D&D General Best dungeons?

[RangerWickett]

What is it about The Forge of Fury that stands out, in your opinion?

 

[Evaniel]

What is it about The Forge of Fury that stands out, in your opinion?

It's just a really good example of a well-designed vanilla fantasy dungeon.

• It rewards scouting the external terrain with alternative points of entry (rather than the obvious--but fraught--opening).
• Multiple ways of approaching conflict including stealth, trickery, persuasion, etc. in addition to combat.
• Speaking of combat, there is a good variety of terrain in the dungeon that can introduce novelty into what might be otherwise straightforward fights: differences in elevation, cover, choke points, etc.
• An overall simple story that informs the composition of the dungeon without overcomplicating it. It has an element of Gygaxian naturalism that makes it so the assorted denizens make sense, but not so much that they are predictable.
• There is a variety of challenge levels in it so that PCs don't get complacent. Some encounters are brutal, but they aren't gatekeeping encounters that keep the PCs from proceeding. They're largely (like the Roper) off the beaten track.
• Branching paths within the dungeon. There are a variety of ways to explore and move between levels, making the choices during exploration feel meaningful.

There are probably others, but this is what occurs to me off the top of my head.

 

[Burnside]

I'll also add that I've come to prefer a different approach to bigger dungeons than the megadungeon. That is, rather than deeper, I wish they'd go "broader." When I was younger, I always dreamed of getting to run Undermountain back in 2e. When I finally had a chance to run it a few times for 5e, we all got burned out on it by around its fifth level.

Rather, we had far more fun with Ythrin (from Rime of the Frostmaiden): a sandbox ruined city featuring a number of smaller dungeon sites PCs could explore. It felt more open and intelligible. Like, the PCs could make more informed choices about how to explore and less mired down in any one area. We're starting up Dungeons of Drakkenheim soon, and it's giving me similar vibes, so I'm pretty excited.

I really, really like Ythryn but I wish the book had included a lot more maps of the locations inside it - at least the ones where combat is likely.

I agree with folks about Tomb of Annihilation being great and Undermountain being a burnout. Ravenloft is really good although the very frequent ascent and descent of levels can sometimes be a bit of a pain and the elevator trap is horrible.

I enjoyed running Forge of Fury but for my group’s tastes I had to add a lot more roleplaying opportunities to the Glitterhame and Forge levels.

 

[MNblockhead]

Depends what you are looking for. Do you want it to be a campaign length location or just a cool place for a few sessions.

I ran a five year campaign based in and around the Rappan Athuk mega-dungeon. I hesitate to recommend it because it is huge and is a bit of a hodgepodge, bordering on gonzo at times. But we has a lot of fun with it.

 

[Bill Zebub]

The original I6: Ravenloft back when it came out. We all thought it was the best D&D experience we had ever had.

 

[Bill Zebub]

It's just a really good example of a well-designed vanilla fantasy dungeon.

• It rewards scouting the external terrain with alternative points of entry (rather than the obvious--but fraught--opening).
• Multiple ways of approaching conflict including stealth, trickery, persuasion, etc. in addition to combat.
• Speaking of combat, there is a good variety of terrain in the dungeon that can introduce novelty into what might be otherwise straightforward fights: differences in elevation, cover, choke points, etc.
• An overall simple story that informs the composition of the dungeon without overcomplicating it. It has an element of Gygaxian naturalism that makes it so the assorted denizens make sense, but not so much that they are predictable.
• There is a variety of challenge levels in it so that PCs don't get complacent. Some encounters are brutal, but they aren't gatekeeping encounters that keep the PCs from proceeding. They're largely (like the Roper) off the beaten track.
• Branching paths within the dungeon. There are a variety of ways to explore and move between levels, making the choices during exploration feel meaningful.

There are probably others, but this is what occurs to me off the top of my head.

Agree with all of the above about Forge of Fury. Still not my favorite dungeon ever, or the best, but it's sort of the Honda Accord of dungeons, in that it gets you there reliably. I've played it once, and DM'd it a few times.

 

[Shiroiken]

Personal favorite that I've played once and ran numerous times: the original Temple of Elemental Evil. The players start with minimal information about what's going on, and have the ability to learn it from captured enemies. They can try to bull rush in, or search for alternate entrances and sneak about. They can try and pit the different factions against each other if they're smart. I wish they'd done a bit better job giving info to the DM (everything is kinda scattered about the book), but overall I'd rate it as one of the best.

Second would be Pharaoh. The only big issue I have with it is that it doesn't have a good entrance into the dungeon. I've had to railroad it a few times to get into the pyramid proper. Everything else about it is phenomenal.

 

[Lanefan]

My favourites (for similar reasons in all cases) are:

--- L1 Secret of Bone Hill
--- Dark Tower (Judges' Guild)
--- a homebrew dungeon from 1981 written by a friend

Most of what @Evaniel says above re Forge of Fury applies to all three of these; Bone Hill wins out because it has numerous possible points of entry where the other two really only have just one. Forge of Fury itself would probably be in my top ten.

 

[sevenbastard]

I mostly run home brew but I agree of what I've ran Forge of Furry is better than it has any right to be.

I'd nominated The Caverns of Thracia but I've never played or ran it but some day...

Also a left field choice; X8 Drums of Fire Mountain. The dungeon has multiple entrances connected to the above ground wilderness. Also haven't played it but feels like it might be fun.

 

[aco175]

Played an EPIC game at the local convention a few years ago where all 5 tables competed against each other. There was 25 people and 4 DMs to try and move along. There was a giant stadium set up and each team needed to retrieve something from a pole or tree in the middle and bring it back to your space to get points. It was chaotic and slow since there was so many people, but it was fun and memorable.