The Fool's Tower - Infinite Dungeon Exploration

Like this, but a little taller. Credit Maksym Harahulin

When you see it come over the horizon, you can't help but rub yours eyes. It looks a little like having an eyelash slowly drop down into your eye, but no matter what you do, it doesn't go away. It stretches up to the clouds and beyond, a flaw in the sky, an error in reality, an impossible structure that should collapse like a castle made of cards stacked end-to-end.

But it endures. Cannon has been brought to bear against it, once. Just once.

The nobles hate it. Peasants will drop tools and wander over from a town across, and flood in through whichever snarling visage the gate presents itself as that day. A couple come out bearing obscure trinkets or bizarre pieces of furniture. Some come out scarred and torn, missing limbs, missing memories. Most don't come out at all.

The rules:

• Each room contains a small golden key and a wooden door.
• Touching the key to the door causes both to be destroyed, and the stairs upwards revealed.
• Both key and door are immune to all spells, and breaking the door reveals only solid rock.
• Each room will have a number of "elements", preventing easy access to either the key, the door, or other important items. These aren't puzzles, just irritating obstacles, usually dangerous, potentially lethal.
• The number of elements in each room starts at two, and increases every 1d6 floors.
• The key will usually be visible, but not always. There will usually be enough light to see by, but not always.
• Enemies cannot move more than one room away from their starting location, unless they have your express permission.
• The tower and everything in it resets each visit.
• A few items are specifically "loot" items, you will be told if this is the case.
• Everything else is "furniture", and will crumble to ash when removed from the tower, excepting one single chosen item.
• "Furniture" especially includes trap components, enemies, recruited allies, corpses and chunks of wall.
• Speaking your true name has palpable force equivalent to the highest floor you have reached.

Dungeon Vending Machines

(donations only)

BLOOD BANK
Cures injuries but inflicts curses

RUMOUR MILL

Feed in gold or items, receive information

BAUBLES GALORE
Roll on Character Interestifier, doesn’t accept gold, only weirdness

https://paperelemental.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-sting-shop.html http://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2015/01/arrows-of-zao.html http://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-perfect-potion-list.html

New project - Crowdsourced 1d6x3d20 dungeon designer, 293 results to go!

If you have a list of 100 rooms, then your randomly generated dungeon has (obviously) a hundred different results. This might seem like a lot, but once you've gone through thirteen rooms, the chance of having a duplicate result is over 50%. On the other hand, consider a 2d20 spark table. That's four hundred potential results, with two-fifths the work of the d100 table!

We can do better.

Down we go. Credit Grady Frederick

1d6x3d20 GYGAXIAN DUNGEON

EDIT: Is complete! In addition, there is a 3d20 table of for the original dungeon purpose, current usage and weird entrances/overall features. Go forth and... generate?

EDIT 2: In classic style, I've gone and changed the design spec just as everything was all wrapped up neatly...

That's 48 000 different rooms. Structurally, the tables are laid out in a similar manner to some other microdungeons I've made. There are six tables, selected with a d6 for each new room you explore - 1. Encounter, 2. Empty, 3. Trap, 4. Trick, 5. Travel, 6. Treasure.

1. Encounter

Things you are likely to talk to, fight, eat or run away from. Ideally, there should be some possibility of each of the previous options. The three tables are: Mindset (current behaviour/activity), Monster (evident) and [Secret] Goal (possibly not secret at all, but long-term)

2. Empty

Except not really. The sights, smells and sounds of the dungeon. In addition, there are a list of Events that are related to time passing within the dungeon.

3. Trap

Composed of a Disguise, a Trigger and an Effect. Make them suffer for exploring in a haphazard manner, or running away from a monster.

4. Trick

Things to fuck around with. Is it loot? Is it a trap? Can you tell the difference? Composed of three random tables, mostly passive but dangerous in their own right.

5. Travel

By default, there are 1-4 exits from each room you enter (the way you came in, and then one exit for each odd d20 roll). However, like all good dungeons, this one is going to be Jaquayed to shit. This result is for all the hidden paths, locked doors and staircases crisscrossing the various levels. Three tables - the Method, the Destination and a Complication.

6. Treasure

What we are all here for. Weird and bizarre and highly valuable under certain niche conditions. Two tables of loot, and one set of Complications. What, did you think it would be easy?

There's also a supplementary set of lists for the original purpose of the complex, the current usage, and a set of interesting dungeon entrances, features and layouts. Commenting is open on the Google Doc, but leave ideas here, send me comments on G+, Discord, via pigeon, on the walls of bathrooms, through dreams, whichever method of divinatory cloud manipulation you prefer etc. etc. If everyone reading this donates a single entry, we would be one entry closer to completion!