dungeon-core.md 2.6 KB
name: Dungeon Core id: dungeon-core language: en chapterTypes: ["Strategy", "Adventurer POV", "Setup", "Transition", "Payoff"] fatigueWords: ["delve", "tapestry", "testament", "intricate", "pivotal", "vibrant", "comprehensive", "nuanced", "embark", "foster", "underscore", "bolstered", "crucial"] numericalSystem: true powerScaling: false eraResearch: false pacingRule: "Alternate dungeon POV (planning/building) with adventurer POV (exploration/combat) every 1-2 chapters. Expansion milestone every 5-8 chapters." satisfactionTypes: ["Trap Success", "Floor Expansion", "Minion Evolution", "Adventurer Defeated", "Resource Milestone", "Core Upgrade"]
auditDimensions: [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,24,25,26]
Genre Prohibitions
- Dungeon leaving its location — immobility is the core constraint, not a bug
- No consequence for poor trap design or weak minions — adventurers must punish strategic failure
- Overemphasis on adventurer POV (>70%) — this is dungeon core, not dungeon crawl
- Lone-wolf dungeon with zero NPC dialogue or relationships
- Resource management without scarcity — dungeon must make meaningful choices between defense, expansion, and treasure
- Dungeon core invulnerable or never at risk — core vulnerability is the central tension
Non-Human POV Rules
- Establish dungeon's sensory and cognitive limitations clearly — it "feels" through mana flows, vibrations, minion senses
- Split POV works best: dungeon core chapters (strategic, omniscient within dungeon) alternating with adventurer/NPC chapters (ground-level human perspective)
- Dungeon may think differently: slower consciousness, different time perception, alien emotional range
- Dungeon learns about the outside world through adventurers, scouts, or other filtered means
- Show the dungeon learning and adapting: "Adventurers bypassed arrow trap by..." leads to next iteration improvements
Pacing Guidance
- Early: Simple dungeon (3-4 rooms, basic traps, weak monsters). Dungeon learns the system
- Mid: Expanding territory, specialized rooms, sophisticated trap combinations, creature breeding
- Late: Sprawling complex, hundreds of minions, political relationships with other dungeons/factions, regional economic impact
- Dungeon POV chapters (2-3k words): internal monologue, planning, resource management, strategy
- Adventurer POV chapters (2-3k words): exploration, discovery, combat, adaptation
- End dungeon chapters on suspense (adventurers approaching); end adventurer chapters revealing dungeon's plan
- Each room/trap/creature must feel purposeful — readers enjoy creative dungeon design with clear strategic reasoning