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Now that's an adventure to end the magazine with! I can't wait to run it. I might even run Crown of The Kobold King in to Bargle. Well, the players have already started Mad God's Key, so MGK to CotKK to KB! Hopefully end up heading to Bloodsworn Vale at 6th, so any suggestions for a 4th to 5th level adventure to tie in to these would be greatly appreciated. We have a 4 PC group that is doing some side treks until our missing Age of Worms player gets back in town and helps us defeat Kyuss. I must say that we are really enjoying low level play haha! I can't believe how fast the combats are moving compared to our 20th level group. Even though I was sad to get the last dungeon in the mail today, it sure goes out the right way.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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The one thing Kill Bargle was missing...
Stats for Aleena and a picture of her holding her mace 'The Bride' style:
"Looked dead, didn't I? But I wasn't. But it wasn't from lack of trying, I can tell you that. Actually, Bargle's magic missile put me in a coma - A coma I was to lie in for four years. When I woke up, I went on what the bards and poets refer to as a 'roaring rampage of revenge.' I roared. And I rampaged. And I got bloody satisfaction. I've killed a hell of a lot of people to get to this point, but I have only one more. The last one. The one I'm riding to right now. The only one left. And when I arrive at my destination, I am gonna kill Bargle. "
This was one of my earliest adventures that I ever played in. The first thing I did was check for the carrion crawler at the beginning of the adventure.
Yup, still there. :)
OMG, I loved this! I hadn't seen this in like 20 years give or take! My first adventure, my first D&D purchase, I'm so glad you ended on such a great adventure! This issue will be used over and over again just for this one adventure alone.
I...I think i have something in my eye, er, both eyes. *sniff*
This bring back some memories...I was the only survivor of a group of ten people (yes, ten) that fought Bargle in one of our first "D&D Expert" adventures...circa 1989...
Oh God, I am pretty sure am gonna cry when I read this final Dungeon.
daedel, el azote.
Names may have to be changed to protect the innocent. If I give my gaming group a villain named "Bargle," they'll walk out, and take their beer with them.
That's funny. We _just_ played this adventure in the old D&D basic set this summer. I was actually kind of disappointed that it was almost a straight conversion. I was hoping for an "update" along the lines of the Expedition series of modules... anyway, good fun anyway.
As to the goofy name, I played Bargle as goofy as his name. His master plan was to take over the Village of Threshold, and he shared his plan with the characters as they treked through the dungeon punctuated by hearty belly laughs. I had a background character (qasit) who was the real "brains" of the operation driving the "all powerful Bargle" to take over Threshold where unbeknowest to Bargle, a demonic artifact waited for the qasit to nab and take back to his true master.
(some spoilers below)
I was kind of hoping for a little more than a straight conversion as well - certainly, I think a little more background on Threshold and the situation there would have been great, perhaps a few more NPC updates for us Mystara fans.
That said, it should be a load of fun to play - your classic dungeon delve with the main boss at the bottom. Kudos to bringing back one of the first dungeons many of us ever explored.
Two questions:
- they list the Kobold Chief as having a CR of 4. Is this a typo? With his Warrior 4/Rogue 3 (don't have it in front of me) I thought his CR would have been 6 which would also make the EL for his chamber higher than shown since he has elites and regular kobolds with him too?
- they refer to a lost second story to Castle Mistamere that has long since collapsed but the floor plan for the first floor doesn't seem to have any stairs or the like which would go up to it. Is this just a case of me being blind or is this a case of them reusing the old map and not adding in busted stairwell? Where would you add it in?
L
(some spoilers below)
- they refer to a lost second story to Castle Mistamere that has long since collapsed but the floor plan for the first floor doesn't seem to have any stairs or the like which would go up to it. Is this just a case of me being blind or is this a case of them reusing the old map and not adding in busted stairwell? Where would you add it in?
L
I was about to post the same thing. Were's that stairwell leading up to the crumbled upper floor? It's gotta be an oversight.
Overall though I loved Kill Bargle, it's old-school dungeon crawly goodness with the monsters we know and love!
Two questions:
- they list the Kobold Chief as having a CR of 4. Is this a typo? With his Warrior 4/Rogue 3 (don't have it in front of me) I thought his CR would have been 6 which would also make the EL for his chamber higher than shown since he has elites and regular kobolds with him too?
Per the SRD: "Kobolds with levels in NPC classes have a CR equal to their character level -3." A Kobold Warrior 4 is only a CR 1 threat.
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16
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This was one of my earliest adventures that I ever played in. The first thing I did was check for the carrion crawler at the beginning of the adventure.
Yup, still there. :)
I did the same thing. That bug was bad news for my party 20+ years ago. None of my current gaming group ever played this adventure (which was a surprise to me) so I'm looking forward to inflicting it...er...sharing it with them.
Just wanted to mention serious flashbacks when I saw the first map of that adventure...map which I haven't seen in, what, 10-15 years?
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I have to agree that based on recent Dungeon material I might have expected to have seen a fleshed-out town of Threshold.
Maybe I missed something, but what's Bargle's conection to the old ruins--and to Gygar?
Is Bargle aleady supposed to be a foe of the PCs? It all seemed a little unclear, as if it was expectant that old-time DMs would simply be able to fill in the blanks. What about the newbies to the game? A little help?
The whole thing felt a little rushed to me, like they were forced to slide the mod into the mag's print schedule before its time. It seemed a touch threadbare and somewhat ill-considered--or was the adventure as written supposed to be a purposeful and nostalgic throwback to the original source material?
Like I said, maybe I missed something.
Still waiting to get my copy of this, but I remember that intro from the original players handbook.
As it stands the only thing keeping me interested in d&d is Paizo, it also used to be Eberron, but 4e is making me seriously reconsider whether I'd be better off converting to say Runequest but I'm hoping the copy of the Player's Guide will help me finally get a game up and running and this particular issue is far too tempting not to try...
Take care and all the best!
PS: I was thinking of introducing Bargle as someone who's been sending various groups to their deaths so he could profit off of their gear. I don't know if its worth having him be a changeling so he could literally be anyone and perhaps have some doubles who the Pc's are tricked into fighting so they may never know if they're fighting the real villain. I was thinking more fleshforged than warforged by means of an alter self or disguise self effect that only ends when the double is slain so it keep them on their toes so to speak.
Let us know how your own games develop, there can never be enough threads when it shows just how good some of those old ideas can be.
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I have to agree that based on recent Dungeon material I might have expected to have seen a fleshed-out town of Threshold.
Maybe I missed something, but what's Bargle's conection to the old ruins--and to Gygar?
Is Bargle aleady supposed to be a foe of the PCs? It all seemed a little unclear, as if it was expectant that old-time DMs would simply be able to fill in the blanks. What about the newbies to the game? A little help?
The whole thing felt a little rushed to me, like they were forced to slide the mod into the mag's print schedule before its time. It seemed a touch threadbare and somewhat ill-considered--or was the adventure as written supposed to be a purposeful and nostalgic throwback to the original source material?
Like I said, maybe I missed something.
Originally he begins in the streets of Specularum as a tough where he kills an Apprentice mage for his spellbooks, then he vanishes. Bargle is a Bandit during his wandering years (L4-6) This is why he was in the Caves in the RED BASIC PLAYERS MANUAL Then he Got into Research(L7-11) and was hold up in the old ruined castle of the Wizard GYGAR - as noted in the RED BASIC DMG. At L12 He hooks up with Baron Von Hendriks.