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There’s nothing like stepping inside a dungeon for the first time where you have no idea what puzzles or monsters are lying in wait for you. The first room is merely a preview of coming attractions as your heart rate rises due to the adrenaline coursing through your body. Nowhere is this more evident than a fire dungeon, where your heart rate might be high, not because of the adrenaline, but the extreme temperature.
The fire dungeon is popular in the fantasy genre, appearing in worlds like Hyrule. One reason for its popularity is due to how well-designed the variations of this kind are. Each fire dungeon you explore feels so real, it’s as if you’re really there.
How do you go about designing a fire dungeon? Fire is commonly associated with volcanoes and it comes to no surprise that a great many dungeons are found within them, either inside the crater or somewhere on their slopes. Consequently, rock is the most used material that goes into creating a fire dungeon because of the dungeon being located in a volcanic area.
The ambience of a fire dungeon goes hand-in-hand with the design. You want the hero to feel like he’s in a dangerous place with all the lava flowing around which means he ought to pay close attention to his surroundings at all times.
There’s a treasure trove of savage monsters who’ve taken residence in a fire dungeon. Many of them are capable of breathing fire which can burn someone to death in a matter of minutes and they don’t take kindly to intruders.
This is the second article in a series looking at dungeons. If you haven’t checked out our first one, I encourage you to take a look!
Diving into the Mystical World of the Forest Dungeon
Or you can see what we have on our blog page. Surely there’s something that will catch your eye!
Surely there’s more than one way you can design a fire dungeon? Just like in the forest, there’s different ways to go when it comes to the design. What you create for your story boils down to how you envision it.
Rock-based fire dungeons are the best route to take here. The reason for it is simple: it was carved into the side of a volcano. Everything you need to make it is right there. Furthermore, the rocks here are capable of withstanding immense pressure and don’t melt down during an eruption.
Just take a look at your favorite fire dungeon. You see rocks all over, from the ground all the way up to the ceiling. Rocks and fire go together very well for a dungeon found around a volcano.
Creating a dungeon in a volcanic area is fraught with risk. You have to worry about lava or falling rocks, let alone an eruption that happens with no warning whatsoever. And don’t forget about the extremely high temperature if said dungeon will be inside a volcano.
Want to go down a different path? One fundamental concept of designing a dungeon is that everything inside must make sense. When it comes to fire, this means you have to use materials that can survive being submerged in lava, otherwise you run the risk of your audience being skeptical of how your dungeon can actually exist. Sadly, not a whole many can which limits your choices.
There are some dungeons that resemble buildings like the Fire Sanctuary in Skyward Sword. The reason these work is while they’re found in the heart of a volcano, there’s no signs of damage, which signifies they were constructed using lava-resistant materials. You can feature castles or palaces like this in a volcano, as long as what’s used to build them won’t melt down when touched by lava.
With the exterior done, we move to the inside where we also add the ambience in the mix. While the interior mostly matches that of the outside in terms of design, the atmosphere determines the dungeon’s mood.
Nowhere is this more evident than the first room. When it comes to crafting a dungeon based on fire, the first room of said place has a heavier burden to carry in comparison to its forest counterpart. It has to feel both metaphorically and literally hot. You’re in a volcano, you should definitely feel the debilitating heat on your skin— unless you have the right equipment to protect you — and see some flames or lava.
The atmosphere conveys that the dungeon is one of the most dangerous places you’ve ever stepped foot in. The heat aside, the flames and lava ought to be centerpieces from beginning to end. They play a great role in setting and maintaining the dungeon’s menacing ambience, as touching either can prove fatal.
Due to the dungeon being located in a volcanic crater or just outside on its slopes, it’s hard to get to and not many people know how to get there. As such, it can become considered sacred ground. This leads to it becoming a holy site that holds some kind of significance for the select few who’ve managed to get there.
If you’re setting up a fire dungeon as a place of worship, you’ll want it to feel like a solemn place. It being located in a volcano in no way diminishes just how powerful its solemnness is. On the contrary, it actually enhances it due to how much power a volcano wields.
You want to make it as if those who manage to brave the heat to get inside feel the holiness emanating from all over. From the few adornments on the wall and ceiling to the little decorations on the tables, they’ve entered a world they know little about. They’re in a special place that only very few were fortunate enough to get in and they ought to respect it, even though it’s overrun by monsters.
One thing every dungeon has are savage beasts who roam its halls. The fire version has its fair share of monsters who’ve come to consider it their home. One disadvantage of battling them is that you have to also take into consideration where flames and lava are. The last thing you want to have happen while fighting a monster is to take a misstep and fall into lava or a large flame.
All of the brutes you encounter are perfectly capable of surviving in high temperatures. This means you already start off at a disadvantage, provided you’re not wearing heat-proof equipment. As such, every second counts for the quicker you can slay it, the better off you’ll be.
So what monsters do you expect to see in a place like this? There’s no question that flame-based creatures dominate the area. They cannot be defeated by conventional weapons since flames melt steel and wood. Only those brimming with magical power can truly these foes.
There are monsters who actually live in lava. They pose a great danger, for they like to attack from afar, knowing that their target has no way of fighting back, at least safely. Some species are vulnerable to conventional attacks like the classic bow and arrows, others require weapons with magic power to take out.
Don’t think that flame-based and lava monsters are the only ones you have to worry about when exploring a fire dungeon. There’s some actual life forms that can deal damage. One such instance is the rock monster. Even though it doesn’t need to worry about the high temperature, it can still knock you out with just one devastating punch or throw large rocks at you from afar.
Other species include lizards and bats since many lizards live in or around a volcano. These reptiles can breathe fire if they need to. As for the bats, they’re one of the most versatile (and annoying!) monsters since they can fit right in any environment no matter where.
The boss of a fire dungeon is almost always either a lizard or rock. The lizard can be a larger variant of the ones you fought through or a fearsome dragon. The rock monster is typically larger and heavier but packs a powerful wallop.
Who doesn’t love spelunking through a fire dungeon? It’s full of action and adventure with plenty of danger to boot! And at the end is a fantastic duel with the big bad of the dungeon that you’ll never forget!
The first step to craft a great fire dungeon is to decide its design. You can always go with having a rock-like design to showcase its connection with the volcano and it’ll work since it makes sense there. However, if you feel like you want to pursue something else, go for it. Just be sure to come with a great design that not only ties it in with its external surroundings but feels natural for it to be there.
After deciding the design, you need to find the right ambience that accentuates it perfectly so the dungeon leaves a positive lasting impression on your audience. Making it clear that it’s a dangerous area, what with the heat, flames, lava, and monsters is a superb way of showing the atmosphere of a fire dungeon.
One way to show the dangers of a fire dungeon is to feature many lava or fire monsters. They come in many numbers and are hard to take down — though they’re fun to fight sometimes!
If you’re developing a story that has dungeons in it, you need to have one all about fire! The atmosphere of journeying through a dungeon found inside a volcano can’t be replicated anywhere else. And there’s nothing better than fighting a dragon or gigantic lava monster in the heart of the dungeon.
Don’t you want to build a fire dungeon that makes your audience want to come back to over and over again?
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Thanks for reading this and until the next time,
Sunfire
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