Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure
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| Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure | |
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| Code | WG5 |
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| Rules Required | 2nd Ed AD&D |
| Character Levels | 9 - 12 |
| Campaign Setting | Greyhawk |
| Authors | Robert J. Kuntz and Gary Gygax |
| First Published | 1984 |
WG5 - Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure by Robert J. Kuntz and Gary Gygax is a module for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game (1st Edition rules), published by TSR, Inc. in 1984. It was later updated in 2004 to the Third Edition Revised rules in Dungeon magazine, issue #112, as Maure Castle. There were subsequently two additional installments in issues #124 and #139.
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[edit] Background
This module, according to the Introduction, was based on the campaign that Robert J. Kuntz ran for Gary Gygax, and they later both worked on. The original version was written in 1972-1973. Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure, however, was the first published form of the adventure.
The publication contains versions of Gygax's characters, Mordenkainen the Mage, Yrag the Lord, Riggby the Patriarch and Bigby the Wizard, but is designed to allow the introduction of the players' own characters if they wish.
[edit] Update in Dungeon
In 2004 the module was updated to the current version of the rules by Robert J. Kuntz, Erik Mona and James Jacobs (with some advisory material provided by Gary Gygax), and re-titled Maure Castle. Dungeon magazine typically contains 3 adventures and a number of columns. Issue #112 was dominated by the updated module, and contained no other adventures. The module itself was preceded by a reprint of a 1974 article by Gary Gygax, introducing Dungeons & Dragons.
[edit] Overview
[edit] Original module
The module begins when the players are informed that a pair of impassable doors have been discovered under the abandoned Maure Castle. Suspecting that these iron doors lead to fantastic treasures, many have tried to gain access, and all have failed.
[edit] First level
The adventure is broken up into physical "levels", the first is entered through the doors. Once the players find a means of bypassing the doors, they are presented with a fairly open dungeon with several rooms placed throughout. Each area includes its own challenge, ranging from images that come to life and attack to pools of dangerous fish to a climactic encounter with an iron golem.
[edit] Second level
On the second level, the party encounters the first modern occupant, Hubehn and his guards, and eventually his master, Eli Tomorast. Eli is an insane mage, bent on the collection of arcane knowledge at all costs. He is in these dungeons to study them and the treasures which they contain.
[edit] Third level
The final level is populated by worshipers of a demon named Kerzit, which Tomorast had set up as a false god. These worshipers include a band of gnolls, a group of mages (one of whom is surprisingly trigger-happy) and a pair of torturers.
The climax of the module is an encounter with the demon Kerzit himself.
[edit] Updated module
The first three levels of the new module roughly map to the original three levels in the first module, ultimately encountering the demon Kerzit. However, these were substantially expanded, and the events of the updated dungeon include the ramifications of the first module's invasion by Mordenkainen and his band. In fact, the resurrected Eli Tomorast has been plotting his revenge on the mage for several months, though he is in The Statuary (see below) at this time.
Again, the climax of the adventure is a battle with the demon Kerzit.
[edit] The Statuary
The Statuary is a new level of Castle Maure included in Dungeon #112. This dungeon is actually part of the castle itself, where the previous levels were outlying complexes. The ancient magics of the Maure "family" are at play in this dungeon, involving a lich, a reconstructed member of the family and an evil psychic entity known as the Id Core which fuels an endless war between the other two.
This is also the new location of Eli Tomorast, who seeks to eliminate the warring forces and gain access to the secrets of Maure Castle.
[edit] Chambers of Antiquities
The fifth level of the dungeon was published as a stand-alone module in Dungeon #124 in 2005. The module involves a storehouse of magical traps, artifacts and other devices gathered by the architect of Maure Castle, known only as "Uncle".
[edit] The Greater Halls
The sixth dungeon is titled, Maure Castle: The Greater Halls, and was published in 2006 in Dungeon #139. The Greater Halls is a tour of the Maures' dark connections to the Abyss. This adventure pits the players against the devices of the Maures and the machinations of the Demon Queen of Succubi, Malcanthet.
[edit] References
- Kuntz, Robert J. "Chambers of Antiquities." Dungeon #124 (Paizo Publishing, 2005).
- Kuntz, Robert J. "The Greater Halls." Dungeon #139 (Paizo Publishing, 2006).
- Kuntz, Robert J. and Gary Gygax. Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure (TSR, 1984).
- Kuntz, Robert J, Erik Mona, James Jacobs & Gary Gygax. "Maure Castle." Dungeon #112 (Paizo Publishing, 2004).
