a hermit angling for blind fish in an underground lake might offer clues, sidequests, or at least a nice change of pace from exploration. They can be revisited to fulfill some errand received (getting keys for the prisoner). Or the NPC encountered might have answers to something found further in the dungeon. The hermit might know a lot about his surroundings, even if he keeps to the lake. He might even know about another way into the underground city, now that the main tunnel is blocked.

Puzzles also count. We can divide them into two main groups – environmental puzzles, and designed puzzles. I will dedicate another article to puzzles entirely, so here I will just say that by designed puzzles you can understand various mechanisms that have to be overcome for something to happen – these often don’t make sense in a dungeon. The environmental variety is created by circumstances and environment. When the drawbridge is broken the party needs to find another way across the chasm, perhaps using stuff found around. Both varieties increase room effectivity and therefore the time spent in the dungeon.

One of the worst puzzles in Atlantis: The Lost Tales by Cryo. All rights reserved to Cryo Interactive Entertainment and/or other respective owners.

Megadungeons

One of the issues I’d like to address, especially since this series of articles is based around the challenge aiming to create a megadungeon (see Dungeon 24). Megadungeon is a concept that promises sessions upon sessions of exploration and encounters. It’s one thing to create room after room, level after level, filled with whatever seems interesting at the moment, and another thing for the whole to make sense. What’s the relation between levels 2 and 10? How do they (that is, their inhabitants) interact? Why are there 12 (or 50) levels, anyway? Why is there an elven tomb sandwiched between an orc fortress and dwarven mine?

Settlements can easily give you a lot of rooms – a small community of intelligent beings can occupy hundreds of rooms. I suggested earlier that structures with lots of similar rooms such as settlements, necropolises, or prisons, are good as a backbone for your megadungeon. Be careful not to overdo it by making the whole dungeon one large prison with hundreds of similar cells, or a large dormitory with copy-paste rooms. First of all keep in mind that even such places needn’t be completely uniform in their design, even if only thanks to time and use. Misuse, decay, and damage can also bring variety to an otherwise repetitive spaces.

One thing that makes megadungeons believable, interesting, and less randomly put together is a concept I’m borrowing (and reverse-engineering) from landscape history researchers, such as landscape archaeologists and historical geographers. I call it “Palimpsest Dungeon” and there will be a whole article dedicated to this, so I will keep it rather short here.

The core principle is that a Palimpsest Dungeon has multiple succesive layers (not levels!) that overlap. Each one can change the one(s) below in its entirety or just partially, and new qualities can emerge from the interactions of these layers. This way you can get a dungeon that is ancient, extensive, and full of things to explore without it looking like you just wanted to create a massive dungeon.

Conclusion

Regarding dungeon size first and foremost think how large it should be while still making sense. Don’t create temples that have hundreds of rooms just because you want the dungeon to last a few sessions. Either use sensible sized dungeons (whether it’s a tomb, temple, mine, whatever) and maybe make the exploration and encounter parts more complex. Use non-combate encounters and puzzles to make the dungeon last longer. Or create a Palimpsest Dungeon with multiple overlapping layers, if you absolutely need to have 18 levels and 486 rooms.

What’s your take on Dungeon Size? Do you prefer sensible dungeons, or just want lots of rooms to explore and defile? Are you perhaps one of those rare characters who strive to create expansive dungeons that make sense? Leave a comment and share with your friends!

Dungeon 24: Goatherd temple

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes (4 with room descriptions)

As I mentioned in the last update, in March we’ll see some more action. In this post a new level of the dungeon begins, one that is lower than the prison level we finished last time. Six rooms are featured in this update, together forming one complex. The drawing style is a little different from the last level. I’m trying out new techniques in pursuit of raising the quality of the maps. Since I’m sharing them with the world, they could use more attention.

I started below room II/49, or the isolation cell in the gnomish part of the abandoned prison. A shaft leads down from there some 25 ft., first few feet furnished with iron rungs, then a rope ladder leading into a rectangular room with six sarcophagi. The tomb contains the bodily remains of six high priests of a long-vanished cult, and can be left by a door on the eastern side of the room. Someone barricaded the door with slabs of stone that probably come from the ceiling.

The door leads to the nave of a temple. Four alcoves in the shape of a cross contain more sarcophagi, and on the other side of the nave the door leads to an anteroom. One of the alcoves has been breached somehow from an adjacent natural cave (we’ll get to it in the next update). The antechamber is plain and leads to another two rooms serving as shrines for artefacts. One is still present, the other is missing. The whole temple is decorated with murals depicting pastoral scenes, mostly with goats. Some murals are damaged, in the main nave it’s mainly the faces of people that are defaced. In the easternmost room a wide stairway leads down to lower levels.

The temple has been abandoned long ago, althought it seems the tombs haven’t been looted. Whoever made the access shaft to the tomb probably found it wise to barricade the door. The party is free to loot the sarcophagi, but this should prove difficult enough. With a trap to soften the robbers and then a mummy inside, each sarcophagus could be their last. The horn in room 4 is free to take with no strings attached.

Rooms

Tomb with 6 sarcophagi, there’s a rope ladder dangling from a hole in the ceiling
- the door is blokced from the inside with large stone slabs, probably from the ceiling
- each sarcophagus contains the remains of a high priest – there are glyphs documenting their names, rank, and deeds
- potential grave-robbers might want to open the sarcophagi, though each is trapped and the mummified corpses come to life when tampered with
- T: each corpse is adorned with jewellry, some have ceremonial regalia such as a dagger or scepter
- E: up to 6 mummified high priests
Temple nave with pews, altar, and 4 alcoves with sarcophagi
- the altar is on a raised dais
- the walls are covered in faded murals depicting pastoral scenes, faces deliberately damaged
- alcoves – ii has 1 toppled sacrophagus behind which a tunnel leads to III/7; one sarcophagus in alcove iii contains a simple lapis lazuli necklace
antechamber, walls covered in murals showing goatherds and scenes from goat husbandry
small shrine, on the altar is a goat’s horn with silver fittings, murals on walls show flocks of goats, sheep, and cattle
- T: horn of animal friendship (1 use/day, as spell cast from 5th level slot – 5 animals affected, works only aboveground)
small shrine with empty altar, walls defaced, but remains of hunting scenes can be seen
room with a wide flight of stairs leading one level down

In the next update we’ll have a look at the cave leading from the breached alcove. What will avait intrepid explorers in the darkness behind the toppled sarcophagus? Follow the blog or our social networks so you don’t miss anything!

Dungeon 24: Block junction

February is dedicated to another prison block, not as abandoned as the first one!

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Last time I provided a summary of an abandoned prison block that has been inhabited by squatters at some point in the past. There was also a hidden section of the prison where torture and alchemical work took place. In this post I will finish the last two cells remaining in the first block and we will move on. As we’re still on one floor, the rooms are numbered continuosly, but since January has 31 days, rooms 32 and on are obviously from February.

The last two corner cells of block 1 once again offer a glimpse of sinister happenings. If the party gets here after seeing the rest of the block, the atmosphere might be already quite tense. As one of the first rooms to be explored it might put the party on alert, although there is little to fear in the block, excluding the wraith.

Rooms 30 to 40 are pictured here, along with a corridor leading eastwards — Explore another block of the prison or follow the corridor leading eastwards?

Beyond the door to the south lies a corridor leading to another prison block. At the junction with the larger corridor there is a former guardpost occupied by Balok. Balok is a vermin dwarf who calls the old prison his home. If he’s not making his rounds he’s probably asleep in his room. While not entirely unfriendly, he will not help the party in any way unless it’s in his own interest, and would prefer if they left the premises soon. Particularly hostile parties might receive directions into various hazards, whether it’s monsters or traps.

The two opposite rooms to the east, an office and a storeroom, are not interesting at all, except for the hidden passage from the storeroom to one of the cells in southern block. The cell itself and its twin are quite unremarkable. The other corner twins contain some transportation devices and a lot of oyster shells.

Who is hoarding the shells and for what purpose? And what’s a “vermin dwarf”? For the first one keep following my #Dungeon24 updates, and don’t forget to like, share, and comment! As for the second question, there will be a post dedicated to this new dwarven subrace/heritage in the near future, so stay tuned!

Rooms

Corner cell, door missing, no cot or other furniture; walls and floor covered in colorful drawings. Closer examination reveals unsettling details – monsters, murder, etc. in childish styl
Corner cell with bound door; inside is a human-shaped sailcloth bundle bound by rope. There is no body, only rags and seaweed shaped into humanoid form. T: 7 cp, perforated, can be found among the rags
Balok’s quarters
- The former guardpost was claimed by Balok, a vermin dwarf
- N door is jammed, almost all of the E wall is cowered with furniture – mostly backed shelves, some cabinets
- S door is locked whether Balok is in or not; he wears the key on a chain around his neck; when he’s in the door is blocked with a bar as well
- there is a crossbow trained on the door that shoots if not disarmed when opening (DC 30 spot check)
Former office, now this room is empty except for small pieces of broken furniture and damp rags
Storeroom, mostly empty shelves, some missing (ask Balok); secret door behind one shelf (DC 30)
Corner cell wth no furniture, only burlap sacks filled with oyster shells, 14 in total
Corner cell with one rickety trolley and three wooden pack-frames
Corner cell, 3 barred pannels leaning on the wall opposite the door; behind them secret door (DC 20)
Corner cell, empty

Dungeon 24: January

An abandoned prison block has been the focus of my January #dungeon24 effort. Check the summary here!

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes (10 with room descriptions)

It’s already February and I haven’t been always punctual with the daily rooms of my new (mega)dungeon. There is however a whole month’s worth of rooms in my notebook. In the first post I’ve only offered a teaser, so this one will be more detailed. For full descriptions of the rooms scroll to the end of the post.

As I mentioned earlier I chose an abandoned prison as a starting point. You can read the reasoning behind this in the first post so I won’t repeat myself here. On the provided map you can see two distinct sections that I have distinguished by a red filter. The left side is the original prison architecture as built (well, cut into rock) by its founders. The right (red) side is a more recent addition and hides a more sinister side to the place.

Dungeon plan for january — Finished January, one prison block plus secret recent addition.

There are several cells lining the main corridor, most of which are twinned, except for the two isolation cells. Several storerooms and utility closets are also present. In the centre of the main corridor loop there are workshops and the infirmary. Apparently the infirmary has been used as a sort of children’s room, if it’s to be judged from the furnishings. There is also a secret room that served as a shelter for two unlucky squatters.

The cells are for the most part devoid of anything interesting, with only a few stray coins and low-value items to be found inside them. Two humanoid skeletons can be found in the cells, with copper coin charms. There is a small shrine to an unknown deity fashioned from one twinned cell. The only static combat encounter is in one of the isolation cells, where a brine wraith (stats and description later) is imprisoned in a large jar.

The right side of the plan, accessible from the trolley utility room, consists of two interrogation/torture chambers, a room with a pit to lower levels, an alchemists workshop, and a mold garden. There’s not much to see there, but for a potion of water breathing in the workshop and some trinkets (and infection hazard) in the mold garden. The molds might be of use to an alchemist, herbalist, poisoner, or other persons of similar vocations.

The overall picture any explorer should be getting is that this part of the prison has been used by several squatters including children. At least 4 adults have been present, and their bodies can be found in various cells. The bodies in the mold garden are more recent. The prison block has then been abandoned again, except for the shrine, where relatively fresh food can be found as an offering.

Although not much is happening in this prison block, I tried to create a sense of mystery with the small details. Also an atmosphere of something sinister and ominous that took place in the block not too far in the past. I won’t be fleshing everything out right now, and I’m not going to add dynamic encounters just yet. As I mentioned before I am not a fan of making a dungeon on the run this way, so I will return to this part of the dungeon later. As the dungeon grows, so will my options to tie everything in.

February will be dedicated to another prison block. This time the area will be occupied. There will be some clues that would add to the snippets from January, and we’ll get a fuller picture. If you want to see where this is headed, be sure to follow our social media, where updates will be posted Thursdays. And as always, feel free to like, share, and comment!

Rooms

And now the complete room descriptions. Please note that these are almost verbatim (minus typos etc.) from the notebook I use and I definitely do not consider these well described. They are rather notes than descriptions, really.

Rock walls, one half of a larger room divided by rusty iron bars, closed iron bar door bound with coarse rope. T: wet rope on the floor, remains of an iron bucket in SW corner
Rock walls, second half of room 1, door missing, headles skeletal corpse in NE corner (orc). T: 14 cp, perforated and bound to various long bones and ribs
Another half of twin rooms, door closed and bound with coarse rope, inside are heaps of damp coil baskets of various sizes, from quart-sized to bushel-sized. T: very long and thorough search with DC35 yields 1 brass carpet needle stuck in one of the baskets
Twin with room 3, bars on W and S sides, stone wall N and E; in NE corner remains of a plain wooden cot with wet blanket scraps; door jammed (DC 25). T: 3 small stones, one partially finished humanoid figurine from the same material
Two twin cells rebuilt into one room by removing the central barred partition. It has an alcove dug into the N wall; in the alcove is a plain stone altar with several bowls and plates with food both old and fresh; also strips of paper, cloth, and leather with writings on them by different hands (5+). T: 1 small portion of edible food (subterranean), strips with prayers
Cell with small water-filled jars all ove the floor, door bound with coarse rope. T: one of the jars is silverware (2 gp)
Another cell with bound door, inside is a simple wooden cot, ceramic bowl and iron bucket; on the cot is a relatively clean and dry blanket. T: under the blanket is a small charm in the form of a baby seal made of ivory
Corner cell with jammed door (DC 20); inside is a cot with a blanket-wrapped skeleton of a human; next to the cot a bowl and a basket. T: 12 cp, perforated and worn by the skeleton as a necklace
Cell without a door; inside is a broken cot, 4 barred cell doors leaning on the E wall, and several mounds of debris. T: thorough search of the debris yields 1 perforated copper piece
Utility room, S wall lined with broom racks and other sanitary utensils mostly in bad shape; there is a stone sink in the NW corner covered with an iron grate. S: behind broom rack is a secret door, DC 15 when searching the rack
Utility room for trolleys, one broken is lying in SW corner; E wall covered by hanging rags, blankets, and raincoats on hooks. S: behind blankets on E wall is a secret door (DC 30)
Round shaft leading down with only a small promontory from the corridor
Rough-cut room behind iron-bound door; inside are various restraining devices – chains on walls, stocks, restraining chair. T: rucsty wicked-looking curved knife lying under the chair
In this rough-cut room there is only a single iron chair with shackles in the middle and several tables lining the walls; on the tables various tools and torture instruments can be found; a curtain bar is at the entrance, the curtain is missing. T: torture insturments; silver chain wrapped in dirty rag (1 gp)
The room looks better cut than others, there are four infirmary folding beds along the N wall and several cabinets along the S wall; half of the S wall is barred, there used to be a door to room 19, but it is lying nearby. The walls are covered with childrens’ drawings. T: articulated wooden dol with 1 arm missing
Workshop with several wool-processing worksations; there are various wool-processing tools scattered around (hackles, carders, combs), along with baskets and rotting clumps of wool. T: bone carding comb decorated with scrimshaw (1 gp)
Storeroom with broken shelves and crates, evidently looted. T: 2 stoneware oil bottles (1 quart each), firesteel, 1d6 rusty iron nails, several buckets, bowls, small flat chisel. S: secret door behind shelf, DC 15
Guardroom, an empty weapon rack on the N wall, table with chairs (all in bad shape) in the S part of the room, along with some shelves; E door is jammed (DC 40). T: 1d6 cp in various places; an 8-sided bone die, broken whetstone, 1 rotting shortsword scabbard
Doctor’s room adjacent to infirmary, converted to small dining room; cupboards used as pantries (some food remains), walls painted with faded paint; almost all medical equipment is gone. T: slightly bent scalpel, small forceps, bent needles
Chandler’s workshop; clumps of beeswax everywhere. T: 2d6 usable candles, few candlemaking resources
Isolation cell, door locked. Inside is a large jar with lid bound with multiple eelskin straps. E: brine wraith sealed in the jar, attacks immediately after opening the jar. T: abalone necklace in the jar (5 gp)
Isolation cell, door missing. Remains of several cots and buckets are piled inside along with a battered and broken oar from a galley. T: usable wooden pulley
Rough-cut room behind double doors. Inside is a mold garden – various colourful patches of mold growing on rotting pieces of furniture, ships, and carcasses – a goat, a large fish, 1 humanoid. The room is lit by crystal shards jammed into cracks in the walls and ceiling, resulting in a pinkish ambient light. Torches and other external light sources give only faint light in the presence of the crystals. T: the fish carcass can be searched for a silver brooch set with almandines (30 gp); the humanoid corpse has 1 gold tooth that comes out easily (1 gp). Manipulating the bodies is a risk, infection is highly possible (CON DC 25)
Rough-cut room that formerly served as an alchemy laboratory. Broken vessels and various instruments lie scattered on the floor and surfaces. T: 2 gp worth of common ingredients, mortar and pestle, 1 potion of water-breathing
Surprisingly clean cell with a cot, wooden chest, small shelf; the bars connecting it with its twin are covered with blankets. T: small leather pouch with needles and thread behind the chest, 1 brazen button under the cot
Twin cell to I/25, less clean but still in better shape than most others; bars covered with blankets. T: a worn iron shortspear in one corner
Hidden room (door DC 30) with 2 humanoid skeletons in embrace; around them are some small items. The inner door can’t be opened from the inside. T: iron key to I/21, firesteel, empty bottle, small rusty knife
Door missing, almost empty cell, remains of a cot scattered on the floor
Another empty cell, thorough search (DC 35) reveals a well-made stash in the wall. T: 2d6 cp, simple gold earring, plain silver ring (3 gp + 1 gp)
Corner cell, door bound by rope, inside on a cot are potsherds from 3 large jars; the bars are covered with blankets. T: 5 cp can be found among the sherds
Corner cell, all barred walls covered with blankets smeared with blood from the inside. Door bound, inside there is a large clay amphora without lid, covered in blood, same as the rest of the cell. There is too much blood to fit within the amphora alone

If you read all the way down here, take some time to like, share, or comment. Thanks for your interest, until next week!

Dungeons: How to Behave

Does the party have to clear the whole dungeon every time? Does it always make sense? Are there different approaches? Let’s see in this part of the Dungeons series.

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

This post is part of a series analysing several aspects of one of the most recognizable parts of the TTRPGs we all love – the dungeons. The posts can be read in any order and they will be cross-linked when necessary. Throughout the series (and also elsewhere) “dungeon” is used as a technical term and can be used to describe any clearly defined environment containing multiple non-random encounters. These include natural caves, mines, keeps and castles, crypts, temples, ships and other vehicles, and many others.

In this part I would like to look at the PCs’ behaviour during their stay in a dungeon. Not necessarily about vandalism or littering, though these can also play a part in what I’m talking about.

The archetypal “dungeon crawl” consists of the party entering a complex of rooms and systematically (or not) clearing one after another, often with combat and puzzle encounters waiting in most of the rooms. While this is what many players expect and many gamemasters deliver, it often does not make sense. In the cases it makes sense for the dungeon, other parts of the plot are probably lacking. It makes for static dungeons that are easier to prepare and manage, but less immersive, believable and in my opinion rewarding. That’s not to say that people can’t have fun with such dungeons, but you might be looking for something more if you’re reading these lines.

To help make my point I will refer to master Tolkien and his works. They of course need no introduction and I will assume you are familiar with both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Reasons for entering

The best example I can think of is Moria. Khazad-dûm was an underground dwarven kingdom that has fallen at some point in the history and was occupied by goblins, orcs and cave-trolls. An expedition led by Balin, son of Fundin, aimed to reclaim (sic!) the halls of Moria. After some success it ultimately failed. The Fellowship then enters Khazad-dûm with an intent to get across (or under) the Misty Mountains expecting a welcome by the dwarves. After discovering their fate, the Fellowship takes flight through the deep halls and manages to leave through the East-gate of Moria.

The Mines of Moria concept art for “Lord of the Rings” (1978) by Ralph Bakshi. All rights belong to the author, who shared the painting here.

We have two different “dungeon crawls” going on with Moria. The first of these, Balin’s reclamation expedition, was probably quite a massive undertaking. Though we don’t know any numbers other than a few named characters, I believe we can safely assume there were hundreds of dwarves. The fighting was of course done by the soldiers, but many others, including craftsmen and servants had to be part of the expedition. They started reclaiming Khazad-dûm from the east and established a colony in a small part of the former kingdom that lasted five years till it succumbed to the orcs and worse. The dwarves had to proceed systematically, retaking room after room, securing entry points, building strongpoints and safe zones. Clearly that’s not something a party of four to six can manage. Unless the dungeon is static and the monsters are content with staying in their rooms until the heroes get their long rest, of course. In a dynamic dungeon this could not happen and a small party would lack the manpower to keep the cleared areas clear. Ambushes and attacks from behind would happen all the time.

The other instance is the Fellowship’s crossing of Moria, where after finding out there won’t be a welcome party the Fellowship’s goal was to simply cross to the other side. They moved fast, trying not to make their presence known, and certainly didn’t go room to room slaying monsters. And the party was rather high-level even without considering Gandalf, the only low-level members being the halflings.

I want to propose several different ways of handling dungeoneering, each with its own merits and shortcomings. They can overlap slightly, or they can change during the course of adventure. There are plenty of ways to ensure the party has to explore, even if they only need to get from A to B. But I believe there ought to be a better reason for exploration or room-by-room cleaning.

Apart from reclamation (Balin) and transit (Fellowship) we can have other reasons to enter a dungeon. The party might be after a certain foe (assassination). They might be after every single monster in the dungeon, but not care about the dungeon itself, then it’s not reclamation but rather extermination. If searching for an item let’s call it treasure hunt, regardless of whether it’s an actual treasure or for example hostages.

Let’s put those into a table with some factors that interest us:

	Explore everything	Defeat everything	Time span	Manpower needed
Transit	no	no	short	party
Assassination	no	no	medium	party
Extermination	yes	yes	medium to long	army
Treasure hunt	no	no	medium	party
Reclamation	yes	yes	long	army

Many TTRPG dungeon crawls fall into the assassination, extermination, or treasure hunt categories, or their combinations. Either way you have to crawl through the whole dungeon to finish it. It is especially true in video games, where there are often items placed in a way that you have to explore everything. I guess it makes sense from gaming perspective, but not from the dungeon design one.

Does it work elsewhere?

Apart from the already mentioned Moria from Lord of the Rings, can we get some other easily recognizable and acknowledgeable examples from media? Sure we can!

What about another legend, Star Wars: A New Hope? Did the heroes clean room after room full of stormtroopers aboard the Death Star? No, they had their objectives and went after them. In this case we would talk about a combination of treasure hunt and transit. And in the prequels, did Obi-Wan and Anakin clear out the whole flagship of General Grievous while rescuing Palpatine from Count Dooku? On the other hand, when Darth Vader captured the Tantive IV corvette carrying Princess Leia and the droids the stormtroopers had to eliminate all opposition. The same can be said of the attack on the Rebel base on Hoth. See the pattern?

I believe that should be enough to get a feeling for what I’m trying to point out, if it wasn’t clear before. Unless your goal is to clear out the whole area, you won’t do it, you just do what you came to do and get out. But since we don’t want to present players with just a string of encounters, they should be introduced to a larger dungeon than necessary. More on that in another part of this dungeon series, now I’d like to finish with party behaviour.

Do’s and don’ts

Depending on the party goals and the dungeon crawl category there are some things the players and gamemasters should keep in mind. From the player point of view time should matter – if you’re on a rescue mission, you leave looting for after the rescue, and stay on the move. They should also be conscious of their position within the dungeon and of the positions of potential foes. Of course you as a GM won’t hand them a plan with marked enemies. The party should however take mental notes of unexplored corridors, rooms, and other potential risks, especially if there’s going to be a return journey or a later return to the same dungeon (more on that in another post). Battle encounters should be avoided if possible, as even weak foes can buy time for an ambush or flanking move by others.

On the other hand, if your party is clearing out an old keep to serve as their headquarters, let them take their time. It is also necessary to be conscious of what’s happening where, but there should ideally be secured areas behind the party. And those could be contested as the occupants try to expel the invaders or break out and flee. The party would try to eliminate all opposition, although fighting is not always the best option – some monsters might rather accept eviction than death, even if highly repaid.

And what about extermination? Even when your goal is to kill or subdue all enemies you could have a better plan than just room-after-room slaughter. Stealth is always your friend and if there are leaders or enemies whose presence makes other stronger, it would be wise to target them first. There might also be means of calling reinforcements, and eliminating those is also something that should be prioritized.

Note that I have omitted exploration from my categories. Of course one can imagine a party that just ventured down some stairs to see what’s down there. But I also think in this kind of situation there is something missing – motive. It’s in the meta-gaming territory when players just go into a dungeon because the gamemaster prepared it and the PCs have no real motivation. At least have them search for valuables (treasure hunt), or menaces to surrounding lands (extermination). Or if it’s a mine or something similar, they would probably want to stake their claim to it (reclamation).

Dungeon dynamics

To conclude this article I will just outline the focus of a future post, the dynamics of a dungeon. At the beginning I mentioned static dungeons and that I found them less interesting and believable. Without devouring the upcoming article I can share that dynamic dungeons are another thing that makes room-by-room dungeon clearing unnecessary. The enemies are not going to wait until you slaughter their friends on the other side of the door; they either come to their help or fortify their positions. And that’s just one aspect of dungeon dynamics, but more in the coming article. There won’t be any sources for this one, but if you have been living in a dungeon and haven’t read either The Hobbit or the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, yet, you better do it fast!

As always, your thoughts and questions are welcome in the comments. Can you think of another dungeon crawl category? Is there an example from media that supports or even refutes that categorization that you would like to share?

Please share this post on your favourite social media if you found it interesting, and don’t forget to follow Rashundai Games for further updates!

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Dungeon 24

The introductory post to the #Dungeon24 challenge you’ll be seeing on this site.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

New year, new challenge. I abandoned Dungeon 23 because I found that the dungeon in progress deserved better treatment than this challenge provides. More on that later. This year however I’m going to try and see it through. If I get a usable megadungeon out of this, all the better, but I will be trying to make some points about dungeon design, dungeon ecology, megadungeons, and other related topics. This challenge should prove a good substrate for that.

For those unfamiliar with the concept, Dungeon 23 was a challenge set by Sean McCoy for 2023. You map and describe a megadungeon one room a day. Each month is a separate level, so you get 12 levels. The emphasis is on finishing rather than on it making perfect sense, with 5 bland room descriptions being better than 1 detailed room. In this regard it’s more of an excercise in seeing things through and creating a habit rather than good dungeon design exercise, but it’s a fun thing to do during your lunch break or commute each day. For me however the interesting part is making a dungeon that can be used in an adventure.

Some people have modified the challenge and instead of one megadungeon with 12 levels and 365 rooms they make a different dungeon each month. They end up with 12 smaller dungeons and that’s quite sensible in my opinion. It’s easier to maintain the logic of the dungeon if you’re not creating it over the course of a year, one room at a time.

To be honest I would rather choose something that could benefit from the diversity and incoherency you easily get from a year-long challenge. Single magic items, monsters, or market stalls (as I saw somewhere on the internet) are all sound choices. You still get the sense of accomplishment, plus you will probably be able to use more of what you create this way.

But the challenge is to make a dungeon, so I will make one, one room a day, and I will try to keep it coherent and functional.

You wake up in a cell

My first room is a prison cell, and a good part of the first few months will be prison-themed. Prisons are a good choice for this kind of exercise, because you have a lot of similar rooms that make sense together, you only have to furnish them. My prison will be an abandoned one, that is currently being used by squatters. Or so it seems from the first few rooms.

Other similarly convenient places are living areas (dormitiories, tenements, trailer parks, even villages and towns), necropolises (preferably made of tombs, not single graves), or other locations consisting of multiple similarly built rooms or buildings. This will be the backbone of your dungeon (or level, or just a section) to which you will add other necessary facilities. For example a prison could have rooms for guards, storerooms, workshops, kitchens, maybe a torture chamber or a recreation room, depending on the tone and setting. A barrow field would contain the barrows themselves (some maybe with multiple chambers), and then maybe a temple and some maintenance buildings. Why not multiple temples or shrines, and maybe an inn for travellers. You probably get the idea.

I originally wanted to post this after only a few rooms but I’ve been delayed by work on the site. Therefore at the time of posting this I have about three weeks worth of finished rooms. I will probably work on this only on weekdays and catch up Mondays. These updates will be posted on Wednesdays or Thursdays.

First few rooms of a yet-unnamed megadungeon.

Are you doing the #Dungeon24 challenge as well? Or perhaps are you working on #Hexplore24, a similar challenge proposed for this year? Leave a comment and feel free to link your creations!