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Message: <blockquote data-quote="S'mon" data-source="post: 6072646" data-attributes="member: 463">Inspired by <a href="http://www.tenkarstavern.com/2013/01/does-system-matter-in-world-of.html" target="_blank">http://www.tenkarstavern.com/2013/01/does-system-matter-in-world-of.html</a>Running the traditional 'mega' 'campaign' or 'tentpole' dungeon in 4e can pose some challenges, but IME it can also work well. Where 4e (and 3e/PF) can fall down of course is in length of combat, the fights can suck up most of an evening's play. This then leaves little time for the exploration dynamic - fight/explore/fight/explore - that traditional megadungeons rely on. Some thoughts/tips:1) Big EncountersWhere 4e does well is with big dynamic fights with complex terrain. A monster lair of say 15 troglodytes across 4 chambers works well as a single 4e encounter. Umpteen separate minor '1 monster in room' type encounters don't work well in 4e. This is occasionally a problem in running a megadungeon if the PCs would logically encounter a lone, weak monster, but not generally a big issue IME.2) Expeditionary PlayLinked to #1, 4e can do expeditionary megadungeon play well, with each subsection of the dungeon treated as its own encounter or delve (short series of linked encounters). The players would need to decide "Tonight we assault the Crypt of Eyes!", then you run the Crypt of Eyes as a single big dynamic encounter (if inhabited by a single group of coordinated foes) or delve (if inhabited by several rival groups, unintelligent creatures, etc). On this model the scouting/exploration of the general expanse is preliminary to the assault/delve on a specific locale, and will rarely trigger encounters unless the PCs screw up and get ambushed or blunder into something. Something like Tolkien's Mines of Moria section would work well in 4e - a long period of exploration without combat, followed by an intense series of battles over a brief period.3) Quest XP AwardsUse the 4e Quest XP awards generously. If the PCs are in the dungeon searching for the Sword of Crom, that is either a Minor or Major quest, and the GM awards XP equivalent to either a monster (Minor) or group of monsters (Major) for quest achievement. This works well in exploratory play if the players select & communicate their goals. Finding stairs down to the next level could be a Minor quest; defeating the BBEG controlling the dungeon level, or rescuing the princess before he sacrifices her to Baphomet, could be a Major quest. Quest level can typically equate to dungeon level, PC level, or primary threat level - I tend to go with threat level, so eg currently my 10th level PCs are aiming to loot the Temple of Emerald Dawn, a 12th level dragon. If they succeed they'll get a level 12 major quest XP award.4) Using Wandering MonstersConnected to #2, random encounters need to work a bit differently in 4e than in older versions of D&D. The occasional big solo wandering monster or humanoid long range patrol can work ok as a 4e encounter, and I've occasionally generated random d% - 33 - '1d6 troglodytes' type encounters and had them work well. Often though the random encounter check should be more about whether you alert your enemies, such as the inhabitants of a nearby lair - it's not about a threat that will itself defeat the party, it's about eliminating those two orcs before they alert the entire tribe.Anyone else have tips for running a megadungeon or similar in 4e? <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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