Saturday, March 8, 2014

Let's See How Much Fun This Could Be

I was sitting down reading old Gary Gygax question and answer threads last night when I noticed this great question and answer combination over at Dragonsfoot:

The Question
Hey Gary,

I was wondering if you could give me your thoughts on running an "All Gygax, all the time" campaign. There have been several threads on DF regarding whcih order poeople would run modules in and I was wondering if you'd like to add your input/critique my tentative list :)

First, in what order would you run a 1e AD&D module-based campaign? You can use works from other authors, of course, but I'd be interested in knowing also what modules of your own design you'd use and in what order.

Second, what do you think of this list of mine? In order of play:

B2 Keep on the Borderland
T1-2 Temple of Elemental Evil
S4 Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
WG4 Lost Caverns of Tharizdun
WG 5 Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure
G1-3 Against the Giants
D1-2 Descent to the Depths of the Earth
D3 Vault of the Drow
S1 Tomb of Horrors
WG 6 Isle of the Ape

I know T1-4 is designed for beginning characters but I have a soft spot for B2 in my heart, and it would allow for a couple of levels for the PC's before they made it to the moat house 8O

If you notice, I left out Q1 as I am not exactly thrilled with it as a finale to the Giants-Drow saga. Also, if you can think of a good place to fit in S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks please let me know! I was considering putting it after WG 5 but then I was worried PC's might be a little too powerful for the giants.

Anywho, your thought/input would be greatly appreciated :)

Pax,
Chris
In fairly short order Gary was able to provide him with an answer.
A bit straped for time of late, so pardin the brevity of my response. Here's the order I would use, and I do agree with you about omitting the Queen of the Demonweb Pits module. I never liked it.

Keep on the Borderland
Village of Hommlet
Temple of Elemental Evil
Dungeonland
Land beyond the Magic Mirror
Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun
Steading of the Hill Giant Chief
Glacial rift of the Frost Giant Jarl
Hall of the Fire Giant King
Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure
Tomb of Horrors
Descent to the Depths of the Earth
Shrine of the Kuo-toa
Vault of the Drow
Isle of the Ape
(Necropolis, final portion)

Cheerio,
Gary
Now that's an interesting adventure path that might actually rock the house. Especially as you get into the Dungeonland, Magic Mirror, Tsojanth series of mind bending adventures.  I'm kind of interested in making a run at this as there is a lot of fun adventuring to be had, but I'm concerned that no one may make it by the Tomb of Horrors.

Lots to think about.

6 comments:

  1. That's exactly it. Tomb of Horrors is a freaking meat-grinder. I honestly believe that the only way to make it through it is to have been killed in it before. Is it doable? Sure, but when it boils down to it, the odds on making it through are freaking slim if you run it as written. That being said, I have no clue what I would replace it with.

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  2. I'm currently doing the Temple of Elemental Evil via Keep on the Borderlands thing with a group of players. I hadn't considered what may happen after that, but in the unlikely event things keep going that long this is an interesting blueprint. Tomb of Horrors is a good module to run when you decide you're fed up with all this 'playing dungeons and dragons' bullshit, and you just want to scrap heap the whole fucking mess so you can finally get to running that Shadowrun thing you've been mulling over.

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    Replies
    1. Now that you mention it, I think that Shadowrun thing is a pretty good idea . . .

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  3. As a DM I gladly would lead a campaign basing on the list of Gary, but I should first make sure that I have a good group of players who can give me a lot of continuity of play, as would expect a lot of gaming sessions. As a player, if you had a DM who would do such a kind of campaign I'd offer immediately! ;)

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