I have received Keep on the Borderlands as an early Christmas present. I was quite surprised how just flipping through a few pages and scanning a few maps fired my imagination. This is partly because my copy is in pristine condition and largely because of the quality of the product.
I'm currently in my home town, and next week I'm supposed to run three sessions of D&D for my old gaming/high school buddies. Originally I was going to run a homebrew adventure, but now I'm dead set on running them through the Caves of Chaos and the surrounding wilderness. I've never run this module, which as I understand it means that I haven't completed one of my OSD&D rites of passage. I aim to rectify this.
The module itself is, from my skimming, broadly compatible with the World of Nightwick. So far I've just had to change the word "Elf" to "Changeling" in a few places. The biggest change I will be making to the module is designed to accommodate my take on Orcs. Since they don't breed normally, I have removed non-combatants from those caves and replaced them with a rather nasty surprise for potential delvers. Otherwise the caves will go untouched since the other humanoids of the World (at least the ones in this module) do mate in the usual fashion. I may replace the Kobolds with Mites, but I may not.
I'll post play reports and development updates here. Hopefully I'll be able to give you a good dose of behind the screen information in both. This will be my first time running a TSR D&D module. I'm very interested to see how it goes.
Wish me luck.
Enjoy it. It's a classic with a lot to like. The Shrine of Evil Chaos is a personal favorite. I think it's J or L. :)
ReplyDeleteAn interesting take on Orcs, with plenty to think about. I'll confess my favourite is probably still the fungus-based Games Workshop Ork, for the completeness of the vision and sense of an ecology.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, you've got me wondering what lies in wait in those caves.
Great pic too, drawing the eye in very well.
Please post opinions, experiences and reports on your first time running a module: what you feel is missing, what goes to waste, complications, etc.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed a rite of passage followed by being whipped with a copy of the Village of Hommlet while giving the required bows, curtsies and secret hand signs.
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, I'm with Scott on being interested in how it integrates. In my own experience it's a model published adventure in it's plug-in nature--and it never plays the same way twice given it's open-ended nature.
Just drop a few hints that the party should hire on a few hirelings. The Cave's can be a lethal environment for a small party if you play the monsters intelligently. Though, personally, I don't feel they are quite as lethal an environment as some of my fellow old hands make out.
ReplyDeleteYour players will have a blast!! And remember,
ReplyDelete" Bree-yark"
Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThe Gygaxian naturalism in B2 is kinda weird... you have all these female and children humanoids in there to be slaughtered. Monsterfying the orcs makes sense, but it is kinda dark making players decide whether to attack the non-warriors.
Yeah, that is a great take on the Caves of Chaos - go figure, WOTC.
I think it's J or L
ReplyDeleteIt's K, and it's definitely the coolest part of the Caves.
the fungus-based Games Workshop Ork
ReplyDeleteI'm more of a Warhammer Fantasy fan. I've never played the battle games, but my second longest campaign was WFRP 2e. I really liked beastmen and they're a big part of my vision of Orcs. So is Circe and the description in Mentzer Basic.
Just drop a few hints that the party should hire on a few hirelings
ReplyDeleteExcept for a few players, this group generally buys an ass-load of hirelings. I have two who think that hirelings are for sissies. They tend to die a lot.
The Gygaxian naturalism in B2 is kinda weird... you have all these female and children humanoids in there to be slaughtered. Monsterfying the orcs makes sense, but it is kinda dark making players decide whether to attack the non-warriors.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It's probably my least favorite part of the module but I can't figure out something good to replace the other common rooms with.
I'm usually all for "dark" but killing women and children is a bit much.