Biggest dungeon?

[Mistwell]

I've heard Banewarrens is huge, but it takes the PC's from 6th level only to 10th...

See:

http://www.montecook.com/mpress_Bane.html

 

[Mahiro Satsu]

Dragon Mountain. And it makes you scared of Kabolds. evil, evil kabolds.

 

[bloodymage]

C'mon guys. You keep givin' me names, but no information! Grazzt is the only one who's given me anything concrete (except for links from the others, thank you). I'm looking for a map of the biggest, most multi-layered dungeon I can find that will pass as dwarven. I'm not interested in adventures or monsters or treasure, just the layout of a dwarven metropolis/kingdom. Gimme a hand here.

 

[JeffB]

Well I'd say your best choice would be the Second Edition Middle Earth RPG Moria book by ICE. Unfortunately it's hard to find except on ebay , and very expensivve these days (My dumb self sold all my MERP stuff..sigh).


For D&D stuff, RA in all 3 parts as well as Undermountain would be your best bets, but neither are really like dwarven cities...

You'd think after ALL these years there would be one grandiose & massive underground Dwarven citadel, but durn If I can think of one besides the Moria book.

Oh you might chek out some of the Earthdawn Supplements as well...Throal (the dwarven kingdoms book)might have what you are looking for.

 

[jester47]

The big dungeon in Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil is explicitly Dwarven.

Rappan Athuk can be dwarven, and there are hints that it is of dwarven make.

I am sure the banewarrens can pass as dwarven. If its maps you are looking for I would suggest combining dungeons. Use the maps from Undermountain, RttToEE, ToEE, The Banewarrens, Rappan Athuk, and dragon mountain. That should give you tons of space. I would layer it like this:

Dragon mountain
Main dungeon from RttToEE
Banewarrens
ToEE
Undermountain 1 2 and lost levels
Rappan Athuk

With the layers going top to bottom.

 

[Nightfall]

I don't know about Banewarrens but I believe Scott count of 26 levels is pretty accurate. Though it only talks about 15 levels, there are MANY deeper and sub levels that often get by-passed. Believe me, I like the other stuff, but for SHEER hell and massive levels, Rappen Athuk is great. I may download Banewarrens to compare, but so far, I LIKE what RA has to offer. You have Lots of Iron Golems, plenty of Dragons, and a gateway to the Abyss and Orcus' private grotta party with subbuci!

 

[Creamsteak]

I've run a 39 floor dungeon with each floor containing between 5 and 80 rooms, and with multiple paths to every location... it was incredible... till the party was killed utterly on floor 13...

I used a random map generator, and randomly placed starcases up and down the thing in random locations to random floors pretty much. Pretty simple process, but making sure everything lines up appropriatly took months. It was a fun as hell hack-n-slash though... all the carnage.

Let me recommend you stick to EL's exactly 1 below the group level in big dungeons, because at level encounters and 1 over resulted in a TPK when the group was ambushed at night when they tried to spend time in one of the primary coridors...

Make it a maze that even you don't know the way out of, you know it's there... but you don't know the path yourself. That way you have more fun, in my humble opinion.

Also, I recommend having themes that add a lot to the story that pervade every area... scribbles on walls that have nothign to do with the main plot, but if decoded reveal some truely ominous information and such...

Actually, if only I could get the entire underground dwarven ruins of Morrowind on map. It's an entire underground dwarven continent, that your group won't be able to get out of till thy can travel etherreal through five hundred miles of solid earth... it would be fantastic. There is little information on Morrowind around, so I can't tell you to go looking for it.

Your going ot have to do at least a lot of your own work, so buckle down and get some grandious overview done and fill in the spots in between campaign sessions...

I'm ranting I think?

 

[bloodymage]

How many level do these things have? RA is the only one that's been specified.

OK. What's everyone think of jester47's idea? Dwarven (hi-rent, lo-rent maybe?)? How would that stack up against Moria (if you have more info JeffB, I'd appreciate it.)?

Oh, and thanks for the tips creamsteak. Some good ideas there.

Maybe I should state my premise. All the dwarves were abducted centuries ago by a lord of the Abyss. Other things, creatures, came through the gate into the metropolis. There are pockets of survivors battling the denizens of the now dead complex. Creatures, including adventurers, can enter from the outside, but none can leave. The only way out is through the Abyss where the dwarven population remains in thrall. The adventurers will enter at probably no higher than 4th level. They will be underground for years in game time before discovering the secret to freedom. So, I need a map with lots and lotsa levels!

 

[Psion]

Psion, you're right. What I'm basically looking for is a map(s). Thanks for the link, but a 6 level dwarven complex is way too puny. You say it's similar to Undermountain. Is UM that small?

No. Undermountain is huge. The first UM boxed set has 4 poster sized fold out maps with small squares; there is also a second boxed set, three expansion adventures, plus an unkeyed level in the FR atlas. The problem is, buying all that is quite a task.

I was just saying the dwarven citadel detailed on those map pages I directed you do is similar in approach and detail.

Here's the rub: you say you don't want an adventure but maps. Rappan Athuk is deep, but it's not a dwarven city; at least I thought I'd give you something that is like a dwarven city.

Sure, that dwarven citadel is only a few levels (albeit big levels), but look at the rest of the maps on the page, and go to the links on the top and look at some of the more recent maps and kitbash them together.

Another good option if you just want random maps is irony games ( www.irony.com ). Print out 50 levels of dungeons and caverns, put staircases in, and call it a dungeon.

 

[bloodymage]

Thanks, Psion. I bookmarked the irony site.