D&D General What is the best dungeon for long term exploration?

[Reynard]

Any edition, but better if both the system and the module are available for Fantasy Grounds. Pathfinders and other simulacra qualify.

I feel like running a good old-fashioned dungeon delving campaign but just don't have the time to build my own. So, I am looking for a well designed, fun, interesting dungeon designed for long term play -- multiple entries, home base outside or nearby, factions within, and so on.

Please tell mew what the dungeon is called, what the product it appears in is called (if different), what game/edition it is for, and most importantly why you think it qualifies. Sell me on your favorite dungeon!

Also -- I have run DotMM and do not consider it a good choice.

 

[payn]

Assuming this isnt limited to mega-dungeons, I do enjoy some Paizo APs quite a bit for this. The Haunting of Harrowstone is a burned down prison where untold horrors happened. The town is a bit untrustworthy of strangers, especially after some hot shot professor went and got himself killed on the grounds recently. The PCs are in town to grieve their lost mentor and look into the circumstances around his untimely death.

The haunted prison consists of mostly traps and ghosts. An NPC ghost that can provide backstory to what happened at Harrowstone. Just so happens that some seriously evil serial killers were kept there, and perhaps, never actually left... In place of traps, this module uses a Paizo invention haunts. These can be a bit controversial, as they are myriad in trigger and elimination method. I find them to be of infinite potential to tell interesting stories about awful things that happened in the past.

Obviously, this module was designed for a full length campaign, but like many Paizo APs, it would be easy enough to just use it as a low level module. It was designed for 3E/PF1, but I think since its the earliest levels (1-4) it could be converted to 5E fairly easily. Probably already done so online somewhere.

(Also, Abomination Vaults for PF2 is out. Soon(ish) to be converted to 5E. This one is a mega-dungeon.)

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

it could be converted to 5E fairly easily. Probably already done so online somewhere.

It is. I can dig up the file/site, if OP is interested.

Other than that, a lot of dungeons from the OSR scene get very positive reviews. Barrowmaze (also available in 5E), Stonehell and Castle Xyntillian are universely loved in all reviews I've read. I'm sure I'm forgetting some other great OSR megadungeons.

Then of course you have the classics Dark Tower and Caverns of Thracia being rereleashed for 5e by Goodman Games. Also, OAR#4 The Lost City has been released in a new, expaned mega version for 5e, also by Goodman.

You could do worse than digging up some of Necromancer/Frog God Games' megadungeons, Rappan Athuk being the granddaddy of them all, but there are many others to choose from.

Anyway, just some ideas. If the system has to be PF2, Abomination Vaults is what you want.

 

[cfmcdonald]

The best dungeon for long-term exploration is Stonehell (designed for Labyrinth Lord, but compatible without any changes with any TSR D&D or derivative):

• It is enormous, with tons and tons of room for exploration over an entire campaign.
• It is varied, with each dungeon level divided into four sub-levels with their own theme.
• It is full of interesting things to do: mysterious liquids to test, guardposts to attack or bypass, factions to play off one another.
• It is interconnected, with various ways to move between levels, and secrets and connections between its parts that take time to uncover.
• It is designed for play, with all the basic info you need to run a dungeon sub-level in one 2-page spread. You will never need to wade through paragraphs of pointless over-description to get to the meat of what you need to run the dungeon.
• It is decomposable: if you don't want to run a giant mega dungeon, most of the sub-levels can easily be pulled out and run as an independent dungeon.

 

[Charlaquin]

The best dungeon for long-term exploration is Stonehell (designed for Labyrinth Lord, but compatible without any changes with any TSR D&D or derivative):

• It is enormous, with tons and tons of room for exploration over an entire campaign.
• It is varied, with each dungeon level divided into four sub-levels with their own theme.
• It is full of interesting things to do: mysterious liquids to test, guardposts to attack or bypass, factions to play off one another.
• It is interconnected, with various ways to move between levels, and secrets and connections between its parts that take time to uncover.
• It is designed for play, with all the basic info you need to run a dungeon sub-level in one 2-page spread. You will never need to wade through paragraphs of pointless over-description to get to the meat of what you need to run the dungeon.
• It is decomposable: if you don't want to run a giant mega dungeon, most of the sub-levels can easily be pulled out and run as an independent dungeon.

This sounds awesome! I think I will be giving it a peek myself.

 

[Bill Zebub]

This sounds awesome! I think I will be giving it a peek myself.

Yeah I just read a little bit about it and I’m intrigued.

 

[Brotton Goodfellow]

Currently running Barrowmaze and it ticks all the boxes. Even came up with some home brew rules to make playing it more “old school”.

 

[Lanefan]

This sounds awesome! I think I will be giving it a peek myself.

Ditto.

 

[Lord Shark]

Obligatory vote here for Eyes of the Stone Thief. Since it's a living dungeon, it's designed for multiple visits and it can shift around between visits. It can pop up wherever the PCs go (and if they piss it off enough, it will actually start hunting them). 13 levels and over 350 pages of content, with multiple factions in the dungeon, multiple goals for the PCs to pursue, and plenty of room to fit in your own creations. For 13th Age, but not too hard to convert to any D&D-alike; there's a 5E conversion of the first two levels available as well.

 

[Ancalagon]

I'm a big fan of The Gates of Firestorm peak, but this is a dungeon once you are in, you are in