OSR Commentary - Detail the best classic D&D modules for A Castles & Crusades Rpg Exploration Campaigns

 When it comes to exploration-heavy campaigns, the best modules are those that provide a solid "sand-box" environment—giving the players a destination but leaving the "how" and "where" of the journey entirely up to them.

Here are the quintessential classic modules for a campaign focused on discovery and hex-crawling.

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1. B2: The Keep on the Borderlands

This is the gold standard for introductory exploration. It provides a safe base of operations (The Keep) and a nearby wilderness filled with "The Caves of Chaos."

• Why it works: It teaches players that the world is non-linear. They can approach the various cave entrances in any order, retreat when things get hairy, and slowly map out the surrounding ravine.

• Best for: Low-level parties learning the ropes of resource management and cautious movement.

2. X1: The Isle of Dread

Often cited as the first true "wilderness" module, this adventure takes the party to a prehistoric island filled with dinosaurs, ancient ruins, and tribal villages.

• Why it works: It explicitly introduces hex-clearing and mapping mechanics. The players are given a blank map and must fill it in as they navigate the treacherous interior. It’s a masterclass in "Point A to Point B" gameplay where the journey is the actual adventure.

• Best for: Mid-level play (Levels 3–7) and groups that love a "Lost World" aesthetic.

3. T1: The Village of Hommlet

While often associated with the Temple of Elemental Evil, the initial T1 module is a perfect microcosm of local exploration.

• Why it works: It focuses on the "social" side of exploration—uncovering the secrets of a town and its immediate outskirts (the Moathouse). It rewards players who talk to NPCs and investigate rumors before diving into the dungeon.

• Best for: Players who enjoy deep lore and investigative exploration.

4. S4: The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth

Created by Gary Gygax, this module is a massive outdoor and indoor trek through the Yatil Mountains.

• Why it works: The "Wilderness Map" included in the module is legendary. It features various encounters that aren't just combat-oriented but involve navigating difficult terrain and discovering hidden mountain paths.

• Best for: High-level play (Levels 6–10) where magical navigation becomes a factor.

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Comparison of Exploration Styles

Module	Primary Focus	Map Style	Key Mechanic
B2	Tactical	Ravine/Caves	Faction Interaction
X1	Strategic	Large Hex Map	Survival & Resource Management
T1	Social/Local	Village & Ruins	Rumor Verification
S4	Environmental	Mountainous Trek	High-Stakes Discovery

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Honorable Mention: The "B6" Strategy

B6: The Veiled Society is often overlooked, but it offers an excellent "Urban Exploration" framework. If you want your players to explore the back alleys and political factions of a sprawling fantasy city rather than a forest or mountain range, this is the classic blueprint to follow.

If you’re looking to stitch these together, starting with a base like The Keep and then using a ship to reach the Isle of Dread creates a seamless transition from "local mystery" to "global discovery."

Legacies of Dread - X1 Isle of Dread by David Cook , & Tom Moldvay Campaign Commentary & Update

 When it comes to fall out from one module within my campaigns its got to be X1 Isle of Dread by David Cook , & Tom Moldvay , not only is this a great module for Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. But its one of the modules that has the greatest impact by its connections deep into the Sea of Dread. 

Not only do you have deep connotations into a dinosaur filled realm but the opportunities of a lifetime. Because the Isle is on the lip of the Elemental Plane of Water it has a ton of adventure hooks built in. The Vaults of Pandius has Threshold magazine issue # 3 Sea of Dread, This OSR resource contains a ton of materials for bringing the party back to the Isle of Dread. 

The 'Sea of Dread' isn't a normal sea instead its a full on planar sea and this get's into the heart of using X1 for Sword & Sorcery OSR campaigns. The fact that anyone can become a castaway on the Isle of Dread. But why?! Because the isle is an advanced highly advanced science laboratory. Where the Kopru actually an evolutionary off shoot of the Mind Flayers?! They seem to have many of the characteristics?! Possible because the PC's are in the middle of the former Kopru empire itself on the island.  Races such as the as the racoon-like phanaton and the cat-like rakasta give X1 part of its "Lost World/Skull Island laboratory feel'

The Elder Things from H.P. Lovecraft's 'At The Mountains of Madness' made interplanar war on a ton of alien races. But we as humanity don't know the scale of such a war which technically could be on going. The reason that the isle of dread is in the plane of water is because the Elder Things sent it there! The resulting disaster took out the Kopru. Now I've covered this before on this blog in 'Another Mini OSR Campaign Idea Using - X1 Isle of Dread By David Cook & Tom Moldvay & Some Free Old School Appendix N Downloads' 

And its these legacies of dread which lead to planar doors being opened up across the multiverse. And these led to the Rump family of Tegel manor fame discovering this & exploiting it as a part of the slavers organization. This ties into the Scourge of the Slave Lords. How?! Next time we dive into it! 

Using Classic TSR Era D&D B/X Adventures For An Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea Campaign Path Plus Free OSR Adventure Resources

 So I've been thinking about running PC's through some basic adventures for Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea but I need some old school options to get the player's juices going. Fortunately I've got several real world friends who have run several player groups through classic TSR era adventures and modules.

I've been talking with some folks in the real world about Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea; customizing the sword & sorcery setting to fit into a more pulp 'on the edge' of the dangerous wilderness & wanton ruins sort of mode. So I started to dig back through old notes & blog posts of adapting 1st edition AD&D & B/X D&D modules for an adventure path that emulates the sort of a feel that I'm going for. This adventure path might include the following classic TSR era ones& beyond :
B2 Keep on the Borderlands but then I'd take a left at Judge's Guild & use Frontier Forts of Kelnor create more ruined forts along the borders of Hyperborea left vacate by the Green Death.
Then I'd run the PC's through  the free OSR adventures of RC Pinnel aka Thorkhammer's XS1: Luln &

XS1A: The Ward of Wereskalot  both of which contain OD&D &  adventure elements that echo the Keep On The Bordlerlands ethos. So some assembly is required for AS&SH. This is going to get players ready for
X1 Isle of Dread which could include a lot of the Free Threshold Issue 3: The Sea of Dread & Issue 4: The Sea of Dread material but a lot of adaption is required here. 

 

Some of the material found in those two issues could lead the PC's across the face of Hyperborea into the desert regions which takes them into the classic  B4 The Lost City. The Lost City is vast & could be used as another Hyperborean lost colony deep within the desert interior of  Hyperborea itself. It could contain vast dangers to the outside world that if not dealt with could be very dangerous to the continued existence of mankind on the face of Hyperborea.

There's more then enough room to include the Iron Ring of B10 as a subfraction of the weird remains of the Elemental Evil cult of The Lost City. The humanoid races of the Lost City are actually degenerate Hyperboreans warped by the presence of the evils of the cult of the demon god  Zargon. Finally the Lost City adventure location leads deeper into the Hyperborean countryside which resembles the a weird Russian interior ala B10. Why B10? 

There is a lot that can be done with 'The Lost City' module especially by taking Hyperborean adventurers deeper into the Lower Catacomb's dungeons and mysteries. This could raise AS&SH adventurers beyond the limits of the game's PC's levels.

B10 Night's Dark Terror is a good module to expand the PC's horizon's deep into AS&SH's adventure domains & possibly into extensions of Hyperborean politics and domain play.

"B10 Nights Dark Terror - The module begins in a beleaguered farmstead. The PCs then explore more than 20,000 square miles (52,000 km²) of wilderness, with eighteen locations, including a number of mini-dungeons, a ruined city, a riverside village, a frontier town, and a lost valley, with the minions of the Iron Ring waiting for the PCs at every step."

By dropping out the usual D&D races & trappings then just concentrating on the Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea PC gaming & setting elements B10 goes into a pulpy adventure module with tons of campaign play.


I've been thinking of the usual humanoid and goblinoid races which could be all that remains of the Hyperboreans, degenerate and dangerous beastly things mixed with traces of alien demonic blooded horrors from beyond the pale of Hyperborea.

Because these modules are now available on Drivethrurpg & Rpgnow with a print option its not hard to figure that they'd make excellent fodder for a sword & sorcery campaign. Especially B10 would can easily be customized as the dungeon master needs or wants.

Icier Ripples From G2 Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl By Gary Gygax Updated

The last time I ran G2 Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl the PC's had been hired by hired by nobles to destroy the frost giants & I was already running 'The Old Solar System' setting 

I want to do some brief flying commentary on the giants of the Old Solar system setting. Fire & Ice giants are respectively some of the only technology & magic item producing races in the solar system. This is due to their enslavement of the maggot like children of Ymir, the dwarfs who toil under the yoke of the giants. Its very possible that these beings have produced the mutate human/ Dwarfs who we see hither there in the exoplanets out past Pluto. We've gotten hints about them in the Clark Ashton Smith Hyperborea Cycle of stories & other hints about them HP Lovecraft's Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath


Two dwarfs as depicted in a 19th-century edition of the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá (1895) by Lorenz Frølich.

In the Whisper In Darkness we get a good solid sort of  look at the Mi Go. But there's other far more interesting hints that HP Lovecraft puts forward in "Henry W. Akeley" Mi Go Public Relations campaign;
"As a beginning of this improved rapport, the Outer Ones have naturally chosen me—whose knowledge of them is already so considerable—as their primary interpreter on earth. Much was told me last night—facts of the most stupendous and vista-opening nature—and more will be subsequently communicated to me both orally and in writing. I shall not be called upon to make any trip outside just yet, though I shall probably wish to do so later on—employing special means and transcending everything which we have hitherto been accustomed to regard as human experience. My house will be besieged no longer. Everything has reverted to normal, and the dogs will have no further occupation. In place of terror I have been given a rich boon of knowledge and intellectual adventure which few other mortals have ever shared.
The Outer Beings are perhaps the most marvellous organic things in or beyond all space and time-members of a cosmos-wide race of which all other life-forms are merely degenerate variants. They are more vegetable than animal, if these terms can be applied to the sort of matter composing them, and have a somewhat fungoid structure; though the presence of a chlorophyll-like substance and a very singular nutritive system differentiate them altogether from true cormophytic fungi. Indeed, the type is composed of a form of matter totally alien to our part of space—with electrons having a wholly different vibration-rate. That is why the beings cannot be photographed on the ordinary camera films and plates of our known universe, even though our eyes can see them. With proper knowledge, however, any good chemist could make a photographic emulsion which would record their images.
The genus is unique in its ability to traverse the heatless and airless interstellar void in full corporeal form, and some of its variants cannot do this without mechanical aid or curious surgical transpositions. Only a few species have the ether-resisting wings characteristic of the Vermont variety. Those inhabiting certain remote peaks in the Old World were brought in other ways. Their external resemblance to animal life, and to the sort of structure we understand as material, is a matter of parallel evolution rather than of close kinship. Their brain-capacity exceeds that of any other surviving life-form, although the winged types of our hill country are by no means the most highly developed. Telepathy is their usual means of discourse, though we have rudimentary vocal organs which, after a slight operation (for surgery is an incredibly expert and everyday thing among them), can roughly duplicate the speech of such types of organism as still use speech.
Their main immediate abode is a still undiscovered and almost lightless planet at the very edge of our solar system—beyond Neptune, and the ninth in distance from the sun. It is, as we have inferred, the object mystically hinted at as "Yuggoth" in certain ancient and forbidden writings; and it will soon be the scene of a strange focussing of thought upon our world in an effort to facilitate mental rapport. I would not be surprised if astronomers become sufficiently sensitive to these thought-currents to discover Yuggoth when the Outer Ones wish them to do so. But Yuggoth, of course, is only the stepping-stone. The main body of the beings inhabits strangely organized abysses wholly beyond the utmost reach of any human imagination. The space-time globule which we recognize as the totality of all cosmic entity is only an atom in the genuine infinity which is theirs. And as much of this infinity as any human brain can hold is eventually to be opened up to me, as it has been to not more than fifty other men since the human race has existed."
So what does this have to do with the events of G1-2-3 Against the Giants? Well in G2 Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl we can see some of the moves behind the throne of the Ice Giants &  their allies. But are we really seeing all of the goings on & politic of what are essentially alien beings? I think not. I believe what we're seeing here are the machinations of the ice giants & their patron the White Sybil, & through her the Ice Worm.



I've said before that my own opinions & edits to G2 have parted ways with the official G2 very quickly when I ran it as a part of the second adventure in the 'Against the Giants'series of adventures. Now I've mentioned the Mi Go, The White Sybil, but how does the Ice Worm fit in the answer comes straight out of Wiki;

"As in Steading of the Hill Giant Chief, the bulk of this adventure takes place in two locations: an upper area consisting of caves and the rift floor, and a lower area consisting of natural caverns. In the upper area there are ice caves, barracks, and a dome of ice. These are inhabited by yeti, frost giants, ogres, and winter wolves. The dome of ice houses a remorhaz. In the lower area there are caverns that house the servants, serve as a prison, and contain the Jarl Grugnur and emissaries who have come to meet with him. The main inhabitants are frost giants and ogres."
The remorhaz is a monstrous servant of the Ice Worm & that thing is an Old One of the lowest orders. We get our answers to this in The Coming of the White Worm by Clark Ashton Smith; "
In much fear and wonder he descended and flung wide the portals. Before him were two men, or creatures who had the likeness of men. Both were strange of visage and bright-skinned, and they wore for mantles such rune-woven stuffs as wizards wear. The runes were uncouth and alien; but when the man bespoke him he understood something of their speech, which was in a dialect of the Hyperborean isles.
"We serve the One whose coming was foretold by the prophet Lith," they said. "From spaces beyond the limits of the north he hath come in his floating citadel, the ice-mountain Yikilth, to voyage the mundane oceans and to blast with a chill spendour the puny peoples of humankind. He hath spared us alone amid the inhabitants of the broad isle Thulask, and hath taken us to go with him in his sea-faring upon Yikilth. He hath tempered our flesh to the rigour of his abode, and hath made respirable for us the air in which no mortal man may draw breath. Thee also he hath spared and hath acclimated by his spells to the coldness and the thin ether that go everywhere with Yikilth. Hail, O Evagh, whom we know for a great wizard by this token: since only the mightiest of warlocks are thus chosen and exempted."

Sorely astonished was Evagh; but seeing that he had now to deal with men who were as himself, he questioned closely the two magicians of Thulask. They were named Dooni and Ux Loddhan, and were wise in the lore of the elder gods. The name of the One that they served was Rlim Shaikorth, and he dwelt in the highest summit of the ice-mountain. They told Evagh nothing of the nature or properties of Rlim Shaikorth; and concerning their own service to this being they avowed only that it consisted of such worship as is given to a god, together with the repudiation of all bonds that had linked them heretofore to mankind. And they told Evagh that he was to go with them before Rlim Shaikorth, and perform the due rite of obeisance, and accept the bond of final alienage." This also means that the frost giants depicted in G2 might be the lead in for an invasion  from another world & the various classic era monsters featured in the module might be siege forces for the Ice Worm and its cult. All of this is kicked off from the rise of the elemental cult.

But where does that leave the Drow who kicked this off? Well since we're accessing Clark Ashton Smith, the myrkálfar worship Atlach-Nacha whose daughter Loloth (Hyperborean spelling) might have kicked off events in the background of the Against the Giants series. We'll get into those when we cover the G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King

All of this ties back into the Leigh Brackett (ology)by Blue Tyson  which goes into the whole timeline of Leigh Brackett's solar system including her take on Pluto and its out lying worlds. Basically whole cycles of history repeat back on themselves and the cults of the Old Solar system could see the rise and fall of the Hyperborean empire more then once. The cult of the Ice Worm ties into the fate of Hyperborea & Old Earth which is a vastly different place then the one we know today. More old school random tables tomorrow folks! 

Using Classic TSR Era D&D B/X Adventures For An Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea Campaign Path Plus Free OSR Adventure Resources

So I've been thinking about running PC's through some basic adventures for Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea but I need some old school options to get the player's juices going. Fortunately I've got several real world friends who have run several player groups through classic TSR era adventures and modules. 

I've been talking with some folks in the real world about Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea; customizing the sword & sorcery setting to fit into a more pulp 'on the edge' of the dangerous wilderness & wanton ruins sort of mode. So I started to dig back through old notes & blog posts of adapting 1st edition AD&D & B/X D&D modules for an adventure path that emulates the sort of a feel that I'm going for. This adventure path might include the following classic TSR era ones& beyond :
B2 Keep on the Borderlands but then I'd take a left at Judge's Guild & use Frontier Forts of Kelnor create more ruined forts along the borders of Hyperborea left vacate by the Green Death.
Then I'd run the PC's through  the free OSR adventures of RC Pinnel aka Thorkhammer's XS1: Luln &

XS1A: The Ward of Wereskalot  both of which contain OD&D &  adventure elements that echo the Keep On The Bordlerlands ethos. So some assembly is required for AS&SH. This is going to get players ready for
X1 Isle of Dread which could include a lot of the Free Threshold Issue 3: The Sea of Dread & Issue 4: The Sea of Dread material but a lot of adaption is required here. 

 

Some of the material found in those two issues could lead the PC's across the face of Hyperborea into the desert regions which takes them into the classic  B4 The Lost City. The Lost City is vast & could be used as another Hyperborean lost colony deep within the desert interior of  Hyperborea itself. It could contain vast dangers to the outside world that if not dealt with could be very dangerous to the continued existence of mankind on the face of Hyperborea.

There's more then enough room to include the Iron Ring of B10 as a subfraction of the weird remains of the Elemental Evil cult of The Lost City. The humanoid races of the Lost City are actually degenerate Hyperboreans warped by the presence of the evils of the cult of the demon god  Zargon. Finally the Lost City adventure location leads deeper into the Hyperborean countryside which resembles the a weird Russian interior ala B10. Why B10? 

There is a lot that can be done with 'The Lost City' module especially by taking Hyperborean adventurers deeper into the Lower Catacomb's dungeons and mysteries. This could raise AS&SH adventurers beyond the limits of the game's PC's levels. 

B10 Night's Dark Terror is a good module to expand the PC's horizon's deep into AS&SH's adventure domains & possibly into extensions of Hyperborean politics and domain play.

"B10 Nights Dark Terror - The module begins in a beleaguered farmstead. The PCs then explore more than 20,000 square miles (52,000 km²) of wilderness, with eighteen locations, including a number of mini-dungeons, a ruined city, a riverside village, a frontier town, and a lost valley, with the minions of the Iron Ring waiting for the PCs at every step."

By dropping out the usual D&D races & trappings then just concentrating on the Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea PC gaming & setting elements B10 goes into a pulpy adventure module with tons of campaign play.


I've been thinking of the usual humanoid and goblinoid races which could be all that remains of the Hyperboreans, degenerate and dangerous beastly things mixed with traces of alien demonic blooded horrors from beyond the pale of Hyperborea.

Because these modules are now available on Drivethrurpg & Rpgnow with a print option its not hard to figure that they'd make excellent fodder for a sword & sorcery campaign. Especially B10 would can easily be customized as the dungeon master needs or wants.

Echoing Elemental Death Winds of AD&D G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King

"Giants have been raiding the lands of men in large bands, with giants of different sorts in these marauding groups. Death and destruction have been laid heavily upon every place these monsters have visited. A party of the bravest and most powerful adventurers has been assembled and given the charge to punish the miscreant giants." 

This is the final installment of the 'Against The Giants' series of adventures & its an adventure that really takes the idea of the tactical game adventure into the convention style of tournament play. For our purposes this adventure might as well take place deep within the Earth. We're given a tour de force of the fire giant's lair, motivations, etc. in G3 Hall of the Fire Giants and its some of Gary Gygax's writing.  There are several reasons why the' Against The Giants' series  is a key competent for a Sword & Sorcery game especially Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. 

I've run this module in the past and its one to be respected because its an AD&D first edition competition module. 








































The fire giants of this adventure are very dangerous, smart, and wily. They control a solid empire & come from the realm of Muspelheim making them a part of  the Eldjötnar 

family line. Now this indicates that these are royalty with Lovecraftian ties into the
the Elder Elemental God, who was first referenced to in G1: "Steading of the Hill Giant Chief". All of this lore has disappeared from mainstream AD&D first edition lore over the years but basically  "Temple of the Eye of the Elder Elemental God", a god worshiped by the Eilservs clan/family of Drow wraps around to T-14 Temple of Elemental Evil.  So not only does this place the fire giants at the center of the action it makes them as a fulcrum to the entire events of the whole meta campaign that we get into in Descent Into The Depths of the Earth series of adventures.  But back to Hall of the Fire Giants for a moment. We know that they've been with us since the beginning of our existence but surely there isn't an 'Old Solar' system connection? Not only is there one but it explains the empire of the fire giants right under our very noses. The Wiki entry on  Muspelheim gives us our first clue;

"According to the Ragnarök prophecies in Snorri Sturluson's Gylfaginning, the first part of his Prose Edda, the sons of Muspell will break the Bifröst bridge, signaling the end of times:

In the midst of this clash and din the heavens are rent in twain, and the sons of Muspell come riding through the opening. Surtr rides first, and before him and after him flames burning fire. He has a very good sword, which shines brighter than the sun. As they ride over Bifrost it breaks to pieces, as has before been stated. The sons of Muspel direct their course to the plain which is called Vigrid.... The sons of Muspel have there effulgent bands alone by themselves"
The second clue we have comes in the form of one of the nasty NPC's "Obmi the "first real villain of Greyhawk Castle"" whose a perfect example of the evil, foulness, of the brood of Ymir if there ever was one. He embodies the characteristics of many of the foul beings that spring  from Gygax's imagination. His motives, motivations, etc. are perfect examples of the petty drives of the maggot breed of Dwarf that are the slaves to the fire giants. The fire giants have lost their god & are seeking to resurrect the elemental god.

This lines up the fire giant's entry in AS&SH's Referee's Guide where they serve a demon lord instead of their god. The fire giants also have an empire & outposts scattered throughout the fiery cores of many worlds including old Earth & other planets in the solar system. This connects in with Clark Ashton Smith's Ascharia (Synopsis and Fragment) where Mhaggalok Jupiter is mentioned. Its been speculated in the past by Lovecraft that stars and other celestial bodies would be perfect breeding grounds for alien elemental life forms. AD&D has scores of these beings throughout from the Monster Manual first edition through the Fiend Folio. The Fire Giants are beings that can easily survive on the surfaces of such places. But one of the worlds that a friend of mine has speculated would be a perfect trading point for the fire giants is Jupiter's hell moon Io and its the perfect spot for the elemental gods resting place. 
"Io's surface is also dotted with more than 100 mountains that have been uplifted by extensive compression at the base of Io's silicate crust. Some of these peaks are taller than Mount Everest.^[10] Unlike most satellites in the outer Solar System, which are mostly composed of water ice, Io is primarily composed of silicate rock surrounding a molten iron or iron-sulfide core. Most of Io's surface is composed of extensive plains coated with sulfur and sulfur-dioxide frost.

Io's volcanism is responsible for many of its unique features. Its volcanic plumes and lava flows produce large surface changes and paint the surface in various subtle shades of yellow, red, white, black, and green, largely due to allotropes and compounds of sulfur. Numerous extensive lava flows, several more than 500 km (300 mi) in length, also mark the surface. The materials produced by this volcanism make up Io's thin, patchy atmosphere and Jupiter's extensive magnetosphere. Io's volcanic ejecta also produce a large plasma torus around Jupiter."

Its alien surface is the perfect place for the alien elemental life forms & monsters of AD&D and its probably a good place for a fire giant trade point. The fire giants have been with us the whole time and the Hall of The Fire Giant points out just how dangerous these beings can be. Io has been used by me in the past as a possible resting point for some of the relics of Surtr.

Any world in the solar system with a lave & molten core is a potential military point or city for the fire giants but this isn't the end of the giant problem within the 'old solar system' setting. Things got turned on their head when Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea rpg 2nd edition came out. 



The fire giants from AS&SH  are no long under the protection & ruler ship of the god giant Surtur. They are now under the  dominion of a demon lord of Underborea & vulnerable to the influence of the Drow. The Drow are not true Dark Elves but the legacy of spider demoness & one of the Great Old Ones. They were birthed in the thousands during the year of Ragnarok.

 

The Drow went to war with the Hyperboreans & lost badly. They were exterminated down to less then two hundred but have been spawning again in their cities in the Underworld of the Dreamlands once again. There are rumors them having been seen nosing around the Hyperborean weapons testing facilities on Io of late but these are merely whispered rumors.Could they be after the relics & weapons of Surtr? No good can come of this?

Surtr with the Flaming Sword (1882) by F. W. Heine,
 based on a plaster frieze designed by Friedrich Wilhelm Engelhard (1859)

Elemental Echoes From G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King By Gary Gygax

"Giants have been raiding the lands of men in large bands, with giants of different sorts in these marauding groups. Death and destruction have been laid heavily upon every place these monsters have visited. A party of the bravest and most powerful adventurers has been assembled and given the charge to punish the miscreant giants."

This is the final installment of the 'Against The Giants' series of adventures & its an adventure that really takes the idea of the tactical game adventure into the convention style of tournament play. For our purposes this adventure might as well take place deep within the Earth. We're given a tour de force of the fire giant's lair, motivations, etc. in G3 Hall of the Fire Giants and its some of Gary Gygax's writing.  There are several reasons why the' Against The Giants' series  is a key competent for a Sword & Sorcery game especially Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea.

I've run this module in the past and its one to be respected because its an AD&D first edition competition module.







































The fire giants of this adventure are very dangerous, smart, and wily. They control a solid empire & come from the realm of Muspelheim making them a part of  the Eldjötnar 

family line. Now this indicates that these are royalty with Lovecraftian ties into the
the Elder Elemental God, who was first referenced to in G1: "Steading of the Hill Giant Chief". All of this lore has disappeared from mainstream AD&D first edition lore over the years but basically  "Temple of the Eye of the Elder Elemental God", a god worshiped by the Eilservs clan/family of Drow wraps around to T-14 Temple of Elemental Evil.  So not only does this place the fire giants at the center of the action it makes them as a fulcrum to the entire events of the whole meta campaign that we get into in Descent Into The Depths of the Earth series of adventures.  But back to Hall of the Fire Giants for a moment. We know that they've been with us since the beginning of our existence but surely there isn't an 'Old Solar' system connection? Not only is there one but it explains the empire of the fire giants right under our very noses. The Wiki entry on  Muspelheim gives us our first clue;

"According to the Ragnarök prophecies in Snorri Sturluson's Gylfaginning, the first part of his Prose Edda, the sons of Muspell will break the Bifröst bridge, signaling the end of times:

In the midst of this clash and din the heavens are rent in twain, and the sons of Muspell come riding through the opening. Surtr rides first, and before him and after him flames burning fire. He has a very good sword, which shines brighter than the sun. As they ride over Bifrost it breaks to pieces, as has before been stated. The sons of Muspel direct their course to the plain which is called Vigrid.... The sons of Muspel have there effulgent bands alone by themselves"
The second clue we have comes in the form of one of the nasty NPC's "Obmi the "first real villain of Greyhawk Castle"" whose a perfect example of the evil, foulness, of the brood of Ymir if there ever was one. He embodies the characteristics of many of the foul beings that spring  from Gygax's imagination. His motives, motivations, etc. are perfect examples of the petty drives of the maggot breed of Dwarf that are the slaves to the fire giants. The fire giants have lost their god & are seeking to resurrect the elemental god.

This lines up the fire giant's entry in AS&SH's Referee's Guide where they serve a demon lord instead of their god. The fire giants also have an empire & outposts scattered throughout the fiery cores of many worlds including old Earth & other planets in the solar system. This connects in with Clark Ashton Smith's Ascharia (Synopsis and Fragment) where Mhaggalok Jupiter is mentioned. Its been speculated in the past by Lovecraft that stars and other celestial bodies would be perfect breeding grounds for alien elemental life forms. AD&D has scores of these beings throughout from the Monster Manual first edition through the Fiend Folio. The Fire Giants are beings that can easily survive on the surfaces of such places. But one of the worlds that a friend of mine has speculated would be a perfect trading point for the fire giants is Jupiter's hell moon Io and its the perfect spot for the elemental gods resting place.
"Io's surface is also dotted with more than 100 mountains that have been uplifted by extensive compression at the base of Io's silicate crust. Some of these peaks are taller than Mount Everest.^[10] Unlike most satellites in the outer Solar System, which are mostly composed of water ice, Io is primarily composed of silicate rock surrounding a molten iron or iron-sulfide core. Most of Io's surface is composed of extensive plains coated with sulfur and sulfur-dioxide frost.

Io's volcanism is responsible for many of its unique features. Its volcanic plumes and lava flows produce large surface changes and paint the surface in various subtle shades of yellow, red, white, black, and green, largely due to allotropes and compounds of sulfur. Numerous extensive lava flows, several more than 500 km (300 mi) in length, also mark the surface. The materials produced by this volcanism make up Io's thin, patchy atmosphere and Jupiter's extensive magnetosphere. Io's volcanic ejecta also produce a large plasma torus around Jupiter."

Its alien surface is the perfect place for the alien elemental life forms & monsters of AD&D and its probably a good place for a fire giant trade point. The fire giants have been with us the whole time and the Hall of The Fire Giant points out just how dangerous these beings can be. Io has been used by me in the past as a possible resting point for some of the relics of Surtr.

Any world in the solar system with a core is a potential military point or city for the fire giants but this isn't the end of the giant problem within the 'old solar system' setting.