Deeper Lovcraftian Insights Into U2 Danger At Dunwater by Dave J. Browne, & Don Turnbull.

For a long time now I've been decoupled on the goings on of the OSR & returning to my original plans for campaigns of the past. Cannibalizing & rearranging campaign notes which brings me to U2 Danger At Dunwater by Dave J. Browne, &  Don Turnbull. 



Once upon a time I did an alternative adventure set up where the player's PC's had not stopped the events of U2 & the lizard men ransacked the town of Saltmarsh.. The PC's traveled to an alternative Earth where the Deep Ones had taken over. My notes indicate that this Saltmarsh was far closer to HP Lovecraft's 'The Shadow over Innsmouth' then I'd have liked. Because I fell back into the Lovecraft description of the Deep Ones in the 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth'; my mind; 

"I think their predominant color was a greyish-green, though they had white bellies. They were mostly shiny and slippery, but the ridges of their backs were scaly. Their forms vaguely suggested the anthropoid, while their heads were the heads of fish, with prodigious bulging eyes that never closed. At the sides of their necks were palpitating gills, and their long paws were webbed. They hopped irregularly, sometimes on two legs and sometimes on four. I was somehow glad that they had no more than four limbs. Their croaking, baying voices, clearly used for articulate speech, held all the dark shades of expression which their staring faces lacked ... They were the blasphemous fish-frogs of the nameless design—living and horrible." 

This alternative 'U2 Danger At Dunwater'  is really more of a beach head to a brand new undersea empire of the Deep Ones because I used the Deep Ones as stand ins for the Sahuagin . Why?! Because the Sahuagin  feel & are to me copyrighted & trade marked Deep One stand ins. Besides which get far more information about the Deep Ones plans ala 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth'; 'One night I had a frightful dream in which I met my grandmother under the sea. She lived in a phosphorescent palace of many terraces, with gardens of strange leprous corals and grotesque brachiate efflorescences, and welcomed me with a warmth that may have been sardonic. She had changed—as those who take to the water change—and told me she had never died. Instead, she had gone to a spot her dead son had learned about, and had leaped to a realm whose wonders—destined for him as well—he had spurned with a smoking pistol. This was to be my realm, too—I could not escape it. I would never die, but would live with those who had lived since before man ever walked the earth.

I met also that which had been her grandmother. For eighty thousand years Pth'thya-l'yi had lived in Y'ha-nthlei, and thither she had gone back after Obed Marsh was dead. Y'ha-nthlei was not destroyed when the upper-earth men shot death into the sea. It was hurt, but not destroyed. The Deep Ones could never be destroyed, even though the palaeogean magic of the forgotten Old Ones might sometimes check them. For the present they would rest; but some day, if they remembered, they would rise again for the tribute Great Cthulhu craved. It would be a city greater than Innsmouth next time. They had planned to spread, and had brought up that which would help them, but now they must wait once more. For bringing the upper-earth men's death I must do a penance, but that would not be heavy. This was the dream in which I saw a shoggoth for the first time, and the sight set me awake in a frenzy of screaming. That morning the mirror definitely told me I had acquired the Innsmouth look.

So far I have not shot myself as my uncle Douglas did. I bought an automatic and almost took the step, but certain dreams deterred me. The tense extremes of horror are lessening, and I feel queerly drawn toward the unknown sea-deeps instead of fearing them. I hear and do strange things in sleep, and awake with a kind of exaltation instead of terror. I do not believe I need to wait for the full change as most have waited. If I did, my father would probably shut me up in a sanitarium as my poor little cousin is shut up. Stupendous and unheard-of splendors await me below, and I shall seek them soon. Iä-R'lyeh! Cthulhu fhtagn! Iä! Iä! No, I shall not shoot myself—I cannot be made to shoot myself!

I shall plan my cousin's escape from that Canton mad-house, and together we shall go to marvel-shadowed Innsmouth. We shall swim out to that brooding reef in the sea and dive down through black abysses to Cyclopean and many-columned Y'ha-nthlei, and in that lair of the Deep Ones we shall dwell amidst wonder and glory for ever."

Yeah I've been Lovecraft walking back Saltmarsh ever since I experienced it back in 'U2 Danger At Dunwater'. This is because of the Cthulhu mythos entry in Kuntz & Ward's Deities & Demigods.


Picture via Wayne's books 

 The Deep Ones are immortal which means that these things can compete with any lich, vampire lord, etc. They are completely soul less as well & that means utterly alien. Basically the Deep Ones are an occult cosmic fish virus among the planes. Because U2 Danger At Dunwater requires diplomacy & a steady hand the PC's got the chance to see an Earth where things had gone wrong. So very wrong and they made an enemy that may still be following them. 

Using & Expanding UK1 Beyond the Crystal Cave (1e) By Dave J. Browne, Tom Kirby, & Graeme Morris

Fleeing the rage that consumed their feuding families, Juliana and Orlando fled to the Cave of Echoes, where it is said every wish is granted. Two years have passed, and all attempts to return the lovers to their parents have failed, though some believe them lost in the enchanted garden beyond the cave.

Many are the rescuers who have entered that enchanted park; a few have returned after long absences, their minds and memories curiously disturbed. Now, the handsome reward offered for the return of the lovers has tempted you, but who knows what lies beyond the Crystal Cave?


For the better part of Holloween into 2020  now I've been dealing with a cold & sinus issue that has seriously kicked my ass. Not that it has in any way or shape cramped my style when it came to my gaming for 2020. The fact is that I've also been thinking of Rpg Pundit's Lion & Dragon as well as RPGPundit Presents: The Old School Companion 1 From Spectre Press. I've been thinking about adapting UK1: 'Beyond The Crystal Cave into a Dark Albion or Dark Europe setting using the Companion. 

UK1: "Beyond the Crystal Cave" (1983) is the first adventure in the "UK-series" of modules produced by TSR UK. It was released in 1983. The adventure is for PC's between the levels of 4-7. This is not an easy adventure to adapt to more modern OSR games or is it? The module actually seems far easier to marry to Lion & Dragon because of the star crossed lovers. The module is partially based on Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet with a healthy dosage of the Tempest. Not at first this may not seem like a marriage suited to the Lion & Dragon Rpg.  


Let's pump the breaks here. The party made up from both worried family's retainers & adventurers working together to track down the where abouts of a pair of star crossed lovers who have fled into a enchanted garden of the ancient Elves?!
This module relies heavily on the Fiend Folio of monsters including a rare Yu Lung dragon! Echoes of this formula would be seen throughout U.K. TSR run of modules. But the Cave of Echoes has such potential even through this is a thinking man's module! Set UK1: "Beyond the Crystal Cave"  against the backdrop of the Rose War & suddenly things can get very complicated indeed. 


Juliana and Orlando as minor royals set's off all kinds of alarm bells at court because their disappearance could signal the fact that both families have been weakened by a loss of face against the tapestry of  'the War of the Roses'. The War of the Roses is for the very soul of the throne of England.Not only are the heirs of the families missing but the family's are distracted. This means that thier full attention to their duty to the crown is disconcerning to the other royals. Parties of adventurers are actually going to have to think their way out of UK1: "Beyond the Crystal Cave". 

This is where the UK1: "Beyond the Crystal Cave" shines & the 

RPGPundit Presents: The Old School Companion 1  shines because it allows the players take all of the hints dropped in U.K.1 & flesh them out. Family dynamics, double crosses, & more bring the facts into their game. 
 UK1: "Beyond the Crystal Cave"  is an excellent module to start a campaign with the party of adventurers becoming entrenched in three different royal family of means lives. The advantage is that the PC's have a duty to the plot of U.K.1 without getting rail roaded if the DM takes full control & advantage of the module.  UK1: "Beyond the Crystal Cave"  is a rare example of a campaign starter that might lead to ever greater glory or even an inquistor investigation of the dangerous Chaos influences hinted at in the module! 

Adapting Beyond the Crystal Cave (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Module UK1 By Dave J. Browne, Graeme Morris, & Tom Kirby For Your Old School Campaigns

Fleeing the rage that consumed their feuding families, Juliana and Orlando fled to the Cave of Echoes, where it is said every wish is granted. Two years have passed, and all attempts to return the lovers to their parents have failed, though some believe them lost in the enchanted garden beyond the cave. Many are the rescuers venturing into that enchanted park; a few have returned after long absences, their minds and memories curiously disturbed.


Alright so yesterday I wrote briefly about U.K1 Beyond the Crystal Cave by British designers Dave J. Browne, Tom Kirby, and Graeme Morris, and published by TSR in 1983 as a thirty two page booklet. So it trails in for PC's levels four through seven. Its sort of set within the confines of Greyhawk but its got a very midevil English countryside approach with a very differently enchanted fairyland sort of feel to the adventure taking place within Sybarate Islein the Hold of the Sea Princes. The size of the isle has always been a source of contention among DM's & players. For me its always been U.K.1's setting situated someplace between Robert Howard's Solmon Kane with the threat of his Conan Picts someplace out there in the far away. The sort of backwater adventure location that could be dropped into War Hammer Fantasy Rpg first edition or Advanced Dungeons & Dragons with little issue. 


Yeah sort of like this but with more Fiend Folio first edition monsters!

The PC's are hired to rescue a recently eloped couple that has fled into the Cave of Echoes & its from here where things go wrong. This is a thinking man's adventure where experience points are rewarded for role playing your way out of situations. You as the DM are going to have to think on your feet & move on the trot when it comes to seeing where the PC's take events in Beyond The Crystal Cave. Because kids this is Shakespeare meets AD&D first edition & its an adventure that does it with style.



The PC's are going to have to be wily & clever to enter the Crystal Cave then enter Porpherio's Garden. The Garden is on the island of Sybarate. This isn't as easy as it sounds. There's lots of possible complications, drama, & possible circumstances to easily murder a seventh level PC with easy. The trips, traps, & encounters are balanced but for the thinking rpger & AD&D 1st edition player. Could this adventure be adapted for retroclone systems today? Quite easily because U.K.1 has its roots firmly within Celtic mythology & it wears these on its sleeve!
In fact this module could be transported whole hog into a variety of retroclone systems starting with Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea second edition. The combination of Fiend Folio monsters & AD&D 1st edition makes this one a nature for the Keltic based nations. The easy of slipping this into the bounds of Hyperborea might need a bit of a push here & there. But all in all it will easily fit into the campaign setting.



I can easily see this  adventure module working for Dark Albion as well where the families become mid tier royals & the PC's have to find the couple as part of the background tapestry of the Rose War. The monsters & adventure background fit the whole cloth of the setting nicely. The lay out & clear writing are hallmarks of the U.K. series.  I can easily see adapting this module into a Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg campaign with more then a few twists & turns!

U.K. 1 Beyond The Crystal Cave isn't for everyone, the module works on a number of levels with its writing, investigative style, quirky subject matter, approach to role playing rather then the traditional Dungeons & Dragons dungeon crawling. For some it remains a cultclassic with its revolutionary approach but for others its not their cup of tea. For me its an old favorite of mine. 

Adapting Beyond the Crystal Cave (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Module UK1 By Dave J. Browne, Graeme Morris, & Tom Kirby For Your Old School Campaigns

Fleeing the rage that consumed their feuding families, Juliana and Orlando fled to the Cave of Echoes, where it is said every wish is granted. Two years have passed, and all attempts to return the lovers to their parents have failed, though some believe them lost in the enchanted garden beyond the cave. Many are the rescuers venturing into that enchanted park; a few have returned after long absences, their minds and memories curiously disturbed.


Alright so yesterday I wrote briefly about U.K1 Beyond the Crystal Cave by British designers Dave J. Browne, Tom Kirby, and Graeme Morris, and published by TSR in 1983 as a thirty two page booklet. So it trails in for PC's levels four through seven. Its sort of set within the confines of Greyhawk but its got a very midevil English countryside approach with a very differently enchanted fairyland sort of feel to the adventure taking place within Sybarate Isle in the Hold of the Sea Princes. The size of the isle has always been a source of contention among DM's & players. For me its always been U.K.1's setting situated someplace between Robert Howard's Solmon Kane with the threat of his Conan Picts someplace out there in the far away. The sort of backwater adventure location that could be dropped into War Hammer Fantasy Rpg first edition or Advanced Dungeons & Dragons with little issue. 


Yeah sort of like this but with more Fiend Folio first edition monsters!

The PC's are hired to rescue a recently eloped couple that has fled into the Cave of Echoes & its from here where things go wrong. This is a thinking man's adventure where experience points are rewarded for role playing your way out of situations. You as the DM are going to have to think on your feet & move on the trot when it comes to seeing where the PC's take events in Beyond The Crystal Cave. Because kids this is Shakespeare meets AD&D first edition & its an adventure that does it with style.



The PC's are going to have to be wily & clever to enter the Crystal Cave then enter Porpherio's Garden. The Garden is on the island of Sybarate. This isn't as easy as it sounds. There's lots of possible complications, drama, & possible circumstances to easily murder a seventh level PC with easy. The trips, traps, & encounters are balanced but for the thinking rpger & AD&D 1st edition player. Could this adventure be adapted for retroclone systems today? Quite easily because U.K.1 has its roots firmly within Celtic mythology & it wears these on its sleeve!
In fact this module could be transported whole hog into a variety of retroclone systems starting with Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea second edition. The combination of Fiend Folio monsters & AD&D 1st edition makes this one a nature for the Keltic based nations. The easy of slipping this into the bounds of Hyperborea might need a bit of a push here & there. But all in all it will easily fit into the campaign setting.



I can easily see this  adventure module working for Dark Albion as well where the families become mid tier royals & the PC's have to find the couple as part of the background tapestry of the Rose War. The monsters & adventure background fit the whole cloth of the setting nicely. The lay out & clear writing are hallmarks of the U.K. series.  I can easily see adapting this module into a Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg campaign with more then a few twists & turns!

U.K. 1 Beyond The Crystal Cave isn't for everyone, the module works on a number of levels with its writing, investigative style, quirky subject matter, approach to role playing rather then the traditional Dungeons & Dragons dungeon crawling. For some it remains a cultclassic with its revolutionary approach but for others its not their cup of tea. For me its an old favorite of mine.