One major downside to having long-playing players is that I can't just go and re-use adventures.
I was thinking of converting a fun D&D/AD&D module I miss running and playing that as the intro for the new (and semi-new) crop of PCs seeking to get some experience before joining the high-point vets in Felltower.
But amongst my group, just counting the current regulars and recent regulars, I have:
- one guy who played AD&D with me in high school.
- two guys who played with me in the 90s
- one guy who's new-ish to me, but played and ran a lot of AD&D
- one guy who's played and GMed AD&D extensively since before I was gaming.
So this kills a lot of my go-to adventures.
UK1 Eye of the Serpent - not great for a big group, and one guy played it solo with his monk.
UK2/3 The Sentinel / The Gauntlet - starting point for my last campaign, two guys still are here from that game.
U1-3 - the "Saltmarsh" series? - Used U1 to death. U2 and U3 aren't fun without the rolling consequences of U1.
A1-4 - everyone has been through it, and the supermodule version too.
B2 - Used in this game, and it would be boring to just restock it.
How about some others?
B1 In Search of the Unknown - used bits of it (the pool room, for one) in Felltower, the rest is pretty vanilla, honestly.
B3 Palace of the Silver Princess - both versions are interesting but kind of a strange hodge-podge. Maybe. I'm sure a couple of them remember going through it, too.
I1 Dwellers of the Forbidden City - would be perfect, but it's a campaign on its own done right.
N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God - possible, if Bern's player doesn't play or hasn't run it.
Most of the others need to be "higher level" to be interesting - if I ran G1-3 what is the fun of dealing with the orcs in Felltower after you've butchered a hundred giants? S1 is just a death march, even if it can be a fun death march. WG5 Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure - nice, but I think it would be better as a higher-point PC adventure.
There are others I'm considering, but sadly the nostalgia I have for these adventures I mentioned will have to remain that - I can't see a way to re-use them, or not yet. But like I said, I have other plans going on.
What if you re-skinned them? Keep all the stats for things the same but describe them as something totally different, have the walls be made of magical bone instead of stone, etc. They may figure it out eventually, but that discovery might be fun itself.
ReplyDeleteI like that. I may, if I find one I think I can re-skin without people really noticing.
DeleteAlthough, "run it anyway" is keeping a couple things in the running (like Heart of Lite/The Ebon Stone, from Dragon 83/84), even though I'd bet one of my players remembers it end to end. That might only work because it's kind of a silly adventure in the first place.
That's a tough spot to be in. I DM for a guy who has played forever and written and published a huge chunk of material. He's read or played every older module, seems to have the old Dungeon adventures memorized and has written a great deal of Pathfinder's material. It is a huge challenge to find anything to run for him. He hasn't read or played any of the new OSR material, so that is becoming my go to material.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking about some of the stuff from The Manor, and from DCC, that I have that no one has gone through, yet. It lacks the nostalgic tang of an old module I haven't run in 30 years but it would be a surprise.
DeleteX1? Well, that involves sailing elsewhere, which might be a bother. T1-4? That could be effective, since hordes of foes are tougher in GURPS. Caverns of Thracia? I have conversion notes for the first two-and-a-half levels, albeit with hobgoblins in the place of gnolls. Stonehell? EX1? S1? Alright, just kidding on the last one.
ReplyDeleteX1 wouldn't fit too well with a raid-and-return game because of the time. Many of the others are too big - I don't want a secondary megadungeon to fit in. Besides, I'm certain one of my players played T1-4 (I DMed it for him). EX1, heh. Yeah, that would be fun to explain as just hanging out near Felltower. ;)
DeleteI wish I had Caverns of Thracia. It's legendary but I've never once seen it. The JG stuff just wasn't available when I was buying most of this stuff in the first place.
RPGNow is your friend.
DeleteIs this original available? I thought only the 3.x version was around.
DeleteThe original indeed is there.
DeleteTry http://www.rpgnow.com/product/127336/Caverns-of-Thracia-1979
DeleteThanks!
DeleteI'm working from this version myself, though I wonder sometimes if the 3e version might have easier to understand maps. It took me awhile to get room 45, frex. I'm still a little foggy on what to do about the dog brothers, though my players haven't been near any yet.
DeleteCharles, are your Caverns of Thracia GURPS conversion notes available somewhere, or can you post them somewhere? I've never run it and I'd like to someday. Plus I'd like to see someone else's take on converting D&D modules to GURPS DF.
DeleteIn return, I'll post my GURPS conversion notes for the first 6 levels of Goodman Games' megadungeon Castle Whiterock if anyone wants them. (I've been planning to post them when I'm done converting the whole thing, but I've only converted 6 levels and 2 sub-levels so far.)
I see this one now, so much later. But right now, my notes are in a weird amalgamation of GoodReader comments and Evernote mishmash. I might post them at some point, however, though I'd have to finish first and get them in some kind of order.
DeleteHave you considered combining two modules together to create a new storyline? I did just that with Palace of the Silver Princess superimposed on the Horror on the Hill. I kept certain elements (the ruby glow, the imprisoned demon, the silver dragon, and some of the characters from PotSP), discarded others, and placed it all on, and under, the Hill. I relegated the Hobgoblin King to flunky status for the demon cultists, added low-level demons and other summoned beings, and found that a new story was emerging that we found interesting and fun. I changed the monastery into a lapsed order that was sworn to guard the demon but had failed in it's vows (the crypt turned out to be a great place for huecuevas!), and I had an existing map with lots of encounters, a plotline which has lent itself to new adventures, and a twist ending: who is the real BBEG? The evil cleric and his cronies, or the red dragon they think they control?
ReplyDeleteHave you considered combining two modules together to create a new storyline? I did just that with Palace of the Silver Princess superimposed on the Horror on the Hill. I kept certain elements (the ruby glow, the imprisoned demon, the silver dragon, and some of the characters from PotSP), discarded others, and placed it all on, and under, the Hill. I relegated the Hobgoblin King to flunky status for the demon cultists, added low-level demons and other summoned beings, and found that a new story was emerging that we found interesting and fun. I changed the monastery into a lapsed order that was sworn to guard the demon but had failed in it's vows (the crypt turned out to be a great place for huecuevas!), and I had an existing map with lots of encounters, a plotline which has lent itself to new adventures, and a twist ending: who is the real BBEG? The evil cleric and his cronies, or the red dragon they think they control?
ReplyDeleteI like the idea. But I think if I'm going to re-purpose parts, it might just be easier to write something from scratch. But I'll keep that in mind . . .
DeleteHow about taking sections of the Forbidden City and place them in a different setting, like a "lost dungeon"?
ReplyDeleteGrab Death Frost Doom! >:D Mwua ha ha ha haaaa!!!
ReplyDeleteI have the original, and it's . . . a really good example of how I don't like to run things. It turned me off so badly I still haven't even checked out the updated version even though it's sitting in my RPGNow library.
DeleteFrustrating for GM and players. Years ago I had to hold my tongue playing through CDM1 as part of a larger campaign. I had GM'd part of it a year earlier for a group that collapsed. I remember it still being fun though.
ReplyDeleteCDM1?
DeleteWhat about L1: The Secret of Bone Hill?
ReplyDeleteOr perhaps converting an old Necromancer Games module, like The Crucible of Freya or The Tomb of Abysthor?
(For that "1st Edition Feel")
I actually have L1, and I played in it when I was younger, for a little bit. And I've read it. I'm not terribly impressed with it, yet I know a lot of people hold it up as an exemplary 1st edition module. It just seems kind of cluttered and messy, like T1 with a less-interesting moathouse. What's the attraction with L1?
DeleteThe "skelter" and "zombire" perhaps?
DeleteIt's also a sandbox. The players can explore where they chose (though the castle on Bone Hill is the focal point). Even Restenford has a couple hidden danger spots.
The only thing I'd do is tone down the amount of magic items through out.
But since it isn't as popular as the other modules you listed, there's less of a chance your players having gone through it.
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DeleteI will have to give it a more thorough read-through.
DeleteIn Search of the Trollslayer might be perfect. There are different kinds of monsters and it makes sense from and adventure standpoint because it was written by Chaosium.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading it now. It looks good, but it's a bit short. I need something that'll, essentially, be an area to explore rather than a single small dungeon to clear.
DeleteArea to explore always brings to mind Isle of Dread.
ReplyDelete0one's Erie Forest is a nice map to stock
I'm late to the party but maybe I can still help for the next time. There is a really good 3E fleshing out of the sample dungeon in the AD&D DMG called Dungeon of the Fire Opal in Dungeon #84. That could keep them occupied and be quite challenging when converted depending on how you do it. If you like good AD&D adventures that weren't necessarily official then Dragonsfoot is a great resource. John Turcotte wrote several excellent adventures including Where the Fallen Jarls Sleep. Whatever you do, I'm sure it will make a great read!
ReplyDelete