o matter what, there is one thing in life you can count on, designers love to design. This designer is no different, and despite my current #Dungeon23 project, I am working on a few new releases for Rogue Games. I am also working on Project Phoniex.
As I wrote about last week, I take a different approach to the first level of a dungeon. The surrounding area is just as important because it offers more challenges for players. It also provides a place to set action outside the dungeon that affects inside the prison. Additonky, the world outside the dungeon is vital due to needing a village or settlement that the players can use as a resting spot for their characters.
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Welcome to lovely Richardtopia |
For my dungeon, that location is the village of Elias' Spring. I described some of the business on January 20 (week three of the project). I will write about that on Friday; I am using it as a prologue to this post. With the noting out of Elias' Spring, I started thinking about where the village is located worldwide. I did a few rough sketches and then began fleshing things outward. I was only going to keep the area small. Still, my imagination got the better of me, and the region got larger...much more extensive. How large? Look to the right.
So I got carried away. Why? I let my imagination run and thought about the plot I was setting up. The story, though small at first, will have much more significant ramifications for the region, or world, as a whole. One of the critical things about this rough region is that it has the three things I love most: extensive forests, mountains, and many lakes. How they play into the main plot, I have yet to learn. All of these features give me spots that can inspire adventures.
And no, I am still determining what I will name this place. But, for now, it is dubbed Richardtopia.