A little over a month ago, I talked about a collaborative LEGO project debuting at BrickCon 2023: a massive modular Dungeons & Dragons dungeon. I was lucky enough to be invited to take part, contributing the 3-wide module with glowing green eyes I talked about in September. But now, having passed the History check, I’m able to give some further details behind this amazing, fantasy-themed project.

Conceiving of the Dungeon Delve

The idea for this collab can be traced back to the 2023 Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, WA. Many members of the area LUGs (LEGO User Groups) were displaying together as they do every year at ECCC. Builders Josh Wedin (TBB co-founder) and Sean Edmison had produced a pair of module-esque pieces for the display, each themed around D&D. A third builder, Steve Walker, joined the conversation, and from there a plan was set in motion for the next BrickCon.

There was still one more missing piece required for the collaborative build: a module standard to allow all the builds to fit together. After seeing it on display at Bricks Cascade in Oregon, co-collaborator Josh Nilson adapted the “Fallout bunker” standard for use with the fantasy setting. For those not in the know, that standard is modules 16 studs wide, 16 studs deep, and 13 bricks tall. You could build a section that was multiple modules wide or tall (as I did with my 3-wide build) so long as there was proper support within the module for builds above it. As all four of these contributors are members of SquatchLUG, that became the organizing group. Invites began to go out to a Discord where the growing team planned and schemed their sections of this enormous creation.

Participation and Reception

When I first entered the Discord channel, the chat was already a-buzz with talk of D&D tropes, acceptable wall colors, door placement, and lots of lighting technique. It was clear that everyone was prepared to bring their A-game for this ode to dungeon crawling. Would your section contain a single monster, or a horde of baddies? Would there be traps, sprung or unsprung? And how much loot is too much? Some were taking inspiration from D&D-adjacent literature, like Life of the Party. For others, this was their first foray into RPGs, leading to a lot of new and fun experiences.

For myself and many others, the challenge of working within the limited footprint offered by the modules was everything! With limited space, how do you tell a story that both feels complete and is still part of something bigger? Given the limited vantage points created by the module’s roof, will all parts of that story be visible, or is additional lighting required? The low barrier to entry of a single module allowed the builder to choose their level of involvement, some like Josh Wedin and Doug Hughes going for huge sections surrounded by smaller creations. At the end of the day, all 26 of us were happy to be working with their friends and fellow builders on such a cool concept!

However, one subject in particular came up repeatedly during the planning stages: lighting. For many in our group, this was a novel concept, especially as the official LEGO options for these effects are fairly meager. With the convention adding a “BrickCon After Dark” event this year, making sure the entire wall of dungeon rooms lit up was essential, as we didn’t expect many characters with Darkvision in Bellevue that weekend. And the results for each section ran the gamut from “midday sun” to “candle glow.” And even after the event concluded, talk of further lighting upgrades began, comparing notes between builders and looking for solutions to newfound problems.

For you see, while BrickCon may be over, there’s no plans to end the SquatchLUG Dungeon Delve just yet! Expect it to pop up at more LEGO display events in the South Sound area in Washington state, with both brand new modules and returning favorites. If there’s anything that D&D teaches us, it’s that there’s always another adventure.