I have Castle Zagyg, but I skipped out on Undermountain and the various 2e megadungeons. I played around a bit with Rappan Athuk: The Upper Levels when it came out, but I never really used the entire thing. I've just never been able to justify to myself the existence of such a thing. I love small crypts and stuff like the Catacombs in Paris. But a huge dungeon with seemingless endless levels just seems goofy. I could maybe see it if parts of it are attached via dimensional gates. But having everything stuffed into one mountain is kind of silly to me.
In some ways, I kind of regret this. After reading the Dwimmermount posts on Grognardia, I would actually like to try a megadungeon. I doubt that I would run it very long, especially compared to the amount of preparatory work it would require though. But for those of you who like this stuff, I hope you have fun!
4 comments:
I have run Temple of Elemental Evil, which is almost a megadungeon...some would say not. I have also used Arneson's Blackmoor Vastle with its 10 levels.
I wouldn't say they've caused me more work than I have done on an average megacampaign. I have done 'round the world, new worlds, new planes, time-travel (oh, just remembering the looks on teh players' faces when they first saw the ToEE when it was in it prime!), etc.
Anyone can do them if they just put their mind to it. Of course you try not to make it a who's-who of the Monster Manuals (let's see, we're up to the L's now...Lamias it is!). It can be abit more of a challenge for the players. Having enough food & supplies, securing a base for healing & rest, etc.
Grab some random dungeon maps, or even some Parisian catacombs & crypts (I like that idea), and let the players wander in and see how much they'll like it.
It's a challenge, and players LOVE a challenge!
Ciao!
GW
I cannot recommend Bloch's "Castle of the Mad Archmage" enough as a sequel to CZ. It's an ongoing project, but almost finished!
Yes, Joe Bloch's Castle of the Mad Archmage is an amazing undertaking.
He has connected enough dots between the CZ: Upper Works and other Greyhawkian references (i.e. Rob Kuntz's Bottle City, TSR modules Dungeonland, Land Beyond the Magic Mirror, and Isle of the Ape, etc).
It has reached Level 12, with the final 13th Level being proofread. I believe he may be considering some side/sub-levels to be added later.
Give it a look:
http://www.greyhawkgrognard.blogspot.com
Ciao!
GW
I can not recommend highly enough Stonehell. Seriously, it should be the measure of any other megadungeon out there.
http://stores.lulu.com/poleandrope
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