DnD 5E - Dungeon of the Mad Mage!

About the adventure

A thousand years ago, the wizard Halaster Blackcloak journeyed from a distant land to the base of Mount Waterdeep. With seven apprentices he built a wizard’s tower to dwarf all others. But he didn't stop there. Keeping his plans secret from even his apprentices he summoned otherworldly beings to dig beneath his tower, eventually breaking into a maze of dwarven tunnels called the Underhalls. Using this underground complex as a base of operations, Halaster traveled to other planes and distant lands, collecting strange and dangerous creatures to live as prisoners, servants, or guardians in Undermountain. Populating and defending the dungeon became an obsession. Over time, the mage’s preoccupation with Undermountain electrified his eccentricities and infused him with an air of unconcealable madness. Years passed as Halaster sequestered himself in his tunnels, and his magnificent tower and its surrounding walls fell into ruin. In time, the city now known as Waterdeep developed in the shadow of Mount Waterdeep and spread down to the harbor. As the city sprawled outward over the years, it came to surround the ruins of Halaster’s home. Undermountain was known to those early settlers, and they often sent criminals into its endless depths as punishment. So it was for many years, until an intrepid adventurer named Durnan delved into the labyrinth beneath the tower and returned alive, laden with riches and countless harrowing tales. Durnan used his new fortune to demolish the remnants of Halaster’s tower and built an inn over the well he had used to descend into Undermountain, and call it the Yawning Portal. Durnan owns and operates the inn and tavern to this day, serving patrons and inviting the brave and foolish alike to test their mettle in the Dungeon of the Mad Mage.

Additional Details

How to prepare

This game requires players have a microphone. Players will also need to have a discord and roll20 account, and preferably a DnDbeyond account for character management.

What I provide

I'm bringing the fun! Well, and the adventure too. Which will be fun. I have 30 years experience as a Dungeonmaster and over a year working through Startplaying running multiple campaigns.

Gameplay details

This campaign is a vast dungeon crawl designed to test the grit of players and their characters, but it has plenty of room for roleplay and character development both in Undermountain and Waterdeep. I am open to side-quests and improvised encounters to enhance the experience of players.

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

Aftercare
Lines and Veils
Luxton Technique
Luxton Technique Discussion
Open Door

How will character creation work

Characters will be level 5 created through point buy with standard equipment, 1 common magic item (cleared by DM) and 300 gold to spend on additional equipment. I prefer all characters be made on DnDBeyond for ease of reference and integration with Roll20. I have resources I can share with players that lack them.

Players can expect

• Find a game to join solo or search for a professional game master for you and your friends/coworkers/family.
• Book your session and wait for the Game Master to approve you.
• If you don't have a blast with your first game, your next game is on us.