19.10.2021 Dev Journal and "Dungeon Flow"

19.10.2021

Finished Fall Quarter and started Winter Quarter. Fall is filled with roving vermin and hunters, with pockets of treasure. More a place to pick up some goods or restock on food.

Winter Quarter is interesting because its super-duper haunted. Avoiding the typical skeleton monstrosities and opting for a series of different spectral wraiths that each have a unique danger (spoil food, freeze area, throw things). The “boss” of the area is the only ghost who can directly harm the players and is constantly on the move, albeit slowly, causing a constant chase scenario in the style of “It Follows.” It can be harmed and exorcised, but only after its wards and sigils have been broken.

96 Rooms bulleted so far.

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Dungeon Flow – Unconsciously I’ve been following a bit of a formula for the design and layout of the levels and areas of the mega-dungeon. While this makes the area a little more “game-like,” sacrificing the authenticity and randomness that would be present in reality, it does provide a better flow to introduce players into an area, create and answer mysteries, and have the danger scale the deeper they go on. I’ve come up with some archetypes to describe the rooms and how they apply to the Summer Quarter in this particular Mega-dungeon

The Entry – Threshold of danger, point of return, establishment of setting.

In a house this would be the door barring the way in, in a book this would be the title and cover. This marks the point where the relative safety of the outside stops and the danger of the dungeon begins. It allows players the chance to stop and prepare before crossing the threshold and establish where this dungeon is in relation to the world and where it will (seemingly) take place.

In the case of the Summer Quarter, this is area B1, a stone entryway with a mural depicting a field during summer, giving it an individual identity from the other quarters.

The Welcome – Clues to challenges ahead, introduction of mysteries and questions, division of path.

The atrium or introduction to the dungeon. This is where the true nature of the dungeon is hinted to and provides some clues as to what challenges will be ahead. This also serves to introduce some of the mysteries and allow players to question the dungeon’s purpose, history, and oddities. Finally, this is the transitory space where the dungeon begins to open up, offering different avenues to explore and paths to take, giving players agency to plot out a course and decide where they will explore.

B2, the Common Room, is this transitory space. There are ancient murals that have clearly been maintained over the years, with images of cultists frolicking and worshiping in summer fields. There are also several places to sit, game-boards, religious symbols and a lavatory (B3), hinting to a culture operating and functioning within this dungeon. Three doorways sit to the north, east, and west.

The Challenges – Confrontation of danger, ingenuity rewarded, safety abolished.

The hallways/rooms and rising action of the dungeon. There is no safety or reliable shelter here, instead just a series of dangers and challenges to be overcome by the players. This makes up the most substantial part of a dungeon, a place where cunning actions and decisive strategies are rewarded and poor choices are met with disaster. The dungeon shows its true form here and dares the players to travel the length of its winding and twisted body.

B4 through B10 make up three blocks of individual rooms akin to an apartment complex. Theses rooms and halls are populated with cultists, priests, and strange abominations that will quickly catch on that there is an invader if the players are not careful to disguise themselves or cover their tracks. If the players find a safe way to avoid the many denizens and stay hidden, they will have few encounters to worry about and be free to pluck from the many rooms within.

The Secrets – Mysteries answered, tools provided, curiosity rewarded.

The hidden nooks and anecdotal stories, something unique to the dungeon as a medium. These are the smaller details and areas obscured and tucked away to be discovered. They provide answers to some of the mysteries posed by the dungeon and offer tools to overcome the trials ahead. They are rewards for the curious and tenacious and provide a greater picture of the dungeon to those who seek it out.

B5, the Stone-carver’s workshop, shows the importance of stone-craft and masks to the cultists as well as the magical abilities of some. B8, Scriptorium, a collection of histories and scrolls (can be sold to a scholar above) that reveals the extensive history of the cultists and the erosion of the underground city. B9, The Faceless, an NPC who was punished for even suggesting an exploration of the surface and now offers information if the players help them escape to the surface. B15, Temple Meeting Room, depicts a wall of icon paintings that show the cultist’s slow change into the monstrous forms they have now; revealing them each to be hundreds of years old and not simple monsters.

The Throne – Final challenge, culmination of dangers and mysteries.

The main hall and climax. A final climactic showdown with a singular challenge that represents the distillation of the dungeon’s dangers and mysteries. This is the last hurdle players may overcome and defeating it is effectively defeating the dungeon.

B13, Temple Hall, a religious sanctum roughly carved from stone by the cultists, ruled over by a series of congregants and a powerful high-priest who boasts a small arsenal of magic and artifacts. Players will have encountered regular priests and smaller groups of cultists, and the high-priest with his congregation is a stronger version of those encounters. However, the added twist is the artifact the high-priest carries, an additional challenge the players must consider and work to overcome on the fly.

The Vault – Reward for confronting danger, answers/poses questions, a reflection of the dungeon.

The treasure room or resolution to the dungeon. A place that offers a tangible reward for the player’s ingenuity and cunning. Whether they discovered it through violence and force or pacifism and subterfuge, the Vault offers both answers to the questions players might have or pose additional ones that require further exploration. As well, the treasures are a reflection and memento of the dungeon to be carried out into the world. A piece of the mystery, challenges, and tone of the dungeon; distilled into art, artifact, or knowledge.

B14, Relic Treasury, hidden beneath the alter is a tight crawlspace into a cramped and dark room, filled with centuries of religious art that clearly grows more and more fanatic and twisted as time goes on. There is also a broken water clock (can be repaired), a marvelous and expensive piece of engineering intentionally sundered as the reminder of the march of time grew too terrible to bear...