All About the Adventure
An introduction to the Dungeon of the Mad Mage
A Dungeon with History
For over a thousand years, the Dwarves of Mount Waterdeep dug tunnels and caverns into the earth beneath the mountain. But their home - the massive Underhalls - became a coveted stronghold, invaded by dark elves and darker wizards, until they were finally forced out for good.
Now, the wizard Halaster Blackcloak rules over the 23 levels of the Undermountain, using it for unspeakable magical experiments and unfathomable arcane endeavors. Rumor has it that Halaster is indeed quite insane, and no one can say exactly what motivates him, but what’s for sure is that few who enter his dungeon come back unscathed. Creatures from other planes, strange magical artifacts, traps, bandits, and chaotic creations enough to break the resolve of all but the boldest adventurers await any who are daring enough to journey into the caverns beneath the Yawning Portal.
About the Module
The Dungeon of the Mad Mage is D&D’s most iconic megadungeon. The largest dungeon in the Forgotten Realms, the DotMM is located in Waterdeep, on the infamous Sword Coast, north of Baldur’s Gate and south of Neverwinter. The dungeon has appeared in numerous Forgotten Realms adventures, novels, video games, and board games, including the classic Expedition to Undermountain adventure and the Neverwinter Nights “Infinite Dungeon” expansion pack.
In D&D 5e, the Dungeon of the Mad Mage adventure module was released in 2018 as a sequel to Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. The module takes adventurers from level 5 through 20 and includes 23 dungeon levels as well as the underground town of Skullport. Each floor of the dungeon has a different theme, presenting adventurers with a variety of situations and challenges to be overcome with all of the skill and creativity the players can muster.
To reach the bottom, parties must adventure through the Arcane Chambers, saunter through the Sargauth enclaves, traverse the Twisted Caverns, slink through the Slitherswamp, troop through the Troglodyte Warrens, meander past the Maze Level, overcome the Obstacle Course, sail - or swim - the Seadeeps, root around in the Runestone Caverns, and more, until they finally make way to the Mad Wizard’s Lair.
DoTMM is the perfect module for a marathon, world-record-setting D&D stream. The module received enthusiastic reviews when it was released, with critics praising the complexity, balance, and diversity of the dungeon.
Choosing the Megadungeon
When Paladin Reizo decided to do a record-breaking, marathon D&D stream, he had dozens of modules and adventures to choose from. Why did he choose DotMM? In his own words:
Of all modules, why Dungeon of the Mad Mage? I have a very deep connection to Waterdeep and the Undermountain. The massive scale of the city and complexity of it is what drew me the most to this grand place.
I ran a 5 year campaign where the players situated themselves in Waterdeep and Skullport for a long time. I read through all the books from 2nd edition in regards to Waterdeep, Skullport, and the Undermountain—including the two box sets. I also did some extended research and found one of the original members that made the box sets working on other floors since TSR at the time dropped the Undermountain project going into 3rd edition.
I jumped for joy the day that Dungeon of the Mad Mage came out, and I instantly purchased the book. The book entails massive amounts of content. This massive tome is a multi-year feat to get through, with most groups dissolving before getting to Wyllowwood. The intensity of getting through this module is definitely in the higher echelons of notoriety and difficulty, and it is for that reason that I chose to marathon this book to break a world record.
- Paladin Reizo
DotMM also has the distinction of being the only officially published module for D&D 5e which takes player characters all the way up to level 20. According to Eric Hitsman, one of our DMs, this makes DoTMM one of the most ambitious games to run. The complexity of characters and the difficulty of balancing encounters increase dramatically as characters grow in power and reach the highest levels of the game. The ambitious and epic scale of this module make it the perfect choice for holding a record-setting, 600 hour long, continuous streamed D&D session.