(EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to Musings from the Monk, a semi-regular column written by the chief archivist and comic nut who organizes Paint Monk’s Library. Expect bloviations on many topics here, from comic books, pop culture, and current events to reviews, random thoughts, and sometimes, things that are even relevant. This week I discuss vintage role-playing games, specifically, the first volume of Goodman Games Original Adventures Reincarnated.)

By WALLY MONK – Paint Monk’s Library Editor

If you asked me if I played Dungeons and Dragons I would tell you that I used to, but haven’t for many, many years. But somewhere in my small storage attic, I’ve still got my old copies of TSR’s “Queen of the Spiders” and “Desert of Desolation” socked away.

I’ve always been more of a comic book guy, but I did spend the better part of my childhood with a hardcover Player’s Handbook and Monster Manual on my shelf. I collected TSR’s RPG game modules – I never played those, but they gave me many ideas. These stapled booklets were read from cover to cover and I’d steal the ideas for my homemade game sessions.

Imagine my surprise while surfing Facebook Marketplace to come across a re-imagined – and hardcover –  version of “The Keep on the Borderlands” and “In Search of the Unknown,” lovingly re-branded in a new book called Into the Borderlands. Apparently this is the first in a series of collections of old D&D modules by Goodman Games.

As I’ve had time, I’ve been perusing the book and have read through some of the creator interviews in the front. The book is not without some glaring flaws, but it’s easily worth the $50 price of admission. If you’ve ever played D&D, this is a book you should have on your shelf.

THE PROS – As you open the book, you’re treated to several interviews with people from the industry. Beginning with Luke Gygax, son of the late Gary Gygax (author of D&D) and including Mike Carr, the original writer of B1 – “In Search of the Unknown”, the interviews are a treat to read.

Goodman Games was very thorough, too, including not only one but two editions of B1 – the original version with the monochrome cover and the reprint with the color cover, as well as samples of the different covers in the back of the book.

For players who are into the current edition of D&D, there are conversions of both B1 and B2 to the new game system. Since I’m not currently a player, I won’t speculate on how well an old fashioned dungeon crawl fits into modern RPG play, but I’d imagine it is pretty old school and would appeal to older players.

There’s a lot of good in this book, and it’s well worth picking up. Sadly, the bad needs to be explained too, although the problems are something Goodman can easily address if they choose to do so in later printings or future installments. 

THE CONS: There are some big ones, but this book is still worth it. What I found most troublesome were typesetting issues, which require the reader to really “fold” the book back to read some pages. The margins were typeset far too close to the inner binding and it would have been nice if they were 1/4 of an inch farther away. It would have made for much easier reading. The interviews were especially tough to read because of this. 

Other reviewers have noted sporadic blurriness in the scans of some module pages. I did not find any pages that were difficult to read – in fact, if I hadn’t read this complaint in other reviews I wouldn’t even have mentioned it. The reproductions of the old material are fine, in my opinion, and unless you’re looking for things to be upset about, I’m pretty confident you won’t have any issues with the scans.

The biggest missed opportunity here is the overall layout of the book and the sparse attention given to the 5E conversion of the original modules. The 5E conversions are very basic, with no fancy layout and inconsistent artwork by multiple artists. I would have loved to see included a “5E” version of each module, complete with new cover and interior art and stat blocks.

While I know this would have increased the production costs exponentially, I would have been happier to pony up $79.95 or $99.95 for something like that. Heck, you would have had a built-in market with new players (which, since this is marketed as “Original Adventures Reincarnated” I believe was the intention!) had more design attention been given to the 5E adaptation inside.   

Many of the tables are awkward, taking up full pages instead of using the old-school two-column format. Ah well, I guess you’re not going to get perfection in a 300+ page book for only $50! (Did I say that it’s only $50? I think I have several times.)

CAPSULE REVIEW: Despite some glaring flaws, “Into the Borderlands” is a delightful book for collectors, old-school gamers, and new 5E players alike. It’s a joy to have classic adventure modules from my childhood collected in a hardcover, nicely-bound volume. The production quality, from the paper used to the full-color glossy covers is first-rate.

Some may prefer a magazine-type paper stock, but I find the thick nearly cardstock paper used here is far more durable and less prone to bending and dog-ears when it’s used regularly.   

I am already itching to get my hands on “Isle of Dread,” the second volume in Goodman’s Original Adventures Reincarnated series. One of my fears is that Goodman will release a few of these, only to have their license pulled by Wizards of the Coast. Perhaps the line will be successful enough that we’ll see more than one re-release of classic modules per year. I would without a doubt buy each and every one.  

On a scale of 1-10, I’d give this book an 8.5. To purchase a copy, visit the Goodman Games website at www.goodmangames.com. They are also accepting pre-orders there for the next volume, “Isle of Dread.  

As always, I am – Wally (AKA Paint Monk)