The thing that we discovered really quickly as a players was that Bone Hill got its name if you go to it immediately it's that you'll get absolutely boned if you're not prepared.
They could fit all that into 32 pages because they left a lot between the lines for GMs to infer. The church of the big gamble doesn't expend a lot of print explaining the lore of the church, they just say "Hey this priest wants to gamble with you btw he worships a gambling god now put up or shut up!" My favorite is the Dwarven innkeeper in town who challenges the adventurers to a friendly wager on a game of darts. Nothing special there but then you notice he has 17 Dex and he probably made a small fortune from travellers underestimating his dart skills over the years.
I used the "orcs with families" trick several times in my games and it's a great way to de-escalate many conflicts and separating murder-hobos from players who genuinly never consider that angle.
The day always gets brighter when you upload something 😁! Thank you as always for the great content Seth! I hope the holidays have been going great for you so far!
Been a good holiday so-far. Though I blew my back out for no discernable reason and spent Christmas pretty much laid out and unable to stand straight. Hurt like hell. But some muscle relaxers and serious stretching got it to release with a satisfying crunch the following day.
I feel like I’d like to try convert this to a more sandbox-style Regency Cthulhu campaign setting. Obviously have to try put at least a few starter investigations in, but I love how there seems to be all these rumours and things going on under the surface, and stories within stories.
Some people get all twisted up about it, like I'm erasing my channel's history and depriving the world of an essential subpar video. Personally, if I'm going to have it out there for new people to find, I want it to be the best it can be, as well as a decent representation of what my reviews are like. That old review video was neither of those. Though, people wanting to see the original can find it deep in the video description.
@@SSkorkowsky personally I love having both the old and the new vids being up since it can se fun to see how different things are from way back when to you more recent vids
I don't know why, but Seth's little catchphrases are on of the things I love about his review style. "And I'm Jack the NPC, I'm here to give it to you from a players' side of things..." "I must warn you there will be spoilers." "Until next time, gamers, you have a great day. *Sip* Y'know..." Just little nuggets of familiar comfort.
Its good to see Jack the NPC ! now a big question, does Seth have an adventure setting or a module that he has written ? Maybe in his fictional universe ?
I've written modules for Call of Cthulhu, Traveller, and , but none for D&D. Though, my Black Raven stories and the story Mist of Lichthafen (very first video on the channel is me reading it) are set in my old D&D world.
Remember @Seth Skorkowsky AD&D modules always assume that the player characters will have henchmen, trained dogs etc. Going in without henchmen is a recipe for disaster, same with any AD&D module
Ah, Restenford! The Home of my first Three DnD characters; Ser Nate Trevelyan(V.Human-Fighter:Battlemaster-Noble-L.Gd), Barend Gorum(Mt.Dwarf-Rogue: Inquisitive-Faction Agent-C.Gd) and Aeolus Graywolf(V.Human-Ranger:Hunter Conclave- City Watch-N.Gd). I loved this Module and am really glad you updated the Review Seth. Happy New Year! As an Aside: My Character's dealt with the Children Question in different ways: Ser Nate(one of the Baron's four kid's) set one of the Protective Mother's up as a Representative/Leader of the Surviving Monster's and worked a Peacr Treaty with 'em....Barend just took the Orphan Children in and started an Orphanage like your. Crew did...Graywolf dud what any Cop would do;Sent it up the Chain and hope for the Best(they were all killed by the other NPC Militia)...
Near 700 views in the first couple of hours since it was uploaded, on a weeknight in the holiday season - looking good ! I caught it in the first hour via my Roku in our living room, now watching through my main account. Thank you for the improved maps, they look better than my efforts in years past and they will certainly help.
A great old school sandbox starting adventure, up there with Hommlet IMO as a starting locale and can easily be expanded with elements of the Lost Mines of Phandelin for example. Last time I ran it as the start of the campaign I used Restenford as a stand in for Daggerford in the Forgotten Reams, added elements of Scourge of the Sword Coast and also Under Ilefarn for an epic campaign. I would also add Priestly Secrets (Dungeon #71) to the list of adventures set in and around Restenford.
Go figure, I've been scouring Seth's channel for his old Traveller videos since I got many of the books for the RPG for Christmas recently, and he end up putting out new video on top of that as well; Merry late Christmas Seth!
That it is. My current Traveller campaign has armed them with one and I'm really curious when they're going to finally shoot it and probably kill themselves.
Nah. The one they have is the FGMP (Fusion Gun Man Portable), which is insanely powerful, but also unleashes a zone of radiation around the shooter, the entire line of fire, and the target, that is seriously bad for anyone not in a protective rad suit. None of them have the Heavy Weapons skill, so incur a -3 when trying to shoot it. And anyone who isn't super-strong or in a power suit are going to take more minuses due to its heft and size. So chances of it going bad for them are pretty decent.
Thank you Seth! Very well done! I wish you and your wife a very happy new year! And of course to all the fine people who follow you! As we say in Sweden, Gott nytt år! Alicia from Sweden.
Really enjoyed this. Brought back a lot of memories. Ahhh Durn the Dwarf. You died on the way to Lark Hill (maybe...somewhere to the NW) when you held off some Stirges. Good times
I watched an earlier vid and you mentioned running Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh with this and Isle of Dread, I did that combining the 3 into one large campaign, the three work great together and seamlessly in the way I structured them- thanks and great call
I really like these sorts of limited sandboxes. expansive enough to feel like there is a lot to do and a lot of freedom to approach them, but also contained enough that its not overwhelming.
Just wanted to say man I got your icons of RPG Dice. Tonight my players and I had our first session playing with the starter set. We played through the paper trail with two investigators and my players were rolling so hot with these dice they had literally five crits in a row between them!!! They found the major clues early and managed to capture and talk out with the "villain" without any deaths.
I ran this module for my family during our recent vacation. What’s the secret of Bonehill? Uh, there are monsters. Anyway, great review. Really shows how much is packed into one module. It’s much more suited to an extended campaign than a one shot.
Some unsolicited feedback, Seth! I found your channel through your Reptile God review; even if its production isn’t quite up to your current standard, it totally hooked me and I've watched / listened to all of your videos at this point. Your AD&D reviews and ideas are really inspiring. But I guess the OG Bone Hill vid must not have made an impression on me, in that I couldn't recall what the adventure was about; my only vague memory / takeaway from it was that it’s a sandbox but not as interesting as Reptile God. NOW, however, it's another story! Your new Bone Hill vid has *ignited* my imagination; your passion is clear and contagious; the fun sandbox potentiality is very clearly communicated; in all, move over Reptile God, I want to run this the first chance I get! All this is to say, thank you for taking the time to revitalize some of your earlier vids; that effort does not go unnoticed or unappreciated!
Technical-wise the original video was pretty bad. Audio was abysmal. But the original review itself was much more straight-forward of what's inside the adventure than what can be done with it, which is the approach style I ended up adopting for all my review vids. There's more jokes now, but they aren't the reason this video is twice as long as the original.
I remember the child monsters in the old against the giants module. But turns out hill giant toddlers still fight like ogtes and one pc got splatted by the nursery maid's frying pan, the rogue got rswarmed and ripped apart by three of them. It was a massacre.
As to the Bugbear children idea, that is a logical and realistic thing to put in a adventure. I can be fun to put your players in that kind of spot where they have to ask themselves alot of hard questions a out why they adventure and other moral dilemmas. However, I'd like to put in a suggestion to DMs. Make sure you know your players well before you try this. If everyone's friends and are all on the same page on what they want out of their role-playing, then you won't have any problems. If not, well....I've seen groups break up over stuff like this. 1 guy says "Yes, we must kill these evil monsters" and 1 says, "No, I will not let you do that." If neither is willing to back down then no matter happens there's probably going to be hard filling. And that's if they don't straight up go PVP kill each other. Someone's walking away pissed.
The hydra and the nightmare might be because a lot of Gygaxian AD&D mantra was about tricking the players themselves into having certain expectations and keep them guessing. A way of subverting metagaming.
I have adapted L1 into Shadows of the Demon Lord and Savage Worlds. Not a small amount of work, but adaptation is a great way to learn about adventure and encounter design, as well as world building.
Or at least while they're travelling to and from it (the priest might frown on them wearing masks inside). But it gives a really cool scene of these masked people travelling to and from the woods every few nights. I dig it.
Ok, it’s time to re-watch all the old D&D reviews p.s if you will remake all the “outdated” review videos like the Cthulhu ones it would be truly majestic
Why just send a couple of "big winners" into town? It would be even MORE effective to coax someone (popular/ well respected) FROM town into the temple, and then "rig" the games in HIS favor, so he actually DOES become a "big winner"! That way, when he goes back to town, his words will be even more persuasive! And for those who aren't persuaded by his words, seeing him living "the high life" / spending all that money; in town (like a 'Victor' from the Hunger Games franchise) WOULD be very convincing! (Just make sure if/ when he comes back in future visits, you keep rigging the games to make sure he DOESN'T lose his shirt, or at least "breaks even"!) It would be a small cost for all the positive advertising. And yeah, a vast majority of these old, classic modules had ZERO mechanical "game balance"! Considerations like that, eventually becoming Challenge Rating in 3rd Edition, seemed to develop later.
This is the first time it occurred to me that its slightly weird that we get the Player Character Perspective from someone literally called Jack the NPC. I guess it's one of those "If you're wondering how he eats and breathes..." sort of things.
Best module ever. I added a thieves guild that worked with the gambling temple that wanted the players to help knock out the orcs and the gnolls. There was also a random encounter with a wandering assassin that I used to foreshadow L2
I can't wait for the remake of Cyberpunk 2020: Thicker than Blood and Cabin Fever. Those were the videos that introduced me to this channel. I think they are great videos I just wish they were longer.
I really like this. Going to have to buy a pdf and print this then add some Seth mods, DEFINITELY adding Saltmarsh. I dont find modding to 5e that difficult, though I prefer a grimdark 5e using Deathbringer or Runehammer 5e hardcore mods/house rules. I think Shadow Dark is my future though. At least it is a complete game set vs me mxiing and matching an potentially confusing players.
I ran this module as part of an ongoing campaign dealing with a large Yuan-Ti cult trying to resurrect their ancient God, Yigsothoth. In the dungeons of the Bugbear fort was a crystal which was part of a key and a Yuan-Ti priest had killed the Bugbear Shamen and polymorphed to fool the tribe into digging it up for him. The PCs showed up and hilarity insued
I was wondering why this popped up in my recommendations when I had already watched the original one earlier today! Great to see this getting another pass and Jack joining in
The chapel to gambling could also be more of an underground hush hush big wig sort of gambling spot. where people in masks like the baron the next county over or a well traveled master theif descretely go to live it up instead of it being open and advertised. Thus why its hidden. its more of a “word of mouth” secret dive sort of place. Which can give it an interesting atmosphere.
We first played this in 82 or 83. My players loved the sand box. They went everywhere ,gambling at a temple , playing darts in the bar, killing rats , fighting bandits, surprising gnolls and finally heading off to Bone Hill. Enjoyed the slightly different monsters, the night and day difference at the dungeon, the unique magic items and potions, and a few other classic item/trick traps. I have witnessed several different fails (and played in one) of the follow up Assassin's Knot module so I'm eager to DM a successful Assassin's Knot by laying a few seeds in place during the original Bone Hill Module. I have my party landing to the east of Garrotteton and staying at least one night there on their way to Restenford so they can meet some of NPC's there pre- Knot. None of My groups ever interacted with the Baron or the Druid or the Abbey which I found strange. I like your Bone Hill backstory and thanks for the maps.
I've actually been looking at hooking this module into a 5E game I'm starting for my kid and her friends using the Fool's Gold campaign setting. This module gives a great area to fill out the map outside of the Bellowing Wilds and Kylandria.
Cover art not matching the content might be a misdirection for the players so they don’t metagame. You don’t want to have the title or the art spoil a plot twist or give away a riddle the players should solve.
While I never really heard of this one, I do know of a few older modules from my brother's old collection: Forge of Fury, Return to White Plume Mountain, The Standing Stones, and The Apocalypse Stone. For some reason The Standing Stones always stood out to me because it has a sort of "Who dunnit" vibe that has some pretty nifty twists and turns. I absolutely loved reading it and always wanted to convert it to 5th edition to run for my group. The Apocalypse Stone is more of a synopsis and guideline mixed with a story about the players fucking up royally. The planes are getting goofy, some demons have a bit of fun, and you can use a lot of psychological warfare with a demon. It's sort of an epoch of redemption and world ending that can basically be used as a grand finale or "rocks fall, I'm nuking the world" type of thing. I definitely recommend giving them a look. It's probably just rose colored lenses and the imagination of my youth that loves them but I adore these modules.
A video on how to convert old modules for 5e would be appreciated. You talked about redoing the encounters to be the intended difficulty but how do i do that if i havent played the edition im trying to convert from?
Earliest editions didn't have much concern for balancing encounters. Module makers put in a number of monsters that felt right to them, and whether the characters are able to handle that or not wasn't their problem. As such you should use the recommended encounter sizes for the current edition, and ignore the original number of creatures.
Sadly, some information for TSR 9045 L1 The Secret of Bone Hill is found in TSR 9057 L2 The Assassin's Knot, making L1 a not entirely complete module by the author's own statement.
I reviewed it very early on, shorty after my original review of Secret of Bone Hill. It's pretty crude, had terrible audio, and isn't the level of detail that scenario reviews now have. I'll eventually update it to my current standards. But I'll have to wait a bit as to not have many re-do vids all at once. I like pacing those out slowly. Not sure if I'll do that or a re-do of All That Glitters first. Both are two of my favorite AD&D modules, and why they were some of the first modules I reviewed. Unfortunately, that also meant that I did them before I really figured out what I was doing.
Just wanted to say, "Thanks for doing this channel." When I had COVID 2 years ago I discovered this channel and reignited an old flame. Three old friends are now playing D&D again, we started with Greyhawk. Just finished Hoard of the Dragon Queen, and now going on a trail drive with Savage Lands Deadlands. I really appreciate all your work. Keep it up.
An option to make the town a part of their childhoods could be that their families left when a war started, and it wasn't until recent people could go back to rebuild it. The players maybe spent years separated from each other, explaining their different classes (the rogue didn't have much luck, the cleric was adopted by the church when their parents died, the fighter became a soldier to go back and fight...), and some rumors could be local urban legends. Maybe the reason they came back was to deliver the ashes from their dead relatives, so they can rest with the rest of their families. Even the baron could be a childhood friend, giving him a reason to trust them and maybe ask for their help.
I was eager to hear more without spoilers, because I might be a player in this adventure in the future. I've listened to reviews that didn't contain spoilers & reviews which had a spoiler-free part. Please make part of your review videos spoiler free (e.g. the first part).
Well, it's probably best if you're going to be a player in this adventure to look as little of it up as possible in order to be surprised during the game, and instead ask your DM what all you should expect and know before you begin. This video is designed to help your DM run the game for you - What to look out for and suggestions/tips to make it a better experience for them and their players. It also includes maps and assets I made or modified for DMs to use if they wish. There's going to be spoilers involved. Certain areas I could talk about before the Spoiler Warning, but then have to repeat and expand on them after the Spoiler Warning, meaning a lot of repeated information making it a longer and more tedious video. No one wants that. Furthermore, as I'm not privy to how your DM plans to introduce or modify certain aspects, I can't know exactly what will be spoilery for your game. So it's best to stay safe and present those details after the Spoiler Warning. Again, this review isn't meant for players. Players should be asking their DM what they need to know and not going and looking it up themselves, then lecturing video creators on not spoiling them enough. Send your DM here instead.
The thing that we discovered really quickly as a players was that Bone Hill got its name if you go to it immediately it's that you'll get absolutely boned if you're not prepared.
They could fit all that into 32 pages because they left a lot between the lines for GMs to infer. The church of the big gamble doesn't expend a lot of print explaining the lore of the church, they just say "Hey this priest wants to gamble with you btw he worships a gambling god now put up or shut up!"
My favorite is the Dwarven innkeeper in town who challenges the adventurers to a friendly wager on a game of darts. Nothing special there but then you notice he has 17 Dex and he probably made a small fortune from travellers underestimating his dart skills over the years.
I used the "orcs with families" trick several times in my games and it's a great way to de-escalate many conflicts and separating murder-hobos from players who genuinly never consider that angle.
40 years later and I still remember playing this. So much fun. I miss D&D.
Man, I still remember your original review of this. But there's nothing that can't be improved by adding more Jack!
And here I was thinking I was crazy for thinking I had seen this before and not just for the regular sort of crazy that goes with the day to day.
@@TKFKUI have both crazies.👾🦀
Are we the baddies?
Improved by adding more Jack, you say? 🥃😏
@@TKFKU same here. "so wait a minute..."
The day always gets brighter when you upload something 😁! Thank you as always for the great content Seth! I hope the holidays have been going great for you so far!
Been a good holiday so-far. Though I blew my back out for no discernable reason and spent Christmas pretty much laid out and unable to stand straight. Hurt like hell. But some muscle relaxers and serious stretching got it to release with a satisfying crunch the following day.
@@SSkorkowskyLOVE THE SHIRT!
Hope you feel better soon.
@@SSkorkowsky been there! Getting old is not for the meek
The first module I purchased... in 1981. I still have it. I have replayed it many times, revised and updated for newer versions of D&D.
I also still have L2, The Assassin's Knot. It's not as good.
@fhuber7507 i actually really enjoyed assassins knot. It was different in a good way. Though that cover art left something to be desired.
Have you by chance updated it for 5E?
The cover art of this module was pretty eye-opening as a kid 😂
Nice to see an AD&D review after a while, even if it's a remake. Looking forward to seeing more in the future.
I feel like I’d like to try convert this to a more sandbox-style Regency Cthulhu campaign setting. Obviously have to try put at least a few starter investigations in, but I love how there seems to be all these rumours and things going on under the surface, and stories within stories.
I always love all these updated videos just something about old adventures in the new format.
Some people get all twisted up about it, like I'm erasing my channel's history and depriving the world of an essential subpar video. Personally, if I'm going to have it out there for new people to find, I want it to be the best it can be, as well as a decent representation of what my reviews are like. That old review video was neither of those.
Though, people wanting to see the original can find it deep in the video description.
You mean this update *isn't* a deep state conspiracy to revise history?
@@SSkorkowsky personally I love having both the old and the new vids being up since it can se fun to see how different things are from way back when to you more recent vids
I don't know why, but Seth's little catchphrases are on of the things I love about his review style. "And I'm Jack the NPC, I'm here to give it to you from a players' side of things..." "I must warn you there will be spoilers." "Until next time, gamers, you have a great day. *Sip* Y'know..."
Just little nuggets of familiar comfort.
If those were baby goblins, I know a certain adventurer who wouldn't have hesitated.
Its good to see Jack the NPC ! now a big question, does Seth have an adventure setting or a module that he has written ? Maybe in his fictional universe ?
I've written modules for Call of Cthulhu, Traveller, and , but none for D&D. Though, my Black Raven stories and the story Mist of Lichthafen (very first video on the channel is me reading it) are set in my old D&D world.
@@SSkorkowskyLooking out for the announcement 😮
Remember @Seth Skorkowsky AD&D modules always assume that the player characters will have henchmen, trained dogs etc. Going in without henchmen is a recipe for disaster, same with any AD&D module
It always amazes me how many players miss out on running Henchmen. I wouldn't run a Magic-user over 3rd level without one or two.
Ah, Restenford! The Home of my first Three DnD characters; Ser Nate Trevelyan(V.Human-Fighter:Battlemaster-Noble-L.Gd), Barend Gorum(Mt.Dwarf-Rogue: Inquisitive-Faction Agent-C.Gd) and Aeolus Graywolf(V.Human-Ranger:Hunter Conclave- City Watch-N.Gd). I loved this Module and am really glad you updated the Review Seth. Happy New Year!
As an Aside: My Character's dealt with the Children Question in different ways: Ser Nate(one of the Baron's four kid's) set one of the Protective Mother's up as a Representative/Leader of the Surviving Monster's and worked a Peacr Treaty with 'em....Barend just took the Orphan Children in and started an Orphanage like your. Crew did...Graywolf dud what any Cop would do;Sent it up the Chain and hope for the Best(they were all killed by the other NPC Militia)...
Near 700 views in the first couple of hours since it was uploaded, on a weeknight in the holiday season - looking good !
I caught it in the first hour via my Roku in our living room, now watching through my main account.
Thank you for the improved maps, they look better than my efforts in years past and they will certainly help.
A talking sword in Bone Hill!? Oh no... it's the Bonesaw!!!
A great old school sandbox starting adventure, up there with Hommlet IMO as a starting locale and can easily be expanded with elements of the Lost Mines of Phandelin for example. Last time I ran it as the start of the campaign I used Restenford as a stand in for Daggerford in the Forgotten Reams, added elements of Scourge of the Sword Coast and also Under Ilefarn for an epic campaign.
I would also add Priestly Secrets (Dungeon #71) to the list of adventures set in and around Restenford.
The amount of effort you put in your videos really shows, the writing, filming, editing etc. Thanks for the wonderful content.
Also, like your shirt!
Thank you very much
Go figure, I've been scouring Seth's channel for his old Traveller videos since I got many of the books for the RPG for Christmas recently, and he end up putting out new video on top of that as well; Merry late Christmas Seth!
PGMP-13 is just a phased-plasma rifle in the 30-watt range
@vapormissile , huh? Is that Traveller related?
That it is. My current Traveller campaign has armed them with one and I'm really curious when they're going to finally shoot it and probably kill themselves.
@SSkorkowsky , Let me guess; it's easily overloaded, and the resulting backfire would turn them into goo piles; right? 🫠
Nah. The one they have is the FGMP (Fusion Gun Man Portable), which is insanely powerful, but also unleashes a zone of radiation around the shooter, the entire line of fire, and the target, that is seriously bad for anyone not in a protective rad suit. None of them have the Heavy Weapons skill, so incur a -3 when trying to shoot it. And anyone who isn't super-strong or in a power suit are going to take more minuses due to its heft and size. So chances of it going bad for them are pretty decent.
This has been floating around in my brain for 40 years. I remember when my brother bought this new.
Thank you Seth! Very well done!
I wish you and your wife a very happy new year! And of course to all the fine people who follow you!
As we say in Sweden, Gott nytt år!
Alicia from Sweden.
And to you as well. Happy New Year
Really enjoyed this. Brought back a lot of memories. Ahhh Durn the Dwarf. You died on the way to Lark Hill (maybe...somewhere to the NW) when you held off some Stirges. Good times
I re-read this module just recently. I love 1e reviews, please do more.
I watched an earlier vid and you mentioned running Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh with this and Isle of Dread, I did that combining the 3 into one large campaign, the three work great together and seamlessly in the way I structured them- thanks and great call
It's still wild to me that we get the player perspective from an NPC
I really like these sorts of limited sandboxes. expansive enough to feel like there is a lot to do and a lot of freedom to approach them, but also contained enough that its not overwhelming.
Great advice on how to take the module (or modules) as written and tweak them to your own liking. Love the idea of mashing up Bone Hill and Saltmarsh.
Haven't watched the video yet but since I'm early just wanted to say great work with what you do man, your vids have made me a better DM!
Just wanted to say man I got your icons of RPG Dice. Tonight my players and I had our first session playing with the starter set. We played through the paper trail with two investigators and my players were rolling so hot with these dice they had literally five crits in a row between them!!! They found the major clues early and managed to capture and talk out with the "villain" without any deaths.
I will still support you by watching your re-posted/redo videos. Always entertaining.
I just did an ad&d binge of your vids yesterday, was not expecting this.
I can read it... can i have my ring please? Nice video Seth
I ran this module for my family during our recent vacation. What’s the secret of Bonehill? Uh, there are monsters. Anyway, great review. Really shows how much is packed into one module. It’s much more suited to an extended campaign than a one shot.
Some unsolicited feedback, Seth! I found your channel through your Reptile God review; even if its production isn’t quite up to your current standard, it totally hooked me and I've watched / listened to all of your videos at this point. Your AD&D reviews and ideas are really inspiring. But I guess the OG Bone Hill vid must not have made an impression on me, in that I couldn't recall what the adventure was about; my only vague memory / takeaway from it was that it’s a sandbox but not as interesting as Reptile God. NOW, however, it's another story! Your new Bone Hill vid has *ignited* my imagination; your passion is clear and contagious; the fun sandbox potentiality is very clearly communicated; in all, move over Reptile God, I want to run this the first chance I get! All this is to say, thank you for taking the time to revitalize some of your earlier vids; that effort does not go unnoticed or unappreciated!
Technical-wise the original video was pretty bad. Audio was abysmal. But the original review itself was much more straight-forward of what's inside the adventure than what can be done with it, which is the approach style I ended up adopting for all my review vids. There's more jokes now, but they aren't the reason this video is twice as long as the original.
his ws the first dungeon i bought and ran. it was well ahead of its time.
dude, i keep getting impressed with how good your content is! And it keeps getting better! Thanksss!
I remember the child monsters in the old against the giants module. But turns out hill giant toddlers still fight like ogtes and one pc got splatted by the nursery maid's frying pan, the rogue got rswarmed and ripped apart by three of them. It was a massacre.
The correct module title is "Wrath of the Zap Lady"...
I still have that! Incorporated it in a few campaigns
As to the Bugbear children idea, that is a logical and realistic thing to put in a adventure. I can be fun to put your players in that kind of spot where they have to ask themselves alot of hard questions a out why they adventure and other moral dilemmas.
However, I'd like to put in a suggestion to DMs. Make sure you know your players well before you try this. If everyone's friends and are all on the same page on what they want out of their role-playing, then you won't have any problems. If not, well....I've seen groups break up over stuff like this. 1 guy says "Yes, we must kill these evil monsters" and 1 says, "No, I will not let you do that." If neither is willing to back down then no matter happens there's probably going to be hard filling. And that's if they don't straight up go PVP kill each other. Someone's walking away pissed.
The hydra and the nightmare might be because a lot of Gygaxian AD&D mantra was about tricking the players themselves into having certain expectations and keep them guessing. A way of subverting metagaming.
Finally , a AD&D review! Been awhile.
Hell yes!! Been waiting for this classic!
I have adapted L1 into Shadows of the Demon Lord and Savage Worlds. Not a small amount of work, but adaptation is a great way to learn about adventure and encounter design, as well as world building.
Just what I need. Been running AD&D 1st ed for a few years now.
Really like that corruption of bone hill angle you have! connects it to the rest of the world and gives a cool atmosphere to the whole thing.
Always nice to see some more AD&D content Seth!
I can so remember DMing this... in the Eighties.....I feel very old..😅
Same lol
Would love to see 3rd and 3.5 adventure reviews. No matter how much I try, I can't find a single one of them on RUclips
Never played a 3e or 3.5 adventure. Sorry
My favorite cover for all the modules!
was pretty sure when he mentioned the adventurer with an intelligent blade one of the rumors would be "and his name was peanut head"
If the locals want to keep the gambling temple more anonymous, perhaps attendees wear masks.
Or at least while they're travelling to and from it (the priest might frown on them wearing masks inside). But it gives a really cool scene of these masked people travelling to and from the woods every few nights. I dig it.
An amazing review as usual! The OG was a while ago but Im sure this was better, cuz it has Jack.
2017 was seven years ago... I'm not even getting old. I'm just old
Ok, it’s time to re-watch all the old D&D reviews p.s if you will remake all the “outdated” review videos like the Cthulhu ones it would be truly majestic
Glad to see this review get an update
Also, love the shirt
Thanks for doing this again. I kove your reviews of old adventures. Its been a while since the last one eh?
Why just send a couple of "big winners" into town?
It would be even MORE effective to coax someone (popular/ well respected) FROM town into the temple, and then "rig" the games in HIS favor, so he actually DOES become a "big winner"!
That way, when he goes back to town, his words will be even more persuasive! And for those who aren't persuaded by his words, seeing him living "the high life" / spending all that money; in town (like a 'Victor' from the Hunger Games franchise) WOULD be very convincing!
(Just make sure if/ when he comes back in future visits, you keep rigging the games to make sure he DOESN'T lose his shirt, or at least "breaks even"!) It would be a small cost for all the positive advertising.
And yeah, a vast majority of these old, classic modules had ZERO mechanical "game balance"! Considerations like that, eventually becoming Challenge Rating in 3rd Edition, seemed to develop later.
This is the first time it occurred to me that its slightly weird that we get the Player Character Perspective from someone literally called Jack the NPC. I guess it's one of those "If you're wondering how he eats and breathes..." sort of things.
Think of Jack as undercover and getting the inside scoop
Well observed
Best module ever. I added a thieves guild that worked with the gambling temple that wanted the players to help knock out the orcs and the gnolls. There was also a random encounter with a wandering assassin that I used to foreshadow L2
I can't wait for the remake of Cyberpunk 2020: Thicker than Blood and Cabin Fever. Those were the videos that introduced me to this channel. I think they are great videos I just wish they were longer.
Thicker Than Blood is a definite for a remake. Maybe later this year, as I don't like to do re-makes too close together.
I really like this. Going to have to buy a pdf and print this then add some Seth mods, DEFINITELY adding Saltmarsh. I dont find modding to 5e that difficult, though I prefer a grimdark 5e using Deathbringer or Runehammer 5e hardcore mods/house rules. I think Shadow Dark is my future though. At least it is a complete game set vs me mxiing and matching an potentially confusing players.
I ran this module as part of an ongoing campaign dealing with a large Yuan-Ti cult trying to resurrect their ancient God, Yigsothoth. In the dungeons of the Bugbear fort was a crystal which was part of a key and a Yuan-Ti priest had killed the Bugbear Shamen and polymorphed to fool the tribe into digging it up for him. The PCs showed up and hilarity insued
Great post. The maps look useful. I love the t-shirt! 😂
Love the shirt.... give my ring back
Dang, I was gonna say that! Two thumbs up 👍👍
I was wondering why this popped up in my recommendations when I had already watched the original one earlier today!
Great to see this getting another pass and Jack joining in
You might have been the last person to see the original before I archived it. I'm sure the back-to-back comparison of them is kinda weird.
@@SSkorkowsky Lol, that's neat. I was actually also looking at the Drivethrurpg page for the adventure before I started watching this one
The chapel to gambling could also be more of an underground hush hush big wig sort of gambling spot. where people in masks like the baron the next county over or a well traveled master theif descretely go to live it up instead of it being open and advertised. Thus why its hidden. its more of a “word of mouth” secret dive sort of place. Which can give it an interesting atmosphere.
This was the second ever module I ever played in an AD&D 2e game, playing my Orc Fighter/Thief, who remains my longest surviving AD&D character.
Monster kids intended to be a moral dilemma to make players think. In reality, players are like sweet, easy half XP.
Oh, I would award zero XP for their murder. The young wouldn’t even have treasure worth the name to get XP from
We first played this in 82 or 83. My players loved the sand box. They went everywhere ,gambling at a temple , playing darts in the bar, killing rats , fighting bandits, surprising gnolls and finally heading off to Bone Hill.
Enjoyed the slightly different monsters, the night and day difference at the dungeon, the unique magic items and potions, and a few other classic item/trick traps.
I have witnessed several different fails (and played in one) of the follow up Assassin's Knot module so I'm eager to DM a successful Assassin's Knot by laying a few seeds in place during the original Bone Hill Module. I have my party landing to the east of Garrotteton and staying at least one night there on their way to Restenford so they can meet some of NPC's there pre- Knot.
None of My groups ever interacted with the Baron or the Druid or the Abbey which I found strange.
I like your Bone Hill backstory and thanks for the maps.
I've actually been looking at hooking this module into a 5E game I'm starting for my kid and her friends using the Fool's Gold campaign setting. This module gives a great area to fill out the map outside of the Bellowing Wilds and Kylandria.
I love sandbox modules. Probably my favorite form of published adventure material.
12:32 This reminds me of Chester Copperpot, the explorer who's bones the Goonies find in the cave leading to One Eyed Willy's rich stuff.
One of my favorites! Getting ready to adapt it to a Shadowdark campaign. Because you know how absolutely diabolical I am.
Have fun, man.
I have that same T-shirt! You have excellent taste.
Cover art not matching the content might be a misdirection for the players so they don’t metagame. You don’t want to have the title or the art spoil a plot twist or give away a riddle the players should solve.
Awesome review!
Makes me want to pick up the module.
Sounds like a good one to adapt to the EZD6 game I am putting together for my grandkids.
woohoo! one of the best old modules. awesome christmas present
While I never really heard of this one, I do know of a few older modules from my brother's old collection: Forge of Fury, Return to White Plume Mountain, The Standing Stones, and The Apocalypse Stone.
For some reason The Standing Stones always stood out to me because it has a sort of "Who dunnit" vibe that has some pretty nifty twists and turns. I absolutely loved reading it and always wanted to convert it to 5th edition to run for my group.
The Apocalypse Stone is more of a synopsis and guideline mixed with a story about the players fucking up royally. The planes are getting goofy, some demons have a bit of fun, and you can use a lot of psychological warfare with a demon. It's sort of an epoch of redemption and world ending that can basically be used as a grand finale or "rocks fall, I'm nuking the world" type of thing.
I definitely recommend giving them a look. It's probably just rose colored lenses and the imagination of my youth that loves them but I adore these modules.
The Lenore Isles trilogy might be a good candidate for a Goodman Games OAR
A video on how to convert old modules for 5e would be appreciated. You talked about redoing the encounters to be the intended difficulty but how do i do that if i havent played the edition im trying to convert from?
Earliest editions didn't have much concern for balancing encounters. Module makers put in a number of monsters that felt right to them, and whether the characters are able to handle that or not wasn't their problem.
As such you should use the recommended encounter sizes for the current edition, and ignore the original number of creatures.
Please review The Assassin's Knot!!!
Sadly, some information for TSR 9045 L1 The Secret of Bone Hill is found in TSR 9057 L2 The Assassin's Knot, making L1 a not entirely complete module by the author's own statement.
Nice to hear someone likes U1 adventure "Secret of Saltmarsh". Maybe a review of that one is in any plans?
I reviewed it very early on, shorty after my original review of Secret of Bone Hill. It's pretty crude, had terrible audio, and isn't the level of detail that scenario reviews now have. I'll eventually update it to my current standards. But I'll have to wait a bit as to not have many re-do vids all at once. I like pacing those out slowly. Not sure if I'll do that or a re-do of All That Glitters first. Both are two of my favorite AD&D modules, and why they were some of the first modules I reviewed. Unfortunately, that also meant that I did them before I really figured out what I was doing.
Awesome remake. Happy New Year
One of my favorites from way back when.
Ah a remake of 7 years old review! I thought that rang a bell.
Just wanted to say, "Thanks for doing this channel." When I had COVID 2 years ago I discovered this channel and reignited an old flame. Three old friends are now playing D&D again, we started with Greyhawk. Just finished Hoard of the Dragon Queen, and now going on a trail drive with Savage Lands Deadlands. I really appreciate all your work. Keep it up.
If I ever run this module, I’m going to turn the drawers into kobolds.
The updates are great but would love to see brand-new AD&D video or two!
Id like to see you make a video about characters youve had and played in games.
Babe wake up new Seth skorkowsky module review
Well....sorta new, sorta old
Hoping we get to see more videos of other modules as well as remasters, either way love me some more seth!
I thought I had seen you do this before. Now new and improved with Jack
One of my early favorites! It was the next step up from Hommlet!
If the party ever asks themselves if they're the bad guys, the answer is nearly always, "yes."
Yep. I’ll watch you recycle whatever module you want, legggoooooo
An option to make the town a part of their childhoods could be that their families left when a war started, and it wasn't until recent people could go back to rebuild it. The players maybe spent years separated from each other, explaining their different classes (the rogue didn't have much luck, the cleric was adopted by the church when their parents died, the fighter became a soldier to go back and fight...), and some rumors could be local urban legends. Maybe the reason they came back was to deliver the ashes from their dead relatives, so they can rest with the rest of their families. Even the baron could be a childhood friend, giving him a reason to trust them and maybe ask for their help.
I was eager to hear more without spoilers, because I might be a player in this adventure in the future. I've listened to reviews that didn't contain spoilers & reviews which had a spoiler-free part. Please make part of your review videos spoiler free (e.g. the first part).
Well, it's probably best if you're going to be a player in this adventure to look as little of it up as possible in order to be surprised during the game, and instead ask your DM what all you should expect and know before you begin.
This video is designed to help your DM run the game for you - What to look out for and suggestions/tips to make it a better experience for them and their players. It also includes maps and assets I made or modified for DMs to use if they wish. There's going to be spoilers involved. Certain areas I could talk about before the Spoiler Warning, but then have to repeat and expand on them after the Spoiler Warning, meaning a lot of repeated information making it a longer and more tedious video. No one wants that. Furthermore, as I'm not privy to how your DM plans to introduce or modify certain aspects, I can't know exactly what will be spoilery for your game. So it's best to stay safe and present those details after the Spoiler Warning.
Again, this review isn't meant for players. Players should be asking their DM what they need to know and not going and looking it up themselves, then lecturing video creators on not spoiling them enough. Send your DM here instead.