OSR Commentary On CM1 Test of the Warlords by Douglas Niles & Adventurer Conqueror, King 1st edition Rpg

 "The king requests your presence in the honorable kingdom of Norwold. If you're worthy, you may be appointed lord of a dominion filled with friendly villages, sturdy fortresses, and raging band of monsters."

"Raging bands of monsters?

Well, yes, and you may have to lead your forces into a war or two. But you'll be ready for the challenge. You'll be ready for treacherous spies who conspire to steal you land. You'll be ready for a foul band of giants that raids your dominions. And you'll be ready for the inevitable clash of empires, the outcome of which may alter the fate of millions. You'll be ready! Won't you?'

CM1 Test of the Warlords by Douglas Niles takes the PC's from 15th and above PC levels into the world of managing kingoms, retaking lands, and literally magaging a whole cloth domain.And it's even in the module's set up; "With the fall of the Black Eagle Barony and its allied forces, the settled lands of the continent are now peaceful. Most of the land's dungeons have been plundered, and monsters have been driven from all but a few of the civilized dominions. Prosperity reigns throughout the land now, which is just how the rulers want it. The government is stable, and day-to-day life is routine. Prospects for adventure, however, are minimal. Then comes word from the north: the empire of Alphatia has claimed the vast lands of Norwold, and has appointed a king to rule over those lands. This monarch is in need of steadfast characters to administer the many dominions that may be carved from the wilderness of Norwold!" Anyone worth thier salt knows that this is BECMI's fabled Mystara. But how could CM1 Test of the Warlords by Douglas Niles be used with the modern clones such as Adventurer,Conqueror, King rpg?!Because CM1 was written for the Dungeons & Dragons Champion Box set then we're fading into ACK's Conqueror phase of PC level requirements. 

 This basically means that the forces of  the empire of Alphatia & all of it's allies are going to be on the middle end of the ACK's scale so between 7th level and upward. The PC's are going to have to deal with all of the problems that surround the world of the wilderness of Norwold! And that's no joke. The encounters of CM1 Test of the Warlords by Douglas Niles are going to test and could easily kill a party of ACK's PC's. This is especially true in the 'Conqueror' phase of an ACK's campaign. Mystara in CM1 is an untamed land & the the empire of Alphatia are seriously expanding it's borders. 

And there's are five reasons why CM1 Test of the Warlords works: 

1. The CM1 campaign module allows the DM to show and demonstrate through actual play how to run and maintain a domain against external and internal threats.
2. CM1 takes the player's PC's through actual dangerous encounters where PC death is an all too real reality. 
3. The Test of the Warlords tasks the PC's to become royal vassels and to have them bare the burden of leadership. 
4. CM1 introduces another aspect of Mystara into the world of Dungeons & Dragons and it can do the same for ACK's. 
5. The module is a classic from another era before WoTC.