Exactly how many places have we "Returned To" ?
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Post Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2006 8:41 am 
 

Badmike wrote:
Only the maps to B1 are included; there is no adventure (no In Search of the Unknown); the maps are included for the DM to do something with on his own. The adventure is also missing parts of B9 Castle Caldwell (which was in three parts), and I believe other editing took place on some of the other modules, but I don't have them all handy right now to double check.

Mike B.


Also, I believe B2 is missing the description of the Keep, thus reducing it to B2 On the Borderlands.

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Post Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 10:52 am 
 

Here are a few more:
Expedition to Undermountain
Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk
Return to the Temple of the Frog
Return to the Ghost Tower
City of the Spider Queen
Dead Gods

Here's the Master List:
WG1.....Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk
WG5.....Dungeon 112 - Maure Castle
WG5.....Dungeon 139 - Return to Maure Castle
WGR1...Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk
DA2......Return to the Temple of the Frog (Supplement II: Blackmoor)
DMG.....Dungeon 84 Dungeon of the Fire Opal (sample dungeon in the AD&D DMG)
G1-3.....Against the Giants
D1-3.....Dead Gods
Q1........City of the Spider Queen
Q1........Expedition to the Demonweb Pits
C1........Dungeon 141 - Return to Lost Tamoachan (Origins 79 tourney)
C2........Return to the Ghost Tower (GenCon 2003 RPGA special) (Wintercon VIII tourney)
T1-4.....Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil
A1-4.....Slavers
S1........Return to the Tomb of Horrors  
S2........Return to White Plume Mountain  
S3........Dragon 280 - Invaders of the Barrier Peaks (companion article for cancelled Return to the Barrier Peaks)
I6.........I10 (Ravenloft II)
I6.........Expedition to Castle Ravenloft
B2........Return to the Keep on the Borderlands
B4........Dungeon 142 - Return to the The Lost City
X1........Dungeon #? - Return to Isle of Dread issue & Savage Tides series of adventures
X2........Mark of Amber
U1-3.....DMG2 3.5 updated the town of Saltmarsh (U1-3)
2E........Expedition to Undermountain

Here's a few more that would be cool to revisit in the pages of Dungeon:
WG4, DA1, DA3, Sample Dungeon in Basic Set, S4, I1, I2, N1, O1, B1, B3

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Post Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 11:02 am 
 

I was looking back through this thread, and liked what I saw.  If I am reading this right, we can  now update the information stated here as I believe Bill Barsh's new module, Legacy of the Unknown is essentially a Return-to adventure.  As this thread hasn't been updated in a while, I'm sure there are other Return to type adventures available.

Also, I just finished reading the "Return to the Tomb of Horrors" boxed set, and it was quite an entertaining read.  In my opinion, the return to components are deadlier and more difficult than the original module.  A party would have to take paranoia to a whole new level to survive with most of their party intact.  I don't think I would ever take a party through it.  

One of the things I liked best was the forward by Gary Gygax.  He reflected on S1 as well how it was sometimes used to humble boastful players.  He also clarified that good players can handle "impossible" dungeons.  He also admits that the Return to the Tomb of Horrors campaign (and "adventure" really doesn't cover it) was better than he imagined it would be.  His ghostly reflections are a welcome voice of about scary, and entertaining, memories.  Even now, when I think about DM'ing the original S1, I wonder, "How did the players get as far as they did?"   8)


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Post Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 12:06 pm 
 

In your update, don't forget the classic "Return to the Return to Thread"

  

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Post Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 5:03 pm 
 

Would the Hackmaster adventures qualify as a rehashing old TSR modules?
If so, then the list could be greatly enlarged.


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Post Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 5:19 pm 
 

Gnat the Beggar wrote:Would the Hackmaster adventures qualify as a rehashing old TSR modules?
If so, then the list could be greatly enlarged.


Good question!  Because, in my opinion, this list appears to do two things at once.  The thread originally asked for "Return to" adventures which, in my opinion, follow-up and expand on an existing publication.  However, this "Master List" also has, in my opinion, adventures which are essentially rehashing of type adventures or publications.  While both are interesting, I'd prefer them to be separate lists.  This is complicated because some could probably fit in both categories at the same time.   :?


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Post Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 12:38 am 
 

GraysonAC wrote:
:?:  B1 is in the B1-9 compilation. Afaik, there's nothing missing from it. The lower level(s) to Castle Caldwell maybe?

I can answer this one, as B1-9 was one of the first D&D products I ever bought.  Naturally at 9 years old, I thought it was the coolest thing EVER since it had all those adventures in one simple book.  Later, after I acquired all my B-series D&D adventures a-la carte, I realized what had been left out.  So, here's the story.  Most of the original artwork contained in the modules is gone, save for a few pieces here and there.  I'm not going to document it on a case-by-case basis, so just assume that unless it's an absolutely vital part of the adventure it got excised.  Otherwise, here's how it breaks down:

B1 - Save for a map in the back and a single note in the book about a side-trip to the Caverns of Quasqueton being possible, "In Search of the Unknown" doesn't exist in here period (which begs the question: why not call it B2-9 instead?).

B2 - While the Caves of Chaos exist, all the information about the Keep and its inhabitants is gone.  Presumably this is because the party is operating from a town named Threshold and having the Keep as a second base of operations would have been considered overkill?  In addition, the list of NPCs, hints for designing dungeon floorplans, tips for being an effective DM, and all the material introducing the scenario for the module itself have been left on the cutting room floor.

B3 - The text is obviously the revised Moldvay version, but aside from some changes to the prelude and epilogue scenarios to facilitate the characters showing up and leaving, there's nothing missing at all.

B4 - The first 5 tiers of the pyramid are intact.  Tiers 6 - 10 and the notes about expanding the adventure to include those areas as well as a final confrontation with the eldritch horror Zargon are gone completely.

B5 - The most significant change is the omission of the first 19 encounter areas of the module, so the adventure pretty much starts with the party entering the ruined monastery at encounter #20.  Amusingly enough, the editor didn't remove references to those encounters from the adventure's prelude, so it's entirely possible the characters will hear about a haunted graveyard or the witches that live there but won't have any way to encounter them unless the DM gets creative.  The aftermath of the adventure changes in that there's a wandering wizard who could potentially assist the party as opposed to the witches that got cut out, but that's cosmetic more than anything else as he serves the same function in the end (which is basically to take the dragon off the party's hands if they subdued it rather than slew it).

B6 - The cut-out paper buildings aren't included, and the map of the city of Specularum is different from the original module, but the text of the adventure is identical.

B7 - Aside from not having the list of pregenerated characters and the aforementioned removal/reduction of much of the artwork, Rahasia is complete.

B8 - In my opinion, this module got the worst treatment (discounting the non-inclusion of B1).  The original version has 3 different paths the party can take to wind up at The Rock: Northern, Southern, and Western trails.  The Northern and Southern routes along with all their encounters get the axe, as do the pregenerated characters (which don't exactly fit with the concept of the supermodule anyway) and a short section on other adventure ideas once the party has completed their duties.

B9 - OK, this one is weird.  B9 already is a collection of five short adventures, each one meant to stand alone and to form the basis of a single session's play.  Besides removing "The Abduction of Princess Sylvia" entirely and changing the name of the deity in the "Elwyn's Sanctuary" part from Namyats to Chardastes, the other four adventures get interspersed through the rest of the book.  The two that are meant to be run together remain together, but the other two appear separately later on.  Nothing from the four included adventures is removed or changed, just shuffled around a bit.

I know that's long, but I hope it helps anybody who was wondering. :)

-- Michael


Last edited by MichaelC on Wed Jul 20, 2011 10:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 1:21 pm 
 

This is great information, and I'm glad you posted all you did.  I own B1-9, and wasn't aware so much info was missing.  While I own a few of the B modules by themselves, I will be open to keeping future copies I might get as I buy and re-sell larger lots.   8)


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Post Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 3:04 pm 
 

benjoshua wrote:Also, I just finished reading the "Return to the Tomb of Horrors" boxed set, and it was quite an entertaining read.  In my opinion, the return to components are deadlier and more difficult than the original module.  A party would have to take paranoia to a whole new level to survive with most of their party intact.  I don't think I would ever take a party through it.  

One of the things I liked best was the forward by Gary Gygax.  He reflected on S1 as well how it was sometimes used to humble boastful players.  He also clarified that good players can handle "impossible" dungeons.  He also admits that the Return to the Tomb of Horrors campaign (and "adventure" really doesn't cover it) was better than he imagined it would be.  His ghostly reflections are a welcome voice of about scary, and entertaining, memories.  Even now, when I think about DM'ing the original S1, I wonder, "How did the players get as far as they did?"   8)

I am firmly of the opinion that the best published adventures are the ones that are not just fun to play but also fun to read.  "Return to the Tomb of Horrors" easily fits both, and I've never regretted picking it up at the mall so many years ago.

I've been the DM for "Return" on three separate occasions, and only once did the party involved actually get to the Tomb itself (all three times, the players involved thanked me for advising them to create new characters of suitable levels instead of letting them run their regular PCs).  I've run several sessions involving S1 as well, and there was only one person in my group who wound up "beating" the adventure (though her approach was similar to the one Gary talks about in the intro to Return, where she found the Demilich, did a treasure grab, and ran for her life).  The sad thing?  I'm a nice DM, making sure my players know exactly what they're doing before I let them take the step (ie: "The giants outnumber you four-to-one, are you SURE you want to try a direct frontal assault?").  Anybody who dies when I'm behind the screen has no one to blame but him- or herself.  The Tomb still claimed them all.

So while I've never gotten the chance to use any of the delicious encounters and traps from later in the set, I've still spent many lovely hours reading Bruce's well-written descriptions and cringing at some of the graphic artwork.  That's time and money well spent in my book.

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