If you haven’t run or played B2: The Keep on the Borderlands be warned, this post will contain spoilers! I’m sure that everyone has seen this, but keep in mind, there will be spoilers. I don’t know how I can spoil this for anyone. But if you haven’t, there will be spoilers in this review. I can’t imagine there’s anyone who hasn’t played through this, read through this, or run this multiple times. But with that being said, let’s have a look at this iconic module B2: The Keep on the Borderlands. If I can give you a few tips along the way, I’m more than happy to do it. I love this module, and I want to share it with you.
It’s not a hard module to run, and it’s not a complicated rule set to pick up, but there are a few tips I think I can offer you if you’re running through this the first time or if you’re a bit overwhelmed at running, what is essentially a mini sandbox for the first time.įeel free to take that advice or not. So as we’re running through and reviewing this, I’m going to give you my tips and tricks for running this module after running it for I don’t know, well over a dozen times.
And although it’s a special instructional module designed for first-time DMs, It is a mini sandbox, right? And I’m not necessarily sure that first-time DMs should be running a mini-sandbox, at least without more specific instruction or direction. B2: The Keep on Borderlands was my absolute first. This module is the first adventure I ever ran in Dungeons & Dragons.
And finally, if you want to get a copy of the original B2: The Keep on the Borderlands, the DMs Guild sells PDF versions. And recently, Goodman games released Into the Borderlands, a compilation of B1: In Search of the Unknown and B2: The Keep on the Borderlands, which includes both the original versions and the 5e conversions. So, even if you’re not familiar with the original module or didn’t play through the original module, you may be familiar with it from this particular re-release. TSR released “ Return to the Keep on the Borderlands,” a revisitation of B2: The Keep on the Borderlands for its silver anniversary. Goodman games released Into the Borderlands, a compilation of B1: In Search of the Unknown and B2: The Keep on the Borderlands
But beyond even that, there have also been multiple re-releases of this particular module over the years. I know, I ran it dozens of times, literally dozens of times. So it is safe to say, if you played in the eighties, based on the fact that it was included in really what would be considered the starter set - the basic set you probably played through and, or ran B2: The Keep on the Borderlands multiple times. The lines blurred back in the early eighties between system, basic, advanced, that sort of thing. However, many people played it using AD&D rules. This module is not written for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons it is written for basic Dungeons and Dragons. Many people played B2: The Keep on the Borderlands with AD&D rules, even though this was a basic module.
B2: The Keep on the Borderlands is an introductory module for character levels one to three. So it’s safe to say that if you started playing in the eighties if you began your Dungeons and Dragons career in the eighties, you probably played through or ran this module, even if you didn’t play with the Basic Dungeons & Dragons set. It supplanted B1: In Search of the Unknown in the later runs of the Holme’s blue boxed set and appeared in the Moldvay pink D&D Basic boxed set for the entire run. So B2: The Keep on the Borderlands is probably one of the most iconic, the most popular, the most well-known modules that TSR ever released because of its inclusion in multiple box sets. B2: The Keep on the Borderlands Review – B/X D&D B2: The Keep on the Borderlands History