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Boldly Wandering Through The World of The Castle Dungeon
Sunfire
CONTENTS
The Premise
By their nature, the dungeons scattered throughout fantasy worlds test the hero’s strength and puzzle-solving skills. Each one of them has their own set of challenges, their own set of rules that the hero must follow and conquer before he can enter the last room and fight the boss. There’s one kind of dungeon that serves as a tougher challenge than most others and that’s the castle dungeon.
This article will look at how castles are used as dungeons and it won’t focus on the types of fantasy castles which will be a future article. Using castles as dungeons is a popular trope in the genre and it works since the two fit in seamlessly. Great examples of this are the various Hyrule Castles in The Legend of Zelda series.
A castle takes up a lot of real estate, leading to the dungeon inside taking quite a bit of time to successfully complete. There’s many rooms and multiple floors which means designing this will be time-consuming. However, all that work is worth it, for in the end, you’ll have constructed a magnificent dungeon that stands the test of time.
The castle is where the reigning monarch lives. As such, it ought to feel like a place only royalty can live in. You’re surrounded by the trappings of power, exemplified by all the ornate furniture, fancy paintings depicting important figures, and extravagant doors. A sense of opulence permeates the area.
It wouldn’t be a dungeon if there were no enemies. When it comes to the castle, there’s two key sets of enemies. You have those associated with a castle like guards whereas the other is monsters who’ve moved in and are causing mayhem.
This is the sixth article in a series assessing the different types of dungeons. More articles can be found on our blog page.
Grand Castle Dungeons
The castle serves as a seat of power, not just for the royal family, but for the nobility as well. As such, its design should be grand and elegant. However, there are so many different castle styles, it’s hard to keep track of. Use a style that not only works for you, but fits right in the area where you put it.
A castle dungeon can be found anywhere on land (or even the sky or underwater!). Popular locations for such a place consist of sitting atop a hill, carved into the mountain or atop a plateau. Other great spots are low-lying areas like nearby a beach or the center of a tropical island. There’s really no place where you can’t have one!
When designing a castle dungeon, there are several things you need to keep in the back of your mind. Firstly, it should have towers of some kind. Secondly, have some battlements or crenellations. Thirdly, have more than one floor (basement included).
One great advantage of using a castle for a dungeon is that you can easily see it from far away. It commands your attention, making you want to go there, even though you may not be strong enough to venture inside and go through the dungeon.
Most of the time, the castle is abandoned, which leads to disrepair. Over time, nature reclaims it, leading to more vegetation growing on the outer walls and the outside grounds. Stone blocks crumble, leaving open holes in the wall. You can use this to create a dungeon that’s decaying which makes traversing a tad more treacherous than usual.
The Regality of the Castle Dungeon
Once you’ve designed the castle exactly the way you want it, now you must create the ambience of the dungeon. When using a castle as a dungeon, the audience expects a regal-like ambience inside to match. You’re exploring a place that either serves as a seat of power or once did and its atmosphere should have a grand-like feel to it.
First impressions count a great deal and the first room of the castle dungeon gives the audience a preview of what to expect as they make their way through the castle. Take as much time as you need to find the right tone so you can establish it in this room and the rest of the dungeon.
The regal-like ambience of the castle dungeon seeps all over, from the dusty stone bricks on the wall to the expansive rugs that take up a lot of space on the cool, marble floor. You feel like you’re in a place that belongs to a powerful, wealthy family.
You can add a twist to the atmosphere to make the castle dungeon a more interesting place to explore. One superb way is to go with that of a crumbling castle. Show parts of a wall that’s long since fallen to the ground, pillars that held up a floor lying on the ground, broken into large pieces.
The ambience of a castle falling to ruin is a poignant story to tell. It tells the audience that it was once a great place where royalty lived. Sprinkle clues gradually throughout the dungeon that reveal why and how the castle became the way it is now.
A castle dungeon in decay only increases the dangers of traversing through such a place. Besides fending off the monsters who’ve snuck in through the exposed walls and floors, you have to worry about whether a part will fall on you. You have to be alert to your surroundings since anything could happen at anytime.
Strong Enemies
A castle dungeon is one of the most fortified places in a kingdom. Unlike many other dungeons that have a variety of enemies, the castle brings with it two major, distinct groups of enemies. Sometimes both groups come into conflict with each other, other times they get along just swimmingly.
The first group is those you expect to see in a castle. You have soldiers and guards whose duty is to protect it from intruders. Other types consist of archers and chemists who attack from afar and who brew dangerous chemicals to toss at unwanted guests.
In some cases, this group can fall prey to sorcery and witchcraft, becoming mindless puppets who serve the villain. They attack their master’s foes and work to eliminate all resistance. They’re more dangerous than usual simply because they’ve been corrupted and are no longer human.
The second group of enemies you come across in a castle dungeon is monsters who’ve moved in. The beasts you encounter vary from place to place but they’re there at their dark master’s request. The villain dispatched his minions to wreak havoc and to weaken it from within, making it easier to take when he makes his move.
Monsters you’re likely to fight are members of the villain’s army. This includes his grunt and elite soldiers plus evil sorcerers. Other vicious savages consist of those who can fly and those who can swim underwater. They’re designated to ensure that the big bad obtain and maintain control of the castle dungeon.
At the end of a castle dungeon is a powerful boss, one stronger than all the monsters you battled throughout. The boss can be a sorcerer who can disappear and appear at will to confound you, a great armored monster, or an expert swordsman. There’s no shortage to what you can designate as the boss of this dungeon!
Tying it all Together
A castle dungeon is an interesting place to traverse. You’re making your way through the hallowed hallways of one of a kingdom’s most important places, regardless if it’s the current seat of power or one that’s lost its splendor.
One of the greatest advantages of using a castle as a dungeon is how much potential there is when it comes to designing it. It works great in any environment, whether it’s the blazing-hot desert or frigid tundra. There’s also many different ways to stylize it so develop one that feels natural to the area it’ll be in.
The typical ambience of a castle dungeon is one of regality. It’s important to make the audience feel like they’re in a place where royalty lives in or lived there once. Feature extravagant furniture, elegant tapestry and rugs, and so on. You want the audience to see why royals would live there.
Many kinds of enemies populate the castle dungeon’s halls and rooms. You have those like soldiers and archers who diligently work to protect it. Unfortunately, the servants of evil have also permeated it and they’re scheming to prevent the hero from freeing it from their master’s clutches.
A castle dungeon is a great showpiece to use in a story where dungeons play a major role. You get to tell a tale you can’t tell anywhere else. It also gives you the chance to show the audience something different, so capitalize on this opportunity to do something that truly makes it stand out.
Don’t you want to craft a castle dungeon that not only tells an amazing story but makes your audience wish it was real so they could go there themselves?
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Thanks for reading this and until the next time,
Sunfire
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