Expedition to Undermountain Opinions?

[Asmodeur]

Hi,

I ran quite a few adventures using the two Ruins of Undermountain boxed sets and I'm not surprised that one book can't detail every room in the dungeon.

What I am interested to know from someone who is famiilar with the 2e material, does the book update old encounters or is the content brand new? Also, does it use any of the recent Return to Undermountain website material?

What's putting me off slightly is one or two posters saying that the content is a bit dull.

Cheers


Richard

Since I dont have my old box sets anymore, I cant be sure, but looking through the encounters in the book, no bell of recognition rang. Lots of the fluff is similar, but looks like it is brand new encounters. 3 Minotaurs. Then 3 Minotaurs. Then 4 Minotaurs. Then 3 Minotaurs and a couple of drow..../golfclap.. Wait, I forgot the room with 3 Minotaurs and a chieftain Minotaur (who has +2 str and 1 hp more per hd).

(the example above is a slight exageration, but you should get the idea)

Dull stuff imho... Although that is much a matter of taste i suspect

cheers

 

[DM_Jeff]

Well, now that I have it I feel a little better. The intro goes a long way to telling us what the product really is and hopes to accomplish, and alleviates some of my overall worries about the lack of detail in some areas.

For some reason (maybe the outline?) this book seems more approachable and well, readable than the old boxed set. Still, the maps are all over the place, some sprawling maze-like abominations and others with great detail but with 1/16" squares I can barely see. Something says some tinkering with those is in order.

A while back on these boards, someone wondered if WotC would ever revisit their "Book of Lairs" series with their new easy-to-use format. Well, in my opinion, they did, and this is it. So, until I read much deeper and get an idea of the massive storyline they're hinting at, I may delve into it as written or simply pull the encounters out to add to any other game I'm running. Good utility, that. **keep mind open...keep mind open...**

-DM Jeff

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Well, now that I have it I feel a little better. The intro goes a long way to telling us what the product really is and hopes to accomplish, and alleviates some of my overall worries about the lack of detail in some areas.

TEASE! What does the intro say, paraphrased?

 

[Zaukrie]

DMJeff, that is how I've read the book being since the first person posted on WotC that they had the book. The question I now have, until I see it, is "is it worth that much money to get that, and can I, in my brain, justify buying it in spite of it not being what I wanted it to be"?

 

[DM_Jeff]

TEASE! What does the intro say, paraphrased?

Well, it lays out nice and simple that Undermountain is just too big for any book to tackle, then it goes into hand-hold mode. Kinda like "I'll tell ya what we're gonna do...we'll give you a big storyline, and tons of themed encounters and then tackle a little section of the map to set it in. Maybe the passages to the rest of the map are blocked off or just not there...we don't want the players wandering around empty rooms! But we'll give you lots of ideas and themes to jump-start the undefined parts, if you wish to tackle it."

Basically it breaks it down into manageable chunks nice and clear. That'll work for me. Then it promises toolkit stuff: factions, ongoing NPC interests, and purposes of levels to get you going. That kinda info!

-DM Jeff

 

[DM_Jeff]

The question I now have, until I see it, is "is it worth that much money to get that, and can I, in my brain, justify buying it in spite of it not being what I wanted it to be"?

What did you want it to be?

It's barely a Forgotten Realms book if that's what you mean. That doesn't bug me. I'm a big FR fan, but keeping it open means more utility for all the homebrew folks, so that's cool. But the deep Realmslore is far and few between.

It set me back about $24 on Amazon. Heck, I spent $40 to take my family to see "Shrek 3" and that lasted 90 minutes. I certainly expect to get a heck of a lot more time out of this even if I just hack the encounters to use elsewhere! If you tell me what you were looking for perhaps I can put the $ into better perspective.

-DM Jeff

 

[DM_Jeff]

Editing and Development: Director of RPG R&D Bill Slavicsek ("da big cheese").

Interesting...

-DM Jeff

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

This sounds perfect for an under-Ptolus game. When you get a chance, I'd love to hear about the basic plotline and some general descriptions of what sorts of threats are faced in the adventure.

 

[DM_Jeff]

This sounds perfect for an under-Ptolus game. When you get a chance, I'd love to hear about the basic plotline and some general descriptions of what sorts of threats are faced in the adventure.

The real basics are: folks all over get a dream-like vision that something terrible has happened to Undermountain, are drawn to the spot, and know that something, somewhere in there needs fixing. It's just that no one knows what that is. They are compelled to explore it to find the answers or a dire threat to the city will come true.

That's the basics to getting folks down there (and a good reason to run into other adventurers). Once embarked, there are mini adventures to putting the peices together and solving the mystery.

Hey, flipping through Chapter Two, I kinda like this even more. The first 'mission' involves actually entering Undermountain for the first time, the other factions involved, and details about 2 dozen rooms with half of them combat encounters requiring the 2-page spread. The other rooms in the area are not 'empty'. If they wander into an undeveloped area nearby, there's a wandering monster chart with all stats on a single 2-page spread.

SPOILERS


Mr. Dustyboots, this reads to me to fit very comfortable in Ptolus. Lots of encounters seems out of the ordinary (not counting a few goblin run-ins) there's a named flameskull, a metalmaster, a caryatid column, a named mimic, an ooze or two, baneguards, and more. A nice mix and selection. Mind you this is just the beginning. I have LOTS more to read!



-DM Jeff

 

[Zaukrie]

I figured that about 3/4 of the encounters would be keyed, and there'd be lots of empty rooms, and that I could fill in around the keyed encounters. I figured those keyed encounters would be an adventure or three. It sounds like disconnected encoutners, for the most part, but I'm about to stop at the FLGS and look.....