Dungeon23 Begins

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 2023 is here and with it comes the start of #dungoen23. I plan to update my progress here every Sunday with regular posts over on my Instagram following the development of my megadungeon on a more micro level. My first keyed room is for an entrance into the dungeon:





A Bit of My Process for Those That are Interested

For the start of this endeavor, I am pulling from a few of my favorite previous designs. When my regular Monday night crew (known around these parts at the adventurers based out of the Drinking Crow) first started, we were playing Dungeon Crawl Classics. After running several published 0-Level funnels, the first dungeon I designed were known as The Goblin Caves and featured a notoriously deadly entrance through a cave opening with a carved entry inspired by this:

Orcus in the Gardens of Bomarzo

This started a long-running interest in dungeon entrances themed around sculpted faces and heads that even pops up in my comics. I decided to play off this entrance with that of the entry tunnel into my tent-pole dungeon from the campaign that proceeded the Twilight Age, an OD&D game inspired by these Cuccagna-posts over at In Places Deep known as What Fools These Adventurers Be that I ran from 2016 to 2019. In capturing the spirit of these deadly and notable dungeon entrances, I ended up writing something a but longer than my usual room keys. With how tone-setting an entrance is, I kind of think the long-windedness of the entry is worth it.

I don't expect that every entry is going to be as long nor that they will be derived from previous ideas I have played with before. There is no shame in repurposing an old idea for inspiration, though, so I wouldn't be surprised if it comes up again after I use another idea or two to build my initial spine for this dungeon. D&D is a game built off of pilfering concepts you love from the culture around you (including yourself). I feel like it is part of the essential folk appeal of the game. Sam over at Better Legends wrote a little bit about this element of the game and dungeon design in this blog post.

This anti-commercial spirit seems an important part of Sean McCoy's initial pitch. Zedeck Siew's write's to this idea more effectively than I could in this Prison of the Moon Maiden #dungeon23 entry. Like Zedeck, I am aiming to approach this whole thing with little to no plan. My only goal is to challenge myself as I keep on making entries and have a good time while I do.

See you all next week with an update including the first seven rooms of Level 1 of this megadungeon. Until then, hope you all have a happy New Year. Those that can't wait until then, you can follow my regular progress over on Instagram:


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