D&D General Barrowmaze, Stonehell, Arden Vul, Rappan Athuk and other Megadungeons

[Mannahnin]

I would expect that there'd be a simple rubric one could apply on the fly. Or just pencil into the treasure entries, which I'd expect would only take a few minutes per level once you have your rubric. I updated all the treasures in Dyson's Delve when I ran that, but it was really simple.

 

[DeadlyGazebo]

I have read most of the four of these megadungeons, but due to their size, I had the same problem of wrapping my head around the whole thing, similar to @Art Waring and so have never run them.

I do have a couple set up to be run in one of my planned campaigns, so I "might".

However, I have been watching/listening to 3d6 Down the Line, and they're doing a live play series of sessions of Arden Vul using Old School Essentials (OSE). They are currently on their 62nd episode (playing weekly), and I have found it very helpful to see how the Referee handles the maps, the different groups in the dungeons, and keeps it all managed. He sometimes shares his screen with viewers (on Youtube), and you can see his markups on his digital copy, bookmarks, etc. They also started doing post session "detoxes" where they discuss elements of the game, how the rules work and don't, and discuss things like party comp, meta knowledge, dungeon delving, old school play, etc.

I enjoy the two hour sessions of them covering 4 rooms, never rolling dice, and watching/listening as party members succumb to the dungeon, as well as their discussions about mapping, etc (ymmv). So, if you are interested in Arden Vul, that might be a place to see one take on it.

I do think a big difference is that they are playing Arden Vul and its environs as the entire campaign. So there is no "rest of the world". Its exploring Arden Vul, and using the nearby city as a kicking off point, but it is clearly intended that almost all of the action will be in AV. And its certainly big enough, with enough moving parts, to keep things interesting (imo).

My biggest challenge is using these pre-made dungeons, and having to change them enough to match up to the rest of the area they sit (changing NPC's, monsters, motivations of various parties, linking hooks in and out of the dungeon, etc.). My newest campaign that I'm spinning up is Dolmenwood using those rules (though I use OSE almost exclusively now), and I'll have to change up some of Necrotic Gnome's basic adventures to fit into Dolmenwood more seamlessly (like Hole in the Oak) - same problem and challenge for me, smaller scope.

Hey thanks for supporting 3d6 Down the Line! AV is definitely a one-stop-shop campaign world. Its so rich that even breaking away from the game to go visit the nearest town never seems to make it to the top of our priority list.

 

[Enrico Poli1]

Personally, I think that megadungeons can easily become boring. The writers have to invent something special to keep things exciting.
Of all the dungeons mentioned by the original poster, I only DMed Rappan Athuk 3.0 and it was great. It is very deadly, full of dirty tricks, and non-linear.
I can also suggest Eyes of the Stone Thief for 13th age.

However. Nowadays I suggest to first choose the adventure and play it using the system it was made for. Or any system you like if your're good at converting on the fly.

 

[DeadlyGazebo]

I'm always thinking of games I'd like to run before I die and I hope to convince my group to, at some point, try a Megadungeon.

The 4 in the title that caught my eye as I was surfing the web (to us an outdated term)

What's been mostly on my mind is "What system do I want to run it in?" I know Barrow and Rappan each have 5E versions but some reviews I read say that the issues of 5E carry over. In such that the characters are Superheroes as opposed to Heroes and thus the dungeons, while still lethal, are less so. I'm curious how one handles leveling as well because 5E is fairly rapid unless the DM is just denying them levels until he feels its warranted and how does that even work in a Megadungeon? Any thoughts on 5E in an actual Megadungeon?

So. I figure best to keep it OSR. Castles and Crusades? Seems better suited for running D&D3/3.5 stuff. Shadowdark? Due it's XP/money system would require the DM to do a lot of converting. Which makes me sad because I love the system but don't want to spend time figuring out a money conversion rate while wondering if the team is getting the right amount of XP etc Tried that for a 2E adventure and ugh.

Okay so what do I own? OSRIC? It's just 1E cleaned up but does it really simplify anything? Basic Fantasy? Well, my options being what they are seems about right. Sound good?

Any thoughts on the dungeons? Barrow and Stone are apparently good for first attempt Megadungeons while Arden and Rappan require the DM to really put in effort. Thoughts?

Not sure if its been mentioned here but a buddy of mine wrote a rule set called Feats of Exploration which is an OSR experience system. Works great in the megadungeon we're playing in b/c it gives an alternative to leveling only through gold. Also in a really lethal setting it helps new 1st level characters advance a bit quicker through exploration. I won't post the link here but its on drivethru

 

[darjr]

I’d probably use OSE with the rules mods from 3d6 Down the Line.

I’m in a Basic Fantasy RPG campaign and I’m loving it. It has a few home rules, like party initiative and tweaks to advancement. Basic Fantasy is cheap in print and free in PDF, uses ascending AC and is also now users the CCBy SRD.

Thinking of Swords and Wizardry too, or at least the stripped down version.

Shadowdark too, and maybe Knave.

 

[DarkCrisis]

I’d probably use OSE with the rules mods from 3d6 Down the Line.

I’m in a Basic Fantasy RPG campaign and I’m loving it. It has a few home rules, like party initiative and tweaks to advancement. Basic Fantasy is cheap in print and free in PDF, uses ascending AC and is also now users the CCBy SRD.

Thinking of Swords and Wizardry too, or at least the stripped down version.

Shadowdark too, and maybe Knave.

I was real close to using Basic Fantasy but then went with Labyrinth Lords just to keep it "Basic".

I'll admit, I chose it for 1 selfish reason. It forces them to play humans, elves, dwarves, and halflings. There are zero other options like goblin whatevers and bird people somethings. I just want something Tolkien-ish and dang it ive been DMing for almost 25 years and it's my turn.