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Every time you say, 'I could do better,' a Gygaxian Faerie gets its wings. Gary devoted far too many module lines to relate this concept: it's your world and these are just idea seeds, you don't even need rules.The more Gygax I read, the more I think modules shouldn't be played as presented. They aren't scaled for the four or five encounters you can get through in a session. They should be looked upon as example pages in the Uber Dungeon Master's Guide.I've held off reading Gygax's modules;Every time you say, 'I could do better,' a Gygaxian Faerie gets its wings. Gary devoted far too many module lines to relate this concept: it's your world and these are just idea seeds, you don't even need rules.The more Gygax I read, the more I think modules shouldn't be played as presented. They aren't scaled for the four or five encounters you can get through in a session. They should be looked upon as example pages in the Uber Dungeon Master's Guide.I've held off reading Gygax's modules hoping to play through them, but the odds are that's never going to happen.
So I'm marathon reading them in an attempt to visualize an 'All Gygax all the Time Campaign.' As for Dungeonland, I'm a huge Alice in Wonderland fan, so I expected to be disappointed. It's an excellent fun house to draw upon as we edge nearer to the Golden Age of Gonzo Gaming. However, it's probably the root cause of more Twisted Alice stories than the world ever need consume. On to Land Beyond the Magic Mirror. This is an example of the what Gary Gygax was very good at taking an existing fun idea and turning it into something that could be shared by a group of friends in a night or two of gaming. He may not have been perfect as a systematizer of rules, and he certainly wasnt a talented writer of fiction, but when it came to making a great module or adventure, he remains hard to beat.Im certain that I never played Dungeonland, either as DM or player, and I honestly dont even remember ever reading it.
This is an example of the what Gary Gygax was very good at – taking an existing fun idea and turning it into something that could be shared by a group of friends in a night or two of gaming. He may not have been perfect as a systematizer of rules, and he certainly wasn’t a talented writer of fiction, but when it came to making a great module or adventure, he remains hard to beat.I’m certain that I never played “Dungeonland,” either as DM or player, and I honestly don’t even remember ever reading it. It may be because it was geared toward higher-level characters, which I generally don’t enjoy (the game loses its flavor for me once things get too easy for the players), or it might be because I never really got into the world of Greyhawk, which this module is labeled as being part of, or it may just be that I did read it and have forgotten in the ensuing 30+ years. So, when I opened it this time, all I remembered was the front cover, which shows a party fighting off a roc, and gives no hint to what lies within.
The cover of the module.CodeEX1TSR Product Code9072Rules requiredAdvanced Dungeons & DragonsCharacter levels9 - 12Campaign settingGeneric /AuthorsFirst published1983Linked modulesEX1Dungeonland (EX1) is an for the ( D&D), written by for use with the First Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons ( AD&D) rules. It is an adaptation of 's, with the various characters from the book translated into AD&D terms.The EX module code stands for extension, as the adventure is designed to be inserted as an independent addition to another, ongoing scenario. In Gygax's own campaign, an early version of Dungeonland was an extension of. In this module, the (PCs) are plummeted into what reviewer referred to as 'a strange partial plane'. Contents.Plot summary The adventure begins with PCs falling down an earthen tunnel.
It is suggested that the portal to Dungeonland be a barrel within the dungeon of Castle Greyhawk, but the (DM) may work in any premise to get them to this stage.Upon landing, the PCs find themselves in a surreal, oddly-shaped hallway which contains The Pool of Tears and the entrance to a diminutive garden. Once they have explored these areas, they cross a fungi forest and arrive at The Wilds of Dungeonland, which is essentially a wooded area containing several connected clearings.Over the course of the adventure, the PCs run into variations of Lewis Carroll's Wonderland creatures and characters, presented in a Dungeons and Dragons style. For instance, instead of the, a Mock is present. The is a lycanthrope, and so on.The point of the adventure seems to be diversion and novelty more than anything else. There is little treasure and no overall plot.
The PCs may leave Dungeonland when they choose, by returning to the Great Hall and wishing themselves back up the tunnel. The PCs may also explore The Land of the Magic Mirror, which adjoins Dungeonland to the West, if they are able to find the way.Publication history Dungeonland was inspired by, and 'includes a very dangerous and March Hare, a deadly game of croquet with the, and a Mock (Dragon) Turtle'. Like its source material, the module is intended to be played in a 'light-hearted and zany spirit', though, unlike Carroll's Alice, the player characters repeatedly face potentially lethal combat with monsters. The, for example, is a magical eager to eat adventurers.Dungeonland was written by, with illustrations by, and was published by TSR in 1983 as a thirty two page booklet with an outer folder. Dungeonland and The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror were designed to be placed as an extension of an existing 9th–12th level dungeon.
In the afterword, Gygax mentions that Dungeonland was an early part of the dungeon, and that his players visited it multiple times. Is mentioned as having played in a version of the scenario run at a convention. The module is paired with, which is based on Carroll's. The scene on the cover of each module is from an event in the other module.Reception Doug Cowie reviewed Dungeonland favorably for magazine. He noted that the module is designed to be inserted into any existing dungeon or dungeon level. Cowie praised the 'excellent underlying theme' and the 'whimsical', but on occasion 'very black humour'. He also felt that this was a 'good example of how module design is developing', namely 'interesting and technically sound, whilst displaying more and more conceptual originality'.
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Cowie thought that the designer had done a 'splendid job'.The module was positively reviewed in issue No. 48 of magazine by, who scored it 9 out of 10 overall.
![Dungeonland Module Dungeonland Module](/uploads/1/2/6/3/126309964/629030638.jpg)
He reviewed the module along with The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror, and enjoyed the 'rich vein of humour' that runs through the two modules, both of which 'offer players an exciting and humorous time'. He felt that while the modules could be played individually, they are best played together as they interconnect in numerous places, and players adventuring in one module could suddenly find themselves in the other.
Bambra felt that although the modules were humorous in tone, some encounters could turn nasty, and that making them for high level characters makes them inaccessible for lower level ones. However, he concluded by saying that if players do have higher level characters available then 'by all means play them, you won't regret it.' In his 1991 book Heroic Worlds, said that the scenario was 'inspired by Alice and Wonderland, but with the whimsy replaced by opportunities for slaughter'.
References. Dicing with Dragons, An Introduction to Role-Playing Games (Revised ed.). ^ (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games. Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books. Retrieved 2008-09-05. Dungeonland, p.
2. ^ (December 1983). 'Open Box: Dungeon Modules'. (48): 10. Dungeonland, p. 27. ^ Cowie, Doug (August 1983).
'Game Reviews'. TSR Hobbies (UK), Ltd. (5): 16–17. Gygax, Gary. Dungeonland (, 1983).Reviews:#35 (1984)Fantasy Gamer #6 (1984)External links.
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