D&D: Build Your Own Megadungeon in 2023 as Part of ‘Dungeon23’ Challenge
How do you build a Megadungeon? One room at a time. And with the Dungeon23 challenge, you can do exactly that.
In the beginning, the Internet was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move. Social media doubly so. And yet, every now and then something truly wonderful comes along.
Not nearly enough to justify, you know, everything else, but if there’s going to be a dumpster fire, you might at least be warmed by it. Which is exactly what the Dungeon23 challenge sets out to do.
Dungeon23 is many things. A promise. A practice. For some, it’s already begun and is leading to truly delve-worthy dungeons. But what is it exactly?
Well for that, we turn to Sean McCoy of Tuesday Knight Games, who proposed a simple challenge.
Dungeon23 – A Room a Day, A Level a Month
“Megadungeon for 2023. 12 levels. 365 rooms. One room a day. Keep it all in a journal.”
Part writing ritual, part creative exercise, Dungeon23 challenges participants to design one room of a dungeon every day in 2023. That’s it. All you have to do is write a single room every day.
What does it take to make a “dungeon room?” The answer there is extremely flexible. There are some fantastic guides out there for how you can fill in a dungeon. You can use random generators to get an idea of what should be in a room.
Rolling on random encounter tables, or even the random phenomena table in something like a Dungeon Master’s Guide can help set the tone for those tricky corridors. But all you really need is a single room and some hallways leading off of it. Even if the room is empty. McCoy provided some prompts to help seed each part of your own upcoming megadungeon.
The trend was popular enough in early December that many designers have already jumped on board. You can find a Dungeon23 community practically everywhere. There’s obviously, already a Dungeon23 SubReddit. Gizmodo has covered Dungeon23 as well, with a handy list of resources.
So if you’re looking to spark your creativity in 2023, jump in here. And at the end of 2023? What beautiful dungeons — whether they’re actual dungeons, living cities, starships, fleets of naval vessels, or the whalefall-like ecosystems of dead leviathans — we’ll have.
What dungeon will you make in 2023?
