Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
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| Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth | |
 |
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| Code | S4 |
|---|---|
| Rules Required | AD&D (1st Edition) |
| Character Levels | 6 - 10 |
| Campaign Setting | Generic or Greyhawk |
| Authors | Gary Gygax |
| First Published | 1982 (1976) |
| Linked Modules | |
| S4 WG4 | |
The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth (ISBN 0-935696-72-5) is a module for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D), written by Gary Gygax and published by TSR Hobbies in 1982. The 64-page adventure is set in the World of Greyhawk.
Tsojcanth is a revised and expanded version of The Lost Caverns of Tsojconth (sic), a tournament adventure that Gygax wrote for WinterCon V, a gaming convention sponsored by the Metro Detroit Gamers (MDG) in 1976. MDG also made a version of the tournament (an 8-sheet packet in a plastic bag) available for purchase at the convention, making Tsojconth the second commercially-available adventure module for Dungeons & Dragons. (The first commercial module, Wee Warriors's Palace of the Vampire Queen, preceded Tsojconth by mere months.) [1]
The original Lost Caverns adventure was a "dungeon crawl", taking place entirely in an underground environment, written for the 1974 version of the Dungeons & Dragons rules. In 1980, Gygax began rewriting the adventure for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (a.k.a "1st Edition") rules, expanding it to include outdoor encounters. The redevelopment of Lost Caverns was one of the major delays in the completion of The Temple of Elemental Evil (Anon 1981, Gygax 1981).
Both versions of The Lost Caverns are noteworthy for introducing several new monsters to the published Dungeons & Dragons canon. The monsters introduced in Tsojconth were updated for AD&D rules and included in the original Monster Manual. Monsters introduced in Tsojcanth (including the demon princes Baphomet, Fraz-Urb'luu, Graz'zt, and Kostchtchie) later reappeared in the original Monster Manual II. [2]
In 1987, Lost Caverns was revised yet again, and included in TSR's "supermodule" Realms of Horror (ISBN 0-88038-486-7).
The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth was ranked the 22nd greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventure of all time by Dungeon magazine in 2004, on the 30th anniversary of the Dungeons & Dragons game.
[edit] References
- Anon 1981. 'RPGA Interview with... E. Gary Gygax.' RPGA News 2:4-6 (Autumn 1981).
- The Acaeum: S4, retrieved June 15, 2006.
- Greyhawk's "Lost" Dungeon Levels: S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, retrieved June 15, 2006.
- Erik Mona, James Jacobs, and the Dungeon Design Panel. "The 30 Greatest D&D Adventures of All Time", Dungeon #116, November 2004.
- Gygax, Gary. 1981. 'More "meat" for Greyhawk.' Dragon, 55:17-19 (Nov 1981).
