A to Z of Adventure! D is for Descent into the Depths of the Earth

D is for Descent into the Depths of the Earth

Growing up in the 80s it was not uncommon to have multiple, independent groups of people playing D&D.  I have fairly vivid recollections of different groups talking about this adventure or some other book.  But the epic of the time was GDQ series and everyone was playing it.  I'll talk about the Giants series on "G" day and Queen of the Demonweb pits on "Q" day.  But today I want to talk about the "D" series, Descent into the Depths of the Earth and Vault of the Drow.

Once upon a time, back in the days of Walkmen, MTV, and Rubik's Cubes, the Drow were not what we think of them today.  This was the Pre-Drizzt Do'Urden days.

For those that didn't live this at the time the Drow are dark elves, cursed to live underground and worship the demoness Lolth.  Elves were good, and fair and full of light.  Drow...not so much.  The big reveal of the Drow as the main enemies of the GDQ series of adventures is akin to the Classic Star Trek episode "The Balance of Terror" that introduces the Romulans as a big bad. Not just as another race, but an offshoot of the Vulcans.  Evil Vulcans if you will.  The drow were everything the elves are not and they are also the cause of the giants and the kuo-toa raids.

These two (originally three) adventures are the action sequences to the big plot build up, though even the drow are just pawns in a larger threat.

I have such great memories of these adventures. I started playing them, but like so many others I never finished them.  They are the next adventures for my kids and I in our "Come Endless Darkness" campaign.

The one thing I have struggled with though is we live in a post-Drizzt world now.  Drow are no longer the scary dark-elf threat of the unknown.  Today they are potential heroes and a viable race option.

I want to take the drow back to the days where they were a mostly unknown threat.  Also I have proposed a number of other changes to them as well.  Making them more blue in skin tone like the Morlocks of the Time Machine movie.

These days the drow you are most likely to run into are not so much evil, but more emo or goth elves.
I covered some of this a while back in my post "Drow should be Lawful Evil, among other things."  So instead of covering that ground again I will let that stand and move forward.

The nice thing about running these adventures so many years after the fact is there is a wealth of information about them out there.  I have read reviews, play-by-plays and even read the novelization by Paul Kidd.  The book was actually kind of fun and the characters, introduced in the earlier White Plume Mountain, are likable.   I am thinking of introducing Evelyn, the half-pixie ranger as my own homage to the novel.  She would be the daughter of the two main characters Escalla and The Justicar.

Eclavdra
One of the best things about these adventures and the G series before and the Q after, is the number of really cool NPCs.  Top of that list has to be Eclavdra, drow priestess.  She has been described as being a priestess to Lolth, an attaché to Grazzt and even a convert to the worship of the Elder Elemental Eye, who in my game is another name for Tharizdûn.   This fits in so nicely with my plans that I feel the need to detail her more.

We know she is a drow and an exceptionally beautiful drow at that. She is introduced in the module G2.  Here is what is said about her there:

Eclavdra (10th level cleric/fighter; H.P.: 60, Wisdom 17, Dexterity 18, Constitution 10, Charisma 18; Armor Class -8 = +3 shield, +5 chainmail, and +4 dexterity bonus), the one who fomented all of the trouble.

The Vault of the Drow (D3) features her on the cover (see above) and describes her as a 10th/4th cleric/fighter.  These are of course AD&D 1 stats.  I am going to use here under D&D 5.   Also, I want to emphasize her "conversion" to Tharizdun more.   I am going to make her a 10th level Cleric/4th level Warlock with a Pact of the Blade and Tharizdûn as her patron.

To prepare I have also been buying up Drow minis.

Really, really looking forward to running these.

Links
Grognardia

• Retrospective: Descent into the Depths of the Earth
• Retrospective: Shrine of the Kuo-Toa
• Retrospective: Vault of the Drow

Fellow A to Zers

I have a lot of blogs in my normal reading lists that are participating in the April A to Z Blogging Challenge.  If you are a regular reader then these blogs are likely familiar to you too.   If you are here from the A to Z Challenge, then please check out these blogs as well.

Crossplanes 
http://www.crossplanes.com/

The World of Stelios 
https://wordofstelios.wordpress.com/

Nemo's Lounge
http://nemoslounge.com/

Sea of Stars RPG
https://seaofstarsrpg.wordpress.com/

Monstrous Matters
http://www.monstrousmatters.com/

Halls of the Nephilim
http://punverse.blogspot.com/ BTW if you are new here or to any of these blogs, Justin does a good job explaining what D&D 5th Edition stuff is about.  http://punverse.blogspot.com/2016/04/d-5e-for-those-just-stopping-by.html Plenty of links to free stuff so you can play too.


B/X Blackrazor 
http://bxblackrazor.blogspot.com/

Lloyd of Gamebooks
http://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/

DMing With Charisma
http://dmingwithcharisma.com/

Sphere of Annihilation
http://sphereofannihilation.blogspot.com/

The Iron Pact
http://theironpact.com/

Fuzzy's Dicecapades
http://fuzzys-dice.blogspot.com/


Graphs, Paper, and Games 
http://graphpapergames.blogspot.com/

Calvin's Canadian Cave of Cool, though Cal is doing things his own way!
http://calvinscanadiancaveofcool.blogspot.com/

Dr. Theda's Crypt
http://thedascrypt.blogspot.com/


Check out all the blogs participating below!

A to Z of Adventure! C is for Competition Modules

C is for Competition Modules.

The C series of modules were mostly unrelated in terms of story.  Unlike the D that I'll talk about tomorrow or the G later on, there was no over arching story to connect these.

What did connect them was this idea of "Competition" or official RPGA scoring included in each one.  Back in the day (say late 1970s) D&D was being played by thousands of people. It had yet to capture the market like it will in the 1980s, but there were still enough players then that variations were creeping into the rules.  Some people had Greyhawk, others used house rules and the burgeoning 3rd party market was making inroads.  The bottom line was that D&D was not always played the same from group to group.  I even remember this back in the day when I played.  This was part of the reason why Advanced D&D was created and so many more rules were added.

Competition play in the form of the A and C series were a logical outgrowth of that.

I have always enjoyed the C adventures, but never played them.

C1 The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan
This adventure is a call back to the popular "Ancient Temple" style adventures, but it also had some interesting psuedo-Mayan and Aztec elements to it that really gave it a different feel.  It was ranked #18 in the 30 Best D&D Adventures of all time by Dungeon Magazine.
For me I have always wanted to run this adventure as part a longer campaign using Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea.  There is such a pulpy, almost "Raiders of the Lost Ark" feel to this adventure.  You can also read +Eric Fabiaschi's comments on it here.
I have to say this is one adventure I am most looking forward to running.

C2 The Ghost Tower of Inverness
I have always had a soft spot in my heart for this one.  I never ran it or played under AD&D, but I have had a copy for years.
According to the official records the "Inverness" was likely the town in Alabama rather than Scotland.  Growing up in Southern Illinois we always thought that is meant Inverness, Illinois.  We knew that Gary had grown up in Chicago and Lake Geneva was much closer to Inverness than we were.  Well as fate would have it I moved to Palatine, IL which is just next door to Inverness.  I can see it from where I am typing this now.  We have a "lighthouse" here, or rather a water tower painted like a lighthouse right on the border with Inverness.   So I ran a Doctor Who game once using this module and called it "The Ghost Tower of Inverness, IL."
I recently ran this one and have detailed here: Weekend Gaming: Ghost Tower of Inverness

C3 The Lost Island of Castanamir
This is an odd one of the bunch. I have never read, nor do I own it.  It is also for levels 1-4 as opposed to the 4 or 5 to 7 of all the other adventures.

C4 To Find a King and C5 The Bane of Llewellyn
These two modules are linked.  I never played these versions, but my DM was able to get ahold the RPGA versions that were played at Gen Con in 1983, so we were going to go through those, but other things came up.  I never bought them and I don't think I have ever read them either.

Not sure if I'll ever run those last three, but I should pick them up sometime.

C6 The Official RPGA Tournament Handbook is not really an adventure, but a handbook scoring.

A to Z of Adventure! B is for Basic Adventures

B is for Basic Adventures.

The Dungeons and Dragons Basic set is a tried and true introduction to the D&D game.  Since the first Basic set, written by John Eric Holmes, was published there have been included adventures.  

The first was the aptly named, In Search of the Unknown, and had the code B1.  This was and still is my go to adventure for starting out a new campaign of first level characters.  The plot, as much as there can be one, is thin. There is a castle that has been abandoned. Let's go check it out!

The next Basic Set, and really the start of the whole Basic line of D&D was the one from Tom Moldvay.  This set introduced us all to the Caves of Chaos and the titular Keep on the Borderlands.  There are estimates that close to 1.5 Million copies of B2 Keep on the Borderlands were printed.  An entire generation of gamers visited those caves in search of glory, gold and experience points.

The B-series of modules would go one to produce some of the best and most memorable adventures ever printed.   There was the controversial first print (orange cover) of B3 Palace of the Silver Princess which had all copies destroyed and now fetches top dollar on eBay.  This was followed by the sublimely weird B4 The Lost City, which along with B2 made the list of the top 30 D&D adventures of all time.

I ran all these first four for my kids over the last few years and it was a blast.  I never played in or ran the remaining 8 (yes 8!) adventures.  But all are designed for starting level characters, levels 1 to 3 and most importantly starting Dungeon Masters learning their new craft.  I know own them all, and really want to play them sometime.  I am planning on running Rahasia (B7) as part of my "War of the Witch Queens" campaign someday.  I'd also like to run B5 Horror on the Hill and B8 Journey to the Rock as well.

Links

• Retro Review & Commentary On The OD&D Adventure Module B1 In Search of the Unknown
• Actual Play Of The OD&D Adventure - B3 Palace of the Silver Princess With The Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea Game
• Retro Review & Commentary On The OD&D Adventure Module - B4 - The Lost City
• The 30 Greatest D&D Adventures of All Time
• Grognardia Retrospective: In Search of the Unknown
• Grognardia Retrospective: The Keep on the Borderlands
• Grognardia Retrospective: Palace of the Silver Princess
• Grognardia Retrospective: The Lost City

The adventures at the Dungeon Masters' Guild:

• B1 In Search of the Unknown (1978)
• B2 The Keep on the Borderlands (1979)
• B3 Palace of the Silver Princess (1981)
• B4 The Lost City (1982)
• B5 Horror on the Hill (1983)
• B6 The Veiled Society (1984)
• B7 Rahasia (1984, 1979)
• B8 Journey to the Rock (1984)
• B9 Castle Caldwell and Beyond (1985)
• B10 Night's Dark Terror (1986)
• B11 King's Festival (1989)
• B12 Queen's Harvest (1989)

A to Z of Adventure! A is for Against the Slave Lords

A is for Against the Slave Lords

Welcome to the A to Z Blogging Challenge for 2016!

Let's start this off with one of the earlier adventure series and consequently one I am currently wrapping up for my kids.

The Slave Lords series was marketed under the "A" module code. The series included four adventures, A1 to A4.
Back in 2013 Wizards of the Coast published a new A5 The Last Slave Lord in Dungeon Magazine #215. In 2015 a new hardcover of the adventure came out which included an introductory adventure A0.

The "A" series came from the adventure "Assult on the Aerie of the Slave Lords".  Though for me I always thought they were "A" since they were for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, even though other adventures came before it.  Of course my DM also was confused why it was called "A" so he did what he usually did, he added a bunch of Assassins to it.

These adventures were used as tournament level play at the AD&D Open Tournament for Gen Con XIII (1980).   The adventures were then published in 1980/1981.  I played it myself around 81 or 82.

Ask 10 gamers and you are likely to get 10 different opinions on these adventures.  I remember having a character die in it a trap in one of the various traps found in these.

So far my kids are doing well, but it has by no means been a cake walk for them.  We are down to the last adventure in the series.  I have to figure out if I want them to go through the first part without all their gear or not.   I get why it is there, but it isn't something I *need* to do with them right now.

Here are some other postings on this module. Always interesting to read what others have experienced.
http://www.metagamemastery.com/2011/09/26/annotated-a1-slave-pits-of-the-undercity/
http://www.thedelversdungeon.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=227
http://bloodofprokopius.blogspot.com/2012/02/re-imagining-slave-pits-of-undercity.html
http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/11/retrospective-slave-pits-of-undercity.html
http://bxblackrazor.blogspot.com/search/label/a1-4
http://dungeonfantastic.blogspot.com/2014/12/review-a1-4-scourge-of-slave-lords.html

And Peter's detail into each adventure.
http://dungeonfantastic.blogspot.com/2014/10/review-a1-slave-pits-of-undercity.html
http://dungeonfantastic.blogspot.com/2014/10/review-a2-secret-of-slavers-stockade.html
http://dungeonfantastic.blogspot.com/2014/10/review-a3-assault-on-aerie-of-slave.html
http://dungeonfantastic.blogspot.com/2014/11/review-a4-in-dungeons-of-slave-lords.html

The A series was also made part of the D&D 5 playtests, so it was possible to grab all the conversion needed.  So far playing this with D&D 5 in 2016 is just as fun as playing it with AD&D 1 in 1982.

Buy it at DriveThruRPG, A0-A4: Against the Slave Lords (1e).

Koliada, The Winter Witch for D&D BECMI

Yesterday I wrote about Koliada the Winter Witch for D&D 5th Edition.  While I really enjoyed how she worked out I could not help but think how she might fare under the 36 levels of the Basic-era D&D BECMI.

I felt from the start of D&D 4 that is shared certain characteristics with BECMI.  Both go to really high levels (30 for 4e and 36 for BECMI) and both have immortality as a possible option for characters at their highest levels.
Early on, and I am not sure if I posted this or not. I remarked on how 4e characters start out fairly powerful. I said, at the time, that really a 1st level 4e character is closer in power to a 5th or 6th level classic character.  I have been wanting to put that idea to use (and I'll talk about this next month in fact), but I thought I would give it a go here first.

In D&D4 Koliada is a 26th level character.  Let's work under the assumption that the translation for D&D4 to BECMI is to add four levels.  So Koliada would be a 30th level Basic/BECMI D&D character.  But what kind?
In 4e she is called a "Solo Skirmisher".  When I translated her to D&D5 I opted for a Warlock with the Magic Initiate feat to give her some Sorcerer spells too.  BECMI is not as flexible in terms of class customization.  Magic-User is a choice.  But, and this should be no surprise, I am opting for Witch as her character class.

My 5e conversion made it pretty obvious that she is a Fey Pact. In my Witch book this would translate as a Faerie Tradition.  Though I think there is now ample evidence to me that there must be something like a Winter Witch Tradition too.   Not ready to debut that just yet though.
Also, in complete dumb luck, a 30th level witch in my Basic Witch book has the level title of "Winter Court Witch".  Witch it is then!

Now I Would have LOVED to convert this for Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. After all what can be more Hyperborean than an evil winter witch?  But the level caps would not give me the conversion I wanted.  Sure I could do a 13th level Koliada, but that would not give me a decent basis of comparison.  So instead I am going with the D&D Rules Cyclopedia.
I also went to the 4e book, Player's Option: Heroes of the Feywild for ideas on their witches and on the Feywild.

Koliada, The Winter Witch
30th level Witch (Faerie Tradition)
Female, Chaotic

Strength 16
Intelligence 17
Wisdom 15
Dexterity 20
Constitution 19
Charisma 20

Saving Throws
Death Ray/Poison 3
Magic Wands 4
Paralysis, Polymorph 3
Dragon Breath 6
Rods, Staffs, Spells 5

Hit Points: 80
AC: -3
(leather armor +4, Ring of Protection +3, Dex 20 -4)

THAC0: 8
(I know, THAC0 was not used in Basic D&D. You know what this means)

Occult Powers
Familiar: Iceling*
(like a frozen sprite. From Dungeon 162)
Lesser: Speak to Animals (not plants as well)
Minor: Fae Shape
Medial: Curse
Major: Shape Change

Spells
Cantrips (6): Alarm Ward, Chill, Daze, Ghost Sound, Inflict Minor Wounds, Spark
1st (9+3): Bewitch I, Black Fire, Cause Fear, Charm Person, Chill Touch, Endure Elements, Fey Sight, Ghostly Slashing, Glamour, Light/Darkness, Minor Fighting Prowess, Silver Tongue
2nd (8+3): Bewitch II, Defoliate, Discord, Enthrall, Freezing Gaze, Ghost Touch, Hold Person, Invisibility, Phantasmal Spirit, Spell Missile, Whispering Wind
3rd (8+2): Arctic Grasp, Bestow Curse, Bewitch III, Dispel Magic, Feral Spirit, Improved Faerie Fire, Lifeblood, Spirit of Hyperborea (Spirit of Avalon), Toad Mind, Witch Wail
4th (7+2): Analyze Magic, Bewitch IV, Charm Monster, Elemental Armor (Ice), Fluid Mastery, Intangible Cloak of Shadows, Phantom Lacerations, Spiritual Dagger, Withering Touch
5th (7): Bewitch V, Blade Dance, Death Curse, Dreadful Bloodletting, Hold Monster, Nightmare, Waves of Fatigue
6th (7): Bewitch VI, Death Blade, Evaporate Fluids, Eye Bite, Mass Agony, Mislead, True Seeing
7th (6): Bewitch VII, Death Aura, Greater Arcane Eye, Greater Blindness, Insanity, Wave of Mutilation
8th (6): Bewitch VIII, Destroy Life, Greater Mislead, Mystic Barrier, Wail of the Banshee, Imprisonment (Ritual)

Note: Koliada's spells will manifest with some wintery, cold, or icy aspect.  So Black Fire is cold, Defoliate will cause a freezing wind to blow and kill plants, Elemental Armor will be ice and so on.

She has a lot more spells here than either the 5e or 4e version.  But both 4e and 5e have a number of "at will" powers or other powers/spells that can be regained.  BECMI characters have to wait till the next day for their spells to return.  So she also has some spells that have similar effects to other spells.

I also think I need a Winter Witch tradition and some more cold based spells.

Books used in the conversion process.

• Dungeon #162
• The Witch: A sourcebook for Basic Edition fantasy games
• Player's Option: Heroes of the Feywild
• D&D Rules Cyclopedia
• Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea

Koliada, The Winter Witch for D&D 5

Back in June of 2009 D&D 4th edition was still on the shelves and Dungeon #162 was available for download.  Inside was an Epic level adventure by Stephen Radney-MacFarland called "Winter of the Witch". It featured the machinations of the so-called Winter Witch, the minor Archfey Koliada and her plans to freeze the world.    From the adventure:

"In this epic adventure, the Winter Witch—a legendary archfey—has launched a campaign to send eternal winter cascading over large portions of the world. After a summons to Winterhaven, the characters find a land locked in ice, and an old ally in need of aid. A trek to find a artifact known as the Sun’s Sliver ensues, the only force potent enough to defeat the Winter Witch and banish her from the mortal world once more. An adventure for 22nd-level PCs."

While not totally an original plot, it was still fun, well executed and had a lot things going for it.  But mostly it had Koliada who grabbed my attention from the start.  It also started me thinking about witches of winter.  In particular, why are there so many. Louhi, Elsa and the Snow Queen), Jadis, all the Jadwiga winter witches from Pathfinder and so on.  Notably almost all of these are also royalty, if not outright queens.

This also got me thinking about the War of the Witch Queens campaign I want to do next.  So good job +Stephen Radney-MacFarland! Your character from 7 years ago has inspired me quite a lot.

Recently I have been thinking about D&D 4e conversions.  Both to 5e and to BECMI specifically.  5e, because it is the D&D of the day now and D&D 5 makes a lot of allusions to past versions.  For example the Prince of Frost, Koliada's father/brother/lover/patron appears both in the Dungeon #162 adventure and as a potential Warlock patron in D&D5.

For D&D 4 to 5 conversions (and I'll talk about BECMI ones later)  I opt not to use a 1 to 1 correspondence.  Instead, I convert on a 2/3's basis;  Take the D&D4 character and times it's level by 2/3rds.   WotC still has her stats up, she is a 26th level solo skirmisher.  A lot about her though says Warlock, in particular a fey-pact Warlock Hexblade from the 4e era.

Conversion in this case is going to be more concept driven than finding correspondences with powers.  In fact for a 26th level warlock she is missing a number of spells and powers.  To be fair, the adventure never says that is what she is; just my translation.

So in 5e terms what is she?  Well. I think I made a solid case for her to be a warlock. Her powers come from her patron, the Prince of Frost (Fey Patron). She has a magical sword she can summon (Pact of the Blade) and she has a number of ice based powers.  Now she could use some more oomph, she is the main antagonist afterall, so I buffed her up with some feats.  Let's have a look.
26th level in D&D4 translates, roughly to 17.3333 level, or 17th level in D&D5. She also has some really high ability scores too. I am scaling those back a bit as well.

Koliada, The Winter Witch
Warlock 17, Eladrin Female, CE
Background: Noble

Strength 16 (+3)
Dexterity 20 (+5)
Constitution 19 (+4)
Intelligence 17 (+3)
Wisdom 15 (+2)*
Charisma 20 (+5)*

Proficiency Bonus: +6
Proficient skills: Arcana, History, Intimidation, Persuasion
Saves: Wisdom, Charisma

AC: 24 (studded leather +4, Ring of Protection +3)
HP: 165 (HD d8)
Speed: 30'

Sword of Blackice, "Rimefang" +11, 2d8

Fey Patron Warlock, Pact of the Blade
Patron: Prince of Frost

Feats: Elemental Adept (cold), Magic Initiate (Sorcerer), Keen Mind, Spell Sniper

Powers: Fey Presence, Misty Step, Beguiling Defenses, Dark Delirium

Invocations: Agonizing Blast, Eldritch Sight, One with the Shadows, Thirsting Blade, Sign of Ill Omen, Lifedrinker, Witch Sight

Spells Known
Cantrips: Eldritch Blast, Chill Touch, Blade Ward, Mage Hand, Ray of Frost (MI), True Strike (MI), Ice Bolt (SS)
1st level: Faerie Fire, Sleep, Fog Cloud (MI)
2nd level: Calm Emotion, Phantasmal Force
3rd level: Blink, Fear
4th level: Dominate Beast, Greater Invisibility
5th level (current casting): Dominate Person, Hold Monster, Scrying, Seeming
6th level: Conjure Fey
7th level: Finger of Death
8th level: Power Word Stun
9th level: Power Word Kill

Languages: Common, Sylvan, Draconic, Primodial, Abyssal

All in all, a nice build.

I am ignoring her Unique Kill quality about only being killed via a bolt of sunlight from the artifact Sun's Sliver. 

Have to try her out now against my players!