Tips for Running DL1 Dragons of Despair?

[khantroll]

Hi. I'm not sure if this is the right place, but I figured it might be since it's an old module and I'll be updating it to 3.5E.

Basically, though, I'm asking for tips from anyone who has run this module (or the following ones) in any system. I'm not that great with the layout of some of the older modules. So any organizational tips, changes, and style tips anybody has would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Chris Knapp]

Margaret Weis Publishing updated the original adventures to 3.5E a few years ago as a 3 part series. You can still find them online.

Dragons of Autumn
Dragons of Winter
Dragons of Spring

 

[khantroll]

I found those after I posted the message, and I may purchase them. The thing is, the game is set for Friday, and the cheapest I can find them is about $30 plus shipping. I already own the originals.

 

[Chris Knapp]

Well, you can start here. Cam did a conversion for DL2 also. This is all pre-DLCS so things changed. But this will work nicely until you can pickup the conversions. Didn't realize DoA jumped to $30. That's crazy. DoW is still available for half that and a seller on Amazon has DoS for $3! Either way, they are highly recommended, especially if 3.X/PF is your game of choice. I'd also recommend picking up the DLCS and the War of the Lance supplement. The latter is, hands down, the best DL sourcebook ever made.

 

[Morrus]

Ah, memories of my teens. Dragonlance, of all settings, has a place in my heart. To this day I have never bought anything Forgotten Realms related.

 

[Water Bob]

Ah, memories of my teens. Dragonlance, of all settings, has a place in my heart. To this day I have never bought anything Forgotten Realms related.

Man, I do love the Forgotten Realms. That universe has this "dark grit" to it, that appeals to me. Of course, I'm fond of Greyhawk and Blackmoor (even Mystara), too.

As for Dragonlance, the appeal of that universe has diminished for me over the years, but I the original Dragonlance mega-campaign still holds a special place in my thoughts.

DL 1 is, even to this day, a fanstastic adventure. It's a big sandbox, really, side-by-side with a huge plot. DL 1 doesn't suffer from the railroading normally associated with the rest of the DL modules. Sure, the whole point of the adventure is for the heroes to get to Xak Tsaroth and start the story that will lead to the mega-campaign. But getting there, really, is completely up to the players. They can go straight there, or they can spend weeks--months even--exploring the country-side and mountain ranges.

If the PCs go straight for the swamp, then they will miss out on a huge part of the adventure.

Some of the highest praise I can give to DL 1 is its re-play-ability. I've DMed it no less than four times over the years (probably a few times more that I'm not counting), and each go-through was a different experience.

There's plenty of "hooks" included in the adventure, too (like any good sandbox) that just beg the DM for further development. The last time I ran DL 1 (a few years ago), we put a lot more detail on the Seekers and the various Plains Barbarian Tribes than is in the adventure--stuff that could probably fill it's own supplement. And, that's just scratching the surface--there's plenty more on the DL 1 map that begs for further development.

At one time, I wanted to run an entire campaign just based on the one adventure. I wanted it to be a "prequel" to DL 1, starting the PCs out at Level 1 and watching them grow into the higher levels that the PCs are when DL 1 begins (I think it's a 4-6 level module, or there abouts). I never got around to that, but it's still an intriguing idea.

It's really a fanstastically written adventure, and although I like the rest of the Dragonlance mega-campaign, none of the other original DL adventures are a great as DL 1.

I put it up there with those "special" adventures like Keep on the Borderlands, The Secret of Bone Hill, and the Sinister Secret of Salt Marsh.

It's just plain, good fun.