Work continues

M

iss me? I thought so. It has been about a week, and that is due to the fact I have been sick. I am still sick, but that is beside the point. I have been able to keep up with The Temple of the Lost Flame. I find the whole #Dungeon23 cathartic. Especially when you do not have the energy to do anything but sleep.

As you see below, a lot of work has taken place. However, as you notice, only some rooms are numbered, thus leaving a few empty rooms. As I mentioned before, I do not believe in having every room in a dungeon numbered and filled. It makes no sense, and it really disrupts the theme of your dungeon.

Why two maps? I knew you were going to ask that. Here is the reason. While working on the dungeon, inspiration struck. The theme of the dungeon deals with the return of a lost god. This god will return via a prison that lies deep within the dungeon. Unbeknownst to the players, the cult dedicated to this god is working below on doing just that.

With that in mind, I realized that imprisoning something would cause some form of geographic upheaval. This upheaval would lead to the structure of the dungeon shifting. With this in mind, I decided that the first level of the dungeon would be shifted. What was once a level structure is now gone. This shift has seen one part of the dungeon drop thirty feet.

The shift takes place between the two round rooms. Once they make their way to Room 12, they reach Room 13 through a very vertical shaft that is difficult to move through. Once through, they enter the room and then the rest of the dungeon.

Unlike the first half, this half will have more rooms of interest, and each room ties into the theme of this level and the structure above. In addition, this level will have a few tunnels that lead to the outside and offer new ways into the dungeon.

I am using this section to set up the secondary plot I have been slowly building since I began the project. What is this plot? I have yet to nail it down. However, I know it will involve three groups that have been in. conflict for a while. These three groups offer the PCs a chance to choose a side and end the conflict.

That is where we stand now. The work could be faster, and the haphazard way the project started is currently focused. From here on out, it is just working toward the goal.

Entering the dungeon for real. Honest. Yeah, I mean it.

J

anuary is now in the rearview mirror, and I survived the first month of #Dungeon23 is over. Truth be told, I did not accomplish as much as I hoped I would. I immediately blew up what I had done within the first week of January, so much of the work went to waste. However, this did have an upside. It allowed me to rethink what I wanted, leading to a shift in focus for my first level. So what did I accomplish? Here is the rundown.

• A new plot sets the overall theme of the project.
• The creation of a keep that serves a few roles.
• The base for a group of bandits plaguing the area.
• A mystery that links to what lies below.
• A piece of plot that will have ramifications for the plot.
• An entry point into the dungeon.
• Creating the village Elias' Spring which serves a few roles.
• Homebase for the player's characters.
• A location for the various groups to have agents hidden in.
• Developing four major factions that will play essential roles in the plot.
• A rough idea, at least for me, of the area outside Elias' Spring and the dungeon.

Looking at the list, I realize I have accomplished a lot. Although, at the time, it did not seem that way.

Now that I am three days into February, I have entered the dungeon. As shown in the picture, I have mapped out the first 10 rooms. Yes, I know, there are a lot of empty ones. Why? One of the stumbling blocks in creating a dungeon is trying to fill every room with something. This leads to a menagerie. Every room has something that does not fit the dungeon's theme. That is why when I design a dungeon--ok, it has been ages since I have done this--I always leave rooms empty. I do this so I have spots I can fill on the fly. Numbered spaces, for me, become set encounters, and these encounters trigger when the characters enter them. My empty rooms come into play when the players need a jolt or if I get struck with inspiration. I will create a table allowing the empty rooms to be randomly filled with something fitting that level's theme.

What happens when I reach February 12? The round room to the left of Room 10 has a set of stairs that takes you down a few feet into the rest of level 2. Yes, level 2 drops down a few feet and then continues. Why? I do not know yet; the idea came to me. When I get to 2/12 and 2/13, I will figure it out.