1. I love module C2 and have run it a half-dozen times. It is my go-to adventure for beginners who are curious to play D&D, or anyone looking for a one-off game at a convention. If you limit it to the tournament encounters, the dungeon and the Ghost Tower both neatly play out at 3.5 hours each. If you push the players and run it fast and furious, you can (I have) fit the whole thing into just over four hours. Hammack put together a terrific, memorable, visually gripping set of challenges, culminating in a deadly set piece. I have had players spontaneously cheer and applaud when they beat the Soul Gem at the end. 2. For Greyhawk lore, my main takeaways are that the Inverness ruins are extremely ancient, implying that the area around the Bright Desert has been continuously inhabited well back into the Flan era. Galap-Dreidel is older than almost all Greyhawk continuity. The tournament PCs' backgrounds are colorful. I assumed Hodar dabbled in some specific magic that the Duke forbids -- which could be something like a charm person used on the Duke's daughter or on the Duke himself. Zinethar as a fanatical Pholtite makes a lot of sense. My main takeaway from the set-up was that the Duke of Urnst is a big a-- hole, who makes taxes payable in people and arrests fairly mid- to high-level characters for flimsy reasons. The Seer is probably the power behind the throne, who doesn't like name-level clerics and magic-users in Urnst as potential rivals. Of course, what the Seer does with the Soul Gem is a good question....
I ran this in my recent Forgotten Realms Savage Frontier campaign (wrong setting, I know). They knew a necromancer they were hunting down used to live there. They were very confused upon finding a bunch of strange puzzles and no undead. Little did they know this place was built by the necromancer's brother...Keraptis! And yes, they had to endure White Plume Mountain as well.
This was one of the very first modules I ever got. Although I enjoyed it as a kid, it was never one of my favorites. I don't think I ever actually ran it.
The module is fun and illogical - nothing realistic or practical, really. My group played it, and lived. I think modules have little tidbits in them that the author didn't intend to, nor consider having world-wide (or even outside-the-module) implications so you may be reading too much into some of these things. ;) But they're fun to think about and carry through to the "end", or as far as you can go.
Thanks for the video! Allen's work has stood the test of time. It's not just typical of its type; it's the reason there is a type. There were so many aspects of this inventive module that became staples and tropes of D&D adventures for years to come that it's easy to forget how this is the one that set the stage for so much of what we take for granted in D&D adventures for the next forty-plus years. All hail Allen Hammack and The Ghost Tower of Inverness!
I hate the way many early modules were "tournament" editions; they ignore story and focus on combat and puzzles. I was interested in some of these modules until I learned how tournament modules are set up. When did D&D actually start focusing on story?
I love minutia and speculation like this. It's what makes this channel special. I'll play... If it is Pholtus, then maybe a couple of priest/missionaries from the Theocracy of the Pale showed up to spread the fanatical dogma of their country's Blinding Light orthodoxy ... and it caught on. Should the Duke figure this out there would be considerable tension between the two countries with Nyrond stuck in the middle. (As if Nyrond doesn't have enough problems at this moment in history.) [See GG's video: "When Good Nations are at Odds."]
I don't know how any here feel about the 3.X Living Greyhawk campaign, but it reminds me of the running joke here in Australia that people had of playing representatives of the Pale as the most unbearable, obnoxious USA-style Evangelical fire & brimstone, "hang all the gays" type preachers. Like Westboro with the absolute worst possible Tennessee drawl the GM could possibly put on.
@@EmperorPylades Heh heh. That sounds like a lot fun. I play them as sort of a watered down Spanish Inquisition. (To be fair they do have actual witches and demons in their world.) I think, however, that is too ham-fisted. When I broke out the "Greyhawk Wars" board game my players were actually surprised to see the Pale listed as a good country. So obnoxious and judgemental born again/evangelical folk perhaps? (Tennessee drawl optional.) They're tiresome to listen to but hey, they're not going to mug you when you walk down the street either. Of course, if you're intentionally talking blasphemy on the streets of Wintershiven then spending a couple of days in the stocks is probably the best outcome you can hope for.
A lot of the older ones did, because a lot of them started out as tournament modules. Tamoachan, G1-3 (in the compilation module), the Slave Lords, etc.
1. I love module C2 and have run it a half-dozen times. It is my go-to adventure for beginners who are curious to play D&D, or anyone looking for a one-off game at a convention. If you limit it to the tournament encounters, the dungeon and the Ghost Tower both neatly play out at 3.5 hours each. If you push the players and run it fast and furious, you can (I have) fit the whole thing into just over four hours. Hammack put together a terrific, memorable, visually gripping set of challenges, culminating in a deadly set piece. I have had players spontaneously cheer and applaud when they beat the Soul Gem at the end.
2. For Greyhawk lore, my main takeaways are that the Inverness ruins are extremely ancient, implying that the area around the Bright Desert has been continuously inhabited well back into the Flan era. Galap-Dreidel is older than almost all Greyhawk continuity. The tournament PCs' backgrounds are colorful. I assumed Hodar dabbled in some specific magic that the Duke forbids -- which could be something like a charm person used on the Duke's daughter or on the Duke himself. Zinethar as a fanatical Pholtite makes a lot of sense. My main takeaway from the set-up was that the Duke of Urnst is a big a-- hole, who makes taxes payable in people and arrests fairly mid- to high-level characters for flimsy reasons. The Seer is probably the power behind the throne, who doesn't like name-level clerics and magic-users in Urnst as potential rivals. Of course, what the Seer does with the Soul Gem is a good question....
love this
More old module reviews, please. Using them, like horror on the hill, for my next campaign.
Said in the style of William Shatner as Admiral Kirk, "PINKERTONS!"
I ran this in my recent Forgotten Realms Savage Frontier campaign (wrong setting, I know). They knew a necromancer they were hunting down used to live there. They were very confused upon finding a bunch of strange puzzles and no undead. Little did they know this place was built by the necromancer's brother...Keraptis! And yes, they had to endure White Plume Mountain as well.
Played this one last year and 5 of the 6 PCs died. Medusa took out 3 of them. Good times.
This was one of the very first modules I ever got. Although I enjoyed it as a kid, it was never one of my favorites. I don't think I ever actually ran it.
The module is fun and illogical - nothing realistic or practical, really. My group played it, and lived.
I think modules have little tidbits in them that the author didn't intend to, nor consider having world-wide (or even outside-the-module) implications so you may be reading too much into some of these things. ;) But they're fun to think about and carry through to the "end", or as far as you can go.
Thanks for the video! Allen's work has stood the test of time. It's not just typical of its type; it's the reason there is a type. There were so many aspects of this inventive module that became staples and tropes of D&D adventures for years to come that it's easy to forget how this is the one that set the stage for so much of what we take for granted in D&D adventures for the next forty-plus years. All hail Allen Hammack and The Ghost Tower of Inverness!
I recently picked this one up for a decent price!
I'm glad you made this vid!
Beep beep beep beep beep beep ...
One of my favorite modules. Short enough to run in a session or two, but still a lot of fun.
Great module. The Duke of Urnst and the Seer are recurring NPC's in my game.
Pholtus is always stirring up trouble..m
For me, it turned out to be . . . not what I expected. It's never been a favorite of mine. 🤷♂
I have run this many times over the years. It's always a total blast.
I have played this module many times, now I have to read it again.
Zilchus for the cleric maybe...
One of the few modules I ever played. It was very enjoyable. I especially like the pc intro monlogue.
I find out how so much of Greyhawk lore fits in with other settings like Spelljammer and Dark Sun.
I hate the way many early modules were "tournament" editions; they ignore story and focus on combat and puzzles. I was interested in some of these modules until I learned how tournament modules are set up. When did D&D actually start focusing on story?
At Totalcon 2022, I was able to join Allen Hammack's playthrough of the mod. Had a lot of fun.
We killed the monk and escaped
Love the T-Shirt, where can I get one!
Got that one on Amazon, as I recall.
I love minutia and speculation like this. It's what makes this channel special. I'll play...
If it is Pholtus, then maybe a couple of priest/missionaries from the Theocracy of the Pale showed up to spread the fanatical dogma of their country's Blinding Light orthodoxy ... and it caught on. Should the Duke figure this out there would be considerable tension between the two countries with Nyrond stuck in the middle. (As if Nyrond doesn't have enough problems at this moment in history.)
[See GG's video: "When Good Nations are at Odds."]
I don't know how any here feel about the 3.X Living Greyhawk campaign, but it reminds me of the running joke here in Australia that people had of playing representatives of the Pale as the most unbearable, obnoxious USA-style Evangelical fire & brimstone, "hang all the gays" type preachers. Like Westboro with the absolute worst possible Tennessee drawl the GM could possibly put on.
@@EmperorPylades Heh heh. That sounds like a lot fun. I play them as sort of a watered down Spanish Inquisition. (To be fair they do have actual witches and demons in their world.) I think, however, that is too ham-fisted. When I broke out the "Greyhawk Wars" board game my players were actually surprised to see the Pale listed as a good country.
So obnoxious and judgemental born again/evangelical folk perhaps? (Tennessee drawl optional.) They're tiresome to listen to but hey, they're not going to mug you when you walk down the street either. Of course, if you're intentionally talking blasphemy on the streets of Wintershiven then spending a couple of days in the stocks is probably the best outcome you can hope for.
Love the old tournament modules.
Maybe the Mage was tinkering with Necromantic spells...
What other modules come with pre-gen PCs?
A lot of the older ones did, because a lot of them started out as tournament modules. Tamoachan, G1-3 (in the compilation module), the Slave Lords, etc.
7:07 THANK YOU for saying "raise the question" and not "beg the question."