Quote from: Consonant DudeReally?

Really.

Quote from: Consonant DudeKotB is a favorite of mine, in part due to nostalgia I have the old version and the "return". But I had no idea it was redone in Hackmaster!

They actually went a bit nuts with it and turned it into a 144 page book.

Just checked out the wikipedia article. There is a novelization of B1. Man, I am a geek... I've gotta have that book. I don't care if it's any good.

Quote from: darJust checked out the wikipedia article. There is a novelization of B1. Man, I am a geek... I've gotta have that book. I don't care if it's any good.

There is also a novelization of B2 (Keep on the Borderlands).  I'm a big Keep on the Borderlands fan and tried to read it.  I think it was almost as bad as reading Vogon poetry and never got more than a few pages into it.

ADDED:  They actually did novelizations named after many of the early adventures in the Greyhawk line, including Against the Giants, White Plume Mountain, Descent Into the Depths of the Earth, The Temple of Elemental Evil, Queen of the Demonweb Pits, Keep on the Borderlands, and The Tomb of Horrors.

Quote from: HaffrungWhy in fuck do we never have villages that are run by a band of mercenary marauders?

Check

Quote from: HaffrungOr fed by fields full of slaves?

Check

I think Badabaskor scores at least two points on this scale.



Rob Conley

I was just reading Hommlet this morning! I'm cutting it down to its essentials for a Burning Wheel game and I gotta disagree with the Hommlet hate. The place is full of spies, counter-spies and secret agents for the various good and evil factions interested in the Temple of Elemental Evil. And every third farmer is a freakin' man-at-arms or ex-adventurer. The town council is a geriatric adventuring party waiting to happen--a wizard, fighter, druid and cleric, all pretty high-level (3-6) for a 1st level adventure.

Reading it, I had to wonder with all the totally capable adventurers living in Hommlet, why the heck they leave it to the broke ass schmoes who wander into town to take on the evil cultists. The only rational explanation is... they're in on it. (That's my twist on this classic adventure.)

I will admit that there's a lot of gold hidden in those farmhouses though. And listing it in bold is just asking for it.

Quote from: Consonant DudeFixed.

Who pissed in your Cheerios?

Quote from: HaffrungWhy in fuck do we never have villages that are run by a band of mercenary marauders? Or fed by fields full of slaves? Or built in a strange location like a ravine or at the base of an ancient monolith? Or supported by an economy based on symbiosis with giant insects? Or riven by political factions who paint themselves in garish colours? Or honeycombed with the burial tunnels of an ancient civilization? Or anything remotely, you know, fantastic...

A lot of these ideas have shown up in Dark Sun products for 2e and Dungeon/Dragon articles for 3e. You want fantastic, you want Dark Sun.

Clearly, Haffrung is a man of taste and distinction. Also clearly, he will have to agree with me that Mitra's Fist from Judges Guild's Dark Tower is just right as fantasy villages go.

Quote from: MelanClearly, Haffrung is a man of taste and distinction. Also clearly, he will have to agree with me that Mitra's Fist from Judges Guild's Dark Tower is just right as fantasy villages go.

THANK YOU.  I've been trying to remember the name of Mitra's Fist ever since I saw this thread and it was driving me nuts.  Definitely my first choice.  Of course Judges Guild in general did a great job on details like that.

Also, although it is an inn and not an entire village,the White Roc Inn from the module of the same name by Emperor's Choice is very well done.

Quote from: MelanClearly, Haffrung is a man of taste and distinction. Also clearly, he will have to agree with me that Mitra's Fist from Judges Guild's Dark Tower is just right as fantasy villages go.

Given my name, I'd think that was a given. Mitra's Fist is the shit. Set in a high pass lashed by windstorms. Refuge for passing caravans that are never seen again. Nobody ever seems to age.

[SPOILERS]

My old DM described the the inn perfectly: bunch of grim and sinister-looking men sitting silently (after a couple centuries, you've said pretty much everything you need to say to your drinking buddies)... the laconic innkeeper with the stone teeth... the buffoon of a thief who stays drunk to keep his awful knowledge suppressed... the beautiful woman who entices you into her room.

"Somebody has to know what's going on around here. Let's go see what the sherrif has to say..."

[/SPOILERS]

Quote from: estarI think Badabaskor scores at least two points on this scale.

It does indeed. I have vague memories of getting in a serious bar brawl with some mercenaries, and the innkeeper opening a trap door let out his pet troll.

To recap:

The Thieves Fortress of Badabaskor (Judges Guild) has a cool-ass village.
Dark Tower (Judges Guild) has a cool-ass village.
The Wilderlands of High Fantasy (Judges Guild) has hundreds of cool-ass villages.

So the lesson here is if you want cool villages that buck vanilla-fantasy cliches, look to Judges Guild.

Although I have to admit Dark Sun has some really cool shit as well.