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Blast From The Past
It was a cold evening, and dark clouds scattered the sky. Four figures sat hunched around a dog-eared tome, struggling to comprehend its cryptic tidings. Little did they know the profound effect it would have upon their young lives. Suddenly one, the eldest, spoke; An hour later, myself and two friends were buying swords, lanterns and rope in preparation for a trip to the Wilderness. Our first stop would be a small fortification known only as the Keep on the Borderlands… Published in 1981, Keep on the Borderlands was designed as an introductory adventure for Basic D&D, and consists of a 28pp booklet with a card cover / map. The booklet begins with a run-down of how to play a RPG, what dice are, etc. Once this is through, the adventure itself soon springs to life; A short introduction explains how the Realm is under constant siege, only held off by bold adventurers, based at strongholds along the border with the Wilderness (Here be Monsters…Ed), and how the players are part of this class of fearless individuals arriving at a keep for the first time. The description of the Keep includes details of the permanent residents (Innkeeper, blacksmith, priest, merchant) and their dwellings, several transients, and the garrison, with several maps of important areas. The inhabitants are given character traits, motivations and general reactions, with lots of scope for role-playing, plot development, side plots and all manner of encounters. Any GM allowing players to state ‘My character gets back to the Keep, buys some more rations, a quiver of arrows and a better suit of armour, sleeps at the Inn, and sets out again the next day.’ is missing a whole chunk of imagination. The journey into the Wilderness should go smoothly (but don’t tell the players this), unless one of the encounter sites is passed. These range from nuisances to large battles, and gives the novice a taste of what to expect. With a little planning, they can easily be dealt with, and soon the characters will be approaching a steep-sided ravine dotted with cave-mouths - the Caves of Chaos ! A comprehensive map fills the inside cover, in traditional 10’ x 10’ grid, and an atmospheric description should have the players on the edge of their seats. From here, the Caves are very easy to run as a simple dungeon-bash, with enough rooms of orcs, goblins and kobolds to satisfy all but the most gung-ho of players. With a little work by the GM, though, the area can produce one of the finest, most exiting games that low-level fantasy can offer. Each section is detailed, not purely as ‘4 goblins, 56 GP, 3 longbows’, but with usual reactions, defense strategies and usual lifestyle of the inhabitants. There are traps, secret rooms, hidden treasure, valuable items, such as the goblins’ tapestry, prisoners to rescue, a maze, and more. The GM notes include details of tribal alliances and warfare, how the monsters may learn from experience, and the restocking of caves. One of the touches that I particularly liked, although not of much use, was the orcs stealing the goblins treasure to bribe an ogre with. Despite uninspired cover art and a lack of imagination in the names (soon dealt with), this is one of my favourite adventures, and can easily be used to form the basis of a campaign, with characters returning to the Keep periodically to refresh supplies, complete missions (Did they get the captured merchant out alive ?), and heal their wounds ready for another battle against the ever-present foe. Overall, ‘Keep on the Borderlands’ is a well-written, interesting adventure, with plenty of situations to ensure all types of players are catered for, and enough challenge to keep them coming back for more.
Download Word97 Format Author: Mad Dwarf |
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