Is The Orc and The Pie a well-designed adventure module?

[Mark Hope]

Are you sure you DMed this? And are recollecting the adventure correctly? I'm converting it to 3e right now, and I just don't agree with several of your assessments.

Quite sure. I have it open in front of me and my DM notes are all over it. I once built an entire campaign based around pies so there's no need to come in here with your straw hats and misredirectionalisation.

You know, I'm sorry to spoil the fanboi lovefest here, but a few other posters have mentioned problems with the adventure, so it's not like I am some lone mad pie-salesman ranting on a street corner, OK? People need to take off their rose-tinted glasses and see the pie for what it really is - overpowered Cookian goofery at its worst. Catoblepas and Flan was at least logical in design and execution. This offering is all crust and no filling.

 

[Henry]

This poll is the bomb.

Na, it's the plum.

Or maybe the rhubarb? Possibly even the blueberry!

 

[Wombat]

yes.

QFT

 

[el-remmen]

Well, it is a well-designed marketing ploy, that's for sure. . . It is proof that humorous nostalgia will sell lots of t-shirts. . .

 

[MarkB]

Absolutely! It takes an overused monster and presents it in a fresh and exciting way. (Who knew that orcs liked sweets?)

Well, that's true of the original module, certainly. Unfortunately, I hear that the 3.5 update has stripped this classic adventure of its unique flavour and mystique by redesigning the pie as a pork pie.

 

[Allandaros]

A pork pie? Those culturally insensitive clods! Don't they know that some adventurers can't eat pork? What possible motivation does a vegetarian monk have for going on this adventure now?!??

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

So what is the Pie's motivation here?

 

[Jdvn1]

It needs to be streamlined more. Polymorph the Orc into a pie.

 

[painandgreed]

Other. It's not a module, but rather an encounter. Even if cheap, I expect a module to entertain the players for a session or majority of one at least. Too little to this. Not a good example of a module for others to follow.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

This adventure is a modern classic, already celebrated in parodies and homages.

It also gives us the sort of fluff that so many adventures are missing. Why did it take 30 years to let us know about the dietary habits of orcs?

The use of a non-conventional treasure marks a break from routine adventures, where gold and magic items are the primary rewards (other than experience points).

Frankly, the people who are voting "no" on this poll are clearly unwilling to think outside the box as to what an adventure can be, not what it always has been. Plus, they smell like feet and animals hate them.