The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Anyone who started playing roleplaying games during the end of the 70s remembers the classic "keep on the Borderlands", or B2, if only due to its inclusion in the D&D Basic Set. Designed as an introduction to running a DND game, it was, at the core, nothing much beyond a simple loot and kill exercise. Some effort was made to include the NPCs and their role from the keep, but everyone I played with and those I met later who'd played it just remembers the very basic concept of killing everything in the Caves of Chaos and taking the loot.

By the late 90s, this idea is pretty silly, but remember that DND was, at least at its inception, only partially a roleplaying exercise (at least from the rules point of view) and still very much a more traditional game. You killed X monsters, got Y treasure, and become Z more powerful, all bound by iron mathematics. By 2nd edistion (though by that time nearly everyone had already latched on to the concept), non-objective rewards were added, and players could stop worrying that all the time they'd been interating with NPCs was a waste since they couldn't get ahead without some old-fashioned widow-making.

Which brings us to the product at hand. Produced under the Grehawk Adventures line, this really tries to have it both ways. The introduction implies that XP should be given out for money gained (always, really, one of the strangest RPG rules ever widely used; image if these were applied under classic Traveller with that great old Trade and Commerce table!). The caves are still there, and all kinds of different monsters live side-by-side in small numbers of awful multi-demographic sitcom. The episodic idea, where players will make multiple raids remains, since many monsters would wipe the floor with beginning 1st level characters (even Skills and Powers characters!).

What makes it more than an exercise in nostalgia (though, let's face it; that's the only reason this product was made) is the sttempts to update this very dated concept. Specific events are tied to the various times in the adventure, a really game effort was made to explain the condistions in the caves and the rationale beind it, and there is a much more coherent feel to the entire adventuring area. Some NPCs provided are actually interesting and even useful, while the surrounding area is more fleshed out. The adventure is still intenedd for novice GMs; the advice section, while hardly a new paradigm for gamemastering, is very appropriate for the adventure itself and for a 'classic' DND experience.

This isn't Vampire or GURPS by any extent. Players unable or unwilling to put a bunch of monsters to the sword will have, untimately, not that much to do. But for the price, it's a decent DND module; adding in the nostalgia factor, I knew I couldn't resist buying it and was more than happy with what I got. Quite pleasantly surprised, really.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Return to the Keep on the Borderlands
Author: John D. Rateliff Category: game Company/Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Line: AD&D Cost: 12.95 Page count: 64 ISBN: 0-7869-1327-4 SKU: TSR11327 Capsule Review by Hans Visser on 08/15/99. Genre tags: Fantasy	Anyone who started playing roleplaying games during the end of the 70s remembers the classic "keep on the Borderlands", or B2, if only due to its inclusion in the D&D Basic Set. Designed as an introduction to running a DND game, it was, at the core, nothing much beyond a simple loot and kill exercise. Some effort was made to include the NPCs and their role from the keep, but everyone I played with and those I met later who'd played it just remembers the very basic concept of killing everything in the Caves of Chaos and taking the loot. By the late 90s, this idea is pretty silly, but remember that DND was, at least at its inception, only partially a roleplaying exercise (at least from the rules point of view) and still very much a more traditional game. You killed X monsters, got Y treasure, and become Z more powerful, all bound by iron mathematics. By 2nd edistion (though by that time nearly everyone had already latched on to the concept), non-objective rewards were added, and players could stop worrying that all the time they'd been interating with NPCs was a waste since they couldn't get ahead without some old-fashioned widow-making. Which brings us to the product at hand. Produced under the Grehawk Adventures line, this really tries to have it both ways. The introduction implies that XP should be given out for money gained (always, really, one of the strangest RPG rules ever widely used; image if these were applied under classic Traveller with that great old Trade and Commerce table!). The caves are still there, and all kinds of different monsters live side-by-side in small numbers of awful multi-demographic sitcom. The episodic idea, where players will make multiple raids remains, since many monsters would wipe the floor with beginning 1st level characters (even Skills and Powers characters!). What makes it more than an exercise in nostalgia (though, let's face it; that's the only reason this product was made) is the sttempts to update this very dated concept. Specific events are tied to the various times in the adventure, a really game effort was made to explain the condistions in the caves and the rationale beind it, and there is a much more coherent feel to the entire adventuring area. Some NPCs provided are actually interesting and even useful, while the surrounding area is more fleshed out. The adventure is still intenedd for novice GMs; the advice section, while hardly a new paradigm for gamemastering, is very appropriate for the adventure itself and for a 'classic' DND experience. This isn't Vampire or GURPS by any extent. Players unable or unwilling to put a bunch of monsters to the sword will have, untimately, not that much to do. But for the price, it's a decent DND module; adding in the nostalgia factor, I knew I couldn't resist buying it and was more than happy with what I got. Quite pleasantly surprised, really. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Return to the Keep on the Borderlands