X is for X1 Isle of Dread
Stretching a bit for my alphabet today, but I didn’t want to do X is for Xorn*, Xill**, or Xeph***. Instead I get to talk about a classic Dungeons and Dragons Module.
Written by David “Zeb” Cook, and Moldvay, “Isle of Dread” describes both a continent, and the island itself, a wild land filled with dinosaurs and other dangerous creatures.
The module is written very much in a sandbox style, the goals are vague, but there are plenty of places for characters to explore. The players are drawn to the island by an adventurer’s diary entry promising riches on the island, and a map of an island. Beyond the goal of discovering riches, it is basically up to the characters and the Dungeon Master to decide in what order or manner the characters explore the island.
I’ve never run this module, but if I did, I might add some additional item, or person on the island for the characters to seek out. This would allow them to explore the island, but would give them a goal beyond the gaining of wealth to strive for in their explorations.
Perhaps because of the dinosaurs, and the large wall around the island’s main village, I get the feeling of the island as something like ‘Monster Island’ from the Godzilla films, so I might remove some of the larger dinosaurs and add creatures similar to Godzilla, and Mothra to the island to add to that feeling.
* A creature
** Another creature.
*** Yet another creature.
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