Dungeon of the Forge Lords [50 x 100]

Deep 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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If you would like to support this project and get access to versions of this map for Roll20, Foundry and Print, as well as all my other maps, please consider joining us on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/morvoldpress)!

As always, I'd love to hear your comments and feedback!

[Made in Dungeondraft with some assets from Morvold Press, BMM, AoA and Gnome Factory]