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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ovarwa" data-source="post: 7123872" data-attributes="member: 75153">Hi,If you dislike dungeons, it makes sense for you to megadislike megadungeons.That said, the features that make a dungeon 'good', by any particular subjective goodness, can make a megadungeon completely awesome.There are many different kinds of dungeons.  The classic dungeon involves a literal descent through increasing levels of difficulty, exploration of the environment, extermination and exploitation of what is found there, and finally achieving some objective.But to my mind, none of these features define a dungeon.Here's another kind of dungeon, from a (no dice! rare combat! treasure largely irrelevant!) game I once ran:  The PCs are honored guests of the king's spymaster, living at his extensive estate.  They seem to have the run of the place.  Every night, there is a grand ball at the king's palace, to which the PCs, of course, are invited.  There are no monsters.  There is lots of treasure, starting with the dazzling jewelry being worn out in the open (ok, I could start with the couture) and moving on from there to everything else.  Objective?  Get out without further messing up the timeline, without pissing anyone off, and especially without revealing that you are not who everyone thinks you are, which is especially difficult because your gracious host neglected to mention that he is the king's spymaster.  Exploration?  Lots, especially because there is so much the PCs would love to know about this era and its people, and about how to solve their major problem.  Dangers?  Many, not the least of which is being seduced or tempted.Why do I think of my design as a dungeon?* It has constrained boundaries that are difficult to leave.* It has clear victory conditions.* It is an environment worth exploring.* Different kinds of challenges are constrained to specific rooms and "rooms".* Opportunities and challenges are paired.* The pacing is almost entirely driven by player decisions, especially about what to explore and when.  Many dungeons don't have this feature, but most of the classics do.There are many good ways to do things, but dungeons of various kinds do work for a segment of a campaign, every segment of a campaign, or even the campaign itself.Sigil was mentioned earlier.  Other examples exist, even in literature.  Hunger Games I and II are obvious examples, but Dhalgren is a kind of dungeon too.  So is Vegas in Showgirls.  I hesitate to include Buffy's Sunnydale here, probably because the place has tertiary importance.  Escape from NY works, though.  There are many, many examples.Constrain the setting, fill it with neighborhoods and set pieces that offer dangers and rewards, cohere it through theme and consistency, and let the PCs loose to explore, and maybe you've got yourself a dungeon, or even a mega-dungeon, whether the danger comes from orcs and beholders, from a duellist after saying the wrong thing at a fancy party, or from an attorney.Anyway,Ken</blockquote>

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