Skip to content

Dungeon Crawl

Dungeon Crawl

Procedural dungeon exploration

Dungeon Crawl

Enter a dungeon:
  Go to a dungeon location (sewers, mines, crypt) and
  type 'enter dungeon' or 'explore' to begin a crawl.

Exploration:
  Move through the grid with N/S/E/W. Each tile may
  contain creatures, loot, traps, or rest spots.

Encounters:
  Creatures spawn as you explore deeper. Fight them
  or 'flee' to escape combat. Items drop on the ground
  — use 'take all' to collect your loot.

Boss:
  Each zone has a boss encounter at the boss lair tile,
  found at the far edge of the zone.

Exit:
  'leave zone' or 'retreat' to exit and keep
  your loot. Reaching the edge also lets you leave.

Zones (easiest to hardest):
  Sewer Tunnels       Rats and spiders beneath Ghelmyon
  Goblin Mines        Goblin warrens in Darkhollow
  Haunted Crypt       Undead in the catacombs
  Enchanted Forest    Wolves and bandits in Thornwood
  Thornwood Swamp     Venomous creatures in the bog
  Deep Thornwood      Fey-touched ancient forest (deadly)

Commands:
  enter dungeon      Enter the dungeon crawl
  N/S/E/W            Move through the grid
  flee               Escape combat
  take all           Collect dropped loot
  leave zone         Exit the dungeon
  /dungeon           Show your run stats
  /inv, /stats       Check inventory and stats

Topics:
  ?dungeon biomes      Available biomes
  ?dungeon encounters  Encounter types
  ?dungeon ice         Ice Caverns biome
  ?dungeon barrow      Thornwood Barrow biome
  ?dungeon undercroft  Millhaven Undercroft biome
  ?dungeon sewers      The Sewers beneath Ghelmyon
  ?dungeon commands    Dungeon-specific commands

Dungeon — Biomes

Available dungeon biomes

Dungeon — Biomes

Each dungeon entrance can roll one of several biomes.
The biome determines enemies, NPCs, and atmosphere.

Biomes:
  Enchanted Forest   Wolves, spiders, druids
  Shadow Realm       Wraiths, shades, spectral beings
  Infernal Depths    Fire imps, magma serpents, lava
  Thornwood Barrow   Undead, root golems, curses
  Ice Caverns        Frost wraiths, trolls, blizzards
  Undercroft         Smugglers, river dead, pale folk

Entrance  ->  Possible Biomes
  Sewers              4 sewer layers
  Mines               Fire, Shadow, Ice Caverns
  Ruins               Forest, Fire, Shadow, Ice Caverns
  Sunken Mines        Fire, Shadow, Ice Caverns
  Thornwood Barrow    Barrow (curse stacking)
  Undercroft          Smuggler tunnels (Millhaven)

Dungeon — Encounters

Types of dungeon encounters

Dungeon — Encounters

Combat     Fight enemies (Str/Con/Dex checks)
Puzzle     Riddles and logic (correct answer wins)
Social     NPC interaction (Cha/Str/trade)
Chance     Random outcomes (treasure or trap)
Trap       Avoid hazards (Dex/Con checks)
Rest       Safe zone (heal, search)
Shrine     Cleanse a curse (Barrow only)
Boss       Final encounter at max depth

Difficulty scales with depth. Deeper = harder
checks and more damage on failure.

At depth 6, you face the biome boss.

Dungeon — Thornwood Barrow

The cursed burial mound in Thornwood

Thornwood Barrow

An ancient burial mound deep in the Thornwood forest.
Root-choked corridors, bone altars, and fungal gardens.

Unique mechanic — CURSE STACKING:
  - Trap encounters may apply a curse (-5 to a stat)
  - Up to 5 curses can stack simultaneously
  - Shrine encounters can cleanse one curse
  - The boss (The Green King) grows stronger
    with more active curses (above 3)
  - Exit with curses = temporary stat penalty

Enemies:
  Barrow Wight      Undead warrior, life drain
  Root Golem        Plant construct, slow regen
  Corpse Wasp       Venomous insect swarm
  Forest Specter    Incorporeal, fear aura
  Bone Crawler      Mass of fused skeletons

Boss: The Green King
  Skeletal druid lord wrapped in living vines.
  Heals from curse stacks — cleanse before fighting!

Loot: Ancient weapons, druidic reagents, bone materials.
Access: Deep in Thornwood. Requires Verdathi trust
        or ranger escort to discover.

Dungeon — Ice Caverns

Frozen caves beneath the mountains

Ice Caverns

Frozen tunnels carved by ancient glaciers, now home
to frost-touched creatures and bitter cold.

Unique hazards:
  - Icicle traps (Dex/Per checks)
  - Frozen doors requiring Str to breach
  - Blizzard encounters with visibility loss
  - Ice bridges over crevasses

Enemies:
  Frost Wraith       Incorporeal, life drain
  Glacial Troll      Slow regen, fire-weak
  Ice Spider         Pack hunter, poison
  Snow Stalker       Ambush predator, stealthy
  Frozen Revenant    Undead, cold-immune

Boss: Glacier Wyrm
  Ancient ice dragon. Three approaches:
  Str (brute force), Con (endure), Per (weak spot).

Loot: Frost salves, ice shards, glacial steel,
      permafrost amulets, frostweave cloaks.
Access: Mines, Ruins, or Sunken Mines entrances.

Dungeon — Millhaven Undercroft

Smuggler tunnels beneath Millhaven

Millhaven Undercroft

Smuggler tunnels beneath Millhaven, connecting the
Salt Cellar to the underground river. Brick passages
give way to pre-Millhaven stonework.

Stealth-favored — many encounters reward sneaking
over fighting. Social encounters with smugglers.

Enemies:
  Smuggler Guard     Stiletto-armed thug, calls help
  Giant River Rat    Bloated vermin, disease bite
  Tunnel Viper       Venomous, quick strike
  Drowned One        Waterlogged undead, chilling grasp
  Pale Folk          Eyeless deep dweller, ambush

Boss: The Ferryman
  Undead river pilot on an ancient stone barge.
  Three approaches: fight on the barge (Str),
  destroy the lantern (Per), or negotiate (Cha).

Loot: River pearls, smuggler gear, stilettos,
      tunnel runner boots, ferryman's equipment.
Access: Through the Deep Cellar beneath Millhaven.
        Requires discovering the Salt Mothers' tunnel.

Dungeon — The Sewers

5-layer sewer dungeon beneath Ghelmyon

The Sewers — Ghelmyon's Underbelly

A 5-layer descent beneath the Warren district.
Layer 0 is survivable for beginners. Each layer
gets progressively harder.

LAYERS:
  Layer 0: Upper Tunnels    Rats, roaches, easy
  Layer 1: Pale Hand Turf    Smugglers, guard dogs
  Layer 2: The Drowning      Undead, leeches, water hazards
  Layer 3: Deep Passages     Elementals, constructs, shades
  Layer 4: The Depths        Bosses, the worst of the worst

ENTRANCES:
  Drainage pipe — one-way from Marta's tavern cellar
    (crawl through the pipe to reach layer 0)
  Main entrance — Warren district (two-way)

EXPRESS ACCESS:
  On return visits, if you've reached deeper layers,
  you can skip directly to layer 1 or 2 based on
  your deepest reached. Saves time on repeat runs.

SEWER SICKNESS:
  Non-Twins mercs are debuffed in the sewers:
    Warriors/Paladins/Clerics: -30% HP
    Other classes: -18% HP, -25% mana
  The Wrecking Crew (Kash & Renn) are immune —
  they grew up in these tunnels.

KEY CREATURES:
  Sewer Rat       HP 18-25    Layer 0-1 (fodder)
  Giant Cockroach HP 12-18    Layer 0   (fodder)
  Pale Hand Thug  HP 35-55    Layer 1-2 (standard)
  Drowned Zombie   HP 45-65    Layer 2-3 (standard)
  Water Elemental  HP 70-95    Layer 3   (dangerous)
  Sewer King       HP 175-225  Layer 4   (boss)
  Pale Mother      HP 150-200  Layer 4   (boss)
  Drowned Oracle   HP 150-200  Layer 4   (boss)

TIPS:
  - Bring health potions. Rest spots are rare.
  - The Wrecking Crew (Kash & Renn) are the best
    mercs for sewers — no sewer sickness penalty.
  - Layer 0 is safe for fresh characters.
  - Watch for traps — base damage scales with layer.
  - The drainage pipe from the cellar is one-way.
    Use the main entrance for return trips.

See also: ?mercs, ?combat, ?potions

Dungeon — Commands

Commands available in dungeons

Dungeon — Commands

Inside the dungeon> prompt:

  1, 2, 3            Pick a numbered choice
  <keyword>          Match a choice by text
  look / l           Re-display current node
  retreat / flee     Exit (keep loot so far)
  back               Pop to previous node
  use <item>         Use potion or consumable
  /inv               Check inventory
  /stats, ss         Check stats and HP
  /help, ?           Access help system

On death: wake at entrance with half loot.
On victory: keep all loot + boss reward.