Since I finished the third level of the dwarven dungeon ahead of schedule, I have some time to talk about a separate mega-dungeon that I have been designing. It started on January 1st, 2026, when my son, Alex, challenged me to participate in Dungeon 26. The concept is simple. Write a 365-room dungeon with the caveat that you can only create, design, and write one room a day. My response was quizzical. Am I not already writing a mega-dungeon? Why would I want to write two projects simultaneously? He responded that it would be good for me to think about something other than the dwarven dungeon, something completely different. I am not sure how splitting my time between two separate projects could be good, but my son put forth the challenge and, of course, I cannot refuse.
Then, the caveat list of one room a day grew longer. I was told that I could not map out the dungeon ahead of time. I could not jot down notes for future rooms. I could not change the rooms once they were created. What? That is crazy talk. I always map out the dungeon ahead of time. I make meticulous notes for future rooms as inspiration strikes. I constantly change things until they are perfect. If I can’t do these things, I am not sure I could write a dungeon. Ah! There’s the challenge.
So on January 1st, I sat down and started working on an 8th-level dungeon. I decided to write an homage to Gary Gygax’s Tomb of Horrors module. It would be creepy, scary, and dangerous, but unlike the tournament module Tomb of Horrors, it will not be designed to kill characters. Instead, I want to challenge and test them. Will characters die? Probably the brash and reckless ones. But those who are more strategic and careful might survive to reap the rewards.
I have created 44 rooms so far. I must admit, it has been hard for me. This style of creating dungeons is completely alien. I have flashes of inspiration where I want to sketch rooms and notes, but I am not allowed. Instead, I have to try to remember the concepts for a later date. Since it is hard for me to remember what I did yesterday, I think I will forget most of the ideas before they ever get put on paper. Even mapping is strange. I often find that maps grow organically as you create them. That is not the case when you can only map one room a day. There is no sense of organic creation, at least not for me. Don’t get me wrong. I like the map that I am building, but it is not the same as the ones I spent hours designing and tweaking.
Because the challenge forces me to focus on a single room, it made me rethink how I designed dungeons. I would normally map out the entire level and then create a certain adversary (or adversaries) as a theme or focal point. The main villain(s) would use the dungeon to their advantage by setting traps, casting spells, assigning guards, and other cunning and intelligent things (when appropriate). With this challenge, I must focus on each room being its own test. It may not sound like it, but it is an entirely different beast to me. But, a challenge is a challenge, and there are only 321 days (rooms) to go. Let’s see if I can complete my own dungeon.