TSR Example from the worst TSR adventure module(s) ever published

[Chris Danielson]

I remember the Forest Oracle having Olot the Ogre,who was like 7 1/2 feet tall - I was always wondering about that, since ogres are usually nine feet tall or taller. I mean, he's like a midget ogre (not a dwarf ogre, since that will make people think he's a crossbreed or something).

Speaking of dwarves, the crazy one fighting the osquips under the mountain was a memorable part of the module, but it was only like two rooms then he dies in the cave-in. Really, a lot more could have been done with that.

 

[JonnyP71]

It was filled with badly realised ideas and horrible writing. There's really nothing wrong with the premise of helping some Druids cure a blight on a land, but, but, but..... the wererats, the bandits (look out for the angry billy goat, it has no stats, you can't fight it, but it WILL butt you for 1d4), and THAT nymph... The High Druid also blesses the party members AND their swords, 'hang on, what about my axe?'. Plus that's a lot of treasure for one relatively puny Ogre who has somehow come into possession of a Flesh Golem?????

And then there's the location names:
The Downs
Quiet Lake
Greate Olde Woode
Wild River
Old Wilderness Road
New Wilderness Road

And what the hell is a Gyspy Camp?
Pah, I'm off for a Pint at the 'Happy Farmer'

It makes the choice of recycled artwork in I3-5 look inspired.

 

[Chris Danielson]

Ah, I forgot about the flesh golem (I'm recalling all this about the module from memory) - granted, it was not a full-strength one, but still, in a level 2-4 module? Also, can druids in 1st edition even cast a bless spell? If I recall, that was just a clerical spell.

The Downs - maybe they should change it to Downton Abbey for the remake, and that sage who starts you on this quest is Lord Grantham. Return to the Forest Oracle?

And the recycled artwork - speaking of the bad editing and lazy production values, I noticed that about the later 1st edition modules - like the post-1985 material. They used a lot of the same artwork in the modules, like the Desert of Desolation supermodule and Day of Al'Akbar and Egg of the Phoenix and others. I guess TSR was losing so much money then under Lorraine Williams that they couldn't afford to pay for new artwork.

In my opinion, the best stuff that came out of TSR in the 1980s, aside from the original Ravenloft, was the UK modules (expect for Beyond the Crystal Cave, which I recently played and was not really enthusiastic about).

 

[JonnyP71]

The original artwork in I3, I4 and I5 individually was fine....

But for some reason the supermodule contained irrelevent pieces from C3 and L2 to name a couple of examples from memory. Why they changed it is anybody's guess, it certainly did not improve the product! Shame as it's a fantastic adventure.

My current group of 5E players have started playing 1E, and we've just done UK5, T1, UK2 and UK4, and are about to start UK3.... UK5 was fine, a little bland, but a gentle (and very attritional) start to 1E gaming. UK2 plays better than it reads, they were very lucky to get through alive - the Perytons caused absolute carnage. And UK4 has proved to be brutal. I had to handwave the usual 'week to recover from negative hitpoints', instead allowing them to recover to adventuring strength after a night being tended at Derwyth's cabin - otherwise it would have taken months in terms of game time - 1 PC died, another PC was down to -4 or worse no fewer than 4 times, with several others going negative on one or more occasions. They managed to completely avoid the Red Dragons by leaving their horses outside and then running when the Dragons snatched a few of the poor animals for food.

UK4 was great - but it does read a little better than it plays - they never really touched on a fair bit of the lovely background info.

And they've got UK3 next - heaven help them!

 

[Chris Danielson]

I guess that means they didn't get the treasure from the red dragons' cave?

I loved UK2 and UK3. But yea, UK2 had a lot of monsters that could only be hit by magic weapons. The whisps and the presence were really bad. I DMed a party through there that had only a magic mace and dagger, and the ranger used the mace without a proficiency. They were going to sell it for the money (this was the magic equipment from Treasure Hunt). I had to remind them that dumping a magic weapon when they didn't have any others to replace it wasn't a good idea.

 

[JonnyP71]

(Mine sold a magical Spear after UK5 as nobody was proficient with it)

Having been taken apart by the Perytons (yep - only 2 magic weapons in the party - they succeeded by grounding one with a lasso and repeating stabbing it with a magic dagger), then having had a tough time against the Phantom and Ghouls, they met the Wisps and ran away... as only 4 of the party were still conscious at this point (the other 4 negative but stable). They made camp outside, and went foraging in the bushes for food as they had just run out of rations - I asked them precisely where they were looking and they picked out the specific area of bushes containing the secret entrance... so I rolled a d6 to see if they spotted the secret entrance (I decided an Elf had a 1 in 6 chance of seeing it) - it came up with a 1 and they stumbled on the back way in! Then through sheer luck they found the Skulk very quickly (via a few pits)... meaning they missed the Presence, Xvarts and Wererat. It was a bit of an anti-climax, but the way they were going, I doubt they would have been successful any other way.

Their problem - they started with 4E/5E and are still adjusting to the fact the hit points are a very precious commodity. They've also learned the hard way about selling magic weapons.

UK4 didn't go much better - 1 of them died in the Derro lair, the Spectator carved them to shreds when they tried to rush it, and the Borzog caused carnage. No they didn't get the dragons' treasure, nor the Gnomes' stash at the back of the lizard cave - they did ok out of the Derro lair, and Piyarz's coffer though.

So, um, where were we... The Forest Oracle, what a pile of ......

 

[Chris Danielson]

I've never played anything beyond 2nd edition. I had heard that they made it 'easier' in the later editions, so assuming that's true, I can see how first edition was a shock, when characters are expected to die.

You know anoter thing that bothered me about the Forest Oracle? When you get captured by the orcs (since they shoehorn you into that), if there are any elves in the party, then they should be killed immediately, according to the entry on orcs in the Monster Manual. Another thing Carl Smith didn't think about. But I guess the DM could have the orc in charge say that "they need to be kept alive so the chief has the honor of killing them when he returns" or something like that.

 

[Parmandur]

Am I the only one hoping for a Forest Oracle AP, ala Curse of Strahd?

 

[ccs]

Am I the only one hoping for a Forest Oracle AP, ala Curse of Strahd?

No, your not alone.

Yes, N2 is terribly written (and edited). But the basic premise of the adventure - things the PCs encounter on the way to & from the Druids - is sound. And there's just SOOO much there for a creative DM to build on....

Challenge: Pick an encounter in N2, any encounter. Keep the idea of it & use what's there (brigands, ogres, the 1/2lings inn, etc) but make it more interesting. Heck, make it relevant to your game.

Ex: The gypsies who cursed the town? In my game they're the Vistani from I6/I10/CoS. While transporting a piece of The Apparatus south to the Alchemist in Mordentshire they were set upon & robbed by a band of brigands & their ogre ally. Their lair is Castle Karn, (now relocated to a different hex westward of the mnts).
The surviving Vistani sought help from the town.
Well, being Vistani, their plea was soundly refused & they were driven away.....
And so they cursed the area & withdrew several miles away to wait - knowing that the town would summon our heroes (they are gypsy seers with a Taroka deck after all. )
Enter the PCs. The town sends them to seek aid from the druids. They have assorted encounters en-route. The druids, being neutral in all things, recommend that the party visit the Vistani camp on the southern edge of the forest & discuss the matter with them. Several more encounters ensue trekking back across the mountains.
The Vistani are willing to lift their curse if the PCs recover what the brigands stole from them (chiefly the crate with the Apparatus part, not a pegasus).
The PCs do so, the Vistani lift the curse and depart the region, & the party is celebrated as heroes. Yay good guys!
The end.

Except....
Later on in their careers (re: when they're the right lvs) the characters will have some business down Mordentshire way & find themselves caught up in the combined nightmare of I6/I10 (wich is REALLY hard to run btw) that use of the Apparatus causes.


Or you can just run N2 exactly as written, bitch that it's a crappy module & mock it.

 

[Chris Danielson]

Ex: The gypsies who cursed the town? In my game they're the Vistani from I6/I10/CoS. While transporting a piece of The Apparatus south to the Alchemist in Mordentshire they were set upon & robbed by a band of brigands & their ogre ally. Their lair is Castle Karn, (now relocated to a different hex westward of the mnts).
The surviving Vistani sought help from the town.
Well, being Vistani, their plea was soundly refused & they were driven away.....
And so they cursed the area & withdrew several miles away to wait - knowing that the town would summon our heroes (they are gypsy seers with a Taroka deck after all. )
Enter the PCs. The town sends them to seek aid from the druids. They have assorted encounters en-route. The druids, being neutral in all things, recommend that the party visit the Vistani camp on the southern edge of the forest & discuss the matter with them. Several more encounters ensue trekking back across the mountains.
The Vistani are willing to lift their curse if the PCs recover what the brigands stole from them (chiefly the crate with the Apparatus part, not a pegasus).
The PCs do so, the Vistani lift the curse and depart the region, & the party is celebrated as heroes. Yay good guys!
The end.

That's a great tie-in with Ravenloft. And a more accurate way in which the druids would have behaved.

Except....
Later on in their careers (re: when they're the right lvs) the characters will have some business down Mordentshire way & find themselves caught up in the combined nightmare of I6/I10 (wich is REALLY hard to run btw) that use of the Apparatus causes.

I DMed I10 a couple years ago with some friends, and you are right, it is a really hard adventure to run. Keeping track of the transpossessed, and real Strahd vs. dream Strahd . . . I'd had both Ravenloft modules since the 1980s and finally got to DM a campaign with them. Have to say we all liked the original one better, even if the party did killed and that became the transition to Mordentshire. Both still have a great atmosphere, though.