The Keep and its inhabitants are Good, the monsters in the Caves are Evil. It paints a picture of a contest Good versus Evil. The tone of Borderland’s Background section left me a bit incredulous. The heroes are exceptional people, defending the good from all the evil that means it harm. There is little information given about the motivations of the Caves’ denizens beyond wanton destruction, so player-characters must clear the caves with bloodshed. And once there, it is primarily a slug fest. The Keep is “one of civilization’s strongholds between good lands and bad.” The player characters arrive with “heart that out for adventure,” so they have come to the Borderlands to make “forays against the wicked monsters who lurk in the wilds.” To satisfy their crying hearts, they are sent to the nearby Caves of Chaos (hereinafter, the “Caves”), “where fell creatures lie in wait.” 65% of the rumor table for the Keep is all about the Caves, and many of the other entries are tangentially about the Caves. The eponymous Keep exists amid myriad dangerous and chaotic forces.
But BX D&D was there first! Borderlands is not just a points of light setting, it is a point of light. “There are always certain exceptional and brave members of humanity, as well as similar individuals among its allies - dwarves, elves, and halflings - who rise above the common level and join battle to stave off the darkness which would otherwise overwhelm the land.” Perhaps you’ve heard fantasy settings called “points of light,” a phrase predominately used in the Fourth Edition of Dungeons & Dragons to describe its default setting. This tends to open up more choices for players to make. I present a world that is less black-vs-white and more gray-vs-gray. However, I want to present a reinterpretation based on the text of the adventure. I think running Borderlands entirely straight could be a lot of fun. No prior knowledge of Borderlands is required to ride this ride, but it will contain spoilers, if you are worried about spoiling a 42-year old adventure.Īuthor’s Note: I am not trying to police anyone’s fun. I will first discuss how the module frames itself and the player-characters before revealing the sinister secrets hidden within.
But there is a spectre haunting the Borderlands. In Gus L’s r eview of Borderlands for D&D’s 40 anniversary, he summed up the high esteem in which this adventure is generally regarded: “It’s iconic and widely adored, the Ur module.” This sums it up. Since then it has been emulated by adventure writers the world over, in ways both intentional and unintentional. B2: The Keep on the Borderlands (hereinafter, simply “Borderlands”) is probably the most-played adventure of all time by virtue of being included in the Basic Set of D&D at the dawn of the hobby. “Welcome to the land of imagination.” That is how The Keep on the Borderlands chooses to introduce itself, as if Willy Wonka is inviting you into a confectionary sweatshop.
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