I started a club at my school for DND and was going to run the dungeon of the mad mage. would alone mind telling me how long it takes to run? also, could you tell me any other tips for running it or being a DM in general? thanks in advance
It depends on how long each session is obviously. Each level of the dungeon is MASSIVE and if players take a roundabout way, they can spend quite a while on each level. As a DM, it has been a very easy dungeon to run and pretty enjoyable honestly. We are probably four or five sessions in and still on dungeon level 2.
It really depends on how much railroading you plan on doing. Each floor kind of has a main plot point per say and then a few smaller ones, and then of course just multitudes of dead ends. If you’re going hardcore and not really giving them info unless they ask for it? 20+ sessions EASY. Undermountain was designed to be just this cavernous sprawl of never ending twists and turns that respawned, conjured and bent to the will of Halaster. If you try and run it that way, its awesome but totally demanding and will take over a year to get through.
Your other question? Being a DM is all about facilitating the fun of the group, but don’t forget about your own! If this is your first time DMing and their first time playing, I wouldn’t recommend this module as a first time experience unless you go into it with a load of prep time. Storm Kings Thunder is a really fun first time experience that you can mold to your own whims. It also has a lot of interesting role play situations whereas Mad Mage has some of that, but its innately a dungeon crawl.
Ask them what they want, make sure to have a session 0 where you establish ground rules for everyone, including yourself. Don’t be afraid to adjucate rules in the moment and then do research after the session to see what maybe the real answer is or the common answer. Don’t be afraid to reward really creative thinking or roleplay! You are dealing with new players so meta gaming shouldn’t be a thing but if you get the feeling a certain character is just beelining toward a specific item/goal in the book then don’t be afraid to say it’s not there. Ultimately, you are the story teller. You have the ability to change things or rework them, just make sure its for the good of the table.
There are a lot of things in Mad Mage that don't really tie in with each other. When you just accept it's a bit congruous in the style of an old dungeon crawler, you can let go of the need to weave together a connective story and just roll with the fun and absurdity of the rooms. There is a lot of fun to be had in there.
Dungeon of the Mad Mage has taken me a long time to run, and I still haven't finished it after about 1.5 years (granted, not always regularly playing). It is a big adventure, the only one in 5e that goes to level 20, and it takes a good DM to keep the players interested in such a huge and long dungeon slog.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
There is, I think, a lot to be said for the old school dungeon crawler. The world is just kind of there, and story-less, and the players made their own stories as they went along.
I feel like back in high school when we did the dungeon crawlers, we made the story more about the party and its interactions, and less about the world. Now the story seems to be world-based, and the characters are reacting to the story of the world... rather than the world just being a place where characters interact with each other.
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WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I think most of the statements here about the length of time this adventure takes are grossly under-estimated. Granted, my group has been allowed to roam back up to Waterdeep and has had a bit of fun enjoying all the city has to offer top-side as well. Still, after almost 2 years now they have only just now arrived at Skullport and that was with MUCH guidance. This dungeon is humongous with many plots woven throughout it. I think that unless you somehow manage to play more than 20 hours a week and force your players to stay in the dungeon non-stop (as recommended in the notes), you aren't going to finish this in a year, probably not even in two.
I wouldn't recommend this one as a first time experience for any DM. I agree with the post above that mentions Storm Kings Thunder or maybe even the starter set Lost Mines of Phandelver which goes from 1st to 5th level. Those are some fun levels to play through anyway. DoTMM will take you all the way to 20 which can be challenging for a starting DM to pull off.
My group spent 6 weeks 4 hours a week on the first level alone. Just the first level. They explored every inch of the floor except the damn stairs. They leveled up enough to use the damn mirror. They still have no idea where the first floor stairs are. I am a bitter DM over this. 6 WEEKS
it was about 7 months of play with about 10 to 16 hours per session to finally get through it and I have a new group wanting to do it after hearing about how much fun the last group had playing it.
I'm 1 and a half years in to DM'ing this for an experienced group, and they're on level 3. Ignore anyone who says DotMM can be completed in a few weeks, unless each session is 3 days long!
That said, I have witnessed DM's run campaigns by just skipping from combat to combat with nothing in between, treating d&d as more of a combat board game as opposed to a role playing game. Nothing wrong with that of course if that style of play floats your boat but add any amount of role playing in to DotMM and it will become a very long campaign.
DotMM needs a lot of fleshing out to make it interesting. There are vast, empty sections that have nothing there. I wouldn't recommend this campaign for a beginner, unless you're ok with putting a lot of work in to create extra interest for your players.
Approximately 20 hours of play per floor for the average party. There are 23 levels + Skullport. You would have at least 2 years of play if you play every weekend for 4 hours a session. It might work, but it can also drag because you can't really travel around the area, its just the mega dungeon.
The problem is its a megadungeon made by hallaster, it doesn't give a completely coherent plot, but you can build one.
If you are a brand new DM and young, I would suggest you go with Lost Mines of Phandelver + D&D Essentials Kit and you get an "OK" ready to play 5E module for beginners. The digital code for D&D Beyond gives you a weakly tied together campaign that will take you to level 12-13. If you just run lost mine of Phandalin and let everyone know its a learning game, you'll go to level 4 in probably 8 four hour sessions.
When I'm taking a new group, I like to run them through Keep on the Borderlands (it doesn't come with a plot, make your own - this is what I took from Professor Dungeonmaster: the kobolds are digging up a red narcotic dust, there is a triparty trade system, and the evil priests are using the dust to get the area hooked and to turn them to their dark god). From there, they are level 3 and you can tie the party into just about any other campaign. I took my party through the Temple of Elemental Evil and they are almost are a few more sessions till they fight the demon lord of fungus.
If you are a brand new DM and young, I would suggest you go with Lost Mines of Phandelver + D&D Essentials Kit and you get an "OK" ready to play 5E module for beginners. The digital code for D&D Beyond gives you a weakly tied together campaign that will take you to level 12-13. If you just run lost mine of Phandalin and let everyone know its a learning game, you'll go to level 4 in probably 8 four hour sessions.
To prevent confusion and disappointment - the Essentials Kit no longer comes with those codes as standard. To get the DDB codes for Dragon of Icespire Peak and the Beyond Icespire Peak Trilogy, you have to buy the physical + digital bundle from https://dndstore.wizards.com/ which puts the price quite high for a set intended for people to try the game out, unfortunately. Apparently, it's part of the sale next week (potentially up to 40% off) so might be worth looking into that.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
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I started a club at my school for DND and was going to run the dungeon of the mad mage. would alone mind telling me how long it takes to run? also, could you tell me any other tips for running it or being a DM in general? thanks in advance
It depends on how long each session is obviously. Each level of the dungeon is MASSIVE and if players take a roundabout way, they can spend quite a while on each level. As a DM, it has been a very easy dungeon to run and pretty enjoyable honestly. We are probably four or five sessions in and still on dungeon level 2.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
It really depends on how much railroading you plan on doing. Each floor kind of has a main plot point per say and then a few smaller ones, and then of course just multitudes of dead ends. If you’re going hardcore and not really giving them info unless they ask for it? 20+ sessions EASY. Undermountain was designed to be just this cavernous sprawl of never ending twists and turns that respawned, conjured and bent to the will of Halaster. If you try and run it that way, its awesome but totally demanding and will take over a year to get through.
Your other question? Being a DM is all about facilitating the fun of the group, but don’t forget about your own! If this is your first time DMing and their first time playing, I wouldn’t recommend this module as a first time experience unless you go into it with a load of prep time. Storm Kings Thunder is a really fun first time experience that you can mold to your own whims. It also has a lot of interesting role play situations whereas Mad Mage has some of that, but its innately a dungeon crawl.
Ask them what they want, make sure to have a session 0 where you establish ground rules for everyone, including yourself. Don’t be afraid to adjucate rules in the moment and then do research after the session to see what maybe the real answer is or the common answer. Don’t be afraid to reward really creative thinking or roleplay! You are dealing with new players so meta gaming shouldn’t be a thing but if you get the feeling a certain character is just beelining toward a specific item/goal in the book then don’t be afraid to say it’s not there. Ultimately, you are the story teller. You have the ability to change things or rework them, just make sure its for the good of the table.
thanks a lot!
Best advice about being a DM is in the form of Matt Colville's Running the Game series, which I am going to beat IamSposta to posting for once:
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
There are a lot of things in Mad Mage that don't really tie in with each other. When you just accept it's a bit congruous in the style of an old dungeon crawler, you can let go of the need to weave together a connective story and just roll with the fun and absurdity of the rooms. There is a lot of fun to be had in there.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Dungeon of the Mad Mage has taken me a long time to run, and I still haven't finished it after about 1.5 years (granted, not always regularly playing). It is a big adventure, the only one in 5e that goes to level 20, and it takes a good DM to keep the players interested in such a huge and long dungeon slog.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
There is, I think, a lot to be said for the old school dungeon crawler. The world is just kind of there, and story-less, and the players made their own stories as they went along.
I feel like back in high school when we did the dungeon crawlers, we made the story more about the party and its interactions, and less about the world. Now the story seems to be world-based, and the characters are reacting to the story of the world... rather than the world just being a place where characters interact with each other.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
?? One level per session? That is incredibly unlikely.
Depending on how long the sessions run and how often you meet, it could take more than a school year.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
I think most of the statements here about the length of time this adventure takes are grossly under-estimated. Granted, my group has been allowed to roam back up to Waterdeep and has had a bit of fun enjoying all the city has to offer top-side as well. Still, after almost 2 years now they have only just now arrived at Skullport and that was with MUCH guidance. This dungeon is humongous with many plots woven throughout it. I think that unless you somehow manage to play more than 20 hours a week and force your players to stay in the dungeon non-stop (as recommended in the notes), you aren't going to finish this in a year, probably not even in two.
I wouldn't recommend this one as a first time experience for any DM. I agree with the post above that mentions Storm Kings Thunder or maybe even the starter set Lost Mines of Phandelver which goes from 1st to 5th level. Those are some fun levels to play through anyway. DoTMM will take you all the way to 20 which can be challenging for a starting DM to pull off.
My group spent 6 weeks 4 hours a week on the first level alone. Just the first level. They explored every inch of the floor except the damn stairs. They leveled up enough to use the damn mirror. They still have no idea where the first floor stairs are. I am a bitter DM over this. 6 WEEKS
it was about 7 months of play with about 10 to 16 hours per session to finally get through it and I have a new group wanting to do it after hearing about how much fun the last group had playing it.
I'm 1 and a half years in to DM'ing this for an experienced group, and they're on level 3. Ignore anyone who says DotMM can be completed in a few weeks, unless each session is 3 days long!
That said, I have witnessed DM's run campaigns by just skipping from combat to combat with nothing in between, treating d&d as more of a combat board game as opposed to a role playing game. Nothing wrong with that of course if that style of play floats your boat but add any amount of role playing in to DotMM and it will become a very long campaign.
DotMM needs a lot of fleshing out to make it interesting. There are vast, empty sections that have nothing there. I wouldn't recommend this campaign for a beginner, unless you're ok with putting a lot of work in to create extra interest for your players.
Just take it one level at a time. Unless your players have a completionist streak, in which case you're talking YEARS
Right now we are a year in and on level 5.
We took a month break and we run Every Tuesday from 8 pm to midnight. Never start on time for let us say 3.5-hour sessions.
It takes like forever lol. My friend’s brother has been running it for almost three years and they’re still on level 18.
I really like D&D, especially Ravenloft, Exandria and the Upside Down from Stranger Things. My pronouns are she/they (genderfae).
Lol crazy u was thinking about running it
It takes as long as it takes and as long as you and your group are having fun it does not matter how long it takes.
Approximately 20 hours of play per floor for the average party. There are 23 levels + Skullport. You would have at least 2 years of play if you play every weekend for 4 hours a session. It might work, but it can also drag because you can't really travel around the area, its just the mega dungeon.
The problem is its a megadungeon made by hallaster, it doesn't give a completely coherent plot, but you can build one.
If you are a brand new DM and young, I would suggest you go with Lost Mines of Phandelver + D&D Essentials Kit and you get an "OK" ready to play 5E module for beginners. The digital code for D&D Beyond gives you a weakly tied together campaign that will take you to level 12-13. If you just run lost mine of Phandalin and let everyone know its a learning game, you'll go to level 4 in probably 8 four hour sessions.
When I'm taking a new group, I like to run them through Keep on the Borderlands (it doesn't come with a plot, make your own - this is what I took from Professor Dungeonmaster: the kobolds are digging up a red narcotic dust, there is a triparty trade system, and the evil priests are using the dust to get the area hooked and to turn them to their dark god). From there, they are level 3 and you can tie the party into just about any other campaign. I took my party through the Temple of Elemental Evil and they are almost are a few more sessions till they fight the demon lord of fungus.
To prevent confusion and disappointment - the Essentials Kit no longer comes with those codes as standard. To get the DDB codes for Dragon of Icespire Peak and the Beyond Icespire Peak Trilogy, you have to buy the physical + digital bundle from https://dndstore.wizards.com/ which puts the price quite high for a set intended for people to try the game out, unfortunately. Apparently, it's part of the sale next week (potentially up to 40% off) so might be worth looking into that.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.