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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mythmere1" data-source="post: 3659437" data-attributes="member: 26563">B1, In Search of the Unknown, was originally boxed with the Holmes Basic Set in a monochrome cover art edition.  The author is Mike Carr.  The copy I'm reviewing is a later printing with a color front page; the original cover is now the frontispiece.It's a 32 page module, designed as an introduction for beginner DMs and/or players - as such, it contains a fair amount of material that's not actually part of the adventure; it's more in the nature of advice about how to play.  This is normal for introductory-level adventures, of course.The adventure's background is simple but evocative; two famous and powerful adventurers have left their underground stronghold and gone to fight barbarians - apparently, they have disappeared and the dungeon is ripe to be looted.  In addition to the background, the module provides a number of rumors, some true, some false.  The players enter the dungeon equipped with a few snippets of dubious information, which adds considerably to the "feel" of the expedition.  When we first played this adventure in 1979, I can remember that one of our party's real fears was that Rogahn and Zelligar might return while we were busy gathering up their stuff.As has been mentioned in other reviews, this module predates the use of boxed text "character's eye views" of the rooms.  In light of the fact that many of the rooms are rather complex, it probably would have been easier for the DM if someone had invented boxed text modules back in 1979.  When I ran the module for my sons recently, I goofed on the secret doors right at the outset of the module.  You have to read ahead of time fairly carefully.B1, unlike later Basic modules, does not describe a base camp or provide a mini-campaign area.  It's all dungeon.  From the perspective of the dungeon's quality, this is a plus.  In terms of providing a general environment for early adventures, it's a minus.  A true beginner DM is probably better served with B2 (Keep on the Borderlands) than B1, just because there's a bit more to work with.  However, if you're not a beginner DM (and it's doubtful that beginner DMs would find this module), the room descriptions in B1 are much, much more detailed than in KOTB.  Almost every room of the dungeon has things for the players to mess with - some of them deadly, some of them rewarding, some of them just weird, and some of them keeping in the players' minds that this was a living place recently inhabited by people with histories and personalities.Perhaps the nicest touch in this entire dungeon is that it contains a silver drinking goblet bearing the word "Quasqueton."  How cool is that?  You come home with a trophy!Most of the rooms are titled with the room's original function in the dungeon, giving the DM a clue about how to spin the room description if the players start asking questions and investigating the room's contents.The technical quality of Dave Sutherland's art will disappoint readers raised on higher production values, but the scenes and compositions themselves are dynamic and imaginative -- more so than much of the WotC art in the core books of 2e and 3e.  If you can get past the technical weakness, Sutherland is one of the better conceptual artists that the game has seen.  But I must say, the art isn't the module's strength; I'm just saying that it's a lot better than your likely first impression might suggest.Unlike KOTB, you place the monsters of B1 yourself, working from a list of monsters and treasures in the back of the module.  The room text has a blank area for you to record the monsters and treasure with the room description.  This feature actually makes the module ideal for anyone who wants to play through it as a higher level module or using a different edition.  You don't have to cram your notes into the margins; the space is already there.The map, particularly the top level, is in my opinion the best dungeon-complex map ever produced by TSR.  It is a perfect example of how to provide hints of secret areas (the tight corridor arrangement allows you to realize that you've "gone around" an area.  It is arranged so that you suddenly "break into" new areas, with the accompanying sense of discovery.  It contains many arrangements that allow you to prepare an ambush if chased.  There is a good variety of room shapes without being weird or hard to map.  There is one maze arrangement that's annoying, though.Secret doors abound, keeping the adventurers always on the lookout.  The map doesn't contain the pit traps I remember, though.  That must have been my DM, unless they altered the original map from one printing to the next.Using B1 in the present day and age.Most likely, you're either contemplating using this module for 3e or you're thinking of using an older edition.  If you're using an older edition, go to it - it's designed for it, and plays brilliantly well (the only drawbacks being the small maze and the possibility of accidentally skipping something when you describe the room).  This is a five-star dungeon for 1e, 2e, OD&D, Moldvay, Mentzer, and Rules Compendium.If you're using 3e, this is still perhaps the most easily usable 1e dungeon, just because you place the monsters and the treasure yourself (Palace of the Silver Princess also falls into this mold, at least one of the two versions, anyway).  You've got two choices about how to handle skills (1e did not use skills - just player questions, common sense, and fiddling around with the environment).  You can either go with the module's own resolutions for what happens when you mess with something, or write in your own DC numbers.  The former adds a lot of flavor and gives you the feel of older D&D, but a rogue player is going to be annoyed that his carefully chosen skills don't come into play.  The latter (writing in DC values) is fairer to the players, but might require a bit of effort.  Nevertheless, it is still worth the effort even if you have to write in your own monsters, treasures, and DCs; the room descriptions themselves are condierably more interesting and creative than much of the material produced for 3e (in my opinion).In summary:1) for the DM who's a true beginner to 1e, this is a 4, because it lacks the base camp and surrounding area that's useful to a true beginner.2) for the DM who's using 1e and is familiar with 1e, this is a 5, despite the lack of boxed text.3) If you don't make the players map as they go, your enjoyment of the module drops by half a star's worth.  This dungeon is made to be mapped, and mapping adds a HUGE degree of feeling like there's real exploration going on.  If it's treated just as another tactical battlemat, some of the module's quality is missed.4) If you're using 3e, I again give the module a 4, as long as you keep in mind that it's not playable without a fair amount of reading and tweaking.</blockquote>

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