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Dungeon Journal

Anatomy of a dungeon

An authoring blueprint for places, encounters, and the stories between them.

Draft template

Draft template — not official rules. This entry provides authoring prompts until approved TotV content is supplied.

Identity & atmosphere

Authoring prompt: give the dungeon a name, theme, premise, and visual identity. This is a template, not a playable or canonical dungeon.

Layout & progression

Authoring prompt: document floors, room connections, branching decisions, and any generation rules. Distinguish possible layouts from one specific generated run.

Encounters & discoveries

Authoring prompt: add encounter objectives, mechanics, lore, and optional spoiler-marked discoveries. Link shared concepts to the reference library.

Earned ascension

Authoring prompt: frame arrival on a higher floor as evidence of overcoming the Trial below. Preserve the ceremonial, monumental, demanding tone. Repeated failures are part of the Trial, not inherently narrative stagnation; distinguish the lessons created by adversity from an individual boss’s intentions.

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