BH1. Mad Mesa
Authors: Jerry Epperson and Tom Moldvay
Illustrators: Willingham and others
First Published: 1981
ISBN: 0-935696-71-7
Length: 247 sections, plus random encounters and multiplayer notes
Number of Endings: Story ends only by death or by leaving town
Plot Summary: You wander into the town of Mad Mesa and have some
adventures there at night.
My Thoughts: This is a rather disappointing adventure. It has no
real direction, just a variety of predictable situations randomly scattered
through town. There's no real goal to the whole thing, so as a stand-alone
adventure it's not very satisfying, and since it's very easy to get killed
and there are only a few ways to make money, I don't see it working as a
supplement to an ongoing campaign. The module (like the second edition rules
which you'll need in order to play it) is rather poorly organized, making it
difficult to figure out exactly how to treat some situations, particularly
combat. There's a huge gunfight at one point in the adventure which is very
messy to keep track of (though it's the most entertaining part of the story).
Totally Random Comment: Completely out of nowhere, Ben Hunt wrote in
"to point out that the guy on the cover looks like an emaciated Victor
Mature." A comment worth repeating, if you ask me.