Best old school fluff?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The "bree-yark" thread got me thinking about all the fun little fluff in old school modules. I loved the descriptions of kuo-toa religious practices in D2, gnomes having huge noses in BD&D and so on.

What's some of your favorite old school fluff? (If it has stats, it's not fluff.)

 

[JeffB]

I always found the "start" paragraphs in the early modules to be some of the best fluff ever written. Often short and to the point, but they always got my imagination going into high gear.

In particular the intro/start to Keep on the Borderlands.

 

[mmadsen]

In particular the intro/start to Keep on the Borderlands.

This?

The Realm of mankind is narrow and constricted. Always the forces of Chaos press upon its borders, seeking to enslave its populace, rape its riches, and steal its treasures.​

How about this description?

The forest you have been passing through has been getting more dense, tangled, and gloomier than before. The thick, twisted tree trunks, unnaturally misshapen limbs, writhing roots, clutching and grasping thorns and briars all seem to warn and ward you off, but you have forced and hacked your way through regardless.

Now the strange growth has suddenly ended — you have stepped out of the thicket into a ravine-like area. The walls rise rather steeply to either side to a height of about 100’ or so — dark, streaked rock mingled with earth. Clumps of trees grow here and there, both on the floor of the ravine and up the sloping walls of the canyon. The opening you stand in is about 200’ wide. The ravine runs at least 400’ west (actually 440’) to where the western end rises in a steep slope.

Here and there, at varying heights on all sides of the ravine, you can see the black mouths of cave-like openings in the rock walls. The sunlight is dim, the air dank, there is an oppressive feeling here — as if something evil is watching and waiting to pounce upon you. There are bare, dead trees here and there, and upon one a vulture perches and gazes hungrily at you. A flock of ravens rise croaking from the ground, the beat of their wings and their cries magnified by the terrain to sound loud and horrible. Amongst the litter of rubble, boulders, and dead wood scattered about on the ravine floor, you can see bits of gleaming ivory and white — closer inspection reveals that these are bones and skulls of men, animals, and other things,. . .

You know that you have certainly discovered the Caves Of Chaos.​

 

[mmadsen]

The description of Quasqueton:

A cave-like opening, somewhat obscured by vegetation, is noticeable at the end of a treacherous pathway which leads up to the craggy outcropping of black rock. By sweeping aside some of the vines and branches, the opening becomes easily accessible to human-size explorers.

The opening leads straight into the rock formation, with a 10' wide corridor leading the way to a large wooden door. The door opens freely, and close examination will reveal that bits of wood have been chipped away from the edge, indicating that it has previously been forced.

[...]

The Caverns of Quasqueton are hewn from a great rock outcropping at the crest of a large wooded hill. Winds buffet the hill continuously, blowing and whistling through the trees, vines and other vegetation which blanket the prominence on all sides.

The rock itself is a heavy blackish slate. The air within the caverns is heavy, wet, and musty. In some portions of the complex, a layer of dust lies upon everything, undisturbed for years. Burning anything within is slow and difficult, for the entire atmosphere resists combustion. Torches and lanterns will burn smokily.​

 

[C.W.Richeson]

It's not particularly old school, but everything contained in the Planescape boxed set was pure gold for me.

 

[Prince of Happiness]

The great migrations after the fall of the Suel and Baklunish Empires. I've always found such a massive movement of people fleeing the destruction of their homelands and encountering strange lands and people a powerful idea. I'm always left wondering what little kingdoms and realms were crushed in the migrations, then new ones springing up and merging and getting destroyed and a new one growing up again...

 

[thedungeondelver]

SILENCE!

There are so many good ones; the stuff from B2 KEEP ON THE BORDERLANDS has already been touched on - for myself I'd have to say just about the totality of the monster descriptions in the MONSTER MANUAL outside of any game-affecting numbers are really memorable.

Ah...let's see what else...

Oh hey, howabout the description of Queen Frupy from G3 HALL OF THE FIRE GIANT KING? To wit:

"The queen...is a veritable haradin, a sly and cunning horror. She is, if anything, gulier than Snurre. Topped by a huge mass of yellow-orange hair which looks like a fright wig, Queen Frupy's face is a mass of howls and wrinkles, set in the middle of a very large head which sits squarely upon her shoulders. Her body is lumpy and gross and her skin is covered with bristles the color of her hair. Her little pig eyes, however, are bright with intelligence unusual in a giant..."

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

"Gulier" huh?

L1 for me. The Church of the Big Gamble; the weird mixed potion concoctions; the magic cutlery; it's just oozing with near-Vancian goodness.

 

[Nightfall]

Orcus.

Nuff said.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Best? The intro to C2: Ghost Tower of Inverness:

Know ye that in the elder days before the Invoked Devastation and the Rain of Colorless Fire, when the ancient peaks of the Abbor Alz still thrust skyward sharp and majestic and the Flan tribesmen were but newcomers to the land, there existed between the Bright Desert and the mouth of the river Sellintan a great fortress called Inverness. The walls of this castle were said to be proof against enemies and all things magical or natural. Know you also tht here was said to dwell the great wizard Galap-Dreidel at the height of his power and glory, and that he did lift the Castle Inverness from the very foundation of the rock on which it rested.

Most grand and terrible of all of Galap-Dreidel's work was the keep's great inner tower, for it was there that the wizard's most prized possession, an eldritch jewel known only as the "Soul Gem", was said to rest. Legend says that it was like a great white damond and that it glowed with the brilliance of the sun. In years long past it had fallen from the sky and landed in the foothills of the Abbor Alz where Galap-Dreidel discovered it as it lay in the fires of its glory. Through magicks most arcane and knowledge forbidden to mortal men he did bend its power and shape the stone to his will. Stories say that the light of the gem dragged the souls of men screaming from their mortal flesh and trapped them within its many facets. Galap-Dreidel, it was said, harnessed this power and used it against those who opposed his will. They also say that he who controlled the gem could call forth the stolen souls and make them do his bidding.

For the stone Galap-Dreidel raised up the great central tower and filled his castle with many horrible creatures and deadly traps and, using a great incantation, he did wrest the tower from the very fabric of time and set it apart so that those within would not be affected by the passage of years. Thus it was that his traps never faltered nor did his guardians age or need food. Townsfolk whispered that Galap-Dreidel would, at times, set a prisoner free in the tower merely for the sport of his beasts. Some legends tell that his power was so great that he even taught the gem to protect itself from those who would take it from him.

But despite his great power there came a time that Galap-Dreidel did leave on a journey northwest, over the river Selintan, and did not return. At this time there came a great multitude of superstitious peoples from the surrounding lands who laid siege to the castle and threw down the great tower. And it came to pass that despite this seeming victory over their feared former master the people did shun the area and it was said that on fog-shrouded nights the great central tower of the Fortress Inverness could still be seen ...

Great langauge, great local references, an intriguing story, plus a coherent explanation for the why and layout of the dungeon plus a warning to the players.

The tournament start for this module is great, too ... probably second only to the start of I3 Pharaoh for humor. I'll let someone else quote those two.