The Codex of Chaos

Nov 1

LEGO tile mosaic map of the Caves of Chaos, magenta LEGO book with copper lock clasp, LEGO diorama of an elf and a dwarf battling a goblin and hobgoblina

When I run tabletop RPGs like Level Up or D&D, I like to use LEGOs to build sets and battle maps and use minifigs for PCs, NPCs and Monsters. But I also dabble with creating my own original LEGO designs using the digital tools (first with LEGO Digital Designer, then later BrickLink Studio). So when I saw the latest LEGO IDEAS design challenge, I couldn’t resist. The real challenge for me was reigning in all the ideas I had spinning through my head and consolidating it into a single coherent idea.

With the theme of “50 years of D&D” I knew it had to be something epic, iconic, and quintessentially D&D. I wanted to create something that spoke to the 12 year old inside of me that used wax crayons to make the numbers on un-inked polyhedral dice show up better. But I also wanted a design that reflected how far the game has come since those early days. The Caves of Chaos from The Keep on the Borderlands has always had a special place in my heart. For all it’s improbable collection of denizens living in a single cave complex and the shocking magenta colored module cover, it still managed to capture my imagination as a kid and continues to do so today. And I’m not the only one. The D&D franchise and many 3rd party content providers have published a whole slew of variants, revisits, and conversions of the original adventure.

Now I had a starting point, my first task was to recreate the DM’s map. While most of the pieces are simple 1 x 1 light blue square tiles which correspond with the original map’s graph squares, there were several problematic natural rock formations and angled rooms or corridors that proved a little challenging. Plus, I had this concept to rework one of those cave areas into the D&D ampersand.

But a tile mosic map in one color (“xerox-proof” light blue) isn’t exactly the 1600 piece lego set of my dreams… So how to add something a bit more interesting? What if the map was contained on the inside cover of a book like the original module? And what if that book could also transport LEGO minifigs for play at the table?

My first few designs for a book with hinges were unwieldy and left gaps in the map which I didn’t like. I decided to make a book shell with inserts that could slide together when the book was open and hold minifig characters (PCs and NPCs with their accessories) when closed. The empty book, hinged spine, and sliding, interlocking inserts was probably the most technical part of the design.

I lucked out and found a half-drum container which I repurposed as a form that the spine could wrap around. Bonus, those containers are treasure chests that can store dice and any extra LEGO bits (weapons, helmets, hair, treasure, etc.) needed for play.

I was pretty happy with what I had so far, and was rapidly approaching the 3000 piece count limit, but still needed some set pieces or key encounters. Because what are the Caves of Chaos if not a series of dangerous encounters with deadly creatures?