This week, we’re taking a quick safari through the various iterations of Basic Dungeons & Dragons. First up, B1-9: In Search of Adventure (1987). This is the only instance of Basic material getting the supermodule treatment. Like other modules to get reprinted in this format, this is a square-bound reprint edited to make sense as a campaign (at least in theory) and because of space constraints, lacks most of the original art. Of all the supermodules, this is probably the worst.

It’s just, deeply flawed. All the material is edited to jam it into the Grand Duchy of Karameikos, which is a disservice to both the originals and the Known World, really (aggravatingly, the map of Karameikos doesn’t indicate the location of any of the adventure sites). Some of the originals are left in tatters. In Search of the Unknown, which the book draws its name from, is essentially absent except for some maps. The scenario has the Caves of Chaos, but drops the keep from Keep on the Borderland (the town of Threshold serves as the hub for all the scenarios). The overland portion of B5 was dropped, most of the underground of B4 is missing (I’m a little unsure how the party winds up in a desert caravan, even), as are portions of B8 and one of the short scenarios from Castle Caldwell (admittedly, the worst one). B3, B6 and B7 are essentially intact.

At least it isn’t linear. The scenarios are arranged in three branches of a flowchart and the players can meander along at their whim until the finale in The Veiled Society. Still, not interesting enough to make up for all the hacking. Fantastic bugbears by Keith Parkinson on the cover, though.