In Search Of...Drelnza, Iggwilv's Treasure

Drelnza holding Daoud's Wondrous Lanthorn aloft.
Art by Jeff Easley, 2012.

My son is getting ready to run Module S4, The Lost Caverns of Tsojconth, one of my all-time favorite adventures. And as it turns out I recently re-acquired my original S4 from my old DM's collection. So I have that, the 5e version from Quests from the Infinite Staircase, the 3e extension, and other variants so I am well prepared to help him out.

Then he asked about Drelnza.

Of course I know who she is in the context of this adventure. I know who she is in relationship to Iggwilv, but beyond that...there is just not a lot about her. So I set out to discover more. Was she once a Lawful Good Paladin? Who was her father? How did she become a vampire? I might not be able to answer all these questions, but I will give them a try as I go In Search of Drelnza, Iggwilv's Treasure.

In Search Of...Drelnza, Iggwilv's Treasure

What can we say we know for certain?

Drelnza (sometimes Drelzna) is a vampire found in the spherical chamber guarding Iggwilv's stash of magical treasure. 

She is called "Iggwilv's Treasure" and is her daughter. Whether that is a biological daughter can be debated.

 She is a standard vampire in the original S4 for AD&D 1st Ed. In later editions, she gets a few upgrades, including fighter (or Samurai) levels and a really powerful sword (named "Heretic").

What is tantalizing about her is how little we really know. 

From reading the original Winter Con V version of the adventure, we do know that she was originally just a "vampiress lord" sleeping on a stone slab, a bit like Sleeping Beauty, and designed to catch the characters and players off guard. It is a ruse that is only likely to be used once and lampooned in the later Castle Greyhawk adventure "Temple of Really Bad Dead Things."

Outside of that, there is very, very little about her in the adventure itself. However, I have learned that on Oerth-Prime, she was killed by Melf.

Drelnza's Life and Unlife

Nearly nothing is known here. We have one tidbit of information, though. The warlock Mary Greymalkin is the daughter of Drelnza and an Eladrin. This makes Mary the grand-daughter of Iggwilv. Something I should explore more. 

According to the Dastardly Decimal System Podcast, Drelnza was a warrior Princess. I like the idea of her being something akin to Xena. 

In any case, she must have had Mary while she was young, which means she is not a very old vampire at all.

Who's Your Daddy?

Gary never confirmed, or even really knew, who Drelnza's father was. He firmly left that in the hands of the players to decide in their own games if they ever felt the need.  According to Dragon Magazine #336 (October 2005), Drelnza was born between 481 and 491 CY. But this seems really late into Iggwilv's rule of Perrenland and not long enough ago to be "centuries" since Iggwilv was last seen. Reminder the "current" year in Greyhawk is considered to be 591 CY.  

In the article "History Check: The Iggwilv-Graz’zt Affair" from Dragon #414 it is stated that her father is still unknown and she might be the only being in the multi-verse Iggwilv ever truly loved.  So I'd like to think she was born early enough in Tasha's/Iggwilv's life when she was still capable of loving someone. 

Let's say that Iggwilv conquers Perrenland with her undead army in 481 CY. She is a Queen, but she needs a general, and who better to be a general of her undead army than her own vampire daughter, who also happens to be an excellent fighter (or even paladin/anti-paladin). 

So, her exact date of birth is really in question (by me), but honestly, I would push it back to the 460s or even the 450s. This would give Drelnza time to grow into a woman, have her own child (Mary), and then get turned into a vampire, likely something caused by Iggwilv herself. 

As for her father, there are many interesting prospects here. Let's look at them one by one.

Graz'zt

He has been the father of Iuz since his time with Iggwilv, but it is almost universally agreed that he is not the father of Drelnza.

Mordenkainen

Now here is an interesting idea. I like the idea that Iggwilv, maybe when she was still known as Tasha, and Mordenkainen having an illicit affair resulting in a daughter. The basic trouble here is one of timing. Back when Iggwilv/Tasha was young she had not met Graz'zt yet and it widely held that Iuz is older than Drelnza. Unless Drelnza is older, but was turned into a vampire and the age refers to her "living" age. Still...the timing is not exactly right. 

Ok. So not Drelnza's father, but maybe there is another child out there where Mordy and Tasha are the parents. Maybe this is the origin of the "Son of Pohjola" who she gave birth to on an alternate Earth?

Orcus

This is who I went with when I created the Noidan Tytär, or the Daughters of Iggwilv. However, I think I will stick with this for Iggwilv's Nine Daughters. I feel less inclined these days to make Drelnza among their number. This means Noidan Tytär, Iuz, and Drelnza are all half-siblings.

Tsojcanth

We also don't have many details on who Tsojcanth was. The ever-helpful OSR Grimoire features a bit of an interview with Gary about Tsojcanth, stating he was a powerful wizard, and almost certainly Good and human. This contradicts what is presented in Iggwilv's Legacy: The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. I am more inclined to go with Gary's notion that Tsojcanth was human and good if not Lawful Good. The "fiend" Tsojcanth feels lazy and dull to me. Not to say he was not corrupted later on, but it still feels lazy. Plus it just means that Tsojcanth is the same as Iuz, only instead of Graz'zt and Iggwilv it is Fraz-Urb'luu and Vilhara. Even down to the imprisoning. No. We can do better. 

I am more likely to go with Tsojcanth dying and Fraz-Urb'luu pretending to be Tsojcanth turned evil.

So let's say Tsojcanth was a lawful good wizard. Iggwilv in her search for more power seduces and corrupts him (she is evil, after all) but there is an unexpected consequence; Drelnza. Drelnza becomes a fighter, no, a lawful good Paladin, until Iggwilv twists her into her "treasure" and makes her a chaotic evil Anti-Paladin Vampire.

I like it. It is evil, devious, and filled with tragedy. 

BUT the dates don't work here either since Tsojcanth was also supposed to have been dead for centuries. 

Lerrek

One last choice comes from The Oerth Journal. In Issue #13 Lerrek (and sometimes "Lerrik") is mentioned as the father of "Drelzna." According to author Andy Seale (aka Fallon, Ranger-Sage of the Vesve), Drelzna was born in 453 CY. 

Now this is from a fan publication, but the Oerth Journal has some weight behind it, and in the absence of other details we might as well use it. 

Given her two "birth" years, I am going to say she was born in 453 CY and turned into a vampire between 481 and 491 CY. That 453 CY works well with my own thoughts on when she should have been born. 

Ultimately, I guess it doesn't really matter who Drelnza's father was. The more important relationship is between her and her mother Iggwilv.

In the current state of things, Iggwilv is shedding her past to become the new Arch Fey Zybilna, and her alignment is drifting from Chaotic Evil to Chaotic Neutral. I guess we all slow down as we get older. While it is often stated that Iggwilv truly loved her daughter, I don't think there would really be a joyous family reunion even if Drelnza had somehow survived. 

Still. I would like to say she did somehow and is still out there somewhere in the Multi-verse. Is she searching for her mother? And if so what will happen if they meet up again after so many years apart?

Sounds like something I might want to run someday.

Links

• The Adventures
• S4: The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth (1e)
• WG4 The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun (1e)
• S4 Acaeum.com entries
• My previous posts
• Daughters of Iggwilv
• Adventures in Hyperborea
• Iggwilv tagged posts
• Quests from the Infinite Staircase
• Posts tagged "Iggwilv"
• Drelnza wiki entries
• at the Great Library of Greyhawk
• at the World of Greyhawk wiki
• Drelnza, the Vampiress Lord
• Drelnza, The False Disney Princess, Sarah Dark Magic
• Dastardly Decimal System, Episode 31: The Daughter of Tasha: DRELNZA
• Tsojcanth
• Iggwilv
• Forgotten Realms Wiki
• Iggwilv's Legacy: The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
• Canonfire discussion
• Dragonsfoot discussion
• OSR Grimoire
• WinterCon V: The Lost Caverns of Tsojconth
• Drelnza the Vampiress Lord
• Dragon #414: History Check: The Iggwilv-Graz’zt Affair
• Iggwilv's Treasure Miniature

Mail Call: Even More Mayhem from Dark Wizard Games

 Ok. I totally forgot I backed these. Two new adventures (#10 and #11) from Mark Taormino's Maximum Mayhem adventures from Dark Wizard Games.

Fantastic Quest of Whimsical One (#10) & Lost Tomb of Mummy Lich (#11) are his two newest adventures and they fit into that nice sweet spot that Old-School Essentials covers so well. Though Legend of the Seven Golden Demons (#9) goes to the 18th level.

I have been doing so much with Wasted Lands lately, maybe I could try these out with that system!

Regardless of the system I choose to use, I am running out of room in my box!

In Search Of...Bruno's Earth

 Who is Bruno? What is his Earth? Is there a Bruno's Mars? Why am I searching for it? These questions...are not likely to get fully answered, but I will give it a try in this segment of "In Search Of..."

So I found this curiosity on Amazon a while back. Two books, super cheap called "Bruno's Earth Game Book" and "Bruno's Earth Creature Manual."

Here is a quote from the Amazon page.

This is an expansion to the game that fills in the holes and gets rid of the obscure contradictory rules. It is more consitent and more detailed, yet easier to play. The games on the shelves these days are so complex and have so many volumes of rules, a dozen lawyers couldn't sort it out. Bruno's Earth goes back to the beginning and rebuilds from scratch, enhancing all aspects that make the game fun to play and fizes all the problems that made it hard to play. Bruno's Earth is a trim, detailed, cohesive game system that is fun to play and easy to learn.

I mean, this is no different than hundreds of forgotten Fantasy Heartbreakers out there. What makes this one special, or more to point, notorious? 

Here are some bold claims on the back covers.

The author is listed as "Jim Patrick Guyer."  Now there is Jim Patrick Guyer, who is an author and invented a game called Diamond Chess (old, inactive URL: http://diamondchess.net/) who passed away in 2021. I can't confim that this is the one and only Jim Patrick Guyer. Goodreads seems to think so, but that does not mean a lot.  He does have a hotmail email address, so that at least gives some evidence this is old. 

BrunosEarth.com listed in the Game Book was first indexed back in 2011. A coming soon page was up for a while, then it went blank.

A thread on ENWorld claims that it is from 1986. An ISBN search for Bruno's Earth Game Book does list Jan 14, 1986, as the publication date. This is likely for the 10-digit ISBN and not the newer 13-digit one.

An ISBN search for Bruno's Earth Creature Manual says it was registered in 2012. I am not sure why there is a 26-year gap when the books are obviously contemporaneous. Though that could just be in their current forms/format. Further searches only bring up the Amazon pages.

In truth, outside of the ISBN registration, I can't see much else for these books. 

There are no threads on RPG.net for it. Same with Dragonsfoot

I tried searching the Usenet, but all the search engines I used to use are behind paywalls now.

That is just the foundational searching. What about the books themselves?

Bruno's Earth

These books are the pretense of a game. Despite the author's claim these are not what AD&D Second Ed should have been. Not even close.

The game book is 136 pages, and the monster book is 92 pages.

Bruno's Earth Game Book

Ok, I really have no idea what this is about. 10 pages for a Table of Contents (that's about 8% of the whole book). I am not sure what bugs me more. The only original art (that I can tell) is bad, the ComicSans font, or the text on the page. 

What do I mean? Well out of the gate one of our player races is an Albino. Yikes. We also get Hobbits. So lets just get everyone to sue us all at once. 

Of note, the art here includes some gray-scale, descaled versions of D&D 3rd Edition art.  

Characters have 8 Ability scores, the normal 6 plus Memory and Comeliness, and are generated using 3d6, 3d20, and 4d24.  How?? Don't ask me.

I could go on, but reading the rules are giving me a headache. That or the ComicSans font.  I was hoping there were some ideas here I could mine, but no. Not really.

Brunos's Earth Creature Manual

Again, I do love monster books. But this one is testing my patience. 

The monsters are divided up into broad categories (Natural, Super-Natural, Elemental, Undead), then alphabetically. These are largely copied from the AD&D 1st Monster Manual, with some from theFiend Folio and Monster Manual II.  There are no demons or devils.

There are some new monsters. Skrags, a type of undead, some new dragons. There is one, an Orinthopter. It is listed with the Golems under Elementals. The image looks like a crudely drawn glider or kite. There needs to be a description on what this is supposed to be. Is it a construct? An object? It has a Wisdom score, so is it alive?

Look, I could keep on going, but I won't. The author is not around anymore and there is no need for me to be a dick here.

I am not sure how this thing got onto my radar but I have it and no idea what to do with it.

As I said before, it is notable due to its mystery, availability on Amazon, and the author. There might be a story here, but I need help to dig up. I have been researching this since December 2023 and working on this post since June 2024.

In this case, my deep dive gives us nothing.

#RPGaDAY2024 Superb Screen

 GM's Screens are tools and I usually don't think about them much.  But there is one that stands out. The AD&D Dungeon Master's Screen.

There are couple of good reasons for this.

First the screen was on very heavy cardstock so it was durable and stood well on it's onw. There were some very, very flimsy ones that came out in the 90s and even into the 2000s that really were not very good.

The second was it collected a lot of must have information in one place. AD&D 1st Edition is notoriously bad for how it organizes information. You can see this if you step away from the game for any length of time, but come on, we knew it back then too.  The DM's Screen puts most of the most needed information in one place.

There are also a lot of nostalgia reasons too.

--

I am participating in Dave Chapman's #RPGaDAY2024 for August. 

The High Witchcraft Tradition

I have been on a mini vacation to see my wife's family. They all moved down south. Personally, I dislike going south of Joliet, IL but that is me.  Anyway they are all huge card players staying up till the wee hours playing. That is cool, I got to watch the Olympics. You don't see me talking a lot about sports here though I am a life-long St. Louis Cardinals fan and a complete Olympics junkie. I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I love the Olympics.

With some projects done, and others on hold (Basic Bestiary. Waiting for more art), I started a new project over my extended weekend.

The High Witchcraft Tradition

Well..."new" might be the wrong word.  

I have a lot of notes from other projects that didn't quite fit or didn't get developed enough to get added. Plus this is a book I have been picking at for a while and have been calling my "Last Witch Book."  If it is that remains to be seen, but I do have some great ideas.

Here is the shape of the book so far.

High Magic

It will include the use of High Magic, so magic that invokes spirits, demons, angels and the like. I would also like to include High Magic options for Magic-users. A bit like my Hermetic Mage Prestige class I did for 3.x.

Advanced

This book will be my first "true" book for the Advanced era. So compatibility with OSRIC, Advanced Labyrinth Lord, and Old-School Essentials Advanced is implied. Originally this book was going to be part of my "Basic Witch" series and focus on how I mixed AD&D 1st ed with the Expert set back in the day. I still might do that. I have a lot of ideas for that sort of play, but this is not the book for that.

Plus I will freely admit I am not as enthusiastic for D&D's future as I once was. I will buy D&D 5R, I will even likely play it a few times. But as much as I love digital and online games, that is not my preferred mode. 

So instead of endlessly complaining about it, I am just going to focus my efforts into the types of games I DO enjoy playing. If you are looking for ragey click-bait, you won't find it here.

Best of the Old, Best of the New (Maybe)

I love my old-school games. I also am rather fond of new-school games as well. For me it has always been about maximum fun. So I would love to go back over some of the newer developments in games and see what can be ported back over. This one is not a guarantee. My focus first and foremost is a witch book from circa 1986.   

Cover Art

For this book I am going to commission some original cover art. I have already been sending out emails to artists I want to work with and ones I have worked with in the past for this. And as much as I love the Pre-Raphaelite covers I have used in the past, I have something specific in mind for this one.

Waterhouse's "The Magic Circle" above was one of the ideas I originally had. I am, of course, sad not to use it for this book, but I also want something new. 

I want this book to be really good. I want it to challenge my writing ability and game design ability. Plus I also want it to be able to cover any "so-called" witch written about in the "Advanced-era."  If someone else's book/game/adventure set in the same era with the same or similar rule system and they have a witch character, I want my rules to be flexible enough and comprehensive enough that you could play that character using my rules. Lofty? Maybe. Do able? Certainly.

Potential High Witches

• Iggwilv, The Witch Queen of Perrenland
• Rhiannon
• Skylla
• Syluné, Witch of Shadowdale and a ghost.
• The Simbul, the Witch-Queen of Aglarond.

I have been tossing this idea around for a few years now. I finally hit a critical mass of notes to make it a real book. For me as much as for you, here are my posts about it. 

Links to relevant posts

• The High Secret Order: The High Witchcraft Tradition
• Warlocks, Monsters, More Basic, and the LAST Witch Book
• Basic Bestiary and High Witchcraft
• Current Works In Progress: Basic Bestiary & High Witchcraft
• This Old Dragon: Issue #20
• This Old Dragon: Issue #114
• What Should an OSR Witch Do or Be?
• More thoughts on the Witch
• Which Witch is Which? Basic Era Edition
• Spell Research
• #RPGaDAY 2020: Day 11 Stack
• New Page: Appendix O and the Purpose of Research
• October Horror Movie Challenge: Witchcraft of the 70s
• "Excuse me, can you repeat that in Olde Arcane?"
• Prestige Class: Witch Priestess
• Prestige Class: Queen of Witches

Adventure Week: The Mosidian Temple

 Here is another one I have been waiting for for a bit. The Mosidian Temple is from David Flor of Darklight Interactive. With this you actually get three products. There is the The Mosidian Temple, OSRIC version, the "Developer's Cut", and the original 1983 version.

The Mosidian Temple

by David Flor, 50 pages, color covers, black & white interior art.  Art and maps from David Flor, Dean Spencer, and Dyson Logos.

So, there is a lot to love about this adventure. First, I LOVE that it is an update of something David wrote in 1983. I wish I had saved some of my adventures from then. 

• Regular & Developer Editions
• Original 1983 Edition

You don't need all three to run the adventures, but the original and the developer's cut are so much fun. 

The adventure is a dungeon crawl, pure and simple. Don't go looking for deep plots or characters; that is a "feature" and not a "bug."  There is a background here that is reminiscent of B1 In Search of the Unknown and T1 Villiage of Hommlet. An ancient temple, set up by some former adventurers, falls into ruins. A Macguffin hunt. Evil cults. There is nothing *new* here but that is fine, in fact that is great.  

Like all good adventures of the 1980s, this one features new monsters, new magic, and plenty of interesting locales. 

Monsters are given brief stats with notes to their page numbers in the Monster Manual. Not 100% sure that is fine with the OGL, but that is just me nickpicking. There are a LOT of monsters here too. This adventure will challenge the characters. It is listed for character levels 6 to 10, and I believe it. 

Half the fun of this adventure is reading the original version and the developer notes. 

The regular and developer editions are currently $5.99, and the Original 1983 edition is PWYW. So the price is quite good really.

How I Plan to Use This

Not quite sure just yet. It has a lot of potential but mostly it is just a fun adventure. No plot, no over arching narrative, just rolling dice like it is 1983. And honestly, what more do you need?

Adventure Week: The Temple of the Serpent Queen

 Today's adventure is the eagerly anticipated adventure from The Danger Forge. If you have been on Facebook in any of the old-school groups, you have seen postings from The Danger Forge. I don't know much about them personally, but they seem to have a genuine love for all sorts of old-school style play.  And it seems, they have done their homework.

TQ1: The Temple of the Serpent Queen

This is their first adventure and you can get four different versions of it. I bought all four because I wanted to see the differences and how much work they put into making them different for the specific rules.

All four are largely the same and have only minor differences based on their OSR rules set of choice. All four are available as PDF and POD options.

• The Temple of the Serpent Queen - OSRIC
• The Temple of the Serpent Queen - Swords & Wizardry
• The Temple of the Serpent Queen - Advanced Labyrinth Lord
• The Temple of the Serpent Queen - Old School Essentials

It doesn't really matter which one you grab. Get the one for the rule system you are most comfortable with. 

While this is a great way to give people what they want, it also splits their sales among four different titles, making it harder for them to get a "Best Seller" medal. However, it will tell them which ruleset sells better for them.  

I am going to review all four as one. 

This adventure centers around the reawakening of Khaliassa, the ancient Serpent Queen of lost Samarra. She is a compelling NPC/Foe so building the adventure around was a good start.

The adventure is 56 pages with maps (in proper Old-School blue), License declarations, and covers. The covers are full color, and the interior art is black & white. Designed for 4 to 6 characters of 5th to 7th level.

The adventure is divided into four chapters, roughly a chapter for each major location. There is some background, largely background on Khaliassa and her realm. Other than that, this adventure can be dropped into just about any campaign that has a rainforest-like environment. 

This adventure also includes plenty of new monsters, new magic, some NPCs to add to the adventure, and pre-generated characters.

The adventure itself is a simple affair. Someone has awakened an angry demi-goddess, and now she wants to rise to power again. There is even a neat little mechanic for much more powerful she gets as time goes on.

This one hits all the nostalgia buttons. 

The art is good, but the layout and presentation are excellent. The Danger Forge knows when to invoke nostalgia and when not to be a slave to it. 

Khaliassa reminds me of Shahmaran from Turkish myth, and I think I see some subtle hints that this is what The Danger Forge was going for, albeit an evil version. 

The adventure is fun and can be run in a couple of longer sessions, to be honest. If this is their first then The Danger Forge is off to a great start.

How I Plan to Use This

I have to admit when I first saw I thought I might be able to slot it in as a potential adventure for War of the Witch Queens, but the more I read it I had other ideas.

Deserts of Desolation & Death

My Deserts of Desolation & Death, the second act of the Second Campaign, is one I have been thinking about a lot lately. This would fit in perfectly between I1 Dwellers of the Forbidden City and I3 Pharaoh. Maybe as a companion adventure to I2 Tomb of the Lizard King. I can see the Lizard King and the Serpent Queen in a centuries long war. 

Considering how I am converting my "Second Campaign" over to Castles & Crusades, this would fit in just fine.

Now. Do I print it out to put in my Second Campaign binder, or do I buy a POD?

Kickstart Your Weekend: Fantastic Quest of Whimsical One & Lost Tomb of Mummy Lich

 More Maximum Mayhem adventures from Dark Wizard Games!

Fantastic Quest of Whimsical One & Lost Tomb of Mummy Lich

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/marktaormino/mmd-10-fantastic-quest-and-mmd-11-lost-tomb?ref=theotherside

I mean by now you should know what these are all about.

The Fantastic Quest of Whimsical One features art from Erol Otus, so that is a nice added feature. 

Both of these fit well with my idea of a long campaign for B/X or OSE. And they look like a lot of fun!

No 5e versions this time around though.

Mail Call: More Mayhem from Dark Wizard Games

 Nice little surprise in the mail today.  Two new adventures from Mark Taormino's Maximum Mayhem adventures from Dark Wizard Games.

Again there are 5e versions (for my kids) and classic OSR versions for me.

The OSR maps are in classic blue and the 5e are in full color.

Legend of the Seven Golden Demons is his highest-level adventure to date at levels 14-18.  This will stretch my ability to use these for OSE-Advanced, but I am sure I can do it.

Slime Pits of the Sewer Witch is a low-level mini-adventure that honestly looks like a lot of fun. Normally I would put this one in with the others in my Maximum Mayhem box to run as a gonzo campaign. But my box is getting full, and I can add it to my War of the Witch Queens adventures instead. 

 Right now I have WAY too many adventures to run, so I should maybe be more selective on what I get.

Mail Call: D&D History and Adventures

 It's Tuesday, and that means mail around here. It also means UPS, which delivers late in my neighborhood. It is also the release date of Wizards of the Coast's new 50th anniversary book.

The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons, 1970-1977 is a really great book. I can't wait to get into it more.

Original Character sheet.

I also spent some cash on a bunch of AD&D 2nd Edition Forgotten Realms adventures and sourcebooks.

I'll get to each one in turn. Looking forward to using these in my AD&D 2nd Ed game. This will be a lot of fun.

Reviews: The Villains and Heroes of the Forgotten Realms

 Getting back to my Realms reviews I am still in that strange liminal times of 1988-1989 when both AD&D 1st Edition and 2nd Edition were still being supported. I have two books today from the "FR" series that ride that line. 

Both books have very similar trade dress, if not identical. I am reviewing the PoD and PDFs from DriveThruRPG. 

FR6 Dreams of the Red Wizards (1e)

By Steve Perrin (1988)
64 pages. Full-color covers and maps, monochrome interior.

Even with my comparative lack of Realms knowledge I knew about the Red Wizards of Thay. I guess I didn't realize how quickly they had been introduced as the big bads. 

This book reminds me a lot of the old D&D BECMI Gazeteer series in that we we get some history and geography of the lands with some NPCs.

The book teases that it is compatible with the BATTLESYSTEM  rules, but you have to build all of those armies on your own. Too bad, I wanted to do a big battle with the armies of the undead from Thay. Though I still might do that.

The Introduction tells us what this book is about and who and what the Red Wizards of Thay are.

History of Thay. This section gives us a brief overview of Thay's foundation. There is a brief timeline, but it works well here. Some of this information is also found in the later Spellbound boxed set, but that is a way off yet. 

We cover the People and Society of Thay next. Perrin does give us a good explanation of how a whole country can, in fact, be evil, from the Zulkirs to the middle class to the masses of slaves. Honestly, the place sounds like a powder keg waiting to explode, and it is the will and fear of the Zulkirs that keeps everything in check.

Geography of Thay is next and it is good read, though I think it could have been combined with the History of Thay chapter since much of Thay's history has been shaped by its neighbors. This is also a good chapter for me, the newbie, to have a map handy.  I think I am going to need a big wall map of the Forgotten Realms like I do for Victorian London. 

We get get two chapters that cover the Current Economy and Politics of Thay, respectively. This includes a helpful glossary and a player's guide to Thay.

Magic in Thay, as expected, is one of the larger sections. It has what seems to be a Realms staple; lots of new spells. 

Religions in Thay, is actually an interesting chapter. The Red Wizards themselves seem to be areligious, but not atheists. They acknowledge the gods and do their best not to piss them off. I imagine there are big "media circuses" for when a Zulkir visits a local temple to Mystra for example. 

This has given me an idea. So, according to this book, the slaves of Thay mostly worship Ilmater, who we know from Ed Greenwood's "Down to Earth Divinity," that Ilmater is derived from Issek of the Jug. What if there were some events like "Lean Times in Lankhmar" where Ilmater, via a new follower, took on a role like that Fafhrd did for Issek, but instead of a religious conversion/resurgence, it became the basis for a full-scale slave revolt. Now that is a BATTLESYSTEM game I'd enjoy running. 

Personalities of Thay cover the expected cast of neer-do-wells. OF note here The Simbul does not have a personal name here, yet.

Adventures in Thay give the reader some ideas of things to do in and around Thay. But let us be honest. It is an evil filled with Nazi-like evil wizards who keep slaves. The ideas abound already. 

FR7 Hall of Heroes (1e/2e)

Many authors (1989)
128 pages. Full-color covers, monochrome interior.

This book looks like a 2nd Ed book on the cover, but 1st Ed inside. 

This is a "robust" rogues gallery of early Realms characters, and frankly, I am happy to have it since so many of these names are new to me. The stats are an odd mix of AD&D 2nd Ed and 1st Ed, but mostly 1st Edition. So yeah, there are Neutral Good Druids and lots of classes from Unearthed Arcana and Oriental Adventures. 

It also has something that is not entirely a Realms-specific problem, but one I associated most often with the Realms. There are lot of characters here that straight up break the AD&D rules. Yes I get that some (many) are here because of the Forgotten Realms novels. So people like Shandril Shessair is a "Spellfire Wielder," and Dragonbait is a Lizardfolk Paladin. This used to bother me. Not anymore. I am more irritated by the fact that most of the women NPCs all have Charisma 16 or 17 (11 out of 15). Where are my hags? 

There are some personal spells and again The Simbul makes an appearance sans proper name. 

Still, this is a good resource for me to have. I like to have it on hand as I am going through other books to double-check who I am reading about. 

The POD versions are nice. The text has a bit of fuzziness, but far less than other PODs I have seen. They are not perfect for, say, collectors but perfect for what I need them for, and that is used at my game table. 

New Release: Myths & Monsters Vol. 2 - The Avenging Angels

 My next Myths & Monsters series is out.  Vol. 2 - The Avenging Angels covers the Dirae, the Erinyes and the Eumenides for your Advanced era games.

Myths & Monsters Vol. 2 - The Avenging Angels

 

“Who, if I cried out, would hear me among the angels' hierarchies? and even if one of them pressed me against his heart: I would be consumed in that overwhelming existence.

For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror, which we still are just able to endure, and we are so awed because it serenely disdains to annihilate us.

Every angel is terrifying.”

- Rainer Maria Rilke

This is the next of a series of myths and legends that began as a thought experiment about gods, monsters, and syncretism of beliefs. 

These aim to provide your Advanced-era game with new gods and goddesses, as well as new monsters, demons, and other adversaries. 

Myths & Monsters Vol. 2 - The Avenging Angels covers the various myths of the Dirae, the Eumenides, the Erinyes, and the goddesses Rhamnusia, Nemesis, and Invidia. Most importantly, how I take those myths and make them work with the devils now known as the Erinyes.

I also have a few holy orders for the various goddesses and devils and plenty of new spells. 

This volume also features the art of Dean Spencer. I wanted one to have full-color art. 

Larina Nix for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Dragon #114 version)

 I meant to do this one earlier, but I got busy writing something else. Honestly, I am a little surprised I haven't done this before now.

"Larina" by Djinn and "Spirit of the Night" by David Martin

Larina Nix

I first rolled Larina up in July of 1986. At first, she was a "magic-user," and I would play her like a witch. She had a few adventures that year, but that was also when my then DM was heading out of town, and I was getting ready for my senior year at high school. 

Then Dragon Magazine #114 came out in October. 

I read it all over and wondered how I should convert her. The answer became obvious to me right away. She was a witch, only pretending to be a wizard so she could go to Glantri's School of Magic. I kept her magic-user levels and then went on to advance her as a Dragon #114 witch. In the game, I said she ran out of money to keep going, so instead, she got a job at the library in hopes of paying her tuition. 

I updated her sheet and declared her birthday was October 25, but she tells everyone it is October 31st.

As the game progressed, she became less the magical powerhouse I envisioned and became more the group's sage, occult expert, and polyglot. So when it came time to level her up, I took the spells that gave her more social and mental power/aspects. If the choice was to take a power/spell/magic item that gave a blasty power OR say, learn a new language, then I always took the language.  This was also the origin of the "From the Journals of Larina Nix." 

I kept playing her over the years. In college, I kept notes on her and how she played, including her witch spells and powers vs. her magic-user/wizard ones.  I combined these notes with notes I had started back in 1983 on a witch class, and eventually, they became my first Witch class. Since she was so focal in those experiments, I also re-did her as one of my new witches and featured her in a bit of fiction when she was six years old and discovering that she was a witch.

But in the meantime, here is Larina circa 1987-88.

Larina by Gabe Fua

Larina Nix
10th level witch / 1st level Magic-user (Dual classed)

Strength: 9
Dexterity: 12
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 18 
Wisdom: 18
Charisma: 18
Comeliness: 21

Hit Points:  
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
AC: 2 (Bracers of Protection AC 2)

Saving Throws (base)

Paralyze/Poison: 10

Petrify/Polymorph: 13

Rod, Staff, or Wand: 14

Breath Weapon: 16

Spells: 15

Languages: Common, Alignment, Drow, Undercommon, Elf, Infernal, Dragon

Powers
1st level: none
2nd level: none
3rd level: Brew poisons & narcotics
4th level: Brew truth drug
5th level: Brew love potion
6th level: Manufacture potions & scrolls
7th level: Candle magic

9th Level: Use all-magical items

10th Level: Aquire Familiar (cat, Cotton)

Spells 
First: (5+3+1) Charm Man I, Cure Wounds, Darkness, Give Wounds, Light, Magic Disk, Mending, Read Languages, Sleep (MU)
Second: (5+1) Bless, ESP, Identify, Locate Object, Seduction II, Speak with Animals

Third: (4+1) Calm, Clairvoyance, Lightning bolt, Phantasmal force, Remove Curse

Fourth: (3+1) Cure Serious Wounds, Infravision, Levitate, Shock

Fifth: (1) Oracle

HSO: (1) Prismatic Spray

Magic Items
Dagger +2, Staff of Enchantment, Broom of Flying, Crystal ball w/ ESP.

Review: Return to the World of Maximum Mayhem

 I have a slight sidestep today. I have been playing around with something for a bit. You all know I am a fan of Mark Taormino's Maximum Mayhem adventures from Dark Wizard Games. I have been getting his latest in both the 1st Ed and 5th Ed versions, one for me and one for my kids. I have also mentioned that while they are designed overtly for "First Edition Rules" or what I call "The Advanced Era" the adventures top off at the 14th level, making them compatible "in spirit" with my beloved B/X rules.

The obvious solution to this was to run some sort of mutant B/X-Advanced hybrid. The ruleset that won out was Old School Essentials-Advanced Fantasy Edition. While there are some bumps, it is a surprisingly good fit. To be honest, I would love to test out OSE-Advanced vs. 1st Edition vs. OSRIC and see how they all fare with the same sort of character. I have not done this, nor do I think I will. I think that the differences would be so minor as to be unnoticeable in actual play. 

But I do have the characters. 

A while back, I introduced a lovely druid couple, Maryah and Asabalom. They were OSE characters from the very start. They have connections to previous characters of mine, but nothing major. I see Asabalom as the grandson (or maybe great-grandson) of my "Beastmaster" character, Absom Sark. Because of this, I am fudging things a little and giving him the ability to wild shape into a wolf at the 4th level. He just doesn't have the control a 7th-level druid does. Right now, he can only shift into a wolf. 

For a variety of reasons that are too minor on their own but added up, these two characters are my natives of Mark's Maximum Mayhem world. One that uses OSE-AE. They are the ones I am taking through these adventures, and their son, Áedán Aamadu, will go through the 5e versions. 

The biggest issue has been finding the time to do these. With his new Kickstarter now live, I figured I needed to get caught up. 

So. I will review these, knowing I really can't go through them anymore. Sorry, Mad Master! I am reviewing these in "campaign order" and not in release order.

Maximum Mayhem Dungeons #0: Village on the Borderlands

by Mark Taormino, 64 pages. For levels 1-3. Art by Justin Davis, Jacob Blackmon, Carlos Castilho, Daniel Commerci, Jeff Dee, Felipe Faria, Mark Lyons, William McAusland, Brian McCranie, Matt Morrow and JE Shields. (How's that for a who's-who among OSR artists?)

First Edition PDF (DriveThruRPG). First Edition PDF and Print Dark Wizard Games Store.

Fifth Edition PDF (DriveThruRPG). Fifth Edition PDF and Print Dark Wizard Games Store. 

The first edition has "blue" maps, and the fifth edition has full-color maps.

A lot of us freely mixed Basic D&D and Advanced D&D back in the early 80s. It was not uncommon then to find groups that had gone through B2 Keep on the Borderlands and T1 The Village of Hommlet. Mark knows this, and this adventure is a nod and homage to that experience.  This is also Mark's biggest adventure to date.

While this could have come off as pastiche or, even worse, a bunch of hamfisted clichés, instead it is a nod and even an homage to not just how much fun those old adventures were, but also to the experiences we all had. Don't get me wrong, there is a great a adventure here; but if you were playing the Keep or the Village or Giants series back in the early 1980s then this will hit differently. 

The is best described as "what if the Village of Hommlet was set outside the Cave of Chaos and not the Keep?"  You have a local village in need of help. There are roving bands of ogres and weird fungi and skeletons. Whats a local farmer to do? Easy, call upon some brave, and expendable, adventurers for help. 

There are some hooks for the adventure but for me they are unneeded. THOUGH I will add that the whole Valley of the Moon was a great hook for me. Not just because the name is similar enough to where my characters Maryah and Asabalom were from, but it is nothing if not a nod to one of my earliest crushes, Moon Unit Zappa. 

We have all sorts of classic monsters, rumor tables, nods to (in)famous NPCs, tarot readings, standing stones, name puns, an inn to meet in, places to buy equipment and weapons. 

The Inn of the Whistling Pig is wonderfully detailed and loaded with all sorts of characters. In fact, while reading, I half expected to see stand-ins for Duchess and Candella. 

I said, "Caves of Chaos," but there are only a few caves where a lot of the "out of town" action takes place, and that is plenty. The Hill Giant cave is the first. There is also the Forest of Fallen Oaks, the Ruins of Sternholm Keep, and the Caverns of the Wicked Peaks.

A great non-linear adventure where the party can start at the Inn and head out in any direction to find adventure. They can come back, heal up, spend their loot and go back out, OR keep going. That last one is not advisable as everything here has a good reason to see the PCs dead. 

There are hooks here to other Maximum Mayhem adventures, too.

The plot and organization of the first and fifth editions are the same. The Fifth edition version features color maps.  

Maximum Mayhem Dungeons Mini Adventure #1: Shadow of the Necromancer

by Mark Taormino, 16 pages. For levels 1-3. Art by Phred Rawles, Chet Minton, Adam Black, Brian Brinlee, Carlos Castilho, Bradley McDevitt, and Phred Rawles.

First Edition PDF (DriveThruRPG). First Edition PDF and Print Dark Wizard Games Store.

Fifth Edition PDF (DriveThruRPG). Fifth Edition PDF and Print Dark Wizard Games Store. 

The first edition has "blue" maps, and the fifth edition has full-color maps.

This is a mini adventure, and the first one Mark has done. Much like his Vampire Queen adventure I have used a figure called "The Necromancer" in my own games. Get out of my head Mark!!

These are designed to be played in one or two sessions. We managed to get through it in three short sessions. It has a great "Hammer Horror" vibe to it, and honestly, I rather love it.

The adventure comes with a map, in beautiful old-school blue for the 1st ed version and full color for the 5th edition version. The module is 16 pages (one page for title and credits, one page for OGL , and one-page blank).  The adventure is a simple "strange things are going on! The PCs must investigate!" situation. It turns into "stop the minion of the Necromancer from finishing his evil plans." It's tried and true, and it works fine here.  As with many of the Darl Wizard/Maximum Mayhem Dungeons, the adventure is a deadly affair. Not as deadly as the Hanging Coffins of the Vampire Queen, but it is not a walk in the graveyard either. It is a fun romp and really captures the feel of old-school playing. Both versions are great, and I can keep the 1st-ed version for myself and give the 5th-ed version to my kids to run.

Exactly what you want in an adventure. Despite the size and scope Mark gives this one the same love and attention he does to all his larger adventures.

The plot and organization of the first and fifth editions are the same. The Fifth edition version features color maps.  

Maximum Mayhem Dungeons #7: Dread Swamp of the Banshee

by Mark Taormino and Alan Chamberlain, 48 pages. For levels 4-8. Art by Jacob Blackmon, Brian Brinlee, Ed Lacabanne, Mark Lyons, Brian McCranie, Matthew Ray, and Phil Stone.

First Edition PDF (DriveThruRPG). First Edition PDF and Print Dark Wizard Games Store.

A noblewoman has returned to her family estate and finds it has been taken over by a swamp. Worse, there is an evil banshee stalking the lands. But what is the noblewoman hiding?

This adventure is for characters of 4th to 8th level. But I will say this. 4th and 5th level characters are going to die. This is not a meat-grinder like Hanging Coffins, but it is deadly. There is a mystery here too so, so it is not all fireballs and swordplay. But there is a lot of that too.

Like the adventures of old, there are also new monsters here. Mark always adds a little something like that. I also get the vibe that Mark and Alan were reading a lot of B3 Palace of the Silver Princess. Not for the plot but just the feeling. It works here to be honest. 

In the series, I would run this one after Vault of the Dwarven King and have the characters between the 5th and 8th levels. Not that Vault is easier, just not as deadly as this one. 

Maximum Mayhem Dungeons #6: Moving Maze of the Mad Master

by Alan Chamberlain, 40 pages. For levels 6-10. Art by Jacob Blackmon, Alan Chamberlain, Ed Lacabanne, Mark Lyons, Brian McCranie, and Phil Stone.

First Edition PDF (DriveThruRPG). First Edition PDF and Print Dark Wizard Games Store.

This one is by Alan Chamberlain, who was also on The Dread Swamp of the Banshee and Vault of the Dwarven King. So the feel is right. In fact, until Mark kickstarted his Maximum Mayhem #8: Funhouse Dungeon of the Puppet Jester, THIS was the funhouse dungeon. 

The premise is simple but very effective. A bunch of metal monsters are attacking small towns and villages, and the PCs decide to help. What we get is an honest-to-Gary, Mad Scientist building all sorts of clockwork and autonomous horrors. To get to him, you need to get through his maze of deadly traps and clockwork terrors. 

If the other adventure is a meat grinder, then this one is a food processor. It's brutal, but of course, the fun is just as great.

You could get this one for the circular maze map and all the stats of the clockwork creatures alone (6) for a total of 11 new monsters. 

It's insane, really.

I am not sure any character can survive this campaign.

Don't forget Mark has two more of these adventures on Kickstarter now: Legend of Seven Golden Demons & Slime Pits of Sewer Witch both for 1st Edition and 5th Edition rules.