Okay, I was inspired by a thread over at the Dragon boards complaining about all the weird templated creature concoctions in 3.5.
Will Dungeon magazine please publish at least one or two old fashioned cliche' adventures a year? One every two years!!
I think the assumption among all the experienced gamer folks is that the basic dungeon or wildernis crawl with an orc tribe in some caves, an evil necromancer summoning skeletons from a graveyard and the hobgoblin king on his throne have come and gone.
They haven't....two of my players did not start playing D&D until the late 90's and have never gone through "Keep on the Borderlands" or "In Search of the Unknown."
Most of the 1st level adventures in Dungeon are obviously aimed at the jaded, experienced players who have seen it all, done it all, have played all the modules in numerical order, etc.
How about an introductory adventure that a DM can use to "introduce" the game to brand new players who have never played D&D before? A nice old fashioned one, with towns in need of rescue, simple plots but nicely detailed location descriptions and colorful NPC's---to get the new D&D gamer really into it!!
Just one....every now and then??
Yep, I'd enjoy that. :-) Those old plot lines became cliched because they were fun to play and easy to set up. Something too basic would be a waste -- any DM worth his salt can draw up a basic map and throw in plain creatures from the MM and say, "Orcs have attacked the town, you've tracked them back to their lair" -- but it'd be fun to see a relatively simple adventure like that done in a way that keeps it interesting... A unique villain in terms of character or MO, but with a standard stat block... An interesting location, such as the orcs having put their base in a festering swamp with jets of flame that the characters have to dodge every so often... Something like that. Since it'd still be relatively simple, it'd probably take up practically no space... Maybe you could do a combo pack one issue? Instead of one low-level adventure, have two or three simple low-level adventures instead? :-)
Most of the 1st level adventures in Dungeon are obviously aimed at the jaded, experienced players who have seen it all, done it all, have played all the modules in numerical order, etc.How about an introductory adventure that a DM can use to "introduce" the game to brand new players who have never played D&D before? A nice old fashioned one, with towns in need of rescue, simple plots but nicely detailed location descriptions and colorful NPC's---to get the new D&D gamer really into it!!
Just one....every now and then??
Idea: How about compiling a collection of classic modules, re-written for the 3.5 system and releasing them either as a special issue or even a hardcover..?
In other threads, I've heard talk of how appealing it would be to update all of the classic (1st & 2nd Ed.) modules for current rules, so we can run new players through, say, an "Expedition to the Barrier Peaks" or a "White Plume Mountain"; we all know there are copyright issues here, but in many cases, the cliche' plots can simply be created anew, with modern maps, creatures and NPC classes.
One can only imagine the richness of a re-written "Slavers" series, using all of the myriad feats and prestige classes available now...
Opinions?
M
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so we can run new players through, say, an "Expedition to the Barrier Peaks"
Yeah! Then James can have his Froghemoth and...uh, it can..eat him, too.
Anyway, this does sound like a neat way to really introduce and share the hobby that we've loved for so long with others who are coming in at a complete ground level. My daughter's only 3 now, so maybe we can have a whole suite of 'Classics Reborn!' by the time she is 8 (that's when I started gaming) and I can troll her and her friends through Saltmarsh or Bone Hill.
Of course, this sounds like the kind of thing we could work on to submit, as well...
Most of the 1st level adventures in Dungeon are obviously aimed at the jaded, experienced players who have seen it all, done it all, have played all the modules in numerical order, etc.
As a player, I agree heartily.
I want to see:
- a you-meet-a-guy-in-the-tavern-who-has-a-proposition-for-you adventure
- a save-the-prince/princess-from-the-dragon adventure
- a hobgoblin-bandit-king adventure.
It's only a cliche if you've done it before. And even then, it's probably still fun! : )
- rob
Idea: How about compiling a collection of classic modules, re-written for the 3.5 system and releasing them either as a special issue or even a hardcover..?In other threads, I've heard talk of how appealing it would be to update all of the classic (1st & 2nd Ed.) modules for current rules, so we can run new players through, say, an "Expedition to the Barrier Peaks" or a "White Plume Mountain"; we all know there are copyright issues here, but in many cases, the cliche' plots can simply be created anew, with modern maps, creatures and NPC classes.
You don't need to dream, my friends!
http://paizo.com/store/games/roleplayingGames/d20System/goodmanGames
You don't need to dream, my friends!http://paizo.com/store/games/roleplayingGames/d20System/goodmanGames
I believe they did something special with #10 or 11 in that series and sold it for $2.
I've played through that adventure, btw, (whichever number it was) and it rocked.
- Ashavan