Samloyal23
Adventurer
Whither B2? Did I miss something?
-
The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Let's Read...Everything D&D!
- Thread starter KirayaTiDrekan
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KirayaTiDrekan
Adventurer
Nope, its coming up soon. Here's the next ten items to give you an idea of what to look forward to.
T1: The Village of Hommlet
Dungeon Master's Guide
S2: White Plume Mountain
B2: The Keep on the Borderlands
C2: The Ghost Tower of Inverness
The Rogues Gallery
S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
The World of Greyhawk Folio
Q1: Queen of the Demonweb Pits
Deities and Demigods
The Rogues Gallery and The World of Greyhawk Folio are going to get placeholder posts for now as I don't have those two products.
T1: The Village of Hommlet
Dungeon Master's Guide
S2: White Plume Mountain
B2: The Keep on the Borderlands
C2: The Ghost Tower of Inverness
The Rogues Gallery
S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
The World of Greyhawk Folio
Q1: Queen of the Demonweb Pits
Deities and Demigods
The Rogues Gallery and The World of Greyhawk Folio are going to get placeholder posts for now as I don't have those two products.
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Samloyal23
Adventurer
Yay! S2,S3, and Q1 seen big favourites as well...
KirayaTiDrekan
Adventurer
T1: The Village of Hommlet
Originally published July, 1979
Version being read and reviewed: T1: The Village of Hommlet (PDF) (PDF added to www.dndclassics.com January, 2013) by Gary Gygax
First things first - SPOILER ALERT!!!!
Still here?
Ok, here we go.
This is the first AD&D adventure specifically designed for 1st level characters - "Introductory to Novice Level" according to the cover. It was also meant to be the first in a series of modules dealing with the Temple of Elemental Evil. As we'll find out later, that series ended up becoming one "super module" - T1-4: The Temple of Elemental Evil.
There is a significant amount of backstory and detail in this module, much more so than most of the previous modules we've seen so far. There are indications that the area's history, a major battle with the forces of the Temple about ten years ago, was a campaign played by Gygax and his players. Now, those evil forces, routed and defeated but not completely destroyed, are stirring again and its up to the player characters to do something about it.
Also unlike prior modules, more than half of this adventure is taken up with a very detailed, almost dungeon-like description of the titular village, with each building given an entry and several (the Inn of the Welcome Wench, Trader's Establishment, Church of St. Cuthbert, and the Guard Tower) getting their own maps and room entries. There are tons of potential roleplaying opportunities here, especially at the Trader's Establishment as the merchants here are really spies for the Temple. There's several potential henchmen about as well, mostly at the Inn of the Welcome Wench, though a fair number of them have their own dastardly agendas.
One potential negative point - Most of the inhabitants of Hommlet are ridiculously wealthy, at least in comparison to other 1st level villages in later modules and adventures.
Burne and Rufus merit special attention here. They are a pair of semi-retired adventurers who have settled in Hommlet and are currently overseeing the building of a castle. There are subtle hints that the pair share a more intimate relationship, though, as with the backstory in B1: In Search of the Unknown, it may just be that they are nothing more than friends, adventuring companions, and, for lack of a better word, roommates. Elmo is also an interesting fellow - a spy of sorts for the nearby viscount masquerading as a drunken sot.
The actual adventure locale is the Ruins of the Moathouse, a former outpost of the Temple of Elemental Evil, now a dark and dank ruin. There are some bandits and critters to deal with in the upper level, but the lower level has the beginnings of a small army under the command of Lareth, The Beautiful. An intriguing fellow, and, oddly, a human male cleric of Lolth.
As with the village, the Moathouse has a more than generous amount of loot for a 1st level adventure (albeit a tough 1st level adventure). PCs are likely to be quite well off for a while after this adventure, depending on how the DM manages wealth.
When I run this again with D&D 5E, I'm probably going to make Lareth a Warlock (I prefer demon lords and devil princes and such to not have clerics, reserving those for true gods, but allow them to have warlocks).
The final note of the adventure is intriguing - if Lareth is killed, agents of the Temple will send an assassin after his slayers (the PCs). A 10th level assassin - remember that this an adventure for beginning level characters. The PCs are likely to be in for a bit of a shock when the assassin catches up to them.
Its worth noting that my first exposure to this adventure was through the 2003 PC game, Temple of Elemental Evil. There are some notable differences (no mention of Elmo's secret identity, an extra bandit encounter in the Moathouse courtyard and a few other minor details) - what really stands out is the PC game's elaboration on the various NPCs of Hommlet, with most of them having side quests for the PCs. I liked that aspect of the PC game and take inspiration from it when I run the adventure (see below).
Play-Through Review
I used this as the second adventure of my now defunct table-top campaign during the D&D Next playtest. Taking some inspiration from the PC game, I set up some side quests in the village - most notably, having the merchant-spies use an agent to murder one of the feuding farmer-brothers and framing one of the PCs for the crime. After clearing that up, the PCs went on to the moathouse and made an alliance of convenience with the gnolls, recruiting them to help in taking on Lareth's human guards and minions. The gnolls, of course, turned tail and ran, leaving the PCs in a tight spot, but they prevailed in the end and took Lareth prisoner, using him to guide them to the Temple. I played Lareth pretty much like Loki from the Marvel Cinematic Universe: lots of style and flair, and an almost likeable wickedness. He proved to be quite entertaining.
Next up: Dungeon Master's Guide (1st Edition)
Originally published July, 1979
Version being read and reviewed: T1: The Village of Hommlet (PDF) (PDF added to www.dndclassics.com January, 2013) by Gary Gygax
First things first - SPOILER ALERT!!!!
Still here?
Ok, here we go.
This is the first AD&D adventure specifically designed for 1st level characters - "Introductory to Novice Level" according to the cover. It was also meant to be the first in a series of modules dealing with the Temple of Elemental Evil. As we'll find out later, that series ended up becoming one "super module" - T1-4: The Temple of Elemental Evil.
There is a significant amount of backstory and detail in this module, much more so than most of the previous modules we've seen so far. There are indications that the area's history, a major battle with the forces of the Temple about ten years ago, was a campaign played by Gygax and his players. Now, those evil forces, routed and defeated but not completely destroyed, are stirring again and its up to the player characters to do something about it.
Also unlike prior modules, more than half of this adventure is taken up with a very detailed, almost dungeon-like description of the titular village, with each building given an entry and several (the Inn of the Welcome Wench, Trader's Establishment, Church of St. Cuthbert, and the Guard Tower) getting their own maps and room entries. There are tons of potential roleplaying opportunities here, especially at the Trader's Establishment as the merchants here are really spies for the Temple. There's several potential henchmen about as well, mostly at the Inn of the Welcome Wench, though a fair number of them have their own dastardly agendas.
One potential negative point - Most of the inhabitants of Hommlet are ridiculously wealthy, at least in comparison to other 1st level villages in later modules and adventures.
Burne and Rufus merit special attention here. They are a pair of semi-retired adventurers who have settled in Hommlet and are currently overseeing the building of a castle. There are subtle hints that the pair share a more intimate relationship, though, as with the backstory in B1: In Search of the Unknown, it may just be that they are nothing more than friends, adventuring companions, and, for lack of a better word, roommates. Elmo is also an interesting fellow - a spy of sorts for the nearby viscount masquerading as a drunken sot.
The actual adventure locale is the Ruins of the Moathouse, a former outpost of the Temple of Elemental Evil, now a dark and dank ruin. There are some bandits and critters to deal with in the upper level, but the lower level has the beginnings of a small army under the command of Lareth, The Beautiful. An intriguing fellow, and, oddly, a human male cleric of Lolth.
As with the village, the Moathouse has a more than generous amount of loot for a 1st level adventure (albeit a tough 1st level adventure). PCs are likely to be quite well off for a while after this adventure, depending on how the DM manages wealth.
When I run this again with D&D 5E, I'm probably going to make Lareth a Warlock (I prefer demon lords and devil princes and such to not have clerics, reserving those for true gods, but allow them to have warlocks).
The final note of the adventure is intriguing - if Lareth is killed, agents of the Temple will send an assassin after his slayers (the PCs). A 10th level assassin - remember that this an adventure for beginning level characters. The PCs are likely to be in for a bit of a shock when the assassin catches up to them.
Its worth noting that my first exposure to this adventure was through the 2003 PC game, Temple of Elemental Evil. There are some notable differences (no mention of Elmo's secret identity, an extra bandit encounter in the Moathouse courtyard and a few other minor details) - what really stands out is the PC game's elaboration on the various NPCs of Hommlet, with most of them having side quests for the PCs. I liked that aspect of the PC game and take inspiration from it when I run the adventure (see below).
Play-Through Review
I used this as the second adventure of my now defunct table-top campaign during the D&D Next playtest. Taking some inspiration from the PC game, I set up some side quests in the village - most notably, having the merchant-spies use an agent to murder one of the feuding farmer-brothers and framing one of the PCs for the crime. After clearing that up, the PCs went on to the moathouse and made an alliance of convenience with the gnolls, recruiting them to help in taking on Lareth's human guards and minions. The gnolls, of course, turned tail and ran, leaving the PCs in a tight spot, but they prevailed in the end and took Lareth prisoner, using him to guide them to the Temple. I played Lareth pretty much like Loki from the Marvel Cinematic Universe: lots of style and flair, and an almost likeable wickedness. He proved to be quite entertaining.
Next up: Dungeon Master's Guide (1st Edition)
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Yay! Very happy to see this thread again.
Really enjoyable comments and observations. Kudos for sticking with it. It is a truly daunting proposed project.
Have some XP for continuing toil.
Really enjoyable comments and observations. Kudos for sticking with it. It is a truly daunting proposed project.
Have some XP for continuing toil.
KirayaTiDrekan
Adventurer
Yay! Very happy to see this thread again.
Really enjoyable comments and observations. Kudos for sticking with it. It is a truly daunting proposed project.
Have some XP for continuing toil.
If it were a chore, I wouldn't do it.
It is fun, just finding time is getting a bit difficult - I am, once again, unemployed.
KirayaTiDrekan
Adventurer
Quick sidenote - The 1E DMG is a beast of a book so it may take me a while to get through it. Don't despair if this thread lies dormant again for a while. I shall return.
Deuce Traveler
Adventurer
The older campaign characters may not have all been from Gygax's original D&D gaming group. Instead, a lot of the action around Hommlet took place from Chainmail, such as the well-known Battle for the Moathouse and the lesser known Battle of Emridy Meadows.
http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=18778
http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=34464
http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=18778
http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=34464
KirayaTiDrekan
Adventurer
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