Castle Caldwell and Beyond - your experiences?

[Ted Sandyman]

I've run the first floor of "castle" Caldwell (not actually a castle) using the B1-9 version.
Despite the cover, it's just dreck ... really dreadful stuff, and for reference I adore B1, B2, B4 & B5.
The map layout of Caldwell manages to be repetitive, predictable, sterile and dull.

Elwyn the Ardent? A cleric with a near-endless assortment of counterfeit bells who dares to try and use edged weapons (gasp!) ... Yes, that's apparently a plot point ... and who apparent never does learn to use them.

The big twist? She's a girl ... ("Okay, but if there's any girls there, I wanna DO them!")

I agree that this product, like Castle Greyhawk, goes out of its way to mock both designers and players.

All that being said, with a strong enough DM it isn't beyond redemption.

• Timid merchant hires sell-swords to hire newly purchased manor house
• hunger-mad wolves trapped in a courtyard
• magically sealed door to haunted tunnels below

​... and that's about all that's worth saving. To make it workable there needs to be a reason that traders are napping in beds with goblins and kobolds lurking only a few rooms away. Perhaps disarm them and make them prisoners? Or make them bandits and allies of the goblins who serve the chaotic acolyte who is here trying to find clues that will allow her access to "The Catacombs of Caldwell" below the manor? The whole thing could become a bit like H.P. Lovecraft's short story The Tomb. Maybe the ancient ancestor calls to his kinsman in an effort to draw him down into the catacombs where it can drain him of life energy and return to life?

Anyway, like I said, a strong DM could find something to salvage, but then again you could just get (better) plot seeds from any novel, short story, or movie.

 

[Yora]

I've only read it, but it doesn't seem interesting enough to give it a try with my group. The idea of five short adventures tied to one location seems interesting, but the content of them is just too bland.

 

[Sadras]

I used B3 as a backstory and premise for a much larger story arc, where Elwyn the Ardent had already been incarcerated for two years (PCs had dealt with her in a down-timed backstory) and she was now bargaining for her life in Penhaligon. There was a political reason why she was still alive and not executed - the Bell of Chardastes had yet to be recovered and the Church of Traladara was insisting for a stay of execution. When the Duke could no longer wait for justice to be met, and the execution was imminent, she revealed that she was part of a bigger cult of Leptar operating in TToEE, an area outside Stallanford, and that the Bell of Chardastes was there.

Elwyn knew some of the details of the TToEE, so the PCs agreed to bring her along for that mission. TToEE was being reinforced with humanoids from the Caves of Chaos in the Altan Tepès which led to the Keep on the Borderlands module. So Elwyn, and the Cultists of the Caves of Chaos were of the same organisation of the evil clerics of TToEE - which then led to a greater conspiracy with B11 (Kings Festival) and B12 (Queen's Harvest) - with the illegitimate daughter of Lord Penhaligon making alliances with those above in a desperate need to reclaim what was "rightfully" hers - The Estate of Penhaligon.

There was also a backstory as to why TToEE was in the Duchy. Years before Stephan arrived, some clerics of the Church of Traladara defected seeing that Halav, Petra and Zirchev where not assisting them against the Thyatians - so they offered themselves to a new deity, Leptar. Leptar together with Zuggtmoy and their followers erected the TToEE. When the Patriarch of the Church of Traladara found out, he and others of the faith marched against them and bound Zuggtmoy within with the four seals and the place was shrouded from mortal eyes. This entire affair and the clerical defection was covered up by the church.
And as we know, nothing remains hidden for very long...being both the TToEE and the Church's scandal. This had major repercussion as it allowed for the Church of Halav to gain more traction with the locals.

 

[Connorsrpg]

Not a lot of love for Castle Caldwell. I have run the first part (often inc pt2) in the distant past. What I do remember though, is that it was easy to get going. Simple hook. Simple location. Let's go!

Which is why I chose it for my son and his mates who wanted me to run a 5E game for them this weekend. So, I sorted through many modules and Dungeon mags that morning and went with CC...b/c it is easy.

I started them in town, a merchant slamming down coins on a table in a tavern offering anyone willing to clean out his newly purchased castle the money. Good way to bring PCs that don't know each other together.

I modified things as I went. The original is terrible regarding the 'population' of the place. I tried to treat it more as a living dungeon and tried to make most encs make sense. I did this on the fly, so I didn't use all encs. The PCs explored the front, centre and left side.

All ground floor Int encs were kobolds. (I may have kept the visiting cultists, but didn't get to them). The wolves were howling from the start. They were the kobolds' pets. One 'trader' was there. Dead.

I allowed the 'knock' spell to open the locked door. Didn't see a need for rubish about spells you have taken for a reason not working?

Doppleganger looked 'similar' to a PC, in that he was a fellow half-elf. It managed to distract the half-elf when the rest of the group were talking to two mad wizards (I named Rigby & Bigby - Another enc that seemed odd. Why were they there? I said studying the magical energies under the place).

Doppelganger KOed half-elf, but others sussed it out, killed it and then went and woke up half-elf.

Went into caverns, where I had zombie workers/miners still performing their tasks (instead of human berserkers or something)?

Then a nothic emerged. (Instead of thouls). I went with this due to the mad wizards here, when it clicked with me that nothics are mad/lost mages. When the PCs attacked it, the two wizards came to its rescue, attacking the party. The nothic was Zigby - probably another brother/mad wizard companion.

The PCs were 3rd level. We had 4 with little to no healing. They had a blast. Liked the mad wizards (fun using names I did not have to think about on the fly b/c these guys have no idea who Bigby et al are ). We finished with the wizards and nothic defeated and 1 PC killed.

A bad module, but one that is easy to adapt (which I did on the fly) and get moving quickly. If ran as written it would be completely unreasonable 9esp all those different groups/encs living right next to each other).

Funny, how I decided on this and just happened to stumble on this thread. Cheers, C

 

[RevTurkey]

I ran the B1-9 version.

It was garbage.