* * * Wizards Community Thread * * * -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Thread : A Stupid Question Started at 08-28-03 12:19 AM by WizzyBlackmore Visit at http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=89648 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 1] Author : WizzyBlackmore Date : 08-28-03 12:19 AM Thread Title : A Stupid Question I do not intend on buying The Master, Immortal and Companion sets, but I found 2 mint modules for cheap, I bought them but I don't know what to do w/ them they are IM2 for Immortal and M2 for Masters......what to do? Keep or sell??:D -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 2] Author : Lost_and_Damned Date : 08-28-03 03:46 AM sell em on ebay, the OD&D modules usually go for a nice price, more the pity for me as a collector:rolleyes: -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 3] Author : Algolei Date : 08-28-03 04:22 AM Xmas presents! :D Don't you know anyone who could use them? -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 4] Author : hardcharger25 Date : 08-29-03 02:40 PM Thread Title : Re: A Stupid Question Originally posted by WizzyBlackmore I do not intend on buying The Master, Immortal and Companion sets, but I found 2 mint modules for cheap, I bought them but I don't know what to do w/ them they are IM2 for Immortal and M2 for Masters......what to do? Keep or sell??:D I've got a stupid answer for you: BURN THEM!!! Hehehehe.. Sell them and make a profit.. If you're not going to play them.. Why have them? I'm just not a packrat. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 5] Author : diaglo Date : 08-29-03 03:05 PM you can always convert them. immortals is the Deities & Demigods version and Masters is the Epic Levels... -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 6] Author : sandskimmer Date : 08-29-03 08:56 PM Convert. Definitely must convert. Yeah, definitely convert. To not convert is a waste of classic material. ALL modules can be used in ANY version of D&D. The essence/story is stil the same, just the stats are different. So convert, convert, convert. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 7] Author : Algolei Date : 08-30-03 03:59 AM ...and then Xmas presents! :D -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 8] Author : monkeybone Date : 08-30-03 04:34 AM One fine day there occurs a conversation in the office of a Hasbro executive. Clever Wotc game designer - Have I got a great idea! We've got all these classic 1e and 2e modules that we don't make anymore and people are snatching them up like hotcakes on eBay. Let's update all of them for 3.5 and do a massive print run! We'll get all the old-timers back in the game, we'll wipe out hackmaster overnight, and we'll take a huge bite out of the 2nd hand gaming industry all in one fell swoop! Whaddya think boss? Hasbro executive - Get out of my office. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 9] Author : hardcharger25 Date : 08-30-03 10:21 AM One would think right?? Hasbro Executives are the DEVIL!!!! Man, if they converted all the old trash into 3rd E, and printed them out... Not only would they be selling them like hotcakes, I'd be buying them like hotcakes!!! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 10] Author : Druixin Date : 08-30-03 12:04 PM I must say (not for the first time) that the Gygax-era stuff had MUCH more flavor than anything since, even if the stuff was often virtually unplayable. I'd love to see more of that kind of freewheeling design nowadays, rather than the fussy, boring, min-maxing work that's been produced the last few years. It's not a question of oD&D vs. 3.5, it's more about finding designers who aren't rules-lawyer oriented. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 11] Author : Algolei Date : 08-31-03 05:27 AM "Unplayable?" I've been playing in them for over 20 years. What choo mean, "Unplayable?" :P -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 12] Author : Druixin Date : 08-31-03 10:10 AM Here is unplayable (or "challenging," as Gygax used to say): Player: I walk through the archway. DM: You are instantly teleported to a tiny empty cubicle. There are three levers on one wall which can move either up or down. Player: I push all three levers...hmm...up? down?...I'll try down. DM: The floor opens and you fall into a 100' deep pit. (rolling 10 d10)...let's see, you take...74 points of damage. Player: I'm dead. This game is stupid. I am going to go watch football on TV in the other room. DM: Wait, it gets better. Don't you want to hear me count to ten and then tell you the walls have closed in and you're trapped? And there's at least TEN save-or-die situations you haven't gotten to yet. Player: I have changed my mind. I am going to go watch football at home. Goodbye. ....and so on. I loved reading those old Gygax modules, but every time I tried to run one was a total disaster. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 13] Author : Warlord Nabron Date : 08-31-03 05:33 PM I know from personal experience that Tomb of Horrors was like that (*it* was *supposed* to be), but most of them weren't. I've got acres of EGG's stuff (yes, acres -- print out some of those PDFs from SVGames with a 4-yr old living in your house and see how long it takes before you have acres of stuff lying about), and am much more familiar with him writing stuff like the Keep on the Borderlands and In Search of Adventure. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 14] Author : Druixin Date : 08-31-03 09:13 PM Sure. From interviews I've read with Gygax, I get the sense that the style of play of the original Lake Geneva crew in the early 1970s was far, far looser and more freewheeling than that of my local group in 1979-1984. So I can see how those old modules ("Tomb of Horrors," especially) might've been more fun with a different mindset. However, at that time Gary published numerous editorials in Dragon (and in the 1st Ed. DMG) chastising DMs in general for being too lenient. So there seems to have been a marked gap between what Gygax practiced and what he preached. I'm surprised that Keep on the Borderlands continues to be popular today...I recall my players being just bored stiff when I DMed that module. It's just all "room + monster + treasure." Maybe if one was brand-new to D & D, one might enjoy it. The TSR modules from that era that I remember most fondly were the ones that either had a lot of innovative tricks and traps ("White Plume Mountain," in my group, was considered the ultimate in playability and fun) or a really strong story ("The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh.") -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 15] Author : Algolei Date : 09-01-03 06:23 AM My nephew was DMing me (among others) through B2 earlier this year. We found it extremely enjoyable. I'm not sure what you think is missing, Druixin. But I guess we've all got our playing styles. For example, when we played through Tomb of Horrors years ago, my old group hated it--even our DM. He kept wondering what Lawrence Schick was thinking when he wrote it. Room 7 drove the DM over the edge, and he decided to stop reading the module and just wing it. Then we had fun! Likewise, when I was later DMing my nephews through it, they had immense trouble surviving, and I couldn't blame them. It's a nasty, nasty dungeon. We eventually decided to give it up and play a different campaign. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 16] Author : Warlord Nabron Date : 09-01-03 09:26 AM When *I* think of "unplayable," I think of The Labyrinth of Madness, and when I think of a really bad story, I think of Dead Gods. Labyrinth of Madness features a puzzle where you go through the dungeon finding magic sigils (kinda like tattoos). The thing is to find all 20 of them in order. Well, you *can't*. One of the sigils is in a place of the dungeon you can't get to without one of the later sigils. And then there's the room with the stat-less animated weapons. The ending of Dead Gods just fell flat for me -- Orcus communicates with his Wand telepathically to discover its location, showing up just in time to confront the PCs. Ho hum -- it's a good thing Orcus didn't think of that sometime during The Great Modron March, isn't it? The head of a certain dark elven demigoddess just might be featured residing on the end of that Wand in Orcus's 3e wright-up... One thing I really get a kick out of from those old adventures is the disclaimer about how the details being left for the DM to fill in. It's like the original authors were afraid customers would start complaining about having stuff shoe-horned into their campaigns. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 17] Author : Druixin Date : 09-01-03 10:32 AM Lawrence Schick?...Do you mean "White Plume Mountain?" Room 7 would be the "mud geyser" room. That one was tricky- the only real way to get through it is to bypass the hanging disks entirely and use some magical means to get across. During his time in the D & D world, Schick actually wrote a lot of great stuff aimed at making the game more playable- I recall a "Dragon" article on deities and religion in D & D that actually made sense in game terms. I'm not familiar with "Dead Gods." This smells like a 2nd Edition adventure to me, and I'd quit playing by then. But I've gotta say I think the whole "PCs vs. gods and/or demon princes" comic-book angle is just REALLY lame. (Lame in the same way that "The Matrix Reloaded" is lame: now that Neo's infinitely powerful, where's the conflict?) Believe it or not, D & D was once popular (late 1970s) with more-or-less-normal adults, until TSR, post-Gygax, apparently chose to pursue the socially maladjusted 13-year old market. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 18] Author : Algolei Date : 09-02-03 01:49 AM Originally posted by Druixin Lawrence Schick?...Do you mean "White Plume Mountain?" Uh, uh, uh...d'oh! Yes. White Plume Mountain. That's what I meant. Heh heh heh.... Our group hated them both. We all died really really quickly in Tomb of Horrors. Then the DM declared it was all a dream, and we did something else that night. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 19] Author : hardcharger25 Date : 09-02-03 11:18 AM Originally posted by Druixin Believe it or not, D & D was once popular (late 1970s) with more-or-less-normal adults, until TSR, post-Gygax, apparently chose to pursue the socially maladjusted 13-year old market. /agree -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 20] Author : scorba1 Date : 09-03-03 10:03 AM Tomb of Horrors was exactly that; both a tomb for the players and a horror to play. I believe that the concept though was just to see how far you could get before getting wiped out. Its a module that was never wholly intended to be part of a ongoing campaign ( or so I'm told). It was a convention/competition mod with pre-rolled characters for tourney play. White Plume was much better as a puzzle- solver, although still kinda primative by today's standards. As was said so rightly, Gygax oft said contradictory things over the years and the modules showed it. Back OT, sell the mods once you've looted any useful ideas. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 21] Author : WizzyBlackmore Date : 09-04-03 12:06 AM Ok, I sold IM2 and have M2 left, keep it?? I don't know how to convert, but this era (post-yellow-stripe-in-upper-left-corner) stuff is worth keeping?? -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 22] Author : Druixin Date : 09-04-03 09:56 PM My suggestion: Read through the modules in question. If you enjoy them, keep them. If not, sell. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 23] Author : Lord Darias Date : 09-05-03 12:57 PM yeah, well Tomb of Horrors was the very first module that I ever played...didn't even know what I was doing and the dm threw us into that mayhem...I obviously enjoyed it since I'm still enjoying AD&D to this day...that was roughly 16-17 yrs ago... -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 24] Author : abysslin Date : 10-03-03 04:36 PM Any module no matter how "save or die" it is can be enjoyable so long as the DM creates an emotional and delving environment. Tomb of Horrors was originally created bcuz Gygax's crew proclaimed they could survive anything he threw at them. Rumor has it the 1st run was Acerak-less and Acerak was a member of the party played as a character adventuring thru the toimb. By whom? I don't know. Furthermore, Acerak died deep within the Tomb only to be transformed into the demi-lich residing there now by the tomb's immensly evil/magic power. The rest of the party never made it thru the tomb entirely and Gygax put it to print for the public as the "unbeatable" module with an added Demi-Lich.... (originally the mummy was the main monster of the tomb) Now, if a DM seriously runs the Tomb of Horrors as it was meant to be, no PC should ever live thru it. Or, at least anyone that did survive was so extremely lucky and all his party mates are dead. As a DM I challenge anyone to say they ran it exactly as it was meant to be and had a party survive to Acerak's death. (I sincerely hope no DM is strict enough to run Tomb of Horrors as is.) lol Anyway the "newer" 2nd Edition box set "Return to the Tomb of Horrors" is a much expanded version with a necromantic oriented city worshipping Acerak that has cropped up around the Tomb, and it also puts Acerak's reach a little farther, now residing in the Plane of Negative Energy where undead draw their power to live from. I rate it a solid 10 or A+ whichever you fancy. Abysslin -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 25] Author : scorba1 Date : 10-03-03 09:41 PM [QUOTE]Originally posted by abysslin [B]Any module no matter how "save or die" it is can be enjoyable so long as the DM creates an emotional and delving environment. Tomb of Horrors was originally created bcuz Gygax's crew proclaimed they could survive anything he threw at them. Rumor has it the 1st run was Acerak-less and Acerak was a member of the party played as a character adventuring thru the toimb. By whom? I don't know. Furthermore, Acerak died deep within the Tomb only to be transformed into the demi-lich residing there now by the tomb's immensly evil/magic power. The rest of the party never made it thru the tomb entirely and Gygax put it to print for the public as the "unbeatable" module with an added Demi-Lich.... (originally the mummy was the main monster of the tomb) Where did you hear this? -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 26] Author : WizzyBlackmore Date : 10-03-03 11:05 PM God bless nerds!!:angel: -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 27] Author : Algolei Date : 10-04-03 02:30 AM Originally posted by scorba1 Where did you hear this? He heard it through the grape vine.... -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 28] Author : abysslin Date : 10-07-03 10:45 AM Yup, nothing solid or I would've stated the source. Simply rumor has it and I must've heard it a very very long time ago bcuz it seems long time common knowledge to me. I used to hit GenCon back in the 90s and there's huge D&D exhibitions/shows in Milwaukee not too far from me (at least there used to be). I may have learnt of it at one of those. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 29] Author : dogstar Date : 10-10-03 11:42 AM I was of the impression that the entire S series of modules were tournament modules (hence the incredible difficulty) of most of them, or the death to your campaign through lasers and robots (expedition to the barrier peaks). They were supposed to be played as one offs at the RPGA Gen Con, and in time honoured money making tradition were released to the general market. S1 is not a module to play with a Treasured Campaign PC, and nor is S2 come to think of it (though I did survive S2, the only player to, coming out into the campaign, tooled up with Black Razor, Wave and the hammer, much to the GMs disappointment) Classic modules to play through with Pregens as one offs or as a linked campaign of mad adventures. No one I know ever lived through Tomb of Horrors! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 30] Author : AlteredEgo Date : 10-11-03 01:23 AM I actually ran Tomb of Horrors as is... It took the group about 30 deaths or so, but they eventually made it through. Ahh I miss that group, dedicated enough to the game...and utterly jobless, so lots of free time to game. :D -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 31] Author : WizzyBlackmore Date : 10-11-03 04:17 AM "Technically, every last aspect of the game is up to DM discretion..." So if everything is up to the DM and it took 30 deaths to get through it what are you saying?? 3-5 characters died 10 - 6 times each?? Or??? resurrect spells?? I've always loved the flexible rules of D&D but I never dug people patterning them to fit characters or conveniences.:smirk: -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 32] Author : The MadStepDad Date : 10-14-03 11:37 AM Hey, I got ALL this stuff y’all be talking bout! (although I’ve never actually played any of it). Again, I just wanted to drop a quick link for my ongoing 3E Ravenloft campaign. Hopefully ya’ll will drop by and check it out. http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=293 I’m celebrating my love for ALL things D&D related with this current campaign, regardless of brand or Edition. I’ve used bits and pieces of everything, from Birthright to Dragonlance, and from 1E to 3.5E. It’s ALL good. The reason why I post this HERE, is cuz in the aftermath of my players defeating a Darklord, one of them acquired THE legendary Black Razor! The infamous sword from Red Plume Mountain! I love, love, LOVE this weapon and I think it’s PERFECT for Ravenloft (leading those poor souls down the path to corruption). Y’all should come down and check it out! Let me know what you think! Peace, MSD -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Downloaded from Wizards Community (http://forums.gleemax.com) at 05-10-08 08:20 AM.