This script crates a fantasy RPG dungeon as a conceptual map.
The script will attempt to create a dungeon, step by step, going through the dungeon's history. It could start as the empty passages left by water erosion, or a tin-mine.
After that, a civilization establishes itself, traps can be made, and finally, a nasty bad-guy faction invades, populating the place with nasty things.
The script aims to make more plausible and engaging dungeons, by ensuring that every part has a reason to exist.
We start with randomly shifting rooms, then add features:
- a chasm
- river
- maybe a lake
Then some civilizing society (dwarves/ gnomes) comes in, digs out rooms and:
- makes the lake into a proper fungal garden,
- creates living quarters,
- maybe a library,
- probably works of art.
- and traps the entrance.
Finally, tragedy arrives as a horde of monsters take over. Suppose a necromancer comes along:
- dwarves become undead dwarves
- some traps no longer work
- the fungal garden becomes overrun by oozes
The computer then makes a description of each room, along with a very simple plot hook.
You hear of an evil necromancer, inhabiting an old dwarven stronghold.
The result is an abstract map, made with graphviz.
I might make the map look good one day, but no time soon.
The dungeon is a list, and each entry is a room.
dungeon[0] is the entrance.
Each entry in the list is a dictionary, detailing properties, features, et c.
Each entry has a list of places below that it joins to, forming the overall structure.
If room 8 has connections = [-1, -4], then this means it connects to rooms 7 and 4.
All rooms only connect below them, to ensure that all rooms eventually lead to the exit.
The basic structure of everything is provided by the types entry in the dictionary.
Types include:
- tunnel (one connection in, one out)
- split (like above, but maybe multiple)
- dead ends (one join only)
- alternative paths (which you don't have to go down to reach the exit)
These types determine where rooms can go. You don't want a kitchen in a tunnel, or everyone will wander through while you're trying to cook, and there's no use having a guard room in last area of the dungeon, after some marauder has travelled past the living area and treasure room.
┌────────────────────────┐
│ 16: kitchen, foodStore │ <────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
└────────────────────────┘ │
│
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
∨ ∨ │
┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌────────────────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯┐ ┌⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯┐ ┌⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯┐ ┌⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯┐ │
│ 1: │ │ 2: bedroom │ │ 3: river, bridge │ │ 4: │ │ 5: │ │ 6: bedroom │ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ 7: ⋮ ⋮ 8: bedroom ⋮ ⋮ 9: bedroom ⋮ │
│ 5 hobgoblins │ <──> │ 4 hobgoblins │ <──> │ │ <──> │ 5 hobgoblins │ <──> │ 2 hobgoblins │ <──> │ 3 hobgoblins │ <──> ⋮ ⋮ <──> ⋮ 5 hobgoblins ⋮ <──> ⋮ 1 hobgoblins ⋮ <──> ⋮ 1 hobgoblins ⋮ │
└──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └────────────────────────┘ └──────────────┘ ⋮ ⋮ └⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯┘ └⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯┘ └⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯┘ │
∧ ⋮ ⋮ ∧ │
│ ⋮ 10: musicHall ⋮ │ │
│ ⋮ 4 hobgoblins ⋮ <──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
∨ ⋮ ⋮ │
┌────────────────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ⋮ ⋮ │
│ 15: kitchen, foodStore │ │ 11: │ ⋮ ⋮ │
│ 1 hobgoblins │ │ 3 hobgoblins │ ┌─> ⋮ ⋮ <──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
└────────────────────────┘ └──────────────┘ │ └⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯┘
∧ │ ∧ ∧ ∧
│ │ │ │ │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ │ │
∨ │ ∨
┌────────────────────────┐ │ ┌──────────────┐
│ 12: forge │ │ │ 13: library │
│ 5 hobgoblins │ │ │ 1 hobgoblins │
└────────────────────────┘ │ └──────────────┘
┌────────────────────────┐ │
│ 14: library │ │
│ 2 hobgoblins │ <┘
└────────────────────────┘