A new direction leads to a better dungeon

L

 ast week, I wrote about how I blew up my progress and restarted my work. It was a decision I did not take lightly. Honestly, it was something I did not want to do. However, the more I worked on the dungeon, the more I truly hated what I was creating. So I pulled the trigger and blew the whole thing up.

While standing in the ruins, I rethought the whole thing and worked out the project's overall theme. Then, with the theme in mind, the background came into focus. To be honest, I had a rough idea of what the background is. After all, the title of this project is The Temple of the Lost Flame, so it gives you an idea of what we are in for.

Once all of the rethinking was over, everything clicked, and the work was fun and on track. The first thing I created was a small keep that served as a base for a group of bandits. These bandits have no clue what lies below them. In addition, one of the rooms in the keep is only accessed via a room in the lower levels of the dungeons. This has been part of my plans since the start, and I have now made it better.

Over the next few days, my next task will be fleshing out the small village of Elias' Spring. This village is going to serve two purposes. The first is the most obvious. It will be a home base for the players while they explore and deal with the threat the dungeon is. The second purpose is how it ties into my overall plot. 

Sure, a home base is essential, but equally important is having locations outside of the dungeon that serves the plot. For example, the village will have people spying on things for those working on their nefarious plot. In addition, there are bandits in the area, and a town is a crucial tie-in.

The last thing on my list is a rough map of the general area. This will help me figure out critical locations outside the dungeon that serves as other ways in and out. Also, I need a general idea of the surrounding area for the bandits to work.

So why is there no dungeon level this month? There is.

I have always considered the area outside of the dungeon as being Level 1. It is here that the players get the feel of things. Think of it as their warmup for the main event. Once the 1st level is "done," the players are ready to descend into the danger below.

Looking at where things stand now, everything above ground will be finished by the end of the month. Then I can deal with the fun stuff.

That is where we are this week. Next week might have a few posts dealing with other topics.