What Edition/Version for my Mega-Dungeon

[Reynard]

It's official: "The Hell Halls of Halure" will be built using Labrynth Lord and the Advanced Edition Companion and will get its first playtest (in whatever form it happens to be in) on August 21 at a game day I am hosting.

Woot!

 

[Mark CMG]

And we were there . . .

 

[Herschel]

Modified F.A.T.A.L.?

*Quickly ducks hastily thrown rocks and garbage*

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

If by mega-dungeon the first thought is the room-by-room clearing of a massive complex that seems to have little rhyme or reason then I can see why folks want to avoid those.

I've always considered this a mega-dungeon. Ruins of Greyhawk, Rappan Athuk, Undermountain, and World's Largest Dungeon. These all seem appealing to me before we start them, but quickly pan out in real play to be too repetitive for our tastes.

If the first thought for mega-dungeon is more of the microcosm of life in a large subterranean world then I tend to enjoy those.

This I think of as an Underdark Campaign (with or without drow). Using the term dungeon in any way to describe a microcosm of subterranean life seems at odds to me.

I can't vote from your point of view due to lack of info, so I voted by my preference with 'Other' as my edition of choice isn't specifically listed.

 

[Festivus]

I voted for S&W as it is a very light and fast-play edition; not too many rules to get in your way, and th flavor is perfect for an old-school classic dungeon crawl.

Alternatively, I'd suggest BFRPG, which, in my experience, is extremely easy to run and even easier to prep for. It plays like old-school D&D but has a few touches of new-school comfort in it such as the separation of races from classes and ascending AC.

Both are extremely easy and quick to make characters for, which is a good thing if you want old-school megadungeon lethality.

My first thought was BFRPG too, but I don't know how it plays at the levels specified, so I would suggest 3.5 which really hits it's stride from 8-12 and becomes obnoxious after that.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

I love 1E for the flavor and the fiddly bits, but don't like all the little crunchy nuggets in the combat system. I'm kind of leaning toward running it with the RC, but allowing players to use the 1E PHB and having the 1E DMG on hand for reference/inspiration. But that basically says build it in Basic/Labrynth Lord. I only plan on running it intermittently, at mini-cons and game days and so on, so I want it to be quick to pick up and play.

My personal choice would be original D&D or AD&D (1e). However, given the above information, I recommend Basic/Expert D&D. I'd use the 1981 B/X sets, which I prefer over the 1983+ BECMI or RC version (I prefer its level scale, art, organization, and lack of rules like general skills and weapon mastery). I look at the B/X edition as the "sit down and play it" edition. It's perfect for an intermittent style of game: concise, clear, doesn't require much house ruling or interpretation, not a lot of rules esoterica for you to forget or for new players to be confused by, et cetera.

You can probably get your hands on multiple copies of the 1981 B/X rules for pretty cheap. I'd use the real deal, if I were you. However, if that is not feasible, for some reason, a retro-clone is a good option.

Definitely use the 1e DMG as a resource, no matter what edition you end up selecting.

 

[Reynard]

Definitely use the 1e DMG as a resource, no matter what edition you end up selecting.

Personally, I think they should re-print the 1E DMG, replacing any 1E mechanics specific sections (combat matrices, for example) with choice Sorcerer's Scrolls columns, and repackage it as simply "The Dungeon Master's Guide: For Use with All Fantasy Role-Playing Games".

 

[Remathilis]

Sounds good.

I dunno why, but I prefer BFRPG to LL. Perhaps LL is a little TOO faithful; BFRPG doesn't mind borrowing the occasional "good" idea from later D&D (like easier level drain, race/class split and upwards AC) and has a little better progression charts (thieves aren't as hamstringed early.)

 

[Reynard]

I want to thank everyone for voting, as well as sharing ideas (across 3 or 4 threads now if we include 'Love of Dungeons', 'OD&D Examples of Play' and other "spawned" threads).

All that chatter has me rethinking a few of my basic presumptions about my mega-dungeon and expanded my view of mega-dungeons in general. I am now trying to figure out if and how to go about tracking the development of The Hell Halls of Halure -- various message board threads, EN World blog, start a new blog, plus some other ideas.

So, thanks again and hopefully you'll see more about Reynard's Mega-Dungeon soon and if you are going to be near Ludlow, Vermont on August 21, PM me and I'd be happy to have you at the inaugural playtest of the dungeon.

 

[fanboy2000]

Storyhour threads are fairly common.