Descent into the Depths of the Earth is the first of three modules in the “Descent” or “Drow” series, and the fourth of 7 modules in the special campaign series generally known as the GDQ series. First published in 1978, the adventure picks up after the end of the Giant series, with the adventurers pursuing the fleeing drow elves into a long tunnel deep under … Continue reading AD&D Review: Descent into the Depths of the Earth
In 1984, the writers of TSR UK were also writing adventures for the D&D Expert line. Drums on Fire Mountain is designed for a party of five to eight characters of levels 5-8, and… oh, my God! What’s up with the cover? Yes, they actually managed to misspell Graeme Morris’s name on it. And the back cover. It appeared as “Grame”. Oh wait, you meant … Continue reading D&D Adventure Review: Drums on Fire Mountain
G3: Hall of the Fire Giant King is rightfully considered a classic of Dungeons & Dragons adventures. For a module that is only 16 pages in length, it contains a great deal of incident, evocative description, and adventure. It premiered as the final round of the D&D tournament at Origins ’78, and an account of the winning team’s accomplishments was published in Dragon Magazine #19 … Continue reading AD&D Adventure Review: Hall of the Fire Giant King
Published in 1984, UK6: All That Glitters is another memorable adventure for level 5-7 characters from TSR UK. As I noted in my review of Eye of the Serpent, the UK adventures had moved away from the World of Greyhawk, instead each being set in its own setting. However, while reading this adventure, I began to wonder if it were actually a Greyhawk adventure with … Continue reading AD&D Adventure Review: All That Glitters
In 1978, the first (official) published adventure modules for the AD&D game were released. This was a new thing. There had been third party D&D adventures before this – Palace of the Vampire Queen in 1976 generally takes the title as the first. And, in 1975, the Blackmoor supplement for OD&D, had included a scenario of Dave Arneson’s design, Temple of the Frog. But for … Continue reading AD&D Review: The Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl
There is a lyrical nature to Graeme Morris’s writing in Eye of the Serpent, the fifth of the UK series of adventures. He describes the view from the top of a mountain, down to the valley below, where a river winds like a serpent, an island some way along its length appearing as an eye to the dwarves who once lived there. It makes a … Continue reading AD&D Adventure Review: Eye of the Serpent
My D&D 5E Greyhawk game is running through a series of adventures written for the Castles & Crusades game. Published by Troll Lord Games, C&C is one of the longest standing systems of what we now know as the OSR. It was first released in 2004. Castles & Crusades is a variant of the first edition of D&D, with a few interesting touches that set … Continue reading Thoughts on “A Stranger Among Us” – A Castles & Crusades adventure
One of the odder products I’ve seen recently is this free adventure from Wizards of the Coast, Giants of the Star Forge. A companion adventure to Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants, this adventure is for level 16 characters and should take a single 3-or-4-hour session to play. Or possibly longer. I’ve seen how some groups take a long time to resolve combat. I say … Continue reading Adventure Review – Giants of the Star Forge
In recent weeks, I have been running my players through the Ruins of Gauntlight, the first of three adventures in the Abomination Vaults adventure path. Yes, I’ve been running Pathfinder 2nd edition. (My ongoing D&D 5E World of Greyhawk campaign also continues). The Abomination Vaults is of special interest to D&D players, as Paizo intend to release a version for 5E at some point. As … Continue reading Pathfinder 2 Impressions: Ruins of Gauntlight
In the forty-odd years, I’ve played Dungeons & Dragons, most of the magic items I give out come from the core rulebooks. There are several reasons for this, mainly because I often use random magic item tables rather than selecting items to match the characters. The random tables typically only exist in the core book. And it becomes very hard when the magic items are … Continue reading Supplement Review: Vault of Magic
