In 1984, TSR published the second of the Conan adventures, Against Darkness, by Ken Rolston. Oddly, it also proclaims on its title page that Anne C. Gray developed it; I can only imagine that Anne contributed significantly to the adventure. Such a significant credit line is rare in the products of the TSR era!

As with the first adventure, Conan Unchained, this is a very linear adventure. One encounter follows another, and there is scarcely a chance for the players to make a choice where to go next. In the case where they lose the thread, the DM must work out a way for them to continue onwards! The plotline is, in fact, more linear than Conan Unchained, and most of the encounters are battles.

The plot of the adventure works like this: Thoth-Amon, the sorcerer foe of Conan, wishes to slay the old barbarian king. He allies with Akivasha the Vampire who teaches him the art of controlling elementals but is using him to set up a romantic rendezvous with Conan. Upon learning that Thoth-Amon plots against him, Conan and his friends set out to find and defeat him. Conan must defeat several summoned creatures on the road – with Thoth-Amon taunting the barbarian then escaping – before reaching Akivasha in the Pyramid of Khemi, who wishes to make him her consort.

Once Akivasha is dealt with, the road leads onwards to the Temple of Asubor and the final confrontation with Thoth-Amon.

Both the Pyramid and Temple are larger encounter areas with more to find than just the villains of the piece, but not that more. There is not that much to explore, and even role-playing is rarely possible – with the notable exception with the amorous vampire queen, Akivasha. That encounter has the potential for great amusement or terror, depending on how you want to play it. I like that she already has a consort – she has just tired of him. Of course, once the consort realises that Conan will replace him, he challenges Conan to a duel; there is no other way to prove to Akivasha that she has made a mistake!

Boxed text is plentiful, and not as overlong as many were during this era. A few encounter areas are only boxed text – what the players see is what they get!

I find that the adventure evokes Conan’s world quite effectively, especially given the special rules for Hyborian Age adventures, which cover fear, luck points, and a more rapid form of natural healing. Some encounters have great names: “Thak the Man-Ape” and “The God in the Bowl” are two such.

And, though there are many fights, there is a good variety of opponents and their environment. One battle occurs in a river as the characters attempt to dock, with a water elemental and then giant crabs proving unusual foes.

But then you get back to the linear nature of the adventure and the lack of meaningful exploration. I am sure you can enjoy playing this adventure, but it targets a particular type of experience that may not be to your taste. And it is an adventure that works best with the pre-generated characters. I have not played it, but I would expect it would take around 8 hours to complete.

Perhaps most amusing of all is that when you finally reach Thoth-Amon, he escapes! And thus, the adventure could end with a “Next time, Conan! Next time!”

That is a little unfair; you only use this option if you intend to keep playing in Hyboria and need Thoth-Amon as an ongoing foe. I am sure, for most groups, they take the option of one final battle to defeat the sorcerer.

The product is attractively laid out, with much black-and-white art by Jeffrey Butler and Jeff Easley, and a massive total of twelve maps by Diesel. The wilderness maps tend to be more interesting than the dungeon ones. Some are on the removable cover, while the rest are in the middle of the book.

Despite the reference to the “Conan series” of adventures, this proved to be the last of them. TSR published one other related scenario – Red Sonja Unconquered in 1986 – which was written by the editor of this adventure. TSR released a Conan RPG in 1985, which had three adventures of its own, but shortly after that Conan disappeared from the TSR catalogue. Licensing issues prevent it from being republished or distributed on the DMs Guild; copies now sell for premium prices.

Overall, while there are some lovely moments in the adventure, it proves an uneasy fit for the AD&D game system, and it does not draw upon the system’s strengths. It is interesting to see how it approached the idea of telling a set story, but it is not good enough to make me rush out and run it. It is a middle-of-the-road adventure, notable mainly for the subject matter than for what it does with it.