Dungeon of the Mad Mage š Levels 5-20 MEGA DUNGEON
Halaster built a murder-theatre under Waterdeep. You are tonightās cast, crew, and casualty.
$25.00
/ Session
Details
1 player following this game
Weekly / Monday - 3:00 AM UTC
Jul 20 / Session 22
Session Duration / 3ā3.5 hours
5 / 6 Seats Filled
Top Game Master
One of StartPlaying's top-rated GMs, a player favorite and highly recommended.
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About the adventure
Beneath the Yawning Portal, Undermountain is waking up, and every level is at war with the one below it. Ancient gates are stirring, old safeguards are failing, and Halasterās dungeon has begun turning on itself. Xanatharās Guild claws at the upper halls. Drow houses scheme in ruined cities. Goblinoid warlords fortify their kingdoms. Arcane apprentices play at godhood in abandoned laboratories. Mind flayers, duergar, undead, aberrations, cults, monsters, and worse all carve out their little pieces of the Mad Mageās private hell. Up above, Waterdeep drinks, watches, and wagers while Durnan pays good coin for trophies dragged back from the dark. Bring your own torches, rope, and plausible deniability. You have the dungeonās attention. This is a seat in an ongoing story, not a drop-in ticket - once you're in, the party (and the plot) counts on you being there.
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Combat Heavy
Sandbox / Open World
Dungeon Crawl
Meet the Game Master
About me
Watch the short video pitch for the TL;DR version of my origin story: https://youtu.be/htEhWDgKbsU I run character-driven D&D with strong story and real consequences. Your choices steer the game, the dice complicate it, and the best moments are the ones nobody planned. It gets tense when it needs to, and weāll laugh when everything goes sideways. My love of this stuff goes back a long way. I grew up obsessed with mythology and fairy tales, and in the mid-80s I fell into D&D through Dragonlance and the old Gold Box computer games. While other kids were outside doing whatever normal kids do, I was busy arguing with myself about hit points and monster design. That same obsession eventually spilled into theatre and film. I directed Troll Bridge (a Pratchett-approved Discworld comedy that got a surprising amount of attention) and made Blood on the Game Dice, which is my love letter to tabletop play. These days Iām behind the screen, stitching together myth, motives, and dangerous possibilities, letting your characters decide which fire to walk into.
View Profile āCharacter creation
Creating your character
Youāll be creating your character on D&D Beyond with the complete official library and any available partnered content to scheme with. We use 5.5e where available, with 5e (2014 rules) filling in the gaps. Homebrew is not on the table. New characters start at level 7 and use point buy with fixed hit points. For gear, take your normal starting equipment - you may sell back anything you donāt want - then add 1,800 GP, plus 2 common and 2 uncommon magic items. You may buy additional equipment and magic items before the game at 5.5e prices. Please finish your sheet with details like height and weight; some traps pay attention to that. Completed characters must be submitted before the game so I can approve and import them into Foundry. Youāll have access to the game ~30 minutes before the session if you want to test dice rolls or poke at macros.
Aminita: Goblin | Druid / Circle of Spores Gerbo Kackle: Gnome | Wizard / Diviner Ilya Thunderroot: Half-Orc | Cleric / Grave Domain Qualia Elanderan: Elf | Barbarian / Path of the World Tree Zoraster: Dragonborn | Sorcerer / Draconic Sorcery
What to expect
Preparing for the session
š¬ Discord: Install the app (not the browser version), make an account, and join the server link I send after you book. š» VTT: Foundry runs in your browser, you donāt need to buy anything. Use Edge for best performance (Chromeās fine). Turn on hardware acceleration. š D&D Beyond: Make your character there and send me their link before your first run so I can bring them into Foundry. It's free to sign up. š§ Audio gear: Headphones required. If we hear pets, fans, traffic, or typing, please enable push-to-talk. š±ļø Mouse: Foundryās right-click, drag, hover, pan, target, and token controls are built for a mouse. š¬ Tech check: Join Discord 10 minutes early for a quick audio check and chatter with the other players. Then we kick the doors off their hinges. š°ļø Connection: Stable internet. If your Wi-Fi is powered by sadness, plug in. Turn off your VPN and downloads.
What DM Dan Knight brings to the table
š² Master subscription on D&D Beyond for sharing the entire official 5e library āļø Foundry VTT on Molten Hosting for accelerated network speeds š¼ Syrinscape for licensed atmosphere and music šŗļø Only the best third-party maps, tokens, and animation assets available šļø Discord Nitro for exceptional speech clarity š A welcoming and inclusive game for everyone of all walks of life I run games from my studio with production-quality camera, lighting and audio. I have a background in film, theatre, AV, and graphic design, so I bring a production mindset to the table. The space is built for your character to take centre stage with a focus on presentation, flow, and narrative punch - so every session plays like a live show built around your partyās story. I run this from a dedicated studio with pro-grade camera, lighting, and audio. My background is in film, theatre, AV, and graphic design, and I bring that production sense to the VTT: clear audio, smooth pacing, and minimal technical friction. This is a professional setup built for immersive storytelling - so every session plays like a live show with your characters taking centre stage. You can see my setup here: https://youtu.be/htEhWDgKbsU
Homebrew rules
⤠Backgrounds are decoupled from ability score modifiers and origin feats, and you can select and adjust those appropriate to your character. ⤠Drinking a potion as a full action provides maximum results on all rolls. Drinking as a bonus action rolls dice as normal. Administering a potion to another is a full action with dice rolls. ⤠From 5th level critical hits provide maximum damage, followed by an additional roll of all dice. ⤠No reactions when surprised. ⤠Gain advantage on attacking targets out of their line of sight. Reactions can be used to face a melee attackers before the attack is resolved. In Mad Mage we use: ⤠Healing Surges to buff mid-combat. ⤠Rest with Epic Heroism to get up and keep moving.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Headphones
Platforms used
Safety
How DM Dan Knight creates a safe table
This is high-energy, heroic survival horror in FaerĆ»nās deadliest death trap: the content warnings below are a feature, not a bug. That said, I do not decide whatās uncomfortable for you. If the fiction gets too close to home, thatās completely valid. The table runs on an open-door policy: you can step away, call a break, or tap out at any time with zero judgement. Intimacy fades to black and stays offscreen. Thereās no racism, sexism, homophobia, or transphobia at the table. Any bias toward fantasy peoples (orc hate, drow misandry, etc) is roleplay only and earns in-world consequences. PvP only happens with prior explicit consent from everyone involved. Villains may perpetuate ugly things, but we donāt linger on it, we keep it offscreen, and player characters never perpetrate it. We always close with a quick debrief so nobody leaves carrying anything heavy. For everyoneās safety, sessions have their audio recorded.
Content warnings
Safety tools used
