D&D General Night Below: An Underdark Campaign

[Distracted DM]

I've run it completely from beginning to end in 5e.
I'll agree that Book 1 is great for a low-level romp- but to say that Book 2 is "grindy" is really missing the point.

Book 2 is an Underdark explorer's paradise. It was definitely my favorite part.

With 5e, parties that explore every nook and cranny will end up very high level by the end- you'll need to ramp up challenges as they level. By the time the party made it to Book 3 in my first TNB game, they were level 16 or so with a plethora of powerful magical items. If I hadn't upped the difficulty and used more powerful foes, the second half of Book 2 and all of Book 3 would be a cakewalk.

It was a fantastic campaign though, I'm running another heavily altered TNB game in a5e- they're between books 1&2.

 

[Zardnaar]

I bought it as a box in 2001 (for just 30 dollars when it was 100 on most platforms) in a near mint status.

I think I can run most of PT1 from my head. Maybe some maps are a bit less detailed than they should be, but I guess I have memorized most of it.

That really speaks for the design. It is memorable.

Ah. On our reply pt 1 really gave off modern vibes. Comparatively to LMoP or Paizo era 3.5/Early Pathfinder.

Very different vs say T1 Hommlet or Threshold on previous material.

 

[Zardnaar]

I've run it completely from beginning to end in 5e.
I'll agree that Book 1 is great for a low-level romp- but to say that Book 2 is "grindy" is really missing the point.

Book 2 is an Underdark explorer's paradise. It was definitely my favorite part.

With 5e, parties that explore every nook and cranny will end up very high level by the end- you'll need to ramp up challenges as they level. By the time the party made it to Book 3 in my first TNB game, they were level 16 or so with a plethora of powerful magical items. If I hadn't upped the difficulty and used more powerful foes, the second half of Book 2 and all of Book 3 would be a cakewalk.

It was a fantastic campaign though, I'm running another heavily altered TNB game in a5e- they're between books 1&2.

I can't remember why it fell apart for us . I think it was boredom but may have been other issues eg 1 player dated another player broke up with her dated another player that was friends with the ex.

We tried it after sowlljammer and probably Darksun somewhere between May 1996 and the end of 1997.

Probably didn't own it mid 1996. Must have been late 96/97 starting to remember who was in it 6 person party with 4 of the players dating then the breakups and dating other players started.

Most likely the blowback from that wrecked the game. Starting to remember the arguments. Cost me 3 players iirc.

 

[General_Tangent]

I was gifted the boxed set in 1995 and it has a prominent place on my bookshelf where I can see it.

It has always been one of the adventures I've wanted to run all the way through.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I was gifted the boxed set in 1995 and it has a prominent place on my bookshelf where I can see it.

It has always been one of the adventures I've wanted to run all the way through.

I think what you need to do is making sure, that players understand this adventure is not a sprint but a marathon. This is somewhat problematic because at first, it looks like a sprint.

 

[General_Tangent]

I think what you need to do is making sure, that players understand this adventure is not a sprint but a marathon. This is somewhat problematic because at first, it looks like a sprint.

Ah, took me a couple of reads of your reply to understand your post.

When I say run I meant play through not run as in a sprint.

Sorry for any confusion I might have caused.

 

[Stormonu]

I was gifted the boxed set in 1995 and it has a prominent place on my bookshelf where I can see it.

It has always been one of the adventures I've wanted to run all the way through.

I'm in the same boat - been sitting on my shelf after buying it when it came out, but have never had the opportunity to actually run it.

 

[General_Tangent]

I'm in the same boat - been sitting on my shelf after buying it when it came out, but have never had the opportunity to actually run it.

I opened up the box this afternoon and found the old character sheets from the previous play through, I'm also missing some of the original handouts at least I've got the pdfs of them.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Ah, took me a couple of reads of your reply to understand your post.

When I say run I meant play through not run as in a sprint.

Sorry for any confusion I might have caused.

I understood you correctly. I mean, the adventure spans over a few month ingame. Players often feel pressured to go on and on and on. Especially when someone goes missing quite early on.
So what you need to do as DM is making sure that players take their time to explore and not run from encounter to encounter.

 

[GuyBoy]

I ran it all the way through as a 3e campaign, and absolutely loved it.
Book 1 was a superbly engaging overground adventure with rich characters and great locations. As mentioned earlier, I raised Jelenneth’s emotional importance by making her the sister of one of the PCs.
Books 2 and 3 were also very good, albeit in a different way. The Underdark locations were so varied, dramatic and interesting that they created a “road trip” ambience for the players ( a dark and brutal road trip). I still have immensely fond memories of the Night Below.