Frayed Knights: Dungeon Guidebook
Since we're back in the saddle again, I wanted to continue the more-or-less weekly discussion of the humorous indie RPG in development, Frayed Knights...

One of the more fun tasks I get to do when working on this game is the world design. When I'd take walks during lunch at the local park, jamming to really weird music and fantasy movie soundtracks on my iPod, I'd actually think of world design elements in the form of written travel guides. Yes, if you needed any more confirmation of my mental instability, this is it.

Anyway, I've written a couple of them up, and I expect them to find their way into Frayed Knights as actual in-game items (or as part of an instruction supplement). Here's the one on dungeons, which I have been promising for a while, and which has been guiding some of my thoughts the last two weeks.

These guidebooks were written by one of the most famous adventurers still living, Argus Stormhammer, the founder of the Adventurer's Guild. He wrote a whole series of pamphlet-sized guidebooks about a decade ago, and they are now considered essential reading for all adventurers.


“Dungeon” is a generic term for any underground adventuring location. As any veteran fortune-hunter knows, Kalderia – in fact, all of Zerion – is absolutely cluttered with these places. Where did they all come from? What beneficent god sprinkled these lovely caches of fortune and excitement ripe for our plucking all over the landscape of our fair kingdom?

Well, a good number – a majority, in fact – are simply naturally occurring caves or lairs of subterranean monsters. But to understand the rest – which are usually the most lucrative – one must understand history. History is the friend of the fortune-hunter, and it will serve us here.

About five hundred years ago as of this writing, the entire world was engulfed in the great Wizard War. Before that time, above-ground castles and towers were still in vogue – as they are returning to, now. But the wizards had air-power. Nepharides himself was rumored to lead an entire squadron of fire-breathing dragons. Traditional castles which seemed impregnable from the ground might as well roll out the red carpet when the hordes of winged monkeys, dragons, flying demons, and magic-carpet-riding wizards came to invade.

The solution was to burrow underground. The best dwarven engineers were enlisted to design and construct massive underground complexes to supplement or replace above-ground fortresses. Even after the war, a grand underground fortress was a status symbol amongst the wealthy and noble, and fantastic sums of money were paid for the design and construction of everything from small country cottages under forested hills, to entire underground cities.

While the dwarves were happy to oblige, they simply couldn’t keep up with the demand. Their fees were tremendous, and the waiting time began to stretch into generations. Eventually, more cost-conscious developers began hiring cut-rate help… including goblin engineers.

Now, while there are many skilled goblins at this sort of work, they weren’t always the most reputable. Many would turn around and double their money by selling the secrets of their designs to the enemies of their rich clients. Non-dwarves sometimes skimped on things like ventilation. That, or dungeon-owners would forget the population limits on their fortresses, and would host a few too many guests, or have a few too many babies. Then, before you could say, “Why is this canary dead?” entire dungeons became depopulated and forgotten.

Dungeon Delving
Now, most adventurers will brag in their tavern tales of fierce monsters and deadly traps faced in their underground forays. These threats are considerable, and I have lost many friends to these dangers over the years. I talk about them in other pamphlets. But there is another threat when deep underground, and that is bad air. There may be pockets of bad or toxic air in some of the poorer-quality mines, caves, or fortresses which may not be apparent to you until you start getting dizzy and passing out. There are magic items and spells (like one the wizards call “clean air”) to help you with that.

Water is a large threat as well. It’s usually very cold, which is bad enough, but it is also good at concealing dangerous drop-offs. And monsters. And traps. A potion of fish-breath is a handy item to keep around just in case the water surprises you with its depth.

Just because you have heard that such-and-such a dungeon has already been looted by other adventurers, don’t assume it is useless to you. It may still be a lucrative expedition for three reasons:

#1 – Many complexes that protect considerable wealth employ a false treasure room designed specifically to be more obvious of a target. The real treasure is often much harder to find. Many treasure-hunters find the false treasure, call the day a success, and leave a now-depopulated dungeon with far more wealth unprotected behind them.

#2 – Larger underground complexes were often home to a number of wealthy individuals who maintained (and hid) their own personal treasures in places other than the main treasure room. I once found a diamond necklace hidden in a cranny beneath a loose stone in complex that had been thoroughly explored by no less than three different adventuring parties.

#3 – Unless well hidden, shelters such as these seldom remain uninhabited for long. If more than a couple of years have passed since a dungeon was last explored, there’s always a chance it could have accumulated new residents – often of the lethal and hungry sort – and new treasures.

#4 – While some consider it unsavory, there is always the possibility of the types of finds euphemistically referred to as “secondhand” treasure. I know that if I were to meet my own demise in the bowels of a dungeon – a danger I have faced thousands of times – my spirit would rest easier should my array of expensive and magical gear find its way to serve another adventurer in need, even if only to provide extra coin to hoist a mug of ale to my memory in a nearby tavern.

Dungeon Classification
You may sometimes hear fellow adventurers talking about a “Bagger” or a “Lair” or a “Class C” when talking about dungeons. Fortune-hunters, over time, have evolved a classification system when speaking of their finds. Here is the most common usage of these terms:

Class A Dungeon: Also referred to as a “stronghold,” this an underground complex populated by intelligent, cooperative enemies capable of mounting an organized defense. These are among the most dangerous of dungeons, and are for experienced, combat-ready fortune-hunters only!

Class B Dungeon: Also referred to as a “lair,” this is an underground structure populated by threats incapable of mounting an organized defense together. For example, a dungeon inhabited only by unintelligent monsters, or by intelligent creatures that do not cooperate with each other to defend it might be a class B dungeon.

Class C Dungeon: A class C dungeon is one that lacks a living population, but is likely to contain automated defenses such as traps, automatons (including golems and certain sorts of undead), or incidental hazards (like hostile molds).

Class D Dungeon: Also referred to as a “bagger,” this is a dungeon with no known protection other than its obscurity or possible environmental hazards.

Now, bear in mind that this usage isn’t universal. Some adventuring groups combine the meaning of class C and D dungeons, for example, so you should always double-check your source to make sure you fully understand what they are referring to.

Until next time, keep your sword and mine sharp, and good hunting!

--- Argus Stormhammer, Veteran Explorer and Fortune-Hunter


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