Anyone run through it all?

[GregH]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone here has run through the whole of MC as printed to date in Dungeon? Specifically, I'm wondering how many gaming hours went into getting from the Unopenable Doors to the end of Greater Halls?

I'm planning on running this in about a month or two as part of a larger campaign, and as such I need to decide how to end it. If it takes long enough, I can probably at least incorporate the next adventure (due in March/April? or is that just RJK's submittal date?) so I can wait until then to come up with a plausible ending/goal (ideally I'd like to include as much as possible - I want the characters as close as possible to epic before finishing). Otherwise I'll have to work it in with what's already been published.

Thanks,
Greg

[infomatic]

Hm, nobody's volunteering. I don't think I'm surprised, actually, though I love the adventures. The staggered release dates make it likely that a group has moved on by the time the next volume comes out. Maybe when they're all published?

The other point is that I think there might be some level problems -- perhaps the initial starting level of 12 is too high. Dungeon #112 says that PCs can expect to get to level 16 or so by the end. Then after the chamber of antiquities and greater halls, you have to be closing on epic levels — especially if they've been doing other stuff while waiting for the next installment. And most groups don't play epic — and even by level 18 or so, the DM is probably coming up with an end-of-campaign event, rather than exploring yet another level in a as-yet-bottomless dungeon.

The storyline hints that Rob Kuntz has dropped indicate that Maure could actually be that BIG event, but who knows when it will end? Not the DM, and that puts a crimp in their plans.

If a Maure hardcover is ever published, I could see more groups running through the whole thing -- though there is still the level problem; starting at level 10 might be more feasible, though then you'd have even MORE tpks.

[DMFTodd]

Haven't played the Great Halls yet.

Statuaury (is that the name of it?) was done in one 10 hour marathon Saturday session. Skipping a few rooms as I remember it.

The ? (the long, full issue one) was part of a regular campaign. It's possible to skip large sections of it. I'd guess a good 40 hours of game time to play that one if the players are thorough.

[GregH]

DMFTodd wrote:

Haven't played the Great Halls yet.

Statuaury (is that the name of it?) was done in one 10 hour marathon Saturday session. Skipping a few rooms as I remember it.

The ? (the long, full issue one) was part of a regular campaign. It's possible to skip large sections of it. I'd guess a good 40 hours of game time to play that one if the players are thorough.

Sounds like about 50 hours - say another 10 for TGH?!? - so about 60 hours total. We're slow, only about 3-4 hours of gaming per night so, say, 17 sessions? nearly 4 months, so I think I'll wait until the next installment before deciding on a finish for it.

Thanks for the input.

Greg

[grodog]

I haven't run any of the new levels yet, but will be doing so later this year (we're playing Caverns of Thracia first). I'd be surprised if each level took less than 12 hours to run through, in general, though, given the complexity of the maps/environs.

Allan.