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Ive been messing around with some ideas for a 3.5 old school mega-dungeon for some time.
So far I have created a map for the first level that is made up of 9 sheets of graph paper (4 sqaures/inch) with every sqaure eqauling 10' and has over 400 rooms.
I did some rough calculations and figured if I used the slow xp progression from the PF:RPG it would take about 30 encounters of the characters level to advance them one level. So at minimum if every level is of the 400 room size, I would need to make the levels advance the characters about 3 levels so roughly 90 encounters per level.
In total I figured if I wanted the characters to advance from 1st-20th level I would need 7 dungeon levels:
Level 1: PC levels 1-4 (roughly 90 encounters)
Level 2: PC levels 4-7(roughly 90 encounters)
Level 3: PC levels 7-10(roughly 90 encounters)
Level 4: PC levels 10-13(roughly 90 encounters)
Level 5: PC levels 13-16(roughly 90 encounters)
Level 6: PC levels 16-19(roughly 90 encounters)
Level 7: PC levels 19-20(with roughly 60 encounters instead of 90)
does this make sense to anyone, and does anyone have some good suggestions when trying to build an old school mega dungeon?
Have some shortcuts for the party to enter/exit the mid levels so they can get back to town with some regularity.
Consider the lowest levels and PC characters who can use magic to move through/around obstacles/walls. Do you need to thwart such movement somehow?
Give the PCs some missions/tasks to accomplish inside the dungeon. Just raiding monster lairs and solving puzzles can eventually get old.
For variety, you might have enclaves of different monster societies to interact/shop with; if two or more are opposed to each other, the PCs can act as spies or ambassadors.
If there is a "big bad" at the bottom, is he/she/it in charge of the entire complex? Hiding and unknown to all but the immediate guardians? Imprisoned and hoping to be freed? Or is there no ultimate villian at the bottom? How you answer this design question will affect overall design (a major villian, properly teased out through hints on each level, can keep the group motivated to keep on exploring).
One caveat: do you and your players have the intestinal fortitude for such a huge undertaking?
James Maliszewski believes every campaign worth its salt should have a mega-dungeon.
I am also thinking of adding a mega dungeon to my setting.
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Does it make sense to me? No.
Do I have suggestions? No.
Does this look ambitious? Hell, yes!
I never understood what is so fascinating about mega dungeons. I played many of them (Castle Greyhawk, Undermountain, Temple Of Elemental Evil) and some were fun (depending on the DM), but I never did get, what people find exciting about this concept.
I like dungeons and I like them even more, when they're somehow believeable. That means that there are no monsters living door to door without knowing of each other and so on. I like it, when a dungeon has a common theme and doesn't follow an approach like "having every monster from the SRD". As a player I guess I'd grow tired after three or four sessions exploring this giant dungeon, if the DM doesn't come up with a story that makes this worthwhile.
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Well to be honest it’s highly unlikely that this project would ever see the light of day. It more of something I’ve been doing for fun. Campaign and world building are one of those things that I really enjoy about the game.
The inspiration for the mega-dungeon is a cross between undermountain and the ruins of myth-drannor, with a healthy dose of some old school modules like caverns of thracia and the temple of elemental evil. I more or less looked through my entire library for ideas from sources old and new.
I’ve brainstormed up a number of ideas for the various levels. When I was thinking about building the dungeon I wanted to maintain a theme of exploration, hence the really large scale per level. Dungeons like Maure castle or Rappen Athuk seem to be clearable which is something I didn’t want. The idea is not to clear the dungeon of monsters and treasure but to explore and go on mini missions. The characters will not be able to win every battle even on the level designed for them as the denizens of the dungeon move around, and not be scaled exactly to their level. So knowing when to run away is an important skill to have. In this dungeon I expect that random encounter tables will be a much more important tool than in a typical scenario because the dungeon is so big that not every room can be detailed and I think it will really help to give a sense that the dungeon is alive. I do want to try and avoid having a lot of empty rooms, so I will have a lot of work there.
I want every level of the dungeon to be unique to a degree, and identifiable to the PC's as a new level. Since this is a huge project I think that 7 levels is more than enough. Currently, this is a really rough idea of what I have worked out in terms of the design:
Above the Dungeon
Several cultures have lived in the area above the dungeon. If legends are to be believed an ancient city of dragons once stood here. Later, the elves built a magnificent city, and it’s these ruins that currently stand over the dungeon. It’s through certain ruined buildings that one can gain entrance into the dungeons below. The city ruins stand in the center of a massive forest that was once called Artheanor forest until a foul blight on it transformed into a place of darkness. Today it is known as the Shadowheart Forest. Notable locations in the city area include the Witchmire, a swamp area that has over taken a portion of the city and is infested with Trolls and other foul monsters, river pirates, and of course witches. A river known as the Mournwade cuts through the ruins, and it’s by following this that one will enter the spiderhaunts. Of course spiders are the least of ones worries here, as it’s believed that some sort of spider people live here and are very territorial.
Also of note are the ruins of a powerful wizard’s Citadel, Marhgulmhor. Drawn by the mysteries and reputed treasure both arcane and mundane, Kardath the Black Artificer built his citadel here and soon became a threat to the lands nearby. Eventually the forces of good destroyed the tyrant. None today are aware that Kardath still lives. Deep in his lair in the dungeon below the Black Artificer has been hard a work preparing for his return and revenge.
The Dungeon
Level 1: The Haunted Halls of Tharkad-Dul: A dwarven clan hold in ruins. I know it’s a cliché, but there are a number of ideas that I had that I wanted to run with that require this. The dwarves are no longer here, but when they were they were the protectors of the Earth Blood that flows through the area. The Earth blood has become corrupted. As the name suggest the halls are indeed haunted. I also stole and modified the name Tharkad-Dul from these very boards thanks for the cool name!
Level 2: The Necropolis: This level is actually comprised of a number of crypts and catacombs from a number of different races and cultures over time. It is the home to ghouls and supposedly has a gate to the Dreamlands. It is also the reputed lair of a group of necromancers called The Skin Scribes of the Black Veil (Yoinked from a Dragon Mag article). Also of interest on this level is the Pillar of Green Flame, which is worshipped by a number of insane but deadly cultists.
Level 3: The Mrathmurk (Ebon Lake) level: This level is mostly natural caves, though there are a number of worked stone areas. The biggest feature of this level is the Mrathmurk or the Ebon Lake. Beneath the vile waters of this lake lies a small city of Aboleth, and their Skum slaves. Also living on this level are Koa-Toa dedicated to Dagon. These Koa-Toans at Dagon’s direction have been cross breeding with captives from different races trying to create an ultimate hybrid race. For what purpose only Dagon knows. Legend has it that a infamous pirate lord built a vault on this level to store his treasure.
I have more ideas for the rest of the levels but this is what I’m starting with.
Level 1: The Haunted Halls of Tharkad-Dul: A dwarven clan hold in ruins. I know it’s a cliché, but there are a number of ideas that I had that I wanted to run with that require this. The dwarves are no longer here, but when they were they were the protectors of the Earth Blood that flows through the area. The Earth blood has become corrupted. As the name suggest the halls are indeed haunted. I also stole and modified the name Tharkad-Dul from these very boards thanks for the cool name!
You're welcome! I have been lurking this post gleaning ideas for tweaking my PbP dungeon. I figured an old-fashioned dungeon crawl would be the perfect way to get comfy with the Beta ruleset. There are some lower levels like yours I can't get into as I have to protect the story arc. ;)
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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There was a great article on the WotC website back before 4e was announced pitched for beginners but chock full of guidelines for building good dungeons. One thing they suggested was to make sure to provide places for your PCs to rest and recuperate. You might want to put a small settlement of non-evil creatures to serve as the PCs home base or maybe a healing spring that can be used once every day (and, which they would need to take and hold against the various nasty creatures in the dungeon).