Thoughts on the Megadungeon

Since James' open Friday post raised some thoughts on megadungeon design, etc., I thought I'd chime in with some of my own thoughts of the subject, considering I am currently working on building one myself (albeit slowly.)

 

First of all, any DM considering actually running a megadungeon game, needs to be aware what it encompasses.  In my hardcore playing days, I went through 2 different published megadungeons in what were essentially campaigns in both Undermountain and Night Below.  They were fun, and exciting, and at times, tedious and boring.  Before starting up a megadungeon game, you as the DM need to ensure that this is something your players want to do.  You don't want to spend a month building a complex megadungeon only for them to explore in one 4 hour session and leave never to return.  The megadungeon campaign takes a committment from both players and the DM.  What are the motives of the players?  Do they want their characters to become well known and famous adventurers involved in major political conflicts and intrigue?  If so, the megadungeon is the last place you want to stick them.  The megadungeon is kind of like Las Vegas: whatever happens there tends to stay there.  Back when we ran through Night Below, the running joke for our party was "we saved the world...and no one ever knew about it."  Why?  Because we were stuck underground exploring areas relatively unknown to surface civizlation for months at a time.

 

That is not to say there can't be story elements incorporated into the megadungeon campaign.  There most certainly should be those elements present, it's just that the players may never directly achieve any surface fame for their heroics.  It's possible to work around this, certainly, but for the most part, megadungeon exploration is just that: exploring dangerous and huge areas in an effort to gather riches and wealth.  Along the way, you as the DM, will want to make this as interesting as possible for them.  Fighting rooms full of monsters for no reason is fun for a couple of hours, but eventually, it wears off.  This leads to my next point.

 

There is a myth the seems to float around that the megadungeon must somehow "make sense."  Like, how can you walk into one room, and fight 5 orcs, then a few minutes later discover some kind of weird reverse gravity trap?  The orcs didn't put that trap there, obviously, so how does it make sense that it's there?  The answer is, who cares why it's there?  The megadungeon is more than just a set of rooms linked together.  It's a huge world unto itself with as rich and detailed a history as the surface, but that doesn't mean EVERYTHING has to have some sort of reasonable answer.  Megadungeons can be hundreds of years old, and used by a variety of entities for a variety of purposes over decades at a time.  So, where did that reverse gravity trap come from?  Perhaps at one time, it was put in place by a mad wizard who occupied the dungoen, but fell at the hands of an unsuspecting attack by a grell.  Or maybe the wizard was taken hostage by a group of drow, and subjugated never to be heard from again.  Does it really matter why?  Maybe it does, if you want to incorporate the trap into a larger history, but if you just want to throw in an interesting reverse gravity trap for fun, who says you couldn't, or shouldn't, even if it seems out of place?  That's what the megadungeon is for; throwing encounters and interesting situations at the players that you might not necessarily be able to get away with in a published module, or mini-dungeon site.  Plus, it keeps things interesting for the PCs and keeps them on their toes.  Sure there could be kobolds on the other side of that door, or there could be a lethal gas chamber.

 

It does seem that there should be a "why" to answer how this place came into being in the first place.  In Dread Rock, the answer is, it is an old dwarven civilization that mysteriously disappeared centuries ago.  During that time, all kinds of things have happened in that place, and not all of them can, or should be, reasonably explained.  They just are.  Having a history of the place does help create interesting situations for your players, though.  For example, in quadrant 1-2 in Dread Rock there will be a point where the PCs can discover an altar with three keyholes with symbols on top.  The keys are hidden in various locations throughout the quadrant, and once they find them, and place them in the altar, it opens a secret room where a lot of treasure is stored.  Another example being in quadrant 1-3. where the PCs will discover the dwarven throne in the main hall, still encrusted with brilliant gems.  How is this possible?  Because touching it or attempting to pry the gems out, will put a geas on that player requiring him/her to seek out the lost dwarven lord's battleaxe, hidden somewhere else in the dungeon, to return it to the wall in its proper place in the hall behind the throne.  Now, how many other adventurers or creatures may be affected presently by this quest?  How many may have died trying to accomplish it?  Who knows?

 

The DM also has to accept the fact that not all parts, or mysteries of the megadungeon will be discovered.  It should be a large sprawling complex with areas that may never be explored by the party.  Most of the rooms should remain relatively empty, in fact.  This heightens the suspense and makes encounters more meaningful and dangerous.  The "not knowing" what's lurking down the hall is what makes the exploration fun.  That said, the DM has the responsibility to keep the place interesting, and it can be a difficult balance, as going for hours traipsing through rooms that have nothing of value in them can get tiresome.  In these moments, random encounters, or odd things in the dungeon can get things moving again.  I created a d30 table for these very situations called the dungeon oddities table, which helps bring the place to life.  Walking through a hall and seeing a skeletal hand poking out from a wall (the result of a botched teleport spell) helps give the place a life of its own rather than just empty and boring corridor and room after another.

 

In sum, the megadungeon is a campaign setting.  It should be noted up front in agreement between players and GMs.  This is not to railroad the players, but rather a respectful way of a) the players saying "we want to commit to doing this thing" and b) the GM saying "I will commit to creating and/or prepping this thing."  It should be huge, gonzo at times, dangerous, and interesting.  Why things are there isn't as important as the fact that they're simply there for the players to deal with.  There shouldn't be one sole purpose or villain in the dungeon, but several things going on simultaneously.  Factions, good and bad, vying for survival in a harsh and dangerous world bring the place to life, and that is ultimately what you want to do for your players.

Dreadrock Level 1-2 is Coming...Soon

I've been pretty busy the past couple of weeks, but I have not forgotten about Dreadrock. I have sections 1-2 and 1-3 mapped out already. I am currently working on keying 1-2, which is taking a bit because of the density of the rooms. There must be 50 rooms in this one, many of which are simply empty, but the map is big, so it's taking me a little longer to get it done.

This quadrant will be a bit more gonzo than 1-1, and will feature a scavenger hunt of sorts including finding a dead dwarven adventurer, a demonic looking stone golem, and a hobgoblin king. Oh yeah, there are Carrion Crawlers too...or whatever the OSRIC term for them is...carcass creepers I believe. But it is coming, and very soon. Probably within the next week. I'm currently prepping for my monthly table top Cormyr AD&D 2e campaign, which I'm running tomorrow night. But for those curious, no I haven't forgotten Dreadrock, it's just taking a little longer than I'd hoped. Soon though...very soon.

Preview: Dreadrock Dungeon Level 1-2

click to enlarge

Here's a quick preview of level 1-2 of the Dreadrock megadungeon project.  I still have to clean it up, and key it.  This one will feature a higher empty room vs monster ratio than level 1-1, as this quadrant's population isn't as dense.  I'm hoping to have it keyed up and compiled into a PDF by this weekend.  That large octagonal "room" is actually the ruins of the ancient dwarven proving grounds arena.  That large cavernous looking area is actually a chasm which drops down several levels with a stone bridge stretching across, which the dwarves used for mining and moving ores and precious metals to the top level for working in the forge.

Updated More User Friendly Dreadrock Dungon Level 1-1 PDF

It came to my attention, that the version of level 1-1 of Dreadrock wasn't exactly user friendly. I went in and adjusted the image, along with the room numbers on the map (as my hand writing scanned in is difficult to read). I also added some notes about the dungeon as well. I think you'll find this version MUCH easier to read, print, and work with in your game. Lesson learned.

Updated download for Dreadrock Dungeon Level 1-1 PDF

Got my d30; Also a Random d30 Dungeon Oddity Table

A while back I ordered a first edition MERP boxed set, as I always wanted to play/run it, but never had the opportunity back in the day. After thumbing through the rules again for the first time in many years, I noticed that the game itself calls for a set of twenty-sided d10's. Most of you old schoolers out there are likely familiar with these dice, but I have not seen one anywhere in a number of years. The boxed set I bought second-hand came with 2 standard d20s. I presume the previous owner did not understand the games' use of the proper twenty-sided d10's and just threw in some old d20's he had laying around. An easy mistake to make. And yes, I know that MERP could easily be played by substituting other dice in lieu of the twenty-sided d10's, but call me anal. I wanted the dice the game was supposed to use.

In searching for some twenty-sided d10's I stumbled upon a site familiar to most I'm sure; http://www.gmdice.com/. They had the twenty-sided d10's available for a very low price (something like 25 cents, or maybe 50 cents each). Well, I thought this would be just as good a time as any to throw in some d30's into the order as well, since they had them available for only $1.50 each. I couldn't tell whether I was more excited to finally get myself a d30 or to get the twenty-siders I wanted!

My dice finally arrived in the mail yesterday, and I thought it would only be appropriate to make up a d30 table to celebrate the occasion.

Some folks say that the measure of "evilness" of a DM is how many save vs deaths his player has to make in a campaign, but I disagree. To me, there is nothing more thrilling than throwing out red herrings into a campaign and watching the PC's go crazy over nothing. That's where my table comes in. These are 29 random oddities that may appear in a dungeon, but have little to no impact on the PC's. Of course, you could easily use some of these to spark an adventure hook and make them actually mean something in the dungeon crawl, but if not, just roll occasionally on the table, and watch the players go nuts.

Another thought I had in making the table is the fact that often we know as DM's that dungeons are looted, restocked, looted again, and the process repeats itself, not only by the party in the campaign, but likely by many other adventurers over the years. In many entries in the table, you'll find the results of previous adventuring experiences by other adventuring parties along the way. Some examples include the soot covered hallway, which is the result of a fireball spell from a mage, or the hand hanging out of the wall as a result of a bad teleport attempt. I think these sort of oddities bring a dungeon crawl to life. So, enough rambling by me. Check out the table and enjoy.

d30 Random Dungeon Oddities Table

01. A sudden gust of wind whisks through the hall/room with a noticeablely foul odor
02. A ghostly image of a beautiful maiden passes through the walls and disappears
03. A loud, mad cackling echoes through the hall/room.
04. All torches the party are carrying flicker in and out like a strobe light for 10 seconds
05. Faint whispers echo through the hall/room
06. Shadows of 4 large humanoids appear on the walls approaching the party, but there is nothing there
07. Screams of a young woman can be heard echoing through the dungeon
08. A blue glowing orb appears in front of the party illuminating the hall/room then disappears
09. Small obsidian statue of creature with tentacled head and wings perched on a globe lies on the floor
10. The skeletal remains of an adventurer clinging to a necklace and a note which reads "For Aveyah"
11. Cultish symbol drawn in blood on the wall
12. Ritual dagger on the ground with fresh blood which never seems to dry. Even after the blood is wiped off it will reappear in minutes still wet
13. Uncovered pit trap with the remains of two adventurers imapled on its spikes
14. A group of giant rats scurries in front of the party with one carrying a gold bracelet around its neck
15. A strange fungus growing on the wall. When a PC walks near it one of its spores explodes creating a yellow gas cloud 3x3 feet. Save vs Poison or laugh hysterically for 1d6 rounds
16. A broken torture rack covered in cobwebs with the remains of a humanoid attached
17. A loose flagstone in the floor of which underneath is a small hole containing a music box
18. A messaged carved into the wall which says "Beware he who cannot be seen"
19. The remains of several giant rats scattered about all with their heads removed
20. A decayed human arm sticking out of a wall, the result of a botched teleport spell
21. A goblet with a clear liquid within resting on a table. If the liquid is consumed it makes the PC queasy, but nothing more
22. The skeletal remains of an adventurer impaled against the wall by a spear
23. The sound of a group chanting in an ancient indiscernible language echoes through the halls
24. A basilisk that has been turned to stone, probably from a reflection of his own gaze
25. Soot covers the walls, ceiling, and floor, along with the ashen remains of some humanoids
26. An open wooden chest with a leather-bound tome. If the tome is taken it will vanish and reappear in the chest
27. A broken, blood-stained altar now covered with the holy symbol of a good aligned god
28. A green slime consuming several giant rats. The slime can be easily maneuvered around by the PC's
29. One of the PC's hears a click sound as he steps on a loose flagstone, but nothing happens
30. Reroll twice and combine results

Dreadrock Dungeon Level 1-1 Download

As promised, here is the first PDF download for Dreadrock Dungeon Level 1-1. This is the first of four planned quadrants that make up the whole of level 1 of the megadungeon. Included in this is a small preview map for easy cross referencing, a dungeon key with all 45 rooms keyed, a wandering monster table, restock table, trap legend, and a high resolution map for printing.

In the future I plan on releasing a full PDF collection on the dungeon, its inhabitants, and some background on the dungeon itself, some of which I've already posted here on the blog. I hope you enjoy the first taste of Dreadrock.

Dreadrock Dungeon Level 1-1 PDF Download

Dreadrock Dungeon - A Preview of Level 1-1

Click map to enlarge to high-res image

Here's a quick sneak peek into the first quadrant of Level 1 of Dreadrock. I am in the process of finishing up the key and putting it into a nice little PDF for download here, which I hope to have complete by the middle of the week.

This area is where adventurers will start out in the dungeon. This quadrant is the current home of the orc tribe I described in my previous entry, the Rakshir Orcs. As such, the density of monsters vs empty rooms will be a bit higher for this section. Of course, feel free to use this current map and key it however you like.

Area 1 is the entry point, via a dimension door from the tavern in Dreadrock Bluff. Naturally, you could replace the dimension door with a stairwell from a ruined keep, or a cave, whatever your preference.

**edit**

Note: This is only the first of 4 planned sections that make up the entirety of level 1 of the dungeon.  There will be multiple entrances into the dungeon in the other sections as well as multiple entrances to level 2 in those subsequent quadrants when I map them out.

Dreadrock Dungeon: The Rakshir Orcs

The Rakshir Orc tribe first appeared in the halls of Dreadrock some ten years ago.  They migrated from the deeper levels connecting into the vast of the underdark and slowly made their way to the oldtown area (located in level 1-1 of the dungeon) of the ruins.  The oldtown area was once home to the common dwarven citizens of Karzamir before the fall of the civilization.  Presently, the Rakshirs have managed to fortify this area of oldtown, and it has become their permanent tribal home.  The area is heavily fortified with armed orc soldiers and crude traps constructed throughout the dungeon.  The tribe itself consists of approximately 100-120 orcs, mostly males.  Their chieftain is an Orc named Ghorash who has a guard of 10 orc warriors and at least 1 orc shaman with him at all times.  The Rakshir orcs remain in a constant struggle with the Warghash Goblin tribe, and the two sides are often battling over supplies and control of their areas.  The two sides constantly raid the others's areas scavenging and stealing supplies.  In addition to the Warghash, the Rakshir are constantly working to stave off curious adventurers who frequently make their way into the dungeon, which has proven to be a drastically difficult task.  Recently the humans in Dreadrock Bluff sealed off the main entrance from the mountain in order to secure a more stable entrance they can control (via a dimension door) which is situated near their tribal holdings in the dungeon.

 

The Rakshirs have managed to accumulate a small amount of slaves (mostly kobolds, but some humans as well).  The Rakshirs use these slaves primarily to work on digging out a tunnel which will lead to the surface, allowing them to make raids into Dreadrock Bluff, and the merchants and travelers coming into the town.  The people of Dreadrock Bluff are currently unaware of this activity. 

 

The members of the Rakshir tribe have an interesting method of disposing of captured enemies and prisoners.  Located in a sub-level near their tribal quarters, is a small cavern.  Orcs will often deliver enemies, goblins, kobold slaves, and captured adventurers to this cavern where they must face the wrath of the creature they call Stone-eye.  Stone-eye is a basilisk, and the orcs manage to keep him contained by offering him the carcasses of their enemies to feast upon, as well as the remains of their own dead.  This tactic has worked thus far in keeping Stone-eye in his own lair.

 

 

GM Notes: If any PC's encounter kobolds in the dungeons, they will always be with at least 1 orc warrior (the slave master), and the kobolds will always be unarmed.  If any PC's manage to communicate with kobold slaves, they will offer to help the PC's clear out the orc tribe if they promise them their freedom afterwards.  The PC's would have to raid the orc weapon cache in the dungeon, or find some way to arm the kobolds, before they will agree to fight with the party. 

New Project: Megadungeon - Dreadrock Dungeon

"Woe to ye who delve into the halls of that forsaken place. Abandon your Gods for even they dare not enter The Rock"

I'm officially announcing my new project here; Dreadrock Dungeon. So what exactly will this entail? A large scale megadungeon spanning at least 3 levels which will keep those greedy players of yours adventuring for months and months.

I'm planning on releasing the megadungeons here on the blog divided into quadrants in PDF form complete with room and area descriptions, random encounter tables, treasure, and of course the ever important monsters, tricks, and traps, along with a brief synopsis on each area, its denizens, and possible adventure hooks. Once the project is complete, which I don't anticipate for quite a while, I would like to collect them all together into one POD book possibly through Lulu.

Over the next few weeks I'll be posting entries here and there with tidbits on the design process, the various factions within the dungeon, etc. I have already mapped out the first quadrant, and plan on keying it up and putting it in an easy to review PDF within the next week or so.

This megadungeon will be compatible with most older editions of AD&D, as well as OSRIC and will be released under the terms of the OGL.