So we began this as a way to keep the group engaged and together during the pandemic. My original thought was that this was going to run to maybe December tops, 250 odd posts, and then we'd all finish up the adventure at the table.
Yeah, that was a nice thought. Lol
We actually got together about a month and a half ago and did a one shot with our group and larger circle of friends, 11 of us at the table, doing a riff on Gangbusters/Night at the Museum/The Mummy (Frasier version, of course) one shot set in Chicago. Was a blast.
But for the actual get back to the table game, that has been going on this month, but only as one shots as we blow off 19 months of rust on actual RL DMing and RL playing and rules. It's been a good idea.
We are going to finish the PBEM which should end before post 600, and one of our members has since moved to NC, so we've replaced her at the RL table for now with a wonder player who moved up to NY from NC. So there you go, zero sum game.
Before she left though, I had everyone get together and I gave them the adventure this dungeon was based upon and for those keeping score at home, if you guess B3 - Palace if the Silver Princess - you were right!
But Mike, the map is NOT the same! Ah! Turn the map upside down so N is S and there you go.
I am always looking to get players who joined after the 80's the opportunity to play those definitive modules that most of us cut our teeth on and played again and again and again.
B3 is a nice module, but it has its problems. The entire 4-5 pages of the teaching you how to DM via choice tree and box text had to be culled, and if you read it, the writer had the D&D book open next to him and at each room or two, flipped through the monster page and dropped a monster in that room. Also for PBEM, the Ice harp/Arik end result was going to be unsatisfying, as I wanted them the chance to fight a dragon (assumption was everyone would get about 20k at adventure end, some of the treasure matrix was left to random, so who knew!), so I have to start with BX and B3, and end with a Reg Dragon fight - leaving the middle open to interpretation.
I moved the 4 magic weapons found in the game around a bit and tweaked them, giving them neat names tied to 4 elven sounding Goddesses. I came up with a host of NPC's, 13 of them, as the ancillary boss fights throughout the adventure, some of them taken cut and whole from B3, others just dropped in as need be (Grilljax, Beekeeper, Butcher, etc).
The end result is what you've been reading (and for my people, playing) this last 19/20 months. It's been a fantastic time and I am so happy that with the exception of maybe 5 or so instances, we played/discorded/chatted/and posted pretty much every damned day.
D&D is a wonderful past time and game, and let no one tell you there is wrong way to play - because there isn't. :)
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