Familiar with the mega-dungeon?

[Raven Crowking]

If you started playing during the OD&D or 1e era, were you aware of the "campaign dungeon" or "megadungeon" as a normal feature of campaign play?

RC

 

[Crothian]

Not that I remember. We basically used the adventrues that were published and none of them that I saw were what I would call a megadungeon. The first mega dungeon I remeber seeing was Underdark and that was in my 2e days.

 

[JeffB]

Started with the LBBs in 1977 prior to the MM release.

I was aware of the "old school mega dungeon", however I did not consider them a "normal feature" of play.

I didn't like them then and that feeling has not changed in 32 years (though I enjoy reading the history and tales of gameplay re: the original castle GH and BM).

 

[Bumbles]

Does the super-huge dungeon on a poster-board sized sheet of graph paper count?

And yum, Lemon!

 

[rkwoodard]

I don't know how

I started with AD&D in 1979. I tried to get my DM to run me through the entirity of the HellFurance Mountains in Greyhawk, so I must have been aware of the idea of the Mega-dungeon, but I don't know why, because we didn't play that way.

We played dungeon after dungeon, but they were always distinct and separate. Usually 4-6 levels each. As we got older they became smaller with more reasoning behind them.

I have never played/DM'ed a true mega-dungeon but really want to.

RK

 

[Bumbles]

I prefer oranges when I want citrus. But lemons are fine as a sauce on steak.

What about on Meadowlarks?

Also I think it could if that's how your group runs it.

Ran it, as I was trying to think back to the 1e days of yore and the nearest equivalent I can imagine. Though I may have played Rogue first....

 

[Bumbles]

Point is, I think, he wants to view the lens of older editions with mega-dungeons...

That's certainly the impression I got from the poll options, with 1e yes CD and 1e no CD, but the option for 2e or later was just that.

If anything, I'd have called them dungeon campaigns though.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Ran, run. It's all semantics while we are discussing what it is Raven wants to discuss.

If anything.

Call it historical research. I know that Gary Gygax "mega-dungeoned" with Castle Greyhawk, and I know that there were quite a few other megadungeons out there. Many Forgotten Realms products put out by TSR were built out of Ed Greenwood's 1e home game.....including Undermountain and Myth Drannor.

I also know, from his own words, that Gary considered this the norm.

What I am curious about is (1) how many of us where aware of this at the time, and (2) afterwards, how did we learn this?


RC

 

[Bumbles]

You mind clarifying that statement. I'm not sure I understood that last part, especially since I lost my brain in the Underdark a few weeks ago.

Just trying to briefly parse the poll options. Anyway, I guess the giant sheet of graph paper would count then.

Too bad I couldn't resist the lemon curry.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Well not sure about the first one but the second I think is pretty obvious. The internet.

I went to AD&D 1e from Holmes Basic, well before there was a public Internet, and I was aware of it by the time I bought my first AD&D 1e book. It wasn't my prefered game then, either; but I knew it was the game that the creator(s) were playing.

OTOH, I lived in Wisconsin, not too horribly distant from what was then the hub of all D&D activity. Did that make a difference? Was it pieced together from bits of Holmes Basic and The Dragon/Dragon Magazine? I'd like to know where that came from, if I am able to parse it out.

Btw hello again Raven.

Cheers.


RC