My Top Ten Adventures: #1, B10 Night's Dark Terror

Of course it's this one. Was there ever any doubt? There are two kinds of gamers: Those who think B10 is the greatest D&D module of all time, and those who are wrong. This is the absolute peak of D&D right here, everything that made the game great is within these covers. And you'll notice the Union Jack on the masthead; this was one of the contributions from the UK, and they really went all out to make this the best of all time.

Night's Dark Terror is pitched as a bridge between the claustrophobic dungeon crawling for beginners found in the Basic rules, and the far-reaching wilderness exploration of the Expert rules. And it more than lives up to the billing. This is an epic, spanning a large chunk of the Grand Duchy of Karameikos, the default beginner setting for the BECMI series of D&D rules. Most of the Basic modules and several of the Expert modules were set here, either retroactively or explicitly. Karameikos is the heartbeat of Mystara, aka the Known World. And Night's Dark Terror had a huge part in defining Karameikos as presented in the Gazetteer series. Doing a full synopsis would take too long, but here's a brief summary.

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The party begins with a seemingly simple task: escorting a herd of horses to the remote Sukiskyn homestead in the Grand Duchy of Karameikos. Upon arrival, they are immediately thrust into a desperate, night-long defense of the farmstead against a massive, coordinated siege by multiple goblin tribes. This opening battle reveals that the attacks are more than mere raids; they are part of a larger plot by a sinister slaver organization known as the Iron Ring, who are searching for a specific magical tapestry that holds the key to a lost civilization. 

Following the siege, the adventurers embark on an expansive wilderness trek across more than 20,000 square miles of territory. They must track the Iron Ring’s agents and their goblin allies through various locales, including riverside villages and ruined cities like Xitaqa, to rescue a kidnapped homesteader named Stephan. Along the way, they discover a magical needle and thread that, when used with the recovered tapestry, reveals a hidden route through a northern mountain range into a secluded sanctuary. 

The adventure culminates in the Lost Valley of Hutaaka, where the party finds themselves in the middle of a conflict between two ancient cultures: the jackal-headed Hutaakans and the primitive Traldar. Exploring the valley leads to a final confrontation within the Vault of the Elders, where the players must contend with the remaining leaders of the Iron Ring and an ancient "crawling horror". After securing the valley's treasures and resolving the factional war, the party must navigate a treacherous escape as former allies may turn on them to claim the spoils for themselves.

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Trust me, that only scratches the surface of what's inside. The siege of Sukiskyn plays out on a large map with counters (provided with the module). There are nearly twenty total maps covering different locations, and plenty of side quests as well. This is an adventure that will take many sessions to complete, even if the party is laser-focused on the main plotline and doesn't waste any time with the side quests.

But B10's greater legacy is its impact on the development of Karameikos. Prior to this module's publication, information on Karameikos itself was limited to a few blurbs in the Isle of Dread module, the canonic placement of several Basic modules in the setting, and the city of Specularum detailed in B6, The Veiled Society (details that would be drastically changed upon the publication of the Grand Duchy of Karameikos gazetteer, GAZ1). But here, we get tribal factions, information on the Iron Ring, homesteaders with names that point to the Slavic heritage of the Traladaran people, and even some detail on the Callarii elves of eastern Karameikos. This is a treasure trove of information on Karameikos, and served as a primary source for the 'bible' of the setting, GAZ1.

I'm not sure I really need to add more to this; B10 is a classic by any measure, and everyone should play through it at least once just to really get that feel for the land of Karameikos, and because it's a fantastic adventure in its own right. I cannot recommend this any more strongly than this: If I could only play one D&D adventure for the rest of my life, it's this one.

And that wraps up my diversionary project on my top ten adventures of all time. Next time...I have no idea what I'll be talking about. But hopefully it will be interesting. See you then.

My Top Ten Adventures: Honorable Mentions

Every top 10 list has honorable mentions, right? Of course they do. So, who am I to buck the trend? Well, I often do buck trends; in fact, I kind of prefer to do so. But in this case, we'll go along. Let's see what we have. These are adventures that I really like, but that couldn't muscle into the Top 10 Adventures.

This one was really close to making it, but I already had B1 on it, and I think that's a slightly better introductory kit than this one. Not that this one isn't great; it's got a ton of advice for DMs to get started, and the dungeon is really not that complicated. It's certainly challenging, particularly with BECMI rules. And, unlike B1, this one ties into the Known World/Mystara setting, being directly set in the Grand Duchy of Karameikos. Along with its follow-up, B12 Queen's Harvest, these make a great introduction to the setting for beginners. My only caveat is that this adventure would be too simple for experienced players to enjoy, but it's still a great adventure. The premise is simple; the party arrives at the village of Stallanford in time for a festival celebrating the long-dead king Halav. However, orcs have raided the village and kidnapped the local priest, and the party are asked to help. Finding him isn't hard, although there are plenty of orcs to dispute the party's claims on the priest. When rescued, he heals the party as best he can, and he tells the party that there is more to the dungeon than they have seen, that even the orcs don't want anything to do with. There's a secret door, of course, and the party finds some nasty undead and the like down there, along with some nice treasure. Again, it's a straightforward adventure, a good introductory dungeon crawl. Highly recommended.

Remember when I said that there were plenty of railroad-type adventures in early D&D, even if they weren't called that at the time? Well, this is the exception that proves the rule. This is a great, packed module with lots of stuff going on and many different plot threads for players to unravel. There's the mongrelmen and the captive magic-user. There are the yuan-ti, in their first-ever appearance. There are tasloi and bugbears, bullywugs and an aboleth (also making its first appearance). There are multiple ways into the city, all with their own perils. The first part of this adventure was used as a tournament module in 1980, and Dave Cook wrote the rest of the module around that. This 32-page module could have supported a party for months, if not years, of gaming.

If you're wondering why this is so great, I'll simply point you to the two words at the top of each of the modules. Hollow. World. I came really close to putting this in the list, but Volturnus demanded a spot. Still, this trilogy is a full campaign arc that takes characters inside Mystara to the Hollow World and the continent of Iciria. And there, they will encounter monsters and cultures that have been extinct on Mystara's surface for centuries, millennia, and even millions of years. They'll meet and have to deal with Azcans, who are basically Aztecs. They'll find the lost kingdom of Nithia (ancient Egypt), complete with pyramids and the like. They'll journey to an island that has an Indian culture, and I don't mean North American; I mean Indian sub-continent. Oh, and they'll also get involved in an Immortal plot to corrupt magic throughout Mystara, both on the surface and below. This is epic fun.

Alright, that's my honorable mentions. Next up, I'll bring you the grand finale, the all-time greatest adventure I've ever owned, played, or heard of. And believe me, the voting was not even close. I'm sure you already know what it is, because this is everyone's favorite. And no, it's not Keep on the Borderlands.

Top Ten Adventures: #2, DL1 Dragons of Despair

The year is 1984. TSR is now ten years old, and is the undisputed king of RPGs, not only with Dungeons & Dragons, but games in a bunch of other genres. Boot Hill, Metamorphosis Alpha, Gamma World, Top Secret, Star Frontiers, Gangbusters, the new Marvel Super Heroes game...but everything was about to change in a way no one had anticipated.

The top-secret plan was to do something D&D had never done in the previous decade: Base a set of adventures around dragons. It makes sense; the game is called Dungeons & DRAGONS, after all. But when you look through the classic TSR modules, including the ones written by Gary Gygax, you won't find many dragons. And you certainly won't find any taking center stage. So, when Tracy Hickman approached the TSR brass about doing a dragon-based series, they went with it.

This was a huge production; the modules were only a part of it. There were novels, calendars, miniatures, Dragon magazine tie-ins, the works. The trade dress for the modules was unique and eye-catching. The cover art was done by men like Larry Elmore, Clyde Caldwell, and Jeff Easley, who were the second wave of TSR artists following the earlier artists like Erol Otus, Jeff Dee, and Dave Trampier. Margaret Weis came in to help write the novels, the first that TSR would publish. It was a new aesthetic, and it worked. Boy, did it ever.

The first novel, based on the first two adventures of the series, became a New York Times bestseller. And while the second adventure rightly gets labeled a railroad, the first one was a magnificent module that combined storytelling with exploration and mystery, things that D&D had always done well.

Dragons of Despair was the first adventure that not only provided pre-generated characters, but expected you to play with them. Not as much as later adventures would expect (it was just recommended here), but the module flat-out says, 'this is a story' on the first page. And it was the first module that tweaked the rules and made the setting feel different from a normal D&D module. This wasn't Greyhawk; this was Krynn. And the setting had rules to enforce that. No clerical magic, no dragons, gold is worthless, and halflings are now kender, and you will be annoyed by them. They even got new special abilities: Immunity to fear and Taunting. So they could be even more annoying.

I'm sure you know the characters: Tanis Half-Elven, Flint Fireforge, Sturm Brightblade, the twins Raistlin and Caramon Majere, and Tasslehoff Burrfoot, later joined by Goldmoon and Riverwind. In time, they would become legends. Here, they're just mid-level D&D characters ranging from 3rd to 6th. Raistlin is the weak link (in more ways than one); he's just a 3rd-level magic-user. Meanwhile, his twin brother Caramon is a 6th-level fighter with more than four times his brother's hit points. Note that the recommended level range for the characters is 4-6. Raistlin just refuses to conform to expectations.

The 'back story' for this adventure is contained on the backs of the tiny character cards. The party, old friends from the town of Solace, have been wandering for five years, seeking signs of the true gods, and everyone came up empty. Now they've gathered together again, and things are about to change. They meet Goldmoon and Riverwind, fight some hobgoblins, and learn of a mysterious blue crystal staff that mysterious armies are searching for. The party has to escape with the staff and find its resting place, where they will then discover the greatest treasure the world has ever known.

The settings in this adventure alone are evocative and amazing to see. The Darken Wood, which terrifies even the most stalwart of heroes; the village of Solace and the town of Haven, the destruction of Que-Shu, and the ruined city of Xak Tsaroth, buried in a swamp and infested with gully dwarves. And of course, the dragon. An ancient black, Onyx is one hell of a challenge for a party of this level. And this is just the kickoff to the saga.

So, why is this my second-favorite adventure of all time? Oh, there are plenty of reasons. First, as I said, it's the first part of an amazing epic series, but it's playable on its own if you really want to do that. There's a definite beginning and ending here, although there's a final bit of boxed text that hints at what is to come.

Second, the maps. Xak Tsaroth is a brilliant design, a dungeon in three dimensions as there are multiple levels all shown on the same isometric map. The elevator, the gully dwarf king, the tube slide...there's so much here. And the rest of the maps are inspirational, too.

Third...the music. Yes, the music. Remember the Castle of the Blind Sun, that had recommended classical music selections? This one does it one better. There is actual sheet music in this adventure. Seriously! And it's playable and sounds great! I'll prove it to you. Check out a live performance of Goldmoon's Song and tell me that doesn't have you feel the D&D oozing through your veins. There were several other adventures that included music; off the top of my head, I can remember songs in DL2, DL4, and DL8.

Finally, the story itself. It was a different kind of adventure from what we'd seen before then. There were stakes that went beyond 'don't get killed while you're trying to loot the dungeon'. And sure, adventures like Against the Cult of the Reptile God had stakes, but that was local stuff. These stakes were world-shaking. And yes, there were some railroady bits here and there, such as the looming dragon armies that would herd the characters in the right direction if they strayed. But let's be honest, the earlier dungeon modules were often railroady in nature as well. You had to get to the Frost Giant Jarl, or travel through the Underdark in search of the drow, or escape from the dungeon of the Slave Lords wearing nothing but a loincloth. This used the railroad aspects to drive the adventure forward; the cool stuff was in Xak Tsaroth anyway, so why not go there?

Now, I know a lot of people dislike this module because of the change in gameplay that it portended. After all, this was indeed a shift, and it was a very popular one. The sales figures were through the roof. People wanted what Dragonlance was offering, so TSR made sure to give it to them in spades. The location-based sandbox-style was diminished, and storytelling gaming became the thing. Was that a good thing for the hobby? Yes and no. It broadened the game's appeal, but it was a change that many old-schoolers never accepted. To each their own; I'm just going by this particular adventure.

So, that brings us to #1. But before I do that, I'm going to post some honorable mentions, modules that I like a lot but don't quite make it to the top ten. In the meantime, Happy Valentine's Day, and game on.

Top Ten Adventures: #3, The Mud Sorcerer's Tomb (Dungeon 37)

Another 'first' for me, this was the first issue of Dungeon Magazine I ever bought. And boy, was it a good one. There was a yuan-ti lair for mid-level characters, a destroyed wizard's tower for levels 1-3 starring an imp, a Celtic-style adventure hunting a dangerous beast, a side-trek starring some pet leucrotta...and The Mud Sorcerer's Tomb, a high-level (10-14) adventure that rivaled the Tomb of Horrors for player challenge and devastation. I absolutely love this adventure.

Seven or so centuries ago, a cult of magic-users who mixed water and earth magic into a bizarre style of sorcery that earned them the derisive nickname, 'mud sorcerers' from the more sophisticated practitioners of the magical arts. They were students of the long-dead, totally deranged, lunatic wizard-priest Jezule, and they were fanatical about secrecy. Therefore, little was actually known about them except their style of magic.

Oracles predicted the downfall of the cult, so their leadership came up with a plan to thwart this future. The leaders of the mud sorcerers would be entombed in huge, labyrinthine crypts in temporal stasis so as to await a time when their faithful followers would take advantage of the renewed chaos of society and awaken their masters. Unfortunately, a strong leadership rose to power in the region and hunted down the cultists with zeal and ferocity, purging them from the land through execution. Thus, the tombs of the mud sorcerers were forgotten for centuries.

Nice background, isn't it? Apparently, about 30 of these tombs have already been found and plundered, but there are quite a few more that are still hidden. And the lucky player characters get to find one themselves.

Like the Tomb of Horrors, there are some ground rules that will change the tactics of the players, such as wards that prevent spells like teleport and passwall, so the party can't skip ahead. Even blink doesn't work in here. Also, undead can't be destroyed, only turned, and even that is only hedging them out of a 10' radius circle. The Dark Side is strong in here. If the party is casting water or earth-based spells, there's a chance they'll summon a mud grue that will be laser-focused on killing the caster regardless of how many party members get in the way. And divination spells are hindered or reduced in power as well. So, this will be a bit of a slog. Enjoy.

If the party is smart enough to consult a sage before delving into this tomb, they'll get some helpful hints, like 'prepare for lots of poison', and 'expect traps even if you don't find them'. They'll also learn of the cult's predilection for using false sepulchers, which might help them avoid thinking they've cleared the tomb too early.

The main difference between this adventure and the Tomb of Horrors is that this one has more monsters to fight. There are hill giant mummies, a spirit naga, an annis hag, water weirds, a ghost, some clay golems, and more. There's also a neat little twist at the end if the party actually does get all the way to the end and find the actual mud sorcerer's hiding place.

All in all, this is a really fun and dangerous adventure that will test the party's abilities and the skill of the players. It's a great homage to the Tomb, with the addition of clues about an ancient cult that plans to return to wreak havoc on the world. Maybe the party will be inspired to seek out more of these tombs in the future.

Two left! My second-favorite adventure started the greatest campaign in D&D history. I'll tell you all about it next time.

My Top Ten Adventures: #4, N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God

Terror by night! The village of Orlane is dying. Once a small and thriving community, Orlane has become a maze of locked doors and frightened faces. Strangers are shunned, trade has withered. Rumors flourish, growing wilder with each retelling. Terrified peasants flee their homes, abandoning their farms with no explanation. Others simply disappear...

No one seems to know the cause of the decay--why are there no clues? Who skulks through the twisted shadows of the night? Who or what is behind the doom that has overtaken the village? It will take a brave and skillful band of adventurers to solve the dark riddle of Orlane!

This module is designed for 4-7 characters of first through third levels. It includes a map of the village and a description of its buildings and occupants, an overland journey to a challenging underground adventure for especially brave (or foolhardy...) characters, and a list of pre-rolled first-level characters.

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S3 was the first adventure I ever played in; I knew nothing of what was going on. As I got more into the game and bought the Advanced rulebooks, this was the first adventure I ever bought myself. The nasty lizardmen, coupled with the text I copied above from the front cover, was all I needed to plop down my paper-route money and snatch it up. After returning home to read it, I wasn't at all disappointed with what I found inside.

This is a Douglas Niles adventure from 1982. Niles was a prolific contributor to TSR in those days; off the top of my head, I can think of a few things he worked on, such as DL2, Dragons of Flame, the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide, and the War Machine mass combat rules from the BECMI Companion set. I know there's more, but those are the ones I remember the most.

Niles was a proponent of the more 'story-based' gaming style that would come into its full flowering with the Dragonlance Saga. And while this predates that series by two years, it definitely shows hints of that style. This is a mystery, not a hack-and-slash adventure. The party comes upon the town of Orlane, and things are just as bleak as the cover text suggests.

Although the adventure suggests 1st-3rd level characters, I wouldn't take first-level characters into Orlane, especially with beginning players. There is a lot of stuff going on here that the characters won't know anything about, and they're going to have to be very careful to avoid getting caught up in the cult's clutches. Beginners will struggle, no question.

But as an adventure for more experienced players, this is fantastic. Exploring the town will take time and patience, and gaining the trust of any of the townsfolk will be rough going. But there are clues, and there are allies to be found if the party is cautious and clever.

The first part of the adventure takes place in Orlane, where the party first has to discover the existence of a cult that is kidnapping villagers and bringing them to the 'reptile god', the spirit naga Explictica Defilus. There, they are either charmed by the naga's gaze, or they are killed and thrown to the reptiles or reanimated as zombies. Either way, it's not good. Those who are charmed return to the town to swell the ranks of the cult; by the time the party arrives, about one-quarter of the populace are now cultists, including the constable, the blacksmith, and the entire staff (and clientele) of the Golden Grain Inn. Oh, and the temple's priests are also converts. Good luck with the healing.

Assuming the party is able to gain information on the cult and make some friends in town (including a ranger and a reclusive wizard), they can discover that the cult's headquarters is in the Rushmoors to the east. They might, if they are persuasive and in sufficient need, convince the reclusive wizard, Ramne, to accompany them on the journey. Sort of like Gandalf, except he's old and decrepit and will slow the party down significantly on the journey. But his magic might be the only thing that keeps the party alive.

Once they get into the moors, there are encounters to be had before they find the cult's lair. Inside, they will have a two-level dungeon to explore, parts of which are underwater, and the entire thing is inescapably damp and smelly. There are cultists as well as prisoners down here, along with troglodytes, harpies and crocodiles. Eventually, they will come face-to-face with the evil serpent, and it is here that Ramne will prove his mettle as he has both a minor globe of invulnerability and a dispel magic spell to offset the naga's magic. Because she's got a fireball, and she's not afraid to use it. I don't need to tell you what a 5-dice fireball can do to a low-level party, do I?

Ramne will be the party's ace in the hole; he'll throw a lightning bolt if he can, but his primary purpose (aside from the globe) will be to dispel the naga's charm magic if she gets too many party members with it. But they are still going to have to take her on in melee to beat her, and she's more than happy to oblige. She is, after all, a spirit naga with 9 HD and a poison bite, so if she's not feeling the magic, she'll chew them up. Literally. This will be a tough fight, to say the least; 3rd-level characters stand a much better chance.

If the party survives and defeats the naga, Orlane is saved. The cultists will all be freed from the charm, and while it will take time for people to regain the trust and friendship they once had, it might still be possible. And of course, the party will be recognized as heroes for their efforts.

So, what did I like about this adventure? The mystery, of course, and the epic feel of that final battle. For a low-level party, this is like fighting a dragon; all that's missing is the breath weapon. The treasure is quite generous, but not excessive. And this adventure covers all the basics: town adventuring, wilderness, and dungeon.

One odd note, though: Despite being charmed and worshiping the naga as a goddess, the clerics in the temple are still getting spells from somewhere, and not just the low-level ones that only require meditation and rest; Abrama, the highest-level cleric in the Temple (7th level) is still casting 3rd- and 4th-level spells. So, what deity is backing the naga's play and giving her clerics spells? There's a question to ponder...

And there it is. I still have my top three to go, and #3 will be yet another Dungeon magazine entry. I'll see you then.

My Top Ten Adventures: #5, XS2 Thunderdelve Mountain

One of the disadvantages of being very non-social is that D&D is a social game. And sometimes it's difficult to find a group of people to play with. Fortunately, D&D did release a few modules designed for solo play, such as Blizzard Pass, Lathan's Gold, and Mystery of the Snow Pearls.. This is the best of the bunch: Thunderdelve Mountain.

This adventure is written for a solo dwarf, between levels 7 and 9. The goal is to rescue the lost Keeper of the Force of a dwarven stronghold that was attacked and destroyed by a fyrnasca, an underground flame serpent. Simple, yes? Well, not so much.

This is a 'choose-your-own-adventure' type of module, with numbered entries for you to follow (if you go east, go to entry 25; if you go west, go to entry 54, etc.). There are six pre-generated characters, and a blank map that you can fill in as you explore; the rooms are drawn out in the entries where you first enter them. In addition, there is a runic alphabet, along with a bunch of inscriptions for you to translate that will give you clues as to what lies ahead in your explorations.

The adventure also has an 'Event Log' that keeps track of things that happen; if you kill the creature in room 74, for example, you mark off Event C in the log. Later on, you might be given a choice based on an event you may or may not have completed. It gives the story a good, organic feel as you go through and actually see results and consequences of what you've done.

The adventure is actually in two parts; there's the 'rescue the Keeper' part, but there's also an ancient artifact, the Hammer of Vitroin, that wants you to kill the fyrnasca. And since it's an intelligent weapon, it can take over your will and force you to obey. Even that is handled well in the game, though, and it doesn't limit your player agency except that you just can't leave the place until you've killed the beastie or died trying.

Since this is a BECMI module, don't expect the pregen characters to have stellar stats; two of them have Constitution scores of 10, and one of them has no scores outside the average range of 9-12. But, they're dwarves, so they automatically have great saving throws, and they're all tough fighters. Any of them has the potential to succeed in the adventure if you are careful.

So, what do I like about this adventure? First, the atmosphere. This is Wagner meets Tolkien at the Sword-and-Sorcery Tavern. Sometimes it feels like you're in the Mines of Moria; there's a definite gloom about the whole place. Second, the runic writings scattered around. They are conveniently collected on a back page (and the back foldout of the module cover), and while it takes time to translate them, it's worth the effort. As I mentioned earlier, there are clues and warnings as to what awaits ahead in these runewords, so don't skip them.

Finally, it's fun to just relax and play a solo game once in a while. Not a lot of RPGs offer solo play, so it's nice to not only have that type of adventure available, but to have one of this quality. And yes, there are suggestions for group play as well, but it's recommended that you play through the solo adventure first before running it for a group. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to take Goin Cleftfist on an adventure.

My Top Ten Adventures: #6, Tallow's Deep (Dungeon 18)

Dungeon Magazine provided a lot of entertaining adventures over the years, across all editions up to 3.5. It also provided a lot of slop that didn't read well and played just as poorly. But sometimes, there is an adventure that really grabs you and gets back to the old-school feel of 'the DM against the players'. And here was a great one: Tallow's Deep, a 1st edition adventure for levels 4-7. And this adventure answered the question, 'if goblins are such wimps, why are there so many of them?' Turns out that the answer is, 'they aren't wimps'.

Back in Dragon magazine 127 there was a legendary editorial called 'Tucker's Kobolds'. It was about a sadistic DM whose kobolds were deadlier than dragons despite having d4 hit points. He used them tactically, and gave the kobolds enough of a cunning strategy that they could wipe out even high-level parties by using traps and ambushes. This adventure did the same thing for goblins.

The adventure starts off with the party arriving at a small frontier mining town which has fallen on hard times. Turns out that the silver mine was near a goblin lair, and when the miners broke through, the goblins wiped them out. Then they wiped out the search party that went to find the miners. Now, the townsfolk are scared to death and need adventurers to clear out the goblins.

However, these goblins have carefully studied Sun Tzu and Clausewitz, and they are loaded for bear. Imagine the Vietnam War, except you're in a series of tunnels that are too small for you (unless you're a halfling or gnome). And the enemy is hitting you from all sides...including above. Ever had a dozen giant centipedes drop on your head? A better analogy might be the Mines of Moria, except the rooms are a lot smaller. Balin's Tomb is your destination, complete with suspenseful drumming as the goblins hunt you down. Murder holes, arrow slits...the goblins are ready and waiting.

There's no heavy plot here; there's no big bad to fight at the end. However, there are 85 goblins in a single room, including their leader, Grishog and his pet worg (along with six others). The one saving grace the party might have in this room is that 1st-edition fighters can attack one goblin a round per level (a 5th-level fighter can attack five goblins in a single round). And after that, there's a long, dark passage that leads to goblin undercities where the Goblin King is planning war on the surface...

There is some nice treasure to be found at the end, but many parties won't ever get to it; the traps and ambushes are lethal and intended to be so. To beat this adventure will require tactical skill, tremendous fortitude, intelligent spellcasting, and no small amount of luck. This is a meat-grinder of an adventure, sort of like the Tomb of Horrors but with more monsters and fewer no-save traps.

So, why do I like it? Because I like all those things. I had a party go through this adventure with only one survivor, and he was lucky to get out alive. He was a gray elf fighter/magic-user, with all the arrogance that goes with that race. Well, the arrogance went away in a hurry after this nightmare of an adventure. Dwarves and gnomes would love this adventure, of course, and it could lead to a military campaign as the goblins come storming out of the lower caverns to destroy the local settlements and wage war on the surface folk.

Next time, I'll head back to the BECMI line for an adventure that bears some similarities to this one.

My Top Ten Adventures: #7, SF0-2, The Volturnus Trilogy

I never specified they were all D&D adventures, did I?

Sorry about the delay; I literally worked twenty hours in the kitchen yesterday preparing for two farmer's markets today, so I didn't get a chance to post. But despite exhaustion, I'm making this post so I don't fall two days behind.

Anyway, the Volturnus trilogy is for the Star Frontiers game. Or, for those who bought it after 1982, the Star Frontiers Alpha Dawn boxed set. Star Frontiers was a science fiction game that really hearkened back to the pulp science fiction adventure stories. Not the sterile, 'men with screwdrivers' stories of Astounding and Asimov, but the action-packed adventures of planetary romance, or E.E. Doc Smith's Skylark in Space and Lensman series. The stuff that inspired Star Wars.

The original Star Frontiers (and later Alpha Dawn) was not focused on spaceships at all; that wouldn't happen until the release of the Knight Hawks boxed set. Rather, it was more in line with the stories of John Carter of Mars, or Leigh Brackett's planetary stories. Spaceships did exist, of course, but they were abstract; they were ways to get to where the adventures actually were. Alpha Dawn was about Tatooine and Endor, not X-Wings and Tie Fighters.

As was customary for TSR's boxed set games of the era, an introductory adventure was included. It was SF-0, Crash on Volturnus. It came wrapped in a map of a part of a starship that was the transport vessel taking the PCs to another place; there's a pirate attack, and the PCs are forced to abandon ship. Their escape pod is damaged, and they crash on an unknown world, which is Volturnus.

The rest of the module involves finding a way to survive in the hostile desert environment, and the party will encounter the Ul-Mor, a primitive alien race that will take the party in and allow them to join the tribe if they pass a test. Before they get to that, however, they have to pass through an underground cavern complex, and of course there's an earthquake and they are separated from their guides, and have to make their way through the complex alone. TSR's dungeon crawling roots die hard, don't they?

So, they eventually pass the caverns and the test, and become part of the Ul-Mor tribe. This leads to the following adventures, where the party discovers a threat to the planet and must unite the other indigenous tribes of Volturnus, including the Kurabanda and the Edestekai, in order to fight off a Sathar invasion. They can also encounter two other races: The Mechanon, a highly-advanced robotic race, and the Eorna, who are evolved dinosaurs and are the remnants of an advanced technological civilization. Assuming the PCs can get these disparate groups to get along, they have a chance to fight off the Sathar. But it won't be easy.

So, what do I love about this series? As I said, it is a tribute to the pulp stories of old, and I love those pulp stories. There's a lot of stuff that doesn't make sense; why are the Eorna so weak, or how did these different forms of life all develop sentience on this world? And you know what? It doesn't matter. Who cares? It's FUN. And it really captures the essence of what the Star Frontiers boxed set was trying to convey. It's not hard sci-fi; it's entertaining sci-fi. The science serves the story, not the other way around.

Plus, Star Frontiers was a great science fiction game for kids and teens. It wasn't nearly as hardcore as Traveller, nor did it have the philosophical depth of Star Trek. The goal was playability and fun, and it succeeded at that. I think it would have had a much longer shelf life had Gary Gygax not lost control of the company to someone who owned the Buck Rogers IP and thus canned Star Frontiers while it was just getting a facelift.

And that's it for this one. I'll get back to D&D again next time with another obscure but awesome adventure from Dungeon Magazine.

My Top Ten Adventures: #9, B1 In Search of the Unknown

I'll preface this one by saying that if anyone is expecting to find the successor to this module, Keep on the Borderlands, on my list, you will be disappointed. I may be the only gamer on the planet who doesn't like that module, but that's okay. It's responsible for my least-favorite gaming memory, which I won't get into. Suffice it to say that in my opinion, this module was a much better introductory adventure for beginners than B2.

B1, In Search of the Unknown, is one of the earliest adventure modules ever published by TSR. Written by Mike Carr (his only D&D credit), it was included in later editions of the first Basic D&D Set (Holmes Basic, first published in 1977). It was designed as a way to introduce players and Dungeon Masters to the game in a way that gave the DM a certain amount of agency in setting up the encounters within the structure of the module. It was first published in late 1978, with a monochrome cover (the cover above is the new trade dress, first printed in 1981). By 1979, however, it had been replaced in the Basic set by the Keep on the Borderlands.

Modern gamers would have a tough time with this module; it's got absolutely no plot to it. It's just a couple of large maps of an abandoned adventurers' stronghold, originally built by the legendary adventurers Roghan and Zelligar, who disappeared years ago on some adventure. Now the characters have found a map leading to this abandoned place, where they can seek their fortune among the vast treasures that surely lie within.

And that's it. No one to rescue, no Mcguffin to find, nothing. It's just an exploratory adventure where you look for things to kill and take their stuff, the way D&D was meant to be. This hearkens back to the pulp adventures that inspired the game, where Conan or Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser would be seeking mysterious treasures. And while it's not the pulpiest adventure TSR produced, it certainly gave a clear idea of the style of game that was expected at the time. Sure, the DM could certainly put something in the complex that the characters need to find, but that's entirely on the DM, not something the module expects.

So, what made this such a great introduction to the game, and why do I wish I'd started with this instead of last night's adventure? Well, this one gives a lot of advice for DMs. Six pages of it, in fact, at the start of the module, and the text is dense. Subjects such as module preparation, time, experience points, effective DMing tactics, a legend table...it's all there, stuff to help a beginning DM get his feet underneath him before running a game for players. There's a bit of background, some of which can be related to the players as rumors and stories about the caverns of Quasqueton (pronounced KAS-ke-tawn by me). The maps are supposed to be fairly easy to map, although the caverns on the second level will be a pain.

At the back of the adventure is the player's section. It's just one page, back and front, so it can be removed from the module and passed to the players. It includes basic tips on game play, as well as background on the adventure that they would have heard about. Oh, and there are also a bunch of named characters for them to pick from if they want to just grab-and-go. Of course, it only gives the character's name and class, so there's no idea as to what their stats might be. Those appear earlier, and there are twelve for each of the four classes (seven, including the races). So, you might decide that you want to play a cleric, and Wilberd the Silent looks like a name you would want. The DM then looks up Wilberd's stats on his list, and there you go. Wilberd actually has decent stats, by the way. These lists can also be used for hirelings and henchmen, if the party decides to hire them. So, there's lots of great advice for beginners on both sides of the DM's screen.

The main feature of this module, though, is that the monsters and treasure aren't placed; that's for the DM to do. Each room is given a description (and occasionally a very small treasure, like a comb worth 1 gold piece or a coin in a drawer), but no inhabitants. Instead, there is a list of monsters in the back that the DM can choose from. And he is expected to put no more than 16 to 20 of them in the module, leaving some out altogether. Bear in mind, there are 56 rooms (or caverns) in this module, so only about a third of them will have any monsters to fight. This leaves plenty of stuff to explore without having o fight for your life.

The treasures are also listed in the back, ranging from as small as 20 silver pieces all the way up to magical weapons and armor. There are 34 of them, but only about 20 should be placed in the module. And the DM has free reign to put anything, monster or treasure, anywhere he wants in the complex. And while the rooms don't come with monsters and treasure, there are some classic and memorable rooms here for players to discover. There's the classic Pool Room, with fourteen pools of liquid, some of which are magical, some of which are deadly...and the only way to find out is to either dip your finger in or taste it. Good luck. There's also the teleporting room, the garden, and the cavern of the mystical stone, for example. All of these will test the characters in some way, and all can be customized for the DM's needs.

It's a Basic module, so it's for character levels 1-3. However, this is a true beginner module; 1st-level characters are the best choice, simply because the challenges here aren't generally going to be overwhelming. Even the toughest monsters on the list (the ochre jelly and the black widow spider) don't have to be included if the DM doesn't want to. So, even if a player has the module and reads through it, there's absolutely no way for them to know where to expect monsters and treasure, because the DM stocks it himself. And no two expeditions are going to be the same.

So, why is this #9 on my list? Aside from all of the above, as I said, it's probably the best introductory module D&D ever had. Yes, it's better than Keep on the Borderlands. This module strips the game down to its most essential form: the dungeon crawl. In a sense, it's a mini-megadungeon, with only two levels to explore. However, enterprising DMs can certainly expand it if they want to; who knows how deep Rogahn and Zelligar delved while building and expanding the Caverns of Quasqueton? This is the adventure I used to teach my son to play D&D, too. So, it deserves a place on this list for that reason alone.

My Top 10 Adventures: #10, S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks

I've seen a few countdown videos about people's favorite RPG adventures, and I decided it was time I did one of my own. I'm going to limit this to TSR products, so no 3rd edition adventures; those would be discussed on my other blog anyway. So, these are old-school adventures, starting with the very first D&D adventure I ever played in.

Old-school gamers are looking at this like, 'that's where you started?!' Yes, it is. When I was twelve, my parents decided I need to get a (social) life. My father heard about a Dungeons & Dragons club at the local library. Despite my lack of interest in a social life, he brought me to the library and got directions to the room where the club was meeting. Turns out it was just one small group of players, a couple of whom I knew from school; the others were much older, being in high school and clearly far more wise and experienced than I was.

So, this was in 1982. The 1st edition Dungeon Masters Guide was on the table, and old-school gamers know that there is a section in that book that talks about introducing new players to the game by giving them a separate adventure where they can learn the basics as a low-level character. This was not how I was introduced to the game. Instead, I was handed a small strip of paper that had been cut out of a book that had some arcane writing on it. I reproduce it below:

Any old-schoolers recognize that? Fortunately, they at least took the time to write out what the various numbers meant: Lvl, S, I, W, D, C, Ch, Align, AC, HP, and Move. Perfectly clear to the neophyte gamer, right? I had absolutely no clue what I was doing there. And as you might guess by the picture at the top of this post, we were in the buried spaceship underneath the Barrier Peaks. Yes, my very first experience in fantasy role-playing was in a science-fiction spaceship. I love the 80s so much.

So, what do I remember about this? Not a lot; as I said, I had no clue what we were doing. I had never seen a rulebook. I had never seen any dice that weren't six-sided. And they didn't really give me much to work with. I do remember the vegepygmies and the lasers. The library did have a copy of the old Moldvay Basic rulebook on hand, but the group (who were, as I mentioned, much older and wiser) told me that wasn't the 'real' rules. After all, they were playing Advanced D&D. Well, I was a beginner, so I borrowed the Basic book from the library and read through it in a couple of days. It was absolutely fascinating, although I didn't see any vegepygmies in there, nor did I see any laser pistols. Still, it was amazing, and set me on a life-long journey of fantastic adventure and imagination.

So, why is this module on my list? Because it was the first. And I found a copy of it in a pawn shop in Charlottetown last summer, so of course I had to get it. It's the only 1st edition product I currently own. But it is a wild ride of an adventure regardless of my own nostalgia. There's not a lot of treasure in there, certainly not in comparison with other high-level adventures of that era. In fact, there is not a single magic item within. That's not surprising, since it is a long-buried spaceship, after all. But the monsters...oh, the monsters within. Aside from the vegepygmies, this module also introduced the aurumvorax, bloodthorn, choke creeper, forester's bane, froghemoth, russet mold, brown pudding, squealer, tri-flower frond, twilight bloom, webbird, and the wolf-in-sheep's-clothing. All of these would eventually be included in the Monster Manual II. More than half of these are plant monsters, which is pretty cool. After all, when even the local flora are hostile, it's definitely a wild adventure location.

Oh, and that character up above that I had no idea how to play? He's from the G-series of modules, appearing as one of the pre-generated characters for the original tournament. And as silly as the name is, don't blame me; I just played him.

Ruminations on a Favorite Game

I recently finished a series of posts on reading through the 1st edition of the Champions game. Unlike my Traveller series, I've played Champions before, and I own quite a few products including a complete set of the 4th edition Champions books. I am missing some of the other genre books for the edition, but when it comes to the superheroes, I've got the lot.

Champions is currently on its sixth edition, and I...well, I'm not a fan of the 6th edition. It changed a lot of stuff that had remained unchanged since the first edition. Characteristics were changed; Comeliness was taken right out, and the Figured Characteristics are no longer linked to the Primary ones. The base character is built on about 400 points, the game's premier villain, Doctor Destroyer, is built on 3,200 points, and the core rules are split into two books. One of them, about five hundred or so pages, is strictly on character creation. That's all that's in there. Five hundred pages to create a character. Even 3rd edition D&D did the same thing in less than 100 pages. The second core book is all about how to actually play the game.

Now, I liked 5th edition when it came out; there was a lot of detail in the core book, but again, it was massive and took up hundreds of pages just to create a character. I find the 5th edition to be extremely wordy, too. Explanations take a lot of space on the page even for simple things. And 5th edition made some questionable changes as well, removing some of the game's simpler powers and overcomplicating them in replacing them.

For example, way back in the 1st edition was the power 'Instant Change'. You can figure out what that power does pretty easily, right? It's Billy Batson shouting 'Shazam!' or Clark Kent ducking in and out of a phone booth and emerging a second later as Superman. Simple, easy to understand. And that power was still there in 4th edition, unchanged from first edition: 5 points to change from one set of clothes to your costume and back to the same set; 10 points to change into any set of clothes. Simple, easy to understand. But in 5th, it was dropped and its function taken over by the Transform power. Here's the 5th edition writeup for the 'Instant Change' power:

"This is the classic superhero ability to change clothing into a costume, and vice-versa. It uses the Standard Effect Rule. Because the character merely Transforms his own clothing, no Attack Roll or Effect Roll is necessary, and Instant Change should be considered a Zero-Phase Action. Cosmetic Transform 2d6 (one set of clothing into one costume and vice-versa; method of healing back varies based on character) (10 Active Points); Limited Target (clothes, -½). Total cost: 7 points (or, to Transform a costume into any clothing, add Improved Target Group (+¼) (12 Active Points); total cost 8 points).

That's a lot of words to say 'you instantly change into your superhero costume.' And the entire fifth edition is like that. Incidentally, that paragraph appears in a sidebar on page 152 of the 5th edition rulebook; the character creation section ends on page 224. Did I mention the part where you can find videos online of people shooting bullets at the 5th edition book and not going all the way through? That's right, the 5th edition book is itself the Armor power (with a low Activation roll).

Anyway, that brings me to the 4th edition, which I think is the best edition of the game. It's a one-book RPG, meaning you can buy just a single book and have the complete game handy, ready to play. The D&D equivalent is the Rules Cyclopedia. While I also bought the previous edition's rulebook, I didn't really get into it at first. But when I saw the 4th edition book on the shelves with a blonde ninja going at it with a Doctor Doom-type of villain drawn by none other than George Perez, I knew I was going to be taking a closer look at it. And I loved it.

The 4th edition was a collective ruleset that compiled all the different genres that made up the Hero System. First there was Champions; a couple of years later, Hero Games released Espionage!, which was later redone as Danger International. Justice Inc. and Fantasy Hero soon followed, as did Star Hero and the more esoteric Robot Warriors. All of these used the same basic ruleset; 4th edition finally brought them all together and put out a rulebook that allowed you to play in literally any genre you wanted to, from medieval fantasy to superheroes to the far-flung future. Spies, pulp heroes, mecha warriors, anything you wanted to play could be done through the Hero System.

The other thing that grabbed my attention in the 4th edition Champions was the sample hero team, the Champions. The game did originally have a team of heroes that appeared on the covers and were named in the books, but they were never statted out in any official product except (maybe) the Champions comic book from Eclipse Comics in the 1980s.

But these characters were...different. They weren't generic 'brick, powered armor, energy projector, mystic, martial artist' types. Instead, they were distinct in their personalities, and some of them played against type.

There's Defender, the powered armor rich genius (I know; wait for it) who was born into a heroic lineage and built his armor because he felt it was his duty to follow in his ancestors' footprints. His armor was notable in that it didn't have any blasty weapons, just an Entangle.

Obsidian, the nine-foot-tall alien prince, exiled from his homeworld to Earth for a twenty-year sentence. He's not only the team's brick, he's also one of their scientists, having advanced knowledge from his own culture's advanced scientific achievements, and he has the value of noblesse oblige, the idea that as a ruler, he owes protection to those beneath him.

Jaguar, the Latino detective who bears a family curse that turns him into a savage beast. He acts as a reluctant hero, preferring to use his brains rather than his powers to deal with criminals. He's a pretty laid-back guy when he isn't all fur and claws.

Quantum, the team's energy projector. Her powers revolve around manipulating nuclear bonds, but it still boils down to 'she flies, has a force field, and blasts things'. However, she's not the happy-go-lucky type; she is a vengeful demon when it comes to street criminals; her older brother was a drug dealing gang member, and her family was wiped out in a revenge attack on him. So, she's more like the Punisher than the Human Torch.

Solitaire is the team's mystic and mentalist; her backstory (thoroughly developed in later products) is that she was raised by a cabal of mystics who trained her as an assassin while convincing her that she was in fact an agent of good. On her first assignment, she made the mistake of confronting her victim (a politician) face-to-face, and he was able to thoroughly confuse her, causing her to flee instead of carrying out the assassination. As a result, the cabal now considers her an enemy and a target, and she joined the Champions in order to do good. However, she's still learning what 'doing good' actually means.

Finally, there's Seeker. The most controversial member of the team in fandom, I absolutely love him. He's that blonde ninja on the front cover of the rulebook. And he's a swashbuckling Australian ninja. Yes, you just read those three words in combination. It's such a wild mixture, but it works. He's always the life of the party, but when things get serious, so does he.

The 4th edition book clocks in at a mere 346 pages, and that includes the full rules, a 60-page section on creating a superhero game, and a 70-page sourcebook with the aforementioned Champions heroes, about twenty villains, an introductory scenario, and a full-blown adventure to get the players into the game. Oh, and character creation ends at page 134. Still lengthy, but manageable. Meanwhile, the 5th edition rulebook is 380 pages, and that's just the rules; there's no campaign material whatsoever.

So, here's to the 4th edition of one of the best RPGs of all time. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have another character idea to create. Safe travels, everyone, and game on.

A New Challenge

So this was under the tree on Christmas. I must admit that I know very little about this game. I've seen it on store shelves, sure. But I've never played it. I've never even seen anyone play it. My wife said she'd play it once with me, so it's good she's willing to try something new with me. Mind you, it's a game for at least three players, so we'll need someone else as well. And if she's only going to play it once, then I'll need more than one someone else eventually.

So, here's what I do know about it: It's basically a simplified version of Sid Meier's Civilization computer game, except on a table. I'm pretty sure that is an extreme oversimplification, and those who have played this before are free to correct me or elaborate further. There are plenty of YouTube videos that explain how to play, so I'm sure those will be useful.

I just watched a 4-minute video on how to play, and yeah, it looks a lot like a simplified Civ game. I can work with that. I just have to be careful; there are lots of expansion sets, and anyone who has read my 25 Years Later... blog knows that I am a completist by nature. Which means that if we like this game, I'm gonna buy the expansions.

Anyway, I'm going to go take a look at the game and the rules and see what I can suss out. If anyone has experience with the game, let me know what you think of it.

Gilded Age Heroes: Bloodhound

Alright, this is a book I published quite a while ago and haven't gotten back to yet. It's a collection of stories linked together by a common thread: Steampunk superheroes. It's a mix of comic-book heroes and pulp stories, with people having strange abilities and powers.

The superheroes in our comics obviously didn't get started until Superman showed up in 1938; he was the first and original. But there are later stories such as the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen that take the idea of literary heroes with special abilities to an earlier time. I chose to set my stories 30 years before Superman, starting in 1908. The trigger for this sudden change in the world? Easy: The Tunguska event in Siberia.

Since I just completed a Let's Read of the 1st edition Champions game, I thought that this would be a great way to both show off the game's characteristics and hype up my book at the same time. Yes, I'm shameless that way.

So, today I'm going to write up one of these heroes in the 1e Champions format. I might do some of the others as well over the next little bit; we'll see what I have time for as we get close to Christmas.

BLOODHOUND

Val Char Cost

15 STR         5

18 DEX 24

15 CON 10

10 BODY 0

13 INT         3

15 EGO 10

15 PRE         5

12 COM 1

7 PD         4

6 ED         3

4 SPD         12

6 REC 0

30 END 0

26 STUN 0

Total 77

Cost Powers

9 +3 Enhanced Vision

10 Ultraviolet Vision

9 +3 Enhanced Hearing

10 Ultrasonic Hearing

15 Parabolic Hearing

5 Discriminatory Smell

15 Tracking

5 Climbing 12 or less

5 Detective Work 12 or less

10 Find Weakness 11 or less

15 Martial Arts (Street Fighting)

10 +2 levels with any PER rolls

5 Stealth 12 or less

123 Total

Pts Disadvantages

20 Hunted by Rasputin, 11 or less

15 Physical Lim: Sensory overload

20 Psych Lim: Disturbed by bright lights, loud noises, etc.

10 Psych Lim: Sucker for a sob story

15 Secret ID: Harold Douglas

20 Susceptibility: Flash attacks 3D6, Common

100 Total

Point Totals:    Char 77 + Powers 123 = 200 = 100 Base + 100 Disads

Background:

    Harold Douglas was one step up from a hobo, traveling from place to place across America looking for a big score, or even just a place to fit in. He spent a few years riding the rails, then working in various mining towns before settling down in the small but growing city of Los Angeles in 1908.

    In the summer of that year, however, his life changed dramatically. He grew incredibly sensitive to bright lights and loud noises, and the smell of the city was nearly incapacitating. He couldn't stomach the taste of beer anymore, and his clothes felt raspy and rough despite being made of the softest cotton. He found himself unable to work due to the constant migraines and overwhelming sensory input, and in desperation locked himself in his room for three weeks until he ran out of food and had to leave.

    Unable to handle the sensory overload, he collapsed in the street. Two young Mexican boys picked him up and drove him in a 'borrowed' car to a convent where a nun was known to have miraculous healing powers. However, Sister Juanita was unable to cure him of his affliction.

    Undeterred, the nun offered to help Harold get his senses under control; two months later, he was able to walk outside. Darkness was no barrier; he could see as well at night as he could during the day. He returned to Los Angeles and discovered a valuable use for his abilities, tracking down a kidnapping ring and returning a young child to his parents. The grateful father offered Harold a reward, and staked Douglas to sufficient funds to start a private investigator's business.

Powers/Abilities:

    Harold Douglas, aka the Bloodhound, is a fit but otherwise normal man who has seen and done it all. He learned to brawl in the mining towns, and got quite good at it. His extraordinary senses give him a tremendous advantage in many situations; he can hear conversations in a room a hundred feet away, can see in the dark, and can identify people by their smell and follow them for hours. He's not a trained detective, but his senses compensate for his lack of experience, allowing him to find clues that elude even elite investigators. However, his senses are easily overloaded, causing him pain if the input is too great.

*********************

Alright, there you have it, the first Gilded Age character writeup. If you're interested, please click on the picture above to go to the Amazon page where you can find the book. It's only in eBook format at the moment, but that will change soon enough. Take care, and I'll see you all later.

Finally!

The package I was waiting for arrived. Over on my other blog, 25 Years Ago..., I'm doing a 25th anniversary retrospective review of the 3rd edition D&D game. I finally got the September purchase order in, so I'm working on the review of the 3.0 Dungeon Master's Guide.

The nice thing about this is that I got a 1st printing DMG. It is a sweet deal, although it means errata is necessary to keep it updated. Still, I can't complain. There were some other things in the package as well, which I'll discuss in later posts on that blog.

I was supposed to get this package two days ago, but FedEx is a pain. They told me they 'tried' to delivery the package on Monday, but they didn't bother letting me know where the package actually was, so I spent two days hunting for it. Talk about frustration.

Ah, well. What's done is done, and it's nice to finally have it.

Some horrible news from south of the border as Charlie Kirk was assassinated at an open-air forum at a Utah university campus. Prayers go out to his family, who were there when it happened and were with him when he died in the hospital. It's insane to think about how far political discourse has deteriorated in the 21st century. I'm worried that this will touch off a wave of political violence, possibly escalating into a full-blown civil war. After all, wars have started with less provocation than an assassination.

I avoid talking about politics on this blog because I get enough of that on different websites, and I wanted to keep this clear from all of that. But something like this makes my blood boil, and I can't stay silent. I'm not going to turn this blog into the Huffington Post or Rebel News, though. I just hope people can start thinking before they act before we see even more violence and death. We are supposed to be civilized, people. We need to act like it.

And now, back to baking...

Episode 5: Against the Slavers

Today's adventure was almost canceled due to the weather; as it was, the snow kept half the players away, which sucks. But we did finish the adventure, so that's a bonus. Hopefully we'll have better attendance for the next part of the campaign.

The party checked their resources one last time. Erf decided to down his potion of invisibility in hopes of  catching the slavers by surprise from behind. As their preparations were completed, they burst through the door at the end of the bridge. Upon entering, they found a large throne room, in which a pair of dwarves were haggling over a chained-up child. Three other children were chained to a post, and the dwarf in armor turned and glared at the newcomers.

"What are you doing here, interrupting my negotiations?" he demanded.

Thinking quickly, Arthur Morgan spoke first. "We're here to bid on the slaves," he said quickly, shaking a purse of money. Jax looked at him askew for a moment, but said nothing.

"Those three are already sold," replied the dwarf. "You can bid on this one." He shook the chain holding the boy. "What's your offer?"

Unsure of the going rate of a slave in this market, Arthur blurted out a price of one thousand gold pieces. Both dwarves' eyes widened in stunned amazement. Before the second one could speak, the armored one gestured to Arthur. "Show me the money," he said suspiciously.

Arthur stepped forward, flanked by the invisible Erf. As the gnome positioned himself behind the dwarf, the room was filled with the sound of a deep, bone-chilling howl. Turning quickly, Erf found himself under attack by a horrible cross between a mastiff hound and a porcupine. The porcu-dog leapt at the gnome, who sidestepped just at the last second. Before Arthur could react, the dwarf whipped out his battle axe and swung. The elf desperately dodged, but the axe struck true, and the elf fell, unable to stand.

Even as the blow was struck, the rest of the party rushed forward to engage the dwarf. The second dwarf muttered a few words in an infernal tongue and vanished from their sight. Their attention focused on the axe-wielding dwarf, they paid no mind to the would-be slave buyer. Erf threw a dagger at the porcu-dog, dispelling his invisibility but striking the hound on the flank. The howling beast shrugged off the dagger and struck, nipping the gnome and nearly taking his arm off.

Meanwhile, Alexandria and the dwarf faced off in a battle of axes. The dwarf was immensely strong, and his axe was unusually sharp. Jax was able to strike the dwarf, but the powerful foe struck back, nearly killing the paladin with a single blow. Yaervan was the next to strike at the dwarf, and he, too, was nearly struck down in return. Alexandria could not find a way past the dwarf's defenses, but struggled gamely to keep him occupied so as to keep him from finishing off her allies.

Erf found himself under assault from the porcu-dog as his allies were too busy with the dwarf. Gandolf, who had held back, now rushed forward as the battle moved away from the fallen elf, and handed him the last healing potion they had. The draught restored the elf, who struggled to his feet and turned to help the gnome. The howler then fired some of its quills at the gnome, who barely avoided being struck.

The bigger battle raged on as the dwarf got through Alexandria's defenses with a mighty blow. Staggering, she kept to her feet and finally found a hole in the dwarf's defense, returning his blow with one that, while it was not as strong as his, nevertheless found its way through his armor and bit into his flesh. The other warriors did their best to help her, but the dwarf was equal to all three of them.

The howler sensed Arthur's approach and turned to leap at him. Thinking quickly, the elf set his spear on the ground and met the beast's leaping charge, piercing it in the chest. The shocking blow caused the creature to miss the elf with its ferocious jaws, and Gandolf peppered it with daggers, proving to be surprisingly accurate as he whittled away at the creature.

Then, they heard the sound of booted feet, and a quartet of hobgoblins entered the room from where the party had come. Assessing the situation, they threw javelins at the paladin and the half-elf. Their aim proved to be inadequate, although the sudden reinforcements made their situation even more desperate.

Reluctantly, the injured Yaervan and Jax backed away from the dwarf and rushed toward the hobgoblins, leaving Alexandria to face the dwarf alone. The dwarf grinned in savage anticipation and renewed his assault. Bleeding but defiant, Alexandria fought on, holding her own against the mighty dwarf. She struck another blow, this one strong enough to stagger her opponent, and dodged his response before nearly slipping on a pool of blood.

Out of weapons, Erf quickly moved to the post where three of the children were still chained, feverishly working to pick the locks and free them. He was successful on the first attempt, freeing the dwarven boy. But before he could do anything else, three more hobgoblins entered the room from the opposite door, surrounding the party.

Then, there was a flash of bright light, and in the midst of the group hovered a creature out of nightmare: A beholder, its baleful eyes staring at the combatants. Even the dwarf took a step back in fear as the beholder scanned the room. In a guttural voice, it spoke.

"I have come for Terrem Kharatys. That boy should not have been taken from Cauldron. I intend to see that he is safely returned to his orphanage. You can keep the others. They are of no consequence. Come, Terrem – you will be safe with me."

The boy, who had been held by the dwarf, slowly stepped toward the creature. Behind it, a woman veiled to hide her face stood in a shimmering haze. She tossed a small sack to the floor as the beholder spoke again: "This will be sufficient payment for your troubles, Kazmojen. Dispense with these others as you will, and do not return to Cauldron's orphans again."

With that, the trio disappeared in a flash of teleportation magic, and the combatants all hesitated for a moment before resuming the desperate fight. Alexandria and the dwarf continued their fight, and though the dwarf was stronger and more experienced than she, the wounds he had received from the half-elf and the paladin had taken their toll, and Alexandria finally got through the last of his defenses and brought him down. Meanwhile, Arthur Morgan and Gandolf finished off the howler, the elf suffering a few more scratches in the process.

The remaining hobgoblins renewed their assault on the weakened party, until suddenly a new factor appeared behind them: A pair of half-elves slipped into the room and attacked them from behind, striking down two of them before they had noticed their presence. With the odds shifted again, and fresh enemies in the room, the remaining hobgoblins threw down their weapons and surrendered.

The half-elves introduced themselves as Fario and Fellian. Gandolf recognized their names as the investigators hired by the Lord Mayor, which they quickly affirmed. Finding a set of keys on the body of the dwarf, the party was able to free the remaining three children. They explained that they had been tracking the slavers' movements, but had not yet discovered Jzadirune. It wasn't until Ruphus returned with the first three prisoners that they were able to find the entrance. Accompanied by the cleric, they descended into the gnomish enclave and through the secret door to the elevator, arriving just in time to assist against the remaining hobgoblins.

One of the children asked if the party was going to free the other prisoners. Learning that they were being held in the western cells, the adventurers quickly went through the door and down the hall, leaving Fario and Fellian behind to guard the hobgoblin prisoners. Searching the southern hall, they found a cell block in which four more townsfolk were being held. Further seraching led to the discovery of a torture chamber in which another prisoner, an older woman, was suffering under the ministrations of a one-armed hobgoblin. He was quickly dispatched, and the woman released. She saw her walking stick in Arthur's possession, and upon receiving it back, she unscrewed the top and pulled out a small vial. Drinking it, she instantly shed some of the wounds she had received at the hobgoblin's hands. Erf muttered that he wished he had known the potion was there, but very quietly.

The woman introduced herself as Coryston Pike, a former adventurer who had been captured a few weeks earlier. She also informed them that there were a few other prisoners in the forge and the kitchen. Upon learning that the forge prisoners had been freed, she grabbed the hobgoblin's sword and led the party to the kitchens, where they found another townsman working as the dwarf's personal cook. The three goblins that accompanied him instantly surrendered at the sight of the battered but determined adventurers, and before long, the group was returning to the city, prisoners and freed kidnappees in tow.

Upon their return, they met Corporal Skylar Krewis, who had been sent to Keygan's Locks with a small patrol in hopes of joining the party below. They greeted him and turned over the prisoners and the freed slaves to the guards, then went back to the Temple of Diulanna to report back to Jenya.

The priestess was greatly pleased at their success, and informed them that Terrem, one of the children, had already returned to the orphanage, appearing on the front doorstep a short time earlier and seemingly none the worse for wear. With the return of the other children, she paid them the promised reward and said that she looked forward to working with them again in the future.

The party split up at that point; Alexandria, Arthur and Erf went to Skie's Treasury, a shop where they could get some of their magic identified and even purchase a few magical trinkets. Upon learning that the potion Erf wanted identified did not come from Jzadirune, she readily agreed to test it and inform him of its nature in the morning. Arthur purchased a magical arrow and a scroll that she had on display, using some of the treasure they had recovered from the dwarven stronghold.

The next day, the entire party received individual invitations to meet with one of the town's nobles: Lord Vhalantru, an elf who stood high in the city's political hierarchy. On the way there, Erf stopped at Skie's Treasury and learned that the potion he had found was in fact a potion of extra-healing. She offered to take the potion instead of charging him for the identification, but he paid the fee without complaint.

At Lord Vhalantru's estate, which was only a few houses away from Alexandria's home at the top of the cauldron's bowl, the six adventurers were brought into the elf's presence. He greeted them warmly, and informed them that as one of the Lord Mayor's advisors, he was always on the lookout for adventurers who showed promise and who would be helpful in dealing with the city's specialized needs. The meeting was brief, but Alexandria and Vhalantru got along very well.

And with that, the adventure was over, the party going their separate ways for the time being. Gandolf returned to the Bluewater Academy to continue his training, while Jax went to the Temple of Thor to report to his superiors. The rest of the party returned home, except for Arthur, who was staying at the Tipped Tankard most of the time.

The campaign continues in two weeks' time.

Episode 4: Into the Malachite Fortress (conclusion)

The party pushed through the pivoting secret door into a short, angled hallway. At the end were two doors. After a brief discussion, the party split into two groups to investigate both doors at the same time. Alexandria, Erf and Jax took the southern door, while Arthur, Yaervan and Gandolf took the western one.

The southern trio found a guard room with four alert hobgoblins waiting for them. The hobgoblins were tough and ready, but no match for the three adventurers as Jax and Alexandria quickly dealt with them. Saving his final spell for later, Erf contributed with a carefully-aimed dagger that struck one of the hobgoblins down.

Meanwhile, the other group found what was basically a bedroom/trophy room, with skins and skulls decorating the walls and the chair made of monster bones. A search of the room and a judicious use of the detection wand allowed them to find a secret door in this room as well, one that led to a room filled with treasure: Three chests, three casks, a heap of armor, a gong, two shields holding coins, a bowl of gems, a horn, and a bejeweled walking stick. Eagerly the trio began looting the place, but were suddenly confronted by the gong, which shapeshifted and struck at them with pseudopods. Arthur was struck with a powerful blow and knocked unconscious. Gandolf immediately turned and ran, leaving Yaervan to face the mimic alone.

The half-elf was up to the challenge, striking hard and fast while dodging to the best of his ability. However, his ability was not quite enough as he took several blows from the vicious mimic. Nevertheless, he gave as good as he got, dealing the monster grievous wounds of its own. Still, the outcome was inevitable...until Gandolf returned with the other group in tow. Jax wasted no time in slicing the mimic down with his bardiche as Yaervan staggered back, barely conscious.

The group rested a few moments, reviving Arthur with one of their few remaining healing potions and giving Yaervan one as well. Battered and beaten, the adventurers nevertheless resolved to continue on. They searched the treasure room, looting what they could, and found a crumpled letter addressed to 'Kazmojen', warning him to not get too enamored of his thus-far successful operation lest he draw the attention of do-gooders and assorted adventurers looking to rescue the many slaves. The letter was signed only with a kingfisher symbol, which Alexandria recognized as representing Kingfisher Sendings in the town of Kingfisher Hollow outside of Cauldron.

Pressing on, the group returned to the room with the hobgoblin guards, in which they found another door. Through it, they entered a long corridor, flanked by a pair of dwarven statues, male and female. Halfway down the corridor, they encountered a bridge over dark water that led back to the east, ending in a door. Consulting the map they had been making, they realized that it most likely led to the room they had been unable to breach after fighting the hallway full of hobgoblins. Taking stock of their situation, they grimly decided to press on, as Yaervan and Jax prepared to break through the door.

***************

To be concluded this weekend!

Episode 4: Into the Malachite Fortress (continued)

Pushing through the double-doors, the party found themselves in a wide, angled hallway. As Jax stepped around the corner, he spotted two more of the ugly hobgoblins at the other end, flanking another set of double doors. One of them banged on the door and shouted 'Croleks!', which Yaervan translated as 'Intruders!'. The hobgoblins then raised their bows, and seeing no point in attempting to negotiate, the party returned fire.

One of the hobgoblins cursed as his bowstring snapped, but the other one struck Yaervan in the arm. Alexandria and Jax rushed forward to engage them in melee, but the hobgoblins both pulled levers by the doors, and two pit traps opened up beneath the adventurers' feet. Jax was fast enough to avoid the first one, but tumbled into the second. Alexandria, a few steps behind, fell helplessly into the first pit. Yaervan skidded to a halt before the first pit even as Arthur shot at one of the hobgoblins with his own bow. Gandolf responded with another missile from his wand, while Ruphus used his sling. Erf hung back, unable to throw his daggers far enough to reach the hobgoblins, waiting for the opportune moment to cast a spell.

As Yaervan sought a way around the pits, four more hobgoblins came into view from the left-hand corridor, throwing javelins into the pits at the trapped party members. Alexandria deflected one of the javelins with her shield, but the second one sliced into her leg. Jax fared better, using his bardiche to knock one of the javelins away and ducking under the second one.

Throwing caution to the wind, Yaervan took a short, running leap over the pit, landing with such agility that he was able to strike at one of the hobgoblins. [Natural 20 on his roll to jump the pit; I gave him the bonus.] His sword quickly cut down the surprised hobgoblin, leaving him facing three by himself. Still under fire from the hobgoblin at the far end of the hall, Yaervan felt another arrow tear into the flesh of his arm. Ignoring the pain, he continued his struggle against the trio of enemies.

Then, there were two remaining, as a crossbow bolt came flying out of the pit and pierced one of the hobgoblins through the chest. Alexandria's shout of satisfaction followed the bolt, and she reloaded as quickly as she could. Jax, without any missile weapons of his own, was helpless in the pit. Arthur and Ruphus killed another hobgoblin, leaving Yaervan to face just a single enemy in between the two pits.

The second guard hobgoblin then finished restringing his bow. But before the pair could resume their firing, Erf cast a spell from the new book he had found: Phantasmal force. Suddenly, a wall appeared between the pits and the two hobgoblin archers, obscuring their view and preventing them from firing on Yaervan. Without the distraction of the archers, the half-elf was easily able to dispatch the single remaining opponent. He then reached down to grab the haft of Jax's bardiche, pulling him out of the pit while Arthur Morgan did the same for Alexandria. Just in time, as the pit lids suddenly closed up beneath them.

A moment later, the two hobgoblin archers came through the illusory wall, their swords drawn.  However, now faced with four determined warriors, they quickly fell beneath their weapons. Taking a moment to catch their breath, the party surveyed the carnage: Six dead hobgoblin guards, with their own wounds being relatively minor.

As Erf released his spell and the wall dissipated, the party now moved quickly to the double doors. However, these were securely barred from the other side, with no way to open them from this side. The party then went to some of the other doors they had seen, hoping to find another way through. Instead, they found a couple of empty bedrooms, including one with a large fire beetle trapped in one of the ceiling cages that gave off a cold, orange light.

They also found a barracks room where the four hobgoblins had clearly been staying; it was a dwarf-sized barracks, which meant the beds were too small for the hobgoblins to sleep comfortably. There was some brief speculation that the children might have been kept here, but there was no sign of their presence.

Across the hall from the barracks was another room. Just as Jax opened it up to investigate, the door at the end of the hall opened up, and two more hobgoblins came through, catching the party by surprise. Jax was struck down by two swords, his life's blood draining out rapidly. Only a rapidly-cast healing spell from Ruphus saved his life. Meanwhile, Yaervan, Alexandria and Morgan took the fight to the two hobgoblins, but to their surprise they were attacked from the side as well, as two demonic blobs of flesh came from the door Jax had opened. The hobgoblins proved to be easily dispatched, but the blobs were far more difficult, as the wounds they suffered began to heal instantly. Fortunately, Alexandria's axe and Gandolf's wand were up to the challenge, although Gandolf felt the wand disintegrate in his hands as he drained it of the last of its magical power.

Being (as they believed) so close to their goal, the party decided against resting, instead choosing to offer Jax what healing they could so he could get back on his feet. Unsteady but determined, he took his place in line and nodded grimly as the party investigated the room with the blobs. There they found a locked chest which proved impossible for Erf to open, as well as a bed and modest furnishings. There were also two fire beetles providing light above their heads, which cast a demonic glare throughout the room.

Ready to press on, the party went through the door through which the hobgoblins had ambushed them. There they found a forge with three shackled slaves, as well as four hobgoblin guards and three goblins working alongside the slaves. The goblins grabbed up their swords as the party stormed in, and before any of the goblinoids could respond, three of the hobgoblins were dead. The fourth was the next to fall, and the goblins threw down their weapons and cowered in a corner. Turning their attention to the three slaves, the party discovered they were kidnappees from Cauldron. One of them, Sondor Ironhold, said that her husband had been sold four weeks ago and had been taken into the Underdark, never to be seen again. Arthur Morgan, recalled one of the treasures they had found in Jzadirune, and pulled out a bracelet engraved with the dwarf's name. She accepted it gratefully as a memento of her lost husband.

Another slave, a halfling named Maple, informed the rescuers that there were many other kidnappees held in another part of the complex. She told them of a secret door that led to that part of the Malachite Fortress, and asked that the three of them be returned to Cauldron immediately. Unwilling to abandon any other slaves to their fate, the party refused to leave, but agreed that one of their number would accompany the three to the surface and Keygan's shop, where they could then go to speak to the authorities before returning home. Ruphus volunteered to go, casting his final healing spell on Alexandria before wishing the party good fortune and bringing the slaves back to the elevator.

To be continued...