A Review of Mistamere Castle/ Kill Bargle. A BECMI Dungeons and Dragons Review #13

[@juancholo7502]

Oh wow, this brings back memories. My dad ran the Red Book of BECMI of this adventure for me & my brother when we were kids. My character "John the fighter" was paralyzed by the carrion crawler. Fortunately my brother's character killed it before it could do me in. At one point we found a pool with green liquid (green slime?) it started eating the spear I poked into it. I found a Flame Tongue sword (I think my dad was being generous) & thought I was the most awesome fighter around. I scared a bunch of kobolds off & they dropped to the next level down a small hole. We found the same kobolds later on & I tried the same trick & ended up getting pin-cushioned by kobold arrows. Fortunately my dad was house ruling allowing us to go to -10 like in AD&D so my brother was able to reached around the corner & dragged me back while an npc poured a healing potion we found down my throat. I learned caution after that. Good times.

[@TheLostAdventurer]

Ah, classic life lessons brought to you by DM Dad

[@TabletopBob]

On a roll with content! Keep it up

[@TheLostAdventurer]

Thanks Bob! Thanks for being with me this long!

[@karlbolt7159]

Thanks for the review! Didn’t know a third level was in Dragon Magazine. My third level - a generic cave map from the Blue Set & Bargle escaping with a Red Dragon. The players survived only because I advised them to use Sleep against the Kobolds and, as Frank Mentzer recommended, they couldn’t enter the dining room till 2nd level; I placed three keys to the doors in dungeon level 2.

[@jwraper1498]

Very insightful! I really appreciate the research and story behind the story.

[@TheLostAdventurer]

That was my original plan for this channel, I have another one coming up soo, The Jade Hare. Its a tiny module and very few were given out, but I got a copy.

[@TheDungeonMinister]

Ah, the Castle Mistamere adventure for puppy DMs. Good times. Great review! I read the Kill Bargle adventure a while back and it gave me the idea to bring him out as a campaign bad guy.

[@TheLostAdventurer]

Personally, when I was a rookie DM, I was intimidated by the prospect of populating 2 levels of dungeon, designing an entire level, and coming up with a reason why they were all there. I chickened out and just ran B2 keep on the borderlands. Gygax made it too easy for me

[@rocketraccoon1976]

If I remember correctly, Bargle eventually becomes a W28(?) and the chief henchman of the Black Eagle Baron Hendricks(?). So if a DM was using this as the starter, and Bargle escapes, the DM could make Bargle become the party's reoccurring main antagonist.

[@TheLostAdventurer]

I believe you are correct, I think it's all in the Grand Duchy of Karamiekos Gazetteer

[@lionelhutz3142]

Awesome review as always. Also nice to see you upped your game with digital effects and photos! 👍🏼

[@TheLostAdventurer]

I'm changing things up to see if it makes things better.

[@williamobraidislee3433]

Ran this in January. My players managed to go through 9 characters before we moved on haha.

[@TheLostAdventurer]

Yeah, I ran it a few years ago.... an entire party got wiped by the 10 kobolds outside the castle. Next group lost one to the enchanted beds, then 4 where killed by the harpies, while the last one, while trying to escape ran into the closet of zombies and was killed.

[@ckmishn3664]

Surprised we haven't gotten a comment from Mr. Welch offering vociferous approval. Maybe he hasn't noticed yet.

[@TheLostAdventurer]

I watch his channel, and we have a WHOLE LOT of mutual content, his focus is a lot more on the setting of Mystara (which i like) while I like to think I focus more on the adventure itself. (Though he is a lot better with researching things then I am) If he did that'd be awesome, if he doesn't I'm still gonna be dropping vids every now and then.

[@ckmishn3664]

@@TheLostAdventurer I brought him up just because he has a hate boner for Bargle, so he's likely to cheer on anything that involves Bargle dying.

[@TheLostAdventurer]

@@ckmishn3664 well.. Bargle deserves that Hate bones because of what he did. Never Forget Aleena!

[@trevorholman3119]

Pandius has an adventure called Find Bargle that bridges the red box adventure and mistamere

[@Redlurk3]

BARGLE MUST PAY!!!

[@TheLostAdventurer]

Yes, he must, run the module and make him pay!

[@davidowens5863]

Thanks for sharing man.

[@tj1993rx7]

Enjoyed the walk through as I always do, which usually makes me buy the adventures your covering. One question, it sounds like kobold is pronounced kobolbs like in 21:15 or is my hearing audio not awake yet?

[@TheLostAdventurer]

You probably heard right. 😅. My words get jumbled sometimes, and if it’s close enough to the intended word, I won’t edit it out. You’ll find some in pretty much every video.

[@BlackJar72]

Well, in the Frank Mentzer original there is no inn or tavern and the adventure begins right outside the castle; anything before would be improvised by the DM, assuming it occurred to them to do it. This is sure different from how I would have developed the lower levels; its also quite different from what Frank suggested. That leads me to the the real problem with the Dragon magazine version described; a completed version defeats the original purpose as a tutorial, with level one as an example, a second half done (map to fill in with guidelines), and any additional levels for the new DM to make.

[@TheLostAdventurer]

Oh, the completed one isn't a tutorial adventure, but it does use all the monsters Frank suggested for each level, it uses the second mapped level he used (the third was never mapped out and left to DM doscretion), and the storyline in the original does describe how the players are at the Golden Dragon Inn (though it is just description text, in both the game actually physically starts at the castle)

[@BlackJar72]

@@TheLostAdventurer I just looked back over "Your first game"; I completely forgot (or glossed over) the reference to the inn, and treated it as starting at the dungeon -- I was only in middle school when I originally read the adventure. I did do something quite different with level 2, the crab spider was prominent, there were only a few of the other bugs, more rats. The kobolds had a poison antidote that could be acquired by killing them or making a deal to kill the spider. etc. I know the completed version wasn't supposed to be a tutorial, I got that. But to me completing it takes away from its original purpose as a tutorial.

[@TheLostAdventurer]

I agree it’s an integral part of the “DM experience” I do give many points to Jason for keeping it within original idea that Mentzer had. Kill Bargle is pretty much Jason’s completed version of the dungeon.

[@Giles29]

What I would do these days, just because it is Bargle and this would be just like him, would be to have the players go through it all, get to the end and find the person everyone is assuming to be Bargle isn't the real Bargle at all and he's still at large. I would not make him easy to catch.

[@KariFeRawri]

I might throw this dungeon into the shadowfell, where my players are looking for missing people

[@Merlinstergandaldore]

Interesting. I've set up Bargle as a possible option in my OSE game, so far no one's taken the bite... but I shall have to track this down to have a look as I have yet to complete my own recreation of the third level of the Castle from the BECMI DM's book.

[@TheLostAdventurer]

Oh man, don't tease us with the chance of this becoming one of your narrated story's.

[@Merlinstergandaldore]

@@TheLostAdventurer If they do choose to chase Bargle, (the bounty is already known to them) it won't be this version specifically but my own creation. (Maybe with some inspiration from this. Must find a PDF of the magazine!) 😁

[@SergioLeRoux]

An evil way to run the false throne room (results may vary!). Have "Bargle" fight the PC normally. If the Doppelganger deals the killing blow, instead narrate that he teleports away, and let the player keep playing his character normally - don't even tell them what's going on 👹 Then reveal at the last moment that he was a Doppelganger and explain that he got killed by DoppelBargle and replaced.

[@xanathar8659]

My very first D&D game was when I was in 3rd grade and joined a club at my school. It was several years ago so my memory of it is very foggy but I've been trying to find the adventure that we played recently. I remember that the people in the group were divided into a few groups and each group did something different, but all the groups were trying to find Bargle. I remember there was a group that I think went on a ship in the sea? Our group went to some castle and there are many elements of this one that are similar, but it's hard to tell. I remember one player getting paralyzed outside the actual castle by some enemy that I can't remember. I also remember two specific moments in the actual dungeon crawl. One I decided to inspect a bed and when I did so it kicked up a bunch of dust or something like that and I believe my character faced a penalty of some sort. I remember in the next room there was a rug or something similar and this time I decided to put my character as far from it as possible after my previous experience. I remember when another player inspected the rug and opened a pitfall trap where most of the party fell into a hole with a gelatinous cube. The last thing I think I remember is that one of the groups had to join with us because of a sick dm, and then either all the groups or just ours met Bargle and he ran away. I remember specifically that the mini for Bargle had him wearing a black cape with a big red "B" on it. One of the reasons this one feels so similar is also because at one point a statue spun and attacked my character with a sword, which is exactly a trap in this adventure. I'm wondering if perhaps it was a modified version of this adventure with some unique traps? If you happen to know what adventure this could be I would be so thankful.

[@TheLostAdventurer]

That sounds like this adventure with some DM twist. ( though remember, only the first level originally was planned out, the 2nd level was mapped, but populated by the DM and the 3rd level was for the DM to make and populate)

[@xanathar8659]

@@TheLostAdventurer I see, I'm unfamiliar with this edition of the game so I didn't pick up on that. Nonetheless I appreciate your quick answer and help! Thank you!

[@al2642]

4 out of 5 deadly? This stuff is 10 out of 5 deadly

[@CharlesEvans77]

Neat adventure, I've hated Bargle since my first adventure. But how does a 7th level magic user get so much stuff? I mean, he's got 1 fourth level spell per day. A dragon and a bunch of doppelgangers wanna be his buddies?

[@TheLostAdventurer]

Maybe he’s actually a pawn of an even more powerful individual and these were gifted to him

[@CharlesEvans77]

@@TheLostAdventurer lol. The only feasible solution! Thanks for the reply!

[@TheLostAdventurer]

@@CharlesEvans77 no problem man, glad you found this video useful!

[@insanehippiehippieinsane3828]

@@TheLostAdventurer Bargel does work for Baron Von Hendricks in the Mystara lore.

[@ahavayah3]

⁷8 8th

[@sparklebottom6121]

Thats a trash dungeon I would have given it a 1 . Traps are too lethal , Monsters are too many and too high level . Its called kill Bargle yet Bargle has a very good chance to escape . Whats your other players going to do while a player is separated and you need to DM him , alone in a quiet place ? Your 1st two encounters are ten kobolds and a carrion crawler Thats rubbish . Why is the castle in ruins ? Why are the monsters worshipping Bargle ?

[@blinddog4288]

There absolutely 0% chance a group makes it through this. If they do, you didn’t DM it correctly.

[@TheLostAdventurer]

Oh there’s a chance. We’ll give a 0.5% chance. If the players are creative and smart and crafty, and well equipped.