While the 200+ page campaign books of today are great, there was something special about a 28 page module that focused on certain levels and gave us those wonderful blue maps.
I prefer modules instead of huge campaign books. Campaign books seem railroady and thus frustrating and boring for players who want more freedom of choice. Using modules allows the players more freedom of choice. E.g. the gaming group can talk and agree on what module to play next.
The old modules were a frame work. The DM put their time into making props, embelishing the story, creating motivations and a history for the characters. IMAGINATION ENGINE is the endess wonder maker in your own mind... Create, Invent, Dream = endless wealth from nothing but ideas.
Len Lakofka continued to work on further adventures in the "L" series. The fourth installment, L4 Devilspawn and the fifth module, L5 The Kroten Campaign were released as free downloads.
I have a box of Dungeon magazines that I inherited from an older friend when he got married and the old modules in these mags are all I've ever used for my players along with some original content to link it all together every now and then. The newer long-form content WOTC does now is not for me. Short, modular content will always be my preference.
Yes, agreed. I used L1 to kick off my latest campaign. It has since turned into a crew of ragtag airship pirates out to save the world from that scurvy scallywag Demogorgon. Restenford continues to be a safe haven for the party, and I always love it when the players return there.
Fun fact: a Hungarian author and role-player mashed The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh and this together in 1990 into a novel and launched a long-running, successful fantasy series.
@@FlameQwert The Word of Chaos which is the founding novel of the Chaos Cycle. It spawned its own TTRPG in 2001 and a notoriously buggy video game titled World of Chaos in 2007.
This was one of my first adventures. I LOVE IT. A perfect starting sandbox with rumours, NPCs and locations to explore. So much gaming in only 30 pages. This is what GMs need. The 300 page adventure paths of today are an abomination in comparison. So great to see those fan made maps, really cool! I'd love to see this rereleased with better art. Thank you for the great review.
I love these reviews of ‘80s AD&D modules. I wish you had gone into more detail of actual content or even somewhat of a play through as you have done with other reviews of this sort.
The problem is, there really isn't that much to go through with this module, its mostly 'set up'. I'll be going into a lot more content for the next two, promise!
Bone Hill was the start of what was a great campaign! From burying the found copper in several different places, the assassin henchman trying to kill his master's rival while spending the night hiding from zombies, to being unable to unravel the Assassin's Knot (they just knew "some" people were bad and needed to be killed, and, after a couple of Dungeon adventures, DL1, where they managed to kill Onyx with a Blade Barrier off of a scroll the thief stole. It was a great start! We stopped playing before L3 came out, but we loved those 2 modules. Yes, they were modules back then not adventures! There just might be a new campaign and there will be room for Restenford & Grotten.
I'm running this in 5e right now- in fact, I am running a session tonight! It's a great old favorite of mine. One thing I think is very interesting is the actual secret of Bone Hill- there is one, but it's never spelled out; you have to read between the lines and put it together for yourself. Fantastic adventure and mini-setting.
Bought this used in the late 90's, but still have yet to run it. I've gone through tons of classic mods, so might have to crack this open for the next new campaign.
There's an adventure in Dungeon Magazine #71 (Nov/Dec 1998) called "Priestly Secrets" which takes place in Restenford five years after the events of "Assassin's Knot". I've run the adventure several times over the past 20+ years, and it's absolutely FANTASTIC.
I love these 1e ADnD reviews of old school modules. I own the original ‘81 print but haven’t played it. I did play Assassins Knot back in ‘84 in my brothers campaign. Great memories of playing in a friends basement into the wee hours of the morning on summer vacation.
Shocking Grasp, I think. Skeleton has been jolted away from the Magic User, so we're seeing the image post-contact. Skeleton could have been ready to cast Burning Hands, but her initiative was better 😃
So, are we getting a review of L2 and L3 soon? I love these video reviews of old modules. You make my dat every time you upload one! Also, i'd still love to see you review the module "Treasure Hunt"! Thanks for doing a great job.
Still have this module from when I was a teen. Ran it a few times over the years as a DM for 1st Ed, 3.5, and 5th edition. It’s got some Wear and tear and crib notes to prove it. One of my favorites. Had great maps.
so many memories wrapped into these modules. We began with these, but soon enough pretty much just designed our own modules and worlds. We would steal stuff from Dragon or Dungeon magazine and then incorporate it into our own world. Then when DragonLance modules came out we played those and it was another adjustment for us, going back to modules, and having the DM try and steer us in a certain directon..no Tas, you really need to look down that well...
Ah man, I was excited when I saw this pop up. I've wanted to play/run L1 since it came out 40 years ago. I got my chance last year when I kicked off a Lordship of the Isles pirate campaign with The Secret of Bone Hill. Lots of great content in that module, but you're right, not much story to it. It takes a bit of DM creativity to get the party moving, unless the players are naturally curious to begin with.
Got a lot of fun and a lot of play out of bone hill. We took two separate runs at the Assassin's Knot both failures. None of the DMs we had was up to running it. I'd like to try to run the two concurrently and ladle in clues and let the party make connections to help make the Assassin's knot winnable. We very much enjoyed the sand box.
I love what Ryan Dancey said in his intro to L3 in the Silver Anniversary box - I have it in storage right now, but it likened the final release of L3 to the final strings of music at the end of a symphony…
Not sure if you have covered them yet, but you should try to find the 2 based on Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass. It makes for some interesting ideas in less traditional fantasy gaming.
With Bone HIll, Keep on the Borderlands, the Saltmarsh Saga, Against the Cult of the Reptile God and Village of Hommlet you have a complete sandbox to start any campagin w/o railroading the PCs into anything. Sidenote: I've had PC's rescue a maiden who was going to be sacrificed by the Cult of Reptile God who turned out to a half aasimar (Unknown to them and not revealed at the right moment months later). I also made the cult the main villain for adventuring in this area which was easy to do with a little work.
I saw this module on mercari once. It was pretty dilapidated so I didn't end up getting it. But the cover looked really cool. Always wondered if it was any good. Thanks for reviewing this one capn! :D maybe ill try and find a nice copy of the original or a pod version if all else fails. I'd love to run this for my family game.
hi capt-c....WOOOH! I am always looking for towns to mine. And yay!!! Rumor Tables are my favorite thing from "Keep" and something I always make when I have a town, which is great for sandboxing!!!! .... I like that they have all these NPCs!!! (Better than the "Keep" for sure, except I like that Mad Hermit guy.) So this seems like it might be another author's take on the elements of Gygax's style of design...so that makes the over all rating: "groovy"! .... PS, as an aside...I learned something from one of the towns given in the 4e dungeons in that area around the city in the 4e Essentials book set. One of the towns fleshed out "catch phrases" for the NPC, like things they say frequently. So now when I read fantasy books, I look to see if the characters have a catch phrase, like Sam Gamgee always says something like, "If you take my meaning" (as well as complaining about not having rope). I think this is a great idea that I copied from that 4e town (near where that Red gang is, or whatever it was) and use when I make NPCs and it makes it easier to play act them real-time. Also, it's one of many reasons why D&D people should not whine that Tolkein is too detailed; there is a lot to learn for a DM in those details!!!!
Thanks. I had a feeling it was a good looking print. I ordered Deep Dwaven Delve but it hasn't come in yet. Looking forward to finally getting that in print.
@@captcorajus level with me Cap, how many of these modules do you or have you actually played through to completion? I love your catalog of reviews, but the body of work is so large that unless I've misjudged you, I imagine this is more of a collection for antiquity. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Ya know, something about a woman in skintight clothes and the words Secret of Bone Hill on the same cover seems kinda... "something"? Makes the mind wander to adult places.
I DM'd this module once. It turned out only 2 players were available that night, so I allowed them each to play a secondary character in addition to the primary. They actually did very well. Then they started fighting over the treasure, and killed each other. Sheesh.
Just started running this. The players are in the burnt down guardhouse looking for rats finding undead. Does anyone know what the secret of Bonehill actually is?
I got a copy of this module from DriveThruRPG about a year ago, and the quality control was terrible. The first two pages (with the maps of the main dungeon) are missing, replaced by two blank pages at the end; right after page 14, I got page 28, and the second half of the module counts down from there, ending at Page 15 right before the blank pages; and the margins around the text block are too small and misaligned, making it really hard to read the text near the binding. The module is great, but the POD is a POS. It put me off buying anything else from DriveThruRPG.
I always loved Bill Willingham's style. Erol Otus was baffling, tho. I don't understand why they kept using him, much less putting his art on the cover of books.
Its the 'style' rating. This module is great, but I wouldn't recommend it as a 'stand alone' adventure in a long term campaign. Needs more 'meat'.. which was provided by the two follow up module, WHICH I'm going to review. Stat tuned!
Ah, that classic staple of early DnD modules: cover and back art that has basically nothing to do with the story. Maybe it's just me, but I think if you're going to stick a cool monster front and center, the adventure should include that monster. Otherwise, it's just false advertising.
Usually, I contribute more than I post, today. There *is* no secret to Bone Hill. You wasted $30 on a useless module, which is basically useless monster clutter. Story-based or character based adventures generally do marginally better. But this isn't one of them. Sorry.
@@adampender2482 No, I've been playing 15 years. Maybe I'm not "reading" enough into the adventure premise. What does this "starting location" offer, in terms of motivation, story and challenge. Ya, I'm looking at entertainment value. Or challenges that relate to specific class functions.
While the 200+ page campaign books of today are great, there was something special about a 28 page module that focused on certain levels and gave us those wonderful blue maps.
So true. These modules are easily digestible, but also very dense. They also leave a lot of room for growth by the group's desires.
I prefer modules instead of huge campaign books. Campaign books seem railroady and thus frustrating and boring for players who want more freedom of choice. Using modules allows the players more freedom of choice. E.g. the gaming group can talk and agree on what module to play next.
These days, you tend to need to seek out various zines if you want a similar size of module. The OSR is good for this.
The old modules were a frame work. The DM put their time into making props, embelishing the story, creating motivations and a history for the characters. IMAGINATION ENGINE is the endess wonder maker in your own mind... Create, Invent, Dream = endless wealth from nothing but ideas.
They were more manageable
these little 28-30 page adventures were great as seeds for more adventures.
As young teens, we called this one “The Secret of Boner Hill” because of the cover art.
ROFLMAO.. of course you did.
Glad to see teenagers haven't changed in 40+ years! The number of times I heard "roll for dick size" in high school...
One of the things I always looked forward to when my Dragon magazine came in the mail was 'Leomund's Tiny Hut'. I always enjoyed his writing.
Len Lakofka continued to work on further adventures in the "L" series. The fourth installment, L4 Devilspawn and the fifth module, L5 The Kroten Campaign were released as free downloads.
...on Dragonsfoot :)
What a legend I didnt know this
I have a box of Dungeon magazines that I inherited from an older friend when he got married and the old modules in these mags are all I've ever used for my players along with some original content to link it all together every now and then. The newer long-form content WOTC does now is not for me. Short, modular content will always be my preference.
With some Google-fu you can dig up pdfs of all of the Dungeon and Dragon mags. They are a true treasure trove of ADnD content.
The secret of bone hill is a great starting point for a lager campaign in the world of Greyhawk.
A Lager campaign? So like Beer Trek? Ok, I'm in!
@@Johnny_Nitro oops typo but I like your thinking. My next campaign will be the search for the ultimate Dwarven ale recipe. 😁
@@rmcdudmk212 well, I AM a dwarf expert, so just like Scottish oatmeal, dwarven ale should be thick enough to stand on.
@@Johnny_Nitro 😆😆😆😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣. I love your comment.
Yes, agreed. I used L1 to kick off my latest campaign. It has since turned into a crew of ragtag airship pirates out to save the world from that scurvy scallywag Demogorgon. Restenford continues to be a safe haven for the party, and I always love it when the players return there.
Fun fact: a Hungarian author and role-player mashed The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh and this together in 1990 into a novel and launched a long-running, successful fantasy series.
woah! What's it called?
@@FlameQwert The Word of Chaos which is the founding novel of the Chaos Cycle. It spawned its own TTRPG in 2001 and a notoriously buggy video game titled World of Chaos in 2007.
Great module, played it as a kid tons. Was also lucky enough to be in some groups with Len Lakofka, a very nice guy. RIP
I love this module. I played it as a kid and, to be fair, forgotten most of it. Enjoyed this a lot! Thanks!!!
For some reason this video didn’t pop up in my feed. I’m glad I stumbled across it. Another fantastic video!
This was one of my first adventures. I LOVE IT. A perfect starting sandbox with rumours, NPCs and locations to explore. So much gaming in only 30 pages. This is what GMs need. The 300 page adventure paths of today are an abomination in comparison. So great to see those fan made maps, really cool! I'd love to see this rereleased with better art. Thank you for the great review.
I love these reviews of ‘80s AD&D modules. I wish you had gone into more detail of actual content or even somewhat of a play through as you have done with other reviews of this sort.
The problem is, there really isn't that much to go through with this module, its mostly 'set up'. I'll be going into a lot more content for the next two, promise!
@@captcorajus but...but what was the secret in the bone hill?!
Bone Hill was the start of what was a great campaign! From burying the found copper in several different places, the assassin henchman trying to kill his master's rival while spending the night hiding from zombies, to being unable to unravel the Assassin's Knot (they just knew "some" people were bad and needed to be killed, and, after a couple of Dungeon adventures, DL1, where they managed to kill Onyx with a Blade Barrier off of a scroll the thief stole. It was a great start! We stopped playing before L3 came out, but we loved those 2 modules. Yes, they were modules back then not adventures!
There just might be a new campaign and there will be room for Restenford & Grotten.
I'm running this in 5e right now- in fact, I am running a session tonight! It's a great old favorite of mine. One thing I think is very interesting is the actual secret of Bone Hill- there is one, but it's never spelled out; you have to read between the lines and put it together for yourself. Fantastic adventure and mini-setting.
Spill the beans??? 😅
Bought this used in the late 90's, but still have yet to run it. I've gone through tons of classic mods, so might have to crack this open for the next new campaign.
Thank you, I was looking forward to watching this all day.
I hope it was as entertaining as you expected
Well done, Captain! Looking forward to the next two.
There's an adventure in Dungeon Magazine #71 (Nov/Dec 1998) called "Priestly Secrets" which takes place in Restenford five years after the events of "Assassin's Knot".
I've run the adventure several times over the past 20+ years, and it's absolutely FANTASTIC.
I love these 1e ADnD reviews of old school modules. I own the original ‘81 print but haven’t played it. I did play Assassins Knot back in ‘84 in my brothers campaign. Great memories of playing in a friends basement into the wee hours of the morning on summer vacation.
Love these retro reviews
I know you reviewed modules I1, I2, and I6. It would be awesome if you reviewed Pharoah, Oasis of the White Palm, and Lost Tomb of Martek!
This was the first AD&D module I owned, second D&D module after Keep on the Borderlands.
Shocking Grasp, I think. Skeleton has been jolted away from the Magic User, so we're seeing the image post-contact. Skeleton could have been ready to cast Burning Hands, but her initiative was better 😃
Always interested in your reviews Cap’n. I remember most of these adventures.
So, are we getting a review of L2 and L3 soon? I love these video reviews of old modules. You make my dat every time you upload one! Also, i'd still love to see you review the module "Treasure Hunt"! Thanks for doing a great job.
Still have this module from when I was a teen. Ran it a few times over the years as a DM for 1st Ed, 3.5, and 5th edition. It’s got some
Wear and tear and crib notes to prove it. One of my favorites. Had great maps.
With that title and cover I was expecting a very different module
Great to see a new video. I haven't even watched it all the way through but I already know it's going to be good.
I think it's not a skeleton, I think that's one of the variant undead from actual Bone Hill. The Zombire or the Skelter.
I was hoping that someone else would remember the unique undead variant in the Bone Hill module.
It’s simply a awesome module.
You Rock Lisa!!!
so many memories wrapped into these modules. We began with these, but soon enough pretty much just designed our own modules and worlds. We would steal stuff from Dragon or Dungeon magazine and then incorporate it into our own world. Then when DragonLance modules came out we played those and it was another adjustment for us, going back to modules, and having the DM try and steer us in a certain directon..no Tas, you really need to look down that well...
Ah man, I was excited when I saw this pop up. I've wanted to play/run L1 since it came out 40 years ago. I got my chance last year when I kicked off a Lordship of the Isles pirate campaign with The Secret of Bone Hill. Lots of great content in that module, but you're right, not much story to it. It takes a bit of DM creativity to get the party moving, unless the players are naturally curious to begin with.
Great review Captain! I owned this module back in the day but never played it. 😞
There's never been a better time. Pick your favorite OSR and get to it! :)
I think that is a common sentiment among most of us. So many great adventure paths, and not enough time to play them all.
I have the original ‘81 print but have never played or run it.
Best cover art, always stuck in my head.😇
Got a lot of fun and a lot of play out of bone hill. We took two separate runs at the Assassin's Knot both failures. None of the DMs we had was up to running it. I'd like to try to run the two concurrently and ladle in clues and let the party make connections to help make the Assassin's knot winnable.
We very much enjoyed the sand box.
Great job love these videos! Keep them coming!!
This was my go to module for years
I love what Ryan Dancey said in his intro to L3 in the Silver Anniversary box - I have it in storage right now, but it likened the final release of L3 to the final strings of music at the end of a symphony…
Thanks for this just bought it as a POD, I remember my original, but never got to DM or play it.
Oh man, the original modules were so great!!!
Not sure if you have covered them yet, but you should try to find the 2 based on Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass. It makes for some interesting ideas in less traditional fantasy gaming.
Nice to see something based in Greyhawk
Was always one of my favorite models
With Bone HIll, Keep on the Borderlands, the Saltmarsh Saga, Against the Cult of the Reptile God and Village of Hommlet you have a complete sandbox to start any campagin w/o railroading the PCs into anything.
Sidenote: I've had PC's rescue a maiden who was going to be sacrificed by the Cult of Reptile God who turned out to a half aasimar (Unknown to them and not revealed at the right moment months later).
I also made the cult the main villain for adventuring in this area which was easy to do with a little work.
All very good choices indeed. And I like how you expanded on N1!
I saw this module on mercari once. It was pretty dilapidated so I didn't end up getting it. But the cover looked really cool. Always wondered if it was any good. Thanks for reviewing this one capn! :D maybe ill try and find a nice copy of the original or a pod version if all else fails. I'd love to run this for my family game.
It's no big deal if there isn't a hydra in the module, as the DM can always add one if he chooses to. Plus, it's a great illustration.
hi capt-c....WOOOH! I am always looking for towns to mine. And yay!!! Rumor Tables are my favorite thing from "Keep" and something I always make when I have a town, which is great for sandboxing!!!! .... I like that they have all these NPCs!!! (Better than the "Keep" for sure, except I like that Mad Hermit guy.) So this seems like it might be another author's take on the elements of Gygax's style of design...so that makes the over all rating: "groovy"! ....
PS, as an aside...I learned something from one of the towns given in the 4e dungeons in that area around the city in the 4e Essentials book set. One of the towns fleshed out "catch phrases" for the NPC, like things they say frequently. So now when I read fantasy books, I look to see if the characters have a catch phrase, like Sam Gamgee always says something like, "If you take my meaning" (as well as complaining about not having rope). I think this is a great idea that I copied from that 4e town (near where that Red gang is, or whatever it was) and use when I make NPCs and it makes it easier to play act them real-time. Also, it's one of many reasons why D&D people should not whine that Tolkein is too detailed; there is a lot to learn for a DM in those details!!!!
I know it says 2-4 levels, but what level should the adventurers be before they actually go to Bone Hill to avoid not being ready?
That depends on the number of PCs. if you have four PCs then at least 3 to 4th level. If you have more, you have a bit more leeway.
@@captcorajus Thanks, Captain!
Thanks.
The Ls are my favorites to run. There's so much barebones to build on.
Could you leave a link to the great color maps from Dac? Dake? Thanks. Great review.
Just do a google image search for 'Bone Hill color maps'. Its like the first thing that come up my friend.
Ran this most recently four years ago; the party kept rolling the same rumor on the table. So the "secret" is: "The dead walk on Bone Hill".
The very first module I bought for AD&D. I really liked the sandbox and town. Much easier to get into than B2.
I've got the print on demand from DriveThruRPG. It looks excellent.
Thanks. I had a feeling it was a good looking print. I ordered Deep Dwaven Delve but it hasn't come in yet. Looking forward to finally getting that in print.
@@captcorajus I had no idea L3 was available in print. I thought it was just pdf. I'll be ordering that next. Thanks to you ;)
@@DnDnBeer My work here is done! lol
@@captcorajus level with me Cap, how many of these modules do you or have you actually played through to completion? I love your catalog of reviews, but the body of work is so large that unless I've misjudged you, I imagine this is more of a collection for antiquity. Correct me if I'm wrong.
I like this videos!
great content
Classics...
Ya know, something about a woman in skintight clothes and the words Secret of Bone Hill on the same cover seems kinda... "something"? Makes the mind wander to adult places.
Well done my liege
Lol, I still don't know what the secret is!
I DM'd this module once. It turned out only 2 players were available that night, so I allowed them each to play a secondary character in addition to the primary. They actually did very well. Then they started fighting over the treasure, and killed each other. Sheesh.
love it
Maybe it's a souped-up shocking grasp spell?
Maybe! lol
Just started running this. The players are in the burnt down guardhouse looking for rats finding undead.
Does anyone know what the secret of Bonehill actually is?
I got a copy of this module from DriveThruRPG about a year ago, and the quality control was terrible. The first two pages (with the maps of the main dungeon) are missing, replaced by two blank pages at the end; right after page 14, I got page 28, and the second half of the module counts down from there, ending at Page 15 right before the blank pages; and the margins around the text block are too small and misaligned, making it really hard to read the text near the binding. The module is great, but the POD is a POS. It put me off buying anything else from DriveThruRPG.
I always loved Bill Willingham's style. Erol Otus was baffling, tho. I don't understand why they kept using him, much less putting his art on the cover of books.
Because he was awesome!
I can't help but to think "BOOOOOOBS" whenever I see this adventure cover. I guess I'm just an immature brat.
lol
Damn, a 14? Normally that number doesn't scare me away but.. wait! ah... crap, I've said too much.
Also, joking.
Its the 'style' rating. This module is great, but I wouldn't recommend it as a 'stand alone' adventure in a long term campaign. Needs more 'meat'.. which was provided by the two follow up module, WHICH I'm going to review. Stat tuned!
@@captcorajus you know me Cap, I always "stat" tuned. Speaking of meat...
"eldritch" rhymes with "witch". "over-arching" rhymes with "over-marching".
When you make your videos on your channel you can say them however you want!
Ah, that classic staple of early DnD modules: cover and back art that has basically nothing to do with the story.
Maybe it's just me, but I think if you're going to stick a cool monster front and center, the adventure should include that monster. Otherwise, it's just false advertising.
Usually, I contribute more than I post, today. There *is* no secret to Bone Hill. You wasted $30 on a useless module, which is basically useless monster clutter. Story-based or character based adventures generally do marginally better. But this isn't one of them. Sorry.
Yeah, well... that's just like your opinion man. :P
5e player?
@@adampender2482 No, I've been playing 15 years. Maybe I'm not "reading" enough into the adventure premise. What does this "starting location" offer, in terms of motivation, story and challenge. Ya, I'm looking at entertainment value. Or challenges that relate to specific class functions.
@@Cyberpuppy63 that's not how 1e adventures were designed. Have you ever played 1e/2e?