D&D 5E Sell me on a megadungeon

[Eric V]

So I guess you ended up making your choice (all of them! Good choice!) but if you were willing to do some system conversions I would have recommended Eyes of the Stone Thief in a heartbeat.

 

[Mercurius]

My experiences in mega-dungeons have been... not so great. You get weary of it after a while.

Yeah, I hear you, but my sense is that is a factor of poor design and possibly implementation...there are a few qualities that a megadungeon requires to be compelling, and sometimes they aren't present, whether in the product itself or the DM's (understandable) challenges with putting it all together.

For instance, I think a huge component is lots of lore, tidbits of lost knowledge, a mystery to be solved, etc. Related to that, some kind of underlying theme that ties it all together; a backstory that makes the PCs want to understand what and why it exists - but forms more of a back-drop, rather than a railroaded meta-story that must be solved. Also, a diversity of challenges - not just yet another room filled with milling skeletons. Thirdly, not too many empty rooms. Some to allow rest, but nothing is more tedious than checking room after room for secret doors and traps and nothing's there.

As Gillespie and Runehammer discuss here, there's something deeply evocative about the idea of a megadungeon. The key is bringing that idea into reality. I love the idea of a seemingly endless maze of corridors, chambers and caverns, within which you never know what you'll encounter - be it traps, foes, treasure, or secrets of history. But again, the challenge is implementing it in such a way that the PCs want to keep coming back for more, which involves finding the right balance.

 

[Ancalagon]

Yeah, I hear you, but my sense is that is a factor of poor design and possibly implementation...there are a few qualities that a megadungeon requires to be compelling, and sometimes they aren't present, whether in the product itself or the DM's (understandable) challenges with putting it all together.

For instance, I think a huge component is lots of lore, tidbits of lost knowledge, a mystery to be solved, etc. Related to that, some kind of underlying theme that ties it all together; a backstory that makes the PCs want to understand what and why it exists - but forms more of a back-drop, rather than a railroaded meta-story that must be solved. Also, a diversity of challenges - not just yet another room filled with milling skeletons. Thirdly, not too many empty rooms. Some to allow rest, but nothing is more tedious than checking room after room for secret doors and traps and nothing's there.

As Gillespie and Runehammer discuss here, there's something deeply evocative about the idea of a megadungeon. The key is bringing that idea into reality. I love the idea of a seemingly endless maze of corridors, chambers and caverns, within which you never know what you'll encounter - be it traps, foes, treasure, or secrets of history. But again, the challenge is implementing it in such a way that the PCs want to keep coming back for more, which involves finding the right balance.

Oh the idea is powerful, I don't know about it working for an entire campaign. Gates of firestorm speak had 4 different "zones", a few faction, a powerful story and a satisfying conclusion.

Some players are really into dungeoneering, and the megadungeon is clearly for them - but you have to make sure that all your players are on board.

 

[Mercurius]

Oh the idea is powerful, I don't know about it working for an entire campaign. Gates of firestorm speak had 4 different "zones", a few faction, a powerful story and a satisfying conclusion.

Some players are really into dungeoneering, and the megadungeon is clearly for them - but you have to make sure that all your players are on board.

Yes, true. This is why I want to provide one (or a few) as options within a larger sandbox environment.

 

[Mistwell]

Ernest Gary Gygax Jr.'s Marmoreal Tomb is coming out shortly (finally, after years of waiting). It looks like it's going to be an EPIC megadungeon.

 

[Monayuris]

Oh the idea is powerful, I don't know about it working for an entire campaign. Gates of firestorm speak had 4 different "zones", a few faction, a powerful story and a satisfying conclusion.

Some players are really into dungeoneering, and the megadungeon is clearly for them - but you have to make sure that all your players are on board.

I’ve had success with the mega-dungeon as tent pole concept.

The idea being that the mega-dungeon is the clear obvious activity on any given session, but there is a world beyond it.

If you want overland adventures there are other areas to explore. Likewise, if you want some political maneuvering or social interaction there are means to enjoy such.

But the mega-dungeon remains there to return to time and time again.

The key to pulling it off is to have hooks in the dungeon that lead outside and hooks outside that lead back in.

The dungeon becomes the focal point and default activity, but not the only thing to do.

 

[Reynard]

I am casting Raise Thread instead of starting a new one.

@Mercurius have you run any of the mega-dungeons you purchased? I am interested in doing one myself, and am on the fence between RA and Forbidden Caverns.

 

[Charlaquin]

Barrowmaze - Is designed as an "old school" dungeon experience. It is intended to use a lot of the mechanics like wandering monsters, encumbrance, XP for treasure, henchmen, etc. I ran a few sessions of it using Labyrinth Lord years ago and it went great, but I think if you wanted to use it like a standard 5E dungeon you would end up with the TV cut of a Tarintino movie - you are eliminating most of the stuff the creator though made it great. The lore is pretty minimal and you are mostly fighting various undead (some cultists and mongrelmen tossed in for variety) in order to take their treasure.

You can do all of those things in 5e.

 

[Reynard]

You can do all of those things in 5e.

Have you run one of the old school mega-dungeon 5E conversions? I can't decide whether it is better to find one made for 5E, since many of the expectations are so different. I own Scarlet Citadel but was kind of underwhelmed reading it. At the same time I don't want to buy Rappan Athuk 5E only to find out that it doesn't work because all they did was search replace the statblocks.

 

[Charlaquin]

Also, RE: 5e turn undead in Barrowmaze, the 5e version of the module notes that all undead in the Barrowmaze have +2 to all saves against turning effects, and turning undead multiple times in one day increases the bonus by +2 each time beyond the first. And there is an in-universe reason given for this, in case folks are concerned about internal consistency.