D&D General Running a Megadungeon in a Monthly Game

[Count_Zero]

I'm coming up on the end of the current D&D 5e campaign I'm running (Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen) - the first campaign I've run at any length - and am starting to think about the next campaign would be. I had been thinking about doing Shadowrun using Cities Without Number, as it'd be mechanically similar, or running a Traveller campaign (probably Pirates of Drinax).

However, I've also been feeling a bit of an itch to run a megadungeon as well, as I've got a couple different ones I'd gotten through various bundles and Kickstarters (Arden Vul, Rappan Athuk, Lost City of Gaxmoor Caverns of Thracia, a couple others), and if not running them through 5e, trying OSE Advanced or even Shadowdark.

There's one bit of a thing though - we only meet once a month. I'm familiar with playing this sort of deliberate, kick-the-door down adventure on a weekly game. What advice would you give for making it more manageable for a monthly game?

 

[THEMNGMNT]

For a monthly game, I would give serious thought to if you want to run a megadungeon, a really big dungeon, or just a series of dungeon adventures.

A true megadungeon like Arden Vul or Undermountain will never ever be completed by any group, especially one that meets monthly. Would knowing that it can never be finished be fun for your players?

A really big dungeon like Caverns of Thracia or Lost City of Barakus can be finished...but it will take several years. Would that be fun?

A series of dungeon adventures means that your group will complete at least one dungeon each year, probably more. Again, does that sound fun?

I would let fun be my guide.

 

[aco175]

I would make sure it starts and ends in the village and not try to remember where you are or how many HP or spells people have. Each month you start fresh. Have a cluster of rooms with a theme and go. Maybe the next set of rooms are still the flavor but have a twist. Then each floor might have a theme.

Maybe plan for more of a Westmarches game. Players might be tires of the same Pc after a few months and levels and want to try something out. Plan to allow or not allow a new PC in and what level and some table things like this.

 

[Count_Zero]

So, doing some checking, based on the above posts, Sword World does have Megadungeons, but they handle breaking up exploration through quests handed out by the Adventurers Guild. Unfortunately I don't really have a good sense of how exactly they handle that - those adventures aren't part of the preview materials, and I don't quite know how compatible that structure might be with OSE or Shadowdark.

 

[GuyBoy]

I ran Scarlet Citadel for our monthly in-person game and got very positive feedback from the players.
I did ensure there was a theme running between the dungeon itself and the local homebase , a small town, by linking the town’s mayor and another prominent NPC to a significant villain within the dungeon. That created a story theme which wasn’t in the actual adventure book, but kept the players engaged.

 

[aco175]

So, doing some checking, based on the above posts, Sword World does have Megadungeons, but they handle breaking up exploration through quests handed out by the Adventurers Guild. Unfortunately I don't really have a good sense of how exactly they handle that - those adventures aren't part of the preview materials, and I don't quite know how compatible that structure might be with OSE or Shadowdark.

A really big dungeon will likely have a few groups of adventurers in it at the same time. This adds complexity for the DM in having some be helpful to the PCs and others might attack the PCs. I have run games where there are rival groups where some just took credit for things the PCs did, which the players hated them for it. Other random groups might be good to have around if you want to save the PCs at some point by having allies arrive to help fight something. Do not rely on tis that much or the players might start to expect it. Also the PCs could come upon others groups that need help and can choose to help or not.

Adventurer guilds tend to be places where the PCs can meet and trade gold and items in a simple way for the DM. The players can bring in other PCs in an easy way without a big backstory or in-game reason other than showing up at the guild and looking for work. There can be a NPC quest-giver that feeds information to the PCs in the way of a barkeep or guild leader that shows the map where some areas are open to exploration further and lets the players choose from a couple options, which helps the DM plan for the next game.