Join the Questing Knights on Patreon: bit.ly/QBPatreon Download my RPGs and adventures: bit.ly/ItchStore My favorite OSR books: bit.ly/TopOSRBooks My favorite RPG-related products: amzn.to/30kfamM
Oi great review! I'm going to run this in a couple weeks. Do you have any advice on running the BBEG for this one? I've read the pdf's tips, I just feel mean throwing that at a low level party. I might try to use him as a source of more adventures, maybe have the pc's collect spell components/alchemy ingredients, or have them find a phylactery of his in another dungeon, but idk.
This is one of the best products ever for the OSR imo. It's so informative, and as it breaks down dungeon design so simply it makes you totally re evalute how you design your own dungeons. My only hope is that he maybe designed two more:- One a 'mid' level dungeon comples that introduces some new ideas and compositions, and maybe eventually one advanced one, that takes a 'Caverns of Thracia' Approach. Then we will have a Trilogy!
Running this for my first game using Old School Essentials. There will only be one player character with a few retainers with different classes. If the PC dies, they can just continue with one of the retainers. They are very new to RPGs so I’m excited to use this as an introduction.
I guess by now you're not as much of a begginer (if at all). But based on how it went when I ran it, make sure to telegraph clearly some of the traps, that way if the characters die it's no ones fault but them. Also you may want to draw some of the hard to describe stuff, to avoid having to stop the game to make sure the players understood what you meant.
I just ran the first 2 levels of this using the MazeRats system, we had a blast! The players triggered traps a lot, and one of the characters died, but it was a learning experience.
I just started this dungeon since it's my first time running OSE and some of my players are 5e players. Really liking it so far and I think my players are starting to get the swing of it.
@@secretlich8284 so as far as the rule system we ended up switching to Basic Fantasy Roleplaying Game which I think was a better fit for myself and the group system wise. As far as the adventure goes they all really enjoyed it my players were surprisingly ok with not having all the abilities of 5e. Hope that helps. If you have any other questions about it please feel free to ask!
Hey Ben, thanks so much for all of your videos! I'm new to OSR and was thinking about running this game using Knave. As I was reading this dungeon, I had some questions about how you handle some of the traps, in terms of a) allowing characters to respond before dealing damage and b) telegraphing potential danger. For example, in the first room with the hollow statues, if a player triggers the trap and releases the poison gas, do you allow some kind of save or roll to attempt to avoid it, or do they just get the damage (1d6)? Or if a lightning bolt is triggered upon room entry and "deals 4d6 damage (Save for half) and only activates once." ... does the PC roll against Dex to avoid the bolt entirely, and if they fail, THEN they get the damage? Just trying to get a sense of the flow of responses to traps, thanks!!
I just make sure that if something's dangerous, then it doesn't come out of the blue. For the lightning bolt, I make sure the trigger plate in the floor is really obvious. If the hollow statues release poison gas, put carvings of gas on the statue. Stuff like that.
Just saw this dungeon 4 years later. Playing through it with shadow dark rules. The first gas trap dropped a PC. They were able to stabilize him. Later, a wizard with one hp put on the cursed ring… poor guy is going to die in the morning. Let’s at least hope he gets to use the poison dagger ability.
How do you deal with character deaths at the first session with 5th graders? Do you tell them to expect PC deaths before the game? Do you have a general conversation about your expectations from the players and vice versa?
I started my current campaign with this module! I do have a lot gripes with it though. I felt that a lot of my players really didn’t learn much from it, but after they read the module themselves (big taboo I know, but I wanted them to understand what it was about) they seemed to get the idea. Mostly I think some of the traps are really lame, and it’s true that they could be telegraphed but even then they are tricky to bypass (the beginning trap in particular).
When they start picking up the bar I make everything go in slow motion and describe the pins under the bar making clicking sounds as they lift it, so they can put it back without any danger and try to think of another way to deal with it. You can also make he trapdoor in the ceiling really obvious and describe it as they get close to the door.
@@QuestingBeast That seems like a good way to go about it. When I ran it I decided that the trap triggered as soon as the pins weren't pressed in any more, and my players didn't enjoy that very much. Actually now that I think about it, I think what made me most confused about that starter trap is that it smashes in the door, so it can only be used once and it lets the rest of the adventurer's through. I'd imagine a pit trap would be more effective. But then again, inherently weird dungeons shouldn't have to be constrained by logic.
Would this work for Maze Rats? I know it's not designed for any specific system, but I'm wondering how much conversion one would need (if any) to run it as a maze rats game (mostly for monster health, damage dice and such).
@@HeyItsGilbertS I'm far from an expert and I haven't tried running it yet, but for the conversions, my rule of thumb has been halving the hit dice and damage dice from monsters, traps, etc. Rounding up or down and using averages if appropiate. Also keep in mind stuff like a +1 weapon are gonna be a way bigger deal here since you're essentially giving a character a bonus that usually takes two levels to get, I decided to give magic weapons special abilities instead of flat bonuses for the most part.
@@franciscoalejandro7567 it went great actually. Bit of a learning curve but once I realized I could use the Monster page to get quick stats for the monsters it wasn't bad. My players LOVED the generated spells. Made for some super fun moments. Even after some DND 5E sessions we still think back to those sessions. Maze Rats is my go to for one pagers.
As far as I know this is the only one specifically designed to teach. The Quintessential Dungeon by Will Doyle is pretty great as beginning dungeon, though.
Skerples has another teaching dungeon that's designed specifically as an introduction heists if I remember correctly. It's called Kidnap the Archpriest. You can find it on drivethrurpg.
I agree this is awesome and definitely an "auto buy". I know this is weird to say but I think the price should be higher for this, I think it is a great module even if not used as a tutorial. Well I guess I'll just have to get some of his other products.
Possibly. The player challenges start out fairly basic in order to get players in the right headspace. It does get more challenging later though, and there are a couple fun boss fights.
Basic Fantasy. It's Free on site,and five dollars in paperback! it is a complete game with a pretty well organized players section DM's section and monster and treasure section. I liked it so much for teaching my family how to play that we ended up continuing using it for our main campaign and have not looked back since.
This one reads well but it was not good at all at the table. So many useless rooms and some of them with high damage gotcha traps just lead to frustration. I was glad when it was over. I would not recommend this as an introductory adventure.
Join the Questing Knights on Patreon: bit.ly/QBPatreon
Download my RPGs and adventures: bit.ly/ItchStore
My favorite OSR books: bit.ly/TopOSRBooks
My favorite RPG-related products: amzn.to/30kfamM
Oi great review! I'm going to run this in a couple weeks. Do you have any advice on running the BBEG for this one? I've read the pdf's tips, I just feel mean throwing that at a low level party. I might try to use him as a source of more adventures, maybe have the pc's collect spell components/alchemy ingredients, or have them find a phylactery of his in another dungeon, but idk.
This is one of the best products ever for the OSR imo.
It's so informative, and as it breaks down dungeon design so simply it makes you totally re evalute how you design your own dungeons.
My only hope is that he maybe designed two more:- One a 'mid' level dungeon comples that introduces some new ideas and compositions, and maybe eventually one advanced one, that takes a 'Caverns of Thracia' Approach.
Then we will have a Trilogy!
That would be great!
Running this for my first game using Old School Essentials. There will only be one player character with a few retainers with different classes. If the PC dies, they can just continue with one of the retainers. They are very new to RPGs so I’m excited to use this as an introduction.
You suggest this as a good beginning dungeon for beginning players, but not necessarily beginning GMs. Any recommendations on that front?
I guess by now you're not as much of a begginer (if at all). But based on how it went when I ran it, make sure to telegraph clearly some of the traps, that way if the characters die it's no ones fault but them. Also you may want to draw some of the hard to describe stuff, to avoid having to stop the game to make sure the players understood what you meant.
The design and layout on this is fantastic! I wish all modules were this straight forward and clearly written.
I just ran the first 2 levels of this using the MazeRats system, we had a blast! The players triggered traps a lot, and one of the characters died, but it was a learning experience.
Oh nice. I'm just about to stat my first OSR campaign, and this actually fits into my setting as well too.
I just started this dungeon since it's my first time running OSE and some of my players are 5e players. Really liking it so far and I think my players are starting to get the swing of it.
Sorry for the super late reply lol, but I'm thinking of doing just that. Do you have any tips?
@@secretlich8284 so as far as the rule system we ended up switching to Basic Fantasy Roleplaying Game which I think was a better fit for myself and the group system wise. As far as the adventure goes they all really enjoyed it my players were surprisingly ok with not having all the abilities of 5e. Hope that helps. If you have any other questions about it please feel free to ask!
This sounds perfect for an introductory adventure. Gonna try this out. Thanks for the review!
Hey Ben, thanks so much for all of your videos! I'm new to OSR and was thinking about running this game using Knave. As I was reading this dungeon, I had some questions about how you handle some of the traps, in terms of a) allowing characters to respond before dealing damage and b) telegraphing potential danger. For example, in the first room with the hollow statues, if a player triggers the trap and releases the poison gas, do you allow some kind of save or roll to attempt to avoid it, or do they just get the damage (1d6)? Or if a lightning bolt is triggered upon room entry and "deals 4d6 damage (Save for half) and only activates once." ... does the PC roll against Dex to avoid the bolt entirely, and if they fail, THEN they get the damage? Just trying to get a sense of the flow of responses to traps, thanks!!
I just make sure that if something's dangerous, then it doesn't come out of the blue. For the lightning bolt, I make sure the trigger plate in the floor is really obvious. If the hollow statues release poison gas, put carvings of gas on the statue. Stuff like that.
This was perfect timing, I was just about to try this one out for a new group. Great to hear your input.
Just saw this dungeon 4 years later. Playing through it with shadow dark rules. The first gas trap dropped a PC. They were able to stabilize him. Later, a wizard with one hp put on the cursed ring… poor guy is going to die in the morning. Let’s at least hope he gets to use the poison dagger ability.
Ben likes spending my money :) Another great product review. Thanks Ben.
How do you deal with character deaths at the first session with 5th graders? Do you tell them to expect PC deaths before the game? Do you have a general conversation about your expectations from the players and vice versa?
I just tell them that the dungeon is a dangerous place, and if they're not careful they can die.
@@QuestingBeast it's almost like using a game like Maze Rats, with its quick and fun character generation, would be ideal for this situation 😉
It’s D&D players can die. We started playing D&D in 5th grade and had characters die and it was just part of the game.
Always always always make em roll more than 1 character and keep the better one bqck. Like a first car first one is gonna get wrecked
I’m currently running a game for all new players, I’m definitely gonna run this for them
Is this designed to be run with a specific edition of d&d?
Pretty much any version will work, but OSR rulesets will probably be smoothest.
Quite possibly the best OSR adventure.
I started my current campaign with this module! I do have a lot gripes with it though. I felt that a lot of my players really didn’t learn much from it, but after they read the module themselves (big taboo I know, but I wanted them to understand what it was about) they seemed to get the idea. Mostly I think some of the traps are really lame, and it’s true that they could be telegraphed but even then they are tricky to bypass (the beginning trap in particular).
When they start picking up the bar I make everything go in slow motion and describe the pins under the bar making clicking sounds as they lift it, so they can put it back without any danger and try to think of another way to deal with it. You can also make he trapdoor in the ceiling really obvious and describe it as they get close to the door.
@@QuestingBeast That seems like a good way to go about it. When I ran it I decided that the trap triggered as soon as the pins weren't pressed in any more, and my players didn't enjoy that very much. Actually now that I think about it, I think what made me most confused about that starter trap is that it smashes in the door, so it can only be used once and it lets the rest of the adventurer's through. I'd imagine a pit trap would be more effective. But then again, inherently weird dungeons shouldn't have to be constrained by logic.
Wow, it seems like they really went the extra mile to make sure new players understand he game.
Would this work for Maze Rats? I know it's not designed for any specific system, but I'm wondering how much conversion one would need (if any) to run it as a maze rats game (mostly for monster health, damage dice and such).
I'm finally getting a group to play Maze Rats and I was watching this thinking the same thing.
@@HeyItsGilbertS I'm far from an expert and I haven't tried running it yet, but for the conversions, my rule of thumb has been halving the hit dice and damage dice from monsters, traps, etc. Rounding up or down and using averages if appropiate. Also keep in mind stuff like a +1 weapon are gonna be a way bigger deal here since you're essentially giving a character a bonus that usually takes two levels to get, I decided to give magic weapons special abilities instead of flat bonuses for the most part.
@@HeyItsGilbertS Did you end up running it? If so, how did it go?
@@franciscoalejandro7567 it went great actually. Bit of a learning curve but once I realized I could use the Monster page to get quick stats for the monsters it wasn't bad. My players LOVED the generated spells. Made for some super fun moments. Even after some DND 5E sessions we still think back to those sessions. Maze Rats is my go to for one pagers.
Do you know more of this kind of "teaching dungeons"?
As far as I know this is the only one specifically designed to teach. The Quintessential Dungeon by Will Doyle is pretty great as beginning dungeon, though.
Skerples has another teaching dungeon that's designed specifically as an introduction heists if I remember correctly. It's called Kidnap the Archpriest. You can find it on drivethrurpg.
@@andrewwright1374 I also did a review of that one! ua-cam.com/video/IDCSj-h0Iws/v-deo.html
I agree this is awesome and definitely an "auto buy". I know this is weird to say but I think the price should be higher for this, I think it is a great module even if not used as a tutorial. Well I guess I'll just have to get some of his other products.
How would this adventure work for experienced players. Too basic?
Possibly. The player challenges start out fairly basic in order to get players in the right headspace. It does get more challenging later though, and there are a couple fun boss fights.
Questing Beast Thanks, Ben!
Which OSR rules would you use to play this dungeon?
Basic Fantasy. It's Free on site,and five dollars in paperback! it is a complete game with a pretty well organized players section DM's section and monster and treasure section. I liked it so much for teaching my family how to play that we ended up continuing using it for our main campaign and have not looked back since.
Ben's "Knave" is a great introductory system that's OSR compatible. I'll be using this dungeon with those rules with my family one day.
2 years late, but I've used it for maze rats a couple of times with a few changes (mostly lowering damage), it works pretty well.
This one reads well but it was not good at all at the table. So many useless rooms and some of them with high damage gotcha traps just lead to frustration. I was glad when it was over. I would not recommend this as an introductory adventure.