Dungeonland



Dungeonland (and its sequel The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror which was pretty much part two of the story) is a module released for the original Dungeons & Dragons, written by the game's creator, Gary Gygax, first released in 1983. In this pair of adventures, the Player Characters fall Down the Rabbit Hole into an RPG version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. While this pair of modules are far more obscure than Gygax's other works (like Tomb of Horrors and The Temple of Elemental Evil) this module has ties to the very beginnings of the world's most well-known fantasy roleplaying game.

How so? Well, sometime around 1972, Gygax created the notorious "super-module" Castle Greyhawk, a huge dungeon that included numerous pop culture references and very little sense. Players Players would encounter the Amazing Driderman, and  The Inedible Bulk one room, and face  Poppinfarsh the Dough Golem in the next, with weird places like The Temple of Really Bad Dead Things and the Honeycomb Hive. Gygax designed this dungeon for playtesting purposes, with himself as the Game Master and some close friends as players. Unfortunately, the original version of Castle Greyhawk was never officially published. However, when Gygax was planning to release it, he wanted to provide fans with an "appetizer" to whet their appetites, so he released Dungeonland and The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror, which were supposed to be a side-quest of the larger adventure. A "super-detached" side-quest, that is, one that could stand alone as its own story. Not that Castle Greyhawk had much plot to begin with.

It should be noted, Gygax was a man who - much like Lewis Carroll himself - loved subverting players' expectations of his work. Some players might envision this module as a lighthearted and whimsical trek through storybook land, much like Kingdom Hearts. Well, this is not like that at all. Gygax also had something of a sadistic streak (obvious to anyone familiar with his works) and Dungeonland, much like Castle Greyhawk itself, is what players call a "meat grinder" dungeon, a brutally hard and incredibly dangerous place where hope for survival is rather slim, something only a Killer Game Master - like Gygax - would unleash upon players.

Because The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror is pretty much part two of the story, Tropes for that module are included here. Since Everything Is Trying to Kill You in Dungeonland, Spoilers below may be unmarked. While pretty much everyone knows the plot of Alice in Wonderland, Gygax adds several very unique twists to it.


 * Acrofatic: The Tweedle siblings are monks, much like the Hatter and Hare, but chunkier.
 * Adaptational Badass: Everybody. One often has to wonder if American McGee didn't draw at least some inspiration from Gygax when designing characters his own Darker and Edgier version of Wonderland.
 * Adaptational Villainy: Many. For example, the Caterpillar (who was somewhat friendly and helpful in most adaptations) is a behir. (If you’re not a fan of D&D, a behir is kind of like a dragon, with no wings and ten legs.) While he’s smarter than the average behir, his goals are typical (as in, he wants to eat the PCs) and worse, his hookah creates magical smoke that emulate the effects of several nasty spells, like stinking cloud, shocking grasp. He can even turn the smoke rings into snakes or tie people up with them.
 * Alice Allusion: One would expect this, but the trope is averted: Alice herself is missing from the story.
 * Ax Crazy: In Carroll's work, everyone Alice encountered was nuts, but few were actually malevolent. Here, insanity makes them very dangerous.
 * Baleful Polymorph: Many NPCs (including the March Hare and Mock Turtle) have had Body Horror conditions inflicted upon them by the White Rabbit; clearly, if the PCs somehow manage to kill him, they’re doing the community a big favor.
 * Bad Samaritan: Much like in Carroll's work, one of the Knights volunteers to escort the Players to the final encounter; like in Carroll's work, this knight is not a very good rider and falls off his mount frequently. Unlike Carroll's work, this Knight might fall on one or more of the Players, and seeing as he and his steed are iron golems in this version, which makes him incredibly heavy. Players can sneak away from him or decline his offer, but without a guide they'll have to deal with a bunch of giant dragonflies, making the whole encounter another Morton's Fork
 * Big Bad: The modules don’t seem to have much in the way of a main antagonist, although the White Rabbit is a big contender, seeing as a lot of NPCs are in bad shape because of him.
 * Big Fancy House: If the second module is used as a stand-alone, the PCs enter the Magic Mirror Mansion, which represents the cluttered house Alice started her second adventure in. Gygax put quite a lot of detail into this place, which is odd, because if PCs survived the first module, they’ll likely steer clear of this place. Which may be for the best, as it’s haunted by a groaning spirit (what banshees were called back then).
 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Many monsters in the two modules do this, disguising themselves and pretending to be harmless in order to lure prey near.
 * Captain Ersatz: Most of the main cast. For example, the White Rabbit here is named "Charidos the Archmage", the Knave of Hearts is "the Prince, Jack of Courtland" and so on. It's pretty obvious, however, who they were based on.
 * Cats Are Mean: The Cheshire Cat is called the Smilodon Cat here, and again, he’s a predator who wants to eat the heroes. Oh, in case you didn’t know, “smilodon” is another name for “saber-tooth tiger”, which he is undisguised. And he can teleport and turn invisible too.
 * Covers Always Lie: The cover of the second part seems to show a battle between the PCs and the hangman trees, which actually occurs in the first part. There are no hangman trees in the second part.
 * Crapsack World: No matter how you look at it (and no matter how you adapt it) Wonderland is a horrible place. These modules rarely fail to make a player realize that.
 * Crazy People Play Chess: Naturally, there’s a chess-themed encounter in the second part, but it has little to do with actual chess. The PCs simply have to move from square to square and fight whatever other pieces are on the same squares.
 * Defeat by Modesty: There are a few traps in this game that cause the PCs to grow or shrink, but their clothes do not change with them. Traps that leave the victim naked and helpless are a common theme for Gygax.
 * Evil Sorcerer: The White Rabbit, oddly enough. In fact, he’s actually a human Magic User who uses illusions to look like a rabbit, and he’s Level 20 (the recommended Level for the PCs here is 10 -12). Fortunately, he’s not very social, and disguises himself as a statue if the PCs stop by his house; best strategy for dealing with him is to avoid him entirely.
 * Zigzagged with Murlynd, the owner of the Magic Mirror Mansion and an even stronger wizard. He’s not evil, and he’s not home when the PCs get to the Mansion, but he’s really going to take a dim view of the PCs if they trash his house too much...
 * Everything Trying to Kill You : Downplayed a little. Not every NPC will try to kill the PCs. Not on purpose, anyway...
 * Frame-Up: At the trial of the Knave of Hearts, the Knave frames the players (successfully) for the tart-theft in order to escape while everyone is preoccupied with them. Unfortunately, given that he’s a Level 15 thief, he’ll likely make a clean getaway, although the PCs may find his boat and use it to escape… Although that leads to even more trouble.
 * Framing the Guilty Party: When the party reaches the beach in the second part and meets the Walrus and the Carpenter (a pair who any fan of Carroll’s work knows are bad news) they ask the party to help collect priceless peals from a bed of oysters, claiming that the White Rabbit has cursed them and made them unable to swim. This is a lie - they can swim very well, and actually do so to get away once they have the pearls - but they should have very little trouble convincing the PCs if they have seen the Rabbit’s “handwork” before.
 * Fungus Humongous: There’s a forest of them near the White Rabbit’s house, and simply entering the place makes the PCs grow to their true size. Which again, might result in them being naked and helpless, with the Caterpillar nearby. Who again, is not the helpful type he was in the book...
 * Garden of Evil: The Garden accessed from the tiny doorway that Alice wanted to go to fits the Trope. The biggest danger is Jack-in-the-Pulpit, a pixie-like man who likes to talk about how much he loves plants. If PCs listen to him too long, their Alignment shifts to True Neutral. (For Tropers who are not fans of D&D, players almost never want their Alignment changed, for a variety of reasons.) Trying to ignore him is just as bad, as he summons a mob of Man-Eating Plants if the players won’t listen to him. Defeat him, and the players will then encounter a grove of friendly treants… Who are actually hangman trees in disguise.
 * Downplayed with the Garden of Live Flowers in the second module. The Live Flowers are as rude and snarky to the PCs as they were to Alice, but here, if the PCs abuse or assault them, they yell for help, bringing swarms of angry giant wasps and giant ants down upon the party.
 * God Save Us From the Queen: As one might expect, the Queen of Hearts is woman with a foul temper, quickly scolding the PCs for being late to her croquet game (despite her never inviting them) and then forcing them to play said game, where both the flamingos and hedgehogs are likely to attack the players.
 * Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Clearly evil with regards to the Caterpillar's hookah, which is magical and used as a weapon that can poison, snare, or electrocute the heroes.
 * I Fell for Hours: Like in the book, the PCs start the adventure by falling slowly down a long shaft with shelves and cupboards on the walls, many of which resemble miniature versions of armor, weapons, and other equipment. Players smart enough to grab this miniature equipment will be glad they did.
 * Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons: The Mock Turtle is actually a Mock Dragon Turtle! Fortunately, it's easy to avoid fighting him so long as you do what he tells you to do.
 * It Was His Sled: While Gygax allows the Game Master to use any reason he sees fit why the PCs are falling down the shaft at the beginning, he specifically cautions them to, in order to preserve some element of surprise, avoid using any sort of White Rabbit to lure them to it; such a rabbit might as well be wearing a shirt with the words "follow me to Wonderland" written on it.
 * Jackass Genie: The genie lamp that the Mock Turtle wants the PCs to recover holds this type of genie, which they’ll discover if they try to use it themselves.
 * Kill'Em All: Ironically, the PCs have more of a chance of getting through the adventure in one piece if they forgo any sort of negotiation with the inhabitants. None of them are truly friendly, and fighting them is the better option.
 * Killer Game Master: You’d have to be one to put players through this, but then, Gary Gygax clearly fit the Trope.
 * Mythology Gag: The owner of the Magic Mirror Mansion is a dimension-hopping wizard named Murlynd. This was the name of a character used by Gygax’s friend and business partner Dan Kay, and this is not the only reference made to him in Gygax’s works.
 * Nasty Party: Two in one story!
 * The NPCs at the Mad Tea Party don’t bear any malice to the PCs, but all of them are hopelessly insane, making the place very dangerous. The Hatter continually tries to display his wares by throwing them at the PCs, and many of these hats are Executioner’s Hoods (monsters from the original Monster Manual 2 who try to clasp to a victim’s head and suffocate him). The March Hare is a brute cursed with Body Horror by the White Rabbit, which drove him insane. Should any player actually try to drink the tea, they find it to be a deadly poison. And if the players decide to flat-out attack the Hatter and Hare, they discover that both are mid-Level monks. Not an easy fight.
 * The final encounter of the two modules is by far the most dangerous, and also fits the Trope. If the players make it to the Manor House, they are met by the Red Queen and White Queen, who invite them inside (if they players refuse, the Queens use their henchmen to "insist" on it). The Queens announce that the PCs have won "the game" by getting this far, and are to be rewarded with royal titles, giving them royal crowns and promising safe passage anywhere in the kingdom. After a banquet, naturally. Of course, it's a trap. The two Queens are night hags, the servants and guests are minor fiends and larvae, the mutton leg is a disguised mimic, and the plum pudding is a black pudding. The illusion is maintained by the crowns the PCs were given. Simply fighting back against these monsters requires an attempt to disbelieve the illusion to overcome the crown's magic, and even then, this fight can overwhelm them quickly. Gygax recommends mercy be shown if the players are able to show some cleverness. After all, it seems a little too cruel to inflict a Total Party Kill right after telling them they've won...
 * Nintendo Hard: Not as hard as Tomb of Horrors, but still a brutally difficult "killer dungeon".
 * Original Character: Jack-in-the Pulpit is an enemy that is not based on any Alice in Wonderland character, but he does seem to fit into Wonderland nicely (meaning he’s a complete dick).
 * Our Dwarves Are All the Same: Averted. This version of the Duchess is a female dwarf, and she seriously breaks the mold.
 * Our Werebeasts Are Different: While the Hatter and March Hare are dangerous enough if the PCs pick a fight with them, the Doormouse is far worse. He's actually a wererat cursed by a spell that makes him lethargic, and the condition is contagious.
 * Priceless Paperweight: The tarts stolen by the Knave are not pastries, but expensive jewelry designed in tart-shape.
 * Railroading: This module can fall into this a lot. For example, much like he does in Carroll's work, the Cheshire Cat disrupts the Queen's croquet game; if the players killed him the first time they meet him, his ghost appears instead. Not to mention there's no way to avoid the Mad Tea Party or the Queen's Croquet Grounds, as the path is very linear.
 * Sequel Hook: The Knave’s boat, found by the PCs if they escape the Queen of Hearts, is meant to take them to the second part.
 * Schizo-Tech: The Magic Mirror Mansion has some treasure that, by all rights, should not be in this setting, including the VCR, audio cassette tapes, and film projector. Yes, you read that right; this is still D&D, meaning the PCs will likely view this as advanced alien technology. The house even has electricity (although it is generated by a lightning elemental). This is all part of the greater Mythology Gag explained above.
 * Square Race, Round Class:
 * It's hard to imagine any characters in Wonderland having levels in D&D character classes, but they do, and some are kind of bizarre. For example, the Hatter and March Hare are Monks. Seriously. Even less likely Monks are Tweedledum and Tweedledee. How these characters learned martial arts is a mystery best left unexplored.
 * The chess-monsters in the second part are kinda weird. To give two examples, queens are female lion centaurs, and the kings are Shambling Mounds.
 * Transplanted Character Fic
 * Trope Maker: This was actually the first module to use a Hex Map system for outdoor areas, a system that would be adapted for many other games, and is still used today.
 * Villain with Good Publicity: The Prince, Jack of Courland, the module’s Expy for the Knave of Hearts. While he is the prime suspect in the theft of his mother’s tarts, he’s still got a lot of friends, and this makes it very easy to use the PCs (who are strangers) as a scapegoat.
 * Weaksauce Weakness: The second part has an odd subversion. The Vorpal Sword is the weapon used to slay the Jabberwock in the original novel and some adaptations. While the PCs can find a Vorpal Sword here, the Jabberwock (who is indeed a hard boss) has no special vulnerability to it.