Recently I've found the treasure to be a bit generous - and random - but that's easily remedied
I always meant to flesh out the caves of unknown - did anyone get around to that?
Recently I've found the treasure to be a bit generous - and random - but that's easily remedied
That's true of virtually all old modules, particually concerning coins and gems. As a general rule I divide the values by (IIRC) 4.
Regards,
Gary
Oh, and yes Keep on the Borderlands is a wonderful module. It wasn't the first one I played but it's the first one I remember playing. :D
Or you could always not give XP for gold...
(I was working this out because I was using B1-9 at the time, and seeing what level you'd be by the end of Veiled Society)
Or you could always not give XP for gold...
I probably should have mentioned that I currently run a couple of 3.5 campaigns so as a rule I don't award xp for gold. I have introduced XP awards for such things as spell research. I would award XP to a rogue that pulled off a daring heist but not necessarily based on the gold value.
I tend to mainly give XP for monsters defeated/overcome and role playing, together with an ad hoc award at the end of each session (the amount of xp usually determined by how much fun I had as GM
)Regards,
Gary
I tend to mainly give XP for monsters defeated/overcome and role playing, together with an ad hoc award at the end of each session (the amount of xp usually determined by how mush fun I had as GM
Don't tell my players, but I give out XP based on how long I want them to be at any particular level (running 3.5). On average, I let the PCs level once every 4 to 6 weeks. Just divide the XP needed between each level by six, and that's approximately how much XP I give out at the end of each session. I give out a little less for sessions where not much gets accomplished, and give out a little more if we played a particularly challenging encounter.
Less work for me (figuing out XPs via encounter CRs), and steady progression for the PCs makes for a happy game group!
I have actually never run Keep on the Borderlands in my Mystara campaign, which is a shame, because it looks like it would be rollicking fun to run it. The reason I've never used it is that there's always 1 or 2 people in my game that have already played it extensively in the past. Essentially, I would have to re-write the whole module to run it for these players, and then it really wouldn't be Keep on the Borderlands anymore, would it?
The reason I've never used it is that there's always 1 or 2 people in my game that have already played it extensively in the past. Essentially, I would have to re-write the whole module to run it for these players, and then it really wouldn't be Keep on the Borderlands anymore, would it?
No - but it would be Return to the Keep on the Borderlands...
... and if you did rewrite it, keeping (roughly?) the same map, but perhaps adding some more stuff to area 51 (blocked tunnel) - what would you include?
- I think some evil human / demi-human mercanies might be good fun - perhaps instead of the kobolds
That's true of virtually all old modules, particually concerning coins and gems. As a general rule I divide the values by (IIRC) 4.
Huh, I'm running through B1 right now, and I'm finding the treasure to be pathetic. There are a few really valuable items which are hard to move, and the rest is tiny.
Or you could always not give XP for gold...
I never have given xp for gold. I always felt it was too easy and that made gold way more important than anything else. It doesn't need that much incentive. Players already want it most, so they can upgrade their equipment and eventually live a prosperous life. ;) I've always felt that was enough reward gold and treasure should have in a game. I do give xp for fighting weather or not they defeat the enemy, if a character dies and is brought back (traumatic life experiences are very educational), special actions like picking locks or casting spells, or even just figuring out a difficult puzzle. I even give xp for how many miles they travel and adjust it to the danger level of that region. My player characters growth seems to work well with my epic type settings. :D
I never have given xp for gold. I always felt it was too easy and that made gold way more important than anything else. It doesn't need that much incentive. Players already want it most, so they can upgrade their equipment and eventually live a prosperous life. ;) I've always felt that was enough reward gold and treasure should have in a game. I do give xp for fighting weather or not they defeat the enemy, if a character dies and is brought back (traumatic life experiences are very educational), special actions like picking locks or casting spells, or even just figuring out a difficult puzzle. I even give xp for how many miles they travel and adjust it to the danger level of that region. My player characters growth seems to work well with my epic type settings. :D
So you play Rolemaster, then?
So when I found RoleMaster I just dropped D&D for a system that appeared to be more to my liking, but the years of endless skill searching and combat sessions that take way too long has brought a step closer to returning to D&D type rules. I realized more is not always better. And my players are happy I finally see a simple solution without shelling out all the cash to buy a new set of rulebooks (3e).Any quick ideas on converting this over to 3.5? My players may choose this as a place to go at 2nd level.
Use the 3.5 stats for the monsters listed. Fudge the DCs for any traps or spot/listen checks. They'll never notice.
Huh, I'm running through B1 right now, and I'm finding the treasure to be pathetic. There are a few really valuable items which are hard to move, and the rest is tiny.
Remember, B1 is not "stocked", you're supposed to add monsters and treasures before running it.
Which module is B1? I can't remember off the top of my head.
B1 In Search of the Unknown
This site is very useful for questions about old TSR products:
http://home.flash.net/~brenfrow/
Håvard
Remember, B1 is not "stocked", you're supposed to add monsters and treasures before running it.
B1 was the first module I ever bought. I got it soon after I got the red-boxed Basic Set. I bought the module so that I would have something "ready to run" with a minimal effort - imagine my surprise when I found out I had to stock it.
B1 In Search of the Unknown
This site is very useful for questions about old TSR products:
http://home.flash.net/~brenfrow/
Håvard
Thanks, I forgot about that site. I actually had it in my favs, which has about 100 links so it's easy to lose things there. I need to organize that mess.
Remember, B1 is not "stocked", you're supposed to add monsters and treasures before running it.
Yes, and it has a list of monsters and treasures to stock it with, and the treasures are really small.
Kobolds had taken over the place, and the sorceror/shaman killed off the tribe leader to complete experiments with the pools and kobolds, and trolls and such. making two new sub-races of kobolds, and working over the pools as a source of life for the incubation.
I found that for at least my players, mapping that map had to be worked over. It became an exercise in my explaining turns versus my players inability to translate it to paper. It became very un-fun, and detracted from the game.
I'd like to hear your experiences with it.
GW
I infact re-did B1, not B2 for my group. I have yet to use B2 with them, if at all for this campaign.
GW
I found that for at least my players, mapping that map had to be worked over. It became an exercise in my explaining turns versus my players inability to translate it to paper. It became very un-fun, and detracted from the game.
I'm running it on-line, actually, and I stooped to posting images of bits of the map as soon as angles and things got involved.