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<blockquote data-quote="Philotomy Jurament" data-source="post: 4529733" data-attributes="member: 20854">Sounds like you had a great time.&nbsp; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />The Keep is a classic.&nbsp; It has a wilderness area with some encounters, a home base, and one detailed dungeon, with seeds for at least two others.&nbsp; The wilderness area is a little bit small for a traditional &quot;sandbox,&quot; but you can certainly take a sandbox-style approach to it.&nbsp; The key is to &quot;let the players drive.&quot;To that end, I'd avoid introducing the adventure as a mission (e.g. &quot;clear the caves&quot;).&nbsp; Instead, suggest that the PCs have arrived at this fortress on the edge of the wild seeking fortune and glory.&nbsp; Let them find their own adventure hooks and clues.&nbsp; Maybe they talk to some merchants who were waylaid.&nbsp; Maybe they hear stories about a crazy dude who is sometimes seen in the woods.&nbsp; Maybe the man in charge of the butteries needs some stout lads to take care of a giant rodent or insect infestation that he doesn't want the Castellan to hear about.&nbsp; Maybe the Thief notices a newly arrived gemcutter.&nbsp; Maybe a maiden has disappeared in the marsh.&nbsp; You get the idea.&nbsp; Plant some seeds and let the players run in the direction they want.Skillful play matters (&quot;the slaughter will continue until play improves&quot;).&nbsp; Hirelings (and henchman) can help a lot, too.&nbsp; Your players may lose a few PCs before one &quot;takes hold&quot; and advances several levels, but they'll catch on and play *will* improve.&nbsp; B1, B2, B3, B4, X1, and X2 are all good.&nbsp; (See my signature for a campaign log on B4.)&nbsp; Check out <a href="http://web.fisher.cx/robert/infogami/Classic_D&amp;D" target="_blank">RFisher's Classic D&amp;D page</a>.&nbsp; Check out Mythmere's <a href="http://www.lulu.com/content/3019374" target="_blank">Old School Primer</a>.&nbsp; Check out <a href="http://www.dragonsfoot.org" target="_blank">Dragonsfoot</a>.&nbsp; Yeah, but in the beginning, I recommend playing it by-the-book until you have a firm handle on the system and how it's designed.&nbsp; That's an especially viable approach with Classic D&amp;D, which is a pretty solid system.A couple suggestions, since you're using the RC: you should introduce a &quot;statement of intent&quot; phase before rolling initiative.&nbsp; That's part of the BECM rules, but it was left out of the RC.&nbsp; Another thing to be aware of is that the RC has some errata, and introduced some confusing text on movement during combat.&nbsp; Check out <a href="http://web.newsguy.com/a_doom/RCerrata/" target="_blank">Mr. Reaper's errata document</a>.&nbsp; I'd also advise leaving out &quot;general skills&quot; and &quot;weapons mastery,&quot; but that's just me.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Philotomy Jurament, post: 4529733, member: 20854"] Sounds like you had a great time. :) The Keep is a classic. It has a wilderness area with some encounters, a home base, and one detailed dungeon, with seeds for at least two others. The wilderness area is a little bit small for a traditional "sandbox," but you can certainly take a sandbox-style approach to it. The key is to "let the players drive." To that end, I'd avoid introducing the adventure as a mission (e.g. "clear the caves"). Instead, suggest that the PCs have arrived at this fortress on the edge of the wild seeking fortune and glory. Let them find their own adventure hooks and clues. Maybe they talk to some merchants who were waylaid. Maybe they hear stories about a crazy dude who is sometimes seen in the woods. Maybe the man in charge of the butteries needs some stout lads to take care of a giant rodent or insect infestation that he doesn't want the Castellan to hear about. Maybe the Thief notices a newly arrived gemcutter. Maybe a maiden has disappeared in the marsh. You get the idea. Plant some seeds and let the players run in the direction they want. Skillful play matters ("the slaughter will continue until play improves"). Hirelings (and henchman) can help a lot, too. Your players may lose a few PCs before one "takes hold" and advances several levels, but they'll catch on and play *will* improve. B1, B2, B3, B4, X1, and X2 are all good. (See my signature for a campaign log on B4.) Check out [url=http://web.fisher.cx/robert/infogami/Classic_D&D]RFisher's Classic D&D page[/url]. Check out Mythmere's [url=http://www.lulu.com/content/3019374]Old School Primer[/url]. Check out [url=http://www.dragonsfoot.org]Dragonsfoot[/url]. Yeah, but in the beginning, I recommend playing it by-the-book until you have a firm handle on the system and how it's designed. That's an especially viable approach with Classic D&D, which is a pretty solid system. A couple suggestions, since you're using the RC: you should introduce a "statement of intent" phase before rolling initiative. That's part of the BECM rules, but it was left out of the RC. Another thing to be aware of is that the RC has some errata, and introduced some confusing text on movement during combat. Check out [url=http://web.newsguy.com/a_doom/RCerrata/]Mr. Reaper's errata document[/url]. I'd also advise leaving out "general skills" and "weapons mastery," but that's just me. [/QUOTE]

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