B5 Horror on the Hill

The Horror on the Hill is a module I have used a few times for starting groups at  first level. I prefer some other modules more but this is one that allows for a lot of  adventure in one small package. I have often though of locating the Keep from B2 here  and mashing the two up losing or changing the Caves of Chaos.

The adventure has some outdoor aspects which can be role played more than some of the  encounters provided in the fist three of the B modules. These can be played seriously  or with a little bit of whimsy depending on the group you are playing with. Once the  players get to the meet of the module there is a sizable dungeon for them to make  their way through.

The ecology of any dungeon is a hard thing to allow for. The one here is a little  better than some of the others in early modules but it still has some concerns. This  module does have a ending that the players will appreciate though. Nothing like living  up to ones name sake in my mind.

Overall I think this is a module that it would not hurt one to spend money on. There  are much worse ways to spend ones money. I think if I were to ever sue it again I  would make it more of a mash up with B2 as I mentioned earlier. I can actually see a  situation where I might take B1, B2 and B4 and make them all part of the same starting  area though it would take some beefing up of some of the material as the party would  be too high by the time the third adventure was used.


Published: 1983
Pages: 32

Description:

The end of the road. A lonely fort stands on the banks of a mighty river. It is here  the hardy bands of adventurers gather to plan their conquests of The Hill, the hulking  mass that looms over this tiny settlement.

The Hill is filled with monsters, they say, and an evil witch makes her home there.  Still, no visitor to The Hill has ever returned to prove the rumors true or false. The  thrill of discovery is too great to pass up, and only the river stands in the way. The  adventurers' boat is waiting!

This module is designed for use with the D&D Basic Rules. A trip through the  wilderness begins a unique challenge for the novice player and Dungeon Master.

Included in the module are:
11 maps
3 new monsters
a complete set of prerolled characters.

B4 - The Lost City

Yesterday I wrote about B2 the #7 module in Dungeons all time list. Today I will write  a little bit about #28 which is B4 The Lost City. I will also try to not go off on  tangents and slander anyone's reviews or their life's work. I said try so lets see how  that works out for me.

The Lost City is written by Tom Moldvay and I think most everyone will recognize the  name and as a result what they have contributed to the game. I remember reading a Blog  some time ago where the author of the blog was going to sue this as the basis for a  sandbox campaign. This module more than any of the other B series would be suited for  this purpose though B7 could be used as the foundation for a campaign as well with  very little work.

This is a module where actually only a portion of the entire area is written out in  any detail. The reminder has suggestions and broad strokes laid out but the specifics  are left to the discretion of the DM. The module also featured information on how the  DM might get the characters to interact with the NPC and suggestions on how that might  work out. All of these make it very well suited as the foundation for a campaign where  the DM can place their take on it.

There will be those that will suggest that I am partial to the older material. To  argue with that assumption would be sill as I will go on record that in this case  older is better. I think technology improves with time but as far as gaming material  is concerned once you get into the later 80's and early 90's I think things had gone  down hill. If you don't own this module pick it up I will think that those who are  disappointed in the investment will be few and far between.

Published: 1982
Pages: 32

From the cover:

Lost in the desert! The only hope for survival lies in a ruined city rising out of the  sands. Food, water, and wealth await heroic adventurers inside an ancient pyramid  ruled by a strange race of masked beings.

The module includes a cover folder with maps, and a descriptive booklet with a ready- made adventure for the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Basic game. It also includes enough  information to continue the adventure beyond level 3, using the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS  Expert game rules.

B2 - The Keep on the Borderlands

There is not much more that I could add to what has already been said about the #7  ranked module of all time. I am actually more of a fan of B1 In Search of the Unknown  more than I am of B2. Please don't get me wrong but I like the good old fashioned  dungeon crawl factor of it. That and it has some things that became "standards" in  dungeon design. But I digress.

There have been incredibly more pages written about "The Keep" than there are to "The Keep". If you  factor out the useful DM material and resources this is further exaggerated. There are innumerable detractors of the module and it does have some issues. The ecology of the area is  about as impracticable as it could be without being a zoo. Still that is the way it was  some 32 years ago. Anyone who hates on the module really needs to learn to respect what has come before and appreciate the classics that laid the groundwork in a fledgling industry.

It was pointed out the review I mention below may have been meant as comedy. If so I misunderstood. I apologize if that is the case but I still hold true to the other comments about the newer stuff not holding up and the sue of the phrase Pirates of the Coast. Teach me to not look at Tags won't it!

I want to point on in the review here Mike Mearls told us in no uncertain terms how bad it was. I quote him as saying "It really is too late to warn you about this one, isn't it?" and "If you paid for it, you got ripped off". Not railing against 3e or 4e or whatever the next edition whose sole purpose is to bleed money off of people is but pointing out that this module will have more staying power than anything produced by Pirates of the Coast.


The other review on that site is a little more kind but wants to make fun of something Gary Gygax wrote. I have copied that below here but want to point out that James Landy gave much better reviews to a number of Pirates of the Coast and 3e modules that are really pretty bad. But below is what Gary Gygax with all his pretensions (his words) wrote...thank you for inspiring Gary rather than directing:

"You are not entering this world in the usual manner, for you are setting forth to be a Dungeon Master. Certainly there are stout fighters, mighty magic-users, wily thieves, and courageous clerics who will make their mark in the magical lands of D&D adventure. You however, are above even the greatest of these, for as DM you are to become the Shaper of the Cosmos. It is you who will give form and content to the all the universe. You will breathe life into the stillness, giving meaning and purpose to all the actions which are to follow."

I have no qualms saying that this is a module that everyone should own. Not only  because it is a worth owning and being run through or running by all at least once in  a gamers life but because it is a piece of history. I feel certain that in 2033 there  will not be one 3.x module that is considered in such regard as this one. If there is  please let me know so I can but it now.

Published: 1980
Pages: 28

Excerpt from the adventure:

Background

The Realms of mankind is narrow and constricted. Always the forces of Chaos press upon  its borders, seeking to enslave its populace, rape its riches, and steal its  treasures. If it were not for a stout few, many in the Realm would indeed fall prey to  the evil which surrounds them. Yet, there are always certain exceptional and brave  members of humanity, as well as similar individuals among its allies - dwarves, elves,  and halflings - who rise above the common level and join battle to stave off the  darkness which would otherwise overwhelm the land. Bold adventurers from the Realm set  off to the Borderlands to seek their fortune. (...)

You are indeed members of that exceptional class, adventurers who have journeyed to  the Keep on the Borderlands in search of fame and fortune.

B7 - Rahasia, Reset

When a module has been printed by two different companies in  three different formats can you can assume one of two things.  That one of the companies had nothing better than to copy steal  another company's work or that the module is just that darn good.  In the case of B7 Rahasia the latter is the case.

Originally published in 1979 by Daystar West Media in their Night  Ventures line Rahasia was written by Laura Hickman and is most  often thought of as the first module written solely by a female  writer. When TSR purchased Daystar West Media they released the  module again in 1983 as the first in the RPGA line of modules. In  1984 it was merged with Black Opal Eye (RPGA2) and released as B7  Rahasia. It also then later appeared in the B1-9 compilation  though I am not counting that as a different release.

The module is different in a number of ways from the other  modules in the B series. The setting of the module though  cantering around an elven village has a very definite Arabic  flavor to it. Another item is that for a very specific reason the  module does not focus on killing things. The focus needs to be on  stealth, roleplaying and creative problem solving. The name of  the module Rahasia is Indonesian for secret and there is perhaps  a reason for that being used.

The module is only 32 pages long but most of it is actually  dedicated to the major area of the adventure. The adventure is  large enough that I would suspect it will last two good sessions  for normal party and it might last even more depending on the  players. There is combat to be had but again the module is going  to focus more on problem solving and players who enjoy combat  more might be a bit put off by some concerns the module will  raise.

I am a fan of most of the B series modules. The level range for  this is not my favorite but all of the B series modules seem to  make it enjoyable enough to be a low level character that I think  that I have run and/or played them all. I would hate to have to  pick which of the B series would be my favorite but I think B7  would have to be in the running is at worst in the top three. But  then they are for the most part all better than much of what is  commercially released today. If you can find this pick it up.


From the back of the module:

Grey Mountain lies deep in the lush elven forest. The temple  there was a haven of meditation and learning - until taken over  by an evil cleric known as the Rahib.

Far under the mountain, he paces before the temple's great altar.  A brown-robed servant rushes in and falls to his knees. Trembling  at the sight of the Rahib's black panther. "Rahib, adventurers  came to the village as the sun rose - the strangers now protect  Rahasia"

A scowl crosses the Rahib's face. "I must have Rahasia! Attack  again tonight." As the servant scurries away, a deep growl rises  from the giant cat.

Gripping the panther's leash, the Rahib paces again, speaking out  load. "We must dispose of these strangers quickly; the secret  beneath the temple will not wait much longer."

For character levels 1-3


 Spell:

Reset

Level: Eighth
Range: None
Duration: Instantaneous
Area of Effect: 6" Sphere
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 3 Segments
Saving Throw: None

When this spell is cast the magic user causes their party to travel backwards in time. This will reset them to a specific  point in time. The caster will pick the point in time when the  spell is cast.

The caster will need to pick a point in time that is no farther  back then their intelligence score plus three in rounds  (minutes). When the spell is complete the casters party will  immediately be reset. The part will have knowledge of what has  transpired previously. There is nothing to say that if they  change their course of action that other things won't change as  well. Anything that the party may have acquired in the first run  through the timeline will need to be removed and any items used  restored.

The spell will have some negative side effects though due to the  nature of what it does and the powerful magic involved. When the  party is reset they will need to make a saving throw versus  magic. If they save then they will only be stunned for one round  while those that fail will be stunned and disoriented for two  rounds.

The magic user will not be stunned but will suffer other effects.  They will be aged five years by the powerful energies involved in  the casting of the spell. They will also need to make two rolls.  The first is for the spell itself as the magic for this spell is  bound powerfully to its inscription. There is a 5% cumulative  chance per use that the spell will vanish from the spell book  after casting and will become such that it can't be memorized by that caster for a  period of one year. The other will be a saving throw that if  failed will cause the caster to lose 1d4 points of intelligence.  These will be regained at a point per day.

AC1 The Shady Dragon Inn, Soul Switch

The Shady Dragon Inn is the basic D&D equivalent to the Rogues Gallery. It  varies in a few ways but it is essentially the same type of product. This  offers the DM over 100 pregenerated characters that they can use as needed in  their campaign.

Shady Dragon Inn was released in 1983 and is thirty-two pages in length. It  is written for use under both the Basic and Expert rule systems. The  accessory is broken down into sections by classes and race. The product  begins with an introduction to the product and instructions on how to use it.  It then offers a section for special characters. This is actually a section  that contains game data for the characters and NPCs in the D&D/AD&D toy line.  The final section provides the DM a list of adventuring parties that can be  located in the Shady Dragon Inn. These are comprised of characters from the  earlier sections and are grouped in a number of different ways. Finally a map  of the Inn is provided for the DM.

The sections each offer a number of different non-player characters in them.  Each of the NPCs is given its own small section with their name, a stat  block, the equipment they carry, spells if any and finally a brief bio and  motivation paragraph. The breakdown of the sections are below along with the  number of NPCs in that section.

Fighters - 23
Magic-Users - 19
Clerics - 17
Thieves - 14
Dwarves - 10
Elves - 12
Halflings - 10
Special Characters - 13

The Parties section is broken down so that there is a high and low level  party for each of the characters classes and races. The sole exception here  is Halflings who only get one party list. There is than a section for low  level and high level mixed. These section have a list of NPCs from each race  and class that can be selected from. One note on this section is that it  starts with the section title "The Shady Dragon Tavern" but then goes back to  calling it an inn.

This accessory in many ways is better than the Rogues Gallery in my mind.  Rather than just table after table of stat blocks the DM is given actual NPCs  with a name, equipment and some background in addition to a stat block. An  example of one is below. I present Faradore Fairwind - Halfling.

S 12; I 9; W 9; C 11; D 9; CH 11; AL N;
LV 5; AC 3; hp 27; P/D 5; MW 6; S/P 7;
DB 9; SP/MS 8; THACO 17 [16 using
short sword +1]

Wears plate mail; carries short sword, 1
dagger, short bow and 10 arrows.

Faradore stands 3'1" and weighs 49 lbs. He
was once a seafarer: his light brown hair is
bleached by the sun, he walks like a sailor,
wears a scraggly moustache, and has a
parrot that perches on his shoulder. In
some foreign land, he gained a beautiful
silver-bladed shortsword. Many like to have
him along on expeditions because he can
watch the skies and tell them what to
expect from the weather. Though he will
venture underground, he does not like to
do so: he likes to feel the wind on his face.

If you like this sort of thing I suggest you pick it up. I find the character  writes up interesting to read and am glad to have a copy.

Spell:

Soul Switch

Level: Ninth
Range: Touch
Duration: Special
Ares Effect: One Creature
Components: V,S
Casting Time: One Segment
Saving Throw: Negates

By means of this spell the caster is able to switch souls with another living being. For this to work the victim or willing recipient must have a soul so creatures with a spirit may not be victims/recipients of this spell.

To have this spell affect them the victim must be touched by the caster. If the recipient is willing there is nothing that needs done. If the person being affected is not willing the caster needs to make a successful To Hit roll. If not willing the victim is allowed a save and if successful the spell does not take affect. It is important to note that there is no knowledge exchanged so the caster knows nothing more tan they already did about the recipient.

Once the spell takes affect the souls of the two parties will switch places. This will mean that the two parties will inhabit the others body. They will carry with them all of their levels, abilities and skills. Mental attributes will transfer (including Charisma) but not physical attributes.

The duration of the spell will be an affect of the difference in the intelligence of the two victims modified by the difference in Wisdom. The spell will last  for at least one day. The effect will be added to by one day cumulative per point of intelligence difference. So if there is one point it adds one day but two points will add three and three will add six. The maximum duration will be 121 days unless the casters intelligence is higher than eighteen. The effect will be lessened by difference in Wisdom in a like manner.

While in the others body the caster will suffer whatever fate befalls the victim and vice versa. There is no lag in the effect so they caster will need to be aware that the victim can act as soon as the switch occurs. If the victim or caster dies while in the others body they suffer the fate of the body and the change is permanent.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were all written up or conceived of back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.

JG - Island Book One, Cassandra's Shadowy Hound

This is the Island Book 1 - Campaign Hexagon Sub-System that was put out by Judges Guild back in 1978 give or take a year or so. This was another of those time saving boons to the early DM. This one more so than perhaps the Village Book is still almost as useful. I say that because I know of a number of village generators that can be found online but I do not know of any that generate islands. If one exists perhaps someone can mention it in a comment. Regardless all of the early Judges Guild mapping type products be they the blank map sheets to the Island Book to the full blown Wilderlands offerings were all top shelf accessories. The book has 48 maps of either single islands or chains of islands of varying sizes. Also included are three or four pages of charts for generating such items as terrain, inhabitants, possible volcanic activity, unique things to find and encounter charts. Given the generic nature of the product I think this is still one of the more useful aids that Judges Guild produced and that it has stood the test of time better than other products from that era.

Spell:

Cassandra's Shadowy Hound

Level: Fifth
Range: 6"
Duration: 6 Turns/Level
Ares Effect: None
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 1 Turn
Saving Throw: None

By means of this spell the magic user creates a temporary gate to the Plane of Shadow. The gate brings forth one Shadowy Hound for every three levels of the caster. These hounds will be friendly to the caster and any that the caster signifies as friends. The caster does not need to maintain concentration to control the hounds.

The hounds may perform very minor tasks but their real purpose is to serve as guardians for the caster and/or a given area. The hounds are not able to attack anything on this plane and any successful magical attack or a casting of Dispel Magic will send them back to the Plane of Shadow. The hounds can appear to be any largish dog and will often be mistaken for Shadow Mastiffs.

Should anyone not in the magic users party or signified as a friend of the caster come within fifty feet of the hound they will begin to issue a low growl that any creature within a fifty foot radius will be able to hear unless other noises make this impossible. If anyone other than a friend comes within 20 feet of the hound or should any of the hounds be attacked then all will start barking and yelping. Those who are within 100 feet that hear the barking and fail a save versus fear will be stopped in their tracks for 1d4 rounds though any attack on them will break this.

The caster as well as any they have signified as a friend will be immune to the yelp effect of the hounds though they can hear it if within range. Even if outside the range if they are asleep there is an 80% chance for anyone other than the caster to be awakened. There is a 100% chance that the caster will be awakened by this. This yelping will alert the magic user and their party thus preventing them from being surprised while asleep or otherwise occupied.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were all written up back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.

B3 - Palace of the Silver Princess, Shadow Assassin

Normally the color of the module or the various printing does not make as much of a difference in value as it does this particular specimen. If you are not sure what I am talking about you can find a excellent discussion on it over at the Acaeum. If you want to check out for yourself what all the hubbub is about and can't wait for one to come up on eBay (though there are two right now) ...or have $1,500 bucks to blow you can still amazingly download if from the WotC site here. I don't have a real copy of the Orange edition and most likely never will but the PDF has allowed me to compare them and I overall prefer the modified version. I did like the ability in the original for the DM to customize it more like B1 but that can be done regardless of it being built into the module. I will say that this module won't make my top 20 and it would be rare for it to make anyone's unless they don't have a large enough pool to draw from. In the end it was an average module that through fate has become one of the most storied collectibles in the industry...not this version though.

Spell:

Shadow Assassin

Level: Sixth
Range: 1/2"/Level
Duration: Special
Ares Effect: One Creature
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 1 Round
Saving Throw: None

By means of this spell the magic user causes the shadow of the spell's target to become a self willed entity. This spell can target any human, humanoid or monster that is visible, has a tangible form and casts a shadow. The sole purpose of the shadow will become that of killing the creature it is a shadow of.

Once the spell is cast the Shadow Assassin attacks its target with complete surprise getting a +4 bonus on their To Hit roll. It makes the To Hit roll as an assassin equal to the level of the the intended victim up to a maximum of a tenth level assassin. If this attack is successful then there is a normal percentage chance of the hit being a successful assassination as per the Dungeon Masters Guide. If it is not an assassination then then normal damage is suffered including any multiples for being a back stab. The weapon used will be what was in the hand of the victim or a dagger if none was present.

If the initial attack does not kill the victim then the Shadow Assassin will continue to fight until such time as either the victim or they are dead. For combat purposes the Shadow Assassin has an armor class of zero. Attacks from others than the victim will have no effect on the Shadow Assassin. A single successful strike from the victim will cause the Shadow Assassin to be dispelled.

This spell is accomplished by infusing the victims shadow with essence from the Plane of Shadows (the Negative Material Plane can be used as an alternate if desired). It should be noted that casting this spell more than once in any given game week will have a 50% chance of drawing the attention of other inhabitants from the plane and their wrath. If there is notice made a second Assassin will come through with it's target being the caster. The chance goes up 10% with each additional casting until one week has pased since it was last cast.

The material components of this spell are a small black cloak and an obsidian dagger. Both of these can not be of less than 100 gp in value. The spell also requires a small vial of blood from a living assassin. The blood is consumed by the casting of the spell though the cloak and dagger remain.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were all written up back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.

Monster & Treasure Assortment , Replication

The Monster & Treasure Assortment - Sets One-Three: Levels One-Nine is a compilation of three earlier products. There have been a couple of other write ups that will be better for telling you about the products. One was written on Grognardia and the other on Delta's D&D Hotspot. I won't try and beat either of those because I really couldn't. I will suggest that when this and even more so the originals that this was created from were most likely godsends to the haggard early DM. Today we have a wealth of printed material and an Internet that will generate us hundreds of treasure hoards or encounter sets in a second. We can then print that to PDF and save it or if we want to old school it we could hard copy it. Back in 1977,1978 or even 1980 that was not an option for the average DM. To create something like this would have meant gathering all of the printers resource material at a table/desk and then writing each by hand. This item alone may have saved the early DM a full day or more of time of what would have been very repetitious work. In the end there is not much need to have this any more. It is a relic of a time when things were not so easy. So you can save money and not buy one but it is a nice reminder of what others had to do to get us to where we are today.

Spell:

Replication

Level: Fourth
Range: None
Duration: 6 Turns/Level
Ares Effect: Item Touched
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 4 Segments
Saving Throw: None

With the casting of this spell the magic user brings into existence exact duplicates of any normal non-living item of their choice. The item can be no larger than ten square feet and must weigh less than 200 pounds. The spell will allow the caster to create one copy for each level of experience though they may create less than that number if desired.

The caster may touch a magical item and it will be duplicated as an item of the exact same physical nature but it will be non-magical in nature. Any normal item touched will be a fully functional copy provided that the original item was in good working order to begin with. It is important to note that perishable items may not be created by means of this spell. This will include foodstuffs but not water.

The material component of this spell is a small silver mirror that is held over top of the item to be duplicated. The mirror is not consumed by the casting of the spell.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were all written up back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.