We're going to be talking about Basic D&D module B10, Night's Dark Terror, in the next series of posts. Written by Graeme Morris, Jim Bambra, and Phil Gallagher, and released in 1986, the module -- like X1, Isle of Dread, before it - was explicitly meant to help players transition from the dungeon delving of early levels into outdoor adventuring and the Expert level rules. As a "transition module," not only are there many paragraphs of advice and play aids for outdoor settings, but it's numbered in the B series instead of the X series -- presumably because 2nd level characters could in theory play it. The reality, as we shall see later, is something else!
X1 might be better known. It came earlier in time and shipped as part of the first Expert boxed set. But B10, in my view, has more critical acclaim surrounding it. Those who know it rave about it -- in blogs (link, link, link), in videos (link, link). The adventure is ambitious -- a mini-campaign stretching across a hundred miles. Its dozens of encounters are built around a multi-stage villainous plot together with many side-adventures. Reviews often mention the gritty naturalism worked into the setting, and that the authors were three-fifths of the design team behind Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, which debuted the same year. It has a "Wild East" feel, with many places and characters in the sparsely settled frontier sporting Slavic-sounding names. Horse trading and rustling play a big part in the early action, not to mention an extended homestead siege. The quality of detail in the fights, settings, and treasures is way above most contemporary adventures, certainly in the B series.
And yet a few complaints keep surfacing in the reviews. In particular, we keep hearing that the adventure, for all its sandbox credentials, railroads the players at times, frustrates them at others. This is valid; I've been running a modified B10 in my group for a few months now, and because I value player agency, have had to make some plans for what happens if they go off the rails. I also think the adventure departs from naturalism in places. Or at least, from the standard I prefer, where part of exploration is not just discovering places and peoples on the map but figuring out how they operate. Because of this, I thought it would be a worthwhile blog project to go scene by scene through B10, at least until I catch up to the party in real-time, offering play notes, critique, and reworking where necessary.
Now, I have been running the adventure in 5th edition D&D, somewhat against my inclination, but this adaptation is not an aspect I'm going to cover much. There are already a couple of translations about, but owing to the players starting the adventure at 4th level and also being quite skilled at working their characters, I've had to significantly upscale many of the encounters. I'll also leave out some of the elements from the larger campaign that I've included in the plot. So, these critiques will be written about the module as it is, with the possibility that they'll be played either in B/X D&D or a related ruleset, or in 5e. Finally, I'll leave out spoilers for what's ahead in my ongoing campaign, so my players can take a look back at things they've been through and still enjoy the rest.
Onwards, to the sound of wolves howling ...
Next: Starting Off In Kelven
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