[July 3rd] UK1 - Beyond the Crystal Cave 1e to 5e AAR

Before I go any further on this, let me give HUGE thanks to ActionMan, Chad, Dennis, Jesse, Justin, and Justus for participating in this event. It was a great way to spend my post-July 1st (Canada Day) and pre-July 4th. You guys really made this event memorable.

On July 3rd, I brought together a small group of players at my home, most of whom I never met before. And ActionMan.

Why?

To run an adventure set in Ozaka, and iron out the few issues with the character sheets and find out how the iconics would play in a setting different than a "regular" convention environment.

I chose a classic 1e adventure, UK1 Beyond the Crystal Cave. As the number indicates, this adventure was written in the UK. If you have never player any of their modules, they had a VERY different vibe than the Gygax-created adventure, with a different mixture of whimsical and grounded fantasy. It is odd to describe, but in many way, the adventures suit my style and preferences a lot more. This one is a strange sandbox and it is likely to play VERY differently from play-through to play-through.

Although there is a 5e-port available on DM's Guild, I chose to do the conversion myself and it worked out fine. I spent a few hours adding some notes. I have no intention of selling my port as I'm sure the existing one is decent.

So what happened?

Sent by Lord Azaki to investigate the appearance of a strange grey bubble where a hill used to be present, the party explored the homonymous Crystal Cave and the odd garden beyond. Of course, since I had to add some tie-in with the First Ones, because they are just so fun and exciting to run.

Now, I will be honest and say that this adventure contains a bit of a "gotcha" at the end (depending on the PCs' actions), which normally irks me because they rob players of some agency. This one though, does it in a way that is interesting and that creates more role-playing opportunities, leading the character to more adventure, more discoveries. So I have to say that I quite like

It has a charm all its own and I encourage you to try this one if you have a chance. I was so pleased with it, I think I may try to run more of that series but adapted to 5e.

The adaptation to Ozaka gave it a different spin a "regular" game setting would not have had.

If I have to give a rating to this adventure, I'll give it a 4/5 as written.