A Review of the Role Playing Game Supplement Dungeon Full of Monsters 2nd Edition

Dungeon Full of Monsters 2nd Edition by Johnstone Metzger is a role playing game supplement published by Red Box Vancouver for use with Labyrinth Lord.

This is available from DriveThruRPG as a PDF for $10, as a softcover print on demand colour book for $40, as a hardcover print on demand colour book for $45, as both PDF and softcover for $45 or PDF and hardcover for $45. The PDF is the version reviewed, although it was purchased at a reduced price during a sale. The PDF has 198 pages with two being the front and rear covers, two the front matter, one the Table of Contents and five pages the Index. There are two other PDFs. The first is 83 pages long. One page of this is the cover and the rest are reproductions of monsters and other images from inside the book. These range from full page spreads to portraits. The second is 58 pages long and has reproductions of all the maps from the supplement, but without labels making them suitable for players.

The Introduction starts with How to Use this Book, which explains that the dungeon is a modular megadungeon. It can be used as a megadungeon, or the individual components can be used separately in any combination. The dungeon is located under Skull Mountain, but nearby settlements and features are left for the GM to flesh out. There are three described ways into the dungeon, although more will be needed if the dungeon is split up.

Running the Dungeon explains that there are five levels and gives instructions on how to connect the different areas, starting with the three entrances. On entering an area, it is crossed off a list and the GM rolls to see what will connect to the place. The different modular areas have exits and entrances; characters cannot enter an area initially through an exit. Entrances and exits that do not lead to another area are open passages; these connect to other such on the map. Areas are crossed off the lists when used.

The five levels are then covered. Each level has a list of the different rooms, and if they connect to another area – some areas are definitely tied to others but most are not. There are also empty passageways that are not crossed off when used. Each level also has a list of random encounters and another of unique encounters. After the levels, Outside Encounters are covered. There are random encounters and random encounters in town. Characters can also encounter creatures from the dungeon entrances when near them.

Some matters not typical to Labyrinth Lord are then covered. These are advantage and disadvantage, coins (worth the same amount of xp but could be gold, silver, whatever depending on the campaign) and how monster stat blocks are laid out.

Partners and Patrons gives four reasons for the characters to want to explore Skull Mountain, other than greed. Finally, there are a variety of rumours about treasure that characters could hear.

The Dungeon is the second part of the book and has the various dungeon areas, and outside or other encounters, in alphabetical order. Where appropriate, each has a map. Some of the locations on the maps are only briefly detailed, whilst others have longer entries. Each area starts with what entrances and exits it has and how to use them. Some areas also have their own wandering monster tables, or a lack of wandering monsters, rather than the level’s normal tables.

The third section of the book is The Monsters. Throughout the text, monsters are indicated with bold print, and the stats for these creatures are in this section. Monsters includes the various factions, and factions have notes explaining how they get on, or don’t, with the other factions. There are some monsters with familiar names but the actuality is different; every monster used is new in some way. All of them qualify as weird in some way.

Dungeon Full of Monsters 2nd Edition in Review

The PDF is bookmarked with the major and some minor sections linked. The Table of Contents is to a similar level of depth and is also hyperlinked. The Index is to a greater level of depth but isn’t hyperlinked. Navigation, for the primary PDF, is good. The two pictures-only PDFs lack bookmarks and, truthfully, bookmarks would have been very useful as it is necessary to page through the PDFs matching what each image or map shows; you can’t simply click to the appropriate page for whatever has just been encountered.

The text maintains a two-column full colour format and appeared to be free of errors. The book is also extensively illustrated in full colour, with illustrations up to a full page in size, and every monster is illustrated. Presentation is excellent. There is a major change in layout between first and second editions; the original edition was a traditional portrait layout whilst this is in landscape; probably less useful for home printing.

With some changes mentioned in Running the Dungeon, this isn’t really a pure Labyrinth Lord supplement, but it is definitely compatible as long as the changes are remembered. There are also notes at the beginning for how to use it with The Nightmares Underneath, also from Red Box Vancouver.

As a modular megadungeon, this is going to be a bit different to run. As mentioned, the various components can be run separately, but some are connected. A GM will probably need to study this carefully and set up a plan for running it. Even though the layout of the dungeon is determined during game play, the GM will need to have planned how they are going to map the dungeon as it is used. This may make it slightly harder to run than a regular megadungeon, but it does mean that there will be differences between different games. Dungeon Full of Monsters 2nd Edition is an interesting, different and lavishly illustrated take on the megadungeon and it can be found by clicking here.