We never got to properly see Gygax’s original Greyhawk mega-dungeon, for a variety of reasons, but we did catch some glimpses of its edges in the modules EX1: Dungeonland, EX2: The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror and WG6: Isle of the Ape, all of which are pocket dimensions that can be accessed through entryways located in the ruins. The EX stands for “extension” and the idea is for GMs to stick the entrance to Dungeonland in any preexisting dungeon as an unrelated extension.

Anyway, this is EX1: Dungeonland (1983), a D&D riff on Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865). I hate it! So much!

It might be the most D&D-est module ever written. Adventures in Wonderland is a delightful book full of whimsy and nonsense, where an unarmed girl navigates a strange land using her wits and her manners. I will admit, there is a certain amount of menace in Wonderland and its off-kilter residents, but in most cases it stays percolating below the surface. Not so in Dungeonland. Gygax adapts just about everything from Wonderland and makes it homicidal. The players encounter the Chesire Sabertoothed Lion, kill it, take its treasure. Rinse repeat for the Mock Dragon Turtle, and nearly everyone else they encounter. This is often called a hilarious fun house adventure, but it feels mostly one-note to me. At least there is some nice Tim Truman art.