When a typo becomes your source of inspiration

Even though I've already mentioned it in previous posts or notes, I'm back to talk about the "community dungeon" launched by Thog and titled Death by Dungeon.

Welcome to DEATH BY DUNGEON

I’ve been tasked with creating a level of the megadungeon called 'God towers of the Elophant'. The first thing I did was some deep online research on what an 'elophant' is, and I didn't find anything useful. Instead of getting discouraged, I thought it might be a typo (instead of elephant), and this was the golden vein I followed to come up with the right idea for the dungeon level. In line with the KUP model of the VI·VIII·X setting, I decided to create a background to build the level on and explain why certain (non-random) creatures inhabit it. After writing the background, I thought it could be used in multiple ways in the level I'm writing: the first way is to design the dungeon (for now it's a secret, but trust me, it will surprise you); the second way is to include this background as a part of the level itself.

The second idea came about when, after writing a few lines of history, I decided to try drawing the story as if it were described by primitive humans on rocks, following the artistic style of the time. These drawings can be found by the characters inside the dungeon, allowing them to try to understand its ancient origins… I still have to decide whether to add a twist of magic to make it more accessible to the players or not.

Here's the background, which started as a short text that I’m sharing below and was later enriched by the (ahemmm) amazing cave art-style drawings I created to make this story a living part of the dungeon… I'll stop here before I give away too many spoilers!

Ah, if you wonder what exactly is the picture at the beginning of this post, you have to wait for the publication of the dungeon!

In times of yore, there did exist a creature of superior intellect, dwelling upon this plane of existence, whose sole purpose was to foster the advancement of life and well-being.

This creature hailed from other realms, yet had settled upon this world, having discovered a race which, in its estimation, possessed the potential to ascend from their primordial state: they were the first men.

The humans revered this creature as a deity, for it had forged with them a mutual covenant of growth: the collective knowledge they bestowed upon it was reciprocated with its accumulated wisdom, garnered through centuries of experience.

Thus was born the myth of Elophant, and through the exchange of knowledge, the myth burgeoned, evolving into a genuine veneration and the elevation of the creature to the status of divinity.

In the murky night of the past, none now can recall the dire events that led to the demise of Elophant and the onset of the epoch of incivility, wherein wisdom, well-being, and happiness were supplanted by fear, hatred, and ignorance.

The few survivors who witnessed the impious assassination managed to erect a sanctuary, that Elophant might not fade into oblivion, nor the virtues it embodied be forgotten.