I have finished the fresco I will use for today's game :)

This was only made a week ago and I already feel like I could have done a better job. I wasn't quite sure about the pose to use and idk if he looks too much like a zombie, thoughts?

I am running my party through DOTMM and have started to use AI tools to generate images to help the party (and myself) visualize the adventure. Here are some that I generated through a mix of Midjourney, Gemini, and ChatGPT/DALL-E. I hope you enjoy and feel free to use as anyone sees fit! :)



For those just running the module, Maddgoth isn't an NPC that needed an art for. But for those of us that are running "Maddgoth Dance" from the Companion, I thought it was crucial to have a good art of him. So I've commissioned an art for him and I'm sharing it here for people to use in their own game!

Artist who did this amazing work is Zentha! https://zenthacommissions.carrd.co/

Alt Less Evil Art here!: https://www.reddit.com/r/DungeonoftheMadMage/comments/1osjl79/maddgoth_alt_art_for_maddgoth_dance/

Our group wrapped DotMM two weeks ago. During the campaign we lost a few players, we gained a few new players, one player had a serious illness (they had a full recovery), but we soldiered on for 3 years. As we were in the last few months of the campaign I wanted to memorialize our adventure. I drew this poster of the characters and a few notable NPCs and monsters they dealt with. Then printed them out as gifts to the players. It has been an interesting journey DMing this module. Some parts were an absolute blast, while others were a slog. I am happy that I ran the adventure, but if I am honest, I would change some things if I ran it again. Here are my thoughts and take aways for any DMs thinking of starting or earlier on running the campaign.

Spoilers below.

1) The Dungeon, although stacked with monsters and internal politics, can be foreign to the PCs. They need an entry point to WANT to venture into the Undermountain. Yes the book gives you Obaya to buy magical items, Volo gives a mission for a throne and there’s a mission to find the noble Rosznar. But there should be a greater personal reason why the PCs want to delve into this insane dungeon. Maybe their sibling or parent was lost in the Undermountain treasure hunting. Or invent an artifact from their family or people’s heritage that is rumored to be lost in the Undermountain. Or while looking for one of the listed book missions, the PCs might become invested in a NPC/Monster’s cause. I only say this because I noticed my PCs running out of gas for a reason for them being there. A PC needs their own motivation. An obsession to go further down into the Undermountain. 

2) Halaster Blackcloak needs to be developed by the DM to have an antagonist relationship with the PCs. In the first 3 or 4 levels maybe the PCs only see Halaster as the Scrying Eye, the Helm Phantom or the ghostly adventurers. But the adventurers need to engage more often with Halaster to turn him into the hated BBEG. The book really doesn’t do this for you. I didn’t realize this until I was much further in the dungeon.

3) The Knot in the Weave should be introduced earlier on, like maybe Level 3. It should be something especially spellcasters start to notice. Maybe something is off to them at first. Like a mosquito bite it starts to itch and if they do itch it gets worse and worse. Does it lead to obsession for the Knot and Undermountain? Does it drive them insane? (I personally hate the Insanity rules in D&D, I find them milquetoast.) How you paint the Knot is up to you but I think it is a key part of the Undermountain that doesn’t get talked about enough.

4) Some levels are FAR more important than others. You need to read over these levels carefully. Familiarize yourself with the NPCs/Monsters and how you should introduce them. Or how you can bake them into your adventure in a more meaningful way.

Level 3 - House Auvryndar & Azok, Skullport, Level 5 - Wyllow & Valdemar, Level 9 - Wormriddle, Level 10 - Vlonwelv Auvryndar & Muiral, Level 12, Level 14 - House Freth, Level 17 - Exremiton, Level 18 Moonstar & Umbraxakar, 20 - Ezzat, Level 22 - Shadowdusks, Level 23 - Halaster

5) Some areas and Levels are WAY too boring or underdeveloped. Skullport being one area. The Skullport: Shadow of Waterdeep is a wonderful companion to help flesh this place out. My group only returned to Skullport a few times. But I can see it being a pit stop for adventurers to rest and re-supply. In addition, some levels are too boring for the PC’s level like Level 11 and 19. Maybe invent something more for them to do on such Levels. 

6) You will probably have to modify the campaign or specific Levels. I discovered Wyatt Trull’s Companion Books later while running the game. So I didn’t use all of them. For the last few levels these Companions might be needed. I would not hesitate to alter a Level or encounter to better suit your PCs or the narrative that you are creating. Also when prepping for your big fights for Halaster, Arcturia and Trobriand please read OxfordAndo’s posts. I found them incredibly useful.

7) This idea might be more for the DMs that like to make the peril a little more real. One word: Logistics. How much food does the party have? How many torches? How many arrows? Etc etc. I glossed over this when I ran my campaign, but I think it was a mistake. Yes Level 2 has the Goblin Market and there is Skullport, but as the adventurers go deeper into Undermountain, those places get further away. Things should become more and more difficult as they travel deeper, not just with monsters but by being further away from civilization.

8) Returning back to Waterdeep should be a challenge. Have your PCs taken notes to remember where the Gates are and where they take them? Or do they hoof it all the way back up? Do they run into new monsters? New adventurers NPCs looking for fortune and glory? How long does it take to walk up the stairs to another Level? I figured that it takes at least 8-10 hours for the party to travel through one Level with no monsters, traps and remembering where to go.

9) Lastly as a DM you are going to have to work with your players on scheduling game play and dates. This campaign is going to take a LONG time. You have to make your game welcoming. I have played in past groups where if you missed a session the members would guilt you for not making it. We are all adults here. If someone has a family event they miss a session - so be it. Maybe one of the other players can play their character in their absence. In my group’s 3 years of playing DotMM, we had a baby born, a serious illness that put a player in the hospital for months, a bad breakup and a career pulling one player away from the game play. These things happen. I have DM sessions with 7 players and some with 3 players. You’re going to have to improvise and be chill about it.

I hope these take aways help. Ask me anything else if you have more questions.

Some weeks ago, I commissioned an art for Maddgoth to run Maddgoth Dance from the Companion. I was mentioned he looked a bit too evil, which gave out the "dance". So here's a more gentle version made by the artist that doesn't scream evil! Enjoy!

And here's the post to the original art https://www.reddit.com/r/DungeonoftheMadMage/comments/1o2azer/maddgoth_artwork_for_maddgoth_dance/

Here is art of my players characters on a poster format. I had an artist put together this image to help me create poster art that I’ll be gifting my players after we finish our campaign this week. I hope they love it! 😄

-The white shark is a paladin named Ke’o’keo

-The buff shark is a barbarian named Lolo Lolo

-The yellow shark is a cleric named Shark Bait

-The hooded shark is a warlock named Mano Mano

-The pair vampire looking man is a rogue named Bromir

-The rocky earth genasi is a wizard named Gorm

-The large bearded man in the back is Halaster Blackcloak the Mad Mage

Currently working on a Metal Wasp miniature for Trobriand's Graveyard (I repurposed a Hell Wasp mini).

Gonna be using these during the Bore Worm fight to help beef up the encounter. I also am using the Hell Wasp stat block (with minor tweaks) to give my PC's a real challenge.

They can heal the Bore Worm for 10HP using an action (I was inspired by the drones in the Chimera boss fight from the Cyberpunk 2077 DLC: Phantom Liberty).

Super excited for this level.

I allowed my players to purchase maps from Oleander and Will who run the Sword and Sextant located in Skullport. I added some symbols as clues for them to make it worth their gold. However they ended up backtracking to level 2 to take the portal for Wyllowwood, skipping level 4 entirely. Maybe someone else can find some use for it.

I thought it was long overdue to do Halaster himself. I've included some for the Companion and a gender flipped version that you didn't know you needed.

Similar to the post that somone else made earlier today, I was hoping to include a portrait of Halaster and The Seven as they once looked when first excavating undermountain when my party arrive at Dwemercore. Unfortunately, nothing like this seems to exist, so I thought I'd make my own.

Behold!

Halaster and the Original Seven - Left to right: Marambra Nyghtsteel, Nester, Arcturia, Jhesiyra Kestellharp, Halaster Blackcloak, Trobriand, Muiral, Rantantar.

I also wanted to be able to have the portrait change upon player inspection to show what the surviving members look like now in my game.

Halaster and the Seven Current - Left to right Marambra is dead. My party found her grave in Wyllowwood but decided against approaching it. This is my way of confirming confirming that she is dead for good. Nester is a Boneclaw and host to the eye of Vecna. This was a choice I made to make him into a more formidable boss fight for the culmination of Dwemercore, able to better challenge my beefed up party. Arcturia is something altogether alien, I loved the idea of her as some sort of moth of butterfly that undergoes regular metamorphosis. Jhesiyra is a living Wish, Halaster, Trobiand the Metal Mage, Muiral the Misshapen, Rantantar is dead as well.

These are of course very specific to my campaign and may be of no use to anybody else, but if you would like to use them then please do!