An Alternative Campaign Path For B10 Night's Dark Terror by Jim Bambra, Graeme Morris, & Phil Gallagher

"Barely one day's march from Kelven, the uncharted tracts of the Dymrak forest conceal horrors enough to freeze the blood of civilized folk. Those who have ventured there tell how death comes quick to the unwary - for the woods at night are far worse than any dungeon. 

But you are adventurers, veterans of many battles, and the call of the will is strong. Will you answer the call, or are you afraid of the dark terrors of the night?

This campaign adventure is for characters just beginning Expert play (levels 2-4) and hurls them into the exciting outdoor world which awaits in the Expert rulebook. "
B10 Night's Dark Terror by Jim Bambra, Graeme Morris, &  Phil Gallagher show cases everything that Mentzer's Expert Dungeons & Dragons set was meant to do. That is drown the PC's into a situation that will test the players to their limits. DM'ed correctly & this adventure could take the PC's into some solidly dangerous situations & could result in a TPK.




This module premiered in '86 & there's a unique history behind its publication; "B10: Night’s Dark Terror (1986), by the TSR UK crew of Jim Bambra, Graeme Morris, and Phil Gallagher, was the tenth adventure produced for the D&D Basic Set (1981). It was also a return to basics after the home office in Wisconsin had stopped producing new Basic Set adventures in 1985. It was published in February 1986."
B10: Night’s Dark Terror (1986), presents the wilderness as both foe & setting for a mid range party of adventurers & it does an excellent job of presenting the adventures with an 'edge of the  frontier' setting that reminds me of the best of Robert H Howard's "Beyond the Black River" The player's PC's are literally up to their necks in the depths of a hostile environment. They'll need to be fast, quick witted, & wily to survive the machinations of the module. The DM needs to pay attention to the contents of this adventure & yes I said contents; "With a 64-page booklet, 2 double-panel covers, and complete scans of the orioginal double-sided mapsheet, this super-module provides all you need for epic wilderness and dungeon adventuring." The journey across the Grand Duchy of Karameikos is a very dangerous one indeed for the players are going to need their wits about them. There are several instances where the updated fan made maps available from the Piazza are a must.  Created by Sarastro Magnifico
The module is basically an adventure tour of the campaign setting of the the Grand Duchy of Karameikos & the DM has to keep the action moving. Done correctly & this module goes like an 80's action movie. All of the while it show cases many of the advantages of Mentzer D&D Expert Rules highlights & really showcases the streamlining of the systems. 



But I want to bring up the Graeme Davis review of Night's Dark Terror from White Dwarf No. 78 from the B10 wiki entry; 

"Graeme Davis reviewed Night's Dark Terror for White Dwarf No. 78. Davis felt that the farmstead in the adventure's opening was nicely detailed, and that the counters to play out the action on the 25mm scale map for that location were a nice idea. He commented on the plot of the adventure, "There is enough here to keep the fastest-moving party going for some time, and a section of suggestions for further adventures can help the GM to open out a long-running campaign in the area."^[2] Davis did note that the numbering system for wilderness locations was confusing, with an example where a location has one designation at one part in the module, and at a later point the location has a different designation which does not correspond with anything on the map. However, Davis felt that everything else in the module was written and laid out very well, and that the module would be a tremendous help for any game master learning the Expert rules"
This confusion with the wilderness locations on the maps has been corrected in that fan made maps from the Piazza by Sarastro Magnifico. The Dragon's foot site has a good thread of suggestions for running B10 as well.

 But now I've got an idea for slipping in B8: Journey to the Rock as a campaign shake up before continuing onto X10 Red Arrow, Black Shield By  Michael Dobson. Not only does this give the player's a more even adventure path but it gives them time to go up the levels needed to tackle some of the challenges seen in X10. 



Of course this is going to depend upon if they survive the horrors, weirdness, events, & weather of 'B10: Night’s Dark Terror (1986)'. Because B8: Journey to the Rock builds upon the foundations of B10: Night's Dark Terror's wilderness exportation in spades & aces.
There are several reasons to do this: 

1. Using B8: Journey to the Rock with B10 Night's Dark Terror gives the module a frame work to build the campaign upon. 
2. There could be a connection between B10's baddies & the wizard which gives the PC's more puzzles. 
3. The deeper one goes with this there could be ties with X10 Red Arrow, Black Shield By  Michael Dobson's forces. 
4. The campaign context makes the armies of the humanoids very dangerous especially if coupled with B2 Keep on the Borderlands. 
5. The war depicted in this module, The Grand Duchy of Karameikos, has all of its moving parts & pieces in place. 
6. The forces of  Karameikos, are going to need all of the outside help they can get that's where the PC's form the internal chain. 
7. The wizard of B8 might have vital information to the cause of the PC's and done correctly this might spur them on. 
8. The wilderness of both B10 & B8 could hide any number of mini dungeons & these are the perfect bits for any campaign side quests. 
9. Be sure to take full advantage of the random encounter & weather tables when running these two modules. 
10. The PC's could become military spies or assets for Karameikos,& the DM should take full advantage of this. 

The Wilderness & Beyond - Using The 'B' series & Alphabet Soup Method for OSR or Old School Adventure Path Campaigning

"The end of the road. A lonely fort stands on the banks of a mighty river. It is here the hardy bands of adventurers gather to plan their conquests of The Hill, the hulking mass that looms over this tiny settlement. 

The Hill is filled with monsters, they say, and an evil witch makes her home there. Still, no visitor to The Hill has ever returned to prove the rumors true or false. The thrill of discovery is too great to pass up, and only the river stands in the way. The adventurers' boat is waiting!" 


For me right outta of the gate B5 Horror on the Hill By Douglas Niles is a continuation of  Gary Gygax's B2 The Keep on the Borderlands . This makes the module actually useable instead of just another campaign adventure center piece. The premade characters are weak & should not be used by an experienced dungeon master for his PC's. I came across this little blurb from the Drivethrurpg entry on B5 ;" B5 is quite similar in general nature to B2: "Keep on the Borderlands" (1980): It includes a home base out in the wilderness - here, Guido's Fort - and from there players can trek to monster-infested areas. We can speculate that this might have been a purposeful replacement, as TSR was releasing the third-edition Basic D&D set at the time, and thus B2 (which had been a staple of the first and second edition Basic D&D sets) was dropping out of print.

The biggest difference between "Horror" and the classic "Keep" is that Guido's Fort is given almost no detail, leaving the gamemaster to create any roleplaying opportunities for the home base itself. Of course, as some have suggested, you could just replace Guido's Fort with the Keep on the Borderlands!" I'm going to take a very opposite tactic & say don't do this! Take the maps of the keep & simply use them for Guido's Fort  whist filling in the encounters you want. This will keep the players guessing & have you able to keep them on their toes.
Now not only can you use both B2 & B5 together but these can be strung together using the glue of B8 Journey to the Rock by Michael Malone. You get all of the wilderness & all of the remains of the forts along the borderlands now converted into dungeons, ruins, caverns, etc. 

Now if you really want to screw with your players & the Caves of Chaos just aren't cutting it for you because of the 'we've read & memorized all of the classic TSR modules' bit that players seem to do. Then grab your handy AC9 Creature Catalog By Jim Bambra, Phil Gallagher, & Graeme Morris. Swap out some of the monsters & swap in some of the Creature Catalog monsters this makes it seem as though the forces of chaos are on the move. I recently did this with Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. These modules used together made the wilderness seem like a nightmarish never ending nightmare.
If these modules are coupled with B10 Night's Dark Terror by Jim Bambra, Graeme Morris, & Phil Gallagher. They give an adventure path that seems to indicate that the humanoid armies are gathering & more over their on the move to conquer the human lands.



When I used this adventure path with AS&SH the players remembered the hyena men connection & this sent them into a blind panic. It seemed like 'Underborea' was cracking open & the hordes of Hell itself were spilling out. In Mystara all of this had different connotations as the cults of the elemental evil began to gather & tighten around the throat of the kingdoms.



I don't usually go light weight when it comes to describing the reality warping powers that are held within the dungeons & ruins of the elemental evil. For me the elemental evil books are as follows for old school D&D as well as AD&D: 

• The Village of Hommlet (1979, AD&D)
• The Temple of Elemental Evil (1985, AD&D) 

That's it unless I'm specifically picking up the pieces from 3.5's Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil but I don't run that all that often. This brings everything in line with the expansion of the humanoid armies seen in B2 Keep on the Borderlands. So why not simply use B1-9 In Search of Adventure by David "Zeb" Cook, Jeff Grubb, Gary Gygax, & Tracy Hickman? Because the wilderness & encounters from the previously mentioned modules are cut down, the whole affair is edited, & it cuts back on the play time folks.

This whole adventure path gets everything in a campaign primed up & ready for the main events. Running this sequence of adventure modules could take a year or more easily. These could be played out with Mentzer Expert Dungeons & Dragons  or Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition.


Now before all of the occult esoterica hits the fan & the humanoid armies crush your home campaign I've also run U.K.1 Beyond The Crystal Cave by Dave J. Browne, Tom Kirby, & Graeme Morris   an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Module also known  Uk1 9066  TSR as a buffer module to set up the next leg of the campaign after the events of T1-4  Temple of Elemental Evil By Gary Gygax & Frank Mentzer.  


This breaks events up. Gives the PC's time to regroup & for the humanoids to mass then attack some of the outlying areas of your home campaign. This also sets up for a smooth transition into the U.K. series of modules as the party re euips, gains new members to replace the dead, and levels up. All of that is of course if they survive. 

An Alternative Campaign Path For B10 Night's Dark Terror by Jim Bambra, Graeme Morris, & Phil Gallagher

"Barely one day's march from Kelven, the uncharted tracts of the Dymrak forest conceal horrors enough to freeze the blood of civilized folk. Those who have ventured there tell how death comes quick to the unwary - for the woods at night are far worse than any dungeon. 

But you are adventurers, veterans of many battles, and the call of the will is strong. Will you answer the call, or are you afraid of the dark terrors of the night?

This campaign adventure is for characters just beginning Expert play (levels 2-4) and hurls them into the exciting outdoor world which awaits in the Expert rulebook. "
B10 Night's Dark Terror by Jim Bambra, Graeme Morris, &  Phil Gallagher show cases everything that Mentzer's Expert Dungeons & Dragons set was meant to do. That is drown the PC's into a situation that will test the players to their limits. DM'ed correctly & this adventure could take the PC's into some solidly dangerous situations & could result in a TPK.




This module premiered in '86 & there's a unique history behind its publication; "B10: Night’s Dark Terror (1986), by the TSR UK crew of Jim Bambra, Graeme Morris, and Phil Gallagher, was the tenth adventure produced for the D&D Basic Set (1981). It was also a return to basics after the home office in Wisconsin had stopped producing new Basic Set adventures in 1985. It was published in February 1986."
B10: Night’s Dark Terror (1986), presents the wilderness as both foe & setting for a mid range party of adventurers & it does an excellent job of presenting the adventures with an 'edge of the  frontier' setting that reminds me of the best of Robert H Howard's "Beyond the Black River" The player's PC's are literally up to their necks in the depths of a hostile environment. They'll need to be fast, quick witted, & wily to survive the machinations of the module. The DM needs to pay attention to the contents of this adventure & yes I said contents; "With a 64-page booklet, 2 double-panel covers, and complete scans of the orioginal double-sided mapsheet, this super-module provides all you need for epic wilderness and dungeon adventuring." The journey across the Grand Duchy of Karameikos is a very dangerous one indeed for the players are going to need their wits about them. There are several instances where the updated fan made maps available from the Piazza are a must.  Created by Sarastro Magnifico
The module is basically an adventure tour of the campaign setting of the the Grand Duchy of Karameikos & the DM has to keep the action moving. Done correctly & this module goes like an 80's action movie. All of the while it show cases many of the advantages of Mentzer D&D Expert Rules highlights & really showcases the streamlining of the systems. 



But I want to bring up the Graeme Davis review of Night's Dark Terror from White Dwarf No. 78 from the B10 wiki entry; 

"Graeme Davis reviewed Night's Dark Terror for White Dwarf No. 78. Davis felt that the farmstead in the adventure's opening was nicely detailed, and that the counters to play out the action on the 25mm scale map for that location were a nice idea. He commented on the plot of the adventure, "There is enough here to keep the fastest-moving party going for some time, and a section of suggestions for further adventures can help the GM to open out a long-running campaign in the area."^[2] Davis did note that the numbering system for wilderness locations was confusing, with an example where a location has one designation at one part in the module, and at a later point the location has a different designation which does not correspond with anything on the map. However, Davis felt that everything else in the module was written and laid out very well, and that the module would be a tremendous help for any game master learning the Expert rules"
This confusion with the wilderness locations on the maps has been corrected in that fan made maps from the Piazza by Sarastro Magnifico. The Dragon's foot site has a good thread of suggestions for running B10 as well.

 But now I've got an idea for slipping in B8: Journey to the Rock as a campaign shake up before continuing onto X10 Red Arrow, Black Shield By  Michael Dobson. Not only does this give the player's a more even adventure path but it gives them time to go up the levels needed to tackle some of the challenges seen in X10. 



Of course this is going to depend upon if they survive the horrors, weirdness, events, & weather of 'B10: Night’s Dark Terror (1986)'. Because B8: Journey to the Rock builds upon the foundations of B10: Night's Dark Terror's wilderness exportation in spades & aces.
There are several reasons to do this: 

1. Using B8: Journey to the Rock with B10 Night's Dark Terror gives the module a frame work to build the campaign upon. 
2. There could be a connection between B10's baddies & the wizard which gives the PC's more puzzles. 
3. The deeper one goes with this there could be ties with X10 Red Arrow, Black Shield By  Michael Dobson's forces. 
4. The campaign context makes the armies of the humanoids very dangerous especially if coupled with B2 Keep on the Borderlands. 
5. The war depicted in this module, The Grand Duchy of Karameikos, has all of its moving parts & pieces in place. 
6. The forces of  Karameikos, are going to need all of the outside help they can get that's where the PC's form the internal chain. 
7. The wizard of B8 might have vital information to the cause of the PC's and done correctly this might spur them on. 
8. The wilderness of both B10 & B8 could hide any number of mini dungeons & these are the perfect bits for any campaign side quests. 
9. Be sure to take full advantage of the random encounter & weather tables when running these two modules. 
10. The PC's could become military spies or assets for Karameikos,& the DM should take full advantage of this. 

Adapting & Exploiting B5 Horror On The Hill, B8 Journey To The Rock, & B10 Night's Dark Terror For An Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea & Adventurer, Conqueror, King Rpg System Domain Level Mega Wilderness Campaign

Imagine the the wilderness of such depth that not even the sun can occasionally shine between the trees, fill it with blood thirsty children of demons, giants, and stir with a pulpy spoon waiting for adventurers to venture into the darkness. This is the set up for a sword & sorcery mix of the 'B' series of modules jumping off after the PC's have completed the iconic Keep On The Borderlands. The PC's are brought into the cross hairs of B5 The Horror on The Hill;""The end of the road. A lonely fort stands on the banks of a mighty river. It is here the hardy bands of adventurers gather to plan their conquests of The Hill, the hulking mass that looms over this tiny settlement.

The Hill is filled with monsters, they say, and an evil witch makes her home there. Still, no visitor to The Hill has ever returned to prove the rumors true or false. The thrill of discovery is too great to pass up, and only the river stands in the way. The adventurers' boat is waiting!" This is the beginning of the affair as they push into the temperate and unforgiving wilderness. Here the old ruins lay after the Green Death has taken down everything. The wilderness has come to reclaim everything and ruins are overgrown with the weight of ages. Scattered like islands of civilization are minor city states & kingdoms that have endured the centuries. Half inbred & decedent nobble families vie in warfare that only weakens them and ancient horrors from beyond the Outer Darkness prowl the forests.



There are towns(more like settlements) that have sprung up here and there along the rivers. But there are dark things in the night, "The Hill is filled with monsters, they say, and an evil witch makes her home there. Still, no visitor to The Hill has ever returned to prove the rumors true or false. The thrill of discovery is too great to pass up, and only the river stands in the way."  Here you put together the ingredients for a fully realized sword & sorcery campaign. The legacy of Hyperborea is just under the roots of trees that have sprung up. The half breed remains of a once proud people are found in the forests while the degenerate remains of the giants children the hobgoblins seek your life at every turn then there is the matter of the witch
& her machinations.

There is life beyond death, I know, and I know this, too, Conan of Cimmeria"--she rose lithely to her knees and caught him in a pantherish embrace--"my love is stronger than any death! I have lain in your arms, panting with the violence of our love; you have held and crushed and conquered me, drawing my soul to your lips with the fierceness of your bruising kisses. My heart is welded to your heart, my soul is part of your soul! Were I still in death and you fighting for life, I would come back to the abyss to aid you--aye, whether my spirit floated with the purple sails on the crystal sea of paradise, or writhed in the molten flames of hell! I am yours, and all the gods and all their eternities shall not sever us!"
Robert Howard "Queen of the Black Coast" (1934)

There are rumors in some of the forest villages of Lirdrium Arkayz a wizard who seeks to know about the Hyperborean ruin know as the Rock. "The road to The Rock leads to danger and hidden peril - dangers that have claimed the lives of many brave adventurers. Rashness and folly will lead to quick death, but riches await the clever and the brave." this is the talk of old women & cunning folk. There are forest demons and other horrors that await the brave or foolish if they journey to the Rock. There are many leagues between here and that pile of rot and ruin.

The city state of Tuma has many opportunities for the wise and willing adventurer, the Rock is a place of death and destruction though, its trails and byways are dangerous & deadly.



But the wilds and wilderness of this trackless country has many challenges including the impenetrable Dymrak forest where rumors of cults, strange things & even trolls await you fools after growing fat & foolish sampling the pleasures of the city of Kelven. "Barely one day's march from Kelven, the uncharted tracts of the Dymrak forest conceal horrors enough to freeze the blood of civilized folk. Those who have ventured there tell how death comes quick to the unwary - for the woods at night are far worse than any dungeon.

But you are adventurers, veterans of many battles, and the call of the wild is strong. Will you answer the call, or are you afraid of the dark terrors of the night?"

So this sort of a sword & sorcery campaign cycle for use with Astonishing Swords & Sorcerers of Hyperborea or Adventurer, Conqueror, King. This grouping of modules provides the DM with hundreds of miles of manageable wilderness set in a proto Russian campaign setting rife with opportunity and danger. Here the sun doesn't even touch the ground! There are influences of Hyperborean, Norse, Russian, and far weirder influences still.


How does this work? Well this series of modules is put together in a rather large stretch of wilderness kingdoms that have become intertwined with the Green Death. Huge swath of abandoned cities, ruins, etc. have returned to the wilderness. This is prime real estate waiting for the right adventurers to carve out their own domains but even while Hyperborea has gone on with itself. These lands have become reoccupied & inhabited by monsters, men, and demons. This is the perfect time to introduce monsters from the Fiend Folio Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition into Hyperborea especially those monsters with an Eastern or Near Eastern Russian style flare. Everything from throat leeches to apparitions are perfect fodder to throw in. They'll be completely unexpected and very dangerous to PC's.


So how do these old school resources match up and why go this route? Well there are several reasons why this is going to work and work out very well. The fact is that each of the above modules have factions, ideas, adventure hooks, etc. all relating to the wilderness elements of old school gaming. Here's ten reasons why the 'B' series is perfect adventure fodder for Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea:

1. Horror on the Hill has some really choice pulpy elements that a DM can exploit & use to motivate his adventurers and especially the players. These factions and encounters are really well done if used correctly. The wilderness is actually manageable for the DM even though it looks 'huge' on paper. 
2. Classic adventure can be given the AS&SH twist to get the players to be a bit off guard especially if they've played these classics before. Look to mythology and legend for a plethora of influences that you can use. 
3. Journey To The Rock can be twisted a bit to provide further adventure hooks by limiting the paths or later opening them up for more adventure! The plots hooks & encounters are already built in. 
4. The expanding frontier of adventure is perfect for the adventurers to actually be the ones to be exploited instead of the natives! This means they might end up penniless and very desparate! 
5. Picts and minor undead are your friends! Have a favorite Russian or Mongolian animal? Create a fictional tribe of NPC's based on it and go to town! Twist the Picts by making them far more 'civilized' then the city state dwellers! Turn the city state into a cannibal nation ala Edgar Rice Burroughs. 
6. Do you have dungeon or adventure location of ruins that you've always wanted to run? Now is the opportunity to throw it into the mix. With miles of abandoned cities and ruins there is the opportunity to throw in anything and get away with it. 
7. Witches, hags, and horrors are perfect NPC's to throw at the players these are corner stones of this style of adventure campaign. Conan literally ran into hundreds of these in the Marvel comics and magazines. Perfect excuse to exploit these for your gain. There is a strong Norse influence felt throughout this sort of a campaign. Use tons of NPC's with these influences to help reinforce the adventure aesthetic. Traders, merchants, slave traders are all found wandering though and selling their wares.
8. Never underestimate the power of Indian or Mongolian monsters. There are literally hundreds of these monsters that never get used in traditional D&D games now is the time to change that. These can be used as boss monsters especially with Adventurer, Conqueror, King's sink of evil rules!
9. Vampire species make perfect Hyperborean undead nobles and horrors use them. 
10. There are several Lovecraftian elements in these adventures use each and everyone of them to their fullest extent. 

 When in doubt turn back to Robert Howard  or your favorite sword & sorcery author for even more ideas. These three adventures have tons of wilderness or hex crawling goodness and can be used to weave together an entire wilderness mega campaign!

"Conan stood paralyzed in the disruption of the faculties which demoralizes anyone who is confronted by an impossible negation of sanity." Robert Howard "The Devil in Iron" (1934)