RPG Retro Review: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks

Let's take a look back at 'Expedition to the Barrier Peaks'!
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[@bbb462cid]

Played in the late 70s to mid 80s. This was my favorite module. The way the technology and creatures were introduced and represented was pretty cool.

[@RedwoodTheElf]

I totally want to see this module incorporated into the DDO MMO. Even if they have to restrict the Tech items like blasters and stuff to being "Quest items"

[@robertlong1733]

I was one of the first on my block to buy and own this module..(I still have it).. My game group back in the 80’s went to a comic/rpg convention..and me being the DM for our group that consisted of 6 people including me. We ended up playing a tournament module and our group ended up in third place. Later others from the competition learned I was a DM and had this module with me ....long story short I ended up being DM on this module that weekend for 20 players. It was amazing and one of the hardest things I had ever tried to do ...I was probably around 17 years old at the time. What a great module...and I’ll never forget my old playing group or the time we had a room full of people all hanging on my every word.

[@MrThegreatrussian]

There is a lack of good old RPG reviews on KZbin, yours are refreshing.

[@masonknight6194]

This modual was the last time I played D&D with my high school friends. Good memories. Thanks capt.

[@markdirksen3810]

Omg me too. But we quit in middle of module. I remember a halfling druid destroying the ship because it was anti nature

[@sambro6657]

I’m sorry that happened guys have you both tried to get your group back together online with the 5e conversion by Goodman games?

[@tense99]

When I dm'd this module in the mid 80s when I was like 14. I kinda felt the blaster pistol and rifles were ridiculous looking but understood eventually their design was kinda bizarre so that the players as well as their characters had no idea what they were when they first found them. Convention looking firearms would've ruined that shock the players had the first time they activated one and blew a hole through something.

[@fredfreddy8684]

Maybe they should write in something about fighters, and thieves not understanding the business end of wands, staves, and rods from the safe side. ...and robots are just constructs using electricity instead of magics.

[@TonyPuleo1]

I’m in the same age group and was a player for it…My group didn’t enjoy it, but we made it through.

[@brooksrownd2275]

Getting Expedition to the Barrier Peaks was one of the highlights of my young life :D

[@rodneymeadows7658]

This is my ALL-TIME FAVORITE ADVENTURE, both as a player, & later as a DM.

[@PatriceBoivin]

I remember adding three levels to the rocket ship, one being full of computers. We had fun playing this module. esp. when a little halfling thief decided to push a strong fighter who had just decided to try the power armor suit and look down into the garden... There was a lot of laughing (by some players) and a lot of swearing (by the fighter). They also spent time in jail. Those police robots were fun. Good times. Thanks for reviewing the module.

[@WizardOfAtlantis]

Probably my favorite module of all time. Great choice for a video. The entire Special series was...special...but Expedition to the Barrier Peaks was the specialest of all.

[@captcorajus]

Thanks, and yes, I have to agree. The illustration booklet is the icing on the cake. So many scenarios suggest themselves. How about some of the Andriods achieving some type of sentience and attempting to start a colony on Greyhawk? Not to mention the robots, and bizarre alien species. So many ways to add to this one.

[@danielmcgillis270]

I ran this mod as a dragon quest in my homebrew world. In the pool at the bottom level was a green dragon and had been mutated and was leading the vegipigmies. Nistemi was an adult green dragon who had the vegipigmy mutation and was breading the vegipigmis to be her servants. After slaying Nisemi the Silver Dragon Skywilandar took possession of the complex as his own layer. Another adventure that was older than most of the players that were in it. Lots of fun.

[@captcorajus]

Oh nice! That's why i love Old School modules. They give you the bare bones and leave you the ability to flesh them out.

[@bongodoug]

I'm pretty sure we are in the middle of this adventure right now. I really dig the sci-fi elements mixed with a party of scrappy adventurers that aren't technologically proficient.

[@kurgon1976]

Gamma world will always be my favorite rpg of all time! Great video Capt. If you could do a retro review of Gamma World 2nd edition (the red box) I will forever be a fan.

[@captcorajus]

I'll be honest, my favorite edition of Gamma World is the 4th edition version. The "Pink Cover'. That's the one that's based on 2E rules. However, interestingly, it inverts AC like in 3E.

[@kurgon1976]

2nd edition was edition that my older neighbor kid got me into.. great memories I might have been 13 at the time.. ahhh good times. I didn't get a chance to play any other version.

[@bedeodempsey5007]

I agree, 4th was the best edition of Gamma World. There's a fairly recent game very similar to GW, called Mutant Epoch. Exceptional game with a rich background.

[@pierowmania2775]

I remember playing this module! One of my party rolled a critical fumble on a "disintegration grenade!" The DM had the player roll a saving throw for each item he was carrying. Literally everything was disintegrated except the character and his +1 sword! I also remember playing Gama World. It was fun in an interesting way!

[@BW022]

I remember DMing it for friends. They had done a number of Greyhawk modules and home campaign stuff for a good two months finally getting to high levels -- which was unusual as someone normally died. They thought they were pretty tough. Suddenly the started encountering monsters they hadn't seen before. Odd... but the pictures helped. When the first android used a blaster on them... their eyes all lit up. Over 35 years ago and I still remember someone saying "No way!" when they figured out they were in a futuristic space craft. Lost a character to one of the charts.

[@captcorajus]

Yes!! So awesome!

[@spaceranger7683]

Favorite module of all time! Some of the best one-liners come out of players running in this module

[@olschoolgamer1869]

Kudos for Conan movie reference! Excellent video.

[@johnharvath7835]

After watching this review, the captain has advanced to Admiral-corajus!! Well done once again!

[@straysod]

Another great one.. had this sitting at the back of my shelf might consider running this one..

[@indiglo1971]

This is supposedly the favorite module of Stephen Colbert.

[@heresysmith4068]

I have run this module in both D&D and Gamma World (Alternity). I always loved it. Someone was always eating the vegepygmies. If you ever run it as Gamma World - or even D&D - let loose some nanites and give the players a power or a side effect. Also, letting them try different games, movies, and foods can give the game flavor. I had them pick up the female android as an NPC, and gave her a xenoarcheology degree. She beat down adversaries with an almost unbreakable shock prod. Also, they liked running around on the maintenance "go-cart", knocking down monsters in some cases. I also put some cool stuff in the cargo holds. I used to play a game called Universe. I put a few of those items in for kicks (battle sleeve, Arc guns, and paint guns). The party ate the froghemoth (frog's legs, KFC style, with alien condiments). They had a hard time of it, so they got a bit rough, and had a gang war with the vegepygmies, and turned the teeth of the roper into a war club. In the Alternity version, they hacked the computer and safety systems, including training videos, because they had a hard time with toiletry. They took turns flushing, because it was a novelty, and had it out with the TaiBow instructor robot after an attempted "pants-off-dance-off" and a malfunction. They were constantly on their backs, but it was huge fun. One of the alternity NPC party members was a mutated plant named Rustle AKA "The Kole Slaw Kid", a Hopper Samurai, and a pint sized cat "shaman" that liked to push cups off of tables when nobody was looking. There was a mutated Eagle named Coconut that would stand on one leg and shoot with one foot (both if he was flying). That worked out pretty well.

[@captcorajus]

OMG.. eating the Vegepygmies?? I Lol'd.

[@ForeverYoungKickboxer]

Awesomeness!

[@trissloan2340]

I think your description and recollections are fantastic.🐝🐞🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹💐💐🌻🌻🌻

[@dillenbeck53531]

I think I ran through this once back in the 80s as a kid, and I liked the twist of SF and magic. (Hey, here's another idea - the main ship computer discovers magic in this new plane of existence and essentially becomes a demi-lich type creature a la Tomb of Horrors.) I have not been able to get back into roleplaying games in some time, but my wife has taken to board gaming. Just as they converted Tomb of Horrors to the D&D board game system, I think Expedition to Barrier Peaks would make for a good board game translation. It also might be one of the few board games I'd clamor to buy if they made it a hybrid (part board game, part smart phone app) so that my wife and I could play though it cooperatively. Watching your retro reviews makes me wish I could start up an old-school group, but with the internet they'd all know about these surprises and it just wouldn't be the same. Then again, a Dungeon Crawl Classics conversion of this module might work well for a modern audience (I am really liking what that system does more and more).

[@GravesRWFiA]

What people miss is, you can't complete the mission-you're supposed to stop the creatures coming out, you find out what happened but you can't stop them. I didn't run this directly but used it as a bases for my own plan of a crashed space ship.

[@Wilhuf1]

Had so much fun playing this in early 80s. Impressive that S3 was a significant inspiration for Monte Cook’s Numenera RPG.

[@BlackburnBigdragon]

This adventure ended one of my favorite characters. I remember him going through complete hell in this adventure, chased by robots and all manner of things. Then, he ended up on the "Garden Deck", encountered this giant frog thing, had an unlucky dice roll, was swallowed whole and couldn't escape. I had to rip up the character sheet and roll up a new character. Rules of the group.

[@captcorajus]

That's harsh. lol.

[@professor4202]

sounds dumb. there's no raise dead, resurrection or wishes in your game?

[@BlackburnBigdragon]

@@professor4202 That's what we in oldschool D&D called, "Easy Mode". Haha!

[@professor4202]

@@BlackburnBigdragon meh. still sounds dumb. wishes and raise dead and resurrection are a part of the game and have been since the first days of the game.

[@BlackburnBigdragon]

@@professor4202 We rarely used those. Things like wishes and resurrections were seen as ultra-rare rewards for doing something REALLY impressive. If a character died, we happily just added his/her death to the lore of the world and brought in new characters. We always had binders full of characters of all different levels to just pull out and bring into a campaign whenever needed. One of our favorite things was spending hours and hours just... coming up with interesting characters, making them, and just waiting for the right moment for them to be able to be pulled out of that binder and be thrust into the world. None of us suffered from the "Character Attachment" that so many players had back then, where they would get upset if a character died. To us, characters were fodder to add to the lore of the world, and a death was actually a positive thing because we could spin so many new stories off of it.

[@Tusitala1967]

I can't adequately express my love of Gamma World.

[@Gumba213]

Great videos, I think I've watched all your classic module ones so far. Keep up the good work

[@dancross982]

Excellent review, I will be running this in 2020!

[@jonahbauer6410]

can't wait to run this.

[@mickikaufman5360]

YES! Thank you Captain! Another fantastic, nostalgic, loving and insightful old school RPG retro review. This module was one of my absolute faves.

[@mattnerdy7236]

Wow great video Capt. There was so much information that easily could have been 3 videos. My Son & I really enjoyed watching this "special" video. I had completely forgot about the power suit, the froghemoth was always my favorite part of the module. Thank you Capt. & have a great day.

[@davewebb415]

Glad to see another episode! Thanks! Love these old school modules.

[@johnnybigbones4955]

Hey Captcorajus. Love your reviews, real chilled out feeling listening to them. I got into your channel when I was interested in learning more about Mystara, and your series was super helpful. You asked for suggestions about another module to review, and I would be really interested in your thoughts on the Judges Guild produces, particularly those ones written by Jaquays. I ran Caverns of Thracia a few years ago and it really opened my eyes to the wonders of old school gaming.

[@captcorajus]

Thanks for the suggestion!

[@dennishagen4917]

Great review! It was very useful as I was looking for some original modules to run. Will definitely be running this!

[@Talwyn22]

Thanks for another great review :) I recently purchased this module and am holding back till my group are of sufficient levels to handle it. Never played it but am very much looking forward to it.

[@GrandArcaneWizard]

I think this was the second module I ever played, and it's still one of the best. Definitely worth picking up.

[@ndowroccus4168]

This was a cool little addition to Ad&d…loved using my last blasts of phasers before it went kerpunkt! Just using when I needed…

[@prophet_of_venus]

ngl the intro slaps every time

[@mikesavill1474]

Bought this at the beginning of my gaming career but never played it. Sadly lost it during one of the house moves in the interim thirty five years but, as always Captain, your review got me fired up. So off to ebay I go! Cheers.

[@mlfetlesjdrenbref1306]

Love the Conan reference at the end. Great work!

[@thejimm2009]

Had been playing close to a year when our DM ran us through this. I consider it my first major module. It was tough, but it was so much fun!

[@WeOnlyEatSoup]

Just got this module for my birthday (5e version) I'm so pumped to study and run it later this year!!!

[@biffstrong1079]

This one was a hoot to play. Loved the handouts. You saw the picture of the wolf in the fold for five seconds and you knew to nuke it. So much fun. Science Fiction and Fantasy. Ray Guns , Key Cards, a service level that's stainless steel and five feet tall. Robots. Alien Beasts. Androids. High Technology. You never saw a sadder party when our ray guns eventually ran out of charges. *****

[@markdirksen3810]

Thanks for telling me you have done this one! The sand series is another great one too!

[@charlieb308]

This was a fun adventure, I figured out how to use the ray guns.

[@fredfreddy8684]

I had an old copy of S-3. It didn't survive several moves. So, I ought a used copy on ebay. Then, I bought a 5e conversion by Goodman Games. I've been slowly putting together the needed handouts and plans to run the thing. It requires a lot of study and (I think) adjustments. Currently, I'm running old Traveller modules for my group. But someday, S3 will happen.

[@johnevans9156]

No mention whatsoever of vegepygmies?! Man! These little buggers TPK’ed our party! Opportunity missed but otherwise TOP NOTCH review as usual.

[@captcorajus]

OMG, vegepygmies. lol

[@briansmith7791]

When I played D&D back in the 70s and 80s, I preferred a "straight" medieval technology world. Mostly. I did try a Sturmgeschutz & Sorcery adventure, based on material from The Strategic Review No. 5. I played this module in the tournament at Origins II. It became very obvious that we were in a space ship. I remember exploring the crew area, and what was obviously a gym. We went through the weigh room, past the swimming pool. I joked "Next comes the locker room." And the locker room was next. Not long after this, the referee halted the game, saying something like "You've basically won. You'll find whatever is left to find." We players were very pleased with ourselves. The next day I stopped by the TSR booth to see if we had won the tournament, and I was told the tournament was cancelled, because some people were cheating - even calling out rooms before entering! It took some time for me to figure out they were probably talking about me and my offhand joke. Oh well - I don't even remember what the prize would have been.

[@TheWandOfOrcus]

Mt most beloved module ever.

[@unacceptableviews1505]

I remember being pissed at tsr for bringing star trek into d&d when this module first dropped.The more we played it however, the more it grew on me.The challenge of acting like you never heard of lazerguns and power-armor but having to deal with them was intense.It was also set in Greyhawk which is my favorite world too.I always wanted that world to be finished and they left it for the forgotten realms.Sad panda here.

[@professor4202]

i never understood this sentiment. Temple of the Frog saw publication in the Blackmoor supplement; "star trek" has been a part of d&d since the earliest days...

[@Kreln1221]

*At the **10:17** mark..., you can see where Gygax marked his initials on the floorplan of Level II...*

[@vytaspuzycki2096]

Great review of a classic. That being said I remember when we played this mod thinking " oh great adding sci-fi to d&d" it was frustrating because while loving sci fi I never cared for the idea of melding the two together. And unfortunately neither did the group I played with with the exception of the DM who thought it was just so cool.

[@biffstrong1079]

So Cool. I think I enjoyed this module the most of any I played. Though I was a funhouse dungeon guy so Amber Castle, White Plume Mountain, Caverns of Tsojanath?? , Temple of Tamochan , Tegel Manor , Dungeonland, were among my favourites. We had more fun figuring out the tech and at this point we had gotten bored with standard D&D monsters. This was 90% new and when we got standard D&D it was a frikking Bullette 20 HD and ACO. Good times good times.

[@lafortya]

Downloading it now from DMG. :)

[@pjm3005]

lol @ E.G.G.'s initials on the Level II map

[@fredfreddy8684]

Is that Gary Gigax with an E in front?

[@professor4202]

@@fredfreddy8684 yes, full name being ernie gary gygax.

[@fredfreddy8684]

@@professor4202 Thank you. I got up off the old lazy duff and looked up Mr. Gygax. It was about time. I first played in the sixth grade in 1978. Now, if I could just get the learning curve a little bit...

[@cobrachicken07]

I loved playing and dm'ing this module. If i could run a party thru this, give me a party of druids. Mmm, druids for this...

[@TheEldarGuy]

It must be the Illithid who gave the Dislike. Another great job. Thank you.

[@tomkelly00]

... The duchy of Geoff... Gary may be a legend but his crack addled murderhobo encouraging modules are sure out there. All that being said, I do like the idea of mixing genres and would like to try it. Personally I think I'd scale it back though, maybe not give players access to things like power armor and laser rifles etc.

[@SeaJay_Oceans]

Absolutely #1 my favorite module.

[@Snoil]

Powered Armor...the true lineage of the mechsuit! Wowxers this one was a blast (pun intended) back in the day! Lethal, sure, but that meant the recovery expedition was THAT much more prepared 8>D I repurposed it to include in my latest and hopefully last world build. Using the soul and the maps so to speak but redesigning a lot of stuff for those who might've been thru it. They might run into a talking fox named Mulder who accidentally opened the doors while digging around....note to self, include the colored keycards with a nod to DOOM...

[@johnbe8505]

i like this and please keep post

[@RobbiGraves]

Great review as usual. I am interested in running this, but I would have to be sure my players are up for genre mashing. It's not everyone's cup of tea.

[@RoDaGrier]

Have you covered "City of the Gods"? And are you interested in covering Gamma World?

[@captcorajus]

Yes, its definitely on the to do list.

[@mikeburns6118]

My dad DMed this for us. This is after we introduced him and mom to ad&d. Mom DMed for something else.

[@BrettCaton]

I loved the module but I wish DnD and Gamma World had proper integration. Playing in a group doing this was a lot of fun. Most of my dnd experience was just myself and a DM, which made puzzle solving tiring.

[@captcorajus]

Yeah, that's the problem with that sort of thing. Definitely a group think project.

[@professor4202]

so do i. there's no reason that d&d, gamma world, star frontiers, and metamorphosis alpha couldn't have shared a game engine and been compatible with each other out of the box.

[@XX-sp3tt]

I've always wondered how this setting would exist in balance with Spelljammer, maybe it's simply another means of passing through worlds.

[@captcorajus]

I consider it a different dimension, outside of fantasy space, and into sci fi space. :)

[@edsalisch4322]

Could you review Famine in Far-Go?

[@edsalisch4322]

The original one from the 1980s

[@ndowroccus4168]

Exp to BARRIER PEAKS…the black module…

[@lafortya]

Nice. Now I can tell my players it is absolutely cannon to introduce sci-fi to a traditional fantasy campaign. BTW, you ever going to do Castle Amber? I've always been interested in that one. I heard it's (loosely) based on some real world French legend.

[@captcorajus]

Well, to me its like the first 'Ravenloft' adventure. A haunted mansion, surrounded in mists that sweeps you away. The core adventure is a LOT of fun. If I were to run it, I'd switch out the connection to the French province of Averoigne and just make it a Realm of Ravenloft.

[@lafortya]

@@captcorajus It could be both. IIRC the demi plane of Dread (of which Ravenloft is a part) takes realms from across the multiverse to incorporate into its patchwork of horror.

[@captcorajus]

Exactly. :)

[@tomkerruish2982]

The 1e DMG had rules for crossovers with both Gamma World and Boot Hill, so it was already canon without this module.

[@markdurand9076]

It's actual based on Roger Zelazny's Amber Chronicles novels. One of the inspirations of Dungeons and Dragons.

[@cammybaby01]

I played it circa 1995. Dm was running it for 2nd ed. I remember being infuriated at the colored cards. I also was stupid enough top sip on some acid, destroying my tongue, something particularly bad for a wizard.

[@captcorajus]

lol, that's hilarious.

[@cammybaby01]

@@captcorajus mind you, we had somewhat a house rule that a tiny taste of a potion could allow a spellcraft check to know its effects, so at least I had an excuse.

[@shaggyrumplenutz1610]

I never noticed it, but in your intros there are three miniatures on top of the Keep on the Borderlands booklet. Is the one on the right a guy with a beard wearing a cloak using a katar and shield?

[@robertross5201]

It was fun, both as a player and years later as a DM. However, I’ve become more of a purist, so to speak over the years as I prefer to keep sci-fi elements out of my fantasy gaming, instead adding touches of historical realism instead.

[@5d6bestof32]

'EGG' because why not

[@mikrogamis721]

Sadly(?), I rooted for the Illithid to win. (I knew my players.)

[@timmorris8932]

You didn't mention that Tween Deck lvl 2 has Gygax's initials on the map as part of the walls. Of course, I own two copies of this.

[@josephschaefer2357]

Review “Greyhawk Ruins”

[@mikrogamis721]

And then it became Snarftquest! ...sort of...

[@RobNomad]

do you think Doom’s colored keycards could have been inspired by this module? id software guys were rpg players

[@captcorajus]

Well, maybe. You know that Doom's levels were designed by Sandy Peterson, the author of the Call of Cthulhu RPG. Though color key cards are a troupe of sci-fi.

[@unacceptableviews1505]

I think so.After all,when I started playing WoW,they made a tribute to a recently deceased employee.Their quote was something like " we will miss you bro and never forget all those long hours spent in your mom's basement playing D&D".Many video game designers from the 80's and 90's were D&D players from way back.It's funny how the geeks of the world became leaders in tech.Revenge must be sweet for them.

[@BTsMusicChannel]

I went through this one in the summer of 1982!!! :D I could not get into Gamma World though -- I tried. This adventure was not my fav as I prefer a pure fantasy world, but I am glad I tried it!!!

[@captcorajus]

Gamma world is a bit quirky, but if you treat it like D&D with science fiction elements it has a lot fun possibilities! :)

[@BTsMusicChannel]

I think I just prefer fantasy. Although I like some sci-fi (esp. old Star Trek w/Spock), I much prefer fantasy and never got into any other sort of game. I choose my "nerd culture" carefully. I even hate Star Wars after "A New Hope" and "Empire Strikes Back" -- just seems goofy, and I never liked superheroes (such as D&D 5e characters - ha!). Your channel has called to my attention the OSR crowd, and I am very interested in trying Basic Fantasy RPG with some beginners, modifying the rules so they do not have access to the list of spells because I believe posting this knowledge in the rule book available to the players has tow bad effects -- it encourages power gaming (e.g., i want to level up so i can get fireball!) and eliminates the source of mystery in fantasy (i.e., the magic). I want a fantasy world in which the players feel more friction, so I also play tested and refined some economic rules that I call "time is money" so players feel more compelled to have their characters take "adventure gigs" to make a living (to pay bills each month or suffer consequences), kind of like in Lieber's Fafhrd & Grey Mouser stories. And I like Gygax's conception of leveling up in the original DMG ("Just because Nell Nimblefingers..." passage is my favorite thing he ever wrote) and make both Clerics & Magic Users actually have to learn their spells. I just want to make it less automatic and more immersive, gritty & mysterious than WOTC's video-game-like D&D (3e-5e)... Sadly, I have noticed that there is another sort of WOTC/Paizo critic in the OSR world -- i.e., those who object to the "diversity" and "political correctness" of these companies. I fear these people are a bit on the Trump-conservative side of the world, and I vehemently disapprove of intolerance and assertions of supremacy. :(

[@wbbartlett]

Gygax really needed to do more work on naming things. Geoff ffs.

[@terryprentice9657]

I shot myself in the face the first time I played this module.

[@MasterZebulin]

So tl:dr: *AYYLEEEUUUUUUNNNZZ!!!!1!1!1*

[@PungiFungi]

Is it me or is everybody on KZbin is mispronouncing the word “sentient”? The “ti” is pronounced as “sh” as in “nation”. After hearing so many people pronouncing it as it is literally spelled I thought I was saying it wrong until I checked.

[@captcorajus]

Just add it to the ever growing list of words I mispronounce and will probably continue to do so.

[@PungiFungi]

@@captcorajus , yeah, like "often". I was taught the t was silent now everybody says "off-ten" which drives me nuts.And the word mischievous. There is no "i" after the "v" but a lot of people says mis-chee-vee-ous.