OSR Commentary- '84 One Set To Rule Them All With Mentzer's Dungeons & Dragons Set 3: Companion Rules

 Let's pick it right back up from here on the blog. Nineteen Eighty four was a huge year when the Companion Dungeons & Dragons boxset hit the stands by Frank Mentzer. The Companion box set hit like a ton of bricks bringing the levels of the BECMI Dungeons & Dragons PC level climb past fifteenth level. And this was a big deal on multiple levels because it brought domain level play into Mentzer D&D. And this was a big deal for those of us who had switched up our D&D game campaigns. 

 What Mentzer Companion rules brought to the game were new monsters, higher levels, treasures, warfare rules, domain play rules, and more. Suddenly player's PC's could and were expected to rule a kingdom or vassseldom. The player's PC's had kingdoms, church dominations, and more to worry about. And this was hands on rulership for the adventurers. This wasn't a mollycuddle set of rules. Instead the players were expected to have thier hands get dirty leading hirelings and NPC retainers of thier armies from the frontlines. 

The Companion rules box set was completely different from say Moldvay or Cook in the fact that it spelled out levels 15-25 for PC's. And heavy was head that wore the crown. The Wilderness adventures that were featured in so many Expert adventures & dungeons were the realms that the PC's controlled. Strongholds, wizard towers, temples, etc. became the PC's stock and trade. 
And the Gods themselves couldn't help you if your old adventuring partner's decided to turn on you. Because party dynamics were very much in vogue in Mentzer's Companion rules. Because the Companion rules set was actually a real step into Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition if played right. 

Mentzer hit different because when going from Expert into Companion no longer was the X1 The Isle of Dread a place to be explored but a land to be conquerored! Companion had a whole cloth feel of something different because adventuring took on another aspect and marshalling your armies was part of the charm. 
Because D&D had gone so far mainstream it was a readily available rpg system. So  one could not only get it in '84 from hobby and toy stores. But it was becoming available through Sears & Wards toy catalog. 
Suddenly the possibilities opened up by the  Mentzer's Dungeons & Dragons Set 3: Companion Rules seemed within reach. Why have just a stronghold when you can have your PC's rule a kingdom! 

OSR Commentary- '83 'Into The Frying Pan' With Frank Mentzer's Expert Dungeons & Dragons set

 So let's pick it up from the other day's blog entry here. So the year is Eighty Three and the revamp of the Expert Dungeons & Dragons set hits the stands. And this was another rung on the ladder of Dungeons & Dragons. Not only do we have total reexamination of Dungeons & Dragons but the PC levels skyrocketed. And the Expert set increased the PC levels from four to fourteen! This was a big deal in '83. 

Mentzer Expert did a bunch of stuff all at once. One it expanded the monsters of Basic and built on those. Then we got new treasures, and magic plus an update with a Tim Truman cover of X1 Isle of Dread. And Expert also brought the Wilderness into a huge role in Mentzer Basic/Expert. This shift from simply dungeons into Wilderness adventures added a whole different dimension to the grand game. 

 And Mentzer further refined the B/X rules building on Moldvay/Cook while adding his own spin to the rules. Frank Mentzer brought a different feel to D&D. There was module and with the Dungeons & Dragons Basic set there was enough here to do a campaign that could last for years. 
And Mentzer Dungeons & Dragons had a different feel to it. There was lots of new blood in the hobby in '83. For us it meant that we could begin to carve out are own little niche of the Isle of Dread. As I said Mentzer Dungeons & Dragons was far more mainstream and no where was that more evident then in the Eighty Three Sears Christmas catalog where both Mentzer Expert & Basic were for sale. Soon we saw far more gamers enter the hobby. Expert had a alot going for it.

1. Expert was literally the next rung of the levels of Dungeons & Dragons adding levels four to fourteen. 
2. The Wilderness opened up to every group of players adding in a place where the monsters dwelled. 
3. Mentzer Expert D&D was easily understood by the average 12 to 50 year old. The rules were clear and concise. 
4. The stakes became higher in Expert with the introduction of X1 The Isle of Dread.
5. Mentze Expert  D&D  easy to design home brew adventures or use easily accesible modules for the game. This was because the PC's levels were on point with published modules. 

Mentzer Expert Dungeons & Dragons preparred players for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition. And this started a love affair with BECMI Dungeons & Dragons and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition. 

OSR Commentary Dangerous Magic - AC4 - The Book of Marvelous Magic By Gary Gygax & Frank Mentzer For Dungeons & Dragons

 "Tell me, teacher?How does one open the cabinet of security? Of what use is the banner of bravery? And what are the limits of the sun deck? My books and scrolls tell me nothing about many of the magical treasures I've heard you mention time and again."

"No, Phaedras, your manuscripts are too general. But since you have inquired, I will allow you to peruse this, one of my most treasured volumes?The Book of Marvelous Magic. It will answer your questions."

And now you, too, can learn the secrets that were revealed to Phaedras! "




Frank Mentzer subtly pointed out AC4 - The Book of Marvelous Magic By Gary Gygax & Frank Mentzer on Facebook today. And when the founder of the Role-Playing Games Association (RPGA) during his time with TSR points a book out to you on Facebook about Basic Dungeons & Dragons I take note of it. Especially when its a seventy six page book that expands the grand game's magical items & has one of my favorite Clyde Caldwell covers! Who the hell is this witch & why does she have a vault containing that many magic relics. This is the book that introduced the famous line,"The D&D and AD&D games are actually different games." on page Seventy four. Well back in '86  this book was one of the ones that one of my dungeon masters got a hold of & it was not pretty. This is a book for the dungeon master who needs that special or unique magic item for a mini encounter or for a full on campaign with a twist. Salting them here & there within the context of the adventure. Not all of these magic items are nice at all & can cause all kinds of issues with parties of adventurers!
I'm not the only blogger who has positive things to say about AC4 The Book of Marvelous Magic



A bit of background the AC series of books by TSR were supplements that helped to round out the edges of Dungeons & Dragons while taking the hand of the dungeon master to some extent. AC1 The Shady Dragon Inn is used to help dungeon masters introduce fully designed NPC characters into any adventure scenario. This is also true of AC4 - The Book of Marvelous Magic By Gary Gygax & Frank Mentzer. 
Each category of item has within it variations & types of magic items for many situations. The wiki entry on AC4 has pretty good overview of the five hundred items;
" This book is a sourcebook on magical items and their twists and quirks. As well as all the miscellaneous magical items that appeared in the D&D Basic, Expert, and Companion Sets, over 500 new magical items are described in detail. Each item comes with a brief description and an explanation of its powers. The items are listed in alphabetical order by type of item. For example, under Blanket can be found the Blanket of Devouring, the Blanket of Protection, and the Blanket of Sleeping."
"Marvelous Magic sticks with alphabetical order, though it also has random charts for some unusual categories such as "animal-related items", "paper and related items", "tools and hardware", and "travel items" (optionally, "land and air" or "water")." AC4 - The Book of Marvelous Magic By Gary Gygax & Frank Mentzer 

delivers the goods quite literally to the PC's. But surely a book written in '85 couldn't be used today for something like OSR systems or Fifth edition right?! Actually AC4 is even more useful today then it was when it was first published!  With so many OSR settings on the market today AC4 could throw any number of odd & off beat magic items into an adventure. There are a lot of weird & off beat punned named magic items in this book & its actually a Gygax & Mid Western American thing. That's not a bad thing as some of these items are actually deadly dungeon traps unto themselves such as the 'Barrel of Monkeys'. The person looking into the barrel is transformed into an Albino Ape & they keep coming! This is a dungeon feature & trap which could be very deadly. As recently as two years ago I used this trap erm magic item for Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea.


Yes I totally stole this artwork from the Dungeons & Digression blog

But who the Hell is making all of these magic items?! My guess is a god of magic, malice, & possibly chaos. The magic items have subtle theme of weirdness about them & the sheer variety is like something the brain of a dungeon master would come up with after a heavy brain storming session. There are items here for every adventure situation & more. In OSR game settings such as Dark Albion, I've used AC4 - The Book of Marvelous Magic By Gary Gygax & Frank Mentzer as the basis for the vault of  the sorcerer Prospero, rightful Duke of Milan, from Shakespeare's The Tempest.
Because of the slightly humors bent many of these items also made guest appearances in several Lamentations of the Flame Princess modules. But its really in Mystara where AC4 - The Book of Marvelous Magic By Gary Gygax & Frank Mentzer  has gotten a work out. The book's magic items were or are a part of a treasury of a faction of worshipers of a god of magic & chaos. Notice I said god not immortal because there's a dangerous difference. When these items show up the immortals are not happy at all. They cause all kinds of low scale chaos & headaches for adventurers, villagers, & even ordinary citizens!



That gets to the heart of what AC4 - The Book of Marvelous Magic By Gary Gygax Frank Mentzer  does which is to be used to create unique adventure opportunities. I don't agree with the Imagine magazine review & commentary;
"Jez Keen reviewed the accessory for Imagine magazine, giving it a negative review.^[2] Keen wrote that the items on offer fall into three categories, "sensible ones, the bad-play compensatory ones and the silly ones".^[2] Overall, the reviewer thought that in Basic D&D games magic items can be much too common. If magic was appropriately rare, this publication would not be needed. So Keen recommended it only for those who think that there should be "magic items at every street corner", as some items will be useful and some humorous."
Its really not up to the reviewer but actually it falls to the dungeon master as to where & when these magic items are needed during adventure design or play. So is AC4 - The Book of Marvelous Magic By Gary Gygax & Frank Mentzer worth the price of admission?! Well yes I think so & I do feel that it delivers on its promises & has gotten a bad rap over the years because its really a niche product. What I mean is that this is a product meant for the dungeon master to use the items & salt their adventures & campaigns as needed.  All in all I think its a great product & snap shot of another era of gaming.

'The Harvest Begins' - Elves, Stormbringer, & The OSR God Cycles

 Sometimes one has to wait for a Kickstarter to end then wait a month for the supplement to get published to really access the full weight of its impact on the market place. Not so with the classics & in this case Frank Mentzer's Immortals box set has been playing with my mind. And here's the line that's been doing it;"The Player's Guide to Immortals lays out the basic information needed to convert you mortal player characters to Immortal status. It also explains new game mechanics, as are many aspects of the character's new existence" 

Are immortals divine powered up agents of their respective immortal superiors  & spheres?! If the  god Freyr is the actual progenic ruler of  the Ljósálfar ('Light Elves') does this mean that  the gods of the elves of Dungeons & Dragons & even Advanced Dungeons & Dragons are to share his fate again & again? The Archons only know. Like I said before Frank Mentzer doesn't get half the credit he deserves. The light elves power gets watered down generation after generation over tens of thousands of years. Why?! Because Freyer & the like are actually of the rank of Archons & here's the description from the immorals set; "These Lawful champions of goodness are sworn enemies of Chaos. They are native to the Home Plane of the Hierarch of Energy. Their full description is given in the D&D Master Set (MDM page 40). They are entirely mortal. In the opinion of the Hierarch (who has little experience in working with the substance of the other Spheres), his creations are shining examples of the perfect blend of beauty and power. Few other Immortals agree, but those of his Sphere dare not voice their opinions. Archons have very narrow views of what is acceptable behavior. They are so outraged by any neutral, chaotic, or evil behavior that they are avoided by all other creatures. Despite their good intentions, they manage to arouse resentment in nearly everyone they meet. And they are multiversally considered to be the most obnoxious creatures in all the Home Planes." 
The Hierarchs are exactly the sort of mortal gods & goddesses that the Stormbringer entity was designed to hunt, kill, & absorb.. That's right its sort of cosmic Jack in the Green.  

Swords like Stormbringer & Mournblade are very dangerous in the extreme & they are a part of an entity that's been stalking the backdrop of popculture for ages;

"Various books refer to this malicious entity as a demon, the anti-balance, and Sword. It is a treacherous being, chaotic evil to the core, that hungers for blood and souls and wishes to defy and destroy humanity and the Cosmic Balance. As a consequence of its influence, Stormbringer caused every Nihrain who handled it to become mass murderers. A court was assembled in the Nihrainian stables to put Stormbringer and its handlers on trial. But Stormbringer caused the judges to go mad and sentence both court and defendants to a terrible death. In the end, only ten Nihrain remained, including Sepiriz." 

What are these entities?! The Stormbringer entity is a part of the antibalance & the sword. This entity isn't Law or Chaos but a part of the entropic end of all things. All it wants is violence, blood, & souls. By proxy the Lords of Chaos & Law get a piece of the occult action. 

Surely this has nothing whatsoever to do with the Elves?! What if the sword has been in the mythology of the German & Norse this whole time? What if Stormbringer is actually the mystic sword Tyrfing, Tirfing or Tyrving; "Tyrfing, Tirfing or Tyrving (The name is of uncertain origin, possibly connected to the Terwingi) was a magic sword in Norse mythology, which features in the Tyrfing Cycle, which includes a poem from the Poetic Edda called Hervararkviða, and the Hervarar saga. The name is also used in the saga to denote the Goths. The form Tervingi was actually recorded by Roman sources in the 4th century.

Svafrlami was the king of Gardariki, and Odin's grandson. He managed to trap the dwarves Dvalinn and Durinn when they had left the rock where they dwelt. Then he forced them to forge a sword with a golden hilt that would never miss a stroke, would never rust and would cut through stone and iron as easily as through clothes.

The dwarves made the sword, and it shone and gleamed like fire. However, in revenge they cursed it so that it would kill a man every time it was drawn and that it would be the cause of three great evils. They finally cursed it so that it would also kill Svafrlami himself." 

Gleamed like fire or a black fire? Where have we seen this before?! 

You know who else wields a sword like Tyrfing?!  Freyr whose divine connection to the primorial & elemental titans makes him perfect god pray for the Stormbringer entity. And he's doomed to be killed by Surtur at the end of  Ragnarok. Freyr is or was fated to give up his sword. A metaphor for the fate of the Elven people over & over again in the cycle of the planes?! 

Seated on Odin's throne Hliðskjálf,
 the god Freyr sits in contemplation in an illustration
(1908) by Frederic Lawrence

Elves may be better then you at everything but it seems that they are fated to the harvest of cosmos cut down by the cosmic sickle in a never ending cycle. This is also part of lord elves role; "Freyr (Old Norse: Lord), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested god in Norse mythology, associated with sacral kingship, virility, peace and prosperity, with sunshine and fair weather, and with good harvest." Hence the lord of the light elves himself is fufilling a cosmic role destined to him in long ages past. 
And this puts me in line with thinking that perhaps the 'old gods', the 'forgotten' gods, are not as gone as they seem. A thought that seems in line with both Freyr & Zzarchov Kowolski's Pale Lady Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg.  adventure. The idea that perhaps the witch in the forrest had another role eons ago. Now she's removed from the games of Law, Chaos, & Fey. The Fey whose role as forgotten angels or worse has been forgotten by long dead worshipers. 

This is why the champions of Law & Chaos are never welcomed into Mystara or even into Greyhawk per say. The immortals on the highest inner levels of the councils of immortals within the inner circles know this relationship. But even Greyhawk has its own strains of the Stormbringer entity. 
Elves basically have been seeded across the multiverse for the purpose of harvesting for the cosmic bounty by their very god & lord who himself is 'doomed'. We'll get into the why coming up. 

'The Consequences Of Gods & A Sword' - Elves, Stormbringer, & The OSR God Myths

 "Ever wonder what happens to powerful heroes after their adventures legendary, and they have passed in to the realms beyond? Now you can find out with the D&D Immortals Set.

The Player's Guide to Immortals lays out the basic information needed to convert you mortal player characters to Immortal status. It also explains new game mechanics, as are many aspects of the character's new existence"

Its been a long while since the spines on the  Immortals set got cracked. But looking into the deep background on Elves something came up in the usual romps across the internet. A thread on the Piazza site last night stopped my morning musings 'Titans: Why Are The D&D Titans Weaker Then The AD&D Types ' & this was the bit that really stopped me ; "
The Immortals Set titan is, it's true, somewhat weaker than the AD&D titan. They're only 15 HD instead of around 20 HD (though listed as 21 to 30 feet tall, so around the same height of the 2nd edition titan). They only have 25% anti-magic instead of the 50% 2nd edition magic resistance or the 60% 1st edition magic resistance. Still, I don't think they're that far off, conceptually. Perhaps your difficulty comes from comparing the standard lesser titans to the greater and elder titans described in Deities & Demigods and Legends & Lore. I think you could call Djaea or other Immortals "titans" in the same way that the divine Cronus and Oceanus are titans in Deities & Demigods - clearly they're a more ancient, greater level of being than the lesser titans who are their descendants, though." 

Titans are the missing mythological link between Elves, the gods, Fey, & even the elements. Let's dive in. You can read a full break down of Frank Mentzer's Immortals set here on the Otherside blog.  Needless to say that Frank Mentzer doesn't get the credit he deserves.  Let's move back to the Elves. Within Norse & Germanic mythology there some links.  The Prose Edda describes the Ljósálfar ('Light Elves') who are 'fairer to look upon than the sun.' Like Tolkien's mythology, there are Dökkálfar ('Dark Elves'), and also Svartálfar ('Black Elves'.) The light Elves in particular. The god Freyr was given Álfheimr ('Elf-home'), and elves can at times be seen in the company of the gods. 


The Rällinge statuette, believed to depict Freyr, Viking Age

 Freyr is the ruler of the Light Elves ; " Freyr (Old Norse: Lord), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested god in Norse mythology, associated with sacral kingship, virility, peace and prosperity, with sunshine and fair weather, and with good harvest. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden and seen as an ancestor of the Swedish royal house. According to Adam of Bremen, Freyr was associated with peace and pleasure, and was represented with a phallic statue in the Temple at Uppsala. According to Snorri Sturluson, Freyr was "the most renowned of the æsir", and was venerated for good harvest and peace." And he is also one of the æsir who are present after the creation of the world ; "The interaction between the Æsir and the Vanir has provoked an amount of scholarly theory and speculation. While other cultures have had "elder" and "younger" families of gods, as with the Titans versus the Olympians of ancient Greece, the Æsir and Vanir were portrayed as contemporaries. The two clans of gods fought battles, concluded treaties, and exchanged hostages (Freyr and Freyja are mentioned as hostages)" 

The Elves of Dungeons & Dragons may in point of fact be descended from the light elves of mythology. The light Elves themselves might have been like unto the gods in many ways becoming the gods of contemporary elves in D&D campaign worlds such as Greyhawk. 
 The Æsir and the Vanir may in point of fact be descended from the elemental & primordial titans at the beginning of the planes. And this goes a long way to explaining many deities that have connections with Fallen  angels, devils, &  demons. These Fallen  angels, devils, &  demons are the Lords of Law & Chaos respectively in Michael Moorcock's eternal champion series. And let me direct you to the Warhound & The World's Pan for the connections. 

We've seen interactions between Elric & various incarnations of the eternal champion with the forces of darkness & chaos. But these are often fraught with peril because of the masks that the forces of Law & Chaos wear. The real danger behind the scenes is the entity of the black sword. 

The Elves & their various incarnations were created long ago & the titans have strong connections to them. 

Freyr may in point of fact have far more familiarity with the entity of the black sword because he once may have wielded an aspect of it. The 'Sword of Freyr'  had to be separated from its owner; "The most extensive surviving Freyr myth relates Freyr's falling in love with the female jötunn Gerðr. Eventually, she becomes his wife but first Freyr has to give away his sword which fights on its own "if wise be he who wields it." Although deprived of this weapon, Freyr defeats the jötunn Beli with an antler. However, lacking his sword, Freyr will be killed by the fire jötunn Surtr during the events of Ragnarök."  

Freyr's Sword is very similar to Elric's Stormbringer both in occult qualities,  temperament, & even its apocalyptical curse that surrounds it; 

"In Norse mythology, the sword belonging to Freyr, a Norse god associated with sunshine, summer and fair weather. Freyr's sword is depicted in Norse mythology as one of the few weapons that is capable of fighting on its own. After Freyr gave up the sword to Skírnir for the hand of the giantess Gerðr, he will die at Ragnarök because he didn't have his sword, fighting Surtr with an antler."

All of this ties back into the Black Blade of the Demon King for Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg. And could be use greater adventure framing device. 

So where does this leave the immortals?! Screwed?! Nope the immortals want nothing to do with any of this & actively take down any sign of the games between Law & Chaos. Even the immortals of the entropic sphere want nothing to do with this. Playing with fire to end their reign isn't their style. This is why demon weapons like Stormbringer & Mournblade are so dangerous for Mystara & worlds like it. More to come. 

A Gathering Storm - Frank Mentzer's IM1 Immortals Storm, Immortals Set, & Moorcockian Mythology

""The storm-stuff is not matter as we know it, and beyond Immortal control," the Hierarch sighs, "I fear we are doomed."

It appeared only a few weeks ago — a swirling gray mass of incalculable size. And in its center, an eye. A humanoid eye. Now the storm threatens the very era of Immortal rule.

The growing maelstrom emits a message to the Hierarchs. But what does it mean? Can it help save this realm of existence? Is there time to save this realm?

This first Immortal adventure pits your party against the multiverse in a desperate struggle to find the essence of life. This adventure is nothing like you've ever played before."



 So since the beginning of the year sale is on at Drivethrurpg again. DM Steve decided to get me an early 'New Year' present, brand new copy of the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia. And of course the players wanted in on the action?! But thumbing through it has brought up immortals again?! 

Never let it be said that we don't have a wicked sense of humor, & recently when DM Steve decided to get me Christmas gift of D&D Rules Cyclopedia (Basic) then things came around for us. Now one of the things to know about D&D Rules Cyclopedia (Basic)  is the fact that it has a very basic introduction to the immortal's path from  BECMI Dungeons & Dragons.  But if you know about Frank Mentzer's Immortals Box set then you know exactly what the immortals are actually capable of. 

See unlike other folks I believe that the Mystara & other planes immortals are the biggest 'cosmic pain's in the arse' in the entire multiverse & planes. The reason that I say this is reading through Frank Mentzer's IM1 Immortals Storm & Tim Brannan's Immortals set commentary here.  IM1 Immortals Storm uses an alternative Earth  New York & Chicago respectively as part of the adventure plot. And as a DM I had a group of young & inexperienced immortals show up on this Earth to 'fix' the storm. The PC's at the time were 'gods of Earth' & high level adventurers turned gods ala Primal Order rpg book. We can see immortals barging into the local time space continuum to solve an ongoing problem. And this is after we get the immortals having a 'grand tour' of  the elemental plane of fire, the home plane of the tonals, the home plane of the notions, and the elemental plane of earth. 
This was prior to the fact that the PC's had encountered the young upstart immortals before & within DM Steve's campaign. And they were thrown out of that region of the edges of Mystara's planes. The PC's returned the favor by banishing the immortals from their Earth. But what happened to the campaign events of IM1?! Now two years  before starting my Cha'alt Godbound game DM Steve left me up to my neck in it here. Recently there's been a bit of a Strombringer rpg boom  that's been on going at our collective table top. And last night DM Steve brought up this unresolved game?! And another question that's been bothering me. If evil cosmic artifacts such as the Black Sword exist within both BECMI & AD&D first edition are any immortals or gods ever safe?! Why is this question immortant?! Because of the nature of the Black Sword entity or is it entities according to the Michael Moorcock Multiverse Wiki; "The Black Sword is a cosmic archetype, able to exist in any universe in almost any form. It is the weapon of the Eternal Champion, but it is not always borne by him or her. As the name suggests, it most often takes the form of a massive black runesword. The Black Sword is alive, fully sentient and malevolent. It has a will of its own and will often disobey the wishes of its wielder.

The Black Sword devours the souls of its victims, and can even kill gods. It exists in the Higher Realms as creatures of Chaos, and can partially manifest as black-bladed swords or other weapons (such as Jerry Cornelius' Needle Gun or the Banning Gun) on the material plane.

The Black Sword has been called by many names in its different manifestations across the Multiverse, including Stormbringer, Mournblade/Ravenbrand, Kanajana, the Cold Sword, the Dragon Sword, and Murakamo-No-Tsurugi (Japanese for Sword of the Gathering Clouds).

Though the Black Sword is a being of Chaos, it seems to be an instrument of the Balance, akin to the Runestaff and the Horn of Fate. This is likely because in some cryptic way, the Black Sword and the Eternal Champion are one.

Lucifer has also claimed to be one with the Black Sword."

So is any god or immortal really safe?! Somehow I don't think so because we have various magic swords & artifacts floating around the multiverse not to mention the fact that Elric himself appears in AD&D 1st edition of Dieties & Demigods. 

It means that there are assasins out on the planes with the equilvent of loaded guns capable of killing gods. Let that sink in for a moment, & at any moment the entire works of a universe could comedown around the ears of the immortals or gods. Allowing both the lords of Entropy & Chaos to take on far more terrority then they originally were allowed. And yes I know that Frank Mentzer is going to contact me & give me a tongue lashing about the fact that he had specifically had separated BECMI, B/X, & OD&D from his immortals. But even the all powerful can fall to the minions & agents of evil. But what happens when even they need help?! And is that the sound of distant thunder?!  

An Alternative Campaign Path For B10 Night's Dark Terror by Jim Bambra, Graeme Morris, & Phil Gallagher

"Barely one day's march from Kelven, the uncharted tracts of the Dymrak forest conceal horrors enough to freeze the blood of civilized folk. Those who have ventured there tell how death comes quick to the unwary - for the woods at night are far worse than any dungeon. 

But you are adventurers, veterans of many battles, and the call of the will is strong. Will you answer the call, or are you afraid of the dark terrors of the night?

This campaign adventure is for characters just beginning Expert play (levels 2-4) and hurls them into the exciting outdoor world which awaits in the Expert rulebook. "
B10 Night's Dark Terror by Jim Bambra, Graeme Morris, &  Phil Gallagher show cases everything that Mentzer's Expert Dungeons & Dragons set was meant to do. That is drown the PC's into a situation that will test the players to their limits. DM'ed correctly & this adventure could take the PC's into some solidly dangerous situations & could result in a TPK.




This module premiered in '86 & there's a unique history behind its publication; "B10: Night’s Dark Terror (1986), by the TSR UK crew of Jim Bambra, Graeme Morris, and Phil Gallagher, was the tenth adventure produced for the D&D Basic Set (1981). It was also a return to basics after the home office in Wisconsin had stopped producing new Basic Set adventures in 1985. It was published in February 1986."
B10: Night’s Dark Terror (1986), presents the wilderness as both foe & setting for a mid range party of adventurers & it does an excellent job of presenting the adventures with an 'edge of the  frontier' setting that reminds me of the best of Robert H Howard's "Beyond the Black River" The player's PC's are literally up to their necks in the depths of a hostile environment. They'll need to be fast, quick witted, & wily to survive the machinations of the module. The DM needs to pay attention to the contents of this adventure & yes I said contents; "With a 64-page booklet, 2 double-panel covers, and complete scans of the orioginal double-sided mapsheet, this super-module provides all you need for epic wilderness and dungeon adventuring." The journey across the Grand Duchy of Karameikos is a very dangerous one indeed for the players are going to need their wits about them. There are several instances where the updated fan made maps available from the Piazza are a must.  Created by Sarastro Magnifico
The module is basically an adventure tour of the campaign setting of the the Grand Duchy of Karameikos & the DM has to keep the action moving. Done correctly & this module goes like an 80's action movie. All of the while it show cases many of the advantages of Mentzer D&D Expert Rules highlights & really showcases the streamlining of the systems. 



But I want to bring up the Graeme Davis review of Night's Dark Terror from White Dwarf No. 78 from the B10 wiki entry; 

"Graeme Davis reviewed Night's Dark Terror for White Dwarf No. 78. Davis felt that the farmstead in the adventure's opening was nicely detailed, and that the counters to play out the action on the 25mm scale map for that location were a nice idea. He commented on the plot of the adventure, "There is enough here to keep the fastest-moving party going for some time, and a section of suggestions for further adventures can help the GM to open out a long-running campaign in the area."^[2] Davis did note that the numbering system for wilderness locations was confusing, with an example where a location has one designation at one part in the module, and at a later point the location has a different designation which does not correspond with anything on the map. However, Davis felt that everything else in the module was written and laid out very well, and that the module would be a tremendous help for any game master learning the Expert rules"
This confusion with the wilderness locations on the maps has been corrected in that fan made maps from the Piazza by Sarastro Magnifico. The Dragon's foot site has a good thread of suggestions for running B10 as well.

 But now I've got an idea for slipping in B8: Journey to the Rock as a campaign shake up before continuing onto X10 Red Arrow, Black Shield By  Michael Dobson. Not only does this give the player's a more even adventure path but it gives them time to go up the levels needed to tackle some of the challenges seen in X10. 



Of course this is going to depend upon if they survive the horrors, weirdness, events, & weather of 'B10: Night’s Dark Terror (1986)'. Because B8: Journey to the Rock builds upon the foundations of B10: Night's Dark Terror's wilderness exportation in spades & aces.
There are several reasons to do this: 

1. Using B8: Journey to the Rock with B10 Night's Dark Terror gives the module a frame work to build the campaign upon. 
2. There could be a connection between B10's baddies & the wizard which gives the PC's more puzzles. 
3. The deeper one goes with this there could be ties with X10 Red Arrow, Black Shield By  Michael Dobson's forces. 
4. The campaign context makes the armies of the humanoids very dangerous especially if coupled with B2 Keep on the Borderlands. 
5. The war depicted in this module, The Grand Duchy of Karameikos, has all of its moving parts & pieces in place. 
6. The forces of  Karameikos, are going to need all of the outside help they can get that's where the PC's form the internal chain. 
7. The wizard of B8 might have vital information to the cause of the PC's and done correctly this might spur them on. 
8. The wilderness of both B10 & B8 could hide any number of mini dungeons & these are the perfect bits for any campaign side quests. 
9. Be sure to take full advantage of the random encounter & weather tables when running these two modules. 
10. The PC's could become military spies or assets for Karameikos,& the DM should take full advantage of this.