Review & Commentary on Advanced Dungeons & Dragons - I10: Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill For Your Old School Campaigns

""I AM THE ANCIENT ... I AM THE LAND ..."
Your screams still echo in your room. Cold sweat soaks the bedsheets and trickles down your back.
It seemed so real! The great towers of a darksome place called Ravenloft ... it's misty vales and the terrible tragedy of a man who had sold his soul to unlife. Now the sunlight streams through the window with the promise of a new day. The dread nightmare at last is over.
In the cold sunlight of a dying autumn, you step from your room at the inn and stroll along the friendly streets of Mordentshire. But, from the back of your mind the dream creeps forward to haunt you. Why do the faces of those who have befriended you now seem those of strangers? Why do those who called you here in terror, now seem to dismiss your task as a folly?
More .. why are you advised so strongly, to forget about the House on Gryphon Hill ... the domain of the fair haired Count Von Zarovich, a name that cries out from your dark nightmare?

You halt, as the swirl of events grow more confusing with every passing minute. Which is the dream ... and which the reality?"


After yesterday's review I decided to dig out my copy of the other Ravenloft module that no one speaks about. Yes I'm talking I10: "Ravenloft II: House on Gryphon Hill" (1986). If there's a forgotten module that defines Ravenloft then this is it.  Let's get the back history out of the way first ;" I10: "Ravenloft II: House on Gryphon Hill" (1986), by Tracy and Laura Hickman, is the tenth module in the long-running Intermediate series of adventures for AD&D and the second Ravenloft adventure. It was released in September 1986." Tracy & Laura Hickman are at their best here but the other authors on the adventure made this a very uneven adventure in places.
  But I10"Ravenloft II: House on Gryphon Hill" (1986) does is lay the ground work for later Advanced Dungeons & Dragons forays into the Ravenloft setting. Yep, I said that.   Why?! Because of the time line of the main villain & monster. The monster is the central axis of this  adventure & as a squeal to the original module as whole cloth its gotten a very bad reputation. But I don't really think that its a fair assumpition at all  & given Tracy Hickman's history on  I10  "Ravenloft II: House on Gryphon Hill" I can see why. According to the Drivethrurpg entry on the I10  "Ravenloft II: House on Gryphon Hill" ;
 "Origins: It's Alive!. After his success coauthoring the Dragonlance Chronicles (1984-1985) and Dragonlance Legends (1986) novels, Tracy Hickman decided to leave TSR and try his hand as a professional freelance writer. His last month at TSR was April 1985, a short three years after his arrival there.
However, before his departure Hickman put together an outline for a sequel to his classic adventure, I6: "Ravenloft" (1983). A team of four writers then actually wrote the book: David Cook, Jeff Grubb, Harold Johnson, and Douglas Niles. Hickman says that not much of his original outline survived, but nonetheless a sequel to "Ravenloft" was born"

Now I had said that I10  "Ravenloft II: House on Gryphon Hill" is important for the Ravenloft setting; "Exploring Ravenloft. Strahd from "Ravenloft" is back, but he's now a recent arrival to the new setting of Mordentshire. So how does that fit with his original adventure? As it turns out, the answer is "not well". "Gryphon Hill" suggests that the original "Ravenloft" could be a dream. Or maybe this one is. Or maybe they're alternate realities. Combining them into one chronology doesn't seem possible. (The original "Ravenloft" has been the favored background for Strahd in more recent appearances.)

Despite that, "Gryphon Hill" is a critical historical link between the original I6: "Ravenloft" (1983) and the later Ravenloft: Realm of Terror (1990) and Ravenloft Campaign Setting (1994). It introduces Mordent, the second of the demiplane's domains — and in fact remains the best source of information on the domain thanks to its extensive maps and background for Mordentshire"

I10  "Ravenloft II: House on Gryphon Hill" is the House of Frankenstein 1944 of the Ravenloft modules. That is to say a huge number of NPC's & monsters with the potential for lots of great opportunities for role playing. The module even employs some of the classic elements of horror & science fiction including the ever popular 'body switching' trope. All of the adventure elements here would come into play later on in the classic 1990 Ravenloft box set.  This includes some of the most important NPC's of Ravenloft. In fact I'd go one better & use this module as an unofficial Ravenloft campaign setting  adventure  add on. A powerful module critical to the personal campaign setting  history  that PC's might experience.


These include  Count Strahd of course & the lich Azalin, but also Germain d’Honaire, Nathan Timothy, and the Weathermays all of whom are vital to the action of Ravenloft's power structure. But even given all of that I10  "Ravenloft II: House on Gryphon Hill" is not an easy module to get through let alone survive. This is the perfect opportunity to test the mettle of high level player characters.   I10  "Ravenloft II: House on Gryphon Hill" has a ton going for it if taken on its own. The sheer variety of monsters in this module makes it a very interesting mix  from skeletons, zombies, even  werewolves, spectres, and a very powerful  lich. That brings me to the end of the road here where I caution on not using  I10  "Ravenloft II: House on Gryphon Hill" unless you're a really well versed dungeon master. The module's Gothic adventure elements  & ideas seem solid & well done but in the hands of someone's whose expecting a typical AD&D adventure this isn't going to end well. Four outta of five in my book. 

Commentary On An OSR Combination of B10 Night's Dark Terror, & I6 Ravenloft As Fodder For Old School Campaigns

So I was talking with a friend of mine whose home for the Easter holiday today. He's a dungeon master of some experience & with an old school background. He was talking about using B10 Night's Dark Terror as the fodder for the lands surrounding the AD&D 1st edition classic I6 Ravenloft. This gives the over all campaign the look and feel of a wild Hammer style pseudo Russian or old world country without giving up the classic D&D Gothic feel. There are several reasons why this could work and work very well; one of which is because "Night's Dark Terror was designed specifically for campaigns transitioning from the D&D Basic Set to the D&D Expert Set. The player characters (PCs) journey from a farmstead into uncharted wilderness, where they encounter new hazards and contend with a secret society"



Apparently John got so fed up with his players knowing everything there is about the Ravenloft box set that he went back to the original source material where "PC's travel by river and over mountains, from the Grand Duchy of Karameikos to the chaotic lands. The characters encounter a town under siege by goblins, a ruined city, and a lost valley" . This means that the PC's are traveling through the fringes of the  lands of Count Strahd von Zarovich without arousing too much suspicions of the royal notice of the Count. "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." So is the Iron Ring one of the power blocks behind the mundane rise of  Strahd's rise to power. This could be hinted at the the gypsy camp on the Barovia borderlands. PC's are likely to encounter zombies, wolves, ghouls, ghosts, and other creatures. This helps to set the stage for the Gothic horror of  I6 & the tragic tale of love, lust, lost and more.

The combination of the two modules adds gravitas to the backstory of Strahd as well. "The master of nearby Castle Ravenloft, Count Strahd von Zarovich, tyrannically rules the country, and a prologue explains that the residents must barricade their doors each night to avoid attacks by Strahd and his minions. The Burgomaster's mansion is the focus of these attacks, and, for reasons that are not initially explained, Strahd is after the Burgomaster's adopted daughter, Ireena Kolyana." Its almost as if the countryside takes on the characteristics of the infamous vampire when the two modules are combined. Therefore the sum is now greater then the individual parts.


The DM gets the best of all possible worlds with this approach. Several mini dungeons & devilishly delightful mini wilderness encounters along with a mini dungeon crawl at lower levels that set's everything in the heat of the moment. There a little bit of everything before the main set up for the final show down with Strahd. 

 All in all this sounds like on paper a great way of having the best of all worlds by using this sort of old school hybrid approach. A bit of a Gothic guided wilderness crawl with lots of subtle changes that don't change the combination of awesomeness that is these two old school classics. 

OSR Commentary On The Bat Wings of I6 Ravenloft By Tracy & Laura Hickman For Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition & Your Old School Campaigns

"Under raging stormclouds, a lone figure stands silhouetted against the ancient walls of castle Ravenloft. Count Strahd von Zarovich stares down a sheer cliff at the village below. A cold, bitter wind spins dead leaves around him, billowing his cape in the darkness. Lightning splits the clouds overhead, casting stark white light across him. Strahd turns to the sky, revealing the angular muscles of his face and hands. He has a look of power - and of madness. His once-handsome face is contorted by a tragedy darker than the night itself.

Rumbling thunder pounds the castle spires. The wind's howling increases as Strahd turns his gaze back to the village. Far below, yet not beyond his keen eyesight, a party of adventurers has just entered his domain. Strahd's face forms a twisted smile as his dark plan unfolds. He knew they were coming, and he knows why they came - all according to his plan. He, the master of Ravenloft, will attend to them.

Another lightning flash rips through the darkness, its thunder echoing through the castle's towers. But Strahd is gone. Only the howling of the wind - or perhaps a lone wolf - fills the midnight air. The master of Ravenloft is having guests for dinner. And you are invited."

I've been doing another thought excercise today about I6 Ravenloft module, this is one of my all time favorites. "I6: "Ravenloft," by Tracy and Laura Hickman, is the sixth module in the long-running Intermediate series of adventures for AD&D. It was released in October 1983." Alright so I've seen the module described as an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy adventure with the trappings of a Gothic horror novel. So right off this isn't going to suit my purposes at all if I was running this adventure with a Swords & Sorcery retroclone like Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea Second edition. The answer for this might surprise you.


Instead of merely relying on the huge glut of Gothic horror that exists in support of the Ravenloft setting we're going to strip this adventure down into its components & parts. When you start looking at I6 in its structure & at its heart your left with one vampire at its center  Count Strahd von Zarovich. Everything revolves around him & at his earliest he's the spoke around which everything revolves him & his murder of his brother. Not to mention the forbidden object of his misbegotten insanity & love Tatyana.


Barovia is supposedly a stand in for Transylvania from a million horror films & the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. But if we look into the more modern pulpy Sword & Sorcery titles of yesteryear we see that same dark reflection of Stoker's Dracula's female facsimile staring back from the black pit of Hell. In Robert Howard's Conan series novel 'Hour of the Dragon' we've got Akivasha a Stygian princess from more than 10000 years before Conan's time.

"I am Akivasha! I am the woman who never died, who never grew old! Who fools say was lifted from the earth by the gods, in the full bloom of her youth and beauty, to queen it forever in some celestial clime! Nay, it is in the shadows that mortals find immortality! Ten thousand years ago I died to live for ever! Give me your lips, strong man!"

— Robert E. Howard, The Hour of the Dragon, Chapter 18

So does this mean that we change Strahd von Zarovich? Not at all instead we place Barovia, seamlessly onto an island continent of Poseidonis. Already I can hear the hisses,boos, and myriad cat spitting of the Ravenloft setting fans & Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st & 2nd edition dungeon masters. Hear me out before you stake me out for the Sun. "Poseidonis" is an imagined last remnant of the lost continent of Atlantis, mentioned by Algernon Blackwood in his short story, Sand (published in 1912), in his story collection, Four Weird Tales, and is also detailed in a series of short stories by Clark Ashton Smith. " Numerous vampires,werewolves, witches,etc. all appeared in the Lovecraft circle of writers stories, novellas, pulps,etc. many of which were connected with Atlantis. Not to mention that the classic era Marvel of the 70's gave their vampires an origin connected with the Necro ermm Darkhold & Atlantis. Poseidonis is also the setting for numerous tales of necromancy, black magick, & weirdness of Clark Ashton Smith.
How does this all relate to AS&SH second edition? Many of the monsters featured in I6 such as the rust monsters, baby red dragons,werewolves, etc. all have their own analogies in AS&SH already. But its the Huntsmen a PC class specializing in hunting werewolves that really brings it home for me. Not only do you have a campaign setting where you've got a class who hunts werewolves but a world where the bloated red sun doesn't shine for six months!


Suppose that "Poseidonis"'s  Barovia  is a doomed & cursed land with its very tragic events unfolding around a dim & dire sinking land. The mists draw the Boreas wind crossed PC's into the fold & things go weirdly as the numerous agendas and motives of Strahd play out.
Strahd von Zarovich is an unhinged evil of the highest order that has to be put down lest his infection of vampirism spread. But does that end the evil plaguing the land? Not at all, there are still strange monsters, challenges, & the fact that Strahd von Zarovich will be back! In fact I've played in a game where Strahd is dead but we explored the castle without him. In the best Hammer tradition there were others taking his place! A cult had arise around his almost god like undead reputation.

With the "Fortunes of Ravenloft." bit  a "gypsy card reading" that determines where several things are located in Castle Ravenloft the DM could in fact influence the motives for other stand in villains as well as the count himself. This is done in the best Hammer & Universal Pictures tradition.
So why put I6 on "Poseidonis? Because once the adventure plays out then its evil can sink under the waves never to be heard from again. Or it can become a place that once in a while the PC's might visit if the mists of the adventure allow them. The real question becomes what other menaces might make the journey across time & space to the shores of Hyperborea to truly menace the PC's after they've killed the count & ended his evil? Don't forget that I mentioned that Hyperborea has a cycle of months without sunlight? The perfect time for vampires and undead to be active for twenty four hours or more.

Commentary On An OSR Combination of B10 Night's Dark Terror, & I6 Ravenloft As Fodder For Old School Campaigns

So I was talking with a friend of mine whose home for the Easter holiday today. He's a dungeon master of some experience & with an old school background. He was talking about using B10 Night's Dark Terror as the fodder for the lands surrounding the AD&D 1st edition classic I6 Ravenloft. This gives the over all campaign the look and feel of a wild Hammer style pseudo Russian or old world country without giving up the classic D&D Gothic feel. There are several reasons why this could work and work very well; one of which is because "Night's Dark Terror was designed specifically for campaigns transitioning from the D&D Basic Set to the D&D Expert Set. The player characters (PCs) journey from a farmstead into uncharted wilderness, where they encounter new hazards and contend with a secret society"



Apparently John got so fed up with his players knowing everything there is about the Ravenloft box set that he went back to the original source material where "PC's travel by river and over mountains, from the Grand Duchy of Karameikos to the chaotic lands. The characters encounter a town under siege by goblins, a ruined city, and a lost valley" . This means that the PC's are traveling through the fringes of the  lands of Count Strahd von Zarovich without arousing too much suspicions of the royal notice of the Count. "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." So is the Iron Ring one of the power blocks behind the mundane rise of  Strahd's rise to power. This could be hinted at the the gypsy camp on the Barovia borderlands. PC's are likely to encounter zombies, wolves, ghouls, ghosts, and other creatures. This helps to set the stage for the Gothic horror of  I6 & the tragic tale of love, lust, lost and more.

The combination of the two modules adds gravitas to the backstory of Strahd as well. "The master of nearby Castle Ravenloft, Count Strahd von Zarovich, tyrannically rules the country, and a prologue explains that the residents must barricade their doors each night to avoid attacks by Strahd and his minions. The Burgomaster's mansion is the focus of these attacks, and, for reasons that are not initially explained, Strahd is after the Burgomaster's adopted daughter, Ireena Kolyana." Its almost as if the countryside takes on the characteristics of the infamous vampire when the two modules are combined. Therefore the sum is now greater then the individual parts.


The DM gets the best of all possible worlds with this approach. Several mini dungeons & devilishly delightful mini wilderness encounters along with a mini dungeon crawl at lower levels that set's everything in the heat of the moment. There a little bit of everything before the main set up for the final show down with Strahd.

 All in all this sounds like on paper a great way of having the best of all worlds by using this sort of old school hybrid approach. A bit of a Gothic guided wilderness crawl with lots of subtle changes that don't change the combination of awesomeness that is these two old school classics.