The more I look at the module, the more I see Tom's style. For example, the adventure is fairly linear, but the premise behind it (an eternal struggle between two Lords of Creation - Prometheus being one of them) is very clever. As with his D&D modules, there are some neat scenes, but due to the nature of the game, Tom can really cut loose.
There's a murder mystery at a game convention, a run-in with the Flying Dutchman and an island near the Bermuda Triangle controlled by rogue robots. It all works and even though there is a structure to the module, PCs could get derailed and take it in a direction of their own choosing at any time.
I really think that the module and the game really allowed Moldvay to cut loose and imagine on a grand scale!
I love that module. Most of all, I love the way that it starts out so entirely, completely mundanely: it's a gaming convention. Just like the gaming conventions that the players probably go to! Then, bit by bit, things get stranger. There's a murder, and the players' characters are asked to help investigate. And so on, until finally there are dinosaurs and crystal pillars and titans and robots and… well, that would be telling.
He really did. Total gonzo amazing. Sharkmen, werewolves and werefoxes, hobgoblins, Cyrano de Bergerac, cyborgs, mutants, and on and on. And I'm not even coming close to everything in there!
Oh, yeah. It's all in 52 pages plus handouts. And that pagecount includes the front and back covers. And he still found space to put in a trivia quiz for the Referee, not the players, that has nothing directly to do with the adventure.
I just can't say enough good things about his creativity.
I had Lord of Creation (sadly gave it away long ago - never got a chance to play it).
ReplyDeleteI was never able to get a copy of Horn of Roland, so any kind of review would be welcome.
Moldvay is king.
The more I look at the module, the more I see Tom's style. For example, the adventure is fairly linear, but the premise behind it (an eternal struggle between two Lords of Creation - Prometheus being one of them) is very clever. As with his D&D modules, there are some neat scenes, but due to the nature of the game, Tom can really cut loose.
DeleteThere's a murder mystery at a game convention, a run-in with the Flying Dutchman and an island near the Bermuda Triangle controlled by rogue robots. It all works and even though there is a structure to the module, PCs could get derailed and take it in a direction of their own choosing at any time.
I really think that the module and the game really allowed Moldvay to cut loose and imagine on a grand scale!
Beauty!
ReplyDeleteI love that module. Most of all, I love the way that it starts out so entirely, completely mundanely: it's a gaming convention. Just like the gaming conventions that the players probably go to! Then, bit by bit, things get stranger. There's a murder, and the players' characters are asked to help investigate. And so on, until finally there are dinosaurs and crystal pillars and titans and robots and… well, that would be telling.
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful.
That said, I don't know as I'd run it. Too many railroad tracks. Still, it gives the idea of what a Referee is supposed to do with the game.
DeleteThat's a great breakdown. Tom really did a hell of a job.
DeleteHe really did. Total gonzo amazing. Sharkmen, werewolves and werefoxes, hobgoblins, Cyrano de Bergerac, cyborgs, mutants, and on and on. And I'm not even coming close to everything in there!
DeleteOh, yeah. It's all in 52 pages plus handouts. And that pagecount includes the front and back covers. And he still found space to put in a trivia quiz for the Referee, not the players, that has nothing directly to do with the adventure.
I just can't say enough good things about his creativity.