Review & Commentary On Ravenscrag By Judge's Guild For Advanced Dungeons & Dragons First Edition & Your Old School Campaigns

Once again the deep well of my thumb drive provides me with a place that I just need to add into my on going campaign. This isn't the usual module that you hear about around the hobby shop soda machine. 



 In Eight- One Judges Guild produced Ravenscrag, a sorta of back filler kinda module that is rather unique its output & feel. Ravenscrag isn't your usual Judges Guild's product because while many JG products & books were generic in look & feel. Ravensscrag is all  castle and attendant area book. And its such that it can be dropped into your own campaign. For my purposes its proto Celtic/Norman feel is exactly the sorta of place that I want in the Wilderlands of High Fantasy. Why?! 

There's a lot going on in Ravenscrag! The module is chalk full of NPC's & a kingdom in turmoil. The kinda of turmoil that adventurers make much worse. You've got 

detailing the rooms and inhabitants of a six-level castle and a five story keep all within the reach of the player's PC's and that's where things get very interesting. How interesting?! Ravenscrag is a perfect location to tack on B2 Keep on the Borderlands.


Why? Because Ravenscrag makes an excellent castle & kingdom along the same track along the borderlands as the famous keep. And there's just as much intrigue happening in Ravenscrag. 

The maps, NPC's, and really the over all package of  Ravenscag make the whole very pleasing to the eye & the palatte of the old school gamer. Infact I'm not the only one who loved the module pacakge;"Paul O'Connor reviewed Ravenscrag in The Space Gamer No. 45.^[1] O'Connor commented that "If you play D&D or think you can overcome the problems of non-specific text, then Ravenscraft is an excellent buy for the money."" So as you can see there's quite a bit on the full burn of this module. 

The dungeons,the keep, the locations, & even the overall feel of this module keep the DM coming back for a bit more of a dip into the weyrd pools of Ravenscrag. There's a proto Arthurian or Norman Britian feel here that reminds me of a time long gone from fairy tales & deeds of daring do. 
But what is there for the OSR gamer?! 

Ravenscrag offers up a heap of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons madness that takes its cues from both '81 AD&D as well as some seriously good resources to pull from. The kingdom itself can be dragged & dropped into any world but fits in the seriously deadly annals of '81 style gaming. But that unto itself isn't its only draw. For Castles & Crusades the vibe of Ravenscrag fits within many of the recent adventures that we've seen outta of Troll Lords. Because Troll Lords is getting ready to launch a new Kickstarter soon  Ravenscrag could provide a way of translating between potent gaming resources. 

Why!? Because adventurers need islands of stability amid increasingly dangerous places. Fortunately Ravenscrag isn't that but kinda of is if lots of criteria are met. In otherwords there's a Hell of a lot of opportunity for the DM to use Ravenscrag to their advantage. 

Is Ravenscrag a good module?! Yes but is it a fantastic one?! Sorta if the DM is looking for a location that can offer as much adventures as it does opportunity across the board. Ravenscrag is a solid addition unto Castles & Crusades for myself. Because it takes the DM into a world of intrigue & the players into solid danger! Again classic & very well done for Eight One AD&D!