PM-Knight wrote:Hello All,

As a relatively new person here, I am not too familiar with these new products (bought CAS1 from PPP) and would like to know your thoughts & opinions. If this is a thread that was already done, I apologize and please point me in the right direction.

I am a huge fan of modules and consume more than I should **burp** :D , but I can't help it. I really enjoy the OD&D modules, as well as the JG ones. (No need to list them) As someone who enjoys these, could those of you who have purchased & played (game tested) these please tell me more about them. How well are they written, do they have nice artwork, are the maps done well, etc. :?:

Thanks in Advance,

Hackmaster:  They are generally just re-writes of the originals, with sometimes interesting, humorous, or original twists.  The first few publicatons they did (B2, G1-3, B1) are the best.  The last few aren't so good.  Nice to collect if you enjoy reading re-takes on classic 1st edition stuff.

Goodman: They have a lot of the 1st edition feel, but the quality varies.  Again, the first 10 or so are the best.  Since they are written for 3E sometimes the game mechanics and stats can get annoying to read. The look is probably the best of all in terms of capturing that AD&D feel.

PP:  Not enough evidence to point one way or another.

Mike B.

Especially the convention specials. You don't want to be bidding on those. They're crap.

Well, I'll sound like I'm in an echo-chamber here, but I agree with some of the above sentiments: both the DCCs and the Hackmaster series have fallen off in terms of recent quality. The earlier efforts tend to be better.

Both series can be fun to collect, though, particularly the DCCs. Once I cash a couple of paychecks, I'd like to pick up where I left off and complete my collection of DCCs that feature former TSR staff artists.

I haven't purchased any PPP products and can offer no opinion on that subject. But they seem to be very popular with many members here, which is definitely something to consider.

bombadil wrote:
And then there's Sword & Sorcery, or White Wolf, or whoever the publisher is of those awesome retro-feel mods that center around undead-bashing and Orcus-worship.  Man, I love those products.  Some of the maps are shitty, but the artwork is otherwise pretty good, and the feel of the adventures is nice and gritty.

Necromancer Games I presume.
Early maps were not great, course they fired that guy.

ShaneG.

Plaag wrote:
Necromancer Games I presume.
Early maps were not great, course they fired that guy.

ShaneG.

That's it.  The Tomb of Abysthor.  One of my favorites.

Too bad they fired the map artist.  I kind of liked having to squint my way through features like 2' wide rat tunnels and unmarked chambers.  There was a certain charisma to those maps.

Thanks for the tip.  Will do.   :D

bombadil wrote:I don't know anything about Hackmaster.  I've always outright shunned it out of reverence for the original material it so vulgarly impugnes!   :D

Glad I'm not the only one.  I read enough of a Hackmaster module to get righteously indignant and stop reading the rest.  I don't remember which one, but bad marketing strategy.

The quality of the maps is really important to me, seeing as that's my background. If a product has bad cartography, then in general I tend to class it as being crap, even if the writing is good.

Of the current crop of d20 (1E sympaththic) products available, I'd suggest these are among the best available....

Necromancer Games - Rappan Athuk Reloaded (an expensive boxed set but with some of the best dungeon maps I've seen over the past 10 years.)
The Game Mechanics - City Quarters Series (Liberty City is one of the most well planned out port cities I have ever seen.)
Goodman Games - Thieves of Fortress Badabaskor (a great re-release of a classic adventure)
Necromancer Games - City State of the Invincible Overlord
Necromancer Games - Wilderlands of High Fantasy (re-release of classic campaign materials)
Goodman Games - DCC #12.5 1E (proof that with a little thought, d20 can be presented as 1E and still be commercially viable)
Pied Piper Publishing - CAS1 Cairn of the Skeleton King (an instant collectable. Whilst you can still buy these from Rob, and NKG, unless there is a reprint, I'd expect these to be rare in a year or two and impossible to get if 1E is still collectable in the next decade.)

Mbassoc2003 wrote:Necromancer Games - Rappan Athuk Reloaded (an expensive boxed set but with some of the best dungeon maps I've seen over the past 10 years.)

Sounds interesting, Ian.  Does it include the entire series of mods, and if so, are there any differences in content from the original releases?