World's Largest Dungeon in actual play [Spoilers!]

[erucsbo]

I'm about to get a game going, and, I must say, I've been overly kind with character creation. I allowed any class AT ALL, and any race with a level adjustment of +2 or lower.

just a heads up - because the WLD is restricted to SRD-compliant beasties you might find that your party gets through encounters easier than might otherwise be the case.

Oh - and pop in a sustaining spoon instead of the rings of sustenance. The spoon can feed up to 4 people, so they can scrounge for the extra food once the rations give out (and it is easy enough to dump the odd iron ration around - and makes it a valuable find). The rings would also allow them to get 8 hours rest in 2 hours - once again diminishing a little the tension and oppressiveness of the WLD that you can build. And have the Lantern Archon tell the party where they can find the spoon rather than just dish it out. Have fun!

 

[Zweihänder]

I figured they would be a bit overpowered, so I'm going to be scaling up every encounter. Also, the sustaining spoon feeds four people, and four people are what need to be fed (as Warforged do not eat, sleep, or breathe). Thanks for the input, though!

 

[Hussar]

Heh, you're nice than me Zweihander. I let them starve. They'd been eating whatever they could find for the first three regions. I specifically nerfed VoP because it pretty much takes away all the disadvantages of the WLD.

The shadows in E are going to rip these guys a new one you realize. No cleric REALLY hurts. No arcane caster too is going to make things REALLY interesting.

 

[Zweihänder]

Heh, you're nice than me Zweihander. I let them starve. They'd been eating whatever they could find for the first three regions. I specifically nerfed VoP because it pretty much takes away all the disadvantages of the WLD.

The shadows in E are going to rip these guys a new one you realize. No cleric REALLY hurts. No arcane caster too is going to make things REALLY interesting.

The disadvantages they face in the future are why I don't feel guilty. Though, you know, the Swordsage can take several maneuvers which are awfully similar to arcane spells (particularly the ones from the Desert Wind discipline).

 

[Dracorat]

just a heads up - because the WLD is restricted to SRD-compliant beasties you might find that your party gets through encounters easier than might otherwise be the case.

Oh - and pop in a sustaining spoon instead of the rings of sustenance. The spoon can feed up to 4 people, so they can scrounge for the extra food once the rations give out (and it is easy enough to dump the odd iron ration around - and makes it a valuable find). The rings would also allow them to get 8 hours rest in 2 hours - once again diminishing a little the tension and oppressiveness of the WLD that you can build. And have the Lantern Archon tell the party where they can find the spoon rather than just dish it out. Have fun!

Part of the conversation with the Lantern Archon in my game went like this:

"It was decided that no monster could kill himself. This is a prison and death is too easy an escape. It became obvious that we couldn't let a monster die of neglecting themself either, so part of the magic of the prison is that you are constantly nurished while here. Over time, the magic has broken down and while the nurishment continues to thrive, monsters can kill themselves now. This hasn't turned out to be a large problem as most of the monsters that are here now were born here and do not remember a time when it could be any different. So they hunt because they don't know of anything better to do..."

 

[Zweihänder]

Part of the conversation with the Lantern Archon in my game went like this:

"It was decided that no monster could kill himself. This is a prison and death is too easy an escape. It became obvious that we couldn't let a monster die of neglecting themself either, so part of the magic of the prison is that you are constantly nurished while here. Over time, the magic has broken down and while the nurishment continues to thrive, monsters can kill themselves now. This hasn't turned out to be a large problem as most of the monsters that are here now were born here and do not remember a time when it could be any different. So they hunt because they don't know of anything better to do..."

That's the smartest thing I've ever seen anyone type, ever. Would you mind terribly if I copy-pasted it into my game?

 

[Dracorat]

Go right ahead! And thanks!

 

[Jim Hague]

Absolutely.
btw - if they are heading to F and you don't mind giving them one of the keys ahead of time then I'd suggest having one be found on the body of a dead demon (there is a description of one in the empty rooms description fillers at the beginning of the book that has the demon's body regenerating at the same rate as it is being consumed by insects - or something like that). Had my players spend quite a bit of time making sure that the regeneration ended up being less effective than the bugs in order to finally kill it off, but they found one of the keys from F (thus how the demon was able to escape).

Also - you might want to run a trail of crumbs for Jolinaar's movements from I/M through to H in order to foreshadow meeting him, or if you have a druid / cleric of nature in the party then tie in the dream sequence with Belatu-Cadros (the celestial treant). Have the party members who are also garrison members carry either messages or perhaps some form of communication device to the garrison in G so that the two celestial garrisons can reestablish contact.

I'm also planning on having a low rumble from the lava river be audible/felt once the party is getting close to the edge of I, and would have also done so if they had headed through F. Any dwarves in the party should "feel" the stresses beneath their feet (harder to do in I because of Madness and Anguish and the flesh covering the walls) being caused by the lava flow and split where the earthquake had divided the dungeon.

I've told the garrison members in my group that there is a hidden self-destruct within the Tomb (region N), but that the garrison members in E did not know either what it was, nor how it worked. Perhaps if you want the party to go to N after H then some hints could be dropped by the garrison in E and elaborated upon by those in G.

Maybe they could find a elf in F who was trying to reach E from G but had gotten lost in the maze.

While there are good plots within each region I really feel that the whole scope of the place is dimished without having some overarching story threads to tie the whole thing together.
Good luck with region F.

FYI, folks, if you have any questions about the Elves' region, I'll answer what I can (I helped with some character personalities and worked out Gutless and Spineless), and will be more'n happy to relay questions to Jennifer, who wrote that Region up. If you're looking for a good source of information in F, I'd suggest hitting up Pardek a bit - once the characters can get past him being bitter and curmudgeonly, he's been through a few of the Regions. Of course, there's always dealing with Sil or the demoness there instead...

 

[Zweihänder]

Go right ahead! And thanks!

Come to think of it, I'm going to modify it a bit. The nourishment effect will still be going... but only in areas that are still a) in good repair, or b) still suffused with positive energy. In other words, not Regions A, D, G, H, J, K, L, M, or O.

Beyond that... I haven't read the book cover-to-cover, but something's bothering me...

How are PCs supposed to do regions K and L? I mean, some of those events take place in excess of 500 ft below the surface!

 

[erucsbo]

Beyond that... I haven't read the book cover-to-cover, but something's bothering me...

How are PCs supposed to do regions K and L? I mean, some of those events take place in excess of 500 ft below the surface!

remember that region K is levels 10-12 and L is 12-14.
Water breathing is a 3rd level spell, and alter self 2nd - so potions are an option here.
Necklace of adaption and pearl of the sirenes will also take care of water breathing (not to mention Helm of Underwater action).

By the time the party tackles those regions they should be able to handle them (also provided that you have dropped in the appropriate items for them considering your lack of spellcasters).