D&D General What D&D Would You Use For A Dungeon Focused Campaign?

[Stormonu]

I am interested what you think in 2E mechanically is too story forward for dungeon crawling.

One thing that comes to mind is the Kits in the Complete books. It was the main reason were I to run a 2E dungeon crawl that I'd do it without the splats/Complete books.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Give the original Caves of Chaos a try, using the 2014 monster manual stat blocks instead of the AD&D ones. It is quite literally what the system was built for.

The 12 kobold snipers in the tree outside Cave A are all extremely excited about the action economy.

 

[Zardnaar]

One thing that comes to mind is the Kits in the Complete books. It was the main reason were I to run a 2E dungeon crawl that I'd do it without the splats/Complete books.

2E can do it but you would need some optional rules for gp=xp.

 

[Reynard]

The 12 kobold snipers in the tree outside Cave A are all extremely excited about the action economy.

Isn't 12 kobolds in the 2014 calculator a double deadly encounter for 1st level characters?

 

[Reynard]

Give the original Caves of Chaos a try, using the 2014 monster manual stat blocks instead of the AD&D ones. It is quite literally what the system was built for.

Even if I grant that the encounter math works out in a fun way, I don't think 5E supports dungeon play in a way I like otherwise.

But I am glad it works so well for you!

 

[Parmandur]

Even if I grant that the encounter math works out in a fun way, I don't think 5E supports dungeon play in a way I like otherwise.

But I am glad it works so well for you!

Idiosyncratically, maybe, but it is a primarily Dungeon-centric game design.

 

[Reynard]

So, just for fun, let's look at what 4 medium,

Nah, not a lot of work. Use straight out of the book “bag of hit points with a claw and a bite attack” 2014 Monster Manual monsters, using RAW 2014 DMG encounter building guidelines. Put about 2 Easy, 4 Medium, and 2 Hard of such encounters in a dungeon with like 16 rooms, roll up a treasure hoard using the 2014 DMG rules, sprinkle about a third of that treasure across maybe 6 or 7 of those rooms, making sure most but not all of the treasure rooms have monsters or a trap in them, and put the other two thirds in a big pile in the least accessible room along with one of the Hard encounters. That design, in the words of Todd Howard, just works.

Let's see what that look like just for fun: (encounters generated with Kobold Fight Club, for 4 4th-level PCs)

Easy: 1 goblin boss, 1 quadrone
Easy: 1 dryan, 1 grung wildling, 1 spy
Medium: giant crocodile
Medium: 1harpy, 1 specter
Medium: 1 hellhound, 1 mummy
Medium: 1 hunter shark, 1 duergar hammerer
Hard: 1 Githzerai zerth
Hard: I faerie dragon (green, 1 silver dragon wyrmling

 

[Parmandur]

So, just for fun, let's look at what 4 medium,

Let's see what that look like just for fun: (encounters generated with Kobold Fight Club, for 4 4th-level PCs)

Easy: 1 goblin boss, 1 quadrone
Easy: 1 dryan, 1 grung wildling, 1 spy
Medium: giant crocodile
Medium: 1harpy, 1 specter
Medium: 1 hellhound, 1 mummy
Medium: 1 hunter shark, 1 duergar hammerer
Hard: 1 Githzerai zerth
Hard: I faerie dragon (green, 1 silver dragon wyrmling

Sounds like a good Saturday night to me.

 

[Parmandur]

Here is a recent published example of a 13 room Dungeon from Dragon Delves, with 8 combat Enocounters:

• 3 "Parrots" (Raven stat block from MM)
• 6 Pirates and 1 Giant Crocodile
• 1 Tough and 2 Gricks (the Tough is open to negotiation if the Gricks are beaten first)
• 4 Pirates, 2 Mages, and 1 Assasin
• 3 Darkmantles
• 1 Roper, 6 Piercers, and 1 Cloaker
• 2 Violet Fungus Necrohulks
• 1 Adult Black Dragon (and a Partridge in a Pear Tree, IIRC)

 

[Reynard]

Here is a recent published example of a 13 room Dungeon from Dragon Delves, with 8 combat Enocounters:

• 3 "Parrots" (Raven stat block from MM)
• 6 Pirates and 1 Giant Crocodile
• 1 Tough and 2 Gricks (the Tough is open to negotiation if the Gricks are beaten first)
• 4 Pirates, 2 Mages, and 1 Assasin
• 3 Darkmantles
• 1 Roper, 6 Piercers, and 1 Cloaker
• 2 Violet Fungus Necrohulks
• 1 Adult Black Dragon (and a Partridge in a Pear Tree, IIRC)

What level party was this for?