Just wanted to write a quick review, so forgive my ramblings. I got this new back in the day and got the pdf for my kid to give her inspirations for her 5e game, so it brought back a lot of good nostalgia-feels memories. It is one of my all-time favorites, so consider me biased.
Primary thing about this module is that it is fast. First time I ran it I bought it during the week, did a speed read, and then ran it during a weekend sleepover and blasted through this module in probably 6 to 8 hours. Minimal prep is required, you could probably just gist your way through the module as you are playing. Encounters are vignette style, very episodic - short and sweet. I would actually say the first 2/3 is very story-funnel based, and what I mean by that is it is entirely possible to avoid about 80% of the encounters if you just straight-line your path and not act the fool. The last part post the druids is pretty railroad-y but that’s just how the old school stuff goes sometimes.
That said, this module I think is for more experienced players that want to go back and play a low level adventure that isn’t all dungeon crawling. Parts of this module would easily result in party kills if the party as a whole are new to RPGs. The wandering monster encounters are true old school by region type, not party level, and several are pretty nasty. There was a reason you didn’t go tromping around in the wild until you were around 5th level.
If you are looking for a fun and lighthearted romp, this there-and-back-again-with-the-MacGuffin could be just the thing for you lol! I’ve run it 3 times in 1e; the goblin-fort has always ended up being a big crowd pleaser every time. 10 out of 10 recommend for any OSR game. ^_^
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