Let's create a dungeon with Cairn 2e - part 1

After creating a realm, a faction and a forest for my future Silksong-inspired duet campaign (I talked about how the idea came to be here) it is now time to create a dungeon that will be part of said forest.To do this I will once again use the procedure included in Cairn 2e's Warden's Guide. Let's begin!

 


We already know our dungeon will be an Abandoned Manor part of the Shrouded Shelter forest, and that somewhere in it is the place where "The Veil between worlds is thin", where the Mirror can be activated (with all its consequences). First of all, let's make a few rolls to learn more about this place!

1. Let's first roll for the HISTORY of the Manor:
-Original Use, d20: 12, Impenetrable vault
-Built by, d20: 2, A fanatical cult
This lines up with my original idea: This cult (whoever they are) built the Manor to secure the Veil; the Wizard we talked about during the forest creation might be the leader of the cult, or maybe its main researcher (and/or its frontman, if the cult is a secret one).

2. We now move to the Manor's CONSTRUCTION:
-Entrance, d20: 11, Hollow statue
-Composition, d20: 12, Marble
As I expected, because we start with an idea already in mind, this cannot be used as is, but this doesn't mean we cannot take inspiration from it: the hollow statue might be where the Veil is accessed, where the person with the Mirror needs to go to activate it. Marble as the Manor's material could be used without problems.

3. Next we roll for the Manor's RUINATION:
-Condition, d20: 5, Devoured
-Cause, d20: 2, Ancient curse
Ok, this one's interesting. The curse that "devoured" the Manor and caused it to be abandoned might also be the cause of the cult's demise. But who or what brought it upon them?

4. Let's now add a couple of DUNGEON FACTIONS opposing each other to make the dungeon more interesting; maybe they could be what remains of two groups within the cult.

I. For the first one we have:
-Goal, d20: 8, Innovation
-Obstacle, d20: 3, Cost
-Virtue, d20: 19, Unwavering
-Vice, d20: 19, Unimaginative
This is a group that wants to restore the cult, is still loyal to its original ideals (whatever they are) but doesn't know how to do it, and is not willing to pay the cost themselves (so they refuse to use the Mirror...but are surely on the look for someone doing it for them).

II. For the second one we have:
-Goal, d20: 20, Wealth
-Obstacle, d20: 17, Sacrifice
-Virtue, d20: 2, Courageous
-Vice, d20: 3, Critical
This group is more materialistic, they are opposed to the other group because of their criticism of the cult's original objectives and are more interested in using the Mirror to acquire wealth...as long as someone else makes the necessary sacrifice.

We already have a good overview of this dungeon! The next step will be to roll for the Dungeon rooms. Stay tuned to see what we'll roll for that.

This is all for this week, see you next Sunday for my next post!

May your dice never betray you,
Kirhon

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