| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| WalkerNinja |
Posted - 13 May 2024 : 22:40:39
I'm adapting this module for a West Marches style game and using the ShadowDark system for simplified play with my kids.
This module is arranged in a way that I can only describe as insane.
I've just about got the Vahlingen Graveyard put together, but there's a few items in the graveyard that feel like they need some lore.
If there's lore on these things, I'd like to know it. If there's not--help me make some!
quote:
1. There's a Vampire that's running the show. He has no name, background, or objectives.
2. There's a mausoleum of an unnamed Brave Knight who will give the party magic items to help fight the evil in the city.
3. There's another mausoleum of an unrelated unnamed Paladin that fought dragons. He's got cool stuff.
Assuming there's no lore on these guys--I think the Vampire should be a city leader from the Fall of Phlan who's trying to raise an undead army to drive out the army of monstrous humanoids who have taken over.
The Dragon Fighting Paladin--what if the Bronze Dragon possessed by Tyranthraxus was his special mount when it was a hatchling? He died before the army of monstrous humanoids came (that's how people had time to construct a mausoleum for him) and the Bronze Dragon stuck around, mourning him. Too long as it turns out--because he got possessed.
The Brave Knight--I have no clue. The way he's described, kinda sounds like a 1E Cavalier. It'd be cool if there was some sort of Helm connection (one of the players is a Helmite priest) |
| 5 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| nblanton |
Posted - 08 Oct 2024 : 00:57:13
I'll only add regarding the rather weird things we see in the adventure being solely because it was transcribed from a pretty simply and linear CRPG (although for its time it was pretty revolutionary) is that the maps for most of the 1E era adventures were updated to a much more "modern" format around the earl 2000s with the last patch for the FRIA.
Similar old modules that were updated include the I-series Desert of Desolation both the FRC modules, Ruins of Adventure and Curse of the Azure Bonds. |
| Seravin |
Posted - 16 May 2024 : 23:09:10
In Pools of Darkness, the follow up novel, they introduce Miltiades, an undead paladin of Tyr who helps the Phlan heroes and gives them magic items from his mausoleum. He had backstory and lore in that novel if it helps (but I don't have to hand!). He was buried in an area near Phlan that may or may not be the Valhingen Graveyard (what didn't get teleported away). I think he could be one of the knights who helps the PCs
Yeah, the AD&D module is more a hint book for the computer game than it is a real module. The lore book that came with the PC game is full of good stuff though and it's written by JEFF GRUBB himself:
https://www.c64sets.com/details.html?id=1886
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| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 14 May 2024 : 09:06:31
The Pools of Radiance novels makes it clear that there was an ancient nation which the deathknight paladin was involved in the area.
Phlan is also a lot older than we think. This stuff possibly all dates back to the Northkeep time but i havent looked into it very much and i suspect the novels dont mesh well with the realms timeline.
The Moonsea needs quite a bit of work, along with the dalelands, and Sembia. But then so does everywhere outside of the Savage North / Sword Coast (which Eric Boyd is working on). |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 14 May 2024 : 07:29:51
The Pool of Radiance computer role-playing game (CRPG) was first. It was so popular and successful that it was re-released a couple times and TSR commissioned both a novel and an AD&D product.
The novel was approximately the same story as the CRPG but the author did his own thing far too much and too often for it to really be the same thing. It was actually rather awful, in my opinion, a disappointment since the author wrote other things I liked.
The "Forgotten Realms" AD&D product was really more of a full campaign or a mini-setting than a simple adventure. The party is expected to start around level 1 then progress until they've reached high enough levels to take on a special dragon boss. The maps are all square blocks, the NPCs are all scripted, the "adventure" narrative is quite obviously structured in a contrived area-by-area way. Because it was basically lifted as-is from the CRPG. |
| bloodtide_the_red |
Posted - 14 May 2024 : 02:21:47
So the adventure is based on the Pool of Radiance computer game or the reverse, and oh, there is a novel too. It is a bit of a mess. The computer game was typical of it's time: you just go on the quests and then the game is over.
There is no lore. Even in the Pool of Radiance novel, the vampire is just "the vampire".
So, really, add any lore you want. |
