Megadungeons and Appendix N

[numenetics]

I'm far from competent in appendix N: are there many examples of "megadungeons?" Moria could count, but is perhaps better thought of as a sort of underground wilderness (?) That's an honest question, as I can't think of any examples from the stuff I've read.

I've been playtesting with Stonehell, and I'm kind of wondering how well some of the assumptions of a megadungeon hold up for the DCC implied setting.

-Unique monsters: megadungeons, including Stonehell often have various goblinoids holed up in areas of the upper levels. This can be pretty easily adapted by reskinning them, so that "goblins" are strange little creatures with translucent skin and feathers on their back, and not called goblins.

-Rare adventurers: This seems to be an area where megadungeons don't fit as well, at least as often written. Stonehell, at least, is a place fairly well known as written. Should a megadungeon in DCC be more mysterious and unexplored, even at the upper levels?

I'm sure there are other points, but that's all I have for now.

Disclaimer: I've never run a megadungeon campaign. Or rather, I'm running one right now, but the players decided to go elsewhere and have never been in the megadungeon.

[finarvyn]

A couple off the top of my head:

In the Barsoom books, John Carter often wanders through the pits underneith cities of Mars.

In the Conan books, I'm pretty sure there is at least one time when Conan wanders around in dark dungeons and/or deep caverns. The story "Red Nails" is essentially one big above-ground megadungeon. Other stories by Robert E Howard also feature characters who wander through deep caverns and emerge in strange locations.

You already mentioned Moria in the Lord of the Rings. I suppose the caverns in the Misty Mountains (in The Hobbit) might count as well.

In the "Earthsea Trilogy" (technically not on the Appendix N list, but certainly of that era) the hero wanders around a giagantic dungeon maze.

[Alcamtar]

A. Merritt's "The Moon Pool" took place underground, thought IIRC it was more properly an underground wilderness than a dungeon (like the Pellucidar books). Also, A Merritt's "The Face in the Abyss" does have a classic megadungeon, including weird creatures, weird magic, hazards, sprawling tunnels, hidden secrets, etc.

There are several megadungeon-like locales explored or hinted at in Lovecrafts "Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath"

Tolkien of course had many megadungeons: Moria, the dwarf-ruins under the Lonely Mountain, the elvenking's caverns, the paths of the dead, the orc-pits beneath Orthanc, the goblin tunnels in the Misty Mountians. And these pale next to what is described in the Silmarillion: Angband, Nargothrond, Nogrod and Belegost, etc.

Some specific examples from the Conan tales: the city of Xuchotl in Red Nails; the caverns in Jewels of Gwahlur; the Halls of Horror beneath Khorshemish in The Scarlet Citadel. I'm sure there are others.

Appendix N megadungeons have a flavor quite different from D&D. They tend to be large empty places, so huge and labyrinthine you could get lost in them. Usually only a small portion is described in the story, but it is clear that the tunnels are much larger. They tend not to be chock-full of monsters; commonly there is a single group (often human, either a lost race or a cultic group) that is the major danger, though there may be occasional creatures or oddities in the corners. The ecology is well-thought out in some stories. Often there is a specific secret hidden in the dungeon that is key to the entire story, and it is often stumbled across by accident. Likewise the dungeon often contains clues that provide some background context to the mysterious lost race or whatever. There are often many traps and hazards, both the deliberate sort as well as the "ancient unstable ruins" sort. I think Tolkien comes closest to the D&D megadungeon with lots of monsters and magic, both quantity and variety.

[Mike_Ferguson]

The story "Red Nails" is essentially one big above-ground megadungeon.

... and the Basic D&D module "B4: The Lost City" is essentially "Red Nails".

If you want to try a mega-dungeon for the DCC RPG, it might be a good place to start. You can pick up a copy of it on eBay for a few bucks.

It's still one of my favorite modules of all time.