Showing posts with label
O1 The Gem and the Staff (Basic).
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Showing posts with label
O1 The Gem and the Staff (Basic).
Show all posts
Your peaceful evening has been interrupted by an unusual request. As
a thief, your skills are unmatched, but can you rise to the challenge
of thieving for a powerful and frightening wizard? Do you have a choice?
So I've been receiving a lot of heat hon this side for this upcoming Fall/Winter campaign run I've been toying with. The setting & adventure ideas of the 'Old Solar System', my unhealthy Clark Ashton Smith & Abraham Merritt attachment, & of course the injection of super science technology & relics as part of the campaign. Most of this came down from the wire from a friend's brother whose an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition traditionalist & self professed grognard. So I've had to get a tad creative, work around this, over that, & generally play around with the D&D elements to get what's needed. Its been an interesting hit or miss sort of a process & given me something of an education when it comes to design. This brings me to today's adventure;
'O1: "The Gem and the Staff," by John and Laurie Van De Graaf, was the
first adventure in a (short) series of one-on-one adventures for Basic
D&D;, supporting one GM and one player. It was published in 1983.'
Wait a one on one module published in Eighty Three but what does this have to with anything? Well,
O1: "The Gem and the Staff is interesting because it can be used to create a campaign style & setting all based around some of the work of Clark Ashton Smith. Hear me out before you throw this blog entry onto the bonfire.
Wiki gives the origin and play style of the original module;"This adventure was originally published as Quest for the Fazzlewood in 1978 in a limited printing of twenty-six sheets with an outer folder and sold at WinterCon VII.[1]:146 The adventure was written by John and Laurie Van De Graaf, with art by Gregg DeCesare.[1]:146 This original module was a tournament scenario for a DM and one player with a thief character.[1]:146 Quest for the Fazzlewood was published by Metro Detroit Gamers, who also published Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth.[citation needed] Quest for the Fazzlewood was used as a tournament module at Wintercon VII, and later publicly released.[citation needed] The module was later expanded and revised as O1 The Gem and the Staff.[1]:146
The Gem and the Staff was published by TSR in 1983 as two
sixteen-page booklets with an outer folder, and included cardstock
miniatures and nineteen illustrated maps for use by the player.[1]:145 The module contained viewed-from-above scale maps." This tournament style of play would later be used as part of the central plot of the adventure;"This module is divided into two separate adventures, which can be played
as successive scenarios. The player takes the role of an experienced
thief named Eric the Bold, who is pressed in both adventures into
special thieving services. In the first adventure, Eric's task is to
steal a certain gem from the trap-riddled tower of the wizard Tormag.
The second adventure involves Tormag hiring Eric to steal a mighty magic
wand from his arch-rival Felspel. Both modules are set with a time
limit of thirty real-world minutes to complete the task."
Its precisely this style of play that has the adventure lend itself to a Clark Ashton Smith style of play thieves & wizards abound in the Zothique setting. The adventure not only fits into the world whole cloth but could be used as an excuse to find out the fate of the poor fool who ventured into the trap-riddled tower of the wizard Tormag. Or could it be to raid an easy mark like the tower of the wizard Tormag which managed to defeat or be won by one lone thief.
The Drivethrurpg entry on O1 gives a vital clue about its campaign setting and adventure placement;"Multiple fans at numerous online fan sites have suggested that it would
work well in the high-magic region of the Empire of Alphatia." The power of Alphatia might be a good stand in for some of the more magically powerful empires of Zothique. In Empire of the Necomancers by Clark Ashton Smith's set during the Zothique cycle we get a good look at the sort of magical power that prevades the world at this time. The Gem & The Staff could be set during an earlier time period of Zothique. This would make a far more interesting setting as wizards grow a bit more desparate to maintain their power in a world turning into its next cycle. The Death of Ilalotha by Clark Ashton Smith could be used as the model for an iconic & somewhat macabe end for the wizard Tormag or his arch-rival Felspel. There's a lot of potential for mixing and matching elements from these sources to create something weird & dangerously unique for a player or group of adventurers.
"Your peaceful evening has been interrupted by an unusual request. As
a thief, your skills are unmatched, but can you rise to the challenge
of thieving for a powerful and frightening wizard? Do you have a choice?"
There are old school modules that are unique in both structure & goals,O1 The Gem and the Staff (Basic) by John Van De Graaf, & Laurie Van De Graaf certainly qualifies for that distinction. This is a competition module for Expert B/X Dungeons & Dragons with a twist. Here's a quick break down of the structure according to Wiki;"The Gem and the Staff, by John and Laurie Van De Graaf, is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons Expert Set. Rather than being a typical group adventure, The Gem and the Staff
was designed for head-to-head tournament-style play, with players
separately playing the same adventure and competing against each other
for points earned by accomplishing certain goals. The adventure is only
playable with one dungeon master (DM) and one player" After the completion of one half the adventure the DM and players switch seats and roles. This is a great module when you can't get the gang together because of conflicting schedules & you've got that one die hard friend who shows up.
Now at first this would seem like its not a sword & sorcery style old school adventure but let me tell ya that's where your wrong. The set up for this one sounds like something straight out a Marvel Conan comic book;"The Gem and the Staff is an adventure for a DM and a single player using a provided thief character.[1]:145 The player must search for a magic gem and a staff of power inside an evil wizard's tower."
Eric The Bold is one of those master thieves that inhabits that hazy realm of nasty thief but with a touch of the outlaw in his background. "Run as the tournament adventure "Quest for the Fazzlewood" (1978) at WinterCon VII (1978) in Detroit. ", this is a module with lots of history & the nice part is the take down of the wizard Tormag. In the first part Eric's task is to steal a certain gem from the trap-riddled tower of the wizard Tormag and in the second your to steal a mighty magic wand from his arch-rival Felspel. Here's the kick in the pants you've only got thirty minutes to complete the adventure.
Now I've heard a lot of folks talk about
A lake hydra looms over the drawbridge to Tormaq's Tower.
(Harry Quinn, D&D module O1: The Gem and the Staff, TSR, 1983)
O1 The Gem and The Staff should be set within the Known World especially in the high-magic region of the Empire of Alphatia. Well I happen to think it could also work very well in the southern portion of Hypreborea. Both the wizard Tormag & his arch-rival Felspel are prime examples of B/X wizards who can be molded into the Clark Ashton Smith model of weird arch enemy wizards. With a bit of little shove these two can be brought right over into the Hyperborean rivalry. A good example of the sort of rivalry I speaking about can be found in Clark Ashton Smith's Master of The Crabs;"
I remember that I grumbled a little when Mior Lumivix awakened me.
The past evening had been a tedious one with its unpleasant familiar
vigil, during which I had nodded often. From sunfall till the setting of
Scorpio, which occurred well after midnight at that season, it had been
my duty to tend the gradual inspissation of a decoction of scarabs,
much favored by Mior Lumivix in the compounding of his most requested
love-potions. He had warned me often that this liquor must be thickened
neither too slowly nor too rapidly, by maintaining an even fire in the
athanor, and had cursed me more than once for spoiling it. Therefore, I
did not yield to my drowsiness till the decoration was safely decanted
and strained thrice through the sieve of perforated sharkskin.
Taciturn beyond his wont, the Master had retired early to his chamber. I
knew that something troubled him; but was too tired for overmuch
conjecture, and had not dared to question him."
But at its heart, "The Staff and the Gem" can be used for a sort of reverse domain play, this of course hings on Eric The Bold the main PC of the adventure. You see Eric is an eight level thief & not a customer to be taken lightly. After the events of "The Staff and the Gem" both the wizard Tormag & his arch-rival Felspel are going to be sitting ducks. A part of strong PC's from Adventurer, Conqueror, King's rpg system could theoretically take over their entire operation if they paid someone like Eric The Bold enough gold or get in with his thieves guild. Here's where the rules in the Adventurer Conqueror King System Player's Companion can come in very handy. The PC's move in on the rival wizards and take over, & almost instant domain.
There are couple of very good reasons why 'O1 The Gem and the Staff 'style of adventure still holds up even today:
- The Gem and the Staff's writing, its design is very tight, the module does exactly what it says its going to do.
- Eric The Bold is a solidly designed PC & he's more then up to the tasks presented in the module.
- A good solid way to design single play sword & sorcery adventures is to use TSR's One on One module line which is meant for only one player and one DM. With enough obstacles, challenges, etc. this is a viable way of raising PC levels when one or more players don't show up.
- This is another way of getting that stoggy DM out from behind the screen and back into the flow.
- TSR's One on One module design can also be used to create intriguing back story adventures that don't impact directly on to events in your home campaign.
- This style of module can also be used to adventure in far flung parts of your home sword & sorcery campaign world that don't get used to often.
- The lonely character death isn't a bad way of creating tension or adventure opportunities later on in a campaign.
- TSR's One on One module style can also be used to have PC's go up against higher level retired PC's who have become NPC's in a home campaign. This is a trick I've used several times to create rivalries within domain level campaigns. This works especially well when you've got a sprawling campaign world such as Dark Albion and the PC's are working for royals or other patrons.
- One on One module style adventures can also be used with Lovcraftian themes such as penetrating the lair of a cult of the Old Ones or a Mi Go hive. These types of adventures can very challenging & dangerous enough to have a party of players pull their buddy out of the fire later on in play.
- Never underestimate the power of nostalgia because 'O1 The Gem and the Staff ' still has a cult following today. There are number of folks who love this adventure and will play it at the drop of a hat.
