Which Edition for a Megadungeon Campaign? Why?

[LoganRan]

I'd personally favor a not-too-lethal system, just because is dull to have a TPK far from the opening and have the new party go through the already visited layers/levels.

For megadungeon, I'd go for having a party follow the tunnel of an ever-digging giant worms who swallowed your village/dear ones/whatever, so you go through various regions that the worm dug through, like a old necropolis, a dwarf-hold, a underground forest etc, hoping to catch up with the worm and take back what's yours. In the end, the worm itself could be one living dungeon.

Interestingly, I believe megadungeons actually are the campaign best suited for MORE lethal systems like ODD, B/X and AD&D. There isn't (or at least shouldn't be IMO) a "story" for a megadungeon so it is perfectly acceptable for a group to roll up an entirely new party because there is no long running narrative thread which will be lost at the moment of a TPK. Plus, it can be grimly amusing (if you are wired that way, and I am) for a party of freshly rolled PC's to see the groups former characters decorating the walls of the dungeon.

 

[Reynard]

@OP Have you tried asking on a dedicated OSR forum? Eg Dragonsfoot has a Megadungeon dedicated forum Megadungeons - Dragonsfoot

No. I was interested in what folks here had to say about it. It's true that the definition seems to have slipped, but it is kind of to be expected when WotC marketed DoMM as a megadungeon, which it isn't.

 

[Retreater]

No. I was interested in what folks here had to say about it. It's true that the definition seems to have slipped, but it is kind of to be expected when WotC marketed DoMM as a megadungeon, which it isn't.

I'm curious of what published examples you would use to put us all on the same page, because I was reading "megadundeon" as "a big dungeon filled with rooms, hallways, traps, and monsters."
What pops into my head are Rappan Athuk, Barrowmaze, Temple of Elemental Evil, and The Caverns of Thracia. I'd also describe Undermountain as one, though the 5e version left much to be desired.

 

[Blue]

I get the impression most posters here are not aware of what a 'megadungeon campaign' is in the OSR/old school D&D context.
Extended exploration and mapping of a very large simulated environment is a very important element of this kind of campaign. Resource management is a big factor - not necessarily torches & rations, but certainly spell slots & hit points. The game is played at strategic, operational & tactical levels, so a purely tactical RPG like 4e D&D is a very poor fit - and I have tried! Nor is it a story game like Dungeon World.

What you are saying isn't incorrect, but it's only half the picture. I've done Undermountain and homebrew megadungeons back in AD&D 2nd days. I understand the strategic aspects - what do we have left, how can we camp safely, do we push, do we take this elevator down to what may be a lot more deadly, etc. You are right on all of that.

But a megadungeon is ultimately a narrower set of experiences vs. a full world. Exploration of a constrained type, puzzles, some RP with different groups, and lots of combat. So you need a system that can make all of those consistently interesting. Of D&D version, 4e normally isn't what I reach for first. But it is the only one to actually provide a complex challenge resolution framework with skill challenges. And combat in a megadungeon is often a larger percentage of play time because of how common it is and the heavy focus on set-piece combat with interesting terrain/hazards and lots of movement/area effects to interact with it is another strength of 4e.

So the issue is not that 4e is the perfect ruleset for it. The issue is that repetitive aspects of a megadungeon is where 4e is good at providing differentiation and therefore keeps things fresh. And therefore fun.

 

[Reynard]

I'm curious of what published examples you would use to put us all on the same page, because I was reading "megadundeon" as "a big dungeon filled with rooms, hallways, traps, and monsters."
What pops into my head are Rappan Athuk, Barrowmaze, Temple of Elemental Evil, and The Caverns of Thracia. I'd also describe Undermountain as one, though the 5e version left much to be desired.

Of those you listed only Barrowmaze is a true megadungeon -- although Rappan Athuk may be at this point, since it has gone through major expansion and revision since it first appeared. I haven't seen the latest version. Both ToEE and Thracia are "big dungeons" which aren't the same thing.

The key difference at least as is usually discussed is that a megadungeon is dynamic underground environment where adventures take place -- not an adventure in and of itself. There are rooms and traps and treasure and monsters, of course, but there is no "plot." PCs enter and explore a megadungeon for lots of reasons, but none of them are "to clear it" since it can't be cleared.

In short "megadungeon" =/= "big dungeon."

 

[Greggy C]

2e so the combat was not slow...

 

[mhd]

I've always been reluctant to play with megadungeons, as I like my occasional change of scenery and city adventures. So I guess that my "MD" would have a lot of features of those. Cultural centers, probably merging several different locations into a big whole, or at least several strata (!= levels) of a common theme that allow for some variation.

I'd ber tempted to use something like Knave for this, where by loot alone the PCs are set in motion. But if the premise is an official edition, I would probably opt for one of the following:

• OD&D plus so many house rules that this entry might count as cheating. Spell points, no clerics etc.
• Dragon Fist, where the stunt die would serve neatly for creative obstacle avoidance.
• 3.0 – not 3.5, and only the core book. I like the original buff spells for exploration, the classes aren't that much bloated, but you still have some toys to play with.

 

[Retreater]

Of those you listed only Barrowmaze is a true megadungeon [SNIP]

So I can help with that, using Barrowmaze as an example. I've run it somewhat recently in 5e, for my wife and her brother who just wanted to run through something and kill a lot of monsters. I'd describe the 5e experience as not overly challenging at all or needing any real planning, strategy, or conservation of resources.
To do Barrowmaze "properly," I think you'd want to use B/X, OD&D, Old School Essentials, Swords & Wizardry, Labyrinth Lord, or another similar B/X or OD&D retroclone (they all play basically the same).
For any system you're considering, if you want a "classic old-school dungeon feel," I'd look for the following red flags:
1) 0-level spells/on-demand magic (especially Light, which makes torches unnecessary)
2) rapid healing (if it's more than 1/hp per day - without magic - it's probably too easy to heal and your party won't retreat from the dungeon to resupply and recover that often)
3) Perception checks (making die rolls to spot traps - or worse - Passive Perception; this lowers engagement with traps and the narrative description)

 

[billd91]

I'm not that keen on megadungeon campaigns, but if I had to run one and couldn't use 5e, I'd go back to the AD&D 1e/2e hybrid that we played throughout the 1990s.

I'd skip the 3e family because I'm not that enamored of being so grid-bound in combat and the extra funky configuration options of 3e's multiclassing doesn't seem worth it for a dungeoncrawl. And I'd skip 4e because of the grid as well as the focus around the encounter as the unit of all resource management since resource management and rest should be an important aspect of a dungeon crawl - plus, I didn't particularly like the edition's gameplay either.

 

[Monayuris]

I'd recommend B/X or Old School Essentials without hesitation.

• It is quick to create characters, characters are streamlined and simple allowing more focus on exploration of the dungeon and interacting with the environment.
• It includes some very precise and detailed dungeon exploration procedures that help create structure to a dungeon crawl session.
• Combat is fast in these games. You don't get bogged down too much with complex combat mechanics. Megadungeons are about exploration and discovery not about tactical combat. You want a system that gets combat over with quickly when it happens.
• Reaction rules and morale allow more variety in encounters. Not every encounter needs to be a combat and reactions that end up being friendly or neutral can open up faction play which takes megadungeon exploration to higher levels.
• Mixed characters can adventure together so you can easily get new players in the game (for West Marches style play). If a character dies it is quick to roll a new one and get them in the action (without worrying too much about balance).
• They are easy to house rule and mod to your tastes. There's tons of content out there in that regards. If you need a little more character development, you can find a simple feat / skill system you can bolt on.

I'd highly suggest Old School Essentials if you do go that route. It is B/X but better organized. It is 100% compatible with anything written for B/X (or Labyrinth Lord for that matter). It also has an Advanced Fantasy line where it takes the classic AD&D classes (paladin, ranger, druid) and redesigns them in B/X. It gives you a best of both worlds situation where you can get all the class options of AD&D but with the simplicity of B/X.