RPG Retro Review: Master of the Desert Nomads
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ก.ค. 2020
- Taking a look back to 1983, and X4 Master of the Desert Nomads! Dave Cook at his pulp fantasy best!
X4 Master of the Desert Nomads on PDF: www.drivethrurpg.com/product/...
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The level of nostalgia you bring out in your reviews is amazing. I feel like I’m looking at DnD as a 14 year old again with do Ms y great memories!
This module has so many great memories for me! Best of all was running my brother over with that juggernaut in revenge for him killing me on the Isle of Dread.
Ha ha. D&D sibling rivalry can be deadly!
I played through this era of D&D gaming and I find your reviews to be expert and extremely fair. Thank you.
Always liked the cover of the module, the rolling tower golem is kind of terrifying which equals fun. I ran this with X5 way back in the 80s. Thanks for the memories.
That was a wooden juggernaut. (I'm a nerd.)
played as a kid in the 80's, that night a possum took up breathing huskily outside my bedroom; i was terrified, thinking it was a Soul eater!
I wish Drive Thru RPG would put more stuff for print not just pdf. 🤔 keep up the great retro reviews!! 😊
it seems to be wizards of the coast /Hasbros call not Drive Thru RPG
yes, exactly.
This is what going into work during the weekend when no one is there to ask what you are printing and raiding the supply cupboard for binders is for
Getting an old adventure to have a good scan into a POD ready file can be a heck of a process, and WOTC has better things to spend their time and effort on.
@@UndeadVikingVideos Actually WOTC would be better if they began reprinting the old modules tather then releasing what they are working on currently...
I bought this module back when I was a kid, never got the chance to play it. Thanks for the reviews.
X4 and X5 are 2 of my favorite old school modules along with UK 1-3!
Great review as always! I love this module series (X4-X5), and not just based on nostalgia, I love it because it shows just how much can be done with the straight B/X rules, before BECMI. Thanks for walking me back down memory lane! I can't wait for the X5 review! I love your channel!
I remember this as a kid. Someone cast "Stone to Flesh" on the stone juggernaut.
Awesome review! Looks like X-4 and X-5 are print on demand available on drive-thru rpg. Enjoy people!
The module where I learned what the word 'Juggernaut' was (didn't really know much about the X-men at the time)
Over the years I had a few modules, either from Starter boxes, or trades with friends. I only bought 1 module. This one. We had just moved onto the Xpert box and I wanted a new module and this one had a cool cover. Way to advanced for me to run at a young age . It seemed too open to know where adventures would go.
This one sounds like a winner! Looking forward to the followup.
Oh captain, my captain. I hope you are having a great summer. I enjoyed the video. I never played this module, definitely sounds interesting. I'll definitely keep an eye out for it.
Great Module. Ran three different groups through this. Two of them later went through X5 The Temple of Death. Definitely agree on rating by captcorajus.
Prob my favorite module of all time.
In Media Res beginnings can sometoimes cause players to be contrarians because they feel railroaded. I have found a way to deal with that is to treat it like an 'off screen' adventure where you let the characters get some XP and some stuff For example: OK, since the last adventure you all got hired to do some merc work, everything went fine, you each get 100xp, plus 100gp to buy equipment representing what they gave you when they hired you, the thief managed to steal a +2 dagger he always wanted, the magic user got a scroll of fireballs, and the fighter came up on a +2 shield on loot, you report back to the company commander when you find out...
My first module was X5 Temple of Death and my friend bought X4 at the same time back when they were new. I later bought X10 and more recently a used copy of X4. I think the whole concept would be a fun one for WotC to explore with a 5E adventure. Doubt they will though.
Love this, your best review; i will have to pick this up!
Played this twice leading into X10. The second time was really epic because the Master had killed one of the PCs in Temple of Death. So the others wanted revenge. Even wrote my own sequel to X10 later where the Master's sidekick comes back for revenge by reviving a Nithian Mummy Lord in the Hollow World. Love how the Master is basically the Ayatollah Khomeini.
Oh, that's epic! Sounds amazing, and a lot fun. Great job with the Nithian Mummy Lord. Loved the Nithians!
One of the first modules I played. I remember it vividly. Possibly my fav module.
Excellent review! I’ve been updating my old modules to 5e, and have been looking forward to this one for years - and the second part Temple of Death.
One of my favourite old school modules along with X5. Thank you for the great review (no suprise there).
Great DM advice on this one bro. This is one of the few classic modules I have never even skimmed through. I appreciate these reviews in full, because if I started reading this myself, I would probably write it off once I hit the stupid Quest spell and unrealistic NPC reactions.
I think the '80s Dungeons and Dragons cartoon references masters of the desert nomads.
best old school stuff...capcorajus and Mr welch !
Great review as always Captain - loved running this and X5 back in the 80's. I do recall getting a bit confused by the number of Bhuts in the final encounter and - after playing the module and then reading it - my players reckon they fought 4 times more Bhuts than they should have! Oh well, the Abbey was clearly just a bit more evil than anticipated! 😊
lol.... Classic!!
Never played this one. I remember seeing the module cover at bookstores and hobby shops.
Ah, so this is where the Nagpa comes from. Good to see the off brand Skesis continue to be used even now, with their recent write-up in _Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes._
Lol.. yeah, that's right. I remember reading about them in Mords. Good call. Yes, this is the first mention of them in D&D.
Weird timing... I was about to marry this into a campaign stretching from Rahasia to MotDM/ ToD and finally into the Desert of Desolation.
Someone uploaded all of the Dungeon magazine issues. An internet search for "Dungeon Magazine" brings it up. In issue #40, there was a short adventure that was designed to be an expansion to the Desert of Desolation called Khamsa's Folly. It fits in well as an additional star gem location.
The NPCs in the Tomb or Martek make great recurring adversaries/allies. You can introduce them as early as before the Dustwall and have them acquire their own star gems. If you use the Durpar setting, the Gray Orc is native to the area and can be a recurring encounter. You can also expand on the presence of the Set cult and make it into a cover for the return of Sseth. The Hinjaz mountains end up becoming a great location for this seeing that they already look like a serpent swimming through the sand. Yuan-ti cultists may steal star gems to use in a ritual to revive their god. If the clerics have a fire/serpent theme, you can tie it to Martek's main adversary. The 3e book Sandstorm had a lot of great material as well, probably the only place where it fit nicely.
@@legisnuntius nice, thanks :)
I have sandstorm, it'll def get used.
I think the story in X4 X5 is supposed to be conclued in X10
To this day, I believe that the Juggernaut is one of the coolest monsters of Dungeons & Dragons.
I think so too. I was musing that I that monster has appeared on many covers, second only to dragons. lol
@@captcorajus I remember actually having those things make several return appearances, and each time, there was some new.. deadly attachment on it. Like two big, spiked wrecking balls hanging off the side by giant chains, so that it would get near it's target, and spin real fast, smashing whatever it was near to pieces. They're also fun to mount canons, and magical flamethrowers on. They would be kind of.. programed to annihilate a target, and just.. roll in like a giant tank. Those things were like giant "Battlebots" on steroids in my campaigns.
As a rule, i love adventure modules that have maps of the town and rumor tables -- the Keep on the Borderlands model is awesome. The one thing I loved about 4e was the Nentir Valley setting with one town appearing in the essentials DM Book and others it some of the adventure modules. Sometimes, they went a step further there to come up with better descriptions of the NPCs including their "catch phrase" (something they say that brings out their personality and makes it easier to role play). Whenever I design a town, I like to throw in the catch phrases too. :D (Does anyone else walk around the house making up little NPCs in their mind and then yelling out some ridiculous thing they say in a weird voice? I crack me up.) PS -- I would make PCs who try to wear heavy armor get heat exhaustion in a desert. 9:40 Is the "amulet" a cell phone?
Awesome review! I wish this was POD. Looks like I’m hitting eBay!
Thanks for the walk(s) through memory lane. Sent a PayPal donation. Great stuff.
Oh wow! Thank you
Love your reviews! One of the best channels I got! Any chance of doing the original oriental adventure series or kara-tur campaign and how to link them properly?
Not really a big fan of Oriental Adventures, but we'll see. :)
Ahh, the Malacaz has killed more parties, than I care to admit. Brutal trap.
Ugh! I remember this module. It was pretty much a disaster for us. (partly because we screwed up a bit, including wearing the amulet)
That juggernaut crushed my 2nd D&D character EVER! Dang it. (he was the only one with NO method to fly)
He was also the 1st character I had that achieved a decent level of power & ability, so I was REALLY enjoying him. :(
Oh no! Tragic!!
I always like Star Frontier, just kinda sad it never really take off.
There are still plenty of fans of SF and new stuff is still being punished for it.
You have CEO, Lorraine Williams of TSR to thank for that. After she pushed Gygax out of the company, she prioritized Buck Rogers, to which she personally owned the licensing rights. Star Frontiers got shelved and TSR published a Buck Rogers role playing game and board game, paying her royalties in the process.
The fans kept Star Frontiers alive, even printed a fan edition of the game when it was allowed on a non-profit basis. The fan magazine Star Frontiersman went for 50 issues!
I'm running a bi-weekly face to face Gamma World Star Frontiers mash-up campaign
@@ForeverYoungKickboxer Heh, played some Gamma World in junior high school, was surprised that you started at what would be considered high level in AD&D but our GM said "Yah, but you can die." Our group was all mutants (no pureblood or whatever you called normal humans) and my character had the "unusual diet" trait that we used from an issue of Dragon. My guy was right at home in radioactive areas because he could tolerate level 15 (of 18 IIRC) radiation. Another one of our guys was photosynthetic which was fun.
Yah, better times that's for damn sure.
"who sic the soul eater... is never revealed"
Are we reading the same module? Go to the paragraph right below the one where the cleric throws the quest spell at the fighter.
"The Soul Eater will return to attack The Master who will suspect that the creature failed in its mission"
If you need more information then read the last paragraph in the entry for the Soul Eater, ".. if the Soul Eater is defeated, it will return to attack the cleric who summoned it..."
That would be the eponymous Master, the guy who this module is named after. He has a real name, which I forget, and he is one of the big bad guys in Mystara and has a run of three module which wrap up in the Red Arrow, Black Shield module (one of my personal favorites). He's a pretty tough cleric who has an army of desert nomads under his control and he kicks off a world war scale conflict on Mystara. Great stuff, if a bit unwieldy.
Do a review of the old LANKHMAR module
Are there any updated maps available online?
You mentioned Primordial Thule in a few videos, have you done a review of the campaign setting? I looked at the PDFs for the game setting and the gamemasters book and really like the setting from what I have read.
I haven't done a review of it, but I'm a fan. Just wish there was more material produced for it. There's so much on the map that is NOT discussed in the sourcebook, and it seems like there were plans for such things.
@@captcorajus I heard they were planning more stuff, but have put it on the back burner. I made a beastman character that has the 'Spirits of Nature' as a patron.
I love this era of modules. I had X2, X4 & X5. They are great fun and worth playing today!
Dave Cook's contribution can't be ... understated? :D
Exactly!
Should get way more views
Is this module designed for B/X or BECMI?
Either one. There's no appreciable difference between the two in regards to this adventure.
Hey Cap, great vid! I have an observation and a follow-up 3 part question to pose to you.
full disclosure...
Almost all modules seem to have a standard formula. A new town, dungeon, wilderness, monsters, npcs and treasures. In many ways all these adventures are cut and paste. Sure names are changed and layouts vary... (somewhat), but in essence we all end up playing the same adventure over and over. Even the story beats are repetitive, including the factoring in of PC "wackiness" which (in my opinion) makes the creation of new modules superfluous.
My question to you is: do you agree with this observation? If so, how could the game be improved upon and would any changes even be welcome?
I look forward to reading your insights. Maybe this topic would make an interesting video?
Nah. I couldn't disagree with this viewpoint stronger. No one person has an unlimited supply of new and interesting ideas. New modules can serve as inspiration, and ways of doing things in game that you may not have thought of before.
For example, descent into the depths of the Earth gave D&D players insight on how you might run underground wilderness adventures. This module that I just reviewed shows how to run a series of encounters without anchoring them to a specific location on a map.
There are nearly infinite stories that can be told, and while they might follow the same formula, that in no way makes them repetitive.
The hero's journey, and dramatic storytelling by its nature is repetitive, but we seem to have an endless supply of such stories, game modules are no different.
I mean I can have a thousand towns, with a thousand different histories, and thousands of different npcs.. how are they the same other than they all have buildings and roads? I don't know. that doesn't make any sense to me at all.
So to answer your question, I don't agree in any way with this observation. I seen nothing to be done with the game system itself at all. The way to make each town, dungeon, adventure distinctive is to focus on the CHARACTERS. If you don't do that there's no 'system rule' that will help you.
In this module I just reviewed, the Statue encounter is unique and a lot of fun because you have a madman that thinks he and the statues he's making talk or actually talking and are real. Any DM worth the title will have a ton of fun with that and by extension, so will the players. How is that... 'just the same'?
Thus a video on how to make unique and interesting NPCs, and by extension the town, dungeons and encounters thy occupy... would have some value, hmmm?
Hope that answers the question?
@@captcorajus I appreciate your condor. Perhaps the tropes have become pedantic for me. I often wonder how the game can be more precedural. Rather than a spraling map I wonder if a choose your own adventure approach is better. Could be the medieval setting has grown stale for me. I find Starfinder (or for grognards spelljammer) captures my interest more. Moving from encounter to encounter, or set piece to set piece holds my attention more than wandering around in a town, wilderness or dungeon. Could also be that I have grown grumpy in my old age.
@@Johnny_Nitro You sound like you might just need a break from D&D and fantasy in general. In years past I've played Star Wars, Call of Cthulhu, and other genres and that frequently rejuvenates my D&D juices.
That said I've been running D&D straight, virtually every week sometimes twice a week for a good 8 years now, with no real breaks, though I have 'one offs' on occasion. I REALLY love to do Dread one shots.
The reason for this, is in recent years I've really focused on Character driven narratives, and that .... at least for me.. makes all the difference. I just need to find 'the hook', whatever it is, and i'm off to the races. Any kind of 'sameness' or 'boredom' i might have been feeling is gone as soon as I find the character driven narrative.
For example, in the latest arc of my campaign, the players are trying to find the Hobgoblin Prince Zuun-daak, who is a valuable asset to the Iron Authority, the Hobgobline Empire on the southern part of the continent in my world.
He's the son of the Emperor, but also a powerful general in his own right, with extensive military training. He's disappeared. Not kidnapped, but 'runaway'. This is dangerous for the Emperor, as the Priests of Bane, who are the religious sect of the Empire could use his son's abandonment of his duties against him politically.
Its more complex, but the PCs are engaged by the Emperor to find Zuun-Daak and return him to the Empire.
The truth of the matter is, that Zuun-Daak hates the temple of Bane. He has sought out the Empire's 'enemies' the Elves of Orrama, and engaged in a ritual...which has freed his mind from the 'Strife of Bane'... essentially the evil God's whispers, that influences all humanoids towards evil.
Free of this taint, he wished to remain with the Elves forever, and learn their ways. Unfortunately, the Elves were attacked by Serpentmen agents of Yig, and many friends were kidnapped and taken to a fabled temple deep in the jungle. Zuun-Daak takes on the quest of recovering his missing eleven friends, and destroying the lost Fane of the Coiled Goddess.
Zuun-Daak spent months learning the legends of Yig and the Serpent men, and ultimately the location of the Lost Fane. With Elven allies he attacked the Fane.. and was captured, and it is there he resides, a prisoner of Yig's daughter, a powerful Spirit Naga named Maladicta Hexos.
The players have spent many weeks retracing Zuun-daaks steps and have only recently met the Elves Zuun-Daak befriended.. and are now themselves about to travel to the Fane, to try and find out what happened to Zuun-Daak, but to possibly kill the Naga... and then take Zuun-Daak back the Emperor.
I'm telling you all this as I'm trying to convey the importance of the character driven narrative. Juice up the motivations and desires of your NPCs. Make them interesting.
I can tell you, that as the players have slowly, over the last several week's retraced Zuun-Daak's own quest the are complete engaged by this unique and interesting Hobgoblin.
Yes, there is a legit dungeon adventure here, the Temple of Yig/ Fane of the Coiled Goodess... to explore but its the CHARACTER of Zuun-Daak that makes going there so interesting to the players.
As long as you can find that 'hook' that fleshes everything out, your imagination can go wild. I have no idea how they are going to defeat Maladicta Hexos... or how they are going to resolve getting Zuun-Daak back to the Emperor once they find him.... but that's not my problem. That's THEIR problem. As DM I can't wait to see how they resolve this problem.
This was a rather long response, I hope it helps a little?
@@captcorajus I appreciate the lengthy response. It is a very interesting narrative that you have in progress. In absorbing your comments the culprit might be that I have seemingly been subjected to a lot of bad sessions and very same-y scenarios.
Come to think of it, lots of the players that I shared a table with were... socially challenged. They all exhibited "dickish" behaviors and there was no shortage of bickering.
I need to find a good gaming group.
Based on your initial inquiry I suspected that might possibly be the case, but didn't want to imply such.
I have a very awesome group of players. The bickering at the table is nominal, and we 'build off each other' and they are very open to the things I present and usually run with them... in wonderful ways that I never would have thought of.. or respond to things hilariously and keep me amused with their characters. I'm very blessed in that regard.
If you're playing in a group that isn't clicking for you, definitely seek out another!
Alfheim? So Alf *wasn't* an alien! He was just from the past!
what came first, the nagpa or the skeksis?!
The Skeksis. Dark Crystal was released in 1982
Obrigado Google tradutor!
or ardeth bay from the mummy?
Surely its "expert rating" is because of the level it's set at not the writing
How do you mean? The expert rating is not just a reflection of character level in old school d&d but player and DM skill as well.
Name level? No, the PCs are not name level. This is an expert module. They are likely less than name level.
The module of for levels 6-9. Ninth level is name level. The expert rules go to level 14. So yes, name level. Note I said ALMOST name level.