Figured I'd throw this out to the experts round these parts. The weekend before GaryCon I'm running a camping/gaming weekend with some friends. This is our third one, and when we started doing them about half were completely new to gaming. Up to this point we've done BRP Call of Cthulhu, but I'm going to run some old-school D&D (probably using Labyrinth Lord). So the question is, what should I run? Of those who have D&D experience, none of it is old-school, so any classic modules are on the board (me writing something completely from scratch is not on the board, mostly due to time constraints). Oh, except T1, since I ran that for my wife who is coming and would like to run something else. I'm kind of thinking B2, but I'm curious about whether people think smaller/more directed modules work better when there's a time limitation.
B2 is an excellent choice, but if you are going to do a lot of gaming all at once, it does require a good read-through and some DM touches in preparation. It goes really well with Labyrinth Lord, since LL has all the wandering monster tables and stuff like that you might need. If you are comfortable with off-the-cuff GMing, it's an extremely strong module. If you prefer to have as much laid out as possible beforehand, it will require some prep work. Another good choice if you want something more structured with more of a story is a 3.5 module called Hollow's Last Hope. It is written for D&D 3.5, but it is very easy to port to an LL or B/X game. It's a very good quality free product. Check it out! http://paizo.com/store/paizoExclusives/v5748btpy82r0
I much prefer more limited scenarios when you're under time constraints. Try U1 Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh.
I have to agree. Saltmarsh is an excellent choice because it is set up in such a way that if parts are finished quickly other areas can be expanded. It has enough things going on that you can bring it to a conclusion as quickly or as slowly as you like. If you read through it well you should be able to pace it depending on your time constraints. Saltmarsh is one of my favorite adventures/modules, btw, and probably one of the first ones I made sure to buy.
I ran a pick up game using B2 last year and it worked well. It's a pretty easy "kill stuff and take their treasure" kind of adventure. Perhaps it's because I have run it so many times over the years, but I don't have a problem winging it. It's an easy hike from the keep to the caves and from there, pick a hole to walk into. IMO, it doesn't get any easier than that. U1 is a good choice but you will need to develop Saltmarsh if you are going to start there. I think there is at least one "pre-fabed" Saltmarsh out on the innarwebz, but it was written for 3.5, iirc. I actually really enjoy running G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief. I so rarely make it to a high level campaign that running this is a good break from the norm. And, being a good hack-n-slash adventure with a little of stealth needed at the beginning, G1 is good, fast paced fun. Plus you get to see people handle higher level magic which always interests me. You could also run one of the classic tourney modules like C1 or any of the A series. A4 would be a good "escape" scenario... In all cases, I would recommend using pre-gens and have plenty of variety to pick from. Good luck and see you there.
Oh, I've got a premade Saltmarsh that's ready to go for short-term play. It's fast and easy to get into the adventure especially since you'd be using pregens. My only problem with running it is that there are probably quite a few people who have already played it which takes a lot of the fun out of it. FWIW
Yeah, that can be a problem in running old classic modules that are "who-dunnits" or mysteries at a con. That's why I usually stick with the hack and slash mods. Everyone knows what's in that Great Hall in G1 but that doesn't mean they will survive it! :twisted:
Saltmarch is a great game for a good weekend of quick gaming. I cannot recommend this one enough. However, if you want to go old school and get mean, I would suggest the Tomb of Horrors. Nothing beats killing everyone in the party!
I looked into it, and there are a variety of modules you could pretty use. I still recommend Saltmarches, myself. I just didn't realize there were so many modules available. I wish they had some sort of PDF pack for these things. Printable coupons for these modules could be useful as well.
Some people do have .pdf copies of these things... Maybe not everything, but certainly a large amount... ;-)
Thanks for all the feedback everyone. Saltmarches looked really great, but since I'd run Call of Cthulhu at the previous events, I decided against doing a mystery-oriented module. I ended up running KOTB, and it went really well. They only partially explored one of the caves, but we had a lot of fun just getting them out there (random encounter of 40 bandits ended up taking out 5/7 original characters and making for some fun plot points). See you all this weekend!
Some of them were surrounded, and some managed to stay outside that circle. They refused to throw down arms, but managed to take out the leader (actually they did so right before the mage cast charm person, which would have probably gone much better). A few of the bandits fled, the characters hiding in the woods took out a few, and then managed to take out the couple that remained behind to guard captives while the rest searched the woods. That left 4 characters, actually. They then set up an ambush on the road for the remaining 10 bandits, and would have probably made it out okay except for two "1"s on their part in the same round the bandits got two "20"s. /gaming story (You asked for it, though, showing interest and all)
