Category Archives: #dungeon23

#dungeon23 prologue part 2!

#dungeon23, D&D, megadungeon, RPG

This prologue post is going to focus on me recording how I plan to approach the challenge that #dungeon23 is.

Each month I plan to use a different method to randomly generate the rooms for that level.

Currently sources for generating the random levels are:

  • DMG – Appendix A: Random Dungeons
  • Tome of Adventure Design
  • Axebank’s Deck of Many Dungeons
  • Map & Dice Playing Cards
  • D&D Dungeon Geomorphs
  • A random map generator that uses a rubrics cube! (Forget source of this at mo)

So just basic maths dictates that each of the above will be used twice through out the duration of the hashtag.

I also plan to do a similar thing when it comes to populating the megadungeon, swapping between the sources I have (I’m not going to list them all here when they are already listed in a previous post, plus I’ve ordered the kobold press Creature Codex), I’m also going to use the monster generator rules by the Lazy DM.

When I do use the Lazy DM stuff I’m not sure what I’ll come up with. What I do know is that some of the creatures will be unique, some will be dire versions of existing monsters, or even undead/elemental versions. I intend to explore all the Lazy DM ways of creating “new” creatures.

D&D 5e has tiers of play (see below) which I think will impact the creation of the megadungeon.

  • Tier 1 (Levels 1-4): Local Heroes.
  • Tier 2 (Levels 5-10): Heroes of the Realm.
  • Tier 3 (Levels 11-16): Masters of the Realm.
  • Tier 4 (Levels 17-20): Masters of the World.

Four tiers, 12 months. Every three months will cover a tier of play.

Logic dictates that the first three levels will take a party of heroes from level one to level four. And so on.

I’m going to try and stick to tier appropriate creatures to populate the current megadungeon level. But if a more powerful creature makes more sense then I will use it.

When I refer to creatures in the notes for the dungeon I’m going to use creatures name, then in brackets source. I.e. Goblin(PHB) or Fire Ant (CC).

When it comes to the Lazy DM generated monsters I’m not sure how I’ll record the stat blocks. I might use the Arcane Library templates for that. Has the advantage I can easily use them elsewhere, and share them easily with others.

I’m not going to use dates to label rooms to their descriptions. Instead I’m going to use a week/day format. 1/3 would be week one, day three.

In the previous post I said I liked the idea of using supernatural environments from Tasha’s. But the section on Magical Phenomena also inspires me. Particularly the Magic Mushroom, Enchanted springs, and Emotional Echoes sections. Although the Mimic Colony sounds pretty cool to throw in there somewhere.

I think the Tasha’s bits will help tell a story in the dungeon. To impart some of its history.

These are some of the thoughts I have at the moment that I needed to record before I forgot them. As usual none of the above is binding, things change. Or as the Jack Reacher goes “Plans go to hell as soon as the first shot is fired.”

I’m sure there will be a new post pretty soon.

#dungeon23 prologue part 1!

#dungeon23, D&D, megadungeon, RPG

This prologue and it’s follow up parts will look at my prep, thoughts, research, for getting ready to jump in and start creating my contribution to the dungeon23 hashtag.

In this opening post I’m going to look at the Dungeons chapter starting on page 50 of Izirion’s Enchiridion of the West Marches (IEWM). I should point out this will not even be close to the sort of in-depth discussion The Tome Show did on the chapter as part of their look at the book. The focus here is totally different.

Oh and before I start a small disclaimer. Later posts may contradict what I’ve written here. None of what I’m writing is set in stone. These are ideas, and things will change as I read more, and even as the dungeon develops.

In IEWM they say creating dungeons revolves around the following three essential questions, “what’s the hook? Second, how is difficulty telegraphed? And third, what do they learn?” (Page 50)

The Hook

This is probably going to be my hardest bit to come up with.

I want to produce a megadungeon that is setting independent. That could be dropped into any D&D 5e setting.

IEWM defines the hook as “…that which draws the player in; the obvious, noteworthy, easily-visible thing that captures the players’ attention.” (Page 50)

It then goes on to say that the hook should be “… intriguing, noticeable, and mysterious. The hook is to lure players to the dungeon, to tempt them with dangers and riches within, and to keep it on their minds when planning missions.” (Page 50)

It’s a lot of pressure to come up with a hook that lives up to those criteria.

My current thinking is about a mysterious evil force gathering forces into their service, subjugating nearby towns and villages.

How Is Difficulty Telegraphed?

“…it is important that a dungeon telegraph its difficulty, and do it early.”

My early ideas since learning of this hashtag and deciding to participate was to start off with the Prismatic Owl puzzle. Which would effectively lock any party of adventurers in the dungeon until they solve it.

However IEWM says the following about locking players in. “While locking players in dungeons might seem an exciting challenge, it is arguably the most dangerous trap of all, as it means that if they misjudged the dungeon’s overall danger, they are more than likely doomed.”

So although I really want to use this puzzle I think the plans of when to use it need to be reconsidered.

Which leaves me with the question “just what level am I pitching this megadungeon?”

What Do They Learn?

“…dungeons should not only pose challenge and reward loot, but also illuminate secrets”.

This bit is all about using the dungeon to not only tell the story of the dungeon itself, but also to foreshadow or telegraphing using the authors words, threats.

In the book they ask us to “…consider what information is implicit in its physical creation” or that “…many dungeons can provide other, more direct sources of information. Scrolls and writings, reliefs and carvings, prophecies and decrees—all can be found in dungeons, and thus all can provide insight into the world.”

This post about “Megadungeon Lessons from the Pyramids” gives some great ideas.

All the above adds up to making “empty” rooms more interesting and useful.

Types of Dungeon

Next IEWM has us consider the type of dungeon, and provides a table of suggestions,

“Often, the best starting place in designing a dungeon is to consider the dungeon’s original purpose, which may still be its current purpose. This in turn informs how the dungeon itself should be designed.”

“…which your players will be able to narratively access the history and legacy of your setting.”

Obviously the type of dungeon plays a big part in telling the story of the dungeon.

I like the idea starting off with one dungeon type then transitioning into one of the other types. Each new type adding to the narrative that the dungeon itself is telling.

The dungeon type I’m thinking of starting with is a temple or similar that is being used to recruit followers.

The rest of the chapter expands on various elements such as difficulty, tier levels, etc.

Obviously being a megadungeon it will have tiered levels, each being tougher more challenging than the previous.

IEWM sees the dungeon as something a party of adventurers will return to on multiple occasions. Each time getting deeper into it.Having to “deal with the dungeon in chunks.” It also discusses Persistent Dungeons. An idea I like a lot.

Another idea that I’m keen to explore in this hashtag and discussed in IEWM is Treasure Rooms as Narrative. “The best-designed treasure rooms are oddities, exceptions, and anomalies to the normal story of the dungeon. They should be strange, intriguing, unusual, and, above all, tempting.”

The questions IEWM gets you to consider are most definitely ones I need to think about not only before I start but during as well.

In the next post I’ll revisit the hook but in the light of one of my other references.

#dungeon23 Stuff I’m A Usin’

#dungeon23, D&D, megadungeon, RPG

Thought I’d put in one place the stuff I’m planning on using/referring to through out this year long challenge.

  • DMG – Appendix A: Random Dungeons
  • The Dungeon Alphabet by Michael Curtis
  • Tricks, Empty Rooms, & Basic Trap Design by Courtney C. Campbell
  • Wally DM’s Journal of Puzzle Encounters by Dominic L. Wallace – a source of puzzles to inspire and use.
  • Tome of Beasts 2
  • Monster Manual
  • Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse – saves me having to look through two other source books, Volo’s Guide to Monsters and Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes.
  • Izirion’s Enchiridion of the West Marches
  • Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything – I like the idea of using the Supernatural Regions and Magical Phenomena from Chapter 4 for parts of the dungeon.
  • Tome of Adventure Design by Matthew J. Finch
  • Lazy DM’s Workbook by Mike Shae
  • Axebank’s Deck of Many Dungeons
  • Map & Dice Playing Cards by Inked Adventures
  • D&D Dungeon Geomorphs from DM Dungeon Kit

The above list isn’t exhaustive because it does not include stuff ordered Friday that has not arrived that just might be useful in this challenge.

Now for the “practical” bits.

  • Ed Ember let’s Drawing Book Make A World
  • Nicpro 2.0 mm Mechanical Pencil Set
  • APOGO Fineliners Black Pens
  • A5 Moleskine Classic Dotted Paper Notebook, Soft Cover
  • Jakar Metric Templates – Radius Master – basically a stencil for drawing circles!

#dungeon23 – A dungeon room a day for all of 2023

#dungeon23, D&D, megadungeon, RPG

So yesterday on Twitter I saw a new hashtag that caught my interest. Just what was #dungeon23? Was it what I thought it’d be?

Obviously my thoughts were towards the more innocent geeky interpretation that it was to do with D&D somehow, and not some sexual fetish.

I was relieved to find that it was indeed to do with ttrpg (not specifically D&D).

Apparently #dungeon23 came about from a tweet by the designer of the ttrpg Mothership, Sean McCoy (see below).

This tweet was followed by a couple of tweets of advice/information.

This caught the imagination of like minded folks, and “Sala-gadoola-menchicka-boo-la Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo” all of a sudden there is a trending hashtag.

With the growing interest in #dungeon23 Sean wrote a blog post expanding on the idea and giving more pointers.

Luckily I’ve come across this early enough to jump on the bandwagon.

Obviously and luckily for you I’m not going to do a daily post on here.

However I might share a daily photo of my journal on Instagram, with maybe a weekly summary post on here.

I’m not going to use the “fancy” Japanese journal that Sean is using (even if Amazon had one at time of writing).

Instead I’ve ordered a Moleskine Classic Dotted Paper Notebook, Soft Cover and Elastic Closure Journal (it’s just a tad cheaper) and some Black Fineliner Art Pens (to make my art look even crappier).

But I still need to fill it.

Luckily there is plenty of great advice on sources of inspiration.

Then I remembered Kelsey of Arcane Library and one or two of her posts/videos on generating ideas for an adventure.

She used the Tome of Adventure Design. Which I own a copy of.

Plus I wrote a post embedding Kelsey’s videos a while back now. Which you can bet I’m going to go back and rewatch.

Izirion’s Enchiridion of the West Marches has some great advice about dungeon design/creation.

There are definitely tables in the Lazy DM Workbook and Companion that will be of use.

I have the official D&D geomorph tiles that came with the Dungeon DM kit. Plus the two decks of cards for generating random dungeons. So I could use these as the dungeon layout to use, and each day populate a room.

On the way to me are more decks of cards that allow the random generation of bits and pieces that players come across in dungeons. Which can be used to populate the dungeon.

Unlike I think most doing this hashtag I will be aiming to create my megadungeon for D&D 5e. Which means I can also use the recent addition to my DM library Wally DM’s Journal of Puzzle Encounters. Which will most definitely influence some of the design. In fact I suspect my entrance will use the first puzzle from it!

I know some online have started this already but I’m going to start in the New Year, however that may come forward.

But starting in the New Year does allow me time to read a bit, get familiar with Appendix A again, and stuff arrive.

Until the next post…