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Post Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2009 11:22 pm 
 

FormCritic wrote:Excellent clue as to whether a 1st Edition module will suck:

Are there text boxes intended for the DM to read aloud?

BIG suckfest clue.


There may be a correlation between text boxes and sucky modules, but I always liked text boxes.  They are used in Ravenloft to good effect in my opinion, one of my all time favorite adventures.  Of course, Ravenloft was 2nd Ed, right?

Maybe I don't understand what you are getting at.  I think part of the reason I like them is because it significantly reduced the amount of homework I had to do as a DM.  

Players: "We run away from the (insert monsters names here) and run to the end of the hall!"  

DM: "You see two doors.  One to right and one to the left.  You hear the sound of pursuit behind you!"

Players: "We enter the door to right quickly!"

DM: DM spends five minutes trying to figure out what the players see.

Players: "We close the blankety-blank door!  Umlot, Darios and Sealean lift our torches/lamps high overhead!  What the heck do we see?"

DM: Ummmm. Wait a minute.

Not good. :x

On the other hand, by reading a text box, you give players basic information, and then they can think about that as you read(to yourself) the room description again before they tell you their next intention/movement/instruction.  The adventure probably moves along at a more interesting pace.


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Post Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2009 11:29 pm 
 

FormCritic wrote:Excellent clue as to whether a 1st Edition module will suck:

Are there text boxes intended for the DM to read aloud?

BIG suckfest clue.


Are there songs and poetry included? Ah sweet Dragonlance, it wasn't enough to make these railroad adventures.

  

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Post Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2009 12:58 am 
 

I associate text boxes with the A series modules and tournament modules in general.

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I felt like the text boxes go hand-in-hand with a lessening of the quality of the modules.

Also:  I have seldom run a module as written.  The G series needed no help but the giants need a plan once the party has invaded and then retreated to come back later.  The D series was good, but Vault of the Drow required expansion.  

I DM'd Ravenloft.  I ran it pretty much as written except that I had to re-draw the entire 3D map in order to get a map that actually worked. (You cannot show your players the 3D map, so what good is it without a 2D map to help it out?)


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Post Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2009 1:34 am 
 

FormCritic wrote:I associate text boxes with the A series modules and tournament modules in general.

Nothing to Kill

Contrived Situations (Only Morons Would Do That )

I felt like the text boxes go hand-in-hand with a lessening of the quality of the modules.

Also:  I have seldom run a module as written.  The G series needed no help but the giants need a plan once the party has invaded and then retreated to come back later.  The D series was good, but Vault of the Drow required expansion.  

I DM'd Ravenloft.  I ran it pretty much as written except that I had to re-draw the entire 3D map in order to get a map that actually worked. (You cannot show your players the 3D map, so what good is it without a 2D map to help it out?)


Geez, don't get me started on poster maps. Unless you are dropping the thing on the table for the players to see these things were useless for game play.

  


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Post Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2009 1:44 am 
 

FormCritic wrote:
Going up from 1.0 to 3.5 could be troublesome as 3rd edition requires a certain level of rules mastery.

There should be no trick going down from 3.5 to 1.0 where there are no rules (at least by comparison to 3rd Edition).

It is the same basic math engine.  1/20 = 5% and 2d8/2 = 9.  Presto.

A DM of any experience ought to be able to substitute stat blocks on the fly with almost no preparation.


any good 3e or 3.5 mods worth converting back then?


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Post Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2009 10:36 am 
 

FormCritic wrote:Excellent clue as to whether a 1st Edition module will suck:

Are there text boxes intended for the DM to read aloud?

BIG suckfest clue.


Not that I couldn't just make my own boxed text when running a module, but I am a fan of them.

It was especially useful when running a module "cold" when I would volunteer running RPGA stuff at Gencon and the like...


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Post Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2009 12:22 pm 
 

JasonZavoda wrote:
Are there songs and poetry included? Ah sweet Dragonlance, it wasn't enough to make these railroad adventures.


Once upon a time, I took two of the Dragonlance adventures (DL1 and another...DL7????) and stripped out all the Dragonlance references, repopulated the dungeons, and rewrote the things. Worked pretty good; my players at the time never even realized they were Dragonlance when I got through with them, and we had a good time (high body count, also, I played the dragons pretty tough). Then again, I'd walk a mile to not have to draw up my own map for a dungeon.....

I think the DL series has a few good adventures there, you just have to gut out all the crap....

Mike B.


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Post Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2009 1:04 pm 
 

FormCritic wrote:I associate text boxes with the A series modules and tournament modules in general.


O.K.  I definitely agree with that. They are poor quality indeed.

FormCritic wrote:The D series was good, but Vault of the Drow required expansion.  


Amen to that! :?

FormCritic wrote:I DM'd Ravenloft.  I ran it pretty much as written except that I had to re-draw the entire 3D map in order to get a map that actually worked. (You cannot show your players the 3D map, so what good is it without a 2D map to help it out?)


I solved the problem of mapping Ravenloft by creating a huge map of the castle as I thought/reasoned it existed when first built (and before Stahd added all the traps and blocked certain areas). The map is drawn on several pieces of huge sheet paper, the newspaper roll kind. I placed it in a map tube to keep it preserved.

This map was located in the village church. When the party meets Donovich, the village priest, he believes the party is their only hope and gives the map to the party. The map had been stored in the church library. It's quite dramatic when I physically hand over the tube to the party, and I ask them what they do with it. Of course, my group opened it up immediately and oogled over what was what, and where they were going first, etc... for about fifteen minutes.

The map is put on a 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" grid representing a 10' x 10' area so 25mm minis can be used. The scale isn't exact, but it's close enough. Of course, the map isn't always correct(due to Stahd's renovations), but it's close enough to make mapping unnecessary. Plus, when fights break out, characters can move their pieces to engage enemies and visualize everything in 3D. It makes DMing fun and much easier too.

I made the map over twenty years ago, so it's phyically quite old now and I can't wait to DM this adventure again if for no other reason to pull out one of the more authentic-looking props ever made. 8)

It worked so well, I started doing something similar with every adventure I ran. I made maps for Castle Amber and several other adventures. I love maps. :)

Edit: Hey!  I am over 1000 posts!  Time flies when you are having fun.


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Post Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2009 1:27 pm 
 

Nothing beats a great map!

That's why I harp and harp on the maps in D20 publications.  For me, the heart of a module is the map.  

Ironicially, that is what might make some of the Dragonlance modules useful.  Their maps were at least interesting.


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Post Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2009 1:42 pm 
 

FormCritic wrote:Nothing beats a great map!

That's why I harp and harp on the maps in D20 publications.  For me, the heart of a module is the map.  

Ironicially, that is what might make some of the Dragonlance modules useful.  Their maps were at least interesting.


The best thing about the Dragonlance modules (DL 1-16) were probably their cover art. I also liked the maps.  The modules were an interesting read, but I'll never DM the fool things.  Whew!  What? Every weekend for three years? :roll:


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Post Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2009 6:56 pm 
 

Badmike wrote:
Once upon a time, I took two of the Dragonlance adventures (DL1 and another...DL7????) and stripped out all the Dragonlance references, repopulated the dungeons, and rewrote the things. Worked pretty good; my players at the time never even realized they were Dragonlance when I got through with them, and we had a good time (high body count, also, I played the dragons pretty tough). Then again, I'd walk a mile to not have to draw up my own map for a dungeon.....

I think the DL series has a few good adventures there, you just have to gut out all the crap....

Mike B.


so they are pretty good it you change everything in them... ;)

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Post Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2009 3:56 am 
 

beasterbrook wrote:
so they are pretty good it you change everything in them... ;)

Brette:)


Bingo...but keep the maps.  Some nice maps in a few of these!

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Post Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 1:03 am 
 

It's back:



http://cgi.ebay.com/NECROMANCER-GAMES-D ... 286.c0.m14


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Post Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 2:36 am 
 

FormCritic wrote:It's back:


** expired/removed eBay auction **




Was someone here the winner on this?


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Post Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 10:53 am 
 

FormCritic wrote:
Was someone here the winner on this?


Not the winner of that one.  But I bought 3 sets from the seller last week outside of Ebay for $28 each (my offer).

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Post Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 12:30 pm 
 

Cool deal.  Are you going to re-sell them on your site?


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Post Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 12:37 pm 
 

I'd be interested in K4 & K6 purely for the low level starting... is it worth a dabble for moving over to 3.5 possibly...  :?


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Post Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 2:05 pm 
 

FormCritic wrote:Cool deal.  Are you going to re-sell them on your site?


I bought one set for myself and the other two with a few people in mind who would probably be interested.  So if they they aren't then they will probably go up on the website.  I think the seller probably has a lot of sets so the time/effort involved isn't really there for turning much of a profit on a resale.

I have tracked down some stock of another rare nonTSR item from the 80s that I should have some extra copies to resell - the two Spells of Aldernon books.

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