I got to play an advance release of this as our DM was a module tester for TSR. We went in cold with NO out of character info and it blew our minds. It was a total blast and the SF theme back then was a complete surprise. I remember our party’s high level mage sweating bullets and freaking out the entire time. It was a blast. The DM even turned pale several times. Fortunately, he had really studied it and had a ton of notes plus the advantage of talking to one of the writers. Most memorable module I ever played and we had a terrifying blast (no player coddling back then). I had been playing a monk for some time and went in at level 12 with it. One of my better decisions.
Damn. Great story. I am envious! When I first read the S3 Mod, I initially thought it was great. The Sci-Fi element got me into thinking on how to set up my own campaign world. Where its denizens are the inheritors of an ancient lost alien civilization. Magic is just the use of ancient advanced technology, where the people now no longer understand it.
Wow, that sounds like it was an awesomely fun game. I played it back in the early 1980's and had a blast. This adventure sure brings back fond memories along with the other classics. Gary Gygax sure knew how to write an adventure.
I played this in the Tournament at Origins II in August 1976. While there was not a "Bridge" as in Star Trek or modern warships, there was a "Control Room." My group missed it and did not get the tournament points for finding it. My best friend's group did find it, and his group won the tournament. It was our first time playing D&D; great memories!
The bridge is missing because not all the levels are part of S3. Somewhere I think it says you can add levels if you want, it would be pretty easy to do. I agree it was a bit silly to place the mind flayer in the theatre, when I first read the module I wondered if it was shy. I also wondered if the intellect devourer was its pet that got lost. I sometimes thought that AD&D modules were designed quickly to be fun to play, they weren't intended to be thoroughly thought through and consistent as were, for example, some of the Judges Guild or Rolemaster modules. I think Gary Gygax worked like crazy at the beginning trying to feed the growth and popularity of the game, and the S modules were written for conventions, I bet sometimes he designed them pretty quickly. I still believe his modules were the most compelling though, they fit better with the atmosphere of the manuals, the Greyhawk campaign world, and even the paperback novels he was writing. (did he sleep at all?) Imagine if the modules were meticulously planned and their design reflected the intelligence of the most important monsters / characters on site. Tomb of Horrors would have been 20X more deadly, no one would ever escape from venerable dragon lairs, or sites controlled by demons, devils or anything with intelligence of 19+. Check out some of the Rolemaster modules to see what an impossible dungeon looks like, no characters can survive.
Patrice, Good idea on adding a level or two to add missing elements/rooms (e.g., Bridge/CIC, etc.). Also, good points about Gary's and TSR's earlier works and Modules, which I loved in my youth and still love today. I really have not looked at them with a critical eye until I started making these Walkthru Videos on them. Perhaps Gary feared D&D would not last, and wanted to produce as much work as possible before the fad ended. Well, turns out D&D had staying power. Unfortunately, it was the mismanagement of TSR that...
@@RPGmodsFanI suggest using the Computer Control Room on Deck I as the "Bridge". The large black glass screen could be the Viewing Screen that Captain Kirk's Captain's seat is aimed at.
35:17, I always get a kick out of this Jeff Dee illustration of the robots tossing the bulette and the PCs out of the space ship. And it boggles my imagination that at 35:53 that these humans couldn't think of a weapon that used a simple TRIGGER. And the uniforms wore by the robots and the illithid showed that these people walked around with no pants.
Thanks for the comment. Love that Jeff Dee illustration also. Makes me laugh every time. As far as the device designs, they are not ergonomically designed. GG on purpose tried to make them alien in design.
Thanks, and welcome to my channel. I do have videos on other TSR Era D&D Modules. But I still need to do more videos on the Mods that I have not gotten around to (such as S4, I1, and others).
@@RPGmodsFan How about UK1 Beyond The Crystal Cave ? I'd love to hear your take on that one... Regardless, keep up the great work! What you are doing will be valuable to a whole new generation of dungeon masters!
@@lichegate The UK1 Mod is like the retelling of the "Romeo And Juliet" Story. The NPC Juliana is the equivalent of Juliet, and the NPC Orlando is the equivalent of Romeo, and are the main characters. The PCs are not the main characters, so Players may not enjoy the Mod. Anyway, the UK1 Mod is now on my To Do List.
![S4 Lost Caverns Of Tsojcanth (DM Guide) [ RPGmodsFan ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/7Aq3FAfJ8s8/mqdefault.jpg)
![S4 Lost Caverns Of Tsojcanth (DM Guide) [ RPGmodsFan ]](/img/tr.png)
![I3 Pharaoh (REUPLOAD) (DM Guide) [ RPGmodsFan ]](/img/1.gif)
I got to play an advance release of this as our DM was a module tester for TSR.
We went in cold with NO out of character info and it blew our minds.
It was a total blast and the SF theme back then was a complete surprise.
I remember our party’s high level mage sweating bullets and freaking out the entire time. It was a blast.
The DM even turned pale several times.
Fortunately, he had really studied it and had a ton of notes plus the advantage of talking to one of the writers.
Most memorable module I ever played and we had a terrifying blast (no player coddling back then).
I had been playing a monk for some time and went in at level 12 with it. One of my better decisions.
Damn. Great story. I am envious! When I first read the S3 Mod, I initially thought it was great. The Sci-Fi element got me into thinking on how to set up my own campaign world. Where its denizens are the inheritors of an ancient lost alien civilization. Magic is just the use of ancient advanced technology, where the people now no longer understand it.
Wow, that sounds like it was an awesomely fun game. I played it back in the early 1980's and had a blast. This adventure sure brings back fond memories along with the other classics. Gary Gygax sure knew how to write an adventure.
I played this in the Tournament at Origins II in August 1976. While there was not a "Bridge" as in Star Trek or modern warships, there was a "Control Room." My group missed it and did not get the tournament points for finding it. My best friend's group did find it, and his group won the tournament. It was our first time playing D&D; great memories!
The bridge is missing because not all the levels are part of S3. Somewhere I think it says you can add levels if you want, it would be pretty easy to do. I agree it was a bit silly to place the mind flayer in the theatre, when I first read the module I wondered if it was shy. I also wondered if the intellect devourer was its pet that got lost. I sometimes thought that AD&D modules were designed quickly to be fun to play, they weren't intended to be thoroughly thought through and consistent as were, for example, some of the Judges Guild or Rolemaster modules. I think Gary Gygax worked like crazy at the beginning trying to feed the growth and popularity of the game, and the S modules were written for conventions, I bet sometimes he designed them pretty quickly. I still believe his modules were the most compelling though, they fit better with the atmosphere of the manuals, the Greyhawk campaign world, and even the paperback novels he was writing. (did he sleep at all?)
Imagine if the modules were meticulously planned and their design reflected the intelligence of the most important monsters / characters on site. Tomb of Horrors would have been 20X more deadly, no one would ever escape from venerable dragon lairs, or sites controlled by demons, devils or anything with intelligence of 19+. Check out some of the Rolemaster modules to see what an impossible dungeon looks like, no characters can survive.
Patrice, Good idea on adding a level or two to add missing elements/rooms (e.g., Bridge/CIC, etc.). Also, good points about Gary's and TSR's earlier works and Modules, which I loved in my youth and still love today. I really have not looked at them with a critical eye until I started making these Walkthru Videos on them.
Perhaps Gary feared D&D would not last, and wanted to produce as much work as possible before the fad ended. Well, turns out D&D had staying power. Unfortunately, it was the mismanagement of TSR that...
@@RPGmodsFanI suggest using the Computer Control Room on Deck I as the "Bridge". The large black glass screen could be the Viewing Screen that Captain Kirk's Captain's seat is aimed at.
@@pickard72 😅 Good idea.
looking foward on you reviewing S4
Thanks. Starting next week (25-May-2022), I will be releasing my walkthrough of the S4 Mod (I have split it into 3 parts). Hope you like them. Cheers!
35:17, I always get a kick out of this Jeff Dee illustration of the robots tossing the bulette and the PCs out of the space ship. And it boggles my imagination that at 35:53 that these humans couldn't think of a weapon that used a simple TRIGGER. And the uniforms wore by the robots and the illithid showed that these people walked around with no pants.
Thanks for the comment. Love that Jeff Dee illustration also. Makes me laugh every time. As far as the device designs, they are not ergonomically designed. GG on purpose tried to make them alien in design.
The designs were intentional. If you made a gun look like a gun the players would know what they have. You had to actually figure out what they do.
My stepdad was talking about old modules he had and he pointed me to this video. Would love to see more overviews like this :)
Thanks, and welcome to my channel. I do have videos on other TSR Era D&D Modules. But I still need to do more videos on the Mods that I have not gotten around to (such as S4, I1, and others).
WotC plans to re-release this in 2024 apparently, we'll see. Will they leave the EGG on the plans?
I doubt it.
Nice job! What’s next?
right now, unsure.
@@RPGmodsFan How about UK1 Beyond The Crystal Cave
? I'd love to hear your take on that one... Regardless, keep up the great work! What you are doing will be valuable to a whole new generation of dungeon masters!
@@lichegate The UK1 Mod is like the retelling of the "Romeo And Juliet" Story. The NPC Juliana is the equivalent of Juliet, and the NPC Orlando is the equivalent of Romeo, and are the main characters. The PCs are not the main characters, so Players may not enjoy the Mod. Anyway, the UK1 Mod is now on my To Do List.
Smeg I hope this is an AI voice, it is shockingly bad.