A Few Thoughts on B1

For the most part, I'm really enjoying readying through B1. It's nice to finally go through all of these modules with a fine tooth comb. I haven't gotten all the way through yet, but I'm going to go ahead and call it a night.

Most of these musing are campaign specific and subject to change, but since I've have broken several all time records for most blog visits these last few days, I'll take it that you guys are enjoying these posts.

- In my campaign Quasqueton hasn't just been abandoned for a few decades, but about two and a half centuries.

- Zelligar and Rogahn were heroes of the Ptolian Empire. Zelligar for creating the orcs (the module mentions orc slaves), which now inhabit the upper level of the cavern and Rogahn for leading the orcish army into battle. They lived before the corruption and fall of their beloved empire--in fact their action were directly related to to its decadence and later destruction.

- Zelligar is dead, but Rogahn yet lives. In his later days, Zelligar experimented much with immortality (the black cats that is seemingly dead and the fire beetles that have survived without substance). Rogahn was one of his only successful trials.

- The orcs that inhabit the Quasqueton are waring to keep control of the caverns with a local group of barbarians and the priests from B2, who are interested in Zelligar's research and information concerning the rise of the Ptolots. If they discover Rogahn lives in an immortal stasis, they'll want him as well.

- Zelligar's diary contains much information concerning the Ptolots and their rise in power.

- The library is not as useful and the module describes. It can be used to conduct magical research, so long as the magic-user possess the spell read magic. Base chance 35% for success plus 5% for ever magic-user level, minus 10% for each level of the spell being researched. Knowing the spell comprehend languages yields an additional 10% to the die roll.

The Humanoids of B2

So I'm reconsidering messing with B2 all that much. The caves are difficult enough already; I don't think I need to add more rooms to the complex. Furthermore, I enjoyed scottsz's idea of having the caves be more of a temporary barracks than any sort of permanent living space. Instead, I think it's more beneficial to think of relationships between the caves and make each of the different humanoid types more distinct.

These are my first thoughts on the subject, suggestions welcome.

The Priests of Evil Chaos: The Caves of Chaos are built atop one of the many nods of power spread throughout the land. The anti-clerics have gathered here as a minor base of operations and have riled many of the nearby humanoid tribes to their cause, including an ogre and a minotaur (the original inhabitant, but they decided to leave him be). They are engaged in some sort of holy war, attempting to restore the power of now-fallen Ptolian Empire in the name of their demonic lord. Due to the all the infighting, between tribes, the priests of evil chaos have started reconsidering their shaky alliances with the human tribes and have instead begun creating an army of undead soldiers to take their place.

The Kobolds: The kobolds have joined the priests of evil chaos (who will hopefully be renamed in the near future) in order to find safety in numbers. Little did they know how much infighting would occur. Regardless, they're here now, just trying to be forgotten and left alone.

The Goblins: Like the rest of the humanoids of the caves, the goblin tribe was offered a nice sum of gold to come and preside there under the command of the anti-clerics. Being too weak to accomplish much on their own, they accepted and are now plotting to make off with the treasures of the orc tribe and escape the clerical authority. (They have yet to realize there is more than one tribe of orcs present.)

The Orcs: The two tribes of orcs have a great deal of rivalry between them. While they avoid outright war, they compete with each other to slay the greatest number of goblins and hobgoblins to instill their dominance.

The Hobgoblins: While scattered tribes, hobgoblins on a whole dream of empirical might. They are the only tribe that is truly backing the clerics cause--and even then they are considering supplanting them. Within the Caves of Chaos, the hobgoblins act as a cruel judicial authority between the different tribes--trying to keep them from fighting amongst each other and planning their empire-to-be. They have two ally tribes on the outside awaiting their command.

The Bugbears: While ruthless mercenaries in their own right, the bugbears think the whole thing is a joke. They're here to play their own brutal practical jokes on the other tribes. That, and to split puny human skulls, of course, while making some easy coin while at it.

The Gnoll: The gnolls just like killing, and laughing maniacally while doing so. All they need are a couple of spears and a direction to frolic, and a plethora of blood is soon to be on its way.

What Have You Done With The Caves of Chaos?

As much praise as B2: The Keep on the Borderland gets, it's actually my least favorite of the four modules I've selected. That's not saying there aren't caves I really like, such as the Shine of Evil Chaos and the Ogre's and Bugbears' lairs. But there are some that just don't have much character too them and need some spicing up, the gnoll caves in particular.

Aplus at People them with Monsters wrote a fantastic reworking of the Kobold caves--another that I don't find particularly compelling. You should really check it out.

The main thing Aplus has done is added an Abandoned Mine section to the kobold lair. Within the mine is a pool, in which there is a Amphibious Kobold Mutant. The main treasure in the lair is now a bundle of copper nuggets, but not only are they copper nuggets, but copper nuggets that mutate the their possessor. Nice, hu?

Yesterday, I took the time to copy out the Caves of Chaos onto a work processor. I haven't gotten around to modifying anything, and, honestly, I don't plan on changing all that much, mostly just adding a little more character to some of less interesting caves (the gnoll and orc caves in particular).

So here's what I want to know: what have you done to make the Caves of Chaos just a little more unsettling and/or interesting?

Palace of the Silver Princess + B1, B2, and B4

While I know there are many with mixes feelings concerning B3: Palace of the Silver Princess, it's one of my favorite old school modules, along with B4: The Lost City and X1: The Isle of Dread.

One of the key characteristics is that B3 does not try and create a world of typical medieval fantasy. Instead it just kinda does its own thing and has a very unique personality and feel because of it. There are werebear worshipping barbarians, insane adventurers, a cunning anti-cleric, and a whole host of atypical monsters, such as Digger, a unique creature that disguises itself as a marble pool, and Jupiter Blood Suckers, a host of vampiric plants.

Thus I have selected the Palace of the Silver Princess to be the basis of my upcoming campaign (assuming I get the whole thing off the ground at all). I'll be using the map on page 5 as the basis of the setting, adding in the Caves of Chaos (now in the mountains just north east of Thoruld), the Mad Hermit (woods south of the Palace of the Silver Princess), Mound of the Lizard Men (Misty Swamp), and the Raider's Camp (woods north west of Thoruld) from B2, Cynidicea from B4 will be relocated to the Misty Swamp, and the Caverns of Quasqueton from B1 will be placed in the mountains near the village of Mere.

The one thing I would like to add is a lawful wizard's tower somewhere between Thoruld and Gulluvia that the characters can go to for advice and/or expand their knowledge of magic. I'm thinking he will be a crazy, old astrologer obsessed with the fortune and prophecies that never seem to come to pass (...but one day...). More on him later.