S&W (OD&D) adventure for PCs of levels 4th-5th
I am reviewing these in the order they were submitted. For my review criteria, please check out this post. All reviews will (probably) contain *SPOILERS*; you have been warned! Because these are short (two page) adventures, it is my intention to keep the reviews brief.
The problem I have with S&W (which is to say OD&D) is that because the thing is so "under-baked" it is wide open to tinkering and weirdness, making it difficult to judge as its own entity. While I'm certain that its proponents would call this a "feature" of the system (yay! we're just having fun!) this CAN cause issues for players in that you never know what to expect (i.e. "system mastery" is fairly difficult).
And for the judge of an adventure contest it's...not fun. Because then you end up going by "feel" a lot, which is a pretty subjective way to measure things and not especially fair. Fairness in contests matter.
Chomy is used to creating "real" adventures, and for my money, this one is too big for an "adventure site," but at 24 encounter areas it just fits into Ben Gibson's parameters of "8-24 keyed locations." Chomy's clever like that. Yes, he creates his "sluggob" monster (a mutant slug-goblin creature with acid spit), but he puts the stat block in the text...same with his version of a "half-ogre"...and I can't ding him for that, as it's still "par" for an OD&D monster write-up. I assume the annis comes from some S&W supplement as it's a slightly different (i.e. "S&W adjusted") from its appearance in the MM2; hard to know for certain.
Wild and wooly D&D, this is.
Treasure is...fine. For an seven person party of 4th level PCs in an adventure this size, I'd expect something close to 45K, and Chomy comes in at just over 41K and change. Magic items are all, mercifully, normal.
Good theme, good concept, tight design. Despite the inter-dimensional weirdness, this IS "just an adventure site," albeit a large one with lots of things going on. It is also solid D&D (****). It may not be my cup of tea, but Chomy knows what he's doing. Kudos for the wide variety of (sensible) encounters that can be handled in a variety of ways, and for the clear and well-labeled map.
Thank you, man! :) I just want to react to the "under-bakedness" of S&W/OD&D.
ReplyDeleteWell, YES. When i started DMing S&W i chose that system deliberately because i wanted to go back to where it all started, to see what is the bare minimum for D&D that works for me, and work up from that by adding all the details an nuances that I feel still missing for the whole, real deal.
My house rules and additions quickly grown to 30? 40? 50? pages. Then I decided to go wild. The OGL-based S&W SRD was still available then and I downloaded it to edit my house rules in, to have my whole and complete version of D&D.
At the moment it is 445 pages long. Okay, with illustrations, as i have bought a few stock art and generated some shit with AI, because why not. And i am not finished with it. Funny thing that in most things I arrived to the conclusion that AD&D was the right way and top of its evolution. Maybe i am a bit more simple in my rules implementations, but I had to answer the same questions, and had to 'import' the same basic mechanics because those felt right and natural.
That's my story of fcking away years from my life. :D
Well, at least you have a (growing) book to show for it. I’ve tried and discarded scores (hundreds?) of pages of rules and notes over the years. at least the blog still exists as a testament of sorts.
DeleteI, too, went back to OD&D at one point (at a couple points really, but more seriously six years ago). So I understand that urge and I understand the BENEFIT of doing that: of starting from scratch and ‘building up.’
In the end, I’ve found the game (that is, the rules) is only there to provide the game experience. “Only”…but it’s a really important “only.” However, the specific rules (and any creative additions/tweaking) matter far less than the GAME itself. The rules facilitate the game…and robust systems (like AD&D) BETTER facilitate it…but the rules are ONLY important in that respect (again…that “only” is a BIG “only). The WORLD you create and run with those rules…now THAT is a huge part of the play experience.
Sticking with AD&D allows me to focus on my world instead of focusing on my refinements of the rules.
A link to the adventure reviewed would be most helpful. Thanks for the review!
DeleteThe adventures are not yet available to the public (unless made so by the author). At this time, only the judges of the contest have access.
DeleteBen Gibson plans to put out a FREE compilation book including all the best of the adventures at the end of the contest.