Was my very first day of this dungeon challenge influenced by the large amount of Skyrim I was playing at the time?

Regardless, it felt right to have the first drawing of the lot be a very classic kind of room. Skeletons! A bit of lore! Broken furniture! A sense that each day after was going to have equal amounts of effort put in…

Day 2 still felt a bit like “classic” kind of creation. Big room with slimes waiting to attack, if you get trapped they push you towards a big pit. Not that complex!

A room that seemingly is easy enough to traverse because who are afraid of regular skeletons? But the longer you stay, the worse it gets. JOIN THE SKELETON ARMY

A chance to get a cool golem bud or be crushed by the other five! I like those odds

I had a second page of details about potential encounters, but it’d be too much to put here. Basically: don’t touch the pipes or Steam Mephits will attack you.

My thought is this room is hidden somewhere in the dungeon, but if/when it’s found, it can be a very helpful place if you plan on being in for the long haul.

Honestly, just a room to fuck with players. Maybe the see that there’s “no floor” and burn spell slots to try and get to the other side. Maybe someone fails the save and takes some damage. Just small inconveniences!

I like simple puzzles that make you go “huh?”. This puzzle on its own may not do much, but if you end up going the wrong way into a room of hostile creatures, or are separated from your party by going out a door at a different time… The possibilities!

What’s in the locked room? Who knows, but I bet the party is willing to spend some time chasing the Quickling trying to find out. Burn those resources! Separate the party! Run headlong into danger for a shiny key!

I don’t know maybe it’s not that bad of an obstacle, I just like the idea of picking up one idol, seeing the gas and being like, “Oh damn I must have picked the trapped one,” and then touching a second idol and being like “oh no”

Fine, I guess the party can have something fun.

But will they really risk sitting on a chair in a circle in an abandoned room? Seems pretty sketchy to me, but hey, I’m just some text on a picture.

Sometimes the answer is obvious. Should you peer into the ominously glowing pit in the floor? Probably not!

Maybe one party member just keeps getting an uneasy feeling after passing through this room, a chill in the air, the sensation of a pair of eyes on them at all times… but it’s just a ghost who is bored as hell and liked your vibe

Choose wisely! Maybe both doors end up leading somewhere similar, but I just like the idea of making the party think they’ve missed their chance at something. More likely to get risky in the future!

I had an idea for a cool room for enemies to hide in and then when I went to think about an encounter I thought it was boring, so like maybe there’s ninjas or something to pizazz it up like whoa where did they come from

Just imagine the most pathetic man you can. There he is, in that cell. He knows where treasure is, but.. is it worth it?

After he runs for the third time and you have to catch him before he falls into a pit, is it still worth it?

Is it ever really worth the risk?

The party can get some fun bonuses if they sit through a zombie version of Into the Woods and are a respectful audience.

Would be a shame if someone accidentally split the party huh? Who knows where they ended up…

Sometimes it’s better to not know what’s out there.

Fine, the party can have some gold and a cool hat, IF THEY CAN FIND IT

This was to coincide with Goblin Week 2022, a week full of little chaos dudes living their best lives

Sure they might be up charging you, but do you know how hard it is to run a business deep in the heart of an endless dungeon? They’ve got bills to pay man

I really like the idea of opening a door and seeing a little goblin just be like “GO!” and start racing down a hallway. Dungeons can be fun! Race these little guys, ignore the unknown horrors for a bit!

Not for hatching goblins, but for all the eggs goblins keep finding in the dungeon. Who knows what might match! Hopefully they’re friendly!

Was this just an excuse to make a goblin chef? Yes. Does he wear a little apron that says “Kiss the Goblin”? Yes.

Okay before you think this one is just lazy, I love the idea of goblins being like “oh you HAVE to see this chamber” and then trying to explain that it’s definitely shaped like a sword and that’s all they’ve got, they’re just really stoked about it.

GOBLIN BALL

THE NEW SPORT THAT’S SWEEPING DUNGEONS FROM HERE TO HELL AND BACK, AND MAKING EVEN THE DEVIL SAY “DAMN, THAT RULES.”

GOBLIN BALL

IT IS VERY DANGEROUS, BUT WE HAVE MEDICS ON HAND

GOBLIN BALL

WHERE ANYONE AND ANYTHING CAN SUDDENLY BE THE BALL

A simple one to end goblin week, but I like the idea of a constant poker game run by a couple of goblins where the players keep swapping out based on who is going through the dungeon. It’s just fun!

While your party is wary of traps and monsters, don’t forget that things like leaving your socks wet can be just as dangerous! No one wants trench foot in a dungeon

I don’t think I have anything to say about this one.

Moral of the story: if you, even for one second, think to yourself, “hey it’s kind of like this room is breathing,” you should leave. Don’t test anything, leave.

Is it simple to get the treasure? Maybe. But the odds of the party trying to burn the webs and accidentally destroying the treasure, I would say, are about as likely as any other strategy they might take.

More a transitional room than anything else, but a place that has enough signs of previous use that a party can feel safe about resting here. And maybe they’ll even discover the secret room to The Kitchen…

Party walks into this room. At the far end stands some evil half-boar mage-knight, wielding the most vile looking mace. They start yelling about long laid plans for the party, full monologuing at them.

Caveat: the party has never met this guy, no clue what he’s on about

Option to make this trap meaner: have runes carved into the walls that the party can attempt to decipher. The are anti teleportation runes, no form of teleportation will work within this hallway/room.

Some traps are just meant to kill you!

I think this weeks theme is obvious traps. If you open a door and see a room that is magically dark, common sense says “Hey let’s maybe skip this one.”

“Then again,” says the voice in every adventurer’s head. “What if there’s treasure?”

For added fun: make each gargoyle a luchador, and have them really get into the combat and get flashy with their attempts to throw the party around.

Sure as hell looks like a trap. But you know someone is going to want to touch it or toss something in it.

I just like the potential fake-out here. Maybe the party is like “that chest is clearly a mimic”, all ready actions and hit it, nothing happens. Open it: full of gold and stuff, nothing happens. Ok cool, let me grab this che- mimic bites face

Signs almost always get ignored but there’s something a little more serious about a warning carved into stone. Will it completely stop an adventuring party? No, definitely not. But maybe it will at least give them pause

This one is just straight up mean, and I wouldn’t recommend ever using it, unless you let the party keep the treasure or magic items. A soft reset might make this fun, but as is… idk, I must have been in a mood when I wrote it.

Wanted something extraordinary that has no bearing on the dungeon at large. Something that would potentially shock and surprise the party, but also leave them with the question of why it was there, and what purpose it would serve.

I just made one of the many weight puzzles from Pikmin. Idk maybe throw a monster in there so they can weigh it down after they figure out the puzzle?

Had an idea kicking around, and I’ve been really light on monsters the past few weeks, so I thought I’d do a dedicated day to a horrible little creature!

He may live a short life, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t the coolest life you’ll ever see. Trap? Let Danger Rick disarm it. Puzzle? Danger Rick can solve it. Monster? Danger Rick doesn’t back down.

Will a strong wind kill Danger Rick? Yes

Maybe this already exists? At the very least it’s the most basic video game trope for a slime, but in D&D… it could make combat deadly very quickly.

I like the idea of a magic item that can be really useful, but the conditions to use it are maybe a pain in the ass, like carrying a large trout with you at all times who, whenever you talk to someone, can also speak to them

Bit of fun for the party, to give the solution to a puzzle they haven’t encountered or solved yet, and see if they remember it by the time they find it. And a fun option to make it creepy!

Just a fun little item! Not super powerful by any means (I don’t think!) but a fun way to change up the usual methods of trying to get info from people. And the hijinks opportunities are very high.

Just a kindly dwarf adventurer and his little pal offering their services from dungeon to dungeon. Maybe the find a cache of gold you missed, or an amulet at the bottom of an underground lake you avoided. Just a helpful guy!

Simple rooms like this, I start getting bogged down with mechanics for saves or how the pitfalls might work, but at the end of the day, I think it’s more important to get the snapshot of the idea out rather than a perfectly finished room.

You used to find these things at festivals all across the lands, until the wizard they were based on cast some sort of spell on them and they all started giving… much darker prophecies…

I liked the idea of taking damage to open a door AND this added element of it being imperfect of how much damage you take every time.

What I REALLY like? BLOOD SKELETONS

All the discarded items, busted armor, and monster carcasses have to go somewhere. Even rats think this place is the worst. Don’t even think about searching the piles for useful items, nothing you could find would be worth it.

Wanted to make a monster specifically for the room I made yesterday, and yuck! I hate it! It’s way too big, has way too many teeth, and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemies.

Fun stuff!

Found myself wanting to make one more thing for the trash room, and came up with the idea for a busted old staff.

The staff can still cast some spells, albeit only because of the acid that keeps building up in the broken focus…

Even though they’re the bane of my existence in video games, I love the idea of a huge room that leads to many more. The added dread here is not knowing how far down this one connects, or what beasties wait in the water

Made a monster to pair with the previous room, but it also functions like a trap! If you see a big gleaming pearl at the bottom of the water in a clam’s mouth, it’s probably too good to be true!

Finding a ring at the bottom of a water filled room that seems to grant water breathing? What luck!

Good items can become cursed items very easily if you just change the syntax a tiny bit

I like a one-two punch in traps, like getting stunned from a magical effect and then getting caught in a living suit of armor. Also I like traps and scenarios that if I were a player encountering them, would make me scream out “NO”

Playing around with patterns here, and just thinking about trap construction. What if this room had a pedestal in the middle, almost like the bolts were at one time charging something?…

Might have been some really cool stuff in here at some point, too bad the wizard in charge mixed up his potions and accidentally made a giant crab

Is it helpful? No. Will you watch players debate really hard on if the gamble is worth the risk? Quite possibly.

Nothing like giving your players a “get out of any puzzle or situation I worked really hard to get you into” key. But hey, that’s half the fun! Maybe they use it to escape jail, maybe they use it to add a door to the bottom of a boat and ruin everything you had planned. C'est la vie!

What’s better than a new unknown? You’re already dealing with whatever is in the dungeon, and then you find that something else is also making it’s way into the rooms. Must be big judging by the size of those tunnels…

More of a slog than a puzzle or trap, but I like the Zelda dungeon vibe here. The fall definitely takes you to a lower level, and there’s also definitely something good behind the door, if you can get there.

Wanted to play with the idea of a room where the traps are already triggered, so the real puzzle becomes how to reverse what has happened. Trying to do so underwater just adds a fun little extra layer to it all.

Another idea on traps being previously triggered. At one time, these poison arrows might have done real damage, but now… they just kind of give you a weird rash for an hour

Wanted another restricting monster for the flooded rooms. Something that could be a real pain in the ass, an annoyance, or, incredibly deadly based on rolls.

Not very overly complicated I don’t think, but unless it’s a very magical party, it could prove tricky!

When I started drawing this, I thought it was a cool idea, but then I started thinking about how you’d run it, what the checks and such would be and who knows maybe it’s a dud!

Another dungeon mystery! Where did this tree come from? How does it keep growing? How deep do its roots go?…

Really wanted to do a hidden in plain sight kind of room. Water can easily be parted or frozen, but lava? Just a liiiiittle trickier to try and peek behind.

Probably been done to death, but I like the idea of a puzzle solution that may be impossible if the party doesn’t have the right spells. On the flip side, I feel like puzzles like these can really make a party think outside the box for solutions!

Been a minute since I had a room just full of monsters. Hate these things! Will I draw them tomorrow and gross myself out? You bet I will!

Just… bleh. I’m glad I can’t draw better because I don’t want this to look any worse than it already does.

Wanted to do something cool visually with this one. Maybe the gap between the stairs once housed something that’s long since fallen, maybe there was more magic here at one point that held more staircases going other ways.

Another one that’s nothing too special, but more just made to invite unique solutions, and potentially make the party burn spells or resources trying to solve. Rooms like these are important! Not every room is an ancient riddle or dragon fight!

Another room that feels like filler, but I like the mystery. Could hide some secret rooms that are much harder to get to because of the broken stair, maybe some big treasure that’s been untouched.

Been a minute since a real “treasure” room. There could be gems or coin in here, but the real prize is that very cool hammer

Had to do a little bit about the hammer. I really liked the idea of a sentient hammer imbuing very strong, traditional knightly tenants to judge who is worthy to wield it, but then also having a caveat of “oh dwarf? You’re in.”

More mysteries! What could you use this chamber for? What does it do? What’s missing?… So many questions!

Wanted to give a little encounter, a place for people to maybe pick up some stronger weapons, and a little curse if they do. Something for everyone to enjoy!

Damn

I know it’s just a hallway but something about it… so cool

Today was just an excuse to make a creepy place where I can put a creepy monster. The Stagehand is in this room, somewhere, and he’s very cross when patrons enter the theater and don’t pay for admission

I wanted to combine two creepy ideas that I’ve been kicking around for a long time: scissors as a weapon dealing waaay too much damage, and a creature that could theoretically always come back (as long as piles of curtains exist)

Find the right item, gain a cool follower! Just don’t let him get hit with lightning, and he’ll be your best bud.

Just a transitional room, but beneath some other room where something has gone awry. Maybe if you solve the problem in the room above, this room becomes easier to traverse? Who can say!

90 days in and we finally did it: kinda repeated a previous room. It was bound to happen! But also I think it’s unintentionally hilarious. 89 rooms later and you find a SECOND chamber that just has a sleeping vampire in it, what are the odds?

A gag for April Fools, but also it just feels right. Give the party a handful of clues about a big treasure hoard, but when they get there, it is a hoard, but guarded by a dragon. Gotcha!

Originally, there was going to be a forest in the center of this room, but I didn’t want to draw that! Water feature feels much calmer, much more soothing. Provided you don’t touch it, or look at it the wrong way.

Been thinking about doing some more “god” adjacent rooms. Who doesn’t like a forgotten idol, something to make you wonder who was here before, and all that? Plus, there’s always a chance that offering things could give you a little bonus…

More God-like stuff! This was also an attempt to have another trial and error kind of room. I like the idea of giving no hints about this, or how to activate the powerful boon. Perhaps a really high religion check could give a hint!

An ominous room! Is this place still being used, or a remnant of a previous dungeon inhabitant? Did the ceiling collapse on its own or was it done to hide the horrors within?

Another deceptively simple room, imo. Just a couple archers at the end, far enough away that regualr movement would take way too many rounds to get to them while they chip away at you. Make the party want to burn spells and abilities to get to them sooner before dropping the next big enemy!

After yesterday, I wanted to play more with status conditions. I like the idea of a fog so thick that it makes talking/verbal spells nearly impossible. Imagining a battle taking place in here where all the noises are mostly muted and it would be cool as hell.

Making good on the room I made a while back of electrified water leaking through a ceiling! This room seems a little deadly at a second glance, but if there’s one thing I know, it’s that you can’t really predict how a party will trivialize a puzzle.

Never a bad idea to pick up a random egg you find in a dungeon. I’m sure it couldn’t be anything horrifying or monstrous watching to hatch. Happy Easter!

I wanted to add another NPC, and something fun to commemorate day 100 of the challenge! Ask a question, get an answer. About anything! And then he’s gone… #gnometruth

More gnomes! I just like these little scamps. Maybe they keep following you at a distance and shooting you with slingshots, maybe if you befriend them they show you a cool treasure room. What secrets do they know? #gnometruth

Wanted to make another room that burned a precious resource: time. The save DC might be a bit high, but realistically, I can’t see a party spending more than a couple hours (in-game) before trying to find a creative way out.

This one is a mean one! Continuing the theme of wasting the parties time, which I should say I would only really use in a dungeon if time was a major factor in some way. By itself, wasting time isn’t fun for anyone. But if there’s a room they need to find in a certain amount of time, air running out for someone they need to save or something, then suddenly these time puzzles mean so much more!

Gives a very strong boon to a player, as long as they keep using it. Just gotta find the right times to keep at it, can’t let those hands get rusty.

Who doesn’t love a good “Mirror World” discovery? Maybe there’s more treasures hidden in this reversed dungeon, but plenty of darker monsters lurking around as well. Like the Shademother! What’s that all about?

Treasure room! Nothing too complex here, but if the party doesn’t have access to the Daylight spell, I’d love to see how they try and subvert the solution.

Also mad that I kept writing “alter” instead of “altar” but it was early in the morning.

Not everything gives you a magic item or a sack of gold! Sometimes you just help someone.

Useful for combat purposes, unless the enemies are also using magic. Also a potential good place to try and upcast some spells for buffing or what have you. Probably plenty of ways this room could come back to bite you in the ass.

Nothing too fancy here, moreso just trying to make the party jumpy. If one statue attacks, which others will? Turn your back to the wrong one and find out!

Happy 4/20

This is basically an iPhone lockscreen joke in dungeon form, but I think it’s a fun way to lock out some really big piles of treasure or send the party on a quest for the dungeon architect.

A room designed specifically for a party that just can’t help themselves. Of course someone is going to take a knife from the pile, who wouldn’t? I would! Then the Knife Lord shows up and says “Did you take one of my knives,” and you’re gonna go, yeah of course, and he’s gonna nod and be like “I get it, they’re sick as hell, but you really should have asked.” Turns out he’s really chill!

Bit of a give and take with this one. The idea would be to make this room/corridor connect to major parts of the dungeon, make it such an easy way to get around, way better than traversing through other rooms. The trick is that going through here dispels any active effects the party has on, all buffs and such. Is a time saver worth wasted spell slots?

A great way to make clearing rooms feel unsafe: put stronger enemies in there the next time the party enters. Will they figure out that someone is monitoring the fight? Maybe!

I like a monster that defies some fundamental laws of physics. Was that well there a moment ago? Why is that arm so long, and so strong? Where does it go?…

I could talk cool swords all day man. Blade like a leaf! Makes you fast! Wind powers! It’s a green sword! I also imagine instead of just a round gem at the pommel, it’s carved in the likeness of an acorn.

Another monster that I don’t think on its own is too bad, but if there’s a nest of these near another monster, and it keeps flying around blinding people, encounters can get very hard very fast.

Listen… some people find puzzles like this really, really hard.

I didn’t want to do a full monster page for this one because the main thrust was just that the room is half the problem. Tried to angle it in a way that the throw attack could do potentially HUGE damage.

I like a really useful item that has a big drawback, but in a comical way. Sure, you can get over any language barrier, but not being able to quiet a magic box that speaks at a medium volume can definitely lead to some funny moments.

Yeah, it’s a vacuum cleaner in staff form. I think it’s funny, it gives a fun little buff and effect. Not every item needs to be a flaming sword or crazy strong armor! Some stuff can just be funny and practical!

I wanted to make something that had a give and take. Yes, there is a chance to miss attacks with the negative, but also a higher chance to do really big damage that carries over into multiple turns. Does it work well? I don’t know!

Wanted to just make a weird little guy today, something unique to dungeons. A weird hermit crab like bug that hides in the broken stones of the deepest dungeons, maybe they eat some precious metals and treasures?

For Star Wars day, I wanted to remake one of my favorite Star Wars items: that weird orb that Luke uses on the Millennium Falcon that just shoots lasers at him. Honestly, I really like it!

Nothing too fancy here, but I wanted some items that lend to a bit more flavor than anything else. Being able to describe the small, crystal clear like sound of a chime in your ear seconds before combat begins. Also a special note on this one: this was the last page of the notebook I started this project in! Hooray!

We filled up the last notebook, so I wanted to try something new with the next one! Going to take each day and slowly add each room until we fill a page with a whole floor!