First the Idea & then the adventure

So, as I am starting a new AD&D 1e campaign I had to return to the roots so to speak. Reworking the Keep on the Borderlands and In Search of the Unknown which of course means a return to the Caves of Chaos. A few players from #Roll20 I have played with and enjoyed their company plus some people from back home whom I have not shared a table with in awhile. The Travelers life is nice but I do miss having a regular weekend game at my kitchen table. Luckily there is #Roll20. How to spice up such a classic one may inquire. Well keeping it simple so First edition so I could use a classic module tie in with little change or editing. Taking the regular "Y'all meet in the tavern" and tossing it out the window completely and having the party start as someone’s; conveniently gone missing, group of followers and henchmen. There, everyone party member knows each other for at least the past 5 years. Give them motivation, your lord and master has gone missing while you and your party were gathering supplies for the manor house and a raid of parties unknown came and killed the other followers and henchmen. Burnt your house down and killed your dog. The surviving members of the manor now look to you for aid and comfort then what are you to do?

You have this final shipment plus some clues to get the adventure started so off to the Keep on the Borderlands. You'll have to report this dastardly act of cowardly evil upon your fellows right? This eventually leads to In Search of the Unknown which is changed a bit. No longer did Rogahn and Zelligar fight off barbaric hordes or orcs as I have seen done in reboots to this Classic. No, these douchebags hated and hunted Elves causing much strife between humankind and the elves on the borderlands near the Celadon Forest. It’s gotta be Greyhawk, you know it. Rogahn and Zelligar are long gone but your master had some info in that last load of stuff for the manor. Maybe he sought the secrets of these two, how did he know Zelligar and what was that connection? Red Herrings... The party will eventually discover it has laid upon it an Elfin Curse. The Fey touched it with something the duo coveted the Elves long lives. SO now the missing mistress of Rogahn is no longer a footnote she is the low level big bad. A ditsy ravenous Ghoul who talks and curses and cries for her lost love. The bassinet of gnawed bones a nice touch too. Going to creep this entire complex up with lesser wax golem statues of Elves and Dwarves. Their inner core skeletons of elves and dwarves naturally. Have it peel off with macabre descriptions as an homage to Vincent Prices House of Wax.

Eventually we will get the party to the Caves of Chaos and how do we spice up the caverns? Remove some of the Chaos and make the cultists organizing the orcs and humanoids Lawful Evil Devil cult. Organized opposition is so much terrifying than mindless chaos. Remove the Kobolds as everyone makes a bee line to exterminate them and replace it with the Tomb of Horrors. Now, you may ask what kind of asshole plops the Tomb of Horrors into the Caves of Chaos for levels 1-3. This asshole does.... No one is going to twist their arms to go in there at all. The goblins; patterned after Redcaps of folklore, are going to try their damndest to trick the party into thinking that whatever they are looking for is in there. Afterall, once put to the question they'll admit those that go in do not come out and those that do are naked and goblins being goblins take them captive and trade them to an older resident of the area. Deep beneath the caves are some loathsome fish-men. Kuo Toans whom the goblins occasionally lower captives to for fish and goodies.

One tribe of Orcs have bought in to the Cults plans to subvert and infiltrate the area while another who are still independent because of prepared defenses. Well, they have reason. They are descended of Rogahn themselves ! It's a warren of organized orcs and half orcs and a memorial to their mother a former orcish servant of the weird duo Rogahn & Zelligar. They happily call themselves the "Children of the Jug" as having a magical pool that constantly makes delicious wine and a rather willing Orc lady servant is a bad idea in the lonely wilds of the Borderlands. Imagine a horde of orc and half orc warriors with "Me Heart MoM" tattoos on their arms and the belief that being descended from Rogahn makes them the “bestest” Orcs ever ! Mom Orc is gone but they have a weird shrine to her in their complex still and keep it in the family as much as possible but they are Orcs so par for the course.

Instead of a Minotaur in a cave we will toss in a marauding Troll every tribe in the Caves hates. She constantly goes on about she should have been chieftess but was robbed and dammit it was HER TURN! It is incredibly old and nearly blind. The other tribes tolerate it but drive her off with fire once she gets to close or eats to many goblins. And of the dread owlbear of yore. Its gone, probably eaten by the Troll. Still working on what quirk to put to my tribe of Bugbears in the Caverns. Removed the Hobgoblins too but may place some Norkers in as they are in the Abbor Alz. Never have like Gnolls so pulled them as well. I wonder if anyone believes the fake treasure map on the goblin guards at the very entrance to their lair proudly claiming the treasure is in the green devils mouth ? I mean seriously.... The Cult has to be tied to Acerak somehow but I keep getting ideas of Green Hell. Maybe an advanced Bearded Devil or the eventual big bad behind The cult is a Pit Fiend who dealt with Acerak and now has this cult which operates in Oerth in the lich's name while pushing diabolic plans. The Green Devil Cultists masks should trigger the innate D&D metamind of something sinister is in these damn caves... updates to follow