Overall sounds cool, and it makes sense why there'd be odd dungeons around beyond some of the cliches like an ancient society's ruins.

Fluff-wise, dungeons could also be magically-saturated areas where it's easier to accumulate strength. Hence (by fluff) leveling up and gaining experience happens in dungeons only. I'd still recommend that, mechanically, it can be gained outside dungeons, so as to reward players for when they do stuff outside of a dungeon.

Quote Originally Posted by BerzerkerUnit View Post
So here’s a setting concept:

Dungeons are a kind of Architectural magic that anyone can do (martial or spell caster). The gods did it yadda yadda. You have to design the dungeon yourself but any number of people can help you build it. Once built is has to be stocked with monsters, though some will naturally come to it.

The monsters are basically a power source, their day to days slowly charging the magic of the place and their spilled blood becomes the trigger. So once you start conquering a dungeon, you can’t back out lest all the stored magic dissipate.

Some Dungeon spells are extraordinarily potent, being the equivalent to Tomes for ability scores or granting a bonus feat. Some might might be a means to place a powerful enchantment on an item.
So, is the motivation for building a dungeon that the builder can clear the dungeon and get the boon?
E.g., it's basically a way to make a recharge-able boost. The builder likely gets it first, then leaves the dungeon alone for others to deal with?

Quote Originally Posted by Maat Mons
Though, in this case, I'd probably start calling the whole thing "The Trials." Matching lore to mechanics might be challenging though. If these things are meant to serve as tests, why would more than one person be allowed in at a time? What's to stop a group of seasoned adventurers from accepting money to escort someone weaker through the dungeon?
For this, I could see that the energy of a dungeon, and its boon, follow the activity in the dungeon. In a sense, it knows if you are just hanging back and doing nothing, and won't bless you.

Perhaps boons that are objects are attuned to the user, such that they can't easily be given away? Or borrow from some MMOs and there's something like a level cap to use items of a certain boon type (although if a weakling somehow clears a tough dungeon, the attunement to him would let him use it. This restriction would be for selling/lending boon-items.)