Idea for an Undermountain Campaign - Advice

[The Padre]

Greetings all.

I'm considering putting together a campaign in which the main setting would be a mamoth dungeon complex, something like the old Undermountain box set, for my players.

My big problem is that I would have thought that it could be quite boring just trapsing around a Dungeon for a campaign!

Does anyone have any ideas as to what could be done to make a Dungeon campaign interesting to the players and not bog down into a dungeon crawl?

Dave

 

[Argus Decimus Mokira]

Hey

I would imagine the most important thing to do would to create a definite goal for the campaign - a true reason to adventure in the same dungeon for such a long time. You can then integrate encounters that involves the main goal of the campaign with random dungeon crawl encounters.
I ran a Waterdeep/Undermountain campaign back in the day revolving around a group of bored young nobles (the less-than heroic PCs) uncovering a plot that would spell disaster for their families and fortunes. A rival to the four familes they represented was dealing with the drow in Undermountain, delivering trade items from Sembia and points east through the Underdark to Skullport (a city of pirates in Undermountain with magical access to the sea above and Waterdeep harbor). From Skullport the rival would bring them to the surface and sell them for less than the PC's family merchants were selling for. After some time the PCs discovered the nefarious Zhentarim were behind it all, and they left the greater-Waterdeep area to raid Darkhold - but only after spending 12 levels worth of campaign time in Undermountain.

Good luck
-Matt

 

[Mark CMG]

These two threads should be of some help in that regard-

http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20752

http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18134

Hope that helps!

 

[megamania]

Assuming you have a good tracker- rescue a noble's idiotic son

Working for a bumbling mage who thinks he can map all of the portals hidden within

Gang wars. Undermt environment is large but not large enough for Orcs, Goblins, Drow and theives.

 

[Drawmack]

Make it a prison where the cirnimal are kept in but not monitored while inside. Watch excape from NY/LA and let the good times roll.

 

[haiiro]

Obligatory link to Johnn Four's RP tips website, newsletter 161: http://www.roleplayingtips.com/issue161.html. The title is "Revisiting The Dungeon-Crawl: 29 Dungeon Tips!" and several of the tips relate directly to making dungeons less monotonous, etc. Good stuff.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Don't make a single complex, make a number of them. Define the goals of the party, why are they there. Also think about the history of the place. Also think about monsters, you don't have to use too many, just work with them.

 

[Psion]

One of the interesting things about Undermountian is that it is not just a dungeon crawl, but also a setting of sorts. The Xanathar's lair, the UMII set, and skullport all have NPCs and organizations with their own goals, and room for complex intrigues and interactions. Of course, some of Skullport and UMII could use some brushing up, but there is a lot of role-playing potential in there. You could go the same route if you made your own complex.