D&D General Preferred Length of Side Quests?

[Retreater]

A group I'm DMing is preparing to go on a side quest, exploring some ruins to retrieve some rare ingredients for the local wizard.
I'm not planning on a "big adventure" - just something for a session or so. But I'm thinking about the extent of the ruins...
I'm tempted to use a largish dungeon to hide the item, just to make the world seem larger and more "lived in." Not that the group should explore the whole thing, but have it big in the event they want to go back, etc.
What would you think? Sound like a cool idea ... or frustrating that you can't "clear the dungeon."

 

[Shiroiken]

Depends on the group. Having a "megadungeon" the party can go back to whenever they want is an excellent idea. As long as you make it big enough, it's great for a session you're unprepared for.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Me personally... I like the idea of the party finishing their "quest" early in the dungeon and then being able to leave to turn the quest in and then come back later. But I do agree you might find the players are more inclined to try and "clear it" as you say.

Unless you can inspire them to return to the local wizard quickly with Ye Old Timetable... you might find them unwilling to leave. But if it was me... I might have some fun with it by letting them get a few more chambers past the areas with the rare ingredients, and then have a large closed doorway that can't be opened with whatever they currently have in their possession (maybe a MacGuffin from elsewhere is needed to open it.) That way they come to the conclusion the megadungeon is there for them later... they just can't take it on right now.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

You could have a sealed off area that requires them to hire some manual labour to clear. A few weeks, the way is open and they can explore further. Or maybe they hear how their hired help became something's snack.

 

[Quickleaf]

A group I'm DMing is preparing to go on a side quest, exploring some ruins to retrieve some rare ingredients for the local wizard.
I'm not planning on a "big adventure" - just something for a session or so. But I'm thinking about the extent of the ruins...
I'm tempted to use a largish dungeon to hide the item, just to make the world seem larger and more "lived in." Not that the group should explore the whole thing, but have it big in the event they want to go back, etc.
What would you think? Sound like a cool idea ... or frustrating that you can't "clear the dungeon."

Something like once they find the rare ingredient, they also see a "fissure descending through layers of ruined stone structures and earth, deeper than your lanterns shed light, with no easy handholds or routes to descend." That gives a narrative nod that there's more, but suggests that descending is a big deal for higher levels.

 

[werecorpse]

A group I'm DMing is preparing to go on a side quest, exploring some ruins to retrieve some rare ingredients for the local wizard.
I'm not planning on a "big adventure" - just something for a session or so. But I'm thinking about the extent of the ruins...
I'm tempted to use a largish dungeon to hide the item, just to make the world seem larger and more "lived in." Not that the group should explore the whole thing, but have it big in the event they want to go back, etc.
What would you think? Sound like a cool idea ... or frustrating that you can't "clear the dungeon."

It does depend on the group, if you have a group that hates to think they may have missed a hidden loot point or exp point they may think they are “meant” to explore the whole dungeon.
But Imo More cool than frustrating. You are adding depth to the world. Presumably the main reason they won’t be able to clear it out is that they have better, more interesting, things to do.

 

[el-remmen]

I think a side quest should not be more than one or two sessions long - but ultimately the players decides how long they want to engage with it or the setting. Not me.

 

[Jaeger]

A group I'm DMing is preparing to go on a side quest, exploring some ruins to retrieve some rare ingredients for the local wizard.
I'm not planning on a "big adventure" - just something for a session or so. But I'm thinking about the extent of the ruins...
I'm tempted to use a largish dungeon to hide the item, just to make the world seem larger and more "lived in." Not that the group should explore the whole thing, but have it big in the event they want to go back, etc.
What would you think? Sound like a cool idea ... or frustrating that you can't "clear the dungeon."

Never plan a "Big Adventure".

What you are doing is great - A GM should never be able to plan more than 1 session ahead. Maybe 2...

Because you never know what your players are going to do.

If you have an established locale, and a few adventure hooks - then you are off to the races.

"Big Adventure" will be a natural consequence as the PC's interact with the game world and make enemies.

 

[aco175]

The site can be large but the encounter areas can be limited. The site can have a lot of rooms but by clumping several rooms into one encounter you can limit the number of placed to explore and fight. You can have only a night or two of gaming spread over a large area and make it feel larger. @TaranTheWanderer said upthread there can always be a place that needs to be cleared out if the PCs want to explore further.

 

[MatthewJHanson]

If you don't want them to explore the whole thing, don't give them a map. Just describe the place as huge and have them make some skill checks to find it.

If there's a map, there's a good chance they'll want to explore the whole place.