To reiterate for some that recently expressedmisunderstanding/confusion, regarding your GM level 1 training, the adventure in the Basic D&D DM's manual is meant for training to learn the game in our training lab "bubble", it is not intended for us to run in our programs outside of our lab/studio. Sorry if I didn't make that clear enough to everyone previously.
For running games in our public programs, another adventure more aligned with our goals and requirements is more appropriate than the DM training adventure in the rulebook. There are a LOT of adventures to pick from the B1 series, but B9 looks very promising.
Some weeks ago I had suggested we look at B9 for the intro adventures of BECMI for new players outside of our "bubble". It has 5 short adventures each potentially playable in a single session.
We'll need to properly play test all of these to make a final determination. I will gladly DM these first during our applied gaming sessions, so we can get a good assessment of each and decide which Tiers to apply which adventures in training requirements and our program offerings.
Clifton Caldwell, a local merchant, has recently purchased a small castle, located a few miles out of town. The castle had not been occupied for some time. Clifton had purchased the castle for a ridiculously high price, since he had always wanted to own one. But when he went to visit his new home,
he found that it was overrun by monsters! He was lucky to escape with his life.
He has hired a party of adventurers (the player characters) to rid the castle of its monstrous inhabitants so that he can move in.
"Each adventure is designed to be played in one session of three to four hours, not including the time needed to roll up new characters."
"The five adventures in this module are designed for a party of four to eight player characters of levels 1-3. The adventures are arranged in order of increasing difficulty."
"The first two adventures are connected, the other three are not. They can be used as a series of adventures for a single party, with all characters beginning at first level, or they can be used independently. It is not necessary to use the same Dungeon Master or the same group of player characters for all five adventures. If a party of player characters completes all five adventures as a series, each character should reach at least third level"
Taking a look at it, it may be a PERFECT FIT for our programs. While on the surface it looks like "just another dungeon crawl", the first adventure repeatedly states early on, and reiterates in many rooms that most of the intelligent creatures/NPCs want to avoid a fight as much as possible.
If seeing/hearing/encountering the PCs, the NPCs "...like the other intelligent monsters in this castle, will try to escape with their lives and treasure, in that order."
Encounters have a variety of alignments, so the players will have a challenge knowing who is to be trusted or not, it isn't consistent.
This is the second part of the adventure in Castle Caldwell. When the characters cleared out the first level of the castle, they found a mysterious locked room (room 21) that could not be opened by any means available to the party. Clifton Caldwell, concerned about the mysterious room, hired an Enchanter to unlock the door.
The room behind the door was totally empty, except for a trap door in the floor. The windows in the room had been bricked up. The trap door in the floor opened easily, but the area below was totally dark. When the magic-user cast a light spell through the trap door, she saw an empty room with an
opening leading to a corridor. She was not willing to explore further, either on her own or in the company of a larger party. So, Clifton has once again contacted the adventurers who cleared out the castle to tackle the dungeons down below...
Adventure #3 for B9 "The Abduction of Princess Sylvia", has some nice political intrigue components, but mostly just ends up being about killing monsters, so unless modified, the second one is not such a great fit.
adventure. Great fun for mature players, and good for teaching frustration tolerance, but inexperienced players could potentially get stuck for the entire session and not have a rewarding experience for hours, so this is problematic and definitely requires an experienced DM's "gut feel" for whether to run it or not. The module includes appropriate caveats about introducing this type of adventure. Once they get out of the cell, there is great sneaking and potential role-play, even at the beginning ideas for fooling the not-to-bright Gnoll jailer.
A LOT of potential for a lot of fun, but definitely have to be careful about the group doing this with. Definitely NOT appropriate to run in any of our programs with incarcerated populations (since the superintendents forbid exactly this kind of material).
#5, "Sanctuary of Elwyn the Ardent" has real potential to be a _lot_ of fun and rather tough for low-level party. Would not throw it at first timers, as per the B9 design, it makes a nice peak of challenge. But I would tweak the adventure to be less heavy combat (which it is a lot in addition to a lot of puzzles to solve too), and more role-play than it is written.
The first adventure seems like an appropriate introductory adventure providing lots of options for the players to choose or avoid combat. It is quick to come to action, no long period waiting for events to unfold, has clearly defined adventure parameters, and tests the players in many different ways.
This initial evaluation is only based on skimming through the highlights, and not a thorough read-through or play-through (yet).
At this point I would like to at least run the first 2 adventures for evaluation in comparison to some others for the first adventure in our public programs
So:
Hawke Robinson has repeatedly suggested that this version is "the single most ideal introduction to D&D and possibly to RPG in general, of any published role-playing game. It has a number of issues, but as far as the neuroscience of learning, this edition is very in line with what research shows is the ideal means for learning complex concepts most effectively."
Additionally Hawke suggests, "though there are some issues that could improve it further, that the simpler rules, consequences to violating alignment, and quick character creation make it an overall better introduction to fantasy role-playing than many of the newer RPGs of the past 20 years."
He also suggests that "all RPG publishers should follow this model in their introductory sets" and that "to date, no other product I have been able to find is a more effective starter set than this edition", though "it is problematic for long-term use beyond the introductory phase."
The 3 solo adventures are excellent introductions without the need of anyone else to learn by yourself the basics of playing the game.
The introductory first-time-DM adventure is fine for learning the mechanics, but lacks much role-play and social interaction opportunities in this extremely basic dungeon crawl. That being said, it is a good introduction for non-at-risk populations. This adventures IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR AT-RISK POPULATIONS! Instead go with one of the other B-series adventures reviewed by RPG Research for one of the other more appropriate introductory adventures when playing with these populations.
Here are a number of video sessions going into great detail about this product, with commentary and play through by Hawke Robinson and others from RPG Research.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wto7_HET3nI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmzMSGYeeK8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMJA1praLVs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upns7UnJWBg
A bit draconian and heavy-handed in enforcement of the railroading: "...Be warned! If the princess is harmed or is killed, or if the rescuers try to turn back, the king's archers and lancers will be forced to kill the wrongdoers."
Filled with undead and non-intelligent creatures, and traps. Not much opportunity for role-play with NPCs or non-combat solutions to encounters with creatures.
The 3 main intelligent NPCs (the kidnappers) are too "fight to the death". While an experienced DM would have no trouble tweaking this module to be better, as-is for a novice DM, this is just a basic hack-and-slash, puzzle, rescue adventure with little social NPC opportunity, without any interesting plot twists.
A classic, somewhat fun dungeon crawl with some humorous twists.
The formatting is very rough, especially compared to later modules in the B series. While meant for absolute beginners of the time, Mentzer-onward modules tend to be far better organized and planned out for real beginner DMs. A slightly more (or much more) experience DM can make this adventure even more fun than as-written.
Most notably of value from this module is the "Tips for Players" near the rear of the module, highly recommend having excerpts of this for new players"
TIPS FOR PLAYERS
Beginning players would do well to profit from some basic
advice before beginning their D&D careers. and with that in
mind, the following points are offered for consideration:
1) Be on organized player. Keep accurate records on your
character (experience, abilities. items possessed. etc.) for
your own purposes and to aid the Dungeon Master.
2) Always keep in mind that the Dungeon Master is the
moderator of the game. and as such, deserves the con-
tinued cooperation. consideration and respect of all the
players. If you disagree with him or her. present your view-
point with deference to the DM's position as game judge, but
be prepared to accept his or her decision as final-ofter all.
keep in mind that you may not know all aspects of the overall
game situation. and in that case. not everything will always
go your way!
3) Cooperate with your fellow players and work together
when adventuring. Remember that on any foray into the dun-
geon or wilderness. a mix of character classes will be bene-
ficial. since the special abilities of the various characters will
complement each other and add to the overall effective-
ness of the party.
4) Be neither too hasty nor too sluggish when adventuring. If
you ore too fast in your exploration. you may recklessly en-
danger yourself and your fellow adventurers and foll prone
to every trick and trap you encounter. If you ore too slow. you
will waste valuable time and may be waylaid by more than
your shore of wandering monsters without accomplishing
anything. As you gain ploying experience you will learn the
proper pace. but rely on your DM for guidance.
5) Avoid arguing. While disagreements about a course of
action will certainly arise from time to time. players should
quickly discuss their options and reach a consensus in order
to proceed. Bickering in the dungeon will only create noise
which may well attract wondering monsters. Above all. re-
member that this is just a game and a little consideration will
go far toward avoiding any hard feelings . . .
6) Be on your guard. Don't be overly cautious, but be ad-
vised that some non-player characters may try to hoodwink
you. players may doublecross you. and while adventuring,
tricks and traps await the unwary. Of course. you won't avoid
every such pitfall (dealing with the uncertainties is port of the
fun and challenge of the game). but don't be surprised If
everything is not always as it seems.
7) Treat any retainers or NPCs fairly. If you reward them gen-
erously and do not expose them to great risks of life and limb
that your own character would not face. then you con ex-
pect a continuing loyalty (although there may be excep-
tions. of course).
8) Know your limits. Your party may not be a match for every
monster you encounter. and occasionally it pays to know
when and how to run away form danger. Likewise. a dun-
geon adventure may hove to be cut short if your party suffers
great adversity and/or depleted strength. Many times it will
toke more than one adventure to accomplish certain goals.
and it will thus be necessary to come back out of a dungeon
to heal wounds. restore magical abilities and spells, and re-
inforce a party's strength.
9) Use your head. Many of the characters' goals in the game
can be accomplished through the strength of arms or mag-
ic. Others. however. demand common sense and shrewd
judgment as well as logical deduction. The most successful
players ore those who con effectively use both aspects of the
game to advantage.
10) The fun of a D&D game comes in ploying your charac-
ter's role. Take on your character's persona and immerse
yourself in the game setting. enjoying the fantasy element
and the interaction with your fellow players and the Dungeon
Master.
Enjoy yourself. and good luck!
This is an EXCELLENT introductory campaign for new players, IF the DM has a fair amount of experience. It is not recommended for a brand new DM to run this until they have had experience running at least several other modules, or better yet training from RPG Research, RPG Therapeutics, or other organization, then the DM can really make the most of this adventure which can be placed in most any fantasy campaign setting.
This is not an appropriate module for a one-shot adventure. To really enjoy it, the PC need to meet the various NPC personalities within the keep, become slowly embroiled in the social interactions and plots within, between heading out to clear the caverns in the nearby countryside, while having a safe place to come back and rest between short excursions. This is easily integrated with other D&D adventure settings for campaigns that can last years using the keep as an ongoing base that can become very much like "home" for the players.
Useful information about this can be found on Wikipedia, and from John D. Rateliff here:
http://pandius.com/b3_intro.html
Skimming overview from the RPG Research perspective regarding appropriateness for our programs...