The Secret of Bone Hill
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| The Secret of Bone Hill | |
 |
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| Code | L1 |
|---|---|
| Rules Required | AD&D |
| Character Levels | 2 - 4 |
| Campaign Setting | Greyhawk |
| Authors | Lenard (Len) Lakofka |
| First Published | 1981 |
| Linked Modules | |
| L1 L2 L3 | |
The Secret of Bone Hill (L1) is a module for the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons written by Lenard Lakofka and published by TSR in 1981. It is designed for novice and intermediate players with characters of levels 2-4.
The players adventure in and around the town of Restenford in the Lendore Isles. It is more a mini-setting than an adventure, offering several adventure locations, and may require a Dungeon Master to expand it using the World of Greyhawk milieu. This module did try and expand upon the basic types of undead creature found.
Playing good characters with undead-turning abilities is quite essential. This adventure is continued in L2: The Assassin's Knot, and L3: Deep Dwarven Delve.
The module was reviewed in issue 16 of Different Worlds magazine, which complained that TSR had abandoned its tradition of using maps as color art "in favor of pretty pictures irrelevant to the text." The reviewer, Anders Swenson, disliked the randomness of the module's encounters, arguing that it was unrealistic for so many monster nests to be found within a day's march of a hardy military garrison. His real problem with the adventure, however, was that he believed that too many encounters were compressed into too small of an area. "What deals and pacts have been made to permit the villagers, the clerics, the gnolls and wolves, and the inhabitants of Bone Hill to live in such harmony?" [1]
Receiving 8 out of 10, the module was positively reviewed in issue 35 of White Dwarf magazine, noting good prospects for role-playing but that some of the material would not be utilized until L2 (unreleased at that time) was purchased.[2]. Lawrence Schick in his book Heroic Worlds was critical of the module, calling it "Not one of TSR's more sterling endeavors," and noting that the back cover was "deliberately botched" by the artist "who didn't care for the product"[3]. The artist in question is Erol Otus.
[edit] References
- ^ Swannon, Anders (November 1981). "Reviews" (review). 'Different Worlds' (Issue 16): 39. Chaosium.
- ^ Bambra, Jim (November 1982). "Open Box: Dungeon Modules" (review). White Dwarf (Issue 35): 14-15. Games Workshop. ISSN 0265-8712.
- ^ Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic World. Prometheus Books, 103. ISBN 0-87975-652-7.
