Two questions

[FateAce]

I don't really have time to elaborate at the moment, so let me jump straight to the point. Two questions:

1. I want to run the keep on the borderlands module for the purposes of experience old school play proper. If I were to use basic fantasy as opposed to the old system, would I get at least a comperable experience?

2. I Morgans fort based on the keep? And if so, is it a good substitute to the keep? would I still get to see what all the hype about the old module is about?

[SmootRK]

I have run kotb several times with bfrpg. No problems. Converting AC is about the most work needed. I take pretty much the rest as is.

If you like the whole vibe of kotb, then i would also suggest "Chaotic Caves".
Morgansfort is great but Chaotic Caves hits that style even more closely.

[Solomoriah]

I've run part of KOTB under BFRPG, with good results.

Morgansfort and Chaotic Caves can be combined rather nicely; just use either the fort or the town, and distribute the dungeons from both however seems right for your game.

[kerc]

One of the things I love about Morgansfort is that it's a nicely fleshed-out location. You get places (inn, church), you get people (some of which I've turned into very active participants of my campaign/story), and that give you a nice canvas on which you can place any adventure. The map details some locations, but there's plenty of space for more places and interesting things (something I've taken advantage of).

I envision Morgansfort a bit bigger than what it is in the module, though. In my world, it is a city, and not just the keep with surrounding farmland. Granted, it's not Novatia, but it's decent enough. I also added to it an active maritime life, being close to the river delta and all that. Basically all the outgoing ships from the southern part of the continent that travel through that river will navigate by Morgansfort.

For some reason I found Morgansfort a very charming module. I know that's a weird term for an adventure module, but it has personality. It feels welcoming, the city immediately feels like a place where you can settle as an adventurer (which is what my PCs did).

[Hywaywolf]

Old school style is more than just the setting, its a frame of mind. If you truly want to get a taste then you should play in a game, rather than run one. I also think its a good idea for people who want to understand what its all about to read Quick Primer for Old School Gaming By Matthew Finch http://www.lulu.com/shop/matthew-finch/ ... 59558.html


His “Four Zen Moments” are:

Rulings, Not Rules
Player Skill, not Character Abilities
Heroic, not Superhero
Forget “Game Balance”

Rulings, Not Rules is the most important to me. I know that if I were playing recent editions I would be a "rules lawyer" of the worst sort. I don't want to bog myself down in that sort of stuff (which I know that I would do). So as much as I hate not getting my way, I do like that the "DM is always right" part of old school is there. Save the discussion for afterward and change the "ruling" in future instances if need be.

[mTeasdale]

I would add the idea of being consistent with your rulings. Otherwise it can be frustrating for the players.

I would suggest watching a few episodes of Roll20 presents Old School Adventures on Youtube, DM'ed by Adam Koebel. He's a pretty modern GM, but he does do the Old School thing pretty well in the serie, in my opinion.

[Hywaywolf]

I agree with being persistent, but not locked in. Just because something happened the same way the last few times I attempted it doesn't mean it will this time. Maybe I didn't clean the blood off my sword well enough last time, and this time when I went to pull it out in a hurry it stuck in the scabbard and wasn't available for use this round. As long as the DM has a good reason for it (even if they don't tell me what it is) I can live with it.

But, yes, a DM that uses inconsistency just to railroad his story through over an over again, or just doesn't know care to learn the rules, is a downer at the table.

[FateAce]

Wow, lots of responses for what I though was just going to be a quick yes or no...

Old school style is more than just the setting, its a frame of mind. If you truly want to get a taste then you should play in a game, rather than run one. I also think its a good idea for people who want to understand what its all about to read Quick Primer for Old School Gaming By Matthew Finch

I have in fact read that primer, several times by this point. The only point that I'm really struggling to understand is the "moose head" example he gave. I understand that there's more time more exploration, but that just feels ridiculous.

As for that first point, I was mostly asking because I felt I needed to run a prebuilt adventure, instead of making one, to get the hang of things before I jumped into the deep end, like I did last time I tried this rule set (that did not go very well). Unfortunately, the only people I know are not even interested in reading the rules, let alone running them. If I don't run the game, I'll never get to try the old school style at all.

I would suggest watching a few episodes of Roll20 presents Old School Adventures on Youtube, DM'ed by Adam Koebel. He's a pretty modern GM, but he does do the Old School thing pretty well in the serie, in my opinion.

I actually have been watching a few different campaigns of old school games, including our very own basic fantasy. I'll be sure to give that one a good chance though. Might be just what I need.

If you like the whole vibe of kotb, then i would also suggest "Chaotic Caves".
Morgansfort is great but Chaotic Caves hits that style even more closely.

Morgansfort and Chaotic Caves can be combined rather nicely; just use either the fort or the town, and distribute the dungeons from both however seems right for your game.

I'm a little confused now, are the chaotic caves part of the keep, or are they a separate module? I'm not as familar with the caves as I am with the fort (which is ironic because I've not had the chance to actually buy B2 yet. Paydays this Thursday though...)

[Solomoriah]

KOTB includes an area called the Caves of Chaos. Our adventure module JN1 is entitled "The Chaotic Caves." There is a certain similarity, but they are not identical.

BF1 Morgansfort includes the Nameless Dungeon, the Olde Island Fortress, and the Cave of the Unknown. Adding JN1 The Chaotic Caves to BF1 Morgansfort, choosing one or the other starting area (fort or town) and then placing all the dungeons on that map is what I was talking about.

[FateAce]

Thank you Solo, that clears things up a lot.

Really I'm starting to think I might just go with Morgans fort over the keep, but it's going to be a while before I get started so I'll have plenty of time to think about it.