Because Moldvay & Cook Got it Right
Few of the many, many gamers who played through the familiar 'green cover' version of B3: The Palace of the Silver Princess by Tom Moldvay and Jean Wells ever realized that there had been an earlier, suppressed 'orange cover' version by Jean Wells alone. What did we lose when TSR handed the module to Tom Moldvay to rewrite? Matriarchy, whimsy, and free roaming. The original is definitely worth finding.
The Lost City (B4) is a Dungeons & Dragons adventure module by 1981 Basic creator Tom Moldvay. It also works fine with modern retroclones like Basic Fantasy RPG.
It was first published by TSR in 1982. The working title for the module was "The Lost City of Cynidicea." Moldvay designed the module as a low-level scenario to give novice Dungeon Masters experience in fleshing out adventures such that it is only partially complete. The plot involves the player characters discovering a ruined subterranean city slowly rising out of the sands.
B3: Palace of the Silver Princess is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set, but works fine with modern retroclones like Basic Fantasy RPG.
This is the re-written version, with Jean Wells' name on it but much revised by Tom Moldvay. In future episodes we'll look at the original release by Jean, and do a comparison.
The plot of Palace of the Silver Princess revolves around a country frozen in time by a strange red light. The only seemingly unaffected location and the apparent source of the glow is the royal palace. The adventurers must restore the flow of time and save the country.
The 1981 Tom Moldvay Dungeons & Dragons Basic Box Set is often celebrated as one of the finest introductions to tabletop role-playing games. While later editions of Dungeons & Dragons expanded and refined the rules, Moldvay's set captures the essence of what makes the game magical: simplicity, accessibility, and adaptability. In many ways, it surpasses its predecessor (Holmes Basic), ancestor (BECMI), and the more complex Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (1e), proving that streamlined rules can create a deeper, more enjoyable experience.