Goodman Games

I just got a chance to pick this up today. First off, let say I was really surprised at how thick this book is. I was expecting a big trade paperback but nothing this big. There is alot of content in this book.

So far I'm very happy with my purchase. I've gotten to read through the Tower of the Black Pearl and it is a really, really good adventure. In fact I'd go so far to call this one an instant classic if you run it for your group. Harley really captured the old school feel with the new rules and created a great atmosphere. You've got traps, undead, puzzles and a cursed but beneficial magic item, all in the first adventure.

I can't wait to get into the rest of them. My only lament is that my player's characters couldn't stay 1st level longer to try more of these out.

What you do get though is a great resource of adventures to springboard campaigns for some time to come.

Top notch job, Goodman Games.

Ren

Oh, I also meant to mention that if you fill out a "reply card" in the back of the book, you get a free PDF of

DCC 3,11, or 17.

This book is flipping GREAT.

I'm a fledgling DM, but have been reading the books and modul--err, "adventures" for many decades now. This is one of the few books that made me sit up and say, "I can be a DM, too." Every adventure was sufficient to give a framework of plot, but hinted and suggested just enough to inspire my imagination for the setting(s).

I intend to copy down very very brief summaries of the adventures and include them in my campaign as rumors and plot hooks for my 1st level players, who will be just starting a game next week. If they're higher than 1st level, I'll scale up as needed.

Best $35.00 I spent in a LONG time. Great job, Goodman deck-jockeys!*


*not-very-obscure Gibson reference

Glad to hear so many positive comments about the product. I know it was something Joseph had been considering for quite some time, and it was a genius idea to pull it off as he did, using so many different great authors and creating a truly valuable book for DMs.

I was thumbing through a copy at my local gaming store to show my friend, when someone wandered up and said "Isn't that the greatest book? I'm so glad someone finally decided to put together a bunch of first level adventures! That's what I need more than anything -- especially with everyone in the party dying so often!"

I concur. AMAZING book. By far my favorite and an attractive addition to my bookshelf. If only a C&C version came out too!

The module seems to be well liked.


http://p105.ezboard.com/fnecromancergam ... 1039.topic

That's great, great stuff. The replies on the Necromancer forum make some valid points (such as a lot of coastal scenarios and no meta-plot information) but those aren't necessarily problems or mistakes -- but each reader may feel differently about that.

I'm curious, though, as people go through their copies of Adventure Begins...

What are your favorite scenarios included in the book?

Which scenarios do you feel were the most original? The most "classic"?

JediOre wrote:The module seems to be well liked.

You determined that from the responses? Hunh, maybe I followed the wrong link.

There were one or two people bashing it pretty hard, and everyone else being sheep and saying "Well, if it's that bad I'd better not corrupt my precious eyes by even looking at it, let alone reading it for myself before buying it...".

I had to go in, set the record straight, and then pimp the snot outta this book.

Feh. Sheep.

Generally speaking, when two or three companies dominate a certain genre, there tends to be rabid fans of one company vs another.

I didn't think there were that many people bashing it, but a pretty rough split between those who really liked it/liked it and those who were less-than-thrilled/thought it was shite.

As the author of one of the adventures they bagged on, I walked away from that thread thinking that TAB was more-or-less well-received.

I think a lot of the bashing is based on things that different people will have varying opinions on.

Saying they are disappointed in the product because there is no over-arching plot is simply an opinion. Yes, they are correct that there is no over-arching plot, but that's not a "broken" or "unplayable" element to the product -- and many players will appreciate the plug-and-play potential for all the adventures.

Same thing with the comment about so many coastal and city adventures. Yes, there are a good deal of coastal adventures. Again, this isn't on the same level as missing pages, incorrectly labeled maps, stat block errors or true "problems" with production. Many people won't notice, while other DMs could care less, as they tend to tweak and adapt adventures to their home campaigns anyway.

So sifting through these comments, I really didn't find anything remarking about mechanical, editorial or content-issues... at least, not the last time I visited the thread. They seemed to be comments based on a particular aspect of the collection they didn't like which other readers could see as either unimportant, or a positive.

Ogrepuppy wrote:

JediOre wrote:The module seems to be well liked.

You determined that from the responses? Hunh, maybe I followed the wrong link.

There were one or two people bashing it pretty hard, and everyone else being sheep and saying "Well, if it's that bad I'd better not corrupt my precious eyes by even looking at it, let alone reading it for myself before buying it...".

I had to go in, set the record straight, and then pimp the snot outta this book.

Feh. Sheep.

It did take a turn for the worse after I posted my comment.

Ogrepuppy, I just read your post on the Necro board. Well done. Your passion is easy to read.

I picked this monster tome up a couple weeks ago, and while I haven't read the whole thing, I have seen a fair number of things I liked. I doubt I'd use every adventure in the book (Because by the time a party had run through them all, they'd be too high a level for them! ), but I'm pretty sure at least a couple will get tossed into the early days of my campaign.

Apart from the book's value as a set of "mini-modules," the sheer amount of idea-mining that can be gleamed from this book is incredible. Not to mention it's ideal for a pick-up game or on a game night when you just need a quick one-shot.

So far, my favorite is "When Kobolds Fly" by Brendan LaSalle. It's a nice, tight plot and his writing style is hysterical ("wacky neighbor" )

Yeah, thanks for the defense, Ogrepuppy!

I liked quite a number of the adventures here a LOT, and there are yet more I haven't read yet. That said, I do also think that someone on the other board made a good point, something like this but for high level (or even mid-to-high level) would ROCK totally.

Meepo wrote:I concur. AMAZING book. By far my favorite and an attractive addition to my bookshelf. If only a C&C version came out too!

A C&C version would be great! I may still pick this up, but right now I'm saving for DCC world.

bobrunnicles wrote:I liked quite a number of the adventures here a LOT, and there are yet more I haven't read yet. That said, I do also think that someone on the other board made a good point, something like this but for high level (or even mid-to-high level) would ROCK totally.

Noted, Bob. We'll see what we can do to make you a happy gamer.

//H

bighara wrote:So far, my favorite is "When Kobolds Fly" by Brendan LaSalle. It's a nice, tight plot and his writing style is hysterical ("wacky neighbor" )

Wait until you see DCC #33: Belly of the Great Beast, also by Brendan. Even if you don't need an epic level adventure, this adventure is worth reading just for entertainment value. Where else will you get space-faring outhouses, giant cockroach-men, and a world-conquering cult leader motivated by embarassment over his high school love letters?

Also check out Necromerica, the latest Xcrawl by Brendan (a game created by Brendan)... it's a hoot.

And if you can find it, read DCC #10: The Sunless Garden, too. That one includes a gnome with snorkel and green swim trunks, and the cross-dressing smuggler captain with his top-secret wardrobe and sewing room...

As you can tell, I also enjoy Brendan's writing.

goodmangames wrote:And if you can find it, read DCC #10: The Sunless Garden, too. That one includes a gnome with snorkel and green swim trunks, and the cross-dressing smuggler captain with his top-secret wardrobe and sewing room...

As you can tell, I also enjoy Brendan's writing.

Ooh, you just had to stick the knife in and mention the only regular module out of the whole shebang I don't have, didn't you? Just kidding, I do have the pdf after all

Seriously, keep up the AWESOME work - and Harley, colour me excited

It may have appeared already elsewhere on the board, but let me tell you about it anyway - even though it is a little bit out of context.

I've read more than a few complaints concering the fast advancement of characters in D&D 3 or 3.5. In the PLAYER'S GUIDE TO THE WILDERLANDS (p. 26) there is an Alternate Experience Progression Chart that I find useful since it revokes some of that old 1st edition feeling.
The formula to determine the new cost is simple:

[Prior XP goal] + [2000 x the prior level number].

So, to advance from 1st to 2nd level would require 2000 XP, and then you would need 6000 XP to advance to 3rd. And so on.

Maybe you like it. I found it really useful.

Well, that is a little

But no worries. My assumption is that the Adventure Begins, being 1st-2nd level adventures, reminds people how quickly you can get to the next level in the early levels? But that's just a d20 thing.

I myself was never particularly happy with the 3rd Edition system. I myself use the XP scale of 2nd edition, but I'm just more generous about how you receive XP. There's more room to stretch for a GM when the scale is larger, I find.

But, we should probably keep this thread on topic...

Yeah. Sorry about that.

I will post topic related stuff as soon as I have my copy of THE ADVENTURE BEGINS. It's preordered so I hope it reaches me a.s.a.p.

By the way, was THE ADVENTURE BEGINS inspired - at least partly - by the famous D&D Classic Collection "In Search of Adventure" which included almost all the Beginner-Level D&D Adventure Modules?

Argamae wrote:Yeah. Sorry about that.

I will post topic related stuff as soon as I have my copy of THE ADVENTURE BEGINS. It's preordered so I hope it reaches me a.s.a.p.

By the way, was THE ADVENTURE BEGINS inspired - at least partly - by the famous D&D Classic Collection "In Search of Adventure" which included almost all the Beginner-Level D&D Adventure Modules?

I can't speak to whether the B1-9 supermodule "Inspired" #29, but I can tell you the format is very different. ISoA was sequential in nature, with each adventure leading to another (there was even a handy flow chart iirc). DCC#29 is a collection of unrelated low level adventures. I doubt it's intended for a party to run through every one of them, because they'd be well beyond the power level of the adventures before the end.

Biggie is right. There is a similarity in the names, but that’s where it ends.

“In Search of Adventure” was edited from the original modules to be run sequentially.

“The Adventure Begins” does just what it says on the cover, offering 20 adventures for 1st level characters. Ideal for pickup games and starting new campaigns, but it’s not a collection of sequential adventures.

An ambitious GM could retrofit the challenges for higher level characters, but that flexibility would cap out pretty quick.

That said, future anthology releases might build off of these seeds and other DCCs, permitting mini-campaigns around certain themes/locations.

//H