Tell me about these older edition products [old list]

[Knightfall]

City System is a bit disappointing in a PDF. I'd love to have it in paper form, as there's lots of maps.

Well, I have City of Splendors, so I'm curious how City System differs.

Islands of Terror is a standard Ravenloft gazeteer. I'm kind of biased against it, because when I read it I was already familiar with its contents from other Ravenloft products. (The perils of reading things in reverse order!)

Nightmare Lands was plain weird. I suppose you can use it if Ravenloft is getting a bit stale (!)

I hate Van Richten's guides, but I'm not familiar with the Vistani one. In general, the fluff is completely divorced from the game mechanics, half of it is pointless story telling anyway, and where there are mechanics the 3rd edition ones are normally better. I am a big fan of the Children of the Night series, which covers much the same ground only are much more useful.

My interest in Ravenloft is mainly for the fluff of the setting, which is why I'm curious about Islands of Terror and Nightmare Lands. The Domains of Dread doesn't go into a great deal of detail about the Nightmare Lands, so I think I want the boxed set.

Lost Ships is fine.

I quite like Skull and Crossbows. Its simple and straightforward, and ideal as an early supplement for a new product line. Obviously, its no use if you don't have or play Spelljammer.

Space Lairs, however, struck me as pretty unimaginative. Get it only if you are a Spelljammer completist (which I am).

I'm not a Spelljammer completist. I'm only going to get the books I feel I can really get someuse out of. Lost Ships sounds like a winner. Space Lairs doesn't sound like something I want. What makes Skull and Crossbones good? How does it stand out?

Dwarven Kingdoms of Krynn had nice maps (unless I am getting it confused with something else) but was otherwise not very memorable.

Hmm...

I don't have Al-Qadim Reunion; I imagine it is on a par with the other AQ stuff. Great fluff, and adventures which seem more appropriate to a White Wolf product than a TSR one.

I'm not sure it is. WK has it and it's like a normal module. It's not a boxed adventure and it's pretty thin.

Birthright Campaign Setting. Buy it. If by some bizarre quirk of fate you don't like it, I'll take it off your hands at cost plus postage to the UK.

I guarantee you that if I buy it, I'll be keeping it. That is, if I can even find it. Birthright stuff isn't easy to find. What else from the Birthright setting do you recommend?

These are the Birthright products I once owned; although, I never read very many of them: Birthright Campaign setting [boxed set]; Blood Enemies: Abominations of Cerilia; Roesone Domain; Endier Domain; Medoere Domain; Tuornen Domain; Ilien Domain; and The Book of Magecraft.

Bastion of Faith - I don't have it, but I've heard good things about it.

So have I. Still, I'm hoping someone can tell me more about it.

Anyway, I have to go to the campus... Now!!

Later,

KF

 

[grodog]

I've got a number of those items, and would be happy to trade for earlier stuff, if you have things you're planning to part with (CSIO, early TSR, etc.): shoot me an email @ grodog@gmail.com and I'm sure we can work something out

 

[Knightfall]

I've got a number of those items, and would be happy to trade for earlier stuff, if you have things you're planning to part with (CSIO, early TSR, etc.): shoot me an email @ grodog@gmail.com and I'm sure we can work something out

Hmm, I don't really have anything that I'm planning to part with anymore except maybe my good copy of X1 and that will depend on whether or not I buy the D&D Set 2 and it still has a the copy of X1 in it. I think the the Expert Rules set that Whyte Knight (WK) has will have it in it (since it still has the dice in it too) but I want to make sure.

I already traded my only old CSIO product away and I'm trying to get BECMI products not sell them. I just got copies of EX1 and EX2 that I'm planning to flip at WK for something else. Hmm...

I'll send you an e-mail and we'll chat.

 

[Dimitri Mazieres]

[...] Carnival sounds intriguing. How well do you think it would work in another setting?

Quite well, I think. The Carnival is pretty self-contained, as I remember. There are a few Ravenloft-specific references (the Skurra, some details about the carnival's leader's goals), but nothing that can't be adapted to another setting by changing a few names here and there.

 

[Staffan]

DARK SUN Mind Lords of the Last Sea; DARK SUN The Ivory Triangle (*);

Mind Lords is fairly meh. It's a description of a city in the far north of the setting that's located on the shores of a "sea" (more like a salt-water lake, really). This city is unique because they still have a Green Age society with lots of psionics... and fairly scary because of it. As in, dissidents get psionically "re-educated." It also has some stuff that I recall was fairly unpopular with the fanbase when it came out, like surfing druids.

The Ivory Triangle is about the cities of Nibenay and Gulg as well as the nearby area. Very good if you're planning to run a campaign there.

Now, I'm curious about a few of the non-flip-book adventures: Dragon's Crown and Black Spine but not Forest Maker. Opinions? Comments?

Dragon's Crown is made out of liquid awesome, although somewhat marred by two things:

1. The plot of the adventure is based around something that handicaps psionicist characters and thri-kreen (though at a relatively early point you get access to something that ameliorates the effects).
2. Tons and tons of epic-level NPCs as opponents (though due to the way 2e psionics work, high-level psionicists mainly gain breadth of power, not depth), so it's not as bad as if all those NPCs had been wizards or something).

Other than that, it is the best large-scale adventure I've seen. It really takes advantage of the setting by having the characters travel from one end to the other and then back again: both Urik, the Sea of Silt, and crossing the Ringing Mountains, encountering undead remnants of the Cleansing Wars, giant tribes, sorcerer-kings, man-eating halfings, and thri-kreen. As you can understand, it is split into multiple shorter chapters, unlike many other mega-adventures that focus on a single place (e.g. Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil). There's also a section on sidetreks with things to spice up the part about traveling across the desert.

Black Spine is also fairly large-scale, though I've only skimmed it. I know it's about an invasion of Athas by the Githyanki (who are, of course, ancestors of the Gith). That's about the extent of my knowledge about it.

 

[Knightfall]

You know... I just came to realize that there are two versions of the creature catalog. There is the "Creature Catalogue" for BECMI and there is the "Creature Catalog" for the Challenger Series.

I think I want the Challenger Series version as it goes with my Champions of Mystara boxed set. Plus, now I'm thinking I want the D&D Challenger Series boxed set that was put out in 1994 (plus the DM Screen).

I might have more luck finding those than the older references; although, I still want the D&D Rules Cyclopedia.

Anyway, i have to go... I'm having dinner out with my sister and my dad for Easter.

Later,

KF

 

[Silverblade The Ench]

The way the Dark Sun adventures were set out was really cool: flip books etc
First time I think TSR tried ot come up with a better way of laying out adventures.
I think the 4th ed has finally cracked that, building on n adventure layour format that came in in late 3.5 ed.
Makes my life as a DM a whole lot easier by having a nice way the adventure and encounter layouts are set.

I have Ivory Triangle and quite a few others.
I do find the idea of Rikkus etc at 8th level killing King Kalak ridiculous though, lol
I just HATED, I mean REALLY hated the offcial plot lien for Dark Sun, and way it totally screwed up the setting, grr, so I ignore it completely for my DS games.

 

[Knightfall]

Mind Lords is fairly meh. It's a description of a city in the far north of the setting that's located on the shores of a "sea" (more like a salt-water lake, really). This city is unique because they still have a Green Age society with lots of psionics... and fairly scary because of it. As in, dissidents get psionically "re-educated." It also has some stuff that I recall was fairly unpopular with the fanbase when it came out, like surfing druids.

Since I had Mind Lords at one point, I know what your talking about. It was definitely different from the core areas of Athas. I didn't hate it but, I didn't like it either.

The Ivory Triangle is about the cities of Nibenay and Gulg as well as the nearby area. Very good if you're planning to run a campaign there.

I've pretty much decided to get this accessory. Everything I've heard/read about it has been good.

Dragon's Crown is made out of liquid awesome, although somewhat marred by two things:

1. The plot of the adventure is based around something that handicaps psionicist characters and thri-kreen (though at a relatively early point you get access to something that ameliorates the effects).
2. Tons and tons of epic-level NPCs as opponents (though due to the way 2e psionics work, high-level psionicists mainly gain breadth of power, not depth), so it's not as bad as if all those NPCs had been wizards or something).

Other than that, it is the best large-scale adventure I've seen. It really takes advantage of the setting by having the characters travel from one end to the other and then back again: both Urik, the Sea of Silt, and crossing the Ringing Mountains, encountering undead remnants of the Cleansing Wars, giant tribes, sorcerer-kings, man-eating halfings, and thri-kreen. As you can understand, it is split into multiple shorter chapters, unlike many other mega-adventures that focus on a single place (e.g. Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil). There's also a section on sidetreks with things to spice up the part about traveling across the desert.

Cool. It sounds very interesting... very epic.

Black Spine is also fairly large-scale, though I've only skimmed it. I know it's about an invasion of Athas by the Githyanki (who are, of course, ancestors of the Gith). That's about the extent of my knowledge about it.

That's about what I know about it too.

I haven't tried to find any reviews for the Dark Sun online yet as I've been keying on the old school stuff lately.

Thanks for all your opinions!

 

[Knightfall]

I found a great web site that has some great information on it about many of TSR's older RPG products. It's been very helpful in helping me refine my Master List.

TSR Archive

Very handy.

 

[Knightfall]

http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...-older-edition-d-d-products-revised-list.html