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Please send a copy to pcrotteau@hotmail.com if you would please. (B2 is the next adventure I'm taking the boys through)
Well, tell them to be ready for an adventure!! Check your e-mail!
Hi William Ronald, can you please send me a copy as well. Thanks!
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Keep on the Borderlands as Military Campaign?
Long post, I know, I apologize in advance.
So I've always wanted to run a military campaign in the style of Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series or C.S. Forester's Hornblower series. The basic archetype being that the protagonists (player characters) are volunteers or conscripts into a military unit and the campaign traces their careers from put-upon raw recruits up through the ranks until they achieve status and wealth as officers or even owners of a mercenary company. Again, per the literary tropes of the genre, that ascent is marked not just by fights against the enemy, but also fights against corrupt and evil compatriots, and especially fights against incompetant officers. I've had a pretty clear view of such a campaign, but I've never found an adventure that properly fit into that mold.
Now, however, inspired by William Ronald's excellent Pathfinder conversion, I picked up my old, old, old copy of Keep on the Borderlands and started flipping through it. Back in the day it had the reputation of being a meatgrinder for starting characters (who used to roll random starting hit points and died at 0). The typical way to "take on the caves" was to hire a ton of man-at-arms and use them as meatshields to protect the player characters. So as I'm reminiscing about this it suddenly hits me...what if you ran it so that the player characters are the hapless hired meat-shields? So here's my idea for a modified, more militaristic background to the adventure...
As per the original module, The Keep on the Borderlands is a lone outpost protecting the lands of law from the ravaging humanoid hordes of chaos (in keep on the borderlands talk humanoid specifically means orcs and goblinoids, as compared to demi-humans who are the player character races). Let's say those hordes are somewhere to the north of the woods in the wilderness map, and the road that runs past the Caves of Chaos is a long and important trade link to another lawful "civilized" land...maybe a dwarven or elven city that provides an important resource like mithril or adamantine. Since the humanoids are, well, chaotic, they don't work well together and it's been a dangerous, but managable job controlling them. However, the Keep's Castellan has been receiving disturbing reports of humanoid armies massing in the north. It appears they are uniting under a single leader. The Castellan warns his superiors to the south and is kept busy sending out constant patrols of light cavalry and familiar or animal companion spies to make sure that the armies of chaos aren't about to attack. Meanwhile, the great Lords of the south have called in their Feudal Levies and are sending armed Man-at-arms north to help garrison the Keep, under the Castellan's command.
The player characters are one such levy. They could fight under the banner of entirely different noble houses, or they could be united and fight under the same noble banner. The latter would probably bond them together a little better. But either could work, depending on the background of the characters, because at the Keep they aren't fighting under their noble house, anyway, they're fighting under the banner of the Castellan. Old loyalties are supposed to be thrown away. Using a feudal background system, let's say under the current emergency situation the men-at-arms have a 90 day feudal obligation to serve the Castellan. They arrive at the Keep and are immediately assigned to the command of a young noble Captain.
Enter the first major antagonistic NPC that the characters will face. The young noble Captain has a negative charisma modifier and is incompetant. To make matters worse, he's a completely self-obsessed glory hound who wants to make a name for himself. He's a complete pain in the butt for the characters the moment they arrive, insisting that everyone purchase and wear "regulation gear" consisting of studded leather armor, longspear, longsword and dagger. Anyone who complains, like a Wizard, that they can't use the gear, are dressed down in public and told to "suck it up" and stop acting "superior" because in this man's army no one's treated special and everyone has to act the same and that means the same equipment! He really doesn't care about the "special skills" of any of the PC's, like spell-casting, because from his perspective everyone's just a meatshield there to die for his own glory, anyway.
Meanwhile, the Castellan quite rightfully begins to worry about the Caves of Chaos. They've never been adequately explored, especially the caves that lead deeper under the forest. Do they connect with a network of underdark caverns? Could the caves serve as a highway for humanoids to suddenly appear on their flank and cut off the important highway? The Castellan decides he needs to reconnoitre those caves. And the jackass Captain of the PC's volunteers himself and his squad for the job.
The Captain rides his beautiful white stallion, shining in his plate mail and smiling at the tavern wenches, while the PC's are forced to march beside him in their worn boots and leather armor. When they reach the caves the Captain decides to read a proclomation out loud to each of the cave entrances, warning that the inhabitants are about to be slaughtered. He then sends the PC's and the rest of the squad into the kobold cave, telling them to exterminate anyone they see. It quickly becomes apparent that he doesn't see this as a recon mission. If he can clear the caves, he is certain he will get promoted. To make matters worse, he refuses to enter the caves himself, since his horse is too large.
That turns out to be a blessing in disguise, since once out of sight of the Captain the PC's can finally take off their armor if they want to, access weapons they're more used to that they've hidden in their packs, etc. But, once they've taken casualties and retreat from the caves, the Captain refuses to let them return to the keep for rest and recuperation. He's decided they have to exterminate the entire cave system before returning to the keep. They will return victorious, he declares in a rousing speech, or they will not return at all! He has already pitched a luxurious pavilion tent in which an attendant cleric creates sumptious food and water for him while the hapless PC's are forced to sleep in the open and eat hard tack and corn dodgers. (the cleric attendant should, by the way, I think be the evil cleric in disguise).
This then sets up the rest of the campaign. The characters can't possibly clear the caves all in one go. Ultimately they have to do something about the jackass Captain (and, ultimately, his "lackey" Cleric). Do they mutiny? Do they assassinate him? Do they go awol? Do they somehow use diplomacy and reason and excellent, subversive leadership to turn him into a competant leader? Do they somehow lure him into the caves and let him get killed? Do they include the rest of the NPC man-at-arms in their plans? etc., etc. All this while also fighting the humanoids and exploring the module as written.
So, why am I subjecting you to this incredibly long drawn-out post? Testing the waters, so to speak. Would this kind of campaign prove overwhelmingly frustrating to you as a player? Would you find it interesting? Are there aspects to the Caves of Chaos or to Pathfinder in particular that I'm not thinking of that would immediately derail this kind of campaign? Do you have any better or additional ideas as to how to set up or play out this sort of thing? Where in Golarian could I place such a Keep? (or should it be in a generic world like the original module?)
@SgtHulka: Most cool. I really like this. The Captain and his "pet priest" is great. Cheers,
~D
Oh! I had just resolved to convert this module for a PF group myself, then I stumbled onto this thread. I feel like a pest for asking, given all the incoming requests so far, but I'd love to have a look at your conversion if possible.
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Hermitmoose, if you give me your e-mail on this thread or by a PM, I can send it to you. I also just sent out an e-mail to several people who requested the conversion.
Sgt. Hulka, I initially set my conversion in Lastwall. However, Lastwall seems a bit too organized for the set up that you have proposed. However, Ustalav -- where a former edition of the Inner Sea Campaign Setting referenced a Caves of Chaos near the Worldwound -- would work quite well. I think that the campaign would be quite interesting. (I imagine the Castellan has to put up with this idiot because he is connected to higher nobility.)
I would love a copy. Thanks for your hard work.
Good concepts Hulka!
Ustalav -- where a former edition of the Inner Sea Campaign Setting referenced a Caves of Chaos near the Worldwound -- would work quite well. I think that the campaign would be quite interesting. (I imagine the Castellan has to put up with this idiot because he is connected to higher nobility.)
I checked out Ustalav and I agree that the edge of the blight would be perfect. Thanks for the suggestion!
This might be useful alongside William's excellent work: Caves of Chaos maps.
Check out the Caves of Chaos maps Reimagined by Weem
Edit: ninja'd by Mairkurion.
Could you please send one out to me too.
Would I be able to score a copy please?
arengrey@live.com
Could I get a copy also please.
neecy@earthlink.net
I have been toying with the idea of running B2 for my sons and my wife. I would appreciate the opportuinity to check out your work. Thanks.
I'd love to get a copy too, if possible. drnate29@yahoo.com Thanks!
I would absolutely love a copy as well. I have so many great memories of the Keep!
Hi William Ronald,
I'm running some friends (some of which are new to RPGs) through a Pathfinder version Keep on the Borderlands soon and I'd love to have a copy of your conversion.
Thanks!
Could I get a copy also please?
Me, too, please. This was the second module I bought (around the age of 7) so I'm very attached to it :o)
Thanks!
- Niilo
@William Ronald: I would also like a copy of PF B2...
Very interested to see the chamges you have made, especially with the lizardfolk...
P.S. In the future, I'm wondering if there is a less labor-intensive way for you - someplace folk can go to dl it? I notice you've been emailing people for 2 years !?!?
A genuine hero!
Like Google Docs or MediaFire. Although, maybe he's building a giant email address list for when he launches his 3PP!
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@William Ronald: I would also like a copy of PF B2...
Very interested to see the chamges you have made, especially with the lizardfolk...** spoiler omitted **
P.S. In the future, I'm wondering if there is a less labor-intensive way for you - someplace folk can go to dl it? I notice you've been emailing people for 2 years !?!?
A genuine hero!
I am not sure, as I asked d20PFSRD if I cold post it over there. What I am doing is just e-mailing to fans and not hosting anything on site. (This avoids some problems with a certain gaming company.)
I have no plans to set up a gaming company, but I have done some proofreading and other editing work for Creative Mountain Games.
Alright, I'll bite.
I've also got web-space and would be happy to host the file if you like.
Thanks for the file! Absolutely my favorite module ever!
Please shoot me a copy as well?
Thank you sir.
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Alright, I'll bite.
** spoiler omitted **
I've also got web-space and would be happy to host the file if you like.
If you go back to some of the earlier posts, d20PFSRD raised some good issues on why the conversion cannot be hosted. So, I would prefer not to risk anyone's site or expose people to potential problems.
Late to the thread, but would love to see a copy, if not too late!
I know how converting goes, you are doing the (Insert your favorite deity here)'s Work.
skeetyrbug At hotmail dot com
I'd love to have one of these too!!!
Philipdhollander (at) hotmail (dot) com
Thanks a million!