Tonight three of my players had to bail on our game because of work related issues. And that's fine because work always has to come first. So several of us ended up talking about 2nd season of the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon. The episode that came up was the '84 season opener 'The Girl Who Dreamed Tomorrow'. More specifically the final act's adventure location 'The Maze of Darkness'. The 'Maze of Darkness' is a giant trap filled maze with dead falls, pit traps, & other weird mazelike dungeon traps. At the final location is huge planar gate surrounded by otherworldly light. The whole affair is surrounded by a desert filled with obsidan glass rocks. The portal will beckon to anyone who sees it with a feeling of home.
'The Maze of Darkness' has some very nasty & dangerous spell like effects for those who venture into its maze like confines. Adventurers who enter into itse maze works after 1d4 days must make a save vs wands or become very nasty towards their own party members. After five turns or so they must make a Wisdom roll or begin to start having murderous thoughts against them. After 1d4 hours this will turn into a pychotic rage & then roll for initiative against your own team mates. All through out thie 'Girl Who Dreamed Tomorrow' we get little hints about the inhuman Chess game that Venger is playing both with & against the Dungeon Master. The Dungeon master remarks that some of warrior's ancient armor & remains who became victims of the 'Maze of Darkness' t were former pupils of his hundreds of years ago?!
How long has Dungeon Master been trapping adventurers, the lost, etc. within the Realms in the hopes of stopping Venger?! And yes we get the lowdown on this with the Dungeons & Dragon's cartoon's final episode 'Requim'. The Maze of Darkness' itself is unpleasant enough to almost be a minor level side level of the Abyss. Were these former pupil's souls devoured by Venger?!
And then there's the matter of Venger himself turning into a Nabassu like demonic creature with tenticles. And I personally think that this the form of the demon lord that possessed Venger all of those ages ago.
The Nabassu are also known as death stealers & basically Venger was posssed by a Nabassu demon lord a pupil to that Nameless Evil. Dungeon Master has been playing 'cat & mouse' with it ever since while Venger himself being originally Lawful Good tries to keep it in check as much as he can.
There's a few things that support the Nabassu Lord Venger fan theory including the Forgotten Realms Wiki entry on these demonic fiends; "Once nabassus had matured, they normally moved into an Abyssal fortress on the 1st layer of the Abyss, where they were expected to live out the rest of their existence.[3] From there, they could prey on hapless planar travelers who either intentionally or accidentally ventured into the Abyss.[2]
Despite being unnerving to most other demons, the seclusion many nasbassus took part in often involved other demonic minions.[3] Although they would devour any creature's soul, they might also work with those that promised not to interrupt their plans. They ruled the nearby territory as debased lords, letting their minions take care of any outside problems.[3] Although this was normally the end of their advancement, some nabassus abandoned this role on the Abyss's fringes and pursued a higher demonic form, making them more hated than even the rutterkin. Unlike most demons, they did not have to serve in the Blood War."
The Nabassu first appeared in the Monster Manual II & their inclusion as a part of Venger's backstory certain fits some of the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon backstory.
Was 'The Maze of Darkness' destroyed at the end of the 'Girl Who Dreamed Tomorrow' episode?! The cartoon episode implies yes but I think no. I belive that the planar portal was closed & so 'The Maze of Darkness' disappeared. But if 'The Maze of Darkness' was a minor realm of the Abyss? I think its unlikely. More likely 'The Maze of Darkness' is still out there in the planes perhaps partially in the Realms & The Abyss luring adventurers to their demise even now. Why?! Because 'The Maze of Darkness' almost seemed alive within its malevolence.
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