Blast From The Past

Keep on The Borderlands

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;

Heres a character sheet each. Get four dice each and well roll

some characters.



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&amp;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 MonstersEd), 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 dont 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 5 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.


Author: Mad Dwarf
