Crypts of Carnage

The Crypts of Carnage is a single map created as the first in a three part series (Update: The campaign has been downsized to two quests) of quests in the Dungeons of Dread campaign. The layout of the crypt map is broken up in to four sections as you progress, they are:

Cell Block

The Cell Block This is where the criminals and spies were taken to be tortured. The various devices around this are tell the tale of a very unpleasant experience for the poor saps who were locked away here.

Morgue

The Morgue This is where those who had given in to the torture, or who were sentenced to death were taken, placed into a coffin and then taken to some unnamed grave yard, most likely in unmarked graves.

Crypt

The Crypt This is where most of the distance family and high ranking guardsmen were laid to rest. This is also where the twins were laid, separate from the rest of the royal family for their abnormal mentality.

Royal Crypt

The Royal Crypt This is where the closest members of the Royal Family where laid to rest. The Prince's chamber is a vast area risen above the rest of the crypt, most likely to signify his royalty.

Each section has a locked portcullis blocking the progression which must be unlocked by interacting with a pull chain, but before you can activate the chain, you must defeat the boss or bosses of that area. Chains are used instead of levers for the time being but will change later when they allow us to use levers.

The map consist of mostly undead of various types, most commonly skeletons and zombies. It is a fairly easy map to traverse, with a few side passages to explore. The side passages are short and mostly lead to dead ends. I recently added secret rooms, so be sure to look for them!







Because it is a dungeon crawl, the quest is very direct in giving you some objectives. The trap placement is sparse and mostly concentrated into one area with a flavor item telling you to expect them.



  




Some of the quest objectives do not allow use of the "golden trail" quest helper, this is intended to promote exploration of the areas to uncover possible hidden rooms and secret doors.




 

As this is the first of the series, and intended it to be the easier of the two, I wanted to not throw you into a scenario where you feel overwhelmed and so this map is relatively easy, compared to the ones that will follow. The final boss however has been upgraded.









This is not the only map, just the main dungeon, also in this quest is a lobby area, where you will meet Darius Red, the creator of these hellish labyrinths as well as some patrons and avid adventurers taking a break from delving into the depths beyond. The Dread Lobby is located on the Northern side of Mount Hotenow but the actual location of the crypt is kept a secret. 

The Story: 

Throughout the map there are some back story flavor items to read, they tell of the dead rising, starting in the cell block and slowly progressing through the morgue, crypt and royal crypt and how they tried to stop them from progressing but evidently failed. Although the real story doesn't take off in this quest, it will start to become more clear to you if/when you play the other quests in this campaign as well as my other campaigns. There is a larger story in the works which this quest is merely a part in the prologue of. Keep your eyes open for more information on our resident mad man, Darius Red, in the quests and campaigns to come.
 
In summary, the Crypts of Carnage should allow you to get that old pen and paper, dungeon crawl, hack and slash fix with the only objective being exploration and survival with hints of a larger back story to whet your appetite. It will evolve over time as more features are added to the Foundry, so be sure to subscribe for updates!

Rank and give feedback in game after you have played it through and let me know what you think! If you wish to discuss in more detail, you can post here or on my forum thread, I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions.

Most importantly, have fun!

-chili

To see the album of screens, click here.

3/17/13

Updates:

1. Removed the DM Apprentice from the quest objective, he is still there however but talking to him is no longer required to complete the quest.
2. Added a couple of more traps.
3. Did a complete overhaul to the final encounter(s).
4. The Skeletal Prince is now his own encounter and spawns after you defeat all of his royal guard (2 separate quests).
5. Reduced the number of skull lamps to unlock the Prince's chamber to 2 and moved them out of the cubby holes they were once in.
6. Gated off the 4 cubby holes with locked portcullis and are now just window dressing.
7. Removed the single wight in the "kill the royal guard" quest and replaced it with better effect creatures (no spoiler).
8. All the traps should now be disable...able.
9. Added another secret room with a tidbit of story flavor.
10. Added invisible wall in both lobbies blocking the abort exit unless you specifically tell Bouncer Bob that you are stuck.
11. Added more dialog to Darius (after crypt map) for inquiring minds who want to know things.
12. Added bits of story flavor around the lobby and crypt map, some of it probably will not make a ton of sense this quest but it will later if you play the campaign (and the others).
13. Added more lighting for ambiance and cool factor.
14. All interact objects should have their own names and not "Object 01".
15. When leaving the crypt and going back into the lobby, you should no longer be stuck in the floor.
16. Added a few more clutter items, specifically in the spider area(s). 

3/19/13

Updates:

1. Removed all skull lamps and replaced the lobby lamp with a portal, the final boss room lamp to return to the lobby with a portal and the abort exit near the front of the dungeon with a portal. All other "switches" have been changed to chains hanging from the ceiling.
2. Modified Darius' dialogue to give him less of a cardboard feel and more like an actual person.
3. Added more sounds, specifically to the new chain switches and portals.
4. Cleaned up some other dialogues.
5. Removed some dialogs that explained limitations of the foundry. I feel this took away from the immersion so they were removed.
6. Added a trap or two, or six.
7. Simplified Bouncer Bob's dialogue and made it more immersion friendly and changed his pre dungeon and post dungeon dialogues so they do not repeat the same things. He's still an ass though.
8. Changed a dynamic light color as it looked to not fit where it was placed as well as removed some other dynamic lights that threw the immersion off a bit. 

These updates will be in the Beta Weekend 3 Play test for all to play and give feedback for.

Enjoy!
 

Update 3/26/13

Some minor changes made after the BW3 feedback.

1. Added more torches to lighten the darker areas up a bit.
2. Changes some of the flavor items to include the Prince's name (which I did not have a name for prior to placing them).
3. Made the Skeletal Prince a tougher "boss".
4. Moved the spear trap further into the wall as to not get players stuck in it's graphic.
5. Made it easier to locate some of the objectives where previously there were no points or paths directing players to them.

A big thank you to everyone who played and commented on my quest for BW3!
Your input will make sure this and my future quests will be a much better experience for all players.

-chili

Just a minor update, we can now add music! So music is now in this map.