Dungeon Level Concepts

I'm currently designing a megadungeon of sorts that's structured as a variety of logically interconnected levels with their own theme and lore (if this sounds like Dark Souls its because I'm taking heavy inspiration from it, although the "base camp" town the players depart from invokes Darkest Dungeon).

Help me generate some ideas for interesting levels/sublevels, bonus points for an evocative picture. The general tone is dark fantasy, but I'm not opposed to throwing some curveballs in there.

Example:
~ Hall of the Buried Colossi ~
"Ages ago, the Old King commanded enormous beings made of alchemically constructed flesh, given life through occult magics. After the fall of his empire, they sank into the earth, breaching the warrior tombs that lay beneath them. Some say they simply lay dormant, and retain their artificial consciousness."

Other urls found in this thread:

giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=15562088&postcount=11,
anemortalkid.github.io/dungeons/
twitter.com/NSFWRedditVideo

Check out Stonehell.

A level completely filled with water is necessary, along with fireball hazards and a frog suit for better swimming

I have, I'm most likely nabbing the garden level from it.

Okay, cool. It's always the first thing I suggest in this sort of things.

Also put up a great big minotaur mace. No one lives there but him. He knows his way out but likes to be left alone.

I have a notepad document with a bunch of dungeon/adventure ideas, I'll paste it here over a few posts

the formatting will be all fucked up, though, and most of it is in shorthand notes that won't make sense to you guys

1 - ELRAH MANOR Wooded kingdom countryside, goblins, safety hazard abandoned haunted manor, spiders/aranea, bandits, cave/gorge, crowded and varied basement full of guerilla goblins

2 - GNOME BURROW kobold/gnome/hobbit war (irontide adventure), illusions [haunts?]/automatons/alchemical golem/tinker traps/puzzle navigation, kobold siege?, fisk prisoner? dominated?
kobolds in hilltop canyon, hidden entrance(s) (clever construction/camoflage/illusions), research location of burrow, orcs/ogre? snakes.
Appalachian mountains (signal mountain)/river, autumn?

3 - HUMAN CASTLE infiltrate? negotiate treacherous noble court? besiege castle held by human knights, defend against other human knights/lizardfolk?, traverse moors (goblins on dire wolves?) gnolls? narfell/raumathari idea?
fens/marshes (tall grass/reeds, shallow water)/moor/tor

4 - ORC FORT winter?, deep in orc territory, disguised as orcs?, mud golem, warg/wyvern riders?, bears, cave troll cave?, wood platform towers, river island wood rope bridge, muddy creek cave entrance?
orc sewer tunnels idea (gauth, orc longspear 5ft tunnel, orc fighters in inches deep water) - duke nukem 3d beholder sewers, gengar ghost? demon?
rocky mountains with pine trees

5 - FLOODED CAVERNS/TUNDRA Tundra (soggy?), forsaken cult/goblins, megafauna/giants, goblin army in field, beast of malar (chase across hills/gorges), thorn skeleton animal? gengar ghost?,
demon? falmer?, troglodytes (trog grimlocks)?, werewolves? muddycreek cave entrance?, navigate caverns/cold water sumps, caves into ancient dungeon (undead),
beholder moon god quest? hunted by competent trackers? entrance to dungeon is hidden basement pit idea

6 - FOREST CASTLE kobolds infesting ancient crypts beneath castle, have tuckered it with tiny tunnels intersecting the large linear tunnels, big dumb monsters, revived later as zombies, smokepowder/rotgrub swarms/
negative energy traps, half-green dragon summoner leader (large black snake eidolon), various undead, outside portion is overgrown with trees/plants, has twig blights/wood woads/treants?/huorns?
shimmerlings?, home to redcaps/orcs/green dragon? petrified tree pillars?
human area within elf realm (Elfwind/Gladeroot/Woodhaven)
elf meadows, copse within meadow within forest, white centaur boulder, white treant elder, ankheg towers (stone towers or wood platforms), barn warfare, zombie/ghoul invasion/town siege

7 - LARGE CITY/SEWERS Rob a bank/vault, evade the watch, can't (or shouldn't) kill enemies, medusa crime lord, minotaur/chimera/hydra/cockatrice/basilisk dungeon, harpies?, manticore? hecaton monster cult? mrelder cult guys
coastal/aegean islands, city-state (propylon)

8 - GIANT TREE summer elf/fey court/house, outfox fey/witch beguiler/political intrigue, traverse taiga wilderness (baba yaga, wendigo?, neanderthal?), forest monolith/tree dungeon, colossal treant?, huorns?
eldreth veluuthra posh elf house? living wood/dryads/woodwalk armor elf guards/wisps on lawn, druid dungeon arcadia, read the wind arcane heirophant, plant monsters, green dragon? witch serpent (naga?)? overgrown inside roots/vines plant domain turn blight
giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=15562088&postcount=11, forest fire?
arvandor? canopy city? rivendell? elf district in city? giant tree taiga?

9 - MAGE TOWER long canyon entrance with spell turrets, wyvern/griffon race through canyons?, illusion/scrying defenses, greenbound cactus troll, roc nest?, airship wreck in corkscrew canyon? copper dragon? indian pegasus mount drop off cliff merchwarriors chase
chuck norris dream/half-life, harry potter-esque traps/encounters/items, teleported into desert must find the rest of their way
book/writing spells, treasure books
xeric shrubland desert/mesas/canyons

10 - SAHUAGIN defend city from sahuagin invasion (giant crabs, siege crabs), attack beach gate/ships, infiltrate through sewers
take ship out to sea, fend off sahuagin attacks/sea serpents/storm, dive to sunken ruin (continental shelf?), root out sekolah cult/half-fiend four-armed prince/aboleth? shark demon?
storm giant lord human island? continental shelf aquatic realm?

11 - WARLORD/DWARF FORTRESS steppe, goblin/orc/ogre horde, Delve dungeon during war, fight through clashing armies or join one side to get to it (casters/bound outsiders dispel any fliers/invisibles), hobgoblin army trap
dorf fortress underneath the castle, armory with adamantine weapons/armor, rampaging iron golem, terran runes/runecaster runes, sliding stairs, goblin filth?/rust monsters?, stonework traps,
elevators?, melding stone chest, heavy gravity section/trap?, earth bender doors? redstone? various odd stone effects? (memstone, etc)

12 - DROW traverse/navigate underdark, vertical beholder lair (multiple partially-connected "chimneys"), infiltrate drow city/district/temple, spiders/driders/demons, stalagwhatever citadel, portal to abyss?, retrieve warblade?
various/odd terrain

13 - GIANT CASTLE miri adventure details, Participate in airship battle/Aerial-mounted race down mountainside, giant ghost sorcerer?
temperate mountains/sky/floating islands/airships

14 - YUAN-TI byron bay scenario, dragon turtle, ring of storms? leviathan?, traverse jungle, bone pit snake seal door trap, ziggurat, dinosaurs, fire giants (ironclad ship[s]?), slave plantations?, marid?,
deep sea dungeon? helpful genie? pirates? black dragon? gambols? barl-lagura demons? terror birds? multitude of snakes/poison-related traps, slave traders?, reefs, volcano
storm giant lord human island? traverse perilous sea-monster-infested ocean

15 - SUNDERED DUNGEON evil african witch (warlock? binder?), slenderman?, gnolls, demon lion, tilted/broken hallways/rooms, metal lamps hang straight from ceiling, doors hang from hinges, magic light generator,
use knowledge architecture/sundering/disintegrate to get past broken construction, shaka zulu warriors (vampire ranger/binders?), stone golems, nightshade? templated t-rex? umbra mindfucks,
stillshrine of miriam
african savannah

16 - MIND FLAYER psionically controlled bio dungeon, beholder craft?, living weapons, mind-slaves, low gravity, bio-armor, ooze vehicle?, psion spec ops team? umber hulk soldiers/sappers, grafts/symbionts,
illithids hunting "the oracle" or "the cursed archmage", sharn tower telekinesis fight?, invade a city after using mind-control to fuck up leadership/armies, gate in specials, occupy city,
psionically-active nitroglycerin
unique plane (xen)

OR

16 - NECROPOLIS Defend City/Realm from undead army, lich rides in ooze, frost giants/mammoths?, white dragon mountain castle lair?, traverse arctic terrain? (ice caps, cold aquatic with icebergs?)
forbidding icy mountains (moraines, tarns, icy cliffs) fallen city, obsidian gigalith? dragon? and cold aquatic with icebergs/polar ice caps?

17 - CITADEL OF CREEPING DOOM massive cavern complex, hordes of monstrous vermin, vermin lord, beezelbub, obox-ob cultists/aspect scorpions/spiders/centipedes/crabs/leeches/manti/beetles/ants?/bees?/wasps?, spirit vermin?
poison cave?, submerged at bottom, stone idol magic traps?, special intelligent enemies (other adventurers, vermin demons, )
jungle (Indian or Amazon)/flooded forest/bayou swamp

18 - DOOM narfell, fortress narder, ramathaur, ring of gray flames? (obelisk spell traps), long canyon spell turret approach?
horrible Doom flesh-castle, half-fiend dragon, doom/daedra/various CE outsiders, triceratops demon/plains?
lower planes (narfell plains nomads hinder quest to plunder demon-themed dungeon with portal to abyss? ride across plains to different raumathari dungeon?)

19 - PORTAL NEXUS PYRAMID scarab swarms, giant scorpions, mummies, dessicated undead, sandstorm, giant stone golem(s), stone/sand traps, glyph traps, sarcophogi/ghost, stone tablet scrolls (nezram's),
adamantine/lead/antinium intelligent portal door (difficult social encounter), genie in bottle, portals open to other worlds/planes,
and if left open, allow beings from other worlds to spill through (along with weird planar traits seeping in and mixing), with the right/wrong
combination of opened gates, certain effects can be brought about?
go to arvandor for some reason, and cold aquatic with icebergs/polar ice caps?
warm sand desert (mithardir? titan-built pyramid?)

20 - SPELL ARMAGEDDON adamantine golem(s)?, the tarrasque?, living spells, magical towers, spell turrets, ragewalkers,
cold rocky/sandy desert ruined city

These are cool, I like that you included environment details and encounter suggestions with them.

Yeah. I'm gonna screenshot these and use them to run a campaign.

fallen tree limb onto other tree's y-split
-rope trick shelter was cast at the y-split
-elf transmuter with squirrel familiar
-balance or climb check to get to it, opposite grants synergy

DC 20/25 spot (or survival?) to notice small pond of water covered with dead leaves, thin layer of ice
-higher result can spot from farther, up to maximum range for this section of forest

mesa dungeon with pool on or near top
traps exist which open doors leading outside and let water from the pool rush down, likely pushing people out
these traps can be activated x times before the pool empties and must refill naturally

dungeon with grass/trees/bushes/etc for druids
-permanent daylight spells?

entrance to dungeon is a well-like circular masonry pit, it is covered in thick wooden planks, atop which stones have been laid that match
the floor of the basement they are in, but they lack mortar like the rest of the floor stones
they lie underneath a dusty old rug, atop which stands a table and chairs, none of which look like they've been moved in ages

thick plants/roots/vines cover doorways and other items the crew needs access to, and they are quite tough and resistant to fire (or maybe smoke is an issue)
-plant domain cleric can turn them
-blight spell works wonders
-speak with plants?

necromancer animates skeletal horses for party mounts
-never get tired, never need sleep/food/water, never suffers impairment or fear, won't get eaten, won't get stolen (probably)
-left outside somewhere with orders to wait here and defend yourself if attacked

metal chest with magic trap that disintegrates its contents if not disarmed when opened
-teleports them to an iron safe in some remote location only the owner knows? (is buried and has no door, must be rusting-grasped through?/broken?)

in dungeon, somehow summon scary demonic metal portal door
must figure out how to use it (safely)

cistern/creek tunnel exits of dungeons away from main entrance, maybe blocked by grate/glyph spells, follow thick underbrush creek up steep hill/cliffside to find (not easy to spot generally)

long ago, a rift to the abyss opened in the skies over the sea, and a mighty hero flew into it to close it (like jerrod), turning it to stone; the part that was in this world then fell into the water, where
it was recovered by aquatic beings (sahuagin or sea serpents or whatever), it now rests in an underwater temple/fortress dedicated to sekolah, and the sahuagin priests want to reopen the portal, but key it
to the abyssal waters of sekolah's realm to allow him or his progeny to come through (they raided the coastal city to....? retrieve something that belonged to the hero?)

floating iceberg dungeon with shipwrecks and underwater entrance tunnels; is a moving stronghold/temple (IWD expansion)

warren of alleys and hideouts in a rough part of a city (connected to sewers)

section of city quarantined (separated by high walls/gates), will be burnt after x amount of time because of plague/lycanthropy/undead, pc's need to do something within

blood making an area slick
consecrate to cut off an area from a divine power (that was powering or blocking some effect?)

palantir/demon-stone
orb does mind-thrust on those who touch it
corrupts those nearby with form of doom, rage, and bloodlust
allows powerful scrying (and/or other divinatory powers, perhaps demon related), but can fuck with
people nearby if not bound with magic (which it currently is, though this can be easily disrupted
by stumblers)

cool
if you guys have any questions, ill be here all day

I found this:
anemortalkid.github.io/dungeons/

Compiled from some Reddit thread, some good stuff but also a lot of crap to sift through

I know the Angry GM's stuff is controversial on Veeky Forums (understandable), but he has a great ongoing series on building a megadungeon. You should check it out and steal some ideas and methodology from there.

I remember reading a bit of it, and it started off with him getting bogged down obsessing over calculating the "right" amount of XP and pre-planned encounters to get players to the "right" level. I might skip ahead to where he gets into developing the actual lore/levels of the dungeon.

Yeah, some of the articles do go into too much detail, but they later branch back into actual, helpful worksheets (about wandering monsters, plot info management, tricking your players into doing stuff without railroading them, etc.) and he's developed a bunch of areas so far.

bumping with my favorite map of this sort

bump

Stealing a dungeon layout from Made in Abyss

Taking this one straight from a trippy dream I had:

>Spiral staircase
>As you go down the steps become covered in greenery until you're on a massive plant stem surrounded by steps of foliage
>Soon the walls surrounding the staircase give way to a sprawling landscape
>There's plenty of hills, but no trees (other than the big staircase one) or lakes or other features

You decide why this level is like that, I never figured it out in the dream. I just walked up a hill and saw some people from my high school days and people were telling me I was late for a track meet, which obviously isn't helpful to you.

don't die