Into the Megadungeon Episode 1: Mysteries Airs!

I am excited to share the very first episode “Mysteries” of my brand new podcast Into the Megadungeon, where I interview veteran GMs about their amazing megadungeon campaigns, campaigns focused on a single adventuring location with 100’s of rooms spread across many levels. It’s my way of exploring this largely lost play style and contributing to its possible revival. The podcast focuses on the actual experience of GMs at the table. You can expect to hear details about their campaigns, what they learned through play, some tips and techniques, and just maybe a bit of theory—but always grounded in practice.

We start in Episode 01 “Mysteries” with James Maliszewski, author of the blog Grognardia, whom I interview about his Dwimmermount campaign. Among other things, James and I discuss how a GM can make a single dungeon hold the interest and excitement of players. Without further ado, here are links to the podcast!

Episode 01 “Mysteries” on Spotify

Episode 01 “Mysteries” on Apple Podcasts

Episode 01 “Mysteries” on Google

Reader’s Notes to Episode 01

Art by Evlyn Moreau

With each episode, I will share “reader’s notes here. If you read these notes before listening to an episode, you’ll have everything you need to know to listen to the episode! For the curious, the links the notes contain can also be used as a springboard to learn more about the history and practice of megadungeon play.

James ran his Dwimmermount campaign as an experiment to learn about the original megadungeon playstyle practiced at the very beginning of the hobby. As part of that experiment he used the very first version of dungeons and dragons (OD&D) that had been designed specifically for this style of play. He mentions in passing several terms and names that refer to these older editions and early game products. (Don’t worry, in later episodes of the podcast I interview GMs who have developed brand new rulesets to run this style of game, as well as some who use fifth edition D&D to play megdungeon campaigns.)

Glossary of Names and Terms

Dave Arneson

Dave Arneson: One of the two creators of Dungeons & Dragons. Arneson ran the very first games of what would become Dungeons & Dragons, which explored the dungeons beneath Castle Blackmoor. This was both the very first tabletop roleplaying campaign and the very first megadungeon campaign. Castle Blackmoor was never published in its full form.

Gary Gygax: The other creator of Dungeons & Dragons. Gygax ran the second megadungeon campaign exploring the dungeons beneath Castle Greyhawk. Gygax went on to head TSR and authored several early rulebooks of D&D, as well as some classic modules. Castle Greyhawk was also never published in its full form. But Gygax wrote a wonderful little article in 1975 for Europa, a wargaming zine (amateur magazine), telling aspiring GMs what they need to do to set up their very own megadungeon that contains a tantalizing overview of the different levels of Castle Greyhawk. Check it out here.

Original Dungeons & Dragons

Original Dungeons & Dragons: Also called “OD&D”, “0E”, or “white box”, this was the original 1974 edition of Dungeons & Dragons that came in a little white box. The box contained the three little brown books titled “Men & Magic”, “Monsters & Treasure”, and “Underworld & Wilderness Adventures”. Curious about the rules? A reader friendly, and cheaper, alternative which I heartily recommend is Fantastic Medieval Campaigns, which accurately presents the original rules in a clean and attractive modern format, available for free here.

Philotomy’s OD&D Musings: A free document by Jason Cone, AKA Philotomy Jurament, published in 2007 introducing contemporary players to playing with the Original Dungeons & Dragons rules. The section on “creating an old school dungeon” is pure gold and should be read by those interested in megadungeon play. It is available for free here

Supplement I Greyhawk: The first supplement for Original Dungeons & Dragons detailing the Greyhawk setting and presenting many optional rules that became staples of later editions of D&D including “variable weapon damage”, the thief (i.e. rogue) class, among others.

Supplement II Blackmoor: The second supplement for Original Dungeons & Dragons detailing the Blackmoor setting, the monk class, and a far out adventure, The Temple of the Frog, that combines pulp sci-fi and fantasy elements.

Supplement III Eldritch Wizardry: The third supplement for Original Dungeons & Dragons, introducing the druid class and psionics, as well as many of the demons and devils such as Orcus that have become staples of the D&D multiverse.

S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks: A module written by Gary Gygax, where PCs explore a dungeon inside a crashed spaceship!

Tekumel: The richly imagined campaign world of M.A.R. Barker, based on non-European inspirations including meso-American and Indian sources. TSR published an early version of rules for play in this campaign world, Empire of the Petal Throne.

Clark’s Third Law: Arthur C. Clarke, British science fiction author, enumerated 3 laws over the course of his writings about speculation and future technological change. The 3rd law is, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

#Dungeon23 Challenge: This Sean McCoy’s challenge to create a 365 room megadungeon dungeon in 2023, one room per day. You can read about the original challenge here. I highlighted some of the most dynamic entries I was able to find in the early weeks of the challenge in posts here.

Grognardia: This is James Maliszewski’s prolific blog, dedicated to all things old school gaming. I recommend reading James’ Dwimmermount play reports to get a sense of how the campaign organically developed from modest experimental beginnings to a dynamic exploration of the secrets of an entire setting. You can find the blog here, and the Dwimmermount posts are collected here.