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Dungeons come in a wide variety of flavors. Some are easy, taking a relatively short time to complete whereas others are time-consuming and have a bevy of tasks to do before vanquishing the boss. These flavors come with their own aesthetics, which enables them to carve out their own niche in a ever-growing field of dungeons that grow yearly. One such is the sand dungeon.
Found exclusively in the desert, the sand dungeon revolves around manipulating sand to navigate its many corridors, much like its water brethren. Shifting sand from one place to another opens up new routes previously closed off, which leads to more backtracking. In extreme cases, you have to move the sand back to where it was first so that the road to the boss is open.
The sand dungeon features several major architectural designs that reference the desert and make it blend in perfectly with its immediate surroundings. A benefit of using them is that these designs are visually appealing. Furthermore, they’re easy to see from afar and seeing it from from a distance only spurs you to want to get there so you can investigate every nook and cranny.
Inside, you’re greeted with a memorable ambience. From the moment you first step in the sand dungeon, a feeling of unease sets in your heart as if you’re about to discover something that should be left alone and for good reason. The atmosphere is heavily inspired by the world just outside the dungeon, making it similarly dangerous.
Many enemies of the desert can be found in the sand dungeon. It’s because the dungeon serves as their home base, their place to seek refuge from the blazing heat of the sun or the chilly winds that blow in the nighttime. These creatures are not to be taken lightly, for they can cause grievous damage in a number of of seconds.
This is the seventh in a series focusing on the various dungeons. If you want to read more, you can find them on our blog page.
Due to it being solely located in the desert, designing a sand dungeon is more tricky than others. Firstly, you have to come up with a design that won’t sink into the sand for a very long time. Secondly, you have to use materials that are heat-resistant, otherwise you run the risk of them melting down or being damaged from the heat.
Fortunately, several architectural styles were created that largely renders many of these issues moot. They also give them a look that’s largely desert-inspired and can’t be replicated in any other environment. These styles, coupled with it being difficult to copy them to use somewhere else, help make the sand dungeon one of the most exciting places to explore.
The first major style is the pyramid. Pyramids are an unique feature of the desert, appearing in many fantasy worlds. Their great size is perfect to put a full dungeon based off on sand in, since you can see them from afar.
Many interesting rock formations are scattered throughout the desert. While some are small, others are tall enough to where you can convert it to a sand dungeon. This style is interesting in that the dungeon becomes a fusion of rock and sand. As a bonus, you can design the dungeon in a way that takes advantage of the rock’s unique shape!
The third architectural style is using a building found within the confines of a desert as the site of the sand dungeon. This can be a preexisting castle, fortress, or another large building like a temple or cathedral. With the desert only having very few massive buildings, these structures stand out easily amid the desolate landscape.
The atmospheric interior of the sand dungeon reflects what’s outside it: harsh with danger lurking at every step. This ambience, coupled with the crazy amount of enemies to fight and the many puzzles to solve, make this place one of the best to explore.
When you enter the sand dungeon for the first time, you feel a tension in the air. There’s something not right in this place though you have no idea what it is. Taking a cursory glance in the first room, you recognize that this place is awash in danger and that you must tread cautiously if you wish to unveil the mystery of what’s wrong here.
Sand is associated with secrets. Many secrets of the desert are buried in the sand and only those armed with the right clues can find them. The same applies to the sand dungeon where in some places, the sand hides invaluable treasure. Said treasure can be priceless jewels, a clue needed to solve the dungeon’s main puzzle, or vicious monsters lying in wait.
While the sand dungeon is an extension of the desert when it comes to the atmosphere, one trait it also shares with the world just outside it is that it encourages exploration. It being a dangerous place means you can’t stay in one place too long. You have to keep moving on, despite knowing that danger is lurking around the corner.
The danger-filled environment of the sand dungeon is shown by the massive amount of sand you have no choice but to walk on. But you simply can’t stand still on the sand, for you’ll begin to sink into it. As if that wasn’t bad enough, you have to worry about quicksand which is all over and can cost you everything.
The tense-filled ambience of the sand dungeon keeps you on your toes from beginning to end. You have very few areas where you can catch your breath and make your next move. This tension pushes you forward which can make for riveting drama for the audience as you have to keep moving ever forward.
The creatures of the desert burrow into the sand dungeon to seek respite from the heat during the day or the cold during the night. And said creatures are exceptionally dangerous, capable of taking someone down with relative ease. To make matters worse, many of them can hide under the sand and pounce with nary a moment’s notice upon their unsuspecting prey.
One particularly nasty monster is the scorpion. Native to the desert, this arachnid-like beast can be found just about anywhere in the sand dungeon whether it be in its depths, under the sand, or on the ceiling. It uses its tail, which is laced with poison, to weaken its target before moving in for the kill.
Another vicious denizen is the sand-worm. A large variant of the worm, the sand-worm primarily dwells under the sand in the desert and the sand dungeon. The sand-worm can dart out from under the sand to attack its prey or try to wrap itself around its target much like a snake to drag it under.
While the scorpion and sand-worm are vicious monsters, there’s one far more cruel than them: the cobra snake. This serpent lives in the desert and can also be found in the sand dungeon. The cobra snake is merciless when it comes to killing. It has a choice of either strangling its target with its long body or biting it with its’ poison-laced fangs.
The desert is littered with bones which coincidentally appears in the sand dungeon. However, the bones in the dungeon reassemble themselves, effectively resurrecting a bony monster. The resurrected corpse behaves how it acted when it was alive. If it was an animal in the past, it’ll act like one again. Ditto for the human.
At the end of the dungeon is the boss, the big bad of the area that must be vanquished before the story can move onto the next phase. When it comes to creating one for the sand dungeon, you have a lot to options to choose from. Many worlds like to use a larger variant of one of the monsters found throughout the dungeon like a scorpion as the boss but the mechanics of fighting it are different to give you a challenge. Others go for a beast that’s not found anywhere at all in the dungeon. You can go whichever way you want here, as long as you make one that feels natural to the place.
The sand dungeon is a great area to explore! It’s one of the few that truly stand out in the landscape, as if beckoning your attention. It tempts you to come inside from the heat and battle swarms of savage brutes and solve mind-bending puzzles.
One thing the sand dungeon has that no other has is its unique designs. No other place can go with using a pyramid as a dungeon. The different architectural styles help make it one of the more memorable in the story.
Danger lurks everywhere in the sand dungeon. This ambience incentivizes you to keep going forward and not look back while at the same time, it encourages you to be alert to your surroundings. You have no idea what’s waiting for you in the next room or at the end of the corridor.
Desert monsters have the run of the sand dungeon. Just because they’re inside doesn’t mean it’s any easier to fight them. They can still inflict great damage in a number of seconds, which means you still need to keep your wits about you when fighting them.
In stories where dungeons are integral settings, the sand dungeon is one you definitely should have! How often do you get the opportunity to manipulate the sand to open up previously-closed off rooms and routes? And where else can you battle a scorpion that’s five feet or more atop a sea of sand?
Will you create a sand dungeon that your audience will love?
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Sunfire
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