D&D's new starter set looks back at Gary Gygax's most popular modules

Keep On the Borderlands is perhaps the most iconic and well-known of the Dungeons & Dragons modules by TSR, the original publisher of the game, created by Gary Gygax, who wrote this module. The B2–module at the time, designed to be an introduction to the New Dungeon Master and Players, followed by nomenclature. This represents the second module in the Basic Series. It survived a period of testing that was enduring popularity. This is further proven by the recently announced new starter set of Dungeons & Dragons 5E, Heroes of the Borderlands. In 1979, B2 became a module included in the basic set of Holmes D&D, replacing B1, seeking the unknown (due to the legal dispute between D&D co-creators Gygax and Dave Arneson). The B2 remained a module included in the hugely successful Moldvay Basic set that began distribution in 1981 and sold nearly 1.3 million copies. Essentially, if someone started playing D&D in the late 70s or early 80s, they probably started their journey with Keep. However, it's not just nostalgia. The B2's excellent design has allowed it to remain a popular starting module for several generations of players. This is the module written for the first time DMS to be performed, but it is not particularly linear. Rather, it is a mini sandbox adventure, where the heroes build a base with the Keep of the same name, from which they can explore nearby locations, including the famous dungeon complex of the Cave of Chaos. The border zone, where keep stands act as a marginal space between civilised lands and wilderness, offers adventure opportunities in an environment ripe for opportunity and secrets, without the risk of being overwhelmed by new players like most campaign settings. Taverns, inns, shops and traders, banks, guild houses, chapels, minions to hire, and ruling classes of woo or hostiles. Outside, in the wilderness there are caves of chaos and 11 cave complexes of varying sizes and complexity overlooking the steep valley. Behind the valley is a shrine of evil mixed chaos (yes, it was evil and chaotic!) and players will find the most difficult challenges of the module. (Spoiler: It's undead. Lots of undead.) Another interesting element is that while it is designed to be difficult as the caves become deeper into the valley, players can enter the complex at any time. If they are too bold or unlucky, they stumble in an insurmountable danger. This is unusual for starter modules. From a modern perspective, the B2 looks like a lazy design module, lacking the complexity and detail of many of its parts. For example, the Cave of Chaos is home to many tribes of giant humanoids, including Kobolds, Goblins, Orcs, Hobgoblins, and Bugbears. While this is intended to force players to fight more and more powerful enemies, the modules never reside in the cave ecosystems, relationships between different tribes, or the way they began to serve evil confusion. Two tribes that form an alliance and two tribes that steal from the other are mentioned, but these are temporary drops of lore similar to “points of interest” scattered in the wilderness around the cave. As a DM running mostly published modules and campaigns, I can say it is a complicated experience. It's great to map locations, set up a table with plots where encounters are planned and already written. But we are all creative. Otherwise we wouldn't do this. We always want to bring inputs to these modules, expand them, and leave an engraving on these pre-built worlds. B2 has allowed DMS to do it for 46 years. This is how the okrawl bear looked like in old images. The settings are remote and liminal in design, so there is no assumption about the world around you. There is a dungeon for group hack and slash and XP collection needs. This is completely complicated, but when broken down into base elements it is simple and can be researched individually, allowing for excavation. Keep itself provides the kind of structure, opportunity and conspiracy, as is usually seen in larger, larger cities, typically found in vast cities, on a smaller scale, as is common in D&D environments such as Greyhawk and Waterdeep. Essentially, Keep on the Borderlands has everything new players can expect from D&D, leaving enough holes for every execution of the module to always feel personal and unique. It appears that how much of that experience will be tuned to appeal to board game players with quick start rules and plenty of accessories. However, the fact that Dungeons & Dragons is rethinking the B2 setting (not the first time. There was a sequel to the second edition of AD&D in 1999, and a re-release of D&D 4E in 2010) is important. Without a doubt, D&D reached the peak of its popularity in the 80s. In recent years, the game has been able to regain that level of success thanks to mainstream exposure from real play shows such as Netflix's Stranger Things and key roles. With a bridge that lasts for almost half a century, Keep on the Borderlands stands as a proof of magic that can only be created with D&D tables.