Mega-Dungeon Campaign

[Scott]

I think I'm about ready to start DMing a new campaign. I'm shooting for a real '74 OD&D feel. A town, the nearby ruins and dungeon, and the wilderness in the immediate vicinity. There will probably be one main PC party to start. The PCs will be free to go there seperate ways if they choose to do so. Besides the main party, there will also be a few other PCs interacting with the environment, maybe two or three other PCs. Treasures in the dungeon will be first come, first serve. Later PCs will find cleared out areas. Monsters will improve after surviving encounters with PCs and keep any loot from fallen adventurers. There will be a restocking process, but it will take some time. I will be tracking time and will not let one group get too far ahead of the rest. I guess the first PC/Group to reach the bottom will be declared the winner(s).

[GRWelsh]

Great! Sounds very much like the way AD&D game was described in the DMG, especially in the part where EGG was discussing time keeping.

The only real difference in that style of play between '74 OD&D and '79 AD&D is the number of options and monsters available, and many more rules were codified.

But I personally like that style of play, and it was how I first played the game way back in the day. I remember when we were still trying to figure the game out, and moving characters around by their move rate on a dungeon map as if it were a boardgame...

[Scott]

Yeah, I remember the literal movement rate interpretation.

[Scott]

Haven't started playing yet, but my cousin has a character ready, my nephew might play. Maybe one more outside of the main group to start.

[GRWelsh]

Are we talking a live game or online?

[Scott]

The main party will be live.
Doug will be playing online because he lives in Florida, but wants to be involved.

[GRWelsh]

So, it doesn't sound like you'll be DMing up in Sarver...

[Scott]

I'd like to DM at home, but I don't know if it's possible. Lots of interference from ths kids. Maybe in the future I'll have a game room, but for now, your place probably has a better atmosphere for gaming.

[Scott]

Free Friday nights have been tough to come by. Maybe now that summer is wrapping up that will change, at least until indoor soccer starts in December. Saturday nights might work better for me, but I don't think they work for everybody else.

[Scott]

My cousin ended up fleeing from the Frost Giant Rift. His henchmen were taking a beating. He's been back in the Greyhawk Dungeons trying to work them up a bit; especially the cleric. I've been sticking to the old school vibe. I've been pretty ctrict with the 'most doors are stuck' rule. It's changed things up a bit. Multiple tries resulted in the inhabitants being ready for the party. More wandering monsters too.
Maylin's been memorizing a lot more knock spells lately.

[Scott]

Update: Maylin and his henchmen came upon an area in the dungeon where there were doors north and south of the passage they were following. When they examined the north door, a magic mouth appeared warning them not to open the door. It was locked. They picked it. Opened the door. There was a large cavern with a black dragon coming out of stasis. They slammed the door and ran. No sign of pursuit. They next went to the south door. Another magic mouth, and locked door. They opened it and quickly beat the wizard within. They went back to town. He ended up being an illusionist. They sold his books and went back to fight the dragon. The flung the door open and unleashed with a couple lightning bolts and a javelin of lightning.
Any guesses as to what happened next?
It was an illusion. The cave and the dragon masked the illusionist's small chamber. All that electricity came bouncing back. My cousin is usually good at recognizing illusions, but he missed some big clues there.

[GRWelsh]

Did they survive all that bouncing lightning?

[Scott]

At first all of his henchmen were fried, but then he asked me if I checked to see if the henchman's scroll failed, since it was a higher caster level, which I have been doing. It ended up fizzling. That was 12 d6 less lightning damage. And they had, miraculously, made all their saving throws. They all ended up alive.

[GRWelsh]

So both rooms were the illusionist's chambers?

[Scott]

Yeah, one was like a study/lab, the other was his living/sleeping chamber.

[Scott]

Maylin is now the first character to meet Zagyg. He made it to the bottom level. Zagyg gave him him a staff of the magi, bracers of defense, and a Boccob's blessed book before sending him to China. They wished themselves home in the middle of the first encounter though. I was hoping they'd adventure around the world.

[GRWelsh]

I didn't realize you had completed so many levels of your own version of the Greyhawk Dungeons. What level did Maylin get down to? What did he find in those lower levels? What sort of things did he fight, down there?

I think the deepest we got in your Greyhawk Dungeons was the Black Reservoir, which is on the 5th level, right?

[Scott]

I don't want to give away too many details. I'd still like to DM you through the dungeon again. Since I can't make Fridays, I've been thinking about doing something at my house on Saturday evenings if your interested.
Some of this I've made brief posts about. Margoyles, an evil storm giant, purple worm, the illusionist, trolls, a ton of ghouls and ghasts, minotaurs, wereboars, a night hag.

Black Reservoir is a level 4 side level.

[amalric]

Maylin met Zagyg? That is awesome.

My version of Castle Zagyg is simply Joe Bloch's version. I've been running it on RPol since taking over from the original DM (I was a starting PC in the campaign), and we're five years in - level 1 is almost done, and about a quarter of level 2 has been explored (no-one said PbP was quick).

Been a lot of fun, but I think we'll have long grey beards before someone makes it to Zagyg!

[Scott]

We did a lot of chat gaming, and he didn't spend a lot of time on a level once he found stairs down.