I took on the task of creating the first level, which would serve as a sort of introduction to mechanics and the setting, as any first level should be. Players start with basic stats for their chosen class. The setting was an alien prison in a post-apocalyptic world, so players also start in a prison cell and work their way though the cell block, or the sewers. The level itself is littered with items and enemy encounters, not to mention two different boss encounters.
There are three paths that the player is able take through the level. Each has a slightly different diversionary encounter before linking up to the exit. For the most part, the level is designed to provide a series of interesting setpieces rather than a very difficult challenge. This is due to how players have no items or abilities, so I felt it was better to have something quick and fun to give players a few helpful items and get them to later levels where there is more intense gameplay.
During playtesting, I had two players go through my level. The first few enemy encounters went smoothly, although the enemies blocking the main path proved a bit difficult and quickly managed to kill a player whenever one was encountered.
The players chose to take the left path to the sewers. An item available right before entering allows a character to walk through water without restrictions, as water limits movement by a few spaces. The encounter involves a giant monster gator, which speeds down in a straight line every turn and kills anything in its way. The player with the item sped through with no problem, while the other player had to take numerous turns to circumnavigate the boss. To make things more interesting, the boss starts to change their path to follow the player directly after a few turns.
After passing the gator boss, players are given a healing item. It allows one full heal and can be used to revive a downed player to full health, and recharges at each checkpoint. This helps the player immensely, as they lack any healing spells, as well as being given a guaranteed source of healing for the following levels.
The level ends with a little timed minigame. The switch opens a door, and in front of the door is an enemy that wants to play a game of rock-paper-scissors. If the player loses, they must reactivate the switch. Winning allows them to reach the exit and complete the level. My playtesters found some novelty in ending a level in this manner.
Here is an annotated version of the level, displaying the main paths and providing simple explanations of the various elements.
The two players that went through my level enjoyed themselves. There was not very many issues other than the very difficult enemies right at the beginning. In the future, I would spread things out more, perhaps cutting out multiple paths for a more unified sequence of events.
