RPG Retro Review: Tower of Zenopus 

Spoken like a true Rogue with a lock pick set.

My affinity for the magic of graph paper began with this dungeon. The 2nd level of Zenopus's lair was the very first dungeon I ever self created.

I used to visit Nelson's Office Supply at the mall regularly to purchase large format and extra-fine ruled graph papers.

Truth be told I still use graph paper to this day to write down notes. Guess I got used to it! -_-

LOL, Guilty as charged. :-)

It was a charming starter Dungeon. Its a real shame that TSR/ WOTC drifted away from it.

Oh wow! very nice, thank you!

"...mostly Susans" That was a dang popular name in that generation wasn't it? Seemed like they were everywhere back in high school and college.

The time before smartphones and social media. The scene you describe could probably never happen today with the onlookers of yore being consumed today by their screens. Glad I grew up back in the day.

Thanks. This was my first DMing experience as well. I got this after Moldvey Basic came out by mistake actually. I liked the cover art better, and it said 'D&D' Basic set on it, so, i thought it was the same. lol. The good part was that none of my friends had that boxed set, and i could run the dungeon in the back which I loved. I know I've started a new campaign with this adventure at least a half a dozen times, and its always gone off very well.

And then there was...Tim the Enchanter from Monty Python's Holy Grail

Oo, cool, I'm running over to Seth's channel! lol

Yep, I got it. :)

Yeah, I thought that was awesome that they included that. Post back and let me know how it goes!!

I'm trying! :)

@@captcorajus Yes you are sir. And we Thank you for that :)

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

lol, that's going to be awhile. But definitely happening. :)

lol, great comment, made me chuckle. Thank you for the 100th like!!

Interesting, the tower of Zenopus Ruins are in the 5E version of Saltmarsh.

@@captcorajus Oh that is funny, I tried running the original saltmarsh for my players a while back and it just failed to take off. So I have been keeping an eye out for another route in, this just seemed to have possibilities for that. It would be a slightly different reason for the party to get involved, but on the plus side it is a different groups of adventurers and half the players are new too.

Its a bit confusing at first, but that door is not part of Zenopus's tower. That 'tower door' is part of the Thaumaturgist's private residence in town. which is also a small tower. So.. no one would know about it until they explore the dungeon. Hope that clears it up for you.

@@captcorajus It does, although it certainly doesn't seem to be spelled out explicitly in the book. I can't see any such explanation in my copy, but it's as good an explanation as any!

@@s0niKu It doesn't explicitly say it in the text, which is why a lot of people get confused on that point. You're not the first person to be confused by that, and its actually a topic of discussion on Zenopus Archives. But when you realize that with the 'tower' S, S1, S2, the 'Magician' the text is referring to is the Thaumatergist from room F, it suddenly makes complete sense.

I always thought the same thing! LOL if so, the scenario should have the PCs meet the Thaumaturgist sometime BEFORE the encounter, so it can be a surprise.

Ayup - I remember that. And it did work to be fair, but I preferred the dice method, of course. Fortunately my friends down the street had an extra set of dice for me. XD

@@WMTPromoter Yes, I still have my boxed set, the chits remain, uncut. :)

Ah, yes. This old chestnut. This is handily explained at the Zenopus Archives website maintained by the great Zach Howard, but let me summarize here for you (As briefly as I'm able. lol) What's not entirely clear is the S tower is NOT Zenopus's tower. This is new construction and the private residence of the Thurmaturgist encountered initially in room F. Theoretically, one could absolutely enter the Dungeon through S1, though as the initial entrance this seems unlikely because the PCs would not know of its existence. Later on, after the possibilities with the Thurmaturgist are exhausted, Entry to the lower dungeons from this point is not only possible but highly likely. In my own games, the PCs claimed the Magic-User's residence as theirs after his demise at their hands, using it as a base of operations for further excursions into the lower levels of the Dungeon. The example dungeon does not answer what happened to Zenopus, or what caused his demise, and that is left entirely to the imagination of the DM. The map sections to the north dead ends to the north past the rat tunnels and to the west... and most certainly there's a secret passage there that leads to the lower levels of the dungeon... where one might find: the ruins of a pre human city... maybe eldar things, or some other Lovecraftian style race, catacombs of undead, and of course Zenopus's lost experimental laboratories where the final fate of the mad wizard might be uncovered. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. Game on!

Thank you so much for your elaborate reply sir! I appreciate that you took my question seriously and your input and suggestions are awesome! I think my favorite thing about your videos is how you encourage DMs to embellish these modules and make them your own. Watching your channel always makes me want to play. Looking forward to more from the Captain!!

hard to say. I've never actually played in an Eberron game or run one either, though I love the mix of pulp and fantasy with it. So, I certainly am interested in it. MY schedule right now is just reviewing old TSR releases and CURRENT old school material. I haven't done a 5E review in a while, and those are popular as well, so.. as soon as i can manage to get to it,.. we'll see. :)

That's cool. Make it your own! But... but.. I love pirates tho... lol

Usually two sessions of about 4 t o 5 hours in length.

@@captcorajus Good to know! Thanks!

paratime.ca/images/fantasy/zenopus-dungeon-b.jpg

@@captcorajus thanks so much! love your videos

Already have. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-XFMp7Vpx7dQ.html

@@captcorajus Awesome! Now get some sleep. Unless you live on the other side of the planet it was O'dark thirty when you responded. :)

I check for new content every day I love the blog so much. It's how I found this video.

Yes, you got it! :) Good eye!

I thought the green dragon was at bywater not hobbiton...

@@davidwright7193 Well, the Green Dragon Inn for Holmes's dungeon was at Portown. However, the Green Dragon Inn was also in Hobbiton. :) The set from Lord of the Rings in New Zealand is now a movie tour, and that's the picture I used in my video. :)

captcorajus The boozer in hobbiton is the Ivy Bush as frequented by the Gaffer (chapter 1) the Green Dragon is at bywater a fair stagger on a dark night from hobbiton which is why it attracts a younger crowd (and the miller who we must assume lives at bywater) (chapter 2). The Golden Perch is at Stock.

@@davidwright7193 That may be true, but I was refering to the movie set in New Zealand which has it in Hobbiton, which is where the picture in the video comes from. :)