B2: Keep on the Borderlands

[Grimstaff]

Played and ran this a couple of times. Memorable ones were the one where the party got in trouble with the Keep's officials, resulting in a lengthy war and the eventual destruction of the keep, and the one where KotB was used as a sort of mini-campaign setting with B1(Quasqueton) placed in the region as well.

 

[Tortoise]

Ah, fond memories . . .

Have both the original and Return to versions. Both well done and worthy modules.

My original D&D group played B2 using the Ad&D 1st edition rules. I remember my ranger being used for a door opener and meat shield while I was at a funeral and coming to the game late to discover my character was deceased. Having been charged into a one on one fight with some tribal chieftan (can't remember which one).


As a DM, to this day I still take bits and pieces of the modules and rework them for use in games. In fact, I'm about to run a session or two of Labyrinth Lord for the sake of nostalgia and might use some of the caves for that purpose.

 

[Dice4Hire]

That was one GREAT module. I ran it many a time as it was the first, maybe only, Red and Blue box module I had except for Isle of Dread. I mostly ran it for me brothers but we did it a lot.

One of hte best, for sure.

 

[David Howery]

ran through it as a player in 1E days (when modules were few and far between), and ran several new groups through it in 2E days. It is definitely a classic...

 

[Hussar]

I think I've DM'd or played this module in pretty much every edition at one point or another. I've loved it every time. It really is a lot of fun.

 

[Beginning of the End]

Looking back, though, I wonder how so many different types of monsters lived together in peace & harmony in a place called The Caves of Chaos.

Who said anything about "peace & harmony"? I just flipped the module open to page 19 and found that the owlbear was eating gnoll flesh and the bugbears are keeping denizens from other local tribes as slaves.

 

[ExploderWizard]

Who said anything about "peace & harmony"? I just flipped the module open to page 19 and found that the owlbear was eating gnoll flesh and the bugbears are keeping denizens from other local tribes as slaves.

Very little harmony for sure. Don't forget that not even a single species can get along with themselves! The two warring orc tribes that live next door to each other make for great Hatfields & McCoys plot possibilities.

Such is the nature of Chaos.

 

[Hussar]

While I certainly had fun with KotB, it's not without its... hiccups.

It really, REALLY could use some editing. Stat blocks are jumbled in willy nilly with flavour text, stuff that the DM can share with the players, like room descriptions, are jammed in next to stuff that should be secret (leading to the oh so fun, "Oh crap, I shouldn't have read that" moments)

And, basically, it took every single monster in the Basic rule book and jammed it into one module. It lacks structure and theme. You've got a tower of orcs basically.

IMO, the map is too linear as well. Sure, you've got a bunch of choices between entry points, but, once you enter a given cave, it's a pretty much straight line to the big boss at the back of the cave. Yes, there are some branches, but, each branch generally only leads to a single room. For example, Cave A. You enter into a T junction. Go left and it's one room, go right and you do reach another T junction. Go straight and it's one room, turn left and you come to another T junction - left gives you one room, right gives you one room.

Note, not all caves are like this. B and C are linked by a single secret door, so there are some possibilities. But, by and large, each cave is a smallish linear dungeon crawl.

That being said, I don't think this is a bad module. My biggest single complaint is that it isn't a very good module for what it's purpose was, or at least what I understood it's purpose to be - and that's teaching new DM's how to design an adventure. There are a lot of bad lessons contained in here - lack of organization, lack of detail, and just too damn many different monsters jammed cheek to jowl in one area.

I think that The Lost City should have been the module included in the Basic set. To me, that's a much better module for teaching fledgeling (and decidedly young - Basic was intended for 10 year olds) DM's how to design a good adventure. You have a multicursal map (including a VERY cool spinning tunnel for accessing different points in one of the levels), a strong theme and a fantastic set up for stories - three detailed rival factions vying for control while a 4th secret faction works from the shadows.

Granted, that might have been a bit difficult as B4 came out in 82, not 79, but, hey, I can dream.

 

[Lanefan]

While I certainly had fun with KotB, it's not without its... hiccups.

It really, REALLY could use some editing. Stat blocks are jumbled in willy nilly with flavour text, stuff that the DM can share with the players, like room descriptions, are jammed in next to stuff that should be secret (leading to the oh so fun, "Oh crap, I shouldn't have read that" moments)

I didn't find this an issue; but then again I've had loads of practice at deciphering old-school modules.

IMO, the map is too linear as well. Sure, you've got a bunch of choices between entry points, but, once you enter a given cave, it's a pretty much straight line to the big boss at the back of the cave. Yes, there are some branches, but, each branch generally only leads to a single room. For example, Cave A. You enter into a T junction. Go left and it's one room, go right and you do reach another T junction. Go straight and it's one room, turn left and you come to another T junction - left gives you one room, right gives you one room.

Note, not all caves are like this. B and C are linked by a single secret door, so there are some possibilities. But, by and large, each cave is a smallish linear dungeon crawl.

All true, but I'll cut the writers a lot of slack in that they didn't have the 30+ years of trial and error we've got now when it comes to what represents good adventure design.

Were I to redesign it now, I'd put some of the caves closer together and have more of them lead in to (and out of) the Minotaur's maze with the wonderful confusion effect...but I'm evil that way.

I don't mind all the different monsters at all - better that than have 'em be all the same.

Lan-"I've been lost in a maze for years"-efan

 

[Sepulchrave II]

B2 is awesome.

It needs a lot of work to make it hang together (if you're 40); it was mad gonzo by-the-seat of your pants fun (when I was 10). I've run it 7 (?) times over the years, most recently about 2-3 years ago with 3.5 and newbie players. Every time, it has been a blast.

I always figured that the evil priests prevented the humanoid tribes from warring openly. I think if I were to run it again, I'd devise a timeline with a countdown to the attack on the keep, led by the evil clerics and their humanoid army. And run it for 3rd-5th level characters.

The scale on the outdoor map is whacked. You need to multiply everything by 5 for it to make sense.