I owned this module back in the day. Never ran it. I don't remember being very impressed with it. (Besides the author & cover art). Thanks for the share!!
Listening to this, I suddenly was hit with the idea that this concept would've been much better if the party consisted of the other 10 exhibits & went inside Earthshaker to try & stop it on its trek towards the capitol.
Great video! So it wasn't just WOTC over pricing things. I was too young to notice this kind of thing back in the 80s and 90s. The ripoff that was the Spelljammer box set a few years ago was the final straw that turned me off of 5e and sent me back to older editions. Now I run a game somewhere between Basic Fantasy and BECMI, consulting both of those books and others for ideas. Keep up the good work!
This was going to be the next module our DM ran for this campaign setting. Unfortunately I moved out of state. I'm sure the our DM had some modifications for this beast of a robot as well as the villains who took it over.
Great review! I don't remember this from back in the day and I'm sure if saw it I'd have skipped it due the steampunk/robot stuff. Still, it's a nice look at a slice of BECMI history!⚔🔥🧙
I liked the idea but didn't want any risk of my characters to ever have a chance at the Earthshaker in their hands. I own it but not using it other than as campaign ideas but still can't add it in.
The robot was cool but too bit too big. So we rescaled it. We put the fair in a place ran by a player and killed it by luring it into the depleted iron mine so it could get a second lease of life.
One way to deal with the Alfonso issue would be to have him as an NPC who invites the PC’s as former comrades to help. He admits to knowing about battle but not this political stuff and will go with whatever the majority vote is. Have the PC’s turn up and be admitted ti his private chamber, but make some excuse as to why some missions must be received before the deal to take the majority vote commences. Fit the curcus guy in before the deal and have him accept. Issues resolved :-)
I see that I didn't comment on this video, so let me correct that oversight now. I have not GMed this module, as the whole earthshaker concept is not really my cup of tea. Granted, Companion level characters are not really my cup of tea either, especially if I have to run several companion level NPC spellcasters! That being said, I like the idea of the baddies having actual plans and a time table. Using this as a basis of a hijacking adventure in a modern cruise liner or scifi spaceship setting could be fun. In Mystara, I would be tempted to scale it down at least by a factor of 2, and make it inoperative or even a Nithian stone colossus rather than a Blackmoor device. The gnomes are not operating it, they are just inhabiting it. Perhaps the mind gem will animate it, perhaps it won't. I would definitely increase the levels (HD) of the gnome leaders. I think they suffer from the fact that gnomes were still a 'monster' race, non-playable, and hence they were 'stuck' with the monster write-ups. Indeed, Krazmos' stats are exactly the ones for gnome clan leader in the Monsters chapter of Rules Cyclopedia, down to 18 HP and +1 damage. The white-space is really noticeable, too. They definitely should have had the baddies' stats on Playing Aids p. 17-18, which page numbers were very confusing as they appear in the main text as well, another hint that the editing of this thing was rushed. And it would have been much more useful to have the combat stats (THAC0, DMG, saving throws, AC, HP) in the Roster (it has the last two, but not the others), to be able to run combat without having to look up other tables each time a PC casts something or the Earthshaker moves. Finally, about Maggione... I don't see how the PCs will be able to convert him in the normal course of the adventure. 30min is a heck of a long time to spend talking to him, unless they have already subdued the mage and his team members. How would the PCs know Viktor's plans, and why would that matter to Maggione anyway? He is already a hired gun to take over the Earthshaker, which quite possibly involves the murder of any innocent gnomes along the way.
@@TheOtherSteel I know. I’d already recorded the audio by the time I realised I’d mispronounced the word. 🙂 You wouldn’t believe how many times you have to catch yourself due to a mumbled word / phrase or accidental mispronunciation, so that you can just read it again and edit out the mistake. I missed this one and then couldn’t be bothered.
I purchased this when it was released and loved the concept but was disappointed with the length and art. It could be combined with the content of the latest Vecna book's colossus chapter to add some more detail and grandness.
I never rated Clive's artwork compared to Larry Elmore and Jeff Easley's artwork. That, combined with my purchases becoming more selective, meant that I didn't buy this. This review sounds like it was a lucky dodge.
I enjoy all of BECMI Berserker Videos 🎉🎉🎉
I ran it in 7th grade, back in the 80's, and it was a blast, but we were in 7th grade so...take that with a grain of salt.
I owned this module back in the day. Never ran it. I don't remember being very impressed with it. (Besides the author & cover art). Thanks for the share!!
Listening to this, I suddenly was hit with the idea that this concept would've been much better if the party consisted of the other 10 exhibits & went inside Earthshaker to try & stop it on its trek towards the capitol.
I had this when it was new, never got to run it for anyone else but teenage me loved the concept and used it for solo dominion play.
Great video! So it wasn't just WOTC over pricing things. I was too young to notice this kind of thing back in the 80s and 90s.
The ripoff that was the Spelljammer box set a few years ago was the final straw that turned me off of 5e and sent me back to older editions. Now I run a game somewhere between Basic Fantasy and BECMI, consulting both of those books and others for ideas. Keep up the good work!
This was going to be the next module our DM ran for this campaign setting. Unfortunately I moved out of state. I'm sure the our DM had some modifications for this beast of a robot as well as the villains who took it over.
Great review! I don't remember this from back in the day and I'm sure if saw it I'd have skipped it due the steampunk/robot stuff. Still, it's a nice look at a slice of BECMI history!⚔🔥🧙
I liked the idea but didn't want any risk of my characters to ever have a chance at the Earthshaker in their hands. I own it but not using it other than as campaign ideas but still can't add it in.
I do like the idea of gnome Techno's though
@stevenkennedy4130 as someone who played a gnome in Dragonlance and built things I agree.
Better left for a Super Robot Taisen RPG ;)
A machine that size would be a walking disaster just by moving around.
It seems like the writer had an idea of “titanic robot” and then tried to straight jacket a Companion adventure around it 😅
I bought this module back in the day out of spite; I hated it from the moment I saw it, but still needed to buy it because I'm a completionist. lol
The robot was cool but too bit too big. So we rescaled it. We put the fair in a place ran by a player and killed it by luring it into the depleted iron mine so it could get a second lease of life.
One way to deal with the Alfonso issue would be to have him as an NPC who invites the PC’s as former comrades to help. He admits to knowing about battle but not this political stuff and will go with whatever the majority vote is. Have the PC’s turn up and be admitted ti his private chamber, but make some excuse as to why some missions must be received before the deal to take the majority vote commences. Fit the curcus guy in before the deal and have him accept.
Issues resolved :-)
I see that I didn't comment on this video, so let me correct that oversight now.
I have not GMed this module, as the whole earthshaker concept is not really my cup of tea. Granted, Companion level characters are not really my cup of tea either, especially if I have to run several companion level NPC spellcasters!
That being said, I like the idea of the baddies having actual plans and a time table. Using this as a basis of a hijacking adventure in a modern cruise liner or scifi spaceship setting could be fun. In Mystara, I would be tempted to scale it down at least by a factor of 2, and make it inoperative or even a Nithian stone colossus rather than a Blackmoor device. The gnomes are not operating it, they are just inhabiting it. Perhaps the mind gem will animate it, perhaps it won't.
I would definitely increase the levels (HD) of the gnome leaders. I think they suffer from the fact that gnomes were still a 'monster' race, non-playable, and hence they were 'stuck' with the monster write-ups. Indeed, Krazmos' stats are exactly the ones for gnome clan leader in the Monsters chapter of Rules Cyclopedia, down to 18 HP and +1 damage.
The white-space is really noticeable, too. They definitely should have had the baddies' stats on Playing Aids p. 17-18, which page numbers were very confusing as they appear in the main text as well, another hint that the editing of this thing was rushed. And it would have been much more useful to have the combat stats (THAC0, DMG, saving throws, AC, HP) in the Roster (it has the last two, but not the others), to be able to run combat without having to look up other tables each time a PC casts something or the Earthshaker moves.
Finally, about Maggione... I don't see how the PCs will be able to convert him in the normal course of the adventure. 30min is a heck of a long time to spend talking to him, unless they have already subdued the mage and his team members. How would the PCs know Viktor's plans, and why would that matter to Maggione anyway? He is already a hired gun to take over the Earthshaker, which quite possibly involves the murder of any innocent gnomes along the way.
11:30 - "...Choir of Evil..."
Choir is pronounced [kwai-uh], not [kɔːr] (core).
@@TheOtherSteel I know. I’d already recorded the audio by the time I realised I’d mispronounced the word. 🙂 You wouldn’t believe how many times you have to catch yourself due to a mumbled word / phrase or accidental mispronunciation, so that you can just read it again and edit out the mistake. I missed this one and then couldn’t be bothered.
Most people don't know how to read that, by the way.
I bought this as a kid thinking that we have to fight Earthshaker. Nope. I still kinda dig it though
I purchased this when it was released and loved the concept but was disappointed with the length and art. It could be combined with the content of the latest Vecna book's colossus chapter to add some more detail and grandness.
BB working hard on Thanksgiving?!
@@diogenesstudent5585 Don’t have Thanksgiving in the UK. 🙂
@becmiberserker arent you thankful we are gone? Lol
@@diogenesstudent5585 🤣🤣🤣
Wow. That looks an awful lot like the Giant of Babil from Final Fantasy IV.
I never rated Clive's artwork compared to Larry Elmore and Jeff Easley's artwork. That, combined with my purchases becoming more selective, meant that I didn't buy this. This review sounds like it was a lucky dodge.