Help me build a dungeon.

>>52255995
Why hasn't it been looted already?

>>52256219
The path to the temple is extremely hazardous and rumoured to be haunted by undead. Also, it's neatly situated in a "no-go" region, where nobody goes. But, the PCs get to go there for a month, due to a tournament.

Basically it's just really far and dangerous (a cursed swamp is also on the path to the temple)

>>52256277
So why was the temple in such a sucky place.?

(I'm not trying to poke holes at your scenario, I just think answering these questions will answer a lot of the questions you want answered in due course.)

>>52256315
The place used to be populated a couple of centuries ago. Sadly, as the people left and the territory became cursed, the remaining people were forced to leave. It would also keep out looters, the natural hazards.

>>52256333
Why are the characters going there? Is it a mission? Did they just hear about a place to adventure? Did they stumble upon the secret lost safe route? Etc.

>>52256387
It's an annual tournament that takes place in the small capital kingdom. Every year the tournament is different, sometimes arena combat, sometimes a quest, etc. This is the first time they've sent groups of adventurers out to retrieve the chalice. Also the first time that temple would be looted.

>>52256413
So there is an assumption that the chalice exists.

Odd tournament. Maybe the tournament is bogus? Just a trick to get adventurers to go do the dirty work for free and bring back the special cool thing.

>>52256436
This. Even if I were in the tournament I would be expecting this. The first time we can look the temple? The king/church have clearly been replaced with Cthulhu.

>>52256436
>>52256466
Quite accurate. It's a test for an organization to find suitable subjects, but it's also a clever way to retrieve a lost relic.

Also, this campaign aims to be as retro/generic as possible, like the old modules for AD&D.

No encounter should exceed CR2, and the loot shouldn't be something insane. The chalice itself is already a magical item, but I want to use this place to give the players some much needed weak magic items.

+1 weapon, boots of elvenkind, scrolls, rings, armor and such.

>>52256548
>>52256548
Will, the obvious bad guy here would the guy for whom the tomb was built. He could be some sort of undead knight at this point. He could be sentient and perhaps capable of defeating the party easily - but maybe he is willing to talk. Heck, he could even be non-evil and just odd.

The real thing here would be to make the other 'teams' the main problem. Some compete 'nice', some 'cheat' by trying to screw other teams over, and perhaps one on par with the players are true dicks and launch an ambush with intent to kill.

I would suggest making the dungeon more of huge maze than a smaller dangerous place. Give multiple teams space to spread out and be encountered. Role play that 'nice' team that the party meets that has had a hard time and just wants to get out. That sort of thing.

>>52256862
That was my original intention, making the dungeon a maze, but alas I was told by a friend that it would take too many sessions in the dungeon.

I did have the exact same idea that you did, an undead knight's tomb! Named Amalyth, an elf warrior. Also, his terracotta golems (basically just empty husks of clay filled with skeletons) will wander the tomb, guarding it.

As for the groups, there are a total of 5 already planned. Each consists of 5 members.

1 - main PCs + a barbarian who betrays them in the end.
2 - a rich, cocky noble and his mercenaries, they die quite brutally.
3 - generic main character party that has it's own arc.
4 - a party of random members, one of them is a secret necromancer who plans on killing his teammates and resurrecting them.
5 - a group of elves who look evil but are actually very kind hearted. They need the relic so they could return it to their village.

Any more group ideas are very welcome, too.

where is the spike pit

>>52257617
>spike pit
>poison dart trap
>literal hole in the ground

Most basic traps in all D&D history.
But, even basic traps are welcome.