Archetypes of Megadungeons

When Matt asked me in the interview about what megadungeon I would recommend, I stated Grande Temple of Jing. But, there are many types of megadungeons. They all feel and play differently. So, that information may be inaccurate for some people. I would like to go through a few of the megadungeon archetypes and help people find what kind of megadungeon they may be looking for.

Image from my copy of Rob Kuntz's El Raja Key

It hangs on my wall and is beautiful.

1. The Underworld Megadungeon: This is the "classic" megadungeon. When people talk about megadungeons, these are the first that come to mind. Castle Greyhawk (Ruins or Zagyg), Undermountain, and Dwimmermount fall into this category.
These megadungeons are the original type of megadungeon. From The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures: "Before it is possible to conduct a campaign of adventures in the mazey dungeons, it is necessary for the referee to sit down with pencil in hand and draw these labyrinths on graph paper. Unquestionably this will require a great deal of time and effort and imagination. The dungeons should look something like the example given below, with numerous levels which sprawl in all directions, not necessarily stacked neatly above each other in a straight line." (pg 3) Gygax continues to talk about the concept until page 8.

 2. The Funhouse Megadungeon: A funhouse megadungeon is like a circus. You never know what's next. It could be a full zoo of every creature in every monster book (like World's Largest Dungeon.) It could be the personal playground of a trickster god (like Grande Temple of Jing.) It could be a spoof on a famous dungeon (WG7 Castle Greyhawk.)

3. The Story Megadungeon: A story megadungeon revolves around a plot line to delve the dungeon. Often, these are megadungeons only in the sense that most of the action takes place in the same dungeon, and they advance through many levels. Expedition to the Ruins of Castle Greyhawk and Expedition to Undermountain are examples of this. To a lesser degree, Castle Whiterock follows this paradigm.

4. The Beer-and-Pretzels Megadungeon: These megadungeons are a lot like movies. They have sets and set-pieces, and, characters and, a lot of action. Games within Beer-and-Pretzels megadungons tend to be episodic. Go in, get the treasure, get out. No real exploring, just a goal and a fight. Rappan Athuk fits this category for me.

Most megadungeons fit into multiple categories on this list, but here's where I feel each of the megadungeons in my physical collections fall:

Underworld
B4: The Lost City
Castle of the Mad Archmage
Castle Zagyg
Dwimmermount
Undermountain

Funhouse
Grande Temple of Jing
Lich Dungeon
The Emerald Spire
WG7: Castle Greyhawk
World's Largest Dungeon (and City?)

Story Megadungeon
Castle Whiterock
The Expedition Series from 3.X (Greyhawk, Undermountain)
The Temple of Elemental Evil

Beer-and-Pretzels
Barrowmaze (There's a 5E version in the link!)
Rappan Athuk