D&D General good dungeons to populate a sandbox setting?

GlassJaw

Hero

• Jul 28, 2020

• #1

I'm putting together a new sandbox campaign and I'm looking for a few premade dungeons to sprinkle into the local region.

I'll be using Saltmarsh as the home base so it's a coastal setting with a big nasty swamp and a big nasty forest nearby. Off the coast is a large island chain, much of which is uncharted. I'm also changing the climate so it's more like the Caribbean/Florida Keys.

Anyway, I'll have lots of leads, plot hooks, and rumors for the players but I also like to have some completely stand-alone locations (as well as one-off jobs). Hey, any good game has gotta have side quests!

So what are some your favorite dungeons that fit the following criteria?

• Small to medium in size (1-3 sessions in length)
• Easily dropped into any campaign
• Require little to no hooks or plot development

Thanks!

 

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Musing Mage

Pondering D&D stuff

• Jul 28, 2020

• #2

I'm assuming you mean 5e... Goodman Games has been doing a line of updated old school adventures, their first one is a recreation of Keep on the Borderlands and In Search of the Unknown. (Called 'Into the Borderlands')

Setting the Keep and nearby dungeons a day or two from Saltmarsh could add a few good scenarios to your campaign.

 

Tales and Chronicles

Jewel of the North, formerly know as vincegetorix

• Jul 28, 2020

• #3

Well...there's always such classics Sunless Citadel and Forge of Fury (the former is more interesting than the later, in my opinion). Both can be found in the Tales from the Yawning Portal.

If not there's Kobold Press ''Lair'' and Prepared! That always has some interesting short dungeon with unusual creatures.

Also, big fan of: One Page Dungeon by watabou
to generate random, well mapped dungeons.

 

Quickleaf

Legend

• Jul 28, 2020

• #4

Tomb of the Serpent Kings is always a good dungeon to have on hand.

OSR: Tomb of the Serpent Kings Megapost

People keep asking for "beginner" dungeons. Everyone can name "classic" dungeons - Tomb of Horrors, Barrier Peaks, Temple of Elemental Evi...

coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com

5e conversion of Tomb of the Serpent Kings

 

R

Retreater

Legend

• Jul 28, 2020

• #5

I'll echo the goldmine of content in Tales from the Yawning Portal - though I'm not sure if I would classify Sunless Citadel, Forge of Fury, Hidden Shrine, et al as "1-3 session dungeons." Depends on your speed of play.

Personally, when creating a sandbox, I'd take the method of not placing anything until the characters explore the hex (using the philosophy from Forbidden Lands). So your dungeons aren't located anywhere until you need them. Maybe prep one or two and have them ready to drop in whenever the group is ready for a dungeon.

 

Levistus's_Leviathan

5e Freelancer

• Jul 29, 2020

• #6

I would personally add in the Dungeon of the Mad Mage (Undermountain), but only a few layers of it. If you want, you could split them into separate dungeons connected by portals, scattered across the world, all ruled by a mad wizard (basically Halaster Blackcloak).

Tales from the Yawning Portal also could fit if you need a few adventures just to throw in.

 

GlassJaw

Hero

• Jul 29, 2020

• #7

Esbee said:

I'm assuming you mean 5e

Click to expand...

Ahh I should have specified. System doesn’t matter. I’m an old vet so have a lot of material to draw from. I’m very familiar with the core 5E options.

Probably won’t use anything from TotYP because my group is fairly familiar with those adventures.

Retreater said:

Personally, when creating a sandbox, I'd take the method of not placing anything until the characters explore the hex (using the philosophy from Forbidden Lands). So your dungeons aren't located anywhere until you need them. Maybe prep one or two and have them ready to drop in whenever the group is ready for a dungeon.

Click to expand...

The campaign wont be a hexcrawl. It’s a hook-based sandbox. I present a lot of leads, hooks, rumors, clues, etc. and the players pursue what interests them. My absolute favorite type of campaign. Little more work up front but once the campaign gets rolling, I sit back and enjoy the ride.

 

Last edited: Jul 29, 2020

not-so-newguy

I'm the Straw Man in your argument

• Jul 29, 2020

• #8

B10 Night's Dark Terror has a bunch of mini-dungeons:

smaller dungeons
3 goblin lairs (wolf-riders would be the toughest of the 3)
Lake of Lost Dreams dungeon
3 ruined temples ( "Temples on the Ridge")
Gold Mine dungeon (Dwarven miners vs Orcs ...and the unique spider that hunts them all)

larger dungeons
Xitaqa
Hutaaka Temple.

ETA heck, you could probably add the Siege of Sukiskyn encounter too.

 

Last edited: Jul 29, 2020

Eltab

Lord of the Hidden Layer

• Jul 29, 2020

• #9

It might take longer than you want, but you could lift the city of Omu and/or the Tomb of Horrors out of Tomb of Annihilation and put that on an island. If you don't want the Tomb, the PCs can be looking for material about "the nine gods" of old legend. Maybe a current-day priest thinks he should research potential competition?

You also could use Pirate Cove as a pseudo-dungeon, if your group goes all Capt. Jack Sparrow swashbucklers.

 

Burnside

Space Jam Confirmed

Supporter

• Jul 29, 2020

• #10

Attack on Coppercoil
Attack on Coppercoil - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild
A 4-7 hour adventure for characters level 1-4.
Duergar raiders have attacked a secret gnome outpost. During a desperate rescue mission, adventurers encounter giant snails, a net full of gnomes, an octopus, a sealed scriptorium, death, a ruined birthday party, a berserk construct, a haunted letter, and much more.

Secrets of the Blind Palace
Secrets of the Blind Palace - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild
A 4-7 hour adventure for 3-7 characters of levels 1-4
The wealthy Von Crofts hire a party of adventurers to find the body of their dead son in a haunted pleasure palace – and to bring him back to life. To aid in their quest, the resurrectionists are provided with a guide: the only survivor of the previous expedition, a bard who has been unable to speak a word or sing a note since she escaped from the Blind Palace.