They're certainly problematic. There's a good adventure in there somewhere, but I don't like them anywhere as much.
Merric's Erratically Updated Reviews of old D&D adventures
- Thread starter MerricB
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They're certainly problematic. There's a good adventure in there somewhere, but I don't like them anywhere as much.
Here's the first of two reviews of Palace of the Silver Princess - this is of the later, Moldvay version.
B3: Palace of the Silver Princess
Cheers!
B3: Palace of the Silver Princess
Cheers!
Scrivener of Doom
Adventurer
Your review of Forbidden City is spot-on. Nearly 30 years after I first read it I'm still amazed that no effort was made to actually write an adventure incorporating some of my favourite monsters of all time - aboleth, bullywugs and yuan-ti.
A great setting has been wasted by TSR releasing yet another incomplete adventure product but there is so much potential if the DM is prepared to write the adventure himself that you can almost forgive the publisher. Almost.
Can you imagine if the adventure hook about the jungle ghouls and the serpent queen had actually been the adventure contained in these pages? This adventure would have become a thing of legend.
Anyway, I'll get some value from it one day. I'm still determined to run it in 4E if I can think of a good way to fit it into the Forgotten Realms (I know where to put it and what baclstory to give it, I just can't think of the linking adventures I would need to get there).
Moldvay Basic was also the first D&D I DMed and the first D&D product that I bought (actually, I bought Gen Con IX Dungeons by Judges Guild at the same time). What a great game. And, yes, thieves were useless. Actually, less than useless. One of the worst things about pre-3.xE thieves is that they were essentially useless. While some would say that you just RPed them to extract value, you could simply take the armour off a fighter and do the same thing.
It's interesting to read Old Geezer's posts over at RPG.net where he describes Gary's original intention that a thief's skills only applied in extreme cases: for "normal" use, they would be automatically successful. Of course, that was never actually explained properly in the rules... and the utter uselessness was formalised until 3E was released.
A great setting has been wasted by TSR releasing yet another incomplete adventure product but there is so much potential if the DM is prepared to write the adventure himself that you can almost forgive the publisher. Almost.
Can you imagine if the adventure hook about the jungle ghouls and the serpent queen had actually been the adventure contained in these pages? This adventure would have become a thing of legend.
Anyway, I'll get some value from it one day. I'm still determined to run it in 4E if I can think of a good way to fit it into the Forgotten Realms (I know where to put it and what baclstory to give it, I just can't think of the linking adventures I would need to get there).
Moldvay Basic was also the first D&D I DMed and the first D&D product that I bought (actually, I bought Gen Con IX Dungeons by Judges Guild at the same time). What a great game. And, yes, thieves were useless. Actually, less than useless. One of the worst things about pre-3.xE thieves is that they were essentially useless. While some would say that you just RPed them to extract value, you could simply take the armour off a fighter and do the same thing.
It's interesting to read Old Geezer's posts over at RPG.net where he describes Gary's original intention that a thief's skills only applied in extreme cases: for "normal" use, they would be automatically successful. Of course, that was never actually explained properly in the rules... and the utter uselessness was formalised until 3E was released.
Gary had real trouble explaining concepts in the rules; just look at the mess of rules for AD&D Initiative! David "Zeb" Cook noted in a Dragonsfoot Q&A that he allowed the 2E thief allocation of skill points so that thieves could actually be competent at one or two things from the start...
Anyway, it's back to Moldvay with the next review!
B4: The Lost City
Sadly, there's only one more Moldvay D&D product left - and that's a few years away in the timeline. (I've just reached the 1982 adventures).
Cheers!
Anyway, it's back to Moldvay with the next review!
B4: The Lost City
Sadly, there's only one more Moldvay D&D product left - and that's a few years away in the timeline. (I've just reached the 1982 adventures).
Cheers!
Scrivener of Doom
Adventurer
I think the biggest part of the problem was that Gary didn't understand the concept of a deadline. As a result, anything he did was rushed at the last minute preventing anyone from giving it a good going over or even allowing him to carefully consider what he had written.
Good review of B4 also, Merric. There was a 3.xE era Dragon article that provided a new map and a page or so of detail on the Lost City. If you're a fan of B4 it's probably worth a look (although you probably know about it already). Likewise, I rather like Zargon's write-up in Elder Evils (one of my favourite 3.xE books).
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Just realised I hadn't posted a link to this review, which I finished last week:
B3: Palace of the Silver Princess (Original)
Cheers!
B3: Palace of the Silver Princess (Original)
Cheers!
I never actually got Elder Evils; it came out just at a a time when I really didn't need another 3.5E book!
Cheers!
Scrivener of Doom
Adventurer
I just noticed your comments on the map in B3.
I used it in 2003 as the basis for an ancient ruined monastery in a homebrewed adventure and it was perfect for that. (Ahhh, memories: the half-white dragon peryton, the aboleth, the huecuva monks trapped in a web spell and then torched....)
I used it in 2003 as the basis for an ancient ruined monastery in a homebrewed adventure and it was perfect for that. (Ahhh, memories: the half-white dragon peryton, the aboleth, the huecuva monks trapped in a web spell and then torched....)
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