Rough unorganized points from my notes:

Overview of the Cavern:

• The game takes place in a vast underground cavern system.
• Deep within the caverns is a latent rift i.e. a point in space where the boundaries between the world and the abyss is weak. Not actually a portal that anything can pass through rather it 'emanates' subtle chaotic energy.
• This latent rift has been here pretty much since the creation of the world.
• So evil creatures have been drawn to the caverns literally for millennia. They come to the caverns, build evil temples, fortresses etc. eventually get wiped out or disappear or whatever and leave their ruins (some are still here).
• So this helps to explain the 'layer cake' of ruins as well as the ridiculous variety of nasties in the caverns. Really helps to sell the idea of 'ancient' ruins as well as stuff from different cultures existing next to each other.
• So stuff like the pyramid might be the results of an ancient evil king thousands of years ago, a slimy temple might be even older, built by a race of snake men predating humanity, while say the orc fortress is recent.
• All these evil guys typically are only vaguely aware of the latent rift, they just feel 'drawn' to this location. Maybe it helps their magic or lets them commune with their evil gods better.

Order of Knights Concept:

• So at some point a brotherhood of knights or keepers of the light or whatever, discover the caverns, realize the nature of the rift and so build a fortress to guard it for eternity.
• They are well aware that such a rift could be opened by someone with the right knowledge and power. Lore wise, in this world its really really hard to open a portal to the abyss, it pretty much needs this rift, so the rift is a big fucking deal.
• So they build their fortress at the back of the cavern surrounding the rift. A bunch of the highest level dungeons are actually their ruins (we could have some common themes, tapestries, architecture etc.).
  • The big bad fortress is theirs
  • Arcane tower is theirs
  • The Crypt is theirs. We get the nice fantasy cliche here of the crypt actually housing the bodies of noble knights with the boss of the crypt being the goodest and noblest of them all now of course corrupted into king of the dead.
• So at some point in the distant past they get wiped out of course, their fortress falls into disrepair etc. etc.
• Whats important though is that some ancient safes, perhaps a mad hermit who just babbles, that sort of thing are hidden throughout the dungeon and have lots of clues and information.
  • This is the sort of stuff that would be needed for the Victory+ conditions
  • Idea: the crazy hermit is just a crazy guy who yells at you or maybe even attacks you. If however you bring him some ring perhaps from the king undead in the crypt (leader of his order) he smartens up and helps you.

The Wizard Yendor:

• Yendor was a sort of loserish low level wizard apprentice from the far south. An unassuming student of no real talents but with big ambitions and a grudge against the world.
• He found a forbidden tomb in the depths of his masters library and started dabbling in forbidden magic.
• He eventually makes contact with a greater demon lord who seduces him with offers of power and conquest.
• Demon lord reveals to him the location of the latent rift in the caverns to the north.
• Yendor travels here, digs up the old knights fortress and starts the long process of opening the rift.
• Meanwhile he's attracting all darkness to him Sauron style and generally making the already chaotic and evil caverns more chaotic and evil.
• His minions under their individual leaders are raiding the surrounding lands etc. bringing attention to the problem to the wider world.
• When the player enters the world he's nearing the completion of his plans.
• The whole pressure clock idea is basically him finalizing the opening of the portal or one of his lieutenants (sub-bosses) finishing some plot of their own, all in preperation of some giant conquest of the overworld.
• So the standard objective is to kill Yendor in his fortress and stop him from opening the portal.
• Quick Games are generally against his lieutenants motivated by whatever minor plans they've been up to as part of his greater plan.
• The Victory+ conditions come about because obviously Yendor at this point is essentially a vessel for the greater demon lord whos waiting in the abyss.
  • Actually allowing the portal to open, entering the abyss and killing the Demon Lord himself would be a Victory+ condition. Surviving the portal and the abyss itself would probably require some ancient lore likely known by the remnants of the knights order.
• Victory++ condition could be to somehow put an end to the rift itself once and for all, forever purging the the area from the problems.