What do you think of my new Megadungeon idea?

[doseyclwn]

The idea is kind of that when the party shows up at the castle, the orcs are holed up in the tower and there's another group trying to hold the Guard House, so there's a full-scale battle going on when they show up.

[damned]

I dont think too much attention to ecology and realism is required in a megadungeon.
Its old school and old school plots were pretty sparse...

[leozelig]

Perhaps you could change the hook altogether. Maybe a hunting party or some mischievous youths return to town overcome by a kind of madness, rambling on about the tomb or Ataxus in the old castle. The megadungeon is cosmically linked to certain individuals, and this is its way of calling out to the adventurers. Give the dungeon a consciousness almost, which would also explain why it houses random collections of monsters and has not been found before. It "feeds on" a certain type of individual. Makes you wonder what kind of fellow this Ataxus was...

[Trenloe]

I dont think too much attention to ecology and realism is required in a megadungeon.
Its old school and old school plots were pretty sparse...

A lot of "average" old school dungeons were like this. But not good old school dungeons - these all had thought out dungeon design in terms of creature grouping/locations, psychology and interactions with other groups. The classic B2 - Keep on the Borderlands does this with the Caves of Chaos and all of the groups and tribes that live therein. The one I remember the most was Judges Guild's "The Caverns of Thracia" (an updated D&D 3E version of which is available here: https://drivethrurpg.com/product/135...f-Thracia?it=1) which has dynamic factions, a rich history, distinct areas in the cavern, etc.. Playing this (the original AD&D version) in my early teens was a breath of fresh air and a revelation as to what good (nay great) dungeons can be.

EDIT: Found this on The Caverns of Thracia: https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress...rns-of-thracia The linked Jaquaying the Dungeon gives a good oversight on design that, IMHO, makes this scenario great.

If you want to randomly populate a dungeon and go on a hack/slash dungeon crawl then that's cool - go nuts. But I think campaigns like that won't last too long. A bit of thought and design of your dungeon will help the players (and the GM) to enjoy the game more.

But, each to their own style...

[Phystus]

Agreed, a good dungeon will pay attention to this. Knowing what the monsters are eating, how they get water, and where their latrine facilities are really is important. It can help define conflicts between the residents (imagine what the goblins would do if the orcs cut off their access to the well, for instance). It can help you do a better job of describing the setting ("it smells like frying mushrooms in here"), and it can help generate mini adventure hooks. For example, those goblins might seek an alliance with the party to wipe out the orcs and regain access to the well.

Knowing what problems and motivations are driving the NPC's will help you do a better job of playing them as something besides just another creature destined to die on the end of someone's sword (even though they often will be just that). And when the NPC's start acting like real creatures with real lives, the players may start to care a little bit more about their surroundings. They will enjoy the game more, and you'll feel better rewarded for the work you put into building the adventure as well.

Just my 2 cp...

~P

[Trenloe]

The megadungeon is cosmically linked to certain individuals, and this is its way of calling out to the adventurers. Give the dungeon a consciousness almost, which would also explain why it houses random collections of monsters and has not been found before. It "feeds on" a certain type of individual.

The Grand Temple of Jing does something similar to this (and does it very well). This is a huge complex with a consciousness, reasons/links why people/groups get transported in, other trapped parties, areas where groups of creatures have setup shop to try to make the best of their situation in the dungeon, etc.. This is a massive product (over 500 pages) that can be raided for numerous unique/different ideas.

[leozelig]

The Grand Temple of Jing does something similar to this (and does it very well). This is a huge complex with a consciousness, reasons/links why people/groups get transported in, other trapped parties, areas where groups of creatures have setup shop to try to make the best of their situation in the dungeon, etc.. This is a massive product (over 500 pages) that can be raided for numerous unique/different ideas.

Whoa, 60 levels! I see Grimtooth is listed as an author

Make sure you put a large red dragon in one of the lower levels in a room not much bigger than the dragon... no, I think that's been done before.

[dberkompas]

I was a GToJ backer, and the book is a thing of beauty. If you've only seen the PDF, you're missing out.