I tried using The World Largest Dungeon...but I was fed up with dungeons after a tenth of the book ;)
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I have set the Dragon's Delve in Mivon in the River Kingdoms. I have some rather wordy notes below if you want to read them(most of this is taking the history or gods already present on dungeonaday and adjusting it a bit).
Location
The only nearby city is the small town of Brindenford which only holds on in this area due to being positioned on a major trade road known as the Queens Road and just downstream where two large rivers combine, making the town’s survival strongly in the interest of the lumber consortium. This trade is supplemented by a regular influx of adventurers, purchasing supplies for excursions into the Delve and somewhat more rarely returning with treasures to sell and trade.
The town itself has a population of about one thousand people, most of whom are human. While the mayor Saddanna is technically the law of the city, no one questions sherrif Mansan’s judgement and he makes many of the day to day decisions in the town and has recently taken over the gathering hall in town to serve as a barracks for a growing constabulary.
Brindenford boasts three taverns to serve both the locals and the frequent travelers that pass through. The Lost Shepherd is the most famous of the inns in town as the most frequented by adventurers prepared to set out to the nearby dungeon. The Bridgeman is the fanciest inn in town, popular among merchants passing through town and anyone in town with the coin for a good meal. The Water Stone could be considered a ‘dive bar’ in the town. Its usual clientele are the local miscreants as well as the poor loggers.
As well as taverns, Brindenford has several shops that are well stocked for a town its size. Fascher’s Supply is a general adventurers store, run by a would be explorer to keep those wishing to face the Delve stocked. Leaving the fixing of plows and shoeing of horses to several less skilled metal workers, Aesa’s Smithy covers the weapon and armor needs of anyone who needs a good defense. Finally, Queens Crafts is a large communal shop run by a number of craftsmen as well as their apprentices. Functioning much like a in building bazaar, nearly any sort of worked or trade good can be found here.
There are a number of temples in the town, while Brindenford isn’t a deeply religious community, their rough history and dangerous surroundings has led to nearly all its citizens paying some service to various gods. Nearly everyone respects Sarenrae and her clerics, the Temple of Sarenrae is easily the largest in town. Following it is the Temple of the River gods, a multi-god shrine where worshippers have tied their own pantheon of deities to the aspects of the river that provides them much of their livelihood. Kurgess holds a small shrine in the city, the loggers respecting his strength and competitions. Finally there is a crumbled shrine to the demi-goddess Glarias who has lost worship here since the duke was killed a century before.
The town itself doesn’t have a library to speak of, but it is home to a sage named Felstor who is known to be a great mind throughout the River Kingdoms and is considered to be the most knowledgeable man alive about the history of the region and the dungeon itself.
Well Known History
Millennia passed with the unnamed dungeon being regularly occupied and expanded as one set of inhabitants was either driven out by the next or simply vanished before the new occupants moved in.
Several thousand years ago the dungeon gained its name as Metterak settled into the dungeon. Known as the Prince of Dragons, Metterak is thought to be a spawn of Dahak himself. The dragon ravaged a wide area around the dungeon for centuries before suddenly going silent, its unknown if he is sleeping, has left the region or was finally slain by one of the many adventurers who hunted for him over the years. Legends persist that whatever his fate, he remains at the bottom of the dungeon. From his first appearance the dungeon has taken on his namesake, being referred to as the Dragon’s Delve.
About a millennia ago a coalition of some of the most powerful spellcasters in the world known as the Mages Four set up their home within the dungeon, using it as a fortress and a laboratory. People often speak of the wondrous items that were produced from the dungeon at this time, whether found or created.
Five hundred years ago, an adventuring party gathered an army of displaced Aldori, leading them to clear out the dungeon. Somehow their plans were altered and rather than clearing the area, a fortified tower was erected nearby and they began to conquer the local populace, enforcing a cruel reign. A powerful cleric of Sarenrae known as The Red Saint rose up and struck down the leader of the adventurers and squashed the army, securing the worship of the goddess in the region and leading to the local practice of her clerics being almost exclusively female.
Four hundred years ago a large red dragon begins to terrorize the region. After nearly fifty years a gold dragon is spotted circling nearby and is assumed to have driven him off as he isn’t seen again.
Finally, just over a century ago the lands around the Dragon’s Delve are granted to duke Chordille and his followers. Chordille Keep is erected over the site of the dungeon itself. The Duke is well liked by the locals but his reign is less than 30 years when troops from surrounding lands invade, killing the Duke and Duchess and razing the keep. No troops or ruler are left to maintain the area, leaving Brindenford and the surrounding area uncontested and referred to as ‘The Fallen Dutchy.’
Religion
Lamastu has a great deal of power in the region outside of the civilization of town. A powerful cult of monstrous humanoids and deformed humans known as the bestial horde worship her and often lead attacks on travelers or the town itself.
Kurgess is a minor god elsewhere in the world but his portfolio of strength and competition and freedom suit the local loggers very well. Most locals who worship him believe that he is the son of Cayden Cailen and Desna and the two greater dieties are worshiped at his shrine as well.
Glarias is a minor diety who has fallen out of favor in the region since the fall of the Duke of Chordille a century before. She is thought to be a vassal of Desna and represents the moon.
Sarenrae holds the largest following in the region with her primary clerics all being female though there is a small sect of men in her service known as the Brothers of Charity. The proximity of the dungeon and frequency of adventurers has colored the cleric’s views in some ways, while they give freely to the townsfolk and loggers in need, offering food and healing to those without, the church has a strict policy of using explorers ill gotten gains to fund their other charity works. Any strangers are charged fully for the church's wide variety of services.
The River Gods is a popular local belief system that is at least given lip service by most of those who work on the water in some way. Rather than finding new gods to worship, instead it is a different way of viewing a number of the greater gods that ties them to the river which provides their livelihood.
Nethys- Thought to be the source of the celestial river, Nethys is worshipped for his aspect as the creator. He is the patron of crafters as well as local mages and sages.
Gozreh- Worshipped for the chaotic nature and rapids of the water, Gozreh is worshipped for the clash of elements he represents.
Abadar and Erastil- According to the River Gods belief system, these two gods are thought to be twins, a reflection of each other from the surface of the river casting its opposite.
Norgorber- Serving as a warning in the pantheon as well as the patron of more unscrupulous followers, Norgorger represents the treachery of a rivers ability to be a slow flowing stream one moment and dangerous rapids the next.
Torag- The source of industry among the River Gods. Torag uses the strength of the river for his own ends, spinning mills and shapping steel and stone.
Modified Players Intro to the Dungeon
A vast underground dungeon of labyrinths and catacombs, built perhaps by dwarves or perhaps by wizards--or maybe even dragons--Dragon's Delve is infamous among treasure-hunters and monster-slayers. Filled with deadly danger and ancient treasures, the dungeon offers both risk and reward in equal amounts, each growing more intense the deeper one goes. How much peril is worth risking for how much return? It's all up to those brave enough to try.
The tales of Dragon's Delve teem with contradictions and unbelievable anecdotes of impossible encounters and bizarre monstrosities. And yet, some of it all must be true. Do demonic cultists really use Dragon's Delve as a secret base? Is there truly some kind of ambient magic seeping up through the place? Did wizards of old hoard away powerful artifacts in the dungeon's vaults? Do gateways to remote lands and even other planes of existence really lie somewhere in Dragon's Delve? Does the prince of all dragonkind really hold court in the deepest reaches of the subterranean stronghold? No one knows for certain, but those that could find the answers to even some of these questions, or learn even a few of the dungeon's other secrets, might earn for themselves notoriety and wealth beyond imagining.
If they survive.
Dragon's Delve lies in a remote corner of Mivon in the River Kingdoms, that people once called the Duchy of Chordille. Yet a hundred years ago or so, the folk of the surrounding lands took up arms against Chordille. They razed the keep and slew the duke. It's hard now to find someone who knows the real reason why this happened. A few speak of evil intent on the part of the duke, who had plans for conquest. Others, however, say that the duke's actions were always benevolent, and that the conflict arose from misunderstanding, or perhaps deception on the part of some mysterious third party.
All that is known for certain is that folks call that remote area the Fallen Duchy. It boasts no ruler and little population. Wilderness reclaimed Chordille, and it is now a land of dangers.
People in Brindenford, a small town just two miles to the north of Dragon’s Delve, claim that murderous humanoid creatures prowl those ruins. Goblins? Orcs? Worse? No one seems to know for sure, and eyewitness accounts are few, and always contradictory. They also claim that the place is both haunted and cursed.
So many questions. So many secrets.
If you dare to brave this ancient dungeon, go well equipped. Be ready for anything. Keep your eyes open, and search everywhere. Any passage or door you find could lead to wealth enough for you to retire. Or it could lead to certain doom.
But that's what being an adventurer is all about, right? This isn't an undertaking that you'll finish in one foray or even a dozen. This is the challenge of a lifetime. As someone thrilled at the prospect of exploring the unknown, incredible challenges, and the promise of gold and magic, Dragon's Delve is exactly where you've always wanted to go.
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Lots of cool stuff.
Excellent! I was thinking about locating in place of Hollow Mountain, but your idea is very good. I'm not sure how much of the official Dragon's Delve canon i want to include. I considered replacing most of it to give the campaign more of a Golarion feel, but I think you've managed to accomplish that without too many significant changes.
-Skeld