Where is the Keep on the Borderlands? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Where is the Keep on the Borderlands?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Feb 03, 2005 18:16:49 Seriously, where is it? I know that it's in the Greyhawk...uh...mythos, but where on the map (if it even HAS a set spot)?

Oh, and are the locations in The Isle of Dread (or the Expert rulebook for that matter) Greyhawk? I don't think they are...

/green
#2
zombiegleemax
Feb 03, 2005 21:19:04 The Keep on the Borderlands does not have an official location on the Greyhawk map. The module was designed to be set in any location. The Isle of Dread is not Greyhawk either, it's in the Mystara campaign setting.
#3
zombiegleemax
Feb 03, 2005 21:49:43 Aha. I thought it was Mystara (thank god for old arcade games and a freakish memory). Well, lack of definite location + other setting = one new area! Thanks for the help.
#4
kengar
Feb 04, 2005 8:07:31 B2 was written with no particualr setting in mind. In the Known World (Mystara), they renamed it "Castellan Keep" and put it in the mountains of NE Karameikos. The Isle of Dread (X1) is in the ocean south of Karameikos, though both modules are easily placed in any setting.
#5
zombiegleemax
Feb 04, 2005 12:35:35 There is no setting info. in B2 whatsoever.

Gary Gygax (B2's author and Greyhawk's creator) has said that it would fit really well on the western border of the Pomarj. The 2e Return to the Keep adventure sets it someplace else (The Yeomanry? I can't remember).

In the 1983 Expert set, it is suggested that it could retroactively be put on the north east border of Karameikos in the Known World (later called Mystara). This location is used in both GAZ1 Karameikos and the B1-9 compilation (which only details the Caves of Chaos, and not the Keep itself).

R.A.
#6
zombiegleemax
Feb 04, 2005 21:24:57 Isle of Dread was retro-fitted into Greyhawk too I think in a recent Return to adventure in Dungeon, or maybe it was Dragon.
Scott
#7
zombiegleemax
Feb 06, 2005 19:29:19 Well, I could tell you where it is located in MY world, but you'd have to see the maps, eh?

I used it as my very first adventure module, and every single entire group that has ever played since has used it as a based.

After 17 years of real time and probably 3-4 decades in game time, the Keep, now called Talonguarde Castle, is run by a para-militant church of LN/LG alignments and they protect the subsequent area around it from the hordes of orcs that blast southward every so-many-winters in search of food, money and supplies.

There are stores and small villages that are now in the area and anyone I run into again always mentions an adventure or two or the Gnome Paul Ruxspin (yes, named after the accursed teddy bear that talked!) who would entertain with baudy jokes and twisted tales of past adventures.

My son (15) is now into gaming and doesnt even LIKE 3/3.5 due to the intense world and plots that are alreayd in place in mine. He likes making CHARACTERS, not dice machines, like the newer versions.

I have used spells from all over and tried several magic point system/spell use systems. we foudn one that worls well, and its just a bit different than the manner in which it is controlled in 1st/2nd edition games.

Not specifically placing it in any one location sure helped me create a place that will remain in my heart, and the hearts of a dozens or more players for years to come.

Like one of my past players commented a few years back "even when I just hear the word 'keep' it feels like home". So no matter where YOUR Keep on the Borderlands was, I hope you remember it fondly. She was a piece of magic just WAITING to be formed.

~Eshombrule
#8
temmogen
Feb 07, 2005 8:39:44 The keep on the Borderlands is in the southwestern foothils of the Yoemanry, it was meant to protect the kingdom for invaders fromt he hellfurnaces and the sea of dust. I got that info from the Return to the Keep module.
I havent seen anything on the location of the Isle of Dread.
Hope that helps...
#9
faraer
Feb 07, 2005 17:51:05 It helps to understand what 'the borderlands' are in the AD&D world as Gary Gygax envisioned it. This is a very central concept that's also behind, for instance, the role of the ranger class.

About one-quarter of the land nominally claimed by nations is wilderness (Living Fantasy p. 30). This is the land infested by monsters, in which wilderness adventuring takes place. The edge between human civilization and monster territory is the borderlands -- there are a lot of these lands, and most of them are suitable places for B2.

(Return to the Keep on the Borderlands is a dubious source for any version of the World of Greyhawk.)
#10
chatdemon
Feb 08, 2005 1:18:17 In Greyhawk, I place the keep, which I renamed Fort Kendra, in the small strip of land between the dreadwood and the hool marsh, the area nominally claimed by Keoland but really controlled by noone.

You can see the rough location on my Sheldomar Valley map, on canonfire.com

http://www.canonfire.com/htmlnew/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=376&mode=flat&order=0&thold=0

The map is a huge file, so Im linking to the preview page.
#11
chatdemon
Feb 08, 2005 1:21:54
(Return to the Keep on the Borderlands is a dubious source for any version of the World of Greyhawk.)

Agreed.

I use B2 as the foundation, and add the bits from Return to the Keep and (Hackmaster's) Little Keep that I like to flesh it out.

Or, you can use Russ Taylor's excellent 'Repair of the Return to the Keep on the Borderlands' document, which does a nice job of fixing the glaring errors.

http://www.cmc.net/~rtaylor/greyhawk/repair.txt

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Feb 03, 2005 18:16:49	Seriously, where is it? I know that it's in the Greyhawk...uh...mythos, but where on the map (if it even HAS a set spot)? Oh, and are the locations in The Isle of Dread (or the Expert rulebook for that matter) Greyhawk? I don't think they are... /green
#2 zombiegleemax Feb 03, 2005 21:19:04	The Keep on the Borderlands does not have an official location on the Greyhawk map. The module was designed to be set in any location. The Isle of Dread is not Greyhawk either, it's in the Mystara campaign setting.
#3 zombiegleemax Feb 03, 2005 21:49:43	Aha. I thought it was Mystara (thank god for old arcade games and a freakish memory). Well, lack of definite location + other setting = one new area! Thanks for the help.
#4 kengar Feb 04, 2005 8:07:31	B2 was written with no particualr setting in mind. In the Known World (Mystara), they renamed it "Castellan Keep" and put it in the mountains of NE Karameikos. The Isle of Dread (X1) is in the ocean south of Karameikos, though both modules are easily placed in any setting.
#5 zombiegleemax Feb 04, 2005 12:35:35	There is no setting info. in B2 whatsoever. Gary Gygax (B2's author and Greyhawk's creator) has said that it would fit really well on the western border of the Pomarj. The 2e Return to the Keep adventure sets it someplace else (The Yeomanry? I can't remember). In the 1983 Expert set, it is suggested that it could retroactively be put on the north east border of Karameikos in the Known World (later called Mystara). This location is used in both GAZ1 Karameikos and the B1-9 compilation (which only details the Caves of Chaos, and not the Keep itself). R.A.
#6 zombiegleemax Feb 04, 2005 21:24:57	Isle of Dread was retro-fitted into Greyhawk too I think in a recent Return to adventure in Dungeon, or maybe it was Dragon. Scott
#7 zombiegleemax Feb 06, 2005 19:29:19	Well, I could tell you where it is located in MY world, but you'd have to see the maps, eh? I used it as my very first adventure module, and every single entire group that has ever played since has used it as a based. After 17 years of real time and probably 3-4 decades in game time, the Keep, now called Talonguarde Castle, is run by a para-militant church of LN/LG alignments and they protect the subsequent area around it from the hordes of orcs that blast southward every so-many-winters in search of food, money and supplies. There are stores and small villages that are now in the area and anyone I run into again always mentions an adventure or two or the Gnome Paul Ruxspin (yes, named after the accursed teddy bear that talked!) who would entertain with baudy jokes and twisted tales of past adventures. My son (15) is now into gaming and doesnt even LIKE 3/3.5 due to the intense world and plots that are alreayd in place in mine. He likes making CHARACTERS, not dice machines, like the newer versions. I have used spells from all over and tried several magic point system/spell use systems. we foudn one that worls well, and its just a bit different than the manner in which it is controlled in 1st/2nd edition games. Not specifically placing it in any one location sure helped me create a place that will remain in my heart, and the hearts of a dozens or more players for years to come. Like one of my past players commented a few years back "even when I just hear the word 'keep' it feels like home". So no matter where YOUR Keep on the Borderlands was, I hope you remember it fondly. She was a piece of magic just WAITING to be formed. ~Eshombrule
#8 temmogen Feb 07, 2005 8:39:44	The keep on the Borderlands is in the southwestern foothils of the Yoemanry, it was meant to protect the kingdom for invaders fromt he hellfurnaces and the sea of dust. I got that info from the Return to the Keep module. I havent seen anything on the location of the Isle of Dread. Hope that helps...
#9 faraer Feb 07, 2005 17:51:05	It helps to understand what 'the borderlands' are in the AD&D world as Gary Gygax envisioned it. This is a very central concept that's also behind, for instance, the role of the ranger class. About one-quarter of the land nominally claimed by nations is wilderness (Living Fantasy p. 30). This is the land infested by monsters, in which wilderness adventuring takes place. The edge between human civilization and monster territory is the borderlands -- there are a lot of these lands, and most of them are suitable places for B2. (Return to the Keep on the Borderlands is a dubious source for any version of the World of Greyhawk.)
#10 chatdemon Feb 08, 2005 1:18:17	In Greyhawk, I place the keep, which I renamed Fort Kendra, in the small strip of land between the dreadwood and the hool marsh, the area nominally claimed by Keoland but really controlled by noone. You can see the rough location on my Sheldomar Valley map, on canonfire.com http://www.canonfire.com/htmlnew/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=376&mode=flat&order=0&thold=0 The map is a huge file, so Im linking to the preview page.
#11 chatdemon Feb 08, 2005 1:21:54	(Return to the Keep on the Borderlands is a dubious source for any version of the World of Greyhawk.) Agreed. I use B2 as the foundation, and add the bits from Return to the Keep and (Hackmaster's) Little Keep that I like to flesh it out. Or, you can use Russ Taylor's excellent 'Repair of the Return to the Keep on the Borderlands' document, which does a nice job of fixing the glaring errors. http://www.cmc.net/~rtaylor/greyhawk/repair.txt