D&D 5E Dungeon of the Mad Mage - Boring?

[Retreater]

A few sessions ago I started running Dungeon of the Mad Mage on Roll20 with player buy-in. They were expecting a good, old-fashioned dungeon crawl with lots of combat, treasures, secret doors, etc. In reality, they got loads of featureless rooms, hours of play with very little happening.

I am comparing Mad Mage to other dungeons I've run in the past several months, such as Frog God Games' Rappan Athuk or Tegel Manor, and it doesn't come close.

I picked Mad Mage because I wanted something "official" that was available on Roll20 with minimal design I would have to do. (Other dungeons like Rappan Athuk aren't available on the platform, and I would need to build it from the ground up for the VTT format.) Now my players are bored, asking if I can steer them to "exciting" parts of the dungeon.

Anyone else have a similar situation with Mad Mage? Any other suggestions? (I did look through the "enhancing Mad Mage" thread, but it's mostly about putting in treasure in a dungeon that has few traps, few monsters, few memorable areas, but just a plethora of corridors that go to 30' square, featureless rooms.

 

[robus]

Yikes! What the heck? I didn’t enjoy my brief excursion into the PotA temple but that sounds positively action packed compared to what you’re describing!

 

[Xenonnonex]

A few sessions ago I started running Dungeon of the Mad Mage on Roll20 with player buy-in. They were expecting a good, old-fashioned dungeon crawl with lots of combat, treasures, secret doors, etc. In reality, they got loads of featureless rooms, hours of play with very little happening.

I am comparing Mad Mage to other dungeons I've run in the past several months, such as Frog God Games' Rappan Athuk or Tegel Manor, and it doesn't come close.

I picked Mad Mage because I wanted something "official" that was available on Roll20 with minimal design I would have to do. (Other dungeons like Rappan Athuk aren't available on the platform, and I would need to build it from the ground up for the VTT format.) Now my players are bored, asking if I can steer them to "exciting" parts of the dungeon.

Anyone else have a similar situation with Mad Mage? Any other suggestions? (I did look through the "enhancing Mad Mage" thread, but it's mostly about putting in treasure in a dungeon that has few traps, few monsters, few memorable areas, but just a plethora of corridors that go to 30' square, featureless rooms.

What levels did you play in? Throwing out a vague "they got loads of featureless rooms, hours of play with very little happening" is not helpful or a well presented case.

I tend to find Wizards' official adventures do need the DM to work them into their group. But that is also the case with a lot of "official" works.

 

[Retreater]

What levels did you play in? Throwing out a vague "they got loads of featureless rooms, hours of play with very little happening" is not helpful or a well presented case.

I tend to find Wizards' official adventures do need the DM to work them into their group. But that is also the case with a lot of "official" works.

Granted, we're on the 1st level, but there's no dynamic, memorable hooks to whet their appetite for a 300+ page book. We're probably 5+ hours into the game, and very little has happened. And we're running briskly on VTT. They've uncovered a solid half of the 1st level map. Empty room after empty room.
And I know I can do roleplaying. I know I can add story. I know I can add descriptions and make it interesting in my own way. But it's like buying a meal at a restaurant. Sure you can add a little salt and pepper, but ultimately it's the cook who's responsible for most of the flavor.
A well-stocked, interesting dungeon half the size of Mad Mage would've been preferable.

 

[noko]

A few sessions ago I started running Dungeon of the Mad Mage on Roll20 with player buy-in. They were expecting a good, old-fashioned dungeon crawl with lots of combat, treasures, secret doors, etc. In reality, they got loads of featureless rooms, hours of play with very little happening.

I am comparing Mad Mage to other dungeons I've run in the past several months, such as Frog God Games' Rappan Athuk or Tegel Manor, and it doesn't come close.

I picked Mad Mage because I wanted something "official" that was available on Roll20 with minimal design I would have to do. (Other dungeons like Rappan Athuk aren't available on the platform, and I would need to build it from the ground up for the VTT format.) Now my players are bored, asking if I can steer them to "exciting" parts of the dungeon.

Anyone else have a similar situation with Mad Mage? Any other suggestions? (I did look through the "enhancing Mad Mage" thread, but it's mostly about putting in treasure in a dungeon that has few traps, few monsters, few memorable areas, but just a plethora of corridors that go to 30' square, featureless rooms.

Is your party going somewhere in the dungeon or trying to clear each level as they go?

 

[Retreater]

Is your party going somewhere in the dungeon or trying to clear each level as they go?

They wanted to kill monsters and search for loot. Beer and pretzels to unwind after stressful weeks, you know?

 

[Xenonnonex]

Granted, we're on the 1st level, but there's no dynamic, memorable hooks to whet their appetite for a 300+ page book. We're probably 5+ hours into the game, and very little has happened. And we're running briskly on VTT. They've uncovered a solid half of the 1st level map. Empty room after empty room.
And I know I can do roleplaying. I know I can add story. I know I can add descriptions and make it interesting in my own way. But it's like buying a meal at a restaurant. Sure you can add a little salt and pepper, but ultimately it's the cook who's responsible for most of the flavor.
A well-stocked, interesting dungeon half the size of Mad Mage would've been preferable.

Did you use any of the plothooks from the Yawning Portal? Or were they unceremoniously just dropped in the 1st level?

From the starting area alone there is quite of lot of featured rooms and encounters. There seems to be most things for the rooms. Maybe you are finding running the sheer breadth of the dungeons to be a hindrance.

 

[noko]

Then steer them into the more fun areas of the second level by means of a partial map (or set of directions written on the wall considering it's VTT) and take advantage of the stuff in the areas numbered 30 to 39. Try to get the revenant to join the party. Head down to third and let them go nuts and, I'd say dump them into Skullport from there. It's the perimeters of the maps that have the interesting things, all in their little groups of rooms attached by quite a few empty corridors. Chase them with a gelatinous cube or something of the sort to move them through dull areas. The dungeons are all set up but you do need to read quite a way ahead to keep things moving. This is an expensive module with its problems.

What it does have is plenty of areas for your players to hide and heal up in.

 

[Retreater]

Did you use any of the plothooks from the Yawning Portal? Or were they unceremoniously just dropped in the 1st level?

From the starting area alone there is quite of lot of featured rooms and encounters. There seems to be most things for the rooms. Maybe you are finding running the sheer breadth of the dungeons to be a hindrance.

One of the players is marginally concerned with plot, so I presented him with the "round up magic items for coin" hook, and that seemed sufficient. The others just wanted to go in and kill stuff, loot, and level up.
I'm more used to running dungeons that have interesting challenges in most areas. Whether they are combats to win, NPCs to negotiate with, secrets to explore, traps to avoid, or even an interesting feature to discover. Mad Mage seems about 50% empty, with many rooms "the only thing of interest in this 60 ft. area is a frayed coil of rope."

 

[Rellott]

I really like the Dungeon of the Mad Mage Companion by Wyatt Trull on DMs Guild. It adds an overarching narrative, gives Halaster a little more “face” time, and treats the characters as stars of a TV game show. It also comes up with a bunch of ideas to flesh things out so they’re less empty rooms and hallways - it adds special events and new factions and interactions.