Dungeon: The Labyrinth of DrososĀ
Setup: While most vaults are constructed to keep potential robbers out, this sprawling underground dungeon complex was seemingly designed with no other intent than to trap and torment those souls foolish enough to seek the vast treasure promised within. Early chambers bear inscriptions speaking of the fortunes of fabled ( if completely false) kingdoms, powerful artifacts sealed away, and perhaps most enticing: the seed of eternal life. Later chambers are filled with one way passages, slow acting poisons, and deathtraps designed with cruel irony in mind.
Adventure Hooks:Ā
A minor earthquake uncovers an entryway to the Labyrinth, long buried and forgotten after centuries. Though the upper levels seem defaced; murals and decorations destroyed with hammers and covered over with warnings in an archaic tongue, the discovery of an untouched chamber and its hint at secreted riches causes an impromptu goldrush into the halls of antiquity, why would the party want to miss out?Ā
While adventuring parties are usually tight lipped when it comes to the topic of potential delves, the party cannot rub elbows with their peers for long before hearing about the infamous halls of Drosos. To trust in the telling of it, the place is more deadly than any rampaging beast or upstart warlord. Stay away, say the others, that place eats heroes alive.Ā
Renowned as heroes and sellswords that can get the job done, the party is approached by a desperate noble with a plea. Their beloved is dying and thanks to their research, the only thing that could give them more time is a crystalline fruit that grows within the center of an an ancient network of tunnels. An easy enough job, though complicated when they discover A) the fruit is missing from where it is supposed to be B) they are not the first party that the noble hired, and the remnants of previous expeditions are hunting eachother through the dungeon, violently squabbling for the fruit and the promised reward.Ā
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This is so cool, how do you come up with so much stuff?
So if youād like a peek at the secret sauce of adventure prompt writing, let me give you a bit of a synopsis:
Step 1: Inspiration. Iām subscribed to as many fantasy art blogs as I can find (at least those that provide sources) I look for cool images that contain an element of wonder, a dynamic scene, or a strong mood (the one above does all three). That feeling becomes the base of the adventure Iām going to make, both in terms of theme, and what I hope to inspire in my players.
Step 2: Brainstorming / meditations on theme. I start thinking about different ways I can riff on my adventure theme, starting with very basic gameplay ideas ( is it a dungeon, a murder mystery, a chase?).Ā
Step 2.5: Salvage.Ā I keep a journal and a number of google docs for adventure ideas. If ever I find a picture that I think would fit any of these, I slot it in. I fill these archives of potential ideas by endlessly scanning books, podcasts, videogames, and anything else that crosses my path for stuff that excites me.Ā ā what made me enjoy this? how could it be better? what didnāt work?ā I write down the responses to these questions and the setup for how they could otherwise play out.. and suddenly I have a massive backlog of adventure ideas.Ā
Step 3: Goundwork. Whatās the A B C flow of this adventure, how do I get players/storytellers interested in where this prompt may be going. Sure the picture might get YOU the blog reader interested, but youāre not going to have that image at hand when presenting this to your player base. Whatās more, how do we establish drama in these events that make the audience care, and the twists pay off?Ā
Step 4: Spice it up. I go back to my gameplay ideas and add an extra level of drama, figure out what happens if the party fails and hold that over their heads. I especially look out for opportunities to create unique situations and challenges. Everyone whoās played d&d knows how combat/dungeon delving/interacting with npcs works, why not try to find an exciting mechanical/thematic twist to make this one memorable?Ā
Step 5: Lead-ins and Later fun. Good campaigns arenāt written all at once, instead theyāre created by layering together a series of adventures that the party enjoys as they grow and explore their characters and the world.Ā As such, I write my adventure prompts to on-ramp adventuring groups and their stories into more complex, interesting narratives, growing the campaign from low complexity to higher complexity. Likewise,Ā Ā A good adventure prompt in my mind always contains a seed for future adventures a hook for a mystery they discovered in their travels, or a complication they unleashed. As you learn the DMās craft you get good at weaving these loose threads into your stories, as they both make your world seem much larger and more complex than it is, and save you time on deciding where the campaign goes next.
Hope this helps, and if anyone is interested in hearing more of my thoughts on the matter, feel free to check out myĀ āadventure designā tag below!Ā
