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Dungeon of the Forge Lords Map Pack [50 x 100]!
🕑 Added 2021-06-05 05:26:28 +0000 UTCDeep beneath the mountain, along a lonesome track of the dwarven-carved Deep Roads lay the entrance to the Master Forge. Dedicated to the study and craftsmanship of precious metals and runes of power, the [3] Forge Lords are among the few in the world capable of forging weapons and items of great power. They spend their days researching, refining and honing their craft, often spending several years upon a particular item once they've decided how to proceed.
In support of the Master Forge are a small contingent of soldiers, merchants and craftsmen that upkeep the Forge, conduct business with Forge-crafted materials, treat with the other dwarven cities and defend the forge against outside attackers.
Little did they expect the attackers to come from...inside.
Weeks ago, a massive quake shook the earth and sundered the Great Hall, exposing the forge to a shadowy host of creatures and a malevolent entity bent on assuming control of the Forge. Setting about the enslavement of the southern-based dwarves and the Forge Lords, the entity has taken control of its many chambers and set into motion plans to use the Master Forge for its own nefarious plans.
A small contingent of dwarven survivors linger northside, desperately hoping to retake the Forge and rescue their brethren, but a strange darkness gnaws at their resolve. None of the volunteers that traveled south across a makeshift bridge have returned, and a faction of the remaining survivors has since split and moved into the Throne Room to the east, closing themselves off from the others.
To make matters worse, shadowy creatures - eight-legged nightmares have made several attempts to infiltrate the northern side and steal dwarves away, dragging several sentries back across the bridge to an unknown fate.
While reinforcements have been requested, the dwarves fear for both the preservation of their knowledge and the lives of their living treasures, the Forge Lords.
Will the timely arrival of an eager party give them a glimmer of hope?
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I set out building this dungeon map with the intent to explore the idea of crafting a dungeon. I wanted to answer questions that commonly surround a dungeon -- "Who built it?" -- "Who used to live here?" -- "What happened?" -- "What lives here now, and why?" -- "Why would people still want to come here?" -- "Why don't people come here anymore?"
This map represents Phase 1 of that exploration.
I wanted to create a living, breathing community with a specific purpose and then introduce the first stage of its potential collapse. Encountering the dungeon at this stage will present a different feel, different challenges and different goals than encountering it a year from now, or 10 years from now or 100 years from now.
I plan to make another version, down the road, that may be the 10 years from now version, assuming that dwarven efforts failed to retake the Master Forge. It might better resemble what some people think of when they envision a "dungeon" -- dark, damp, forgotten, dusty, but filled with potential knowledge and treasure.
To do that, however, I felt it was important to make what came before, so that such a place would feel like it had a history and a purpose, and wasn't just a collection of rooms designed for the purpose of holding traps and monsters.
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I hope you guys enjoy this map, and I will also likely create a write up and labeled version, since I know there's a lot to digest here. Tier Rewards will be sent out shortly!
As always, I'd love to hear your comments and feedback!
[Made in Dungeondraft with some assets from Morvold Press, BMM, AoA, Geordie_laForge and Gnome Factory]
![Dungeon of the Forge Lords Map Pack [50 x 100]!](https://img10.leaqio.com/storage/9/gc/ty/9e04c0-019e8eeb-8336-767e-a385-57518780f1a1.jpg)
![Dungeon of the Forge Lords Map Pack [50 x 100]!](https://img10.leaqio.com/storage/7/nc/du/9e04c0-019e8eeb-833c-71c5-bd27-f06c95d74915.jpg)
Comments
Jeff Todd
I don't always have a write up for places, BUT in this case, I have a YouTube video walking through the map and talking about some design choices, but also the basic function of the various rooms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTNcKwW13D4
Coach Anne
Hello! I'm new here, but loving these maps! Is there documentation someplace about what each of the rooms in the Dungeon of the Dwarven Forge Lords represents?
Jeff Todd
Hey Wokeye27! Thanks! At SOME point, I will return to this map and alter it to be a much older dungeon, where all of the dwarves are long since dead/fled and everything has had a chance to decay and become a more permanent home to the evil that emerged from the crevasse. This was my attempt to portray a dungeon in its early form. Because dungeons SHOULD be living, breathing places that existed before becoming ruined and forgotten places.
Wokeye27
Hi Jeff, this map is ace! Is there a 'dungeon' variant made as you mention above? I'd love to send my loot pigs into a long-abandoned version of this map! :)
