Expedition to Undermountain Opinions?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Other than the fact that it sounds like I need to pick up another Monster Manual -- I don't recall two of the monsters from that list -- this sounds great for my purposes. I don't like the "something mysterious is happening" hook, but I can fix that. Hell, in Ptolus, there's a whole class of people who go underground just because.

 

[MerricB]

You know, this product is beginning to sound really cool.

Hmm. Do I get it?

Cheers!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Is there -- and I ask, knowing I'll likely be disappointed -- a list in the book of which book the monsters all come from?

 

[Zaukrie]

Looked through it today, and liked it more on personal inspection. The encounters are keyed to specific rooms, which I did not think was the case. The encounters are somewhat varied, but there are some that aren't so (minotaurs galore and drow). So, it was better than I thought.

Each monster had a 2-3 letter abbreviation next to it, indicating what book it came from!

Here's what I didn't like:

the rooms are too level, they need to use the 3D aspect more.
the encounters don't vary quite enough
there isn't 2-3 adventures to get you started
Lack of art on the delve pages
Lack of using monsters widely released as minis! You've released hundreds and hundreds of minis, give us encounters with those!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Each monster had a 2-3 letter abbreviation next to it, indicating what book it came from!

/faint



Is there a list, maybe in the introduction, of what other books are referenced? I think I'm going to get this and want to see what other books I need to run it to its fullest effect.

 

[Zaukrie]

I too almost fainted. I did not yet bite on buying it, so I can't say if there is a listing of referenced books.

 

[DemonKing]

I wasn't a big fan of the huge empty maps in the original Ruins of Undermountain and I doubt I'll be a huge fan of them here.

In defense of B1, at least the DM was provided with a lot of description, and only had to select monsters and treasure to spice up the scenario. Here it seems like, aside from a few rooms, you'll have to do the same *plus* provide the description.

Saying that, no sane person would construct a huge dungeon and painstakingly populate it room by room and expect the PCs not to be bored out of their brains rather quickly.

I ran Undermountain in 2nd Ed as the PCs making a punitative expedition against a noble Drow house, that had been cousing trouble in Waterdeep, in a drow city buried deep beneath Undermountain (I used the Menzoberranzen boxed set). Then they had to escape up through Undermountain. This enabled me to stage encounters as I saw fit along their escape path and for a number of them I plucked encounters straight out of the Undermountain book and simply drew a map as the players progressed that encorporated them.

 

[DM_Jeff]

Is there a list, maybe in the introduction, of what other books are referenced? I think I'm going to get this and want to see what other books I need to run it to its fullest effect.

*deep breath* Champions of Ruin, City of Splendors: Waterdeep, Complete Adventurer, Complete Divine, Complete Mage, Complete Warrior, Draconomicon, Epic Level Handbook, Expanded Psionics Handbook, Faiths & Pantheons, Feind Folio, FR Campaign Setting, Heroes of Horror, Libris Mortis, Lords of Madness, Lost Empires of Faerun, Magic of Faerun, Miniatures Handbook, MM2, MM3, MM4, Player's Guide to Faerun, PHB2, Races of Stone, Spell Compendium, Tome of Battle, Tome of Magic, and Underdark.

And I'm only on page 18 of a word-by-word read and they've already made use of many of these sources. And, while not mentioned in the beginning list, a writeup from Serpent Kingdoms is attributed to something powergrouping down there as well.

-DM Jeff

 

[Shroomy]

I looked at this at a FLGS yesterday, and I know what my belated Father's Day gift will be....

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

*deep breath* Champions of Ruin, City of Splendors: Waterdeep, Complete Adventurer, Complete Divine, Complete Mage, Complete Warrior, Draconomicon, Epic Level Handbook, Expanded Psionics Handbook, Faiths & Pantheons, Feind Folio, FR Campaign Setting, Heroes of Horror, Libris Mortis, Lords of Madness, Lost Empires of Faerun, Magic of Faerun, Miniatures Handbook, MM2, MM3, MM4, Player's Guide to Faerun, PHB2, Races of Stone, Spell Compendium, Tome of Battle, Tome of Magic, and Underdark.

And I'm only on page 18 of a word-by-word read and they've already made use of many of these sources. And, while not mentioned in the beginning list, a writeup from Serpent Kingdoms is attributed to something powergrouping down there as well.

Ouch. Well, the good news for FR DMs (they're using all those books you've paid for!) is my pain. I think I'll pick this up and MM4 and see how it goes.