Between the Diamond Lake backdrop, all the wonderful 1st Ed feel to this adventure, and the Campaign Seeds that make my mouth water, I can't wait for the rest of the Path.
Now I'm off to read the Chambers of Antiquities...this issue is too good to be true.
Seriously, standing ovation from me. Wonderful job!!
I find the "1st Ed feel" comment interesting. I suppose everyone had different experiences with 1st edition, but for me I only played it once before 2nd ed came out. My experience with that one time and then going back and reading adventures is that 1st ed means no plot and all hack and slash. The dungeons don't have to make sense or have a reason for being there.
As I said, we all have different experiences.
Now, while I have only read the backdrop and just the intro to Whispering Cairn I feel safe in saying there is a lot of good background there and a TON of role-playing opportunities. So, while I agree this is great (so far at least), it is the farthest thing from 1st edition in my opinion. Which is a good thing.
So I am curious, when you say 1st edition feel, what do you mean?
Sean Mahoney
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Yep, Sean is right.
I have the same feeling about 1E! It was almost only Hack&Slash and I really hope, the new Path is far from only hurting monsters...the Gygax-Way, I mean...
I'm still waiting to get my hands on #124 and I am seriously thinking about moving from Germany to Amerika, so that I can read Dungeon earlier ;)
I haven't read the adventure because I intend to play it, so I can't really say whether it has a 1st edition "feel" or not. However I can say this, one of the things that typified 1st edition so greatly was an emphasis on tactical situations. D&D was originally an off-shoot of a wargame so it made perfect sense for the designers to enjoy a hack n slash style game. Therefore, if this adventure features a large number of tactical situations, puzzles, and traps, then it may have a very classic feel to it.
On a side note, one of the things that annoyed me most about 2nd edition was the fact that the rules were poorly implemented for tactical games. It was a system that left more tactical rules to the DM's whim and provided more tips and background for roleplaying. Part of the fun of D&D is the tactical aspect. I know some people who could throw the story out the window and fight combat encounters all day (not me though). I've found that as D&D has matured as a game, the tactical rules have become tighter (as I feel they should) and have left more of the story to the DM's whim. Many 1st edition modules have this approach. They provide a series of tactical simulations and rules for adjudicating them, while the setting for the entire adventure is left to the DM. If the group just wants to hack through it, they may, but if they wish to add a compelling story for why they are battling the dark lich they can do that too.
To put things in perspective, I'd like to point you to one of my favorite modules of all time: Vecna Lives! I realize some GH fans despise it, but allow me to elaborate on why this is one of my favorites. First of all, it's just a good read. The story is compelling and epic. You feel like you're part of the adventure just reading it. I find myself imagining myself in the place of a hero battling the evil cultists at every turn. Second of all, the module is very detailed. It provides lots of maps and DM aides to smooth the running of the adventure. But for all the love I have for this module, it lacks one thing: dungeons. There really isn't a single good dungeon (or dragon) in the whole blooming module, excepting the prelude, which I don't feel counts (if you've read the module you will understand). A vast majority of encounters take place outside in open terrain. This module is a role-playing module. It emphasizes the story and forces players to think about moral and ethical ramifications of their actions, but they don't really get to hack at stuff very much. This can be frustrating for players, who are often itching to roll some dice. In summary, the reason I like this adventure is simply because I like reading it. However as playability goes, it is better suited as a reference book rather than an adventure.
On the other hand, one of my other favorite adventures is the Temple of Elemental Evil. If you've ever played it, then you know it is non-stop, nitty-gritty, hackin', slashin' goodness from start to finish. At the very beginning you investigate the moathouse and from then on you spend 95-99% of your time inside the Temple of Elemental Evil delivering cold-hearted justice to the wicked. As far as background goes this module dedicates the first 2 pages to history along with a few after that to detail Hommlet. After that, you're mostly on your own. Great adventure, just like Vecna Lives!, but for an entirely different reason. Even though it's a 2nd edition module, it has a very real 1st edition "feel" to it. In general, modules in 2nd edition were more like Vecna Lives! than TOEE.
Anyway, I feel guilty for having hijacked this thread but I can't bring myself to just delete my post. I'll end on topic by saying I am very excited about the Age of Worms campaign path. If it is anything like Shackled City it will provide lots of dungeon crawl along with an epic experience that I won't soon forget. Plus, since it's written by Erik Mona, I am setting the bar high. I'm sure he didn't disappoint us.
Well, just because something was 1st Ed doesn't mean it's good. So you definitely could have read some bad adventures. Then again, maybe it's just nostalgic for me. ;-)
I guess the classic 1st Ed feeling for me is the puzzle room, the item in Room A that you have to use to get past Room E, the strange items of ancient magic (you know, where your wizard isn't just saying "oh cool, Boots of Spider Climbing"), the mystical food and drink that no character in their right mind is going to consume, the list of choices where half are bad and half are beneficial...there was just such a sense of danger and The Unknown back when most us had no idea what a drow was, nobody knew what was going to work against this particular dragon, and you could either love or regret a choice with no clues to guide you. Sure, it wasn't fair. Sure the DM needed to come up with the role-playing on their own. But the modules took you to dark and mysterious places where you never knew what to expect. I think The Whispering Cairn achieves that as well. It's the best of both worlds.
For the record, I'm playing 3.5, and I really enjoy my dungeons making sense, and I'm all about some good role-playing vs roll-playing. Still, there's something special about the old days, and anything that captures that feeling is a wonderful thing in my book.
I've gotta agree with Airwalkr. Well said, I couldn't put my finger on it like that.
Look at the first two campaign settings for D&D: Mystara and Greyhawk. Both were very much designed to allow each DM to make them his/her own (that all changed with their 2nd Edition revamps, but let's stick with 1st Ed). Little more than outlines. I'm not saying that's what everyone should do, but most 1st Edition modules were written the same way. "Here's the combat situations, now you just need to fit it into your home campaign."
Alright, this thread's been hijacked enough. ;-) You are now returned to singing the praises of Mr. Mona.
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I have to agree on the awesomness of this adventure- it rates up there with "The Styes" as one of my "favorite adventures EVAR". I don't want to give away details (someone mentioned they'll be playing as a PC in the adventure), but every scene seems like a good fit, and the attention to detail is great. It's got a great amount of creepy stuff in it, too, which I enjoy. My group finished the first AP just about 3 weeks ago (you ever try to talk down a pissed off insane demon prince? You better roll a twenty! ...and they did), and though everyone's schedules are hell right now, we'll be starting Age of Worms soon, I hope.
Kudos to Erik Mona for showing us all how to kick off a campaign!