Underdark campaign advice please [Archive] - Wizards Community

Underdark campaign advice please [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
DuskyFruit
06-13-05, 10:50 AM I'm starting a new campaign based in the underdark very soon and would like some advice from DMs who have previously been DMing in the underdark.

I've tried to have PCs in the underdark on small trips down there before and it didn't work out very well, the underdark is like a enormous dungeon, but it would be far to much work to prepare every corridor and every room in the underdark, so what have all you others done to prevent the underdark from being lots of kilometre long narrow corridors with no side tunnels or rooms (thats what I seem to end up doing when I haven't planned it beforehand).

Any other common advice for DMing in the underdark would also be appreciated, thanks in advance.
Kadasbrass
06-13-05, 01:17 PM Well there is the Underdark sourcebook.

My advise, while the underdark may be like a large dungeon, try to avoid treating it like one. Try and treat it in part like you would the surface, there will be some tunnels that go on endlessly, some tunnels may be narrow, maybe throw in a few unusally sized tunnels that look as if they were carved for a army of gaints to march through, there will be underground caverns lakes and rivers, there will be areas that will come close to being forest (forest of large shrooms, but a forest none the lest) or even rock gardens.

Be creative, but don't try and map every corner out, you'll just be giving yourself more headaches. Just describe it up as ya go, if the players want a map, you can always tell them to make a map like a true adventure would ;)
warlockco
06-13-05, 11:15 PM Something to do, if there is one near you, is take a trip to a major cavern in the area, something like Carlsbad Caverns.
That will give you a good feel for how it might be to be in the Underdark.

If you can arrange for your players to make the trip with you, all the better.
Dielzen
06-14-05, 12:18 AM One suggestion would be to map nothing out ahead of time other than special areas you want to focus on.

Make it up as you go, keeping in mind there's caverns big enough to hold cities (Menzo) and large rivers (the Sargoth or whatever it's called). There should be plenty of dead ends and height changes, not to mention random monster encounters at a HIGH frequency.
Ssussunriyh
06-14-05, 02:52 AM The Underdark is not so much a dungeon, as an enormous network of natural caverns, some of which have been occupied and enlarged or reworked by the inhabitants.

Passages in the Underdark do not always follow a predictable two-dimensional floorplan. They can go any old which-way, even straight up and down - sometimes for miles. There can be gigantic galleries with acres of open space, multi-level mazes of interconnected caverns, bottomless gorges too wide to traverse without flying, or narrow cracks and tiny tunnels too small for a humanoid-sized creature to squeeze through.

For more information, see the FR Underdark sourcebook, chapter 7: "Exploring the Underdark."
Zanan
06-14-05, 08:32 AM And while we are at it ... google your way through a few caverns of this world like Actun Tunichil Muknal (http://www.socomogro.org/gallery/Belize/P3244606) in Belize or the aforementioned Carlsberg Caverns (http://www.photodiary.org/ph_c_1172.shtml).

Another good sourcebook is of course Drizzt do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark by Eric L. Boyd.
DuskyFruit
06-14-05, 10:57 AM Originally posted by: Zanan
Another good sourcebook is of course Drizzt do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark by Eric L. Boyd.

How can I get my greedy fingers on that one?
dngnb8
06-14-05, 03:55 PM And while we are at it ... google your way through a few caverns of this world like Actun Tunichil Muknal (http://www.socomogro.org/gallery/Belize/P3244606) in Belize or the aforementioned Carlsberg Caverns (http://www.photodiary.org/ph_c_1172.shtml).

Another good sourcebook is of course Drizzt do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark by Eric L. Boyd.

EXCELLENT Source Book.

First you must decide what you are setting up. Are you doing a hack and slash, or intrigue?

If you plan to incorporate the "community" the source book mentioned is a must. It goes into all the races and the politics of the races. Address the metropolis, not the road to it.

I think the Menzo boxed set gives you a map of the Faerunian underdark by location. This can give you an idea of how far one has to travel underground to get from city A to city B.

Also understand that the Underdark is not 1 level. Again, the Drizzt source book addresses the depths of the races one will find.

By addressing the UD by metropolis, you build in your frequency of random encounters. You are neared Svirfneblin, then those tend to increase on randomness. This also gives the seasoned player a hint of what he is close too.

The Night Below gives a good feeling for a non Drow campaign. Most people tend to run Drow campaigns.

If you get into the social political aspects of the adventure, it can be an incredible journey for your players.

here is an example of the great distance between Metropolis's

http://webpages.charter.net/ericnoah/noahrpg/underdark.gif
warlockco
06-14-05, 11:03 PM How can I get my greedy fingers on that one?

You can purchase a pdf from a few locations, or if you look, places like Amazon.com, you can find a paper copy.
DuskyFruit
06-15-05, 11:19 AM Originally posted by: dngnb8
First you must decide what you are setting up. Are you doing a hack and slash, or intrigue?

It is both, its going to incorporate quite a few fights but also a fair amount of intrigue.

Originally posted by: dngnb8
I think the Menzo boxed set gives you a map of the Faerunian underdark by location. This can give you an idea of how far one has to travel underground to get from city A to city B.

What is the menzo boxed set?

Originally posted by: warlockco
You can purchase a pdf from a few locations, or if you look, places like Amazon.com, you can find a paper copy.

Thank you, I'll try to get a copy
Mikayla
06-15-05, 12:29 PM The "Menzo Box Set" is actually the Menzoberranzan Campaign Set, now out of print but available via electronic download for about $5 from SVGames. It does not, however, come with a good map of the Underdark. The two best maps of the Underdark in Faerun are found in the 3ed book "Underdark" and in the 2ed book "Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark." Underdark is on the shelves right now, while Drizzt's Guide is available via electronic download, again for about $5 from SV Games.

I have run several underdark campaigns over the last 20 years or so, two in Pen-N-Paper and two in an online (NWN environment). My best advice regarding the Underdark parallels what was said earlier - do NOT treat the entire underdark like a dungeon. Treat it as you would surface wilderness areas, with the main passages being like roads. All you need know is where the main passages go, how long they are (in terms of travel time) and what they are like so you can describe them. Where you want or need specific enounters, then you can draw out that particular section of tunnel or cavern. There is no need to map out the miles and miles of tunnel between Mantol Derith and Menzoberranzan any more than you need to map out in precise detail all the miles of road between Waterdeep and Beregost (though some people have done it, I am sure).

The Underdark, like the surface, has its points of interest which should be mapped out in greater detail. A good example of this can be found in the City of the Spider Queen adventure. There are three 'levels' of mapping in that adventure: first, there are the extremely detailed maps of small locations like the interior of Szith Morcane which are akin to traditional dugeon or building mapping; second, there are the larger scale, slightly less detailed maps of large cavern areas, such as the Szith Morcane commoner area and the city of Maerimydra; finally, there is a much less detailed, much larger scale map of the local underdark area as a whole (though it is incomplete). Using these different scales you can drill down to as much detail as you like for the points of interest without having to map out every 5' x 5' square of the Underdark.

Another handy tool which first appeared in the D series of modules are 'generic' encounter areas. You can prepare half a dozen or so cavern sections in detail for random encounters if you like, then use and re-use them as appropriate. So long as you add just a little variation, it should work (well, it has for me).

Malla tlu Lolth.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
DuskyFruit 06-13-05, 10:50 AM	I'm starting a new campaign based in the underdark very soon and would like some advice from DMs who have previously been DMing in the underdark. I've tried to have PCs in the underdark on small trips down there before and it didn't work out very well, the underdark is like a enormous dungeon, but it would be far to much work to prepare every corridor and every room in the underdark, so what have all you others done to prevent the underdark from being lots of kilometre long narrow corridors with no side tunnels or rooms (thats what I seem to end up doing when I haven't planned it beforehand). Any other common advice for DMing in the underdark would also be appreciated, thanks in advance.
Kadasbrass 06-13-05, 01:17 PM	Well there is the Underdark sourcebook. My advise, while the underdark may be like a large dungeon, try to avoid treating it like one. Try and treat it in part like you would the surface, there will be some tunnels that go on endlessly, some tunnels may be narrow, maybe throw in a few unusally sized tunnels that look as if they were carved for a army of gaints to march through, there will be underground caverns lakes and rivers, there will be areas that will come close to being forest (forest of large shrooms, but a forest none the lest) or even rock gardens. Be creative, but don't try and map every corner out, you'll just be giving yourself more headaches. Just describe it up as ya go, if the players want a map, you can always tell them to make a map like a true adventure would ;)
warlockco 06-13-05, 11:15 PM	Something to do, if there is one near you, is take a trip to a major cavern in the area, something like Carlsbad Caverns. That will give you a good feel for how it might be to be in the Underdark. If you can arrange for your players to make the trip with you, all the better.
Dielzen 06-14-05, 12:18 AM	One suggestion would be to map nothing out ahead of time other than special areas you want to focus on. Make it up as you go, keeping in mind there's caverns big enough to hold cities (Menzo) and large rivers (the Sargoth or whatever it's called). There should be plenty of dead ends and height changes, not to mention random monster encounters at a HIGH frequency.
Ssussunriyh 06-14-05, 02:52 AM	The Underdark is not so much a dungeon, as an enormous network of natural caverns, some of which have been occupied and enlarged or reworked by the inhabitants. Passages in the Underdark do not always follow a predictable two-dimensional floorplan. They can go any old which-way, even straight up and down - sometimes for miles. There can be gigantic galleries with acres of open space, multi-level mazes of interconnected caverns, bottomless gorges too wide to traverse without flying, or narrow cracks and tiny tunnels too small for a humanoid-sized creature to squeeze through. For more information, see the FR Underdark sourcebook, chapter 7: "Exploring the Underdark."
Zanan 06-14-05, 08:32 AM	And while we are at it ... google your way through a few caverns of this world like Actun Tunichil Muknal (http://www.socomogro.org/gallery/Belize/P3244606) in Belize or the aforementioned Carlsberg Caverns (http://www.photodiary.org/ph_c_1172.shtml). Another good sourcebook is of course Drizzt do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark by Eric L. Boyd.
DuskyFruit 06-14-05, 10:57 AM	Originally posted by: Zanan Another good sourcebook is of course Drizzt do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark by Eric L. Boyd. How can I get my greedy fingers on that one?
dngnb8 06-14-05, 03:55 PM	And while we are at it ... google your way through a few caverns of this world like Actun Tunichil Muknal (http://www.socomogro.org/gallery/Belize/P3244606) in Belize or the aforementioned Carlsberg Caverns (http://www.photodiary.org/ph_c_1172.shtml). Another good sourcebook is of course Drizzt do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark by Eric L. Boyd. EXCELLENT Source Book. First you must decide what you are setting up. Are you doing a hack and slash, or intrigue? If you plan to incorporate the "community" the source book mentioned is a must. It goes into all the races and the politics of the races. Address the metropolis, not the road to it. I think the Menzo boxed set gives you a map of the Faerunian underdark by location. This can give you an idea of how far one has to travel underground to get from city A to city B. Also understand that the Underdark is not 1 level. Again, the Drizzt source book addresses the depths of the races one will find. By addressing the UD by metropolis, you build in your frequency of random encounters. You are neared Svirfneblin, then those tend to increase on randomness. This also gives the seasoned player a hint of what he is close too. The Night Below gives a good feeling for a non Drow campaign. Most people tend to run Drow campaigns. If you get into the social political aspects of the adventure, it can be an incredible journey for your players. here is an example of the great distance between Metropolis's http://webpages.charter.net/ericnoah/noahrpg/underdark.gif
warlockco 06-14-05, 11:03 PM	How can I get my greedy fingers on that one? You can purchase a pdf from a few locations, or if you look, places like Amazon.com, you can find a paper copy.
DuskyFruit 06-15-05, 11:19 AM	Originally posted by: dngnb8 First you must decide what you are setting up. Are you doing a hack and slash, or intrigue? It is both, its going to incorporate quite a few fights but also a fair amount of intrigue. Originally posted by: dngnb8 I think the Menzo boxed set gives you a map of the Faerunian underdark by location. This can give you an idea of how far one has to travel underground to get from city A to city B. What is the menzo boxed set? Originally posted by: warlockco You can purchase a pdf from a few locations, or if you look, places like Amazon.com, you can find a paper copy. Thank you, I'll try to get a copy
Mikayla 06-15-05, 12:29 PM	The "Menzo Box Set" is actually the Menzoberranzan Campaign Set, now out of print but available via electronic download for about $5 from SVGames. It does not, however, come with a good map of the Underdark. The two best maps of the Underdark in Faerun are found in the 3ed book "Underdark" and in the 2ed book "Drizzt Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark." Underdark is on the shelves right now, while Drizzt's Guide is available via electronic download, again for about $5 from SV Games. I have run several underdark campaigns over the last 20 years or so, two in Pen-N-Paper and two in an online (NWN environment). My best advice regarding the Underdark parallels what was said earlier - do NOT treat the entire underdark like a dungeon. Treat it as you would surface wilderness areas, with the main passages being like roads. All you need know is where the main passages go, how long they are (in terms of travel time) and what they are like so you can describe them. Where you want or need specific enounters, then you can draw out that particular section of tunnel or cavern. There is no need to map out the miles and miles of tunnel between Mantol Derith and Menzoberranzan any more than you need to map out in precise detail all the miles of road between Waterdeep and Beregost (though some people have done it, I am sure). The Underdark, like the surface, has its points of interest which should be mapped out in greater detail. A good example of this can be found in the City of the Spider Queen adventure. There are three 'levels' of mapping in that adventure: first, there are the extremely detailed maps of small locations like the interior of Szith Morcane which are akin to traditional dugeon or building mapping; second, there are the larger scale, slightly less detailed maps of large cavern areas, such as the Szith Morcane commoner area and the city of Maerimydra; finally, there is a much less detailed, much larger scale map of the local underdark area as a whole (though it is incomplete). Using these different scales you can drill down to as much detail as you like for the points of interest without having to map out every 5' x 5' square of the Underdark. Another handy tool which first appeared in the D series of modules are 'generic' encounter areas. You can prepare half a dozen or so cavern sections in detail for random encounters if you like, then use and re-use them as appropriate. So long as you add just a little variation, it should work (well, it has for me). Malla tlu Lolth.