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.