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<blockquote data-quote="MerricB" data-source="post: 5389927" data-attributes="member: 3586">I am brought to mind with recent posts about Frank Mentzer how much I dislike his module, Needle. It is one of TSR's series of adventures that was first seen in a tournament setting, and has a really good first part, a mediocre second part, and a truly terrible and bizarre third part where the PCs end up on a moon negotiating with alien spiders that are played as much for the humour value of it as anything.I ran it back in the 80s, and yes, we had a good time at the beginning and things deteriorated from there.I wonder if it wasn't published in the wrong game line? Would it have seemed more correct if it was part of the BECMI line? I suspect it may have been.For me, at least, AD&amp;D was about the serious side of D&amp;D. Basic D&amp;D was where strange mad things took place - over the top kingdoms and the like.This isn't to say that AD&amp;D doesn't have the strange and bizarre: witness the &quot;Alice&quot; modules of Gygax, along with &quot;Isle of the Ape&quot; and &quot;Expedition to the Barrier Peaks&quot;. However, those adventures, despite their whimsical touches, are played straight and are extremely deadly: insane inhabitants that can and will kill your PCs!Tracy Hickman also loved the odd - Prit, the spoon-architect gnome of Pharoah, comes to mind - but it doesn't detract from the seriousness of the adventure. However, when I browse into certain BD&amp;D modules - not all of them, but enough - I get taken by the Over the Top nature of it all.Is this just me, or do others have the same impression?Cheers!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="MerricB, post: 5389927, member: 3586"] I am brought to mind with recent posts about Frank Mentzer how much I dislike his module, [i]Needle[/i]. It is one of TSR's series of adventures that was first seen in a tournament setting, and has a really good first part, a mediocre second part, and a truly terrible and bizarre third part where the PCs end up on a moon negotiating with alien spiders that are played as much for the humour value of it as anything. I ran it back in the 80s, and yes, we had a good time at the beginning and things deteriorated from there. I wonder if it wasn't published in the wrong game line? Would it have seemed more correct if it was part of the BECMI line? I suspect it may have been. For me, at least, AD&D was about the serious side of D&D. Basic D&D was where strange mad things took place - over the top kingdoms and the like. This isn't to say that AD&D doesn't have the strange and bizarre: witness the "Alice" modules of Gygax, along with "Isle of the Ape" and "Expedition to the Barrier Peaks". However, those adventures, despite their whimsical touches, are played straight and are extremely deadly: insane inhabitants that can and will kill your PCs! Tracy Hickman also loved the odd - Prit, the spoon-architect gnome of Pharoah, comes to mind - but it doesn't detract from the seriousness of the adventure. However, when I browse into certain BD&D modules - not all of them, but enough - I get taken by the Over the Top nature of it all. Is this just me, or do others have the same impression? Cheers! [/QUOTE]

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