Megadungeons

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dustle
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Megadungeons

Post by dustle »

I've seen some discussions of DCC not being a good fit for long-term campaigns in general and megadungeons in particular. What problems have people encountered? I've been running a long-term PbP game for about 18 months now, and the bigger story has developed pretty naturally. I gave my players a couple chances earlier to explore megadungeons, and they usually did quick in and outs to accomplish a small-level goal rather than taking time to explore everything, which is fine, but they've been in a deep-dive of a ten-level megadungeon for months now and seem to be enjoying it (though I'm definitely going to give them opportunities for some smaller scale adventures after they get out of here, just for a change of pace). But what problems have people encountered? Is it just a change in philosophy of game design, or is it something about DCC in particular that people find doesn't work well with the megadungeon compared to B/X style systems?
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Re: Megadungeons

Post by BanjoJohn »

In general I don't much like mega-dungeons as a concept. I don't think they work no matter what game system you're using. Like.. it just doesn't seem fun or engaging to have your characters trapped in a dungeon for weeks trying to work their way through. And maybe they're not trapped for a week, what if they're going in and out over and over again? That doesn't make much sense either, especially if you're like.. clearing things out and expecting either the dungeon to stay cleared out or something.

I think DCC works fine for campaigns. I don't much like funnels myself.
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GnomeBoy
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Re: Megadungeons

Post by GnomeBoy »

I've never seen a clear explanation of *why* some people think DCC won't work for long campaigns, but I have my suspicions...

Such as, if you're the type of GM who wants to plan out what's happening in "month three" of a campaign before you've even begun the campaign, DCC is not going to work for that approach. It's too unpredictable.

Which is what I'd call "my campaigning doesn't work for DCC", i.e., there's no shortcoming revealed in DCC, there's a shortcoming in the individual's concept of what a campaign is...

Which is very much like when people feel it's jarring to go from nobody zero-level character, and then "suddenly" you're a Wizard. You have to reconceptualize who that character was before you rolled them up -- they didn't just spring into existence at that point as a nobody. They've been doing something or experiencing something *weird* for all their life, and the funnel was the catalyst that pushed them over the edge into full-on magic-user.
...
Gnome Boy • DCC playtester @ DDC 35 Feb '11. • Beta DL 2111, 7AM PT, 8 June 11.
Playing RPGs since '77 • Quasi-occasional member of the Legion of 8th-Level Fighters.

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Raven_Crowking
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Re: Megadungeons

Post by Raven_Crowking »

The short answer: Those people are wrong.

The long answer: Thooooossssssse peeeeeeeople arrrrrrrre wroooooooonnnnnnnnnng.

DCC works perfectly well with megadungeons.

https://ravencrowking.blogspot.com/sear ... geon+crawl
SoBH pbp:

Cathbad the Meek (herbalist Wizard 1): AC 9; 4 hp; S 7, A 7, St 10, P 17, I 13, L 8; Neutral; Club, herbs, 50' rope, 50 cp; -1 to melee attack rolls. Hideous scar.
dustle
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Re: Megadungeons

Post by dustle »

GnomeBoy wrote: Fri May 28, 2021 6:09 am I've never seen a clear explanation of *why* some people think DCC won't work for long campaigns, but I have my suspicions...

Such as, if you're the type of GM who wants to plan out what's happening in "month three" of a campaign before you've even begun the campaign, DCC is not going to work for that approach. It's too unpredictable.

Which is what I'd call "my campaigning doesn't work for DCC", i.e., there's no shortcoming revealed in DCC, there's a shortcoming in the individual's concept of what a campaign is...

Which is very much like when people feel it's jarring to go from nobody zero-level character, and then "suddenly" you're a Wizard. You have to reconceptualize who that character was before you rolled them up -- they didn't just spring into existence at that point as a nobody. They've been doing something or experiencing something *weird* for all their life, and the funnel was the catalyst that pushed them over the edge into full-on magic-user.
Yeah, as I said in my initial post, I'm not that sort of Judge. I give my players opportunities and hooks and see where they go. They pretty much passed on two megadungeons I'd prepped before (one of which I was really proud of; I may have to entice them to get back to it), but mostly I let them go where they want to go. It's worked fine for me so far, and they're nearing the bottom of the current dungeon (the first megadungeon they've taken the hook on because it relates to the very first adventure they ever had), though they've only explored maybe a fifth of it. They're not, by nature, players who have to clear every room, but more players who just want to "accomplish the goal we came here for," so your explanation for what other people don't like about DCC for campaigns makes sense for what those people might not like about megadungeons, too. Like, if my plan was for them to encounter the young dragon on level five and steal his horde... well, they heard about the dragon and thought, "too dangerous, let's stay away from there and keep our eyes on the goal." Which is fine by me. Maybe they'll hear about some item somewhere down the road that the dragon is said to have in his horde, and they'll want to return. Or maybe not. Anyway, thanks for the feedback.
dustle
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Re: Megadungeons

Post by dustle »

Raven_Crowking wrote: Fri May 28, 2021 7:49 am The short answer: Those people are wrong.

The long answer: Thooooossssssse peeeeeeeople arrrrrrrre wroooooooonnnnnnnnnng.

DCC works perfectly well with megadungeons.

https://ravencrowking.blogspot.com/sear ... geon+crawl
I like this blog post a lot, especially how it relates megadungeons to Appendix N stuff. I haven't run Barrowmaze. I think my players will be wanting some smaller scale stuff after the current thing, but Barrowmaze looks interesting.
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GnomeBoy
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Re: Megadungeons

Post by GnomeBoy »

dustle wrote: Wed Jun 02, 2021 7:42 am ...if my plan was for them to encounter the young dragon on level five and steal his horde... well, they heard about the dragon and thought, "too dangerous, let's stay away from there and keep our eyes on the goal." Which is fine by me.
It's been awhile since I can say I've been able to run a campaign of any real length (more than like three or four months), but that was my approach in the past, as well. If I came up with a trap that seemed like it'd be fun for all involved, and the players just didn't go that way, I'd just file it away and possibly use it in the future when I needed a trap (if it fit). Sort of like having a parts bin for kit-bashing miniatures, or something like that -- "the ideas are waiting for a chance to deploy them again... maybe this time they'll see some action."
...
Gnome Boy • DCC playtester @ DDC 35 Feb '11. • Beta DL 2111, 7AM PT, 8 June 11.
Playing RPGs since '77 • Quasi-occasional member of the Legion of 8th-Level Fighters.

Link: Here Be 100+ DCC Monsters

bygrinstow.com - The Home of Inner Ham
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Raven_Crowking
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Re: Megadungeons

Post by Raven_Crowking »

dustle wrote: Wed Jun 02, 2021 7:44 am
Raven_Crowking wrote: Fri May 28, 2021 7:49 am The short answer: Those people are wrong.

The long answer: Thooooossssssse peeeeeeeople arrrrrrrre wroooooooonnnnnnnnnng.

DCC works perfectly well with megadungeons.

https://ravencrowking.blogspot.com/sear ... geon+crawl
I like this blog post a lot, especially how it relates megadungeons to Appendix N stuff. I haven't run Barrowmaze. I think my players will be wanting some smaller scale stuff after the current thing, but Barrowmaze looks interesting.
Thank you for the kind words!
SoBH pbp:

Cathbad the Meek (herbalist Wizard 1): AC 9; 4 hp; S 7, A 7, St 10, P 17, I 13, L 8; Neutral; Club, herbs, 50' rope, 50 cp; -1 to melee attack rolls. Hideous scar.
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herecomethejudge
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Re: Megadungeons

Post by herecomethejudge »

Late to the game here, but I also like extended dungeon situations in DCC and prefer them significantly over shorter, one-shot modules.
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