Review: The Vanilla Adventure

I've been running our group through the sandbox presented in "The Vanilla Adventure" using classic D&D with some houserules, strict 3d6 in order, no re-arranging or re-rolls. I sprinkled in a few other modules (Hole in the Oak, Incandescent Grottoes, Gatehouse on Cormag's Crag. might add more).

Before I go further into the review, let me just say that the actual play experience has been a blast so far. The players are loving the open-ended nature of it and all the things going on and have taken it in vastly different directions from session to session. And though the module has significant gaps it also has enough meat to help me as DM to navigate all that with more ease than anticipated.

The sandbox is well-sized and with a number of dynamics going on that this can go in a number of different directions, sometimes simultaneously. The main threat, dragons, my group managed to contain early by sheer luck. In the space of our last session, they moved from recovering from a dungeon delve (1st venture into Hole in the Oak) into robbing their quest giver and the shenanigans of spending the robbed money before getting caught to starting what looks like a minor war between dwarves and humans, with orcs lurking in the background as the ever-present greater threat that they always seem to find reasons to postpone looking into. There is still loads left to explore as well.

As DM, there is enough meat on the module that it is easy for me to expand, elaborate and develop on the dynamics unfolding, which is what makes this such an entertaining sandbox to run as a DM. In play, this has gone in a number of directions that I doubt the author ever anticipated, but there is enough in it that the module helps you to run with it.

I am not sure I would call this beginner module especially "beginner friendly" though. Although the meat of it is juicy and easy to work with, it is sloppy and unfinished in many places, and inconsistent in its rule stuff.

What system does it use? It claims "OSR rules with race as class", which is obviously code for Classic D&D. In reality, it seems to alternate between Classic and 2e AD&D. Ability modifiers and weapon damage suggest classic D&D, but it uses AD&D 2e morale scores (2d10). Leather is AC 7, but unarmored is AC 10(?). It's not a huge deal, but "Prayer", for example, is a referenced spell in a magic item that doesn't exist in classic D&D. Details like that. Not hard to wing, but for a beginner module, a morale score of 17 will be confusing if you don't recognise that as exclusive to AD&D 2e.

And then there's the sloppy parts. The most detailed dungeon in the module at the end is also the most unlikely for the players to ever discover or have motivation to go into. There are no hooks whatsoever for it except "sneak into the storehouse for no reason and kill 4 guards in this village you will likely want to ally with to discover the entrance for a dungeon there is no real reason to explore." 

In contrast, some of the other sites that are much more pertinent to the adventure are too sparse and really need a bit of additional development from the DM to work.

The map is great - as a player handout where it is emphasised it is not at all to scale. For the DM, it is awful. As it is, you aren't even given suggested distances between places, so you work out yourself how you want to handle overland travel. That a sandbox with this many locations just handwaves that entirely is a major fault that would have been easy to remedy. 

I like the humour and moral quandaries in the module. The subversive racist themes (elves and dwarves are massively stereotyped by the natives, whilst orcs are considered trusted trading partners), the occasional naming conventions (Borormormere, Bilbeaux, Mary Pippin) all lend a simultaneously playful and contemplative tone that works really well in a setting that is well and truly vanilla - explore the sandbox and you will interact with dwarven, elven and halfling communities, face orcs, dragons, wizard towers and unicorns. The only thing missing is an enchanted forest (I inserted one myself, for the Hole in the Oak setup) and perhaps a kidnapped princess.

But nothing about that is standard or unimaginative. Every encounter at least offers food for thought and a twist or two, without trying too hard for the sake of being edgy. It's really well imagined stuff.

This module needs a bit of work to fill out the gaps and in this sense is not as beginner friendly. Bryce probably hates it for the same reason (I checked after writing this review - turns out he dislikes that part but still likes the module enough to rate it among "the best").

But the work comes easy thanks to the material already there to work with. If you are prepared to add a bit of extra prep, it is a delightful piece that lends itself well to expanding upon, both for dropping dungeons into and running with unforeseen angles the players might generate. My main annoyance that the relevant sites are underdeveloped and a few less relevant (or totally irrelevant) sites are strangely fleshed out in comparison.

As an introduction to an "OSR" style of play it works very well though, in the sense of being a genuinely open sandbox with plot hooks aplenty that can go any which way, really well constructed hooks and dynamics unfolding and really well conceived sites and encounters. The intro sequence really throws the players into an unavoidable dynamic in a good way (dragons frigging burnt down the city).

If the author went back and re-worked this for re-release - filling out the gaps, cleaning up the inconsistencies, a few more helpers for newbies and proper layout, this could be one of the greats of the OSR modules. The potential is there, it just takes a bit of work to unpack it.

I want to give it a 7/10, but I am pushing it to 8/10, because once you do that extra bit of legwork to make it work, you have a great sandbox to play in.