Module WG11: Puppets -- Your experiences?

[MerricB]

2e adventure. 'nuff said.

Of course, I'm not saying most 2e adventures were terrible, but...most 2e adventures were terrible.

Look at the margins of some of those adventures...

 

[MerricB]

I'm reviewing both the good and the bad from the period. I've quickly figured out that any adventure dealing with Bruce & Jean Rabe is suspect. This includes Child's Play, and the Terrible Trouble at Tragidore. I can't speak for The Vale of the Mage or Swamplight, the other two modules that I know of that are associated with the Rabes.

Vale of the Mage manages to horribly butcher the mystery of the Vale, although (to be fair) it's just extending the butchering of the setting that Greyhawk Adventures gave it.

But Jean went on to write and publish novels, so she must being doing something right.

I've heard that she's a very nice person, but her D&D books are generally terrible. With lots of practice I think she eventually improved.

She actually became the editor of the SFWA Bulletin, but had to resign last year amongst general outcry about what she allowed to be published.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

As to UK1 ... I don't consider it a whimsical adventure; it's a serious and well-designed adventure that has some umorous elements ("Think like a leprechaun!") but it hangs together quite well all the same.

I think whimsical can be serious. Departing far afield from orcs, dragons, and dungeons puts it square in the whimsical category for me. Otherwise, I agree that it is well-designed and hangs together quite well.

 

[Agamon]

And I got 5 adventures out of what I read in Howl From the North even though I never ran the actual adventure in the module!

And that highlights the good of 2e, which is the setting material. 2e: settings good, adventures bad. That's a rule of thumb to live by.

 

[Hussar]

There were a couple of cool 2e adventures. I still have my Hero's Tale collection of adventures. Not all gold, but, certainly playable. Had a lot of fun with them and got lots use out of the book.

Played the Silver Key adventure once or twice too. With the right group, playing orcs is a blast. We had a hoot in that module. It does need a LOT of work though to really make it work. Not enough detail in the module to be able to just run it. But the premise is very fun.

 

[the Jester]

While most 2e modules are terrible, there are a few gems, alright.

My favorite is the Gates of Firestorm Peak.

 

[Agamon]

Good point guys, as I say, most, not all. Just a good rule of thumb to keep in mind when coming into one fresh. It helps temper the disappointment.

Sadly, it was a time when story games were starting to become popular, so TSR thought that meant ham-fisted plotlines and interfering NPCs. Blah.

The best ones, in fact, came in Dungeon mag, in my own opinion. Certainly some gems in there.

 

[Ulrick]

There were a couple of cool 2e adventures. I still have my Hero's Tale collection of adventures. Not all gold, but, certainly playable. Had a lot of fun with them and got lots use out of the book.

Played the Silver Key adventure once or twice too. With the right group, playing orcs is a blast. We had a hoot in that module. It does need a LOT of work though to really make it work. Not enough detail in the module to be able to just run it. But the premise is very fun.

Both of those modules are gems. I've run most of the adventures in A Hero's Tale. My players found them pretty challenging--especially the Ettercap nest.

If your players don't like the idea of becoming orcs, The Silver Key can still be used--perhaps somehow combined with the Patriots of Ulek or maybe even The Red Hand of Doom with conversions.