Why not homebrew an Undermountain setting for them to get their teeth into? I'm sure it doesn't have to be the original Undermountain for your players to feel as though they've explored something wonderful. I know it can be a lot of work, but that's part of being a DM, IMO. I'm probably going to run into this as well, as I'm planning on using Sunless Citadel and Forge of Fury for my campaign's first two adventures before we get more into a homebrew world that is of my own design.
I agree that there is a disconnect between the title of the book and the contents. You can't write a campaign book introducing this cool dungeon entrance and then not give the DM a way to deal with the fact that no content for inside that dungeon is provided. It doesn't matter what may or may not happen outside of this book like if WotC plans to make an Undermountain Campaign. Right now, contained in this module, there is no content for inside the Yawning Portal even though it's in the title of the book! A frustrating and dissapointing oversight.
Try this... For my campaign I set the stage for my players that, unknown to them, "Undermountain" while having it's own set of epic dungeons was also a waypoint built by Halaster to the dungeons he so sought to explore, the very same that are in the Yawning Portal book. I stretched the depth of the well to over 500 feet. At different depths there is a cave entrance which takes the players to the dungeon in the book. Perhaps they have to travel in the dark for some time, maybe they come across some evils in the depths of the cave indicative to the specific dungeon before they get there. Either way, they find the dungeon exactly as explained in the book.
Example: Sunless Citadel
Once in the southeast reaches of the High Forest just north of Waterdeep, there was a great citadel that has since fallen into the earth. It's exact location has been hidden for centuries due to overgrowth and no one has yet to find it in the world above. Down below however, if an adventurer would travel to the 170 depth of the well, you will find entrance to a cave where's tunnels stretch to the entrance of the citadel. When the players get there, they find it exactly as described, staircase to the entrance and all. The only difference is there is no blue sky above, only rock covered earth placing the citadel inside a massive cave structure.
For my purposes, I set it up so that Durnan would only allow adventurers to travel down the well deep enough to get to each successive dungeon in the book. They pay to go down using a rope that is only so long to get them to the specified dungeon cave entrance depth. If they choose to drop, they fall over 400 feet and die.
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Hi Everyone! I'm the DM for Rabble Rouzers. I've been running games for around 5 years and recently decided to start a new campaign with some friends for everyone on the internet to enjoy. Find Rabble Rouzers and Steve Ocelot all over the place via this LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/rabblerouzers
I recently read the 2e Undermountain book (the first one) and it's got some neat ideas, but is definitely a 'framework.' The good/bad is there's lots of room to add stuff in you want to feature as DM.
The podcast Total Party Kill has done a couple adventures set in Undermountain. Possibly using old Dungeon Magazine adventures, and 4e rules I think.
I do think the book's intent is mainly using it as a framework and running the included modules as 'tournament style' with limited if any continuity.
I simply saw the Yawning Portal as a rudimentary hook to a series of unrelated adventures. A bard sits in the tavern weaving tales of adventure ... fade to the first story wherin the players are the protagonists.
So, The Tails of the Yawning Portal starts by giving you a description of the Yawning Portal Inn, and it sounds very cool. Now I guess the point of including the Yawning Portal is to give you a location that the included adventures can originate from, but the problem is that I know my players and the first thing they are going to want to do is to go down that well. They give you this unique location that literally has direct access to the Undermountain that is evidently full of eminence wealth and magic but then there is no way to play the Undermountain dungeon (short of making it all up yourself or converting some old version).
The Tails of the Yawning Portal seems great, but now I need an Undermountain dungeon to go with it.
easier said than done, get your hands on the "Expedition to Undermountain" supplement! it's either 3 or 3.5 edition, but it has the general layout of Undermountain with descriptions of the various layers and a few adventures from level 1 to 10. you'll need to adapt the encounters, or just take the general map and use it as you see fit :D
dmsguild.com has the 2e versions... I think it's spread over 2-3 books. It's not (to me) an amazing supplement, but it's definitely Undermountain. Skullport looks interesting.
I don't think they would necessarily have to shorten it though. The Doomvault is still massive, especially when you're with a party who wants to explore EVERYTHING.
You could always tell the story in 'flashback' The adventures are in the Yawning Portal after having succeeded and new hopefuls come into the tavern looking for adventure and the PCs dispense their wisdom with the DM as the narrator or the story.
It's a good storytelling device because we've already established that the characters are alive so even if they die in the 'story' we 'know' that they didn't/got ressurected.
The reason I suggest this is because some of the tales are really challenging and players might not want to risk their PCs on a sort of tangential one shot sonny framing it as an in-universe story it overcomes some of those hurdles
So I know I'm reviving a dead post and I'm sure it's obvious to all of you now but they have created an undermountain adventure - Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage. So you all should be happy..
What brought me to this thread - the title.. I will actually be running this for my group soon and I have thought of this very problem. It's 'less' of a problem because the adventure does exist but I'm not running it. I'm not prepared for it and it's a level 5-20 adventure when I have a fresh group.
First, I will give a brief history of the Yawning Portal Inn & will mention Halaster and the undermountain but will be brief about it. If (when) the players say that they want to 'ride the rope' I'll let them. If they want to venture further, to try to get to Undermountain I will tell the players that I have not prepared that adventure whatsoever. The Yawning Portal is more of a hub instead of starting the Undermountain campaign but I will not stop the characters from doing what they want. But because I have not prepared this campaign, I (the DM) have not prepared the map to get to the actual dungeon, meaning the players have NO WAY to know the directions there either. They can still wander the Underdark all they want BUT the Underdark is FULL of dangerous inhabitants that a group of level 1-2s will find extremely deadly.
After that, just describe darkness, pathways and tunnels. Que rolling for random Underdark encounters. If it's an easy battle so be it, if it aint, so be it. If for some ODD reason we roll well and actually travel pretty far, the Sunless Citadel does have a random cavern that the book explains goes through the Underdark and can be a hook for further adventures although this time, it would be a weird way to throw them, literally into the middle of the adventure I want them to be.
Or.. if I'm just not in the mood, I'll just say flat out No.
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Why not homebrew an Undermountain setting for them to get their teeth into? I'm sure it doesn't have to be the original Undermountain for your players to feel as though they've explored something wonderful. I know it can be a lot of work, but that's part of being a DM, IMO. I'm probably going to run into this as well, as I'm planning on using Sunless Citadel and Forge of Fury for my campaign's first two adventures before we get more into a homebrew world that is of my own design.
Undermountain is the Megadungeon of the Forgotten Realms, I really hope they will publish/udpate this for 5e.
Im fairly confident they will ;-)
Forever Dungeon Master & Storyteller
I agree that there is a disconnect between the title of the book and the contents. You can't write a campaign book introducing this cool dungeon entrance and then not give the DM a way to deal with the fact that no content for inside that dungeon is provided. It doesn't matter what may or may not happen outside of this book like if WotC plans to make an Undermountain Campaign. Right now, contained in this module, there is no content for inside the Yawning Portal even though it's in the title of the book! A frustrating and dissapointing oversight.
Try this...
For my campaign I set the stage for my players that, unknown to them, "Undermountain" while having it's own set of epic dungeons was also a waypoint built by Halaster to the dungeons he so sought to explore, the very same that are in the Yawning Portal book. I stretched the depth of the well to over 500 feet. At different depths there is a cave entrance which takes the players to the dungeon in the book. Perhaps they have to travel in the dark for some time, maybe they come across some evils in the depths of the cave indicative to the specific dungeon before they get there. Either way, they find the dungeon exactly as explained in the book.
Example: Sunless Citadel
Once in the southeast reaches of the High Forest just north of Waterdeep, there was a great citadel that has since fallen into the earth. It's exact location has been hidden for centuries due to overgrowth and no one has yet to find it in the world above. Down below however, if an adventurer would travel to the 170 depth of the well, you will find entrance to a cave where's tunnels stretch to the entrance of the citadel. When the players get there, they find it exactly as described, staircase to the entrance and all. The only difference is there is no blue sky above, only rock covered earth placing the citadel inside a massive cave structure.
For my purposes, I set it up so that Durnan would only allow adventurers to travel down the well deep enough to get to each successive dungeon in the book. They pay to go down using a rope that is only so long to get them to the specified dungeon cave entrance depth. If they choose to drop, they fall over 400 feet and die.
Hi Everyone! I'm the DM for Rabble Rouzers. I've been running games for around 5 years and recently decided to start a new campaign with some friends for everyone on the internet to enjoy. Find Rabble Rouzers and Steve Ocelot all over the place via this LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/rabblerouzers
I recently read the 2e Undermountain book (the first one) and it's got some neat ideas, but is definitely a 'framework.' The good/bad is there's lots of room to add stuff in you want to feature as DM.
The podcast Total Party Kill has done a couple adventures set in Undermountain. Possibly using old Dungeon Magazine adventures, and 4e rules I think.
I do think the book's intent is mainly using it as a framework and running the included modules as 'tournament style' with limited if any continuity.
I simply saw the Yawning Portal as a rudimentary hook to a series of unrelated adventures. A bard sits in the tavern weaving tales of adventure ... fade to the first story wherin the players are the protagonists.
dmsguild.com has the 2e versions... I think it's spread over 2-3 books. It's not (to me) an amazing supplement, but it's definitely Undermountain. Skullport looks interesting.
I don't think they would necessarily have to shorten it though. The Doomvault is still massive, especially when you're with a party who wants to explore EVERYTHING.
You could always tell the story in 'flashback' The adventures are in the Yawning Portal after having succeeded and new hopefuls come into the tavern looking for adventure and the PCs dispense their wisdom with the DM as the narrator or the story.
It's a good storytelling device because we've already established that the characters are alive so even if they die in the 'story' we 'know' that they didn't/got ressurected.
The reason I suggest this is because some of the tales are really challenging and players might not want to risk their PCs on a sort of tangential one shot sonny framing it as an in-universe story it overcomes some of those hurdles
Southampton Guild of Roleplayers
My YouTube (C&C Welcome!)
So I know I'm reviving a dead post and I'm sure it's obvious to all of you now but they have created an undermountain adventure - Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage. So you all should be happy..
What brought me to this thread - the title.. I will actually be running this for my group soon and I have thought of this very problem. It's 'less' of a problem because the adventure does exist but I'm not running it. I'm not prepared for it and it's a level 5-20 adventure when I have a fresh group.
First, I will give a brief history of the Yawning Portal Inn & will mention Halaster and the undermountain but will be brief about it. If (when) the players say that they want to 'ride the rope' I'll let them. If they want to venture further, to try to get to Undermountain I will tell the players that I have not prepared that adventure whatsoever. The Yawning Portal is more of a hub instead of starting the Undermountain campaign but I will not stop the characters from doing what they want. But because I have not prepared this campaign, I (the DM) have not prepared the map to get to the actual dungeon, meaning the players have NO WAY to know the directions there either. They can still wander the Underdark all they want BUT the Underdark is FULL of dangerous inhabitants that a group of level 1-2s will find extremely deadly.
After that, just describe darkness, pathways and tunnels. Que rolling for random Underdark encounters. If it's an easy battle so be it, if it aint, so be it. If for some ODD reason we roll well and actually travel pretty far, the Sunless Citadel does have a random cavern that the book explains goes through the Underdark and can be a hook for further adventures although this time, it would be a weird way to throw them, literally into the middle of the adventure I want them to be.
Or.. if I'm just not in the mood, I'll just say flat out No.