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.
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| 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?
