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The five-room dungeon

I gotta say, Merric, I don't agree with the assertion in your blog post that a megadungeon can't handle a plot-based adventure - and I find the association of the format with "training wheels D&D" somewhat condescending (and just plain'ol uninformed).

A DM that knows his dungeon environment inside and out - which is one of the nice perks about running this kind of game, you get to become intimately familiar with the terrain - can craft any number of plot-based scenarios within it. However, doing a true megadungeon justice and using it to its full potential is a challenge for even the most grizzled of GM vets - it's just plain beyond most new DMs.

(That said, the positive parts of the post were an interesting view of adventure design - but is the only way to glorify something new and shiny to denigrate the tried and true?)
 

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Hmm. I've just reread my post and it does seem to imply that.

"Megadungeon", as I'm using it, doesn't mean "any dungeon with lots of levels & rooms"; it's talking about a particular type of dungeon that *isn't* plot-based.

Cheers!
 

MerricB said:
Hmm. I've just reread my post and it does seem to imply that.

"Megadungeon", as I'm using it, doesn't mean "any dungeon with lots of levels & rooms"; it's talking about a particular type of dungeon that *isn't* plot-based.

Cheers!

Fair enough - I suspected this might not be your intent, but it did seem to imply that. Just figured I'd pipe up and see if you were aware of how it read.
 


An important point to keep in mind, I think, is that the formula works for any plot or setting. Each "room" (or scene, more accurately) can be as big or small, simple or complex, as you care to make it.

Dungeons with 5 rooms happens to be a handy physical representation that most DMs can understand, given its original audience.
 
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