Learn GM Tips From the Dungeon of the Mad Mage Setup

[@joeld2925]

Good evening sir! Just so you know, I came across your video because I wanted to dive back into this module recently. I've bought several 5e adventure books which I still haven't run. Interestingly, my desire to run them has generally decreased over time, but I feel the opposite about this book. Maybe because it simply has more to teach us. Thanks for your take. You have a whole bunch of really interesting videos I hope to dive into soon.

[@DDHomebrew]

Great to hear this Joel! It's what makes doing these great: to know that players can learn something from my material. And take my ideas, incorporate your own and run your own version!

[@stephengilbert8166]

Really good video, and inspirational for many I think. We always repurposed classic locations and modules/books because, well.. otherwise you are just following a predesigned imagination from someone else`s mind. We found inspiration from these things, but ultimately re-populated and re-plotted everything. YOUR videos are fantastic, because they show players/DMs how enjoyable it is to create things for themselves, and not just follow what`s on the page in front of them :-)

[@DDHomebrew]

That is my goal! Take inspiration from wherever you can find it, but then make it your own. For me it's the most satisfying way to play.

[@mattnerdy7236]

Hello Kevin, great video and topic. I need to get a copy of the 1e DMG, man it was loaded with information! Great picture @3:45 reminds me of the Raven Queen, "All will be counted." Came across some odd low level magic items: Charred Wand (50% chance of failure) and Walloping Bullets (DC 10 knocked prone), lol can't wait to have someone use these. That charred Wand is a bane & boon all in one. Staff of Flowers is really good also (you can make spell components, food, gifts, etc.). I was thinking about my dilemma with the outdoor adventure. Have the player's create there own random things to happen. If the go hunting or stick there nose in a cave. Like you did in the one video, where one encounter lead to the party finding a tomb (nice touch, epic idea). So much to say, will drive you crazy another day. Thanks Kevin you have a wonderful day!

[@DDHomebrew]

Glad you liked it. I'm thinking now about doing something with low level items: maybe ones you don't need to attune to? And of course the whole "bane and boon" idea that ties into the wild magic notion: it's not just for sorcerers anymore!

[@harmony_ginger]

Enjoying your videos. Love how you used the 5e Blackstaff art as Jazeera 😆

[@DDHomebrew]

Glad you like them!

[@x86ed]

Nice! Got a new sub. Played D&D for 20 years but only recently started as a dm. You got lots of good info!

[@DDHomebrew]

I'm glad you liked my channel!

[@777Jdude]

Super useful, really well paced. Thank you so much for making this video.

[@DDHomebrew]

I'm so glad you liked the pacing of the video Jadon. It's something I work on: sometimes I go too fast or present too much information. But I always want to get as much "information value" out of each video.

[@JayHernandezzz]

Really great video gave me plenty of ideas to work into my campaign! keep up the good work!

[@DDHomebrew]

Glad you liked it Jay!

[@Door_to_the_North]

This is great. Thank you! Helpful!

[@DDHomebrew]

Glad I could help Adam!

[@HowtoRPG]

Nice video. I see you have done some research on Dungeon of the Mad Mage.

[@DDHomebrew]

I had seen some of yours on this and thought I would cover the set-up in regards to lessons on homebrewing. Lots more in there on a level to level basis: your "modify villains" video inspired me a bit as well.

[@HowtoRPG]

@@DDHomebrew The book has so much to learn about Dungeons. I look forward to your next one.

[@DDHomebrew]

@@HowtoRPG I agree. Each level has information on mapmaking and populating a dungeon.

[@sti3]

I actually found this helpful not to make my own adventures but for highlighting some of the more compelling aspects of the adventure to inform my running of it. Novice DM here saying thanks! Btw are you from Chicagoland?

[@DDHomebrew]

Glad it was helpful. I'm from Detroit; I've got a classic Michigan accent!

[@sti3]

@@DDHomebrew I’ve gotten our accents mixed up so many times, Cleveland as well!

[@jasonjacksonii1805]

I have a strange situation with my party currently running dungeon of the mad mage, i'm not sure what to do with. Session zero and my players decided to all be aquatic races, and they're going to try and magically flood the dungeon. Their plan is to just spend their days recovering spell slots for food and summoning water spells, and slowly filling the dungeon. They have plans to fortify themselves in safely if any water breathing creatures come after them. And their hopes is that the various monsters that dont drown, work their way up the levels and take care of the higher level baddies for them. Im thinking I should add stuff to make this not work, but I very much want to run the adventure as written without inventing my own stuff.

[@DDHomebrew]

This is a very novel idea, but if you start the party off at the recommended level 5, how much magic would they have to begin flooding the dungeon? More to the point, wouldn't Halaster realize what they are doing? I think you have two options: one is to have the dungeon flooded from the get-go (by Halaster? a natural catastrophe?) and re-fill it with aquatic monsters, until the last few levels where Halaster resides. The issue here is, as you point out, that you have to rework all of the flooded levels. So all you're using is the maps and those creatures: aboleth, chuuls, etc. that happen to be aquatic. The other is to have Halaster intrude and stop the players early on, but now they've created aquatic characters and have to deal with dry land. It's a tough conundrum!

[@jasonjacksonii1805]

@@DDHomebrew they can get about 160 gallons every long rest, but someone's coffee locking and plans to get about 480 gallons a day lmao. And I guess I'll have to make halastar interfere, it's just not something with any derails for what to do

[@DDHomebrew]

@@jasonjacksonii1805 Or you could let them try: I think 480 gallons per day isn't that much when you think of the volume of each level. Plus water would flow down to the river of the depths and flow out to sea!

[@mattpace1026]

Sounds like they don't want to play it (based on the railroad-y bs described in this video, I don't blame them) so they decided to try and annoy you enough that you wouldn't want to play it either.

[@peacefulmaroon]

Or the other way around. So many people visited the dungeon that a commercial enterprise (pub) spring up to capitalize on the potential customers. I get it.

[@DDHomebrew]

It says in the setup that an adventurer named Durnan survived and expedition into the dungeon and used his newfound wealth to build the Yawning Portal. Like many a smart business person he realized that he could make more money outfitting suckers to head underground!

[@anaximander66]

Great video, thank you! I'm not posting these thoughts to be provocative but I wonder if anyone sees my point on something: am I the only one who finds the "Yawning Portal" to be a lame idea? Maybe I don't fully grasp the concept but the idea of a tavern built over the entrence of a dungeon seems so contrived to me. It's almost like the characters in the world don't really take the dungeon that serious, like it's not really a threat. Heck it doesn't even effect property values! In short I find it silly.

[@DDHomebrew]

Great point Leuthaneous! I talked in later videos on the dungeon of the mad mage how having a group of vampires right near the entrance would be a problem, since they could easily move in and out of the tavern, but think of all the various monsters! Seems like that bar would be a risky place to have a beer. The images of characters on the pulley system laughing as they're poised atop a 140 foot well are strange as well. I usually play dungeons as either well-guarded or ruined, and ruined ones are well away from settled areas: hence no property value issues! Not sure why they chose that entrance device for the Undermountain; they're a few clinkers in the module, and this is one of them.

[@anaximander66]

@@DDHomebrew thanks for your thoughts! I would love to run this entire campaign just for the experience but man that's a lot of dungeon!

[@DDHomebrew]

@@anaximander66 I look at each level for ideas for my own dungeons: when I started playing I created a 12 level dungeon; my friends only got down to the 6th level. So I reused various levels as single level dungeons out in the wilderness! No reason you couldn't do the same with mad mage levels either; you could make some changes here and there, but I'll bet no one notices that much. Say you took the Troglodyte Warrens (level 11) and just put it in some cave complex. Maybe tweak it a bit to make it challenge appropriate for your group.

[@user-gj7lp5iz6k]

That's the Forgotten Realms for ya, absolutely filled with dumb stuff like that

[@Hawk7886]

I love it. Adventurers are often ignorant to true danger, which is why the guild exists. They guide new adventurers by assigning jobs that won't immediately kill them. It makes perfect sense that an infamous dungeon under a tavern would attract foolhardy idiots. The intro in the book mentions other patrons often betting on the parties that winch down on the rope, _"Ten gold pieces that they come back minus the fighter and the wizard!"_ _"Fifteen gold only the monk comes back!"_ It's pretty dark, and really highlights just how deadly the dungeon can be if you aren't careful.

[@blackwolfe638]

"incorporeal" the word is incorporeal. Look it up. *L

[@DDHomebrew]

I've been told that before and will be told in the future. One of those words I always screw up.

[@blackwolfe638]

@@DDHomebrew we all have some of those. :)