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Thoughts on running Rappan Athuk (and deadly megadungeons in general) [SPOILERS]
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<blockquote data-quote="MNblockhead" data-source="post: 9014241" data-attributes="member: 6796661"><p>This is a spoiler-friendly thread, so I'm not going to take the time to put my responses in spoiler tags. It would be too cumbersome to write or read. So, if you are concerned with spoilers, please be warned. </p><p></p><p>First, I don't think of RA as an adventure so much as a setting. It is comparable to massive city-setting books like Bard's Gate or Ptolus. There are plenty of plot threads, factions, and locations, but you can build many adventures in it. I've been running RA for over 4 years. That's not an adventure, its a campaign. </p><p></p><p>In terms of tone, there is a lot of variety. Yes, there are some purile encounters and locations, like the dung monster. Others might complain about parts of it being too edge-lord grim-dark. RA was a home setting created by Bill Web over many decades. Parts of it were created at different points in his life and things that happened in his home games made it into the setting's canonical lore. It shows. It isn't the most cohesive and consistent settings in terms of tone. But that is also part of its charm. </p><p></p><p>RA is really what you make of it. There is a lot of lore written into it (and a LOT more supporting lore if you dive into the other setting books and adventures in the Lost Lands), but you can completely ignore it. You can easily ignore/remove/change sections or encounters you don't like. It is such a huge megadungeon you are unlikely to play through it all even after years of play, you might as well focus on what you like. </p><p></p><p>For my part, I approach it like jazz. I run it as written, but I improvise and add onto what it is written. Throw away encounters or out-of-the-way and more obscure areas in some cases become important parts of the campaign's story, depending on what the characters decide to do and what I decide the repercussions of their actions are. </p><p></p><p>As for the Dung Monster itself. "Dungie" beloved encounter for many RA fans. It is one encounter that most who play the game will encounter given its location in one of the main entrances to the dungeon. Yes, there is a purile, slap-stick nature to it, but it doesn't have to be played that way. Actually, in my game it really only had a slapstick feel when reading it as the DM. In play, it is more of like a horror encounter. A naughty word golem, while ostensibly a slap-stick throwaway, can be run as a quite terrifying encounter. A good example in non-D&D fiction is [SPOILER="Non-RA Spoiler"]the sewer golem like monster in sewers of the castle in Another Kingdom, by Andrew Klavan[/SPOILER]. If you don't like the Dung Monster, then replace it with an undead ooze, which is stated up in the book and given it the Dung Monsters similar near-impossible-to-kill-permanently ability. </p><p></p><p>Rappan Athuk has diverse encounters and areas that can be whimsical, puerile, grime-dark, edge-lord, or scary. It has political intrigue, faction-based politics, hack and slash, body horror, creepy environments, deadly puzzles, otherworld explorations, magical weirdness, sci-fi encounters, demonic traps, and on and on. It is a kitchen sink setting that somehow works. But if something doesn't work for you, it is easy to remove or alter without wrecking the setting.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MNblockhead, post: 9014241, member: 6796661"] This is a spoiler-friendly thread, so I'm not going to take the time to put my responses in spoiler tags. It would be too cumbersome to write or read. So, if you are concerned with spoilers, please be warned. First, I don't think of RA as an adventure so much as a setting. It is comparable to massive city-setting books like Bard's Gate or Ptolus. There are plenty of plot threads, factions, and locations, but you can build many adventures in it. I've been running RA for over 4 years. That's not an adventure, its a campaign. In terms of tone, there is a lot of variety. Yes, there are some purile encounters and locations, like the dung monster. Others might complain about parts of it being too edge-lord grim-dark. RA was a home setting created by Bill Web over many decades. Parts of it were created at different points in his life and things that happened in his home games made it into the setting's canonical lore. It shows. It isn't the most cohesive and consistent settings in terms of tone. But that is also part of its charm. RA is really what you make of it. There is a lot of lore written into it (and a LOT more supporting lore if you dive into the other setting books and adventures in the Lost Lands), but you can completely ignore it. You can easily ignore/remove/change sections or encounters you don't like. It is such a huge megadungeon you are unlikely to play through it all even after years of play, you might as well focus on what you like. For my part, I approach it like jazz. I run it as written, but I improvise and add onto what it is written. Throw away encounters or out-of-the-way and more obscure areas in some cases become important parts of the campaign's story, depending on what the characters decide to do and what I decide the repercussions of their actions are. As for the Dung Monster itself. "Dungie" beloved encounter for many RA fans. It is one encounter that most who play the game will encounter given its location in one of the main entrances to the dungeon. Yes, there is a purile, slap-stick nature to it, but it doesn't have to be played that way. Actually, in my game it really only had a slapstick feel when reading it as the DM. In play, it is more of like a horror encounter. A naughty word golem, while ostensibly a slap-stick throwaway, can be run as a quite terrifying encounter. A good example in non-D&D fiction is [SPOILER="Non-RA Spoiler"]the sewer golem like monster in sewers of the castle in Another Kingdom, by Andrew Klavan[/SPOILER]. If you don't like the Dung Monster, then replace it with an undead ooze, which is stated up in the book and given it the Dung Monsters similar near-impossible-to-kill-permanently ability. Rappan Athuk has diverse encounters and areas that can be whimsical, puerile, grime-dark, edge-lord, or scary. It has political intrigue, faction-based politics, hack and slash, body horror, creepy environments, deadly puzzles, otherworld explorations, magical weirdness, sci-fi encounters, demonic traps, and on and on. It is a kitchen sink setting that somehow works. But if something doesn't work for you, it is easy to remove or alter without wrecking the setting. [/QUOTE]
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