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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Monayuris" data-source="post: 7748612" data-attributes="member: 6859536">I have zero interest in Dragon Heist, but Dungeon of the Mad Mage seems interesting. I'm a huge fan of mega dungeons. I only viewed the D&D Beyond promo clip and it looks like they may actually pull off a proper mega dungeon. The key is how much meta-plot and story lines do they put into it. Its awesome if there is interesting factions and monsters that have their own agendas, quests and stories, but a mega dungeon only works if the players are in the drivers seat. Most of the previous WoTC modules I've had experience with seem to have the players be in the back seat of some plot or story line that they have to complete. That doesn't work in a mega dungeon. In this kind of environment, the players should have the ability to descend to any level of the dungeon they want (assuming they find the way). They should be able to develop any kind of relationship with the factions in the dungeon that make sense to them. They should be able to make their own choices and interact with the dungeon on their own terms.I also don't think the default XP system works well for mega dungeon play. XP for killing monsters tends to make these dungeons just feel like a grind: open door, fight monsters, open next door, fight monsters, repeat... There really needs to be an alternate reward system for these environments. XP systems that reward treasure acquisition are usually better suited. Also story based leveling doesn't work in mega dungeons. Some DM's may think they can just level their players when they are ready to go to the next level of the dungeon. That tends to be a bad idea because it takes the choice away from the players on whether to go down or not.Mega dungeon play is about the freedom to make your own choices. If they can set up Dungeon of the Mad Mage to keep choice and decisions in the hands of the players (player agency), this could be an awesome product. I'm actually optimistic about it... I especially liked that they seem to have added corridors to nowhere, so DM's can expand the dungeon with their own ideas. This is a good sign in my book.</blockquote>

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