A4- In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords – Old School AD&D Thoughts and a Review

NOTE: Way back in 2011 I reviewed the entire Slavers series on Dragonsfoot. As I now improve my blog, I'm moving all my content from around the web to here. This is the second review in the A Series for AD&D.

A4 - In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords
By Lawrence Schick
An adventure for characters levels 4-7

Closing out the A-series is A4- In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords, written by Lawrence Schick. Like its predecessor, it comes in at 28 pages and sports a fantastic cover by Erol Otis.

Like the previous three modules, A4 is written by yet another author. Looking through the credits for the entire series, you see many of the same names, but everyone seems to have traded roles from one module to the next. Coupled with the fact that these adventures all began life as tournament modules, it helps explain why the series sometimes feels less cohesive than it could have been. That is not to say I enjoy it any less, but I do think it accounts for some of the inconsistencies.

After harrying the Slave Lords' operations throughout A1, A2, and A3, the player characters finally reach the moment of truth. Or rather, that moment has already passed. Stripped of their equipment, deprived of most of their spells, and dumped into the Slave Lords' dungeon, they now have to survive with little more than their wits. Even today that is a memorable opening. At the time, it had to be one of the most original adventure hooks TSR had published. The only comparable shock opener that comes to mind is Vecna Lives!

So there you are. No weapons. No armor. No light. Nothing except a spell scroll that you cannot immediately use because you cannot even read it.

Schick does a good job explaining how to run this unusual situation and how the lack of equipment should affect the players. Mapping becomes almost impossible, which fortunately is not a major issue since the dungeon itself is fairly compact. Because the module predates the Survival Guides and nonweapon proficiencies, some of the mechanics require a bit of hand waving. Running it with later AD&D rules smooths over a few rough edges, but also makes parts of the escape a little easier than originally intended.

Fortunately, the dungeon is littered with odds and ends that resourceful players can turn into makeshift equipment. Rusty daggers, bone clubs, and other scraps are hardly impressive, but they are better than bare hands.

The darkness itself creates an interesting challenge for the Dungeon Master. Without being able to rely on the players seeing a map, the DM has to carefully describe every turn, intersection, and direction of travel. It demands more attention than a typical dungeon.

One part I have never bought, however, is the explanation regarding infravision. According to the text, every part of the dungeon and every inhabitant is effectively the same temperature.

Riiiiight....

The dungeon inhabitants are varied enough to keep things interesting. There is a struggling kobold tribe, an unusually weak will-o-wisp, giant crayfish, giant crabs, cave fishers, and a peaceful colony of myconids who seem content to sit around singing "Kumbayah" in their fungus forest.

The kobolds deserve special mention. They are not much of a threat, but they add something often missing from early TSR dungeons, namely a sense of ecology. They have clearly been driven deeper underground and are slowly dying out, making the dungeon feel like a living place rather than simply a collection of monsters waiting in rooms.

Exactly which route the party takes through the dungeon depends largely on how they solve a handful of obstacles.

Area 19 is probably the easiest escape route, although getting there requires crossing the infamous twenty-foot chasm in Area 18. Players can either attempt a dangerous climb two hundred feet down and back up again or, as my group did years ago, steal the bridge from Area 8 after dealing with the giant ants.

Area 21 is probably the next best option, though the cave fishers make escaping that way a nerve-racking proposition. Three cave fishers firing at lightly equipped characters is no joke.

Area 10 is probably the hardest route since it requires an underwater swim. If memory serves, the expanded map in A1-4: Scourge of the Slave Lords makes this section much easier to understand.

Regardless of which exit the players choose, they emerge onto the island about halfway between the volcano and the docks. The underwater route places them closest to the harbor if they follow the shoreline.

Once outside, most groups will naturally head for the docks.

If they escaped through Area 19, they will almost certainly encounter the looters marked as Area D on the island map. Those uniforms can prove surprisingly useful later, at least they certainly did when my group played through the adventure years ago.

Running into the giant goats could be entertaining. The fire lizard is considerably less so. As for the giant snapping turtle in Area B, I would rather admire it from a distance than experience its 3 to 18 point bite firsthand.

Notes

For my money, A4 has the best artwork in the entire series, with only A3 coming close. The combination of Erol Otis and Jim Roslof is pure old-school TSR gold.

Being a lifelong James Bond fan, I also cannot help thinking this entire setup violates the Evil Overlord List. If you really want to eliminate your enemies, there are much faster and more efficient ways than stripping them naked and tossing them into a dungeon full of monsters.

One oddity I noticed concerns the dungeon map. Two locations are marked "See Detail Map," but unless my secondhand copy is missing a page, those detail maps simply do not exist. It is hardly a major issue, but it is another small inconsistency. EDIT: I believe there is errata for it somewhere or it was fixed in the Super Module A1-4.

Strengths

The adventure's greatest strength is its premise. Taking everything away from the players forces them to rely on ingenuity rather than equipment. Even experienced groups suddenly become cautious because every rusty dagger suddenly matters.

Another overlooked strength is the Slave Lords themselves. Between A3 and A4, we are introduced to a full roster of memorable villains. More importantly, the series provides enough background material to use the Slave Lords as recurring campaign antagonists rather than one-shot villains.

Suderham also deserves another mention. Despite my criticisms of A3, I still think it has the potential to become an outstanding campaign city. In fact, I have seriously considered making it the centerpiece of a future Castles & Crusades campaign, albeit with a larger map.

Among the dungeon encounters, my favorites are Areas 17 and 21. Any module featuring a roper immediately earns points from me, and placing one at the junction of two tunnels creates an excellent choke point. The Cave of Bats is another standout encounter, helped considerably by the fantastic illustration on page one.

My favorite section of the module, however, comes after the dungeon.

Suderham in flames!

The real magic begins once the volcano erupts and the island descends into complete chaos. Lava, poison gas, magmen, terrified refugees, and panicked mobs all combine to create a wonderfully desperate atmosphere. The docks, in particular, capture the feeling perfectly. Looking over the illustrations while reading those pages gives a genuine sense that everything is collapsing around the players.

The Water Dragon is another excellent touch. The surviving Slave Lords are wounded, hurriedly preparing to flee, and trying to salvage what remains of their operation. It feels desperate, chaotic, and entirely believable.

One amusing thought always crosses my mind, though.

The players finally reclaim their equipment, defeat the Slave Lords, seize the galley, and celebrate their escape.

Then the Dungeon Master asks one simple question.

"So...uhhhh...who knows how to sail a galley?"

Cue the sound of crickets...

Weaknesses

The biggest weakness is also one inherited from A3.

For the adventure to function exactly as written, the entire party must be captured at the end of A3. I have never been particularly fond of the explanation that Mordrammo conveniently resurrects dead player characters simply so the adventure can continue. Personally, I would rather introduce replacement characters in the dungeon itself than rely on that amount of narrative hand waving.

Then there is the back cover.

What on earth is that vampire doing there?

I have read this module numerous times and still cannot connect that illustration to anything inside. Since it is by Bill Willingham, I am willing to forgive it, but it remains a mystery.

And while we are discussing the cover...

Pink?

Really?

The largest issue, however, is the inconsistency between A3 and A4 regarding the Slave Lords themselves.

In A3, we are presented with five Slave Lords while repeatedly being told Suderham is the City of the Nine.

Fast forward to A4, where we are informed that six Slave Lords survived the earthquake.

Unless my math has gotten considerably worse over the years, five plus six equals eleven.

So what happened?

Did the Slave Lords practice hot-bunking like sailors? Did some have to stand during meetings because there were only nine thrones? Were there emergency promotions after the events of A3?

More likely, it was simply an editing oversight.

It is hardly a deal breaker, but once you notice it, you cannot help smiling every time you reread the series.

Closing Thoughts

As written, A4 is an excellent adventure built around one of the most original premises TSR ever produced. By taking away the party's equipment, the module forces players to rely on their own ingenuity instead of simply reaching for another magic item.

Once they finally escape the dungeon, the adventure never really lets up. The race across an island collapsing into volcanic chaos provides a fitting conclusion to the series and keeps the pressure on right to the end.

My only real reservation lies in the transition from A3 into A4, which requires a fair amount of Dungeon Master intervention for the setup to work smoothly.

Even so, I highly recommend A4.

Run your players through it. If they are willing to embrace the challenge rather than complain about losing their equipment, they are likely to remember it for years.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on it.

NOTE: the original review on Dragonsfoot can be found here. 

A3- Aerie of the Slave Lords – Old School AD&D Thoughts and a Review

NOTE: Way back in 2011 I reviewed the entire Slavers series on Dragonsfoot. As I now improve my blog, I'm moving all my content from around the web to here. This is the second review in the A Series for AD&D.

A3- Aerie of the Slave Lords 

By Allen Hammack
An adventure for characters levels 4-7

Ahhhh, A3, the penultimate module of the A series and perhaps the most mixed bag of the lot...

Before I get into this one, people should be aware that none of this is to be taken personally. This is a review. I’d still play or DM A3, it’s just that as written it’s a bit weak and certainly the weakest of the four in the series, in this writer’s estimation.

At 28 pages, A3 is the same page length as A4. But in a lot of ways this one seems, to quote Bilbo Baggins, a bit "thin, like butter scraped across too much bread", sparse if you will. I think the nature of these being tournament modules that were later fleshed out, combined with the Spartan-like nature of this one, creates a bit of a conundrum.

Having assaulted the Slavers’ operations in A1 and one of their way points in A2, the PCs are now on their way to the abode of the Slave Lords themselves, the City of the Nine, Suderham. See my notes on this in my review of A4.

Having been suitably directed from A2, the PCs find themselves in the badlands of the Pomarj near a peak in the Drachengrab Hills. Before them are four narrow caves to enter, and from there they enter a maze?

To me, the cave map in A3 is the clearest indication that this is a tournament module. It’s not bad, it’s simply showing its roots. The explanation of Mad King Olarek using this maze for his political prisoners? Ok, I guess...

Anyway, diving in we get some gnolls, which is nice if for no other reason than a change of pace from orcs in the previous modules. After that it’s a piercer cavern, which at 4 to 24 points of damage is enough to ruin anyone’s day, especially in a tournament.

More gnolls and hyena-dons feasting follow...

Next up is the first real gotcha moment of the module: Room A5. Now the trap is not that devious per se and can be partially circumvented. It’s more a case that there is no way around it. Some would say, "Well duh." That’s not my point. My point is that if you use the NPCs from the tournament as a guide, no one is going to have a fly spell. So swim through they go, taking 1 to 4 points of damage from exertion? Ummm, ok.

The thing that makes the room cool is the quirky Sword of Lyons.

I’ll skip the Stroper, as there are plenty of other monsters to bag on in 1st Edition. These merely get a "meh" from me.

Last but not least, the big bad at the end of the maze is... Wimpell Frump?

You’d think that these ace Slave Lords would have someone more accomplished covering their secret escape route, or at least someone with a better name. Also, it’s apparent from the layout of the dungeon that the illusionist spends all of his time hanging out here, as he has no means for a kitchen, bedroom, or even a garterlobe. Perhaps some illusions to cover that one corner take care of that?

I’m sure some will start gushing because he’s an illusionist and illusionists are uber-cool, you see. Um, yeah, next.

From here we get to the next part, Part B, the City itself. This is accomplished via a long tunnel leading to Scum Slum, the outskirts of Suderham.

And being (stop me if you've heard me say this): it’s a tournament module, the rush is to get to Part C. This is a shame really, as I, like a lot of people, would want more meat on the bone regarding Suderham. The intro and flavor text paragraph is cool and evocative, bringing to mind the description of the Drow city in D3.

Right off the bat the train tracks become apparent. Some old geezer waddles up to the PCs and basically gives them their first clue without doing anything. Again, in a tournament setting this makes sense. It’s important information, a bit cryptic, but smart players will figure it out easily.

It’s also a bit too easy for my tastes unless you’re in a tournament setting. As a campaign, I’d be tempted to have the PCs explore the city and give them enough rope...

Given that the PCs arrive at night, large swathes of the city are closed up while the nightlife is bustling. This is again a construct of the tournament structure. The goal in the tournament was to make it through this section in three hours. Obviously, as a DM, this will require a lot of going it alone for a campaign.

As noted, the nightlife is hopping in Suderham, although why go out when you could be dude pimping it on page 14!

In any event, almost all searching is eventually going to funnel the PCs to B13 and finding the way in through there. A longer campaign might allow for B68.

The inns, bars, taverns, etc. are all filled, as are the Houses of Ill Repute. Imagine the snickering of my 8-year-old self at those when I first read them!

Most players are going to start trolling these for additional information. Another point is that with the city being in "night mode," some PCs might try for mischief right off the bat. Let them. It will bring their attention to the Slavers that much sooner, like if they poke their heads into the Assassins Guild at B18.

Assuming they finally figure things out, there are two ways into the Catacombs in Part C: one by following the clues at B13, and one by chance at B68. It doesn’t really matter, as they both spill into area C1 below.

From there they encounter a Flesh Golem with some extra umph. Assuming they get through him, next up is a mimic, some traps, a Minotaur, obviously a transplant from the maze in Part A, a Gelatinous Cube, Shambling Mound, snakes, and then the Slavers themselves.

Putting that 18/56 strength to use!

Notes

Errr, the Jeff Dee art! Interestingly, I do like the Dee cover.

I mentioned in my A4 review that A3 has the second-best art overall. That’s because there is more Erol Otus and Bill Willingham stuff in it, which me likes. "Ogre" punching Feetla’s shield is kick ass!

I like the location of the city to a degree: on a large lake, on an island, with a volcano. Cool. Can’t imagine what’s going to go wrong with an extinct volcano in the not-too-distant future, however.

If you are into old-school sparseness, it doesn’t get much more sparse than this, maybe except for a Marine barber shop on Paris Island.

The city is numbered with only the barest of descriptions and the like. Want proof? The city is covered in seven pages of text. That has to be some kind of record.

These are assigned A1 to A4, but why? Shouldn’t they have C designations?

Strengths

Our first real look at high-level NPC baddies is the best part of module A3. The five presented are rather iconic and make for great recurring villains.

Suderham, if expanded on, makes for a great city in the scummy sort of way. Who wants cities of shining white and paladins? Not me. Give me gritty and sleazy any day of the week. There is much more to do and explore.

By and large the art is good and fits the piece well. Of particular note is Bill Willingham’s Stroper and the Arabian-attired dude with the harem girls. Otus’ weird-looking gate guards are way cool as well and depict the vertical nature of the walls looming before the PCs.

A one-of-a-kind weapon: in our heart of hearts, us geeks love the basic snippets of stuff in modules like the "legendary" Sword of Lyons. Why is it legendary? That’s for an individual DM to decide.

Weaknesses

The maze at the start.

I noted some points above, but let’s just say it works for a tournament module but not much else. The map is a one-way maze and all that entails. As a player it would most likely annoy. As a DM it could possibly bore you. Your mileage may vary.

The whole island, city, and slums are cramped. Some might like it, but we are talking about city walls that enclose an area of 400 by 400 feet. If I were running this, I’d redraw the map, at least in terms of scale, to make it, as Hannibal Lecter would say, "roomier."

The general layout of the island I have no problem with, nor the crater lake. I simply think the distances are too small. But where am I getting this from, I hear you ask?

Look at the scale on the map on page 28, then compare it to the inside cover map and its scale for the city: 600 feet by 600 feet. In any event, it’s too small for my taste, and the scale seems out of whack. At 600 by 600 yards it’s a bit better, but still not perfect.

Another thing that bothers me is the inconsistency with the city itself. Since the focus is not on the city and it merely serves as a vehicle to gather clues to get to Part C, why are they going into detail about some buildings?

By this I mean consider B16, the Assassins Guild. Is it important to know the membership fees for the guild? In a tournament, no. In a campaign, yes.

This could be a construct of trying to make the modules more user-friendly for a campaign. It’s just that I have a hard time believing these details were in the tournament module, mainly because they would serve no purpose there.

The nature of just who knows what in the city is another issue. Take the bartender at the Sign of the White Knight. Again, we get cryptic responses and no straight answers. I get it supposed to be mysterious but even for the time it falls flat.

Or the Maps and Charts library: "Where those that bear us reside." Ok, first thought, couldn’t that mean females since they bear children? Of course horse makes sense, but this could be confusing, to say the least.

That damned Flesh Golem at C1. You’d think an outfit swimming in loot from all the slave dealings would have more than a measly Flesh Golem with pimped-out iron add-ons. C’mon, Stone Golem here at least!

I’m not buying the pseudo-Iron Golem shtick as a player. Because if it were true, I’d either run if I could or say to hell with it, as I probably don’t have anything that could dent it.

Going hand in hand with this is the ecology of the dungeon, either one. Part A is better, mind you, but Part C? Ugh.

S4 is the poster child for this, but I might be tempted to rank A3 right up there with it. There are a bunch of critters who have to eat, but the straightforward, no-deviation-allowed dungeon design makes it rather implausible.

I know it sounds like a broken record, but once again tournament design is rearing its head.

As with the other modules in the A series, the rewards are few and far between. This is truly the case here, as both "dungeons" have some tough foes for the levels of the party, but little to show for it.

This can be hand-waved by saying why would the Slavers leave such things around? You’d be right in saying that, and I’d agree with that point. The problem is the players might not be happy with the rewards considering the risk.

Closing

In closing, I think A3 has the most problems out of all of them and is the most apparent as a tournament module. In order for it to be more workable, a lot of it has to be redone.

Likewise, people have been arguing over its ending probably since it came out as a published module. As a result, we are not going to end the debate here, that’s for sure.

The capture of PCs intact and not dead is one of the most difficult tasks ever without it being seen as contrived. A far better solution is that if a few PCs die, allow new ones in the dungeons of A4. It’s rather easy to do. Just roll them up and don’t worry about gear.

You’ll note that the strengths section is a bit lacking. That’s not to say that I don’t like this module, far from it. Rather, it’s a case of what I noted several times: sparse.

Seven pages, nearly one quarter taken up by the city, which if used as written the PCs breeze through. That is going to impact the quality, and it does.

The first dungeon is lackluster, and the later one is a bit improbable.

Obviously, I’d use A3 as a starting point and flesh it out from there. There are enough pieces here, in conjunction with A4, for high-level baddies for years to come.

After all, the Slaver operations aren’t just one temple in Highport and one Stockade on the way to Suderham. In fact, you could treat them like trying to grasp Jell-O. The harder you squeeze, the more mess ends up on the floor and the less you have in your fingers.

The Slavers should be used as a great source of material rather than just monsters. That is, at least, my take on it.

Despite its flaws have you played A3?

Dungeon Magazine #70- The Kingdom of the Ghouls – Old School AD&D Thoughts and a Review

Dungeon Magazine #70 - The Kingdom of the Ghouls
by Woflgang Bauer
An adventure for 5-8 PCs, levels 9-15

From pages 48 to 74 of Issue #70 of Dungeon Magazine is one of the finest adventures written for second edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. The adventure itself is a long one, epic in scale and covers quite a bit of ground. Seriously, this one is probably one of the best that 2nd edition has to offer; much like my review of Iron Orb of the Druegar I feel confident ranking it up there with the best of 1st edition as well. I cant state this enough, this thing is awesome: undead, ghouls [true ghouls at that), cloakers, svirfneblin, driders, undead beholders, deep dragons, and more! All the creatures you would want placed in a underground adventure are there. 

On top of all of this, it has some new antagonists that make things quite interesting. So, tired of dealing with drow being over used? In step the ghouls.

While set in Greyhawk, it can easily be transported to any campaign world will minimal fuss and if you are like me these things are a god send in these days of little time to prepare for gaming. 

The Kingdom of the Ghouls centers around mysterious goings on with the Underdark on Oerth (Greyhawk) in the areas of the Yeomanry. I like this you could plunk down the seminal G1-3 for further use, giving the DM plenty of high-level choices to offer his group. It also has its roots back to 1st edition via Yeenoghu (The Demon Lord of Gnolls) in the Monster Manual: "As this demon prince also receives  homage from the King of the Ghouls..." So there you go, one brief passage from the previous edition and BAM! an adventure takes form...

The start of the adventure is the fact that various deep dwelling races are being displaced by some unknown force and the PCs are invited to investigate the matter. Very early on it becomes apparent that all is not right and the PCs become embroiled in the conflict below. Where the PCs get involved is gnomes requesting aide, sounds easy enough...

There are a few paths that the PCs can take and without spoiling it, I will only allude to them. With a big underground space to travel the PCs can and will encounter the evidence of the ghouls depredations. The Ruins of Glimmerfell, the Ghostwood, and the Ruins of Angrimm being very nice touches that add to the overall feel of the module. I particularly like the Ghostwood with the drow banshee. 

Each of these are designed to propel the PCs further towards the ghoul menace and deeper into the adventure. In addition to gathering treasure the PCs (smart ones) also have the opportunity to be able to recruit more forces for their assault.

The module culminates at the Ghoul City of Kilenor along the massive cloaker rift. Its situated in a very defensible position with access being tough to negotiate. A group that attempts a frontal assault with sufficient planning and troops (see "Army of Hope" (see below) is going to get mauled. The only other option I can see is trying to sneak in and using powerful magic to mask the attempt.

Strengths
The Lovecraft quotes and the illustrations definitely lend a very creepy feel to the whole work. The tone of the writing carries this as well. The maps and the illustrations dovetail nicely and the maps are well done themselves leading to no confusion on the part of the DM. 

As noted right in the beginning there are plenty of adventures from Dungeon that can be tied into this as as well: Shards of Day (Issue #60), Swing Shot! (Issue #66) and Uzaglu of the Underdark (issue #67). A few more come to mind that I can thing of: Chasm Bridge (From Dragon Magazine #131- A special insert) and perhaps even as part of the Night Below campaign boxed set. In short, there are plenty ways this can be used and plenty of material to tie it into. One in particular is Khazefryn from Dungeon #81 the last 2nd Edition issue of Dungeon. This could very well be adapted to be part of this adventure. 

Another thing I like about this module is the fact that the ghouls are a force to be reckoned with; which is not what one would expect, especially at higher levels as a PC. They are presented as sweeping aside the other (presumably powerful) underground races. 

Another strong-point is the fact is there are a lot of side adventures or call them scenes perhaps, tied into the adventure with their own story that are open ended. Should the PCs emerge victorious these areas can be used as part of an ongoing underground campaign for follow up. 

I like the fact that the King of the Ghouls need not stand and fight unless he wants to. There are some mechanisms to facilitate escape and should the DM want it he can become a reoccurring foe for down the road.  

The true ghouls themselves- They have a nice host of abilities to cause the PCs trouble. Normally, high level clerics will easily turn ghouls or destroy them outright and depending on the level of the cleric in questions this still may be the case. However, the sheer volume of the ghouls means that the cleric can’t hope to turn them all. I liken it to say "Dawn of the Dead" (2004 version) there are simply too many of them. 

Treasure is in line with what one would expect for an adventure of this magnitude as are the XP awards. The PCs can accumulate a fair amount of loot, but a enterprising Dungeon Master can have fun with that. Or if you are like me as a player use it! Give it to henchmen and the like.

Oh yeah, having a Nodwick cartoon for it at the end is always welcome!

Weaknesses
The start of the adventure is the standard "the local lord approaches with a mission" in this case a gnome. While not bad, it is a bit overused. It does not have to be used as is or perhaps the DM could invent other ways to motivate the PCs. In any event a minor quibble. 

The Army of Hope mechanism. I’m of two minds on this: one it hearkens back to -War Machine in the BECMI days which is cool. The flip of this is takes away something of the story. Another possibility to combat this is to use Battlesystem or Battlesystem Skirmish for 2nd edition to balance this out. Being a war-gamer I’d go for Battlesystem. For those DMs/groups who are not, then use the Army of Hope as it works to keep the PCs the central focus while the army action takes place as a background event as it were. 

Another problem is that assault or infiltrating Blackgate Palace could be an issue even without fighting everything the PCs come across. The reason is that in city filled with ghouls and other denizens; the likelihood of retreating to rest and regain spells is going to be minimal at best. So if the group gets into even minor scrap its going to find it difficult to complete their mission. 

Closing
In closing if you are looking for a high level adventure for your group then go no further then this. I have yet to use it, as my current crop of PCs are rising in level this one is becoming closer and closer. 

So for those that have this adventure or better yet have played it, what are your thoughts?

NOTE: the original review appears here at dragonsfoot.org 

A2- Secret of the Slaves Stockade – Old School AD&D Thoughts and a Review

NOTE: Way back in 2011 I reviewed the entire Slavers series on Dragonsfoot. As I now improve my blog, I'm moving all my content from around the web to here. This is the second review in the A Series for AD&D.

A2 Secret of the Slavers Stockade
By Harold Johnson with Tom Moldvay
An adventure for characters levels 4-7

A2 is part of the much-loved A-series and is written by Harold Johnson with Tom Moldvay. The last page notes “Special thanks to Tom Moldvay, without whom this module would not have been finished.” One wonders what production headaches led to that line. My guess? It ran into serious issues before it went to print aka deadline crunch.

At 40 pages this one is a bit bigger than the rest of the series, and it just might be my favorite of the lot. Along with A1, A2 represents some of my first forays into AD&D — and it’s personal. I still have the character I adventured with back then: a ranger named Leif Garwind. (We were studying Vikings in school at the time, so sue me.)

Let’s start with the outside: Roslof cover art? Check. That gold-ish tone instead of A4’s unfortunate pink? Check. Erol Otus cloaker on the back cover that actually makes sense? Check. With the presentation and the maps inside, we’re off to a strong start.

The PCs arrive outside the fortress thanks to the hook from A1 - Slave Pits of the Undercity. Getting in is no easy matter. There’s essentially one main entrance staring you in the face (barring the obscure Area 39 route). The gate guards are nothing special, but the anhkheg at Area 5 combined with guards on the walls and flaming oil from Area 6 is a recipe for a very quick TPK aka ("Total Party Kill). As a Dungeon Master I love anhkhegs for item saving throws and general chaos, but this opening gauntlet is brutal.

Assuming your party survives the meat grinder (or sneaks in another way), the rest of the compound opens up, though it’s rarely easy. Area 13 can mean instant capture if you’re not careful. Area 19 has that classic old-school wackiness (supernatural events that are actually ruses), which I enjoy in principle but felt a bit forced here. The cloaker at Area 25 is legitimately cool and can absolutely ruin a party’s day.

The half-orcs, hobgoblins, and slave-taking flavor build a nasty little ecosystem. Then you hit the real bosses: the Executioner (Area 32), Icar the blind fire-loving swordsman (Area 5), and especially Markessa in her laboratory (Area 22). Markessa is properly unhinged — chaotic evil experiments on slaves to create the “perfect” servant. The fight there, with its owl bears and body horror, still stands out.

Below ground the slave pens and caves add another layer. The varied prisoners (including potential future allies) give the module real campaign depth. The whole place just feels lived-in and nasty in a way that rewards multiple reads.

Notes

• Less Jeff Dee is generally better, though I do like his Icar piece. His stuff works for other games, less so for fantasy in my opinion.
• Otus and the other interior art  (minimal as it is) still carries the module.
• The maps are some of the best fortress layouts in early AD&D. They are clean and clear and are believable for the environment.

Strengths 

One of the greatest strengths of A2 is the detail of the maps. If you’re like me, A2 represented one of the best early examples of a fully realized castle/fortress in published AD&D. It was fascinating to my eight-year-old self; back when my friends and I were figuring the game out with no one teaching us. The map is dense, with lots of ground to cover and a believable, lived-in feel. The crumbling, partially repaired construction of the fort adds atmosphere, and little touches like the madman playing mind games with the hobgoblins (climbing around in areas 16a-f) give the place real personality. 

This is the module that feels the most like a real, functioning evil outpost. The NPC leaders have personality (especially crazy Markessa and fireproof Icar). The mix of monsters, traps, and role-play opportunities is strong. It oozes atmosphere and has that slight Warhammer-adjacent grimness I loved even back then.

An overlooked part of A2 in my opinion is that it introduces a number of iconic AD&D monsters: boogle (obviously an homage to Gollum), cloakers, phantoms, and haunts. This wasn't suprising for early TSR modules: new monsters and magic items were par for the course.

Weaknesses A frontal assault is borderline suicidal for a typical 4-7th level party. The defenders are well-positioned, and reinforcements or alarms can snowball fast. Some of the traps and set pieces (the swinging chandelier, for example) feel a bit contrived. Loot is better than A1- Slave Pits of the Undercity, but still modest for the risk unless you’re running the whole series.

Closing A2 isn’t perfect, but it’s the strongest of the A-series for me. It has the best mix of atmosphere, memorable villains, and that lived-in slaver-fortress vibe. If your party is smart (or lucky), it becomes a nasty, rewarding crawl. If they’re not…well, bring spare characters.

The original review can be found here on Dragonsfoot.

Have you run or played A2? Did the fortress assault go as badly as I suspect it often did? Let me know in the comments.

The Greatest Warriors of the Westeros- #5 Daemon I Blackfyre, The Black Dragon

Daemon Blackfyre by Amok ©

 

Back in 2011 I originally created a Top 10 list of the Greatest Warriors of the Westeros. What began as a Top 10 expanded to a full 20 in light of the additional material and perspective we gained rom new books and sources. Because of that, certain characters did not appear in the list and are now added to the overall Top 20. 

Also note that because of the tie at #3 with Jaime Lannister and Barristan Selmy, there is no number 4 on the list.

The overall Top 20 Greatest Warriors of the Westeros can be found here. 

#5- Daemon I Blackfyre, The Black Dragon

Daemon Blackfyre is one of the most fascinating warriors in all of A Song of Ice and Fire. He could have been written as a one-dimensional villain or usurper. Instead, George R. R. Martin presents him as a figure whose martial excellence is respected by friend and foe alike.

His parentage is not surprising for a Targaryen, and it all starts with is mother Daena Targaryen. Before we get to his father, its important to discuss Daena's first husband, her brother Baelor the Blessed. Its enough to know that their marriage was never consummated due to Baelor's piety, despite being married for a number of years. She eventually escaped the Maidenvault where Baelor had kept her.

Art by Marc Simonetti ©

Now enter Daemon's father who was Daena's cousin ending up becoming Aegon IV "The Unworthy", the most monstrous and cruel King to ever sit on the Iron Throne. His vices and gluttony were legendary in the annals of the Seven Kingdoms. No woman high or low could slake appetites. 

It would be the legitimizing and knighting of Daemon by his father (plus gifting him Blackfyre) over his own true born son Daeron that would set the stage for much misery to come in the form of the Blackfyre Rebellions.

In due time his elder half-brother Daerin II ascended to the throne.. right after Aegon IV legimized all his bastards on his death bed. Dropping the name Rivers, Daemon took Blackfyre as the name of his house. For time the peace held.

The 1st Blackfyre rebellion did not come immediately but when it did it was a year of violence culminating with the Battle of the Redgrass Field. Daemon fought Ser Gwayne Corbray of the Kingsgaurd in a masterful duel and eventually defeated him only to be undone by a storm of arrows  at the behest of Brynden Rivers, The Blood Raven. 

The Blackfyres vs the Targaryens  by Gary Gianni ©

Character

Unlike many legendary figures from Westerosi history, Daemon's reputation is particularly compelling because it survived despite the politics of the Blackfyre Rebellion. He was the losing claimant, the rebel whose descendants would wage generations of failed wars against the Iron Throne, though none as successfully as the first. If anything, history had every reason to diminish his accomplishments. Instead, he is consistently remembered as handsome, charismatic, courageous, and one of the greatest warriors of his age.

Daemon was more than a gifted swordsman. He was a battlefield commander who inspired fierce loyalty from some of the finest knights in the realm. Wielding the Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre, he embodied the image of the ideal warrior-king, and his personal magnetism was a major reason so many rallied to his cause. Its remarked that he is "The Warrior himself" upon the battlefield.

Martin also uses Daemon as one of his favorite literary devices: contrast. The son of arguably the worst Targaryen king became one of the greatest warriors in Westerosi history. His cause ultimately failed, but his reputation as a fighter endured. That says as much about the man as it does about the legends surrounding him. History is written by the winners its said, but in this case even though he lost he has near universal acclaim a century later.

As a leader of men he is also universally praised through history and thus gains additional standing in this list because of it. 

Verdict

Had Daemon been born legitimate, he might have made a great king. He had all the hallmarks for it. The smallfolk and highborn alike remarked that he looked and acted like a king, that he was everything a king should be.

But alas, his mother’s schemes to become pregnant derailed that. And if we look at it honestly, the fault can be laid at the feet of Baelor the Blessed driving her into the arms of her cousin, Aegon. Had he not, it’s interesting to ponder how much bloodshed and misery might have been avoided. In a way this parallels the choice Rhaegar made when he passed over his own wife to crown Lyanna Stark the Queen of Love and Beauty at the Tourney of Harrenhal a century later as told through the thoughts of Ser Barristan.

The major repercussions of that tourney would have huge consequences. And so it would be that the decisions of Baelor the Blessed outlived him.

 

Judge's Guild - Deluxe Collectors Edition Volume I

 

Talk about a post lingering in a draft state, that would be this one...

I got my copy of Judge's Guild - Deluxe Collectors Edition Volume I in late spring 2018, but I didn't fully "receive it" till Christmas. And in true fashion of the delay surrounding the book, I just finally got around to blogging about it… in 2026.

That alone probably tells you something.

I’ve got some conflicted feelings here, and they didn’t start with the book itself. For years, I’ve listened to grognards go on....and on....endlessly about the supposed glory days of Judges Guild. About how their products were "the greatest thing ever!"

You know the type. Everything modern is garbage, everything old is genius, and if you don’t agree, you “just don’t get it.” Normally, I tune that kind of noise out completely. But this time? The sheer, relentless insistence got through. Not in a convincing way, but in a “fine, I’ll see it for myself” kind of way.

And that’s the key point here: I didn’t come to this book fresh. I came to it carrying years of secondhand hype, contrarian instinct, and probably a bit of irritation. That matters.

So when I finally cracked open the tome, I wasn’t looking for validation, I was looking for clarity not someone else's, my own.

First impressions: the layout is exactly what you’d expect from a “best of” compilation. Because let’s not kid ourselves, that’s what this is. It’s a curated slice of early material, framed with just enough historical context to give it weight. The opening section does a solid job walking through the early history of Judges Guild, grounding the reader in that late-70s moment when tabletop RPGs were less an industry and more a frontier.

And that’s really the lens you have to use here: frontier.

Once you move past the intro, you hit the actual content: the early modules, the raw material. And this is where things get interesting. Not because it’s polished. Not because it’s elegant. But because it isn’t.

This stuff is rough. Not “bad” rough, but unfiltered rough. You can feel that these were written at a time when nobody had figured out what a module “should” look like yet. There’s a looseness to the structure, an almost improvisational quality. Organization can be spotty. Key information isn’t always where you expect it. Some encounters feel like they were dropped in because they seemed cool at the time, not because they serve a larger design.

And yet…

There’s a kind of energy here that’s hard to ignore.

You start to see what the grognards are actually responding to: not the execution, but the possibility. These modules don’t hold your hand. They don’t try to balance every encounter or script every outcome. They assume a Dungeon Master who is willing, expected, even to fill in gaps, make rulings, and shape the experience at the table.

It’s less a finished product and more a toolkit. Or maybe more accurately, a box of parts.

That’s both its greatest strength and its biggest weakness.

If you come to this expecting modern standards: tight layout, clear encounter design, balanced progression, you’re going to bounce off hard. There’s no way around that. But if you approach it as a snapshot of the hobby in its formative years, it becomes something else entirely. Not better, necessarily, but more revealing.

And this is where I land, at least for now:

The book didn’t convert me into a Judges Guild evangelist. Not even close. But it did cut through the noise. It stripped away the myth and replaced it with something more useful: a direct look at what these products actually were.

Not sacred texts. Not forgotten masterpieces.

Just early work. Messy, ambitious, uneven…and occasionally, genuinely interesting.

And honestly? That’s probably more valuable than the hype ever was.

A end note, if you've never seen this thing in person? its a beast of a book, 18x13x1 1/2 inches. Not sure of the weight but if swung as a weapon it could certainly do some damage, maybe a footman's mace, 1d6+1 vs Small/Medium, 1d6 vs Large.

Warhammer - A Mighty Fortress...Sort Of...

It is important to first note that this is not that Mighty Fortress.

In fact this castle came about from missing out on that terrain piece back in the day and even recently on eBay... at least at a price that I'm willing to pay.

This Empire style castle originally started out as my attempt at recreating Castle Wittgenstein from Death on the Reik. In the end life got in the way and it wasn’t really going to be practical for anything other than playing the module. I got as far as the part which would become the gatehouse seen above, which corresponds to The Guard Tower (areas 28-29 / page 70 of the module).

While I did not finish the entire castle, I did set aside the work I had done, not knowing what I might use it for in the future. Seasoned terrain makers know this: never throw anything away. You never know when it might be needed.

It is also important to point out the timeline for this particular castle. I built it in January 2025 but have not blogged about it till now. After utilizing the same construction methods for the Guard Tower for T1- The Village of Hommlet I decided to go back and chronicle this one too.

In a way it was an idea to create an iconic castle from the RPG world in the same vein as the Moathouse from the fame of T1 - The Village of Hommlet that has come full circle. From the first attempt at Castle Wittgenstein inspired by the Moathouse to this to the Guard Tower in T1. As the band said, what a long strange trip it has been.

Materials List

• Cardboard
• Posterboard
• Crescent board (it is thicker than poster board)
• Balsa wood
• Thin card (from cereal boxes and cracker boxes)
• Foamcore (this is critical for keeping the weight down; used in the towers and walls)
• Popsicle sticks
• Toothpicks
• Finishing nails (rivets for the gates) 
• 1/2 gallon milk containers (towers) 
• White glue
• Super glue
• X-Acto knife
• Single hole puncher
• Saw tooth pattern scissors
• Coping saw

That’s it. it really doesn't take much more than that to create terrain pieces.

 

Finishing the Gatehouse 

When I did pick this back up the main task of the gatehouse was the upper wooden structure itself. I decided to make it removable and with vertical wooden walls inside and out. The six windows per side were an easy matter of cutting square toothpicks.

Gatehouse under construction

While the removable roof was a long process I actually enjoyed it. The roofing is standard and I have done it numerous times on terrain pieces. The only difference here was the angle. Simply cut some thin cardboard, overlap and glue. When I got to the inside roof however? For some strange reason I used Popsicle sticks and balsa wood to finish it off fully. While it will never really come into play during a game it does have the added benefit of having made the roof very strong and square.

The doors to the gatehouse were a bit of trouble as I bought some small metal hinges to make them swing open. The trouble from this arose in the fact that I had not initially intended for them to swing open. Rather they were going to be a solid static piece that would be removed for access. I wonder if that would have been the better route to go but on any event I made it work.

A special note is the jagged tooth scissors I had worked wonders for the patterns on the front gate. It was a simple matter of cutting them out of poster board and stacking several layers and later painting a rusty metallic color.

Construction

With the gatehouse roughly complete I was able to create the walls and towers easier. In a single night I was able to cut and assemble the foamcore basis of the walls and line up the four 1/2 gallon milk cartons that would become the towers.

Rounding to form

From there I figured out a way to make the battlements easier. Being that the walls were straight I simply made two posterboard templates. One was slightly taller than the other allowing for the angling of each battlement "tooth" echoing the Mighty Fortress kit. The key lesson was to only lightly score the bottom portion of each space between each tooth. This had the practical effect of making sure that each battlement section was a uniform width. From there it was a simple matter of placing the taller template in the back and the slightly shorter one towards the front edge of the wall with a slight overhang.

The overhang was needed for the machicolations which turned out to be easy to do. I simply measured
the length of the wall section in question, cut a piece of crescent board, and then used the single hole puncher being mindful of the spacing. Glued at an angle and done. I repeated this for the other three walls and two small wall sections near the gate.

One thing I wanted to do to add distinction to the towers was create a pronounced arrow loop on each external facing. These proved to be surprisingly easy to do and in the end added a lot of character.

Once the walls were complete I pondered just how to construct the walls themselves to look like stone. As a test I mixed up some concrete with a lot of glue. The results were less than impressive. The mixture did not adhere well and fortunately did not damage the walls. Even before I attempted this I knew I was going to have to cut and glue everything stone wise. I was simply looking for alternatives to the monotony of cutting and gluing.

WIP after the walls completed

About a week later I had barreled through the task of adding "stone" to the walls and towers. From there I tested the fit of each wall section and how they lined up before creating the balsa wood doors on each tower and double checked they lined up again.

Painting

After the failed attempt at the concrete mix I was a bit more alert on painting the castle proper. To start I used one of the smaller wall sections that flanked the guardhouse as a test. By this I mean I dry brushed it in succession: dark gray, medium gray and very lightly white. From there I did another dry brush of a very light mid orange and then washed it with watery black.

Once I had it down the next step was to repeat it on the walls and towers and add grass and rocks to the base of the walls.

In my opinion the color scheme works. I was surprised it was the light orange dry brush that pulled it together to echo field stone rather than plain solid gray. Too much gray makes a castle look fake and uninteresting. By doing it this way it pops more.

Taking Stock and Lessons Learned

Overall this was the fourth castle/fortress/tower I have built from nothing more than the material list above. In each case I learned something new and fair number of ways to not construct things.

The tally of castles, fortresses, and towers stands as follows:

• A castle for Warhammer Siege for my buddies back in our high school days. It is long since lost in various moves from the house I grew up in. I built this one around 1990/91. It was all one unit and not modular. From its bulky nature I learned not to do that again...
• A watch tower I made from a 1/4 milk carton (still have that one), circa 2001.
• The Nippon castle  for my Nippon army in 3rd Edition Warhammer. As documented on the blog from 2012 to finally finishing it in 2020. This is modular for the walls but the central keep is not.
• A Dark Ages fortress that started simply from me noodling around whittling sticks. Finished in 2021.
• In 2024 the simple Watch Tower from page 43 of the How to Make Wargames Terrain book from Games Workshop.
• The Guard Tower  at Area #31 in T1 - The Village of Hommlet, July 2026.

Through all these I have learned three simple lessons: make it modular, keep it light and keep the materials list simple. And again I can’t stress it enough: make it light.

Final Thoughts 

All in all the project came out well considering its stop and start beginnings as an entirely different terrain piece. One of the things I am most happy about is how everything fits together well due to making it modular from the start. That and the fact the long straight wall sections are also useful for role playing games like AD&D.

The color of the whole thing was a surprise but a pleasant one. If it is a bit on the orange side in the photos that is OK. In person it is fairly subdued and works well with the color of the gatehouse roof.

Maybe someday in the future I will try again with Castle Wittgenstein but not now. The scale of Castle Von Wittgenstein which I initially based the terrain off of? It would be massive. Based on the illustration on the cover of the module and the comparison of the maps inside (which do not really match up at all) it was a bit off.

The cover art for Death on the Reik is iconic in fantasy games but the grandeur of the castle does not really translate well to 25mm scale in my opinion. At least that is what I found with the initial attempts.

That said, who knows what the future holds.