In addition to descriptive and situational material, this module also includes special informational sections giving background history and legends; listings of possible monsters and treasures, and how to place them; a list of adventuring characters; tips on various aspects of play for the Dungeon Master; and helpful advice for starting players.
Enter TSR Games & Rule Editor Mike Carr, who saw the need for an introductory adventure that really taught GMs how to create and stock a dungeon. He offered to write such a product for TSR, who accepted. "In Search of the Unknown" was thus an introductory module for the introductory rule set - making it the ultimate introduction to the game.
Dungeon Module B1 Pdf Download
An Introduction Inclusion. B1 was immediately packaged as part of the Basic Set - replacing geomorphs and monsters & treasure assortments, which had required GMs to be more comfortable creating dungeons on their own. It appeared as a part of the Holmes Basic Set from late 1978 through the end of 1979, at which time is was replaced by the better-known "B2: The Keep on the Borderlands" (1980).
An Introductory Adventure. The actual adventure leads off with advice about running adventures, but its introductory nature goes beyond that. Designer Mike Carr purposefully included a number of features that he thought players should expect in dungeons, like one-way secret doors, magic mouths, teleport doors, and more. Today, B1 is thus a great example of of the tropes of very early D&D dungeon design, but polished and detailed much better than the typical dungeons of the '70s.
The adventure features one other element of historical note: The rooms don't actually list what monsters and treasures they contain. Instead, GMs were expected to fill in those details themselves from lists at the end of the book. This design decision may have been intended to keep players on their toes (as there was concern in those early days that players might read modules they were going to play), or it may have been another lesson in how to create a dungeon. Regardless, the decision wouldn't be repeated again, with the exception of the recalled adventure "B3: Palace of the Silver Princess" (1981).
The horde of adventures and supplements from 40 years of Dungeons and Dragons development gives the modern gamer a trove of fantastic resources. The B-Series of modules for Basic Dungeons and Dragons offers a great example of adventures within the franchise old-school players still remember fondly. For many, this was a golden age of Dungeons and Dragons, and it is not hard to see why.
When B1: In Search of the Unknown (Mike Carr) was published in 1979, the decision to split Dungeons and Dragons into two separate systems had only recently been taken, and the Basic Dungeons and Dragons rules were considered to be an introductory system that could lead new players on to either D&D or AD&D. When the Basic Dungeons and Dragons (B/X) rulebooks were released in 1981, module B1 would be bundled with it as an introductory module.
Module B2: Keep on the Borderlands (Gary Gygax) was printed in 1981, the same year that the Basic Dungeons and Dragons (B/X) were released. Following its release, this module would become bundled with the basic rules boxed set, replacing module B1. This decision would make Keep on the Borderlands the most published D&D module of all time, and thus cause it to be one of the most famous adventures within the entire Dungeons and Dragons franchise.
Module B3: Palace of the Silver Princess (Tom Moldvay and Jean Wells) was first printed in 1981. However, the initial publication of this module caused controversy, resulting in it being pulled by TSR. The offending parts were rewritten (by Tom Moldvay) and the offending artwork was replaced, and TSR released this module again later in the year. This module would have two distinct claims to fame in the history of Dungeons and Dragons:
Compared to randomly stocking a dungeon, this approach allows for a fairly even mix of creatures and treasures. In general, Basic D&D would have about 1/3rd of the rooms in a dungeon contain monsters. Thus, if you had 30 rooms in a dungeon, about 10 would contain monsters. The GM just had to create 10 monster encounters of the appropriate level.
Treasure was easy to define in this method too. Roughly 50% of the monsters had treasure, so you could work out treasures for the monsters, and divide this by half. This would create a pile of treasure from the monsters. About 10% of the rooms in the dungeon would contain unguarded treasure, so in a 30 room dungeon you would have approximately 3 unguarded treasures. You could then combine these to determine the total treasure in the dungeon. Once done, you could easily distribute these treasures into discrete packets of treasure, which you can then place in the dungeon.
The Keep in the Borderlands is actually the name of the home base the party would use to explore the Caves of Chaos and the surrounding Borderlands. A significant part of the module is given over to the description of the Keep, including its inhabitants who provide the many services and rumours for the party to follow.
All too often, the players and the GM neglect the adventure potential that can be found in the home base, and how the conditions within the home base can drastically affect the tone and storyline of the adventure. The home base can be much more than just a place to rest and restock between adventures. If you give the home base the same treatment and love you give the dungeon or another adventuring site, it too can become a thrilling part of the adventure.
One interesting point about the adventure is it plays to the moral dilemmas caused by alignment, and this is really played up during the adventure. The dungeon is not a ruin or enemy stronghold. Instead, it is the castle of the reigning princess that has been subject to a magical curse. Thus, while there is treasure aplenty inside, the PCs will face the moral quandary of whether or not they will loot the castle of their princess for their own gain, especially since that gain equates to experience.
B1 has a very special place in my heart. It is one of the few modules I can specifically remember buying when I was young, and it was the first module I ever bought.I had gotten Moldvay Basic for Christmas in December 81, and was hooked by the end of the year (yeah, D&D snared me inside a week, but then, I'd been wanting to play it for years).So while B2: Keep on the Borderlands was the first module I ran, I quickly searched for the next challenge as a fledgling DM and for my players.Turns out my first D&D purchases were actually at a Hallmark shop in Marquette Mall in Michigan City, instead of in the game shop at Century Mall in Merrillville, where I had ogled the Holmes edition and other earlier D&D products for several years. I got out to Michigan City usually once a week, Merrillville maybe every other month (being all of 12 at the time, I did not have my own wheels yet).So I searched the mall for a source for D&D, as I had not found one yet, and my Dad said why not check Hallmark, which at the time was also a bookstore. I had never thought to look there before, but sure enough, they had an area where they had several D&D products.I goggled at the Dungeon Master's Guide for several turns before deciding I wasn't quite ready for that, and looked over the modules. It was the mushroom forest cover that really caught my eye, plus the "Special Instructional Module" blurb that sealed the deal, as I felt I still needed some help figuring things out -- after all, it wasn't until the fourth or fifth session that I realized that I needed to roll hit points for the monster's hit dice; I just ran them with that many hit points!While Moldvay had a ton of good advice on building and running an adventure, it was In Search of the Unknown that really helped me put it all together. As an "adventure kit," it had just the mix of pre-made and add-your-own elements to bridge the gap from running everything prepared to learning how to create and run your own.While I do not open every campaign with B1, I almost invariably use it at some point in a campaign, either in whole or just the map or something in between. It is just too good not to use.I'll have to consider picking up the POD; mine is covered with decades of notes, soda stains, dog-ears, and the weight of the years. Definitely well loved.
Many of these modules and books have been out-of-print and rare for a long time. I hope that by releasing these for purchase, people will get a glimpse into the beginning of this hobby and breathe some life into these old treasures. Some of these are among the best ever written.
As previously noted here, some areas were modified from older D&D modules. The east part of the level 1 map (black & yellow) includes an area adapted from level 1 of module B1: In Search of the Unknown (blue & white):
Skeletons smash into the room. I think the guy in the corner just learned the danger of taking a long rest while still in the dungeon. (Karl Waller, Campaign Guide to Undermountain in The Ruins of Undermountain boxed set, TSR, 1991)
As I have said many times before, I started playing D&D with 3.5, and with the recent PDF downloads of old supplements and adventures available on paizo I have been wondering if I should get some and if so,which ones I should get. Also, it would be nice to know the merits of each of the good ones, and how easy it would be to convert to 3.5. If anybody could help me on this, I would be very, very grateful.
Note that some modules are combinations of others (read the call-letters carefully -- the "Against the Giants" module incorporates G1 + G2 + G3, for instance) and that a few modules (such as Gygax's Dungeonland pair) are available for free download via Wizards' site (not sure if the scan quality is the same however). 2ff7e9595c
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