One of my fondest memories from when I
started playing Dungeons and Dragons is from circa 1980-1982, when
TSR Games published a Basic Set that included none other than Dungeon
Module B2 The Keep on the Borderlands. I remember the many sleepless
nights playing this module with my brother and my cousin. Initially
we focused our adventures in the Caves of Chaos. Only later did we
discover the many adventures to be had inside the Keep itself, as
well as in the forest surrounding the caverns.
If you are like me and for a long time
now have been wanting to revisit that adventure, I got good news for
you. Michael Weimholt, a.k.a. Weem, from TheWeem.com has redone the
original maps in Photoshop and his maps are a thing of beauty. He
has high resolution maps, lower resolution maps, player maps without
the keys, secret doors and traps... all to be printed in color and
used in your next gaming session. There is one drawback, though. Back
in 1980, squares represented 10' each instead of the 5' of 3e and 4e.
Notwithstanding, his maps are beautiful and you can easily
incorporate them into an existing adventure, as a quick fix when you
are running short on time or even when the players do the
unforeseeable and a sudden twist in your campaign demands a dungeon
pronto. You can see and download them all here: Caves of Chaos Reimagined by Weem.
If, like me, you've been looking for a free weekend (or three) to convert The Keep on the Borderlands to 4e, I got great news for you. The guys from DnD Corner.com already went through the trouble and have produced a damn good conversion of Module B2 The Keep on the Borderlands. Be advised, though, this is not your daddy's Module B2. While the original Keep on the Borderlands was for characters ranging in levels 1 - 3, the 4e conversion is for characters level 3-5. Like Weem's maps, the 4e conversion is also free of charge. You can download it here: Module B2 Keep on the Borderlands Revisited - Available for Download.
Download these products, check them out, play them through and let us know what you think.
While I started playing a little later, 1987, I don't have that fond memory of old school modules... Here is why!
ReplyDeleteI was the DM from the very beginning, and when I ran the adventure in the Red Bix basic set I remember thinking the provided dungeon was too plain and modifying it. Then I tried a couple of modules with the same result. Since then I make my own adventures. No olds school module nostalgia for me.
Not judging, just saying... Enjoy!
Too bad publication of this module ceased something like 5 years before you started playing. This module was so much fun that it was made into a published novel in 1999. Dragon Magazine ranks it as the 7th greatest Dungeons and Dragons adventure of all times. It certainly wasn't perfect, but as far as an introduction to dungeons and dragons was concerned, it was one cool module.
DeleteGenerally speaking, you and I are in the same boat. I've found most published adventures to be lacking. The two published adventures I am currently running have been 'tweaked' by me to make them more interesting and challenging... and unfortunately a bit frustrating (ask my players about the deaf prisoner, lol).
Still, every now and then I like to pull out this module and my all-time favorite series just to look at my notes on the margins and remember that time long ago when dungeons and dragons was something mysterious and awe-inspiring in the mind of a naive 11-year old....
Thanks for sharing you experience as a beginning dungeons and dragons player, Sunglar. I always love to hear about how people got started in the hobby.
My experience with the starting sets, both the Basic & the Expert Boxes, where a thing of magic!!! Younglings, as well as old newbies must take into consideration the fact that at the time these gems where "released" into the gaming consciousness, we just did not have any other standard with which to judge these items...it was all new!!! So, to us, it was a bright and huge door opening into an incredible new world of fantasy and adventure, a truly remarkable new way of getting the chance to explore, live & re-invent all of our favorite myths, dreams and stories from novels, short stories and reading class at our local schools!!!
ReplyDeleteNotwithstanding, they where a little flawed, maybe more than enough opportunities aroused for the so inclined to give them a whirl and infuse them with our own flavor for the dramatic, maybe tweak the rules a little...or a lot, and add our own maps, quests and critters to the mix...but this was HEAVILY ENCOURAGED by the makers of such a wondrous game, because they recognized, from the git-go, that it was practically impossible to incorporate all the choices, turns, twists and ideas that people would come up with.
Now, to close my statement, (LOL), I think it is wonderful some people are taking their time to up-date these wonderful vintage modules to the modern rule-mechanics! Perhaps they can be enjoyed by a whole army of new gamers and contribute to the ever increasing gaming community!!! Hopefully we can all take the hint, un-sheath our DM'ing blades and take our turn in such a rewarding and fulfilling creative-endeavor!!!! Power to the people!!!